August 10^th

I felt quite sad to be leaving the Warrumbungles this morning. It promised to be a fine and warm day again and I could have quite happily stayed a little longer.

Our track took us west toward Gilgandra, through green farmland including and emu farm. There were hundreds of these birds in conventional farmyard paddocks.

Our main stop in Gilgandra was a visit to the Gallery and Information Centre which we thoroughly enjoyed. The main attraction at the Gallery was the story of the     Gilgandra Coo-ee march which took place in 1915 when young men from the area marched to Sydney to enlist as soldiers to go to the 1914-18 War.  Men marched the long road to Sydney collecting other young men along the way. Last year 2015, 100 years later, a re-enactment took place. The Gallery featured a large series of photographs taken of the participants in this re-enactment. It is a truly wonderful Australian story.

Some years ago, the ‘Zig Zag’ artist Group, of which I was a member, displayed a travelling Exhibition in this same gallery. It was lovely to see the large space being used for another exhibition. It can recommend a visit if you are passing that way.

Footsteps representing the Coo-ee March re-enactment 2015

The next leg of our journey, we followed a rig which was very similar to the Dinning rig but with a difference!! Firstly we noticed them throw orange peel and an apple core out the window to add to the litter along the Newell Highway… the prime mover was puffing out a large amount of black diesel smoke…so much for a clean, green Australia!

We lunched in the Dubbo Information Centre Park and quickly moved on to the Goobang National Park where we have camped for the night in the Wanda Wandong Camping Area. What a pretty spot with Ironbark trees, Box trees, birds and kangaroos. A short walk through the nearby bush was delightful, especially as we found Blue Caladenia Orchids and hundreds of tiny Greenhoods. I will need to check my orchid book at home to positively identify the type of Greenhood.

A lovely hot campfire and a starry sky…quite unexpected as rain had been forecast!

Ibis in Dubbo Park.