Winter is upon us

As we ventured south, the cold weather and rain started appearing.

Our first stop after droving was Lightning Ridge.  We drove straight to the thermal hot bath to soak our bodies.  There we met the Rodgers, a lovely family, who recommended Lorne Park as a place to stay.  We spent 3 days with them exploring Lightning Ridge.  It was a great time.

We fossicked in the river bed and found some pitch (opal), some even had colour.

As an opal town the place was full of mine shafts, some fenced and others not.  Lots of interesting buildings from humpys to bottle houses.  We visited one mine shaft where the miner had created hundreds of sculptures in the walls.

Next stop Dubbo, there we watched The Heat at the cinemas and went shopping.

Further south at Cowra, we visited the Prisoner of War camp where the Japanese mounted an escape.  Its amazing to reflect on our war history and the fact that we had thousands of POW in Australia.

At Junee it was a visit to the Licorice and Chocolate Factory.  Sally, Maddie and Max opted to make their own Rocky Road, then we toured the factory.

The weather is 13 degrees during the day and 5 degrees overnight.  Its raining and I want to go back to the Cape.  The trip has been amazing and soon we will be home. :(