Day 273 / 2014 - Condobolin to Griffith

After 7 days at Condobolin we decided it was time to move on. This would have to be one of the best free camps sites we have stayed at considering all the facilities that were available to us but other places beckon so after packing up we headed out once again this time towards the South East.

The weather was heating up and the expected temperature for the next couple of days at Condobolin was to be 36 to 38 degrees and as much as we like hot weather this was a little to warm for us especially as there was no pool to swim in.

Heading out we took the back roads again. Our destination for this leg was Temora but we weren't sure if we would make it that far today as it was 160Km away...phew. The first stop would be West Wyalong. There is a glass making shop there and Anne wanted to have a look. We stopped first for lunch then onto the glass shop which we actually found in Wyalong about 4km from West Wyalong. Annne found a glass dish she just had to have so after a bit of wheeling and dealing I finally agreed with her we should get it.

From Wyalong we headed to Temora via Barmedman. We had read there is a mineral pool at Barmedman where the water is pumped from underground into the pool but we were unsure if it was heated water or not so had to stop to find out. Unfortunately it was cold so we chickened out for a swim. The pool area is quite large there is a sign which says water is untreaded and is not safe for swimming which I though was inspiring us not to swim. Every October they fill it up then ever March they empty it to flush out any buildup of bacteria as the the water isn't treated.

Leaving Barmedman we headed the last 40Km into Temora. We located a caravan park near town for only $20.00 per night. The park is run by the shire but the caretaker doesn't have an office on site. You park on a site phone the caretaker who then at sometime during the day arrives to pick up your money all very civilised.

Temora's main attraction is the aviation museum. It is based out at the airport Estate. I call it an estate because people actually live out there where the backs of their property connect to a taxiway. Each property has its own hanger and if you own a plane you can walk out your backdoor into your hanger jump into your plane taxi out onto the runway and takeoff. I guess you could compare it to the canal estates in Busselton or Mandurah but instead of boats they use planes.

The Museum was fantastic and although it isn't as large as say the aviation museum in Darwin all planes are flight certified and flown on a regular basis at flying show which are held about twice a month. The're all old airforce planes such as a Tiger Moth, Spitfire, Sabre, Hudson, Vampire, Meteor, Boomerang and a Wirraway. Temora airport was originally an elementry training school for pilots durring WW2 but is now used for sports aviation. It is great to see all these planes fully restored with all there bits an peices still attached and fully functioning. The displays were well setup with lighting and interative displays.

Junee is a town close to Temora on the road to Wagga Wagga. We had originally though to go through Junee with the van but since it was so close we decided to take a day trip instead. We hadn't planned to actually go into Junee but as soon as I heard there was a licorice and Chocolate factory there well that was it. Unlike Margaret River which had a purpose built new building this was a converted old flourmill giving the factory lots of character. There was a large gift shop of all interesting things which made Anne happy and a large selection of chocolate yummies which made me happy blissful symmetry I thought. There was a tour which talked about the history of the factory, how it came about and how the licorice is made. At the end was a game of Vertical skittles which used a rolled up ball of Licorice tossed up into a vertical shaft where it dropped out the bottom hopefully knocking over the skittles. 

Junee also has the most haunted house known as the Monte Christo homestead. This is a house which was built in 1876 and hosted many Balls and aristocratic dinners but fell into disrepair when the owner died in 1948. The house had many mysterious ghostly sightings has been visited by many ghost hunters and features in the website "Castle of Spirits."

In Junee there is also one of the few Railway Roundhouses in the southern hemisphere and boasted the largest tuntable when it was built in 1942. Part of it has been converted into a museum but the remainder is still used today as a workshop for rebuilding locomotives and rolling stock.

Leaving Temora we headed towards Griffith via ther Burley Griffin Highway. Along the way we decided to camp overnight in a small town called Ardlethan. This town was trying to attract tourist by offering a free camp spot which included power. You could stop for a max of 3 nights at the Rotary park in town. There is a powerpoint you could connect to for a princely sum of $2.00 for 12 hours. The town itself doesn't offer much else as a tourist spot but made an excellent overnight stop. There is a pub where you can have a drink or meal, a coffee shop and IGA store. Unfortunately we were there on a Sunday so nothing except the pub was open.

Next day we headed towards Griffith our next stop. On our way the wind turned against us to gale force. Fortunately we only had 40 km to go but it was still blowing quite strongly when we arrived in Griffith. We chose the Griffith Caravan Village as this was recommended by Wiki camps the best in town if you liked a bit of space and booked in for a couple of days.

Griffith town is larger than we realised comprising of a population of 30,000 people. The town appeared very prosperous and had all the facilities such as major retail outlets, cinemas and commercial centres. As a west aussie it felt strange that a town wasn't prospering because of mining but agriculture and is known as the foodbowl of NSW. There are many fruits and vegatables grown here  and there is a flourishing wine industry with bottles around $10 to $15 my kind of price. Anne was in shopper heaven as there was Target, Big W, Noni B and many of here other favorites. We have visited a few of the tourist attractions mainly revolving around the farming industries with lots of tasty treats and wine on offer.