Day 257 / 2014 - Dubbo to Forbes

Leaving Dubbo we headed south towards Parkes. The headwinds were quite strong so we pulled over in a rest area about 45kms down the road. Storms were predicted for the NSW regions the rest area was bitumised so if the rain did come down through the night we would not get bogged and be able to continue on as long as the road was clear.

But the morning very little rain had fallen and the wind had dropped off so finishing breakfast we packed up and continued on towards Parkes. I have always wanted to visit the Parkes Radio Telescope since watching the movie "The Dish". The turn off is about 20Km from Parkes on the Newell Hwy and is about 5km in. The telescope is a large structure with the radio dish itself 64 Metres across. There is a visitors centre wich gives you information about the history and what the radio telescope roll is now. There is 3 short 3D documentries you can watch which runs every hour for about 30 minutes. Part of the display is dedicated to the movie The Dish displaying the original console specially constructed and a few facts and myths about the movie. While you cannot get into the telescope building you can get up pretty close to it and watch it move around as it points to different sectors of the sky leaving you wondering how big are the motors and gears to keep the thing on track. The entry to the visitors centre is free but the 3D documentries cost $7.50 a head there is also a cafe on site.

The Henry Parkes centre located at the northern end of town on the Newell Hwy. It has 4 museums, "The King" display dedicated to Elvis Presley, The vintage motor car display, Heritage display and old machinery display. The centre is also houses the tourist Information Bureau. The centre has Elvis original or replica memorbilla donated by Greg Paige (ex yellow wiggle) and depicts from the early years untill his death. The motor vehicle display has a number of vintage cars of various makes and models and the heritage displays shows life living in the Parkes area. The cost to see all museums is $12.00 a head.

We left Parkes and headed towards Forbes. We originally planned to stay in a rest area but the weather turned wet and really cold so we decided a heater was more important so chose to stay in a caravan park instead. It had started to rain pretty constantly by the time we got onto the site so we just setup the basics and stayed inside for the rest of the afternoon and evening. It rained most of the night but we were much luckier than Sydney which copped a pounding from the weather but by morning it had pretty much cleared up in our area. Parkes is a large town with a population of about 15,000 people it has many retail facilities of a regional town such as Big W, Target and McDonalds  Forbes is only 30 KM away with a population of 6,000 and has very similar facilities including a large Bunnings and Spotlight. It's a bit like having 2 Bunbury's 30 Km Apart.

Ben Hall the infamous bushranger is buried in Forbes and you can view his grave at the local cemetery along with the grave of Kate Kelly who was the sister of Ned Kelly. We took a walk through the centre of town where Forbes has a range of heritage buildings typical of regional NSW. In the centre of town there is a beautiful park which includes a cenotaph to all who served in the wars. We also looked at McFeeters Car Museum which contains about 40 cars of various eras including a Japanese Hearse built on a Ford LTD wagon. The Musem is locally owned by a family and the Father, Mother, son and Daughter all working there.

The lake near the centre of town is also a feature and you can see it as you cross over the bridge. It has been developed into a public space with BBQ's and tables and chairs for picnickers and travellers alike. There are a number of walking and cycling tracks available around the lake great for taking in the local wild life.