Between rallies

Monday 1 October 2018

I left Mudgee at 1 pm.   Mudgee and Gunnedah, the stage for the next rally, are not far away from each other and since we had a few nights to bridge I only travelled short distances.  The first stop was at the Bowls Club at Cassilis where I arrived at 3 pm.

Of course I was bound to run into other Solo member, so when I went to pay the camping fees (which included power, yeah!) and had ordered a beer (which I seldom do on my own) I noticed Tony was there as well.  He was talking to another man and they called me over, so I joined them.  The other fellow appeared to be a Dutchman from way back and he proudly told me he had old badges on his (enormous) bus from the ANWB.  Photos of which below. Herman hailed from Cuijk, a town I know reasonably well.

Since I had power and time I started to update my blog.

Tuesday 2 October 2018

I took it easy and did not leave until 10.30 am.  An hour and 15 minutes later I arrived at the Coolah Sporting Club.  Tony and a few other Solo members had already arrived and set up.  I met a man called Laurence, who told me that he’s on the road full time.

I decided to walk into town and explore a bit.  I found an IGA, so combined the exploration with grocery shopping.

  

There is a cache hidden here, but Patricia and I couldn't find it last time we visited
Coolah, and again I had problems finding it!

When back I joined Tony, Leonie, Glennys (from Perth) and another lady, whose name I have forgotten, who told me her dog was a Dutch Shepherd.

Someone had told us that the club provided real good Chinese food, so the lot of us went there for dinner and enjoyed a shared meal with good variety.

Wednesday 3 October 2018

The next morning I slept in and even had breakfast in bed!  I further updated my blog and then went to the coffee shop with Rosanna, Dianne and Yvonne (who’s originally Dutch, but doesn’t speak the language anymore).  We had a pleasant chat.  The men joined us later: Trevor, Max and Martin.  I know the three man basically from line dancing only.  

After a short while I had chatted enough and wanted to go for a walk.  What better to do then searching for a few geocaches....  I had a decent walk and found 5 caches.  Not a bad result for a small town.

I found:

# 1986 - Coolah Resting (cache)

# 1987 - Mary MacKillop – Coolah (cache)

# 1988 - Coolah on Tap (cache)

# 1989 - Who Let the Dogs Out (cache)

# 1990 - Coolah Golf (cache)

The rest of the day was spent doing some washing, updating my blog and cooking dinner, as I didn’t feel like two Chinese meals in a row.  I did therefore miss out on line dancing, because the whole group had gone in for dinner and danced the night away. ;-)

Thursday 4 October 2018

A Gunnedah was only a stone throw away I had already decided to spend another night at Coolah, but left Thursday morning at 7.30 am.   I was at Gunnedah by 8.30 am.  There were already scores of motorhomes parked as it was the staging area for the rally. (Meaning, that it was a temporary overnight parking lot until the showgrounds would open for the rally)  It rained!!!  I stayed indoors till after lunch when it cleared up a little.  I went for a walk, in search of some geocaches, when I met another Marion and had a brief chat.  On this walk I didn’t find many caches, but had a nice walk along the river and through town.  

Namoi River - Gunnedah

Artwork at the Visitors Information Centre

# 1991 - Yellow Belly (cache)

# 1992 - The Miners Memorial - Stay Down (cache)

I also shopped at Aldi, bought a bottle of wine at BSW, and visited the information centre.  I always make an effort to do so in towns that I visit, because they not only provide information, but generally have an art gallery attached and sometimes interesting displays about local activities.

Next I talked to Stephen on the phone as he returned a call that he had missed earlier.  Nice to catch up again with the home front.