Heading home - SOFALA

We took a turn at Bathurst and headed to the New England Highway through Sofala.

. An old store, sadly in desperate need of repair.

Sofala is an old gold mining town full of history and incredible old buildings. We have been there before and decided to have another look.


Surveying the main street.



 

Still lived in.

The old Post Office. Now a Gift store come Museum.

Another couple of street views.

I love these wintery trees. There were quite a few around the town. I can imagine how magnificent they are in springtime and summer.Don't see them around our area.

There is a lot more to see around Sofala, but we were heading home and the day was getting on. We decided to push on and promised ourselves that next time we will take a day and travel round the river and the goldfields. Fascinating.

An bush church on the way to Sofala..I couldn't resist a photo. Looks so sad and derelict.Maybe it comes alive on Sundays!

GUNDAGAI - quick stop on the way home.

We drove up the Hume Highway on the first day of our homeward journey. I wanted to see the Dog on the Tuckerbox once again.

And there he is; a bit more built up around him than I remember but still sitting faithfully waiting for his master.

What a handsome couple! Where have the years gone?

The remains of the buildings that were once here.

A good piece of farm equipment.

Along the way - JERILDERIE - 20th July

After the long haul yesterday and fog all the way from Forbes we decided to take a short break in Jerilderie. We know Jerilderie and have stopped there many times over the years, for lunch and just to have a look around. The small town, famous for Ned Kelly exploits, has certainly improved over the years and is making good use of its tourist attractions.

Hans and I particularly like the lake. We walked all the way around it enjoying the spot of sunshine and the local bird life.

Lake Jerilderie is quite large and has a footpath all the way around. It is a dog leash-free area as well. I can just see Freddie, Mo and Lillie having the time of their lives racing around it especially with so many birds around.

We headed off around the lake. As you can see from Hans’s stance and what we are wearing it is still quite cold! There were plenty of coots and ducks on the water, but I managed to photograph only these two!    Cormorants sunbaking in an old dead tree. In the middle of the lake are two islands with goats living on them. The goats just visible on the island in the middle of the lake. Billabong Creek runs beside the lake and is also very picturesque.

The banks of the Billabong creek with huge trees and some flood damage.

A beautiful family of black swans appeared on the last leg of the walk. Of course we rushed to get some of our leftover lunch for them and they were very grateful.

Very handsome birds and for a nice change these ones were not aggressive.

Another view of the banks of Billabong creek.