Bill and Shirley's Excellent Adventures: Ground Control to Major Tom

Australia's largest optical telescope

Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
Ground Control to Major Tom (Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six)
Commencing countdown, engines on (Five, Four, Three)
Check ignition and may God's love be with you (Two, One, Liftoff)
David Bowie
West of the coast, where hearts are free
West of the coast, your heart can come to me.... (with apologies to Toni Fisher and Wayne Shanklin)
A fleeting sojourn gave lasting memories of treasures found away from the popular coast. Taking a road less travelled, guided purely by instinct, revealed secrets that have remained hidden from us for years. The usual mad dash for Queensland sunshine gave way to a more relaxed pace as we decided that those little towns, west of the coast and so often ignored, deserved consideration. And so we stopped.....

Warrumbungle National Park

Up the Newell Hwy to Coonabarabran, approximately 550km north west of Sydney and 990km north of Melbourne, is where you turn off for that scraggy looking mountain range. But don't be fooled. These ranges contain everything from bushwalking to star gazing. The National Park was still recovering from wild fires in 2013 when we arrived a year later. A year further on and I'm wanting to go back. And why would anyone not want to return to hot showers (yes, I did say hot showers), fabulous kitchen facilities, great walking tracks and loads of furry and feathered friends. And did I mention no steep roads? Shh, keep it our little secret. The above photo was our camp spot.

Coona-bara-bran
Is where our jaunt began.
In previous trips it was just a place
To fill up the watering can.

Coona-bara-bran
Is where we stopped the van.
In previous trips it was always the place
For a warming Black and Tan.

Coona-bara-bran
Is where we found the plan.
In previous trips it was never a place
To become a Renaissance Man.

Coona-bara-bran
Come quickly if you can.
In previous trips it was just the sticks
But treasures are close at hand.

Shirley.

Aah yes. Renewed, reinvigorated, revived, rejuvenated, revitalised.

For a change of pace, take the car to a coffee shop with a difference. Leave your car in the carpark of the Siding Spring Observatory and head inside to explore Australia's leading astronomical research facility. It's hands-on so kids, big and small, love it. Wander up the path and enter the telescope. It's bound to get you wondering, "What's out there?"