|
|
Sydney to the Central West -- mucking about in the countryside.
Are you in Sydney and getting sick of having to dress your best to simply go do the grocery shopping?
Visiting this fair city may see you crumble under peer pressure and strap on your trendy shoes until your feet scream in protest about all the unnecessary treatment. There’s only so much artistic draping in cafes and theatres you should have to put up with.
For a refreshing break from all the fashion and fast-paced shenanigans of Sydney, why not throw on your favourite jeans and a trusty pair of shoes before flinging yourself out for a bit of an adventure in NSW’s Central West? You and your jeans can gallumph about in old gold rush sites, national parks, Arcadian swathes of landscape, and the birthplace of one of Australia’s most legendary bush poets. Oh, and you can drop in on the Blue Mountains on your way.
Lacking a trusty steed for your adventure? Visit sites like www.vroomvroomvroom.com.au that have all the special’s of Australia’s most popular car hire companies so you can score a great car rental Sydney deal.
First things first – it’ll take about two hours to get out of the city and into the Blue Mountains, to Katoomba. You’ll have no problems finding accommodation here – a great choice in quality too. It ranges from the luxurious to the “I think we should have bought the tent”. There are popular scenic spots nearby – the Three Sisters and Katoomba Falls. And the Scenic Railway is great if you want to see nature without using your legs overly much. There are plenty of other little towns to visit – Leura is a good spot. If you manage to extract yourself from the main street without acquiring the world’s largest collection of alternative kitsch, then you should applaud yourself for having an iron will.
Climb back into your car, get on to the Great Western Freeway and point the front bit at Bathurst. Once you arrive, you might notice that the buildings have an odd look of faded opulence. This is the mark that gold, and plenty of it, leaves. There are a number of former gold towns scattered about here, like Sofola and Wattle Flat. If you think you want to have a go at a bit of foraging yourself, then Hill End is where you’ll find equipment for hire. On a completely different note, Bathurst is also home to the Mount Panorama racing circuit. They have this little car race out here now and again.
Onwards in a fairly Westerly way, you’ll come across the towns of Mudgee and Orange. Both are verdant little producers of wine and fruit, and there’s lovely scenery to be had. Orange has some beautiful parks. For commanding views of the area you can pop up to Mount Canobolas. And it’s also the birthplace of Banjo Paterson – a balladeer with a romantic inclination when it came to immortalising the bush and its inhabitants. He also had a bit of a sharp tongue when it came to responding to city-slicker poets who dared to suggest the bush was dry, hot and boring.
Dubbo is little further on, but it’s not really a place you’ll be wanting to spend an awful lot of time in. Despite being one of the fastest growing regional cities, with a complement of wineries and gallery or two, it’s best-known attraction is its open-range zoo which sprawls over a huge amount of land. Animals are separated by creeks and dykes wherever it’s possible.
Two hours from Dubbo is Coonabarabran – and if you’re a space freak you’ll be mightily pleased by the optical telescope (which is the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere). There’s also the Skywatch Observatory you can visit to ponder the ineffable wonders of the firmament above. For those of us with our feet planted firmly on the ground you can go for a romp in the nearby Warrumbungles National Park.
It’s here your Westerly direction should change to an Easterly one, you’ve reached the borders of the Central West. Turning east, you’ll hit Tamworth – and from there you’ve got a five-hour trip back to Sydney, driving on the New England Highway until you reach Newcastle, where you hop onto the Pacific Highway for the rest of the way.
About the author:
Alyssa Betts has travelled various parts of the world looking for clothes that fit nicely. She now works for www.vroomvroomvroom.comau where you can get a great car rental Sydney deal.
Circulated by Article Emporium
Learn more...
European Cruise - Not All Barges Are The Same!
By: Colin Hartness What image comes to mind when you hear the word barge? Most likely, an American will visualize a long low-slung cargo vessel situated on a river or the Great Lakes, dirty and loaded with coal or iron ore. The idea of a barge cruise may be reminiscent of an old black and white . . .
Travel Articles
|
