In the meantime we met up with Nina, Callum and our 9 months old grandson Milo in Dubbo about 260km south-west of Gunnedah. Those three are on 

a road trip of their own. It felt like we hadn’t seen them for months instead of days and it was great to get our cuddle units!

Having only limited time together, we booked tickets to the Western Plains Zoo in spite of the deteriorating weather. The next morning, we braved rain and wind, which even the buggy Austin hired didn’t protect us from, and cruised around the zoo. It still was fun and Milo just adored the Meercats and rhinos. Luckily the zoo tickets are valid for two days and the three Tornings could do it all again by sunshine the next day. 

Austin and I had to make a quick dash to Sydney for a previously arranged appointment. On our way to Sydney, we dropped off the caravan in Orange and returned there the following day. Of course we had to call in to the German Conditorei Schwarz in Wentworth Falls for “Kaffee und Kuchen” (coffee and cake).

Incidentally, we are on a kind of “poets tour" as Orange is the birthtown of another great Australian poet, Banjo Paterson. He wrote the original text to the song “Waltzing Mathilda”, Australia’s unofficial national anthem, and got special acclaim for his poem “The man from Snowy River” and “Clancy of the Overflow”.

Orange lies on a hilly tableland at 862m elevation and it tends to get quite cold here. In autumn 1979 Austin and I travelled through the area with a tent and motor bike and as we entered Orange it started to snow. Having got soaked in our leaky tent the night before, we were freezing on the motor bike.

Austin took pity on me and dropped me off at the local Country Women’s Association Center for a hot shower and a cup of tea. I was forever grateful to the CWA of Orange. The same building is still there today. 

Even now, in the current conditions, the temperature hardly reaches into double digits. It makes me feel sorry for the pioneer explorers and gold diggers of this region.

There is a very European connection to Orange: having served in the Iberian Peninsula War with the Prince of Orange, explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell gave the town the name Orange in honour of the prince.

After a significant amount of gold was found in a nearby region, Orange became the central trading center for gold during the gold rush. The region of this first big find was named Ophir after the “gold of Ophir" mentioned in the Old Testament. 

Just south of Orange is the 1395m high Canobolas Mountain, the highest elevation between the blue mountains and the Indian Ocean!

Streets around the center of town have the most gorgeous Victorian cottages. We loved the many colourful gardens and streets lined by a variety of oaks, elms and other european trees, and especially Cook Park with giant sequoia trees, a fernery, historic conservatory, band stand and sunken rose garden.  More beautiful trees we found in the picturesque Botanical Garden.

Adjoining the gardens stands the small redwood hut associated to Banjo Paterson’s birth place at Narrambla farm from where it was transported to this location.

The hilly surroundings of Orange offer ideal spaces for vineyards. Thanks to Nina and Callum, I tasted a very nice Pinot Noir from the region. 

One of the things we love when travelling is to discover the unusual and quirky, like a fancy dressed scarecrow, a humerous inscription or a creative letterbox. Here in a residential street in Orange a roof caught our attention. A neighbour told me that the 70 year old owner still climbs on the roof regularly to put up yet another figurine. 

We had been planning to head to Forbes tomorrow. But a major flooding event is expected to inundate all low lying areas and acces roads have already been closed. We hope that it doesn’t get too bad for the residents and farmers there. For us it just means the usual change of plans and new adventure.