It is nice to start travelling again, even if they are just short getaways. Headed to Orange with my two girlfriends, Kerrie and Deb. We headed up via Cowra to see the Japanese Gardens and came back via Oberon to see the Mayfield Gardens. We were originally due to stay in Bathurst but got a message on the Thursday afternoon to say that our accommodation at Bathurst for three nights from Saturday had to be cancelled. Well that set the cat among the pigeons and had us in a panic, but fortunately we found another Airbnb at Orange which in the end we think was a much better option.
We set off Saturday morning with a stop off at Boorawa, which we have decided we will need to go back and explore another time then arrived at the Japanese Gardens at Cowra for lunch before spending time exploring the gardens there. They were lovely and we enjoyed the beautiful kept gardens and lovely green and autumn leaves. A great first day.
We found our accommodation which we were very pleased with , nice and comfortable and very clean. We had a room each which was nice. Deb had made soup and brought it along, so we didn't need to head out looking for a meal so we had a nice relaxing night.
The next day Sunday we headed out for an early walk and found a great little coffee shop where the guy helped us plan our day, so first stop was the Producer's Market at Cook Park. We got to see the lovely autumn trees in Cook Park as well as meet the local producers and sample various products and off course purchase a few including some lovely raw honey and a heavenly passionfruit curd!
After that we visited the information centre, dropped off our goodies back at the accomadtion and then headed out to the delightful historic village of Millthrope. We had morning tea at the Providore, then checked out the shops and helped boost the local economy. It was a lovely day and a nice place to visit.
Headed back to Orange stopping for a late lunch at Lucknow sitting out on the deck. Back to the accommodation for a rest before heading out for a walk around the Orange Botanic Gardens - another great day,
Monday we checked out the main street, did a bit of shopping, enjoyed the lovely old buildings familiar to country NSW towns, then we headed out to Mt Conabolas, which gave us lovely views back over Orange. We did what we thought would be a moderate walk through the forest to Federal Falls, it was a loop walk, which turned out to be a pretty tough walk. Deb and I left Kerrie at the top of the path which led down the final 500 metres to the falls, as it was very steep. Turned out to be a good move as Kerrie was already tired and it was a really tough descent and then hard work getting up again, only to see a trickle of water at the falls! It was nice country to walk in but I did feel my quads for a few days after that. We were glad to get home and just plonk.
I have managed to put my photos in the wrong way, so hopefully the captions will help
Some of Orange's lovely old buildings
Some of the autumn leaves around Orange
Orange Botanic Gardens
I forget to mention this place- The Parrot Distillery- a Gin Joint where Deb and Kerrie did a gin tasting. The place had lots of atmosphere, the girls enjoyed their gin, while I settled for a ginger beer, it was a fun time.
Tree lined street coming into Millthorpe
The old railways station at Millthorpe, now a shop and cafe
Morning Tea at the Providore
Kevin the Water Dragon at Cook Park
Bandstand at Cook Park
Me in the Begonia Display in Cook Park
Rock Garden at Cowra Japanese Gardens
Japanese Gardens Cowra
The Tuesday Girls!\
