Mostly Harmless

The first couple of days have been pleasantly uneventful. The landscape has changed from coastal rainforests, through the stunted gum trees of the Tablelands, across the red croplands and basalt caps of the Liverpool Plains and out onto the broad expanses of the Western Plains. So far nothing Nic and I are unfamiliar with, having spent years studying the landscapes between here and the coast.

hit the frog

For the girls, however, this is all new, and we managed to get their heads out of their tablets long enough for them to appreciate the beautiful streams cutting the Dorrigo Plateau and the jagged peaks of the Warrumbungles. We have decided to ration their screen time so that they they spend at least as much time looking out the windows as at their screens. When they complained we explained to them that if they look out the window its high definition AND 3D, but I don't think they were convinced.

The boffins at Siding Springs Observatory west of Coonabarabran have created a planetarium along the road in. The much lamented ex-planet Pluto is at Tamworth and the Sun is hundreds of kilometres away at the Observatory. At this scale, even driving at 110km per hour, its half an hour or more between the big gas planets and when you get there they are only the size of large beach balls. It's a great idea and I think it really helped Mallee appreciate the vastness of space. Jarrah, on the other hand, just delighted in the opportunity to make lots of jokes about looking at Uranus.

the first brekkie

We spent the first night on the eastern shore of Lake Keepit. Its funny that we are always drawn to bodies of water for our campsites, even if it is the uninspiring shores of an artificial lake. Camping at Keepit is the 'rural residential' of camping. You're neighbours are close enough that you are vaguely aware of them, but far enough away that you've got some sense of privacy. Tonight we are in the Big 4 Caravan Park in Dubbo, and this is camping's high density suburbia. But we're not here for the wilderness, but for the wildlife, tomorrow the Western Plains Zoo. No trip to western NSW would be complete without it.

We'll see you when the dust settles