Spring Roadtrip - Lions & Tigers & Bears, Oh My!

Our mission, on the final day of our roadie adventure, was to see as many baby animals as we could at the Western Plains Zoo. 

We were awake, dressed, packed up and checked out by 7am. There was an actual audible sigh of relief from all three of us as we drove out of the driveway of that miserable motel. It felt like a heavy weight had lifted and we were excited again for our last day of travel. We parked in the Main Street of Dubbo and had a lovely, leisurely breakfast at the Church Street Cafe & Bar. Me with my Country Style mag, marmalade toast and peppermint tea; Harry with his model train mag and corn fritters; Jackman with his sketch pad and juice. We sat at our table on the sidewalk watching the cbd slowly coming to life as people opened up stores or walked to their offices. How does that quote go from the Wind in the Willows? Ah yes...“After all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working.” When we’d had our fill of food and people watching we headed off to the zoo.

The last time I’d been to Western Plains Zoo was 30 years ago, when I was only a couple of years older than Harry. Bwaahaahaa...jokes, I’m not that old.......wait......I AM that old. Shite! How did that happen so quickly?!?

Our original plan had been to hire bikes and ride the 5+km circuit of the zoo but with the sky threatening more rain and only the morning to see everything, we decided to stick to our car with the promise of cycling the next time we visited. It was busy, but with the zoo spread out across such a vast area (over 700 acres) it didn’t feel crowded. We stopped every few hundred metres and hopped out to look at the animals. The enclosures are so large that sometimes the animals aren’t close enough to see well, but we were in luck with most of them coming up close to feed. Poor Jack was somewhat devastated when we got to the Lemurs only to find that none of them were feeling the least bit sociable and refused point blank to come out and play. His frustration and disappointment were fierce but we carried on and it eventually gave way to the joy of seeing baby hippos and elephants.

By lunch time we had seen all our favourite animals and we were ready to head home.

From Dubbo we headed along the quieter country roads that took us through the towns of Molong, Canowindra & Cowra. The vibrant yellow of canola was just too enticing not to stop and I got my happy snaps of those stunning fields of gold in the afternoon sun. 

We stopped at Pantry on Pudman in Boorowa again for our final coffee stop and then...home.

 



I think overall this roadtrip has been one of the best we’ve had. Aside from that one dodgy motel and wishing that the Husband had been able to take time off work to join us, everything panned out beautifully. There was barely another car in sight for most of the drive; we got to take in the gorgeous landscape; explore amazing country towns; spend time with beloved family; my wild and brave littles discovered a love of fishing and I found some new foodie and homewares favourites. 

Til the next new adventure...

xx Em