Sweet Wayfaring

We passed through Cudal, which I have already shown on 100 towns.  Went in search of Bowan Park which was a farming locality then took in Boree, the last dot on the map for this trip. There was not really anything at Boree but this lovely cluster of rural buildings was not far up the road. I've added Bowan Park and Boree as localities at 100 towns. 

Toogong turned out to be a small town.  There is lots of ploughing going on at this time of year. I've added Toogong to 100 Towns.

We reached Murga and there was nothing there other than the blank eyes of this old house looking at us. Perhaps it was once a staging post. I've added Murga as a locality at 100 Towns.

The countryside around Eugowra is very rocky.  We were travelling along Escort Way, and quickly got the idea that bushrangers once lurked behind those rocks. Visit Eugowra and learn of its history over at 100 Towns.

Former Royal Hotel, Forbes When I posted a former Royal Hotel a while ago Mark coined the term "A Fergie".  I think this one has been very recently dethroned.  If you look closely you can see a shadow of the Royal Hotel sign on the hoarding and the new shops are up for let.

We went into Parkes to pick up some petrol.   I think of Parkes as being where the big wheat, big sheep, big sky country begins. Our next port of call was to be Forbes.  I settled on this diversion to our route because I had found out that we missed a Royal Hotel last time we passed through, and what better reason is there to visit a town?

Cookamidgera turned out to be a little town (about 18 kms outside the big town of Parkes). Old cars go to die.  There was a church and quite a sizeable cluster of houses, every one of them seeming to have a collection of rusting vehicles.

Mandagery is another of the railway dots.  There was no sign of a town, just a few houses and this community hall established 1953.  These places are on the Broken Hill line which is still open, just the stations are closed. Over the railway line was a sign pointing to Cookamidgera. It wasn't on my list (being outside the border I had drawn) but with a name like that I just had to go see what was there. I've added Mandagery as a locality at 100 Towns.

When I was taking yesterday's shot I also snapped this one.  It seemed so country to me, the rusting 44 gallon drum with the little willy wagtail perched on it. You see lots of willy wagtails out the west.

I don't have as much trouble understanding why they gave up on this one. We were off looking for Bumberry.  The road ended at a farm gate with no sign of any community other than farm houses.  We did see a railway siding on the way, I suspect that is why it became a dot on the map. I've added Bumberry as a locality at 100 Towns.

We spotted this place in the afternoon and again the next morning between Molong and Manildra.  It seems  too neat and sturdy to be empty and forlorn.  A bigger more modern home was further up the hill. Visit Manildra at 100 towns.

You might remember the Cumnock is the place where they have Animals on Bikes sculptures. Here are some of the whimsical creations found at various farm properties along the road. Their website animalsonbikes.com.au says it is a 120km "Paddock Art" sculpture tourist trail located in Central NSW between Molong and the Dubbo Zoo, via Cumnock and Yeoval.  I could take up animal spotting instead of town spotting!!

Its the same house as yesterday.  Worth a repeat I think for the silvery weathered wood and wintery grass in the low sunlight. We are not too far from Yeoval.   Visit Yeoval at 100 Towns.

As the sun began to set we backtracked from Baldry to Cumnock which I have shown previously in this blog.  I spotted this rather nice shot on the way. I think it might be a while since mail was delivered at Northfork. Visit Cumnock at 100 towns.

It was a detour to visit Baldry but we decided to do it because we were unlikely to get there any other time. Baldry comprises farms, a church and community hall.  A Winnebago club seemed to have set up camp in the grounds with the silver haired travellers clustered around a campfire to ward off the growing chill as the day began to fade. I wonder if we will ever join such a group.  For the moment we are very happy as independent wanderers. Visit Baldry at 100 Towns .

Next we went to go find Gumble.  There is not so much as a sniff of a town at Gumble, but there is an old hall.  I see on the web that the Gumble Cricket Club had a fundraising ball there 8 months ago. In February there was a workshop on "Managing flies and lice in your sheep flock."   And the fox baiting group met there in March.  A busy place it seems. After the green, green, green of this summer the grass is browning off for the winter, except in places where new crops have been sown and land is being prepared for winter planting. I've added a shot of Gumble Hall in localities at 100 Towns.

On Saturday afternoon we went exploring, looking for new towns.  The first was Garra which turned out to be a cluster of houses and a couple of churches, now residences.  What interested me most was this old abandoned dwelling. I think corrugated iron stove recesses like seen at the back here are quite common, even more so corrugated iron tanks and roofs. Sometimes walls are clad in corrugated iron.  What I have rarely seen are corrugated iron fireplaces. Visit Garra at 100 towns to see a full view of this house.

It should come as no surprise to you that I have included autumn leaves on this trip but the leafy photos are few, something which cannot be said for abandoned houses which are many. One thing I like about this time of year is that morning begins rather late, so there is time for a nice sleep in under the warm covers to ward off the chilly air (yes there was frost on the grass) before venturing out to take photographs. We camped at Molong, one of my favourite towns in this region so we have returned here several times.  Interestingly I remembered that three years ago we were here on Mother's Day weekend too.  It must be the call of autumn urging us over the mountains to enjoy the crisp sunny weather. Visit Molong at 100 towns and you will see this same stand of poplars taken in the evening light on our earlier trip.

We are off on a trip to tick more towns off the list.   It's glorious autumn weather, the perfect time to pass through the lovely city of Orange on our way to our campsite at Molong. V isit Orange over at 100 towns to see the four seasons of "Colour City"

Royal Hotel, Carlton contribution from J im, Sydney City and Suburbs  I'll start a new trip tomorrow.

Royal Hotel, Bondi contributed by Julie, Sydney Eye I've rather enjoyed my break. Now its time to get back to posting again I am going to start with two contributions from others. I have noticed the Bondi Royal many times but have generally been in busy traffic so have not stopped to photograph it, so Julie gets the credit for seeing it first. Next week I will pop in and catch up on your blogs.