Not all who wander are lost

Not all who wander are lost.

Saturday, 14 March 2015

Back to Boorowa

Boorowa is a small town in central NSW, just south of Cowra, and like so many others, is largely unknown but slowly coming in favour for those, like ourselves, who simply want to escape the hum drum of every day life. This is our second overnight visit and the roads that lead to the town are simply a pleasure to ride, even better if you're lucky enough to have good friends join you.

Day 1: Map

This morning we met Jalal, Derek and Ed at Maccas Eastern Creek for a coffee before heading off down the M4 over the mountains then to the hamlet of Hampton and its hotel/cafe. The Hotel is undergoing extensive renovations, by its new owner, at the moment and promises to be an excellent lunch or morning venue as it always has been.

My habibi, Jalal and I, outside the Hotel.

A short break before we cross the Abercrombie River.


Im sure Cathy was taller when I married her.

Here we risk our lives in the heavy traffic for a pic.

Leaving the Abercrombie. The Beemah sporting her new LED lights.

Next was habibi.

Finally Derek.

We eventually arrive in the pleasant town of Taralga for lunch at the Taralga Hotel.

We seem to spend a lot of time eating on our trips away.

Would you like some sausages with your veges Ed?

Habibi settles for the diet burger and fries.

From Taralga we make our way to Boorowa, via Crookwell. Nearing Boorowa, we spy this old church and we stop to take a couple of pics. Ed was kind enough to take several shots of us with the bike so that we can have one printed, in black and white on canvas , to hang at home.


We arrive in Boorowa in the late afternoon. This is the Boorowa Hotel in all her glory.

This is the room we had for the night. Very oldy worldy but clean and comfortable.

This hotel has a cafe on the ground floor.

The hustle and bustle of down town Boorowa.

After unpacking and changing into some comfortable clothes, Cathy and I like to go for a walk about town to keep up our exercise regime. As usual, Cathy charges ahead while I take pics, then I have to break in to an "athletic" jog to catch up to her.

Oh look, a bridge !

Here, one of the locals comes over to comfort me when she sees me doubled over trying to catch my breath, chasing Cathy down the path.

She even posed for me. This is obviously her better side.

Just when you think you've seen it all.

So if you ever visit Boorowa and your teddy bear or soft toy goes missing, start by looking for your loved one here.

Oh guess what? Time for food........again.

This pic was taken at the risk of being clobbered by Cath. I explained I was saving her calories but she didn't buy it.

Mmmm, worth the risk.

The mandatory group shot behind the bar. Mike is the publican at far right and is one of the most friendly and sincere men I've ever met.

The hotel by night.

Day 2: Map

This morning we woke to a beautiful crisp but sunny day. Jalal was up early and had already rolled his Trumpy out front for packing.

Sunrise over the town.

As I've mentioned before, all good pubs provide a complimentary breakfast. This is the kitchenette at the hotel and habibi helping himself to some milk. (not really, the lid was still on)

Peanut butter or jam anyone?

Man cannot live on bread alone.

This bakery across the road produces some great pastries.

Our bikes lined up ready for the trip back home.

Today we tried a new road less travelled, from Boorowa to the little town of Woodstock. Over 100kms of great road and beautiful countryside. This pic, captured by Ed, says it all.

We stop at this intersection for a pic, after 100 kms of great road, passing just 3 cars and 1 kangaroo along the way.

The Woodstock rail station doesn't get used much by the look of it.

Down town Woodstock.

All country towns have there own pub and Woodstock is no exception.

This sign inside the pub describes some people I know.

As we were enjoying a cool drink, a group of old cars came putting in to town.

There are so many ways differant people enjoy their weekends.


Leaving Woodstock, we enjoy more great roads on the way to Neville.
Along the way, Ed loses his sack as it was hanging a little loose. Luckily Derek saw Ed's sack fall off and grabbed it for him. Here, we all get to handle it a little while we hang it back in it's rightful place. Notice how attentive Cathy is while all this is going on.

Meanwhile I capture this photo that shows how perfect the countryside was this morning. Check out how straight the road was. It may have been where I may have stretched the Beemah's legs a little.

Arriving in Neville. we stop for a quick pic.

And increase the population by a whopping 5%.

Yet another stop at yet another pub. Anyone would think we're big drinkers.

Yet another bloody pub! This was our final stop for lunch in the town of O'Connell.

Final group shot.

As always, we really enjoyed our weekend away with our mates. We probably eat and drink a little too much but what the heck, we really love it.
The pic below was taken by our friend Jalal, really capturing the whole peaceful mood of the ride through the NSW countryside.
Thanks to Ed and Jalal for the use of a few of their pics in the blog.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Excellent write-up Charlie. It was an awesome trip indeed and it wouldn't have taken place without you organizing it. Thanks a lot for encouraging us to explore this great country of ours. Jalal (aka Habibi Rasputin)