Sept 23
We enjoyed a half day at the zoo this morning (the tickets allow 2 days entry). Today we traveled by car, much to James’ relief. Firstly we spent about 45 minutes at the Meerkat enclosure. They are very watchable creatures.

Meerkat

Then on to the giraffes, tigers, lions and lucky last the tortoise.  It was back to the van for lunch and then off to Old Dubbo gaol for an afternoon performance and tour.

The boys enjoyed the pool again later in the afternoon and it was off to Club DUB for a solid 5/10 dinner.

Sept 24
On the road again, just can’t wait to get back on the road again.  We got away without too much stress or drama and it was an easy hour to Gilgandra.  We stopped to admire their art gallery, shell and gem collection and to read about the Coo-ee march to recruit troops for WWI – fascinating stuff.  It was only another hour to Warrumbungle National Park and into Camp Blackman.
Within 5 minutes of arriving and choosing our campsite James had taken up with a family at the next site and had joined in a game of catches.
The van is not taking long to set up, only about 30 mins.  We did a quick 5km walking track – on the bikes which had some great views of the main rocky features of the park.  The wild flowers are out (as is the Patterson’s curse) adding lots of colour to the scenery.

View from Belougery Flat

Unfortunately the rain rolled in at about 6 o’clock.  It was only a 300m walk to the toilets, luckily I packed an umbrella!

Sept 25 & 26

Two fantastic days in the Warrumbungles.  Despite the rain most of Thursday we still had a great day.  The boys played happily in the creek building bridges and dams with their new friends for most of the morning.  We did a small walk in the afternoon and enjoyed a lovely sunset at dinner time.

Friday was beautifully sunny but a little more hectic with an orienteering lesson in the morning and a Siding Springs observatory tour in the afternoon.  We had our first roast on the Weber for dinner which was delicious and then topped the evening off with marshmallows and star-gazing.  It is so beautiful here – we will be back for sure some day.