Dubbo

For a number of years I had passed through Dubbo, either going to or returning from somewhere. It had been literally of passing interest, but had gained more after the establishment of its open plains zoo. It had been of more interest since Werribee (my home of twenty-five years) gained its open range zoo. The final reason which made me decide to visit was an incident in New York last year. I had just got off the train form Washington and had to find which train to take to get to the hotel I had booked into. While enquiring, I heard another Australian accent – and the owner heard mine. Miki, who was going to a hotel near mine, was from dub and it pained me to admit that I had only passed through.
Now, well over a year later, I had a few days and made the decision to visit. It was confirmed when an ex-student who I had got back in touch with emailed me that she and her husband had returned from overseas with their newly-adopted son.
I left home on Sunday afternoon, having repacked DOUG for the trip. I took the opportunity to call into a friend’s place in Shepparton to drop off a bib – to see if it would do the job required of it. As it turned out, Cyril was awake and recognised me, Fizzy put the bib on and was delighted, and I had a good discussion with her son, who was visiting. As I intended to be in the Blue Mountains in the morning, I departed in the early evening.
I let the TomTom SatNav do the planning for me, so headed over to the Hume Freeway and was vert soon through Albury. Night had come and then I entered into the nearly 125 kilometres of roadworks along the Hume. Changing speed limits, altering lanes and poor markings were topped off by semi-trailers and B-doubles well and truly exceeding the speed limits and tailgating me. After a few stops along the way, I pulled off at a stop not far south of Goulburn. I put the radio on, wrapped up in a blanket and leaned back on a pillow, then dropped off to sleep.
Memo to self – check the forecast and when the temperature is to be below zero, use a track suit and sleeping bag, if sleeping in the car.
After waking a few times, wondering why my feet had no feeling, I set off again at just before 0700. I arrived in the suburbs of Sydney and found somewhere to have breakfast, then to refuel. It was a good run to the Blue Mountains then, as I was going against the traffic (up until then I was going with the traffic and it was fairly heavy). Within ten minutes or so of arrival at my ex-student’s place, I called to warn/prepare them.
I arrived around 0930. Fortunately they were up. I got to meet hubby (Simon) and new son. After a quick admiration of Morris Minors, it was into the house and chatting with Donna. Time went very quickly, as like with other ex-students from my early years, we are of the same generation now. It is amazing how similar stories of the previous generations become.
Nearly two hours passed in what seemed like a few minutes. After immortalising a memory (taking a photo doesn’t quite have the same ring to it) I was on my way. The route TomTom chose for me (the same as Simon and Donna suggested) was very scenic and, despite wanting not to spend time sightseeing along the way, I did stop to admire the scenery a few times.
I arrived in Dubbo just before 1700. I had already selected a motel to stay in, and was able to book in and soon settled in. As Australian motels have toasters, I was able to arrange to have my tea and toast with Vegemite for breakfasts (why aren’t toasters an option in cars?), and then drove to the Information Centre to plan my next day in Dubbo. That would be the Zoo, and it opened at 0900, so the rest of the day would depend on how I went then. On the way back to the motel I got some tea and had that while watching TV and reading up on Dubbo. I did notice that the motel was full (and remained so the next night too).
I woke at 0600 and promptly went back to sleep. I finally rose at 0700 and had my breakfast and then, after showering and dressing, I headed out to the Zoo.
At the Zoo, with an imposing entrance, I was the second in line. Expecting a long wait, I was very surprised to enter at 0830. My YHA card gave me a good discount (I must remember to check what discounts I can get in the future) and within a few minutes I was on the circuit.
There was a large area for each animal group, certainly far better than traditional zoos (including San Diego), but not as large as the open range zoo at home. There were a wide range of animals and they certainly looked to be enjoying their lot well. Resting, grazing and wandering are not like the pacing and irrational behaviour seen in many places. The construction, with moats and fences, combined with small car parks made access easy and photographs devoid of fences in most cases. In common with long-distance travel, we visitors moved in packs and so it was common to meet the same groups in most areas. One, a father and three children from Brisbane, were a frequent co-visitor – and the children got an unexpected lesson when complaining of the cold and I emphasised the importance of layering (and how it had worked for me), and had the father mention that he had said it already but got disdainful replies. I should add that it was quite cool, most likely just above zero at first. One elderly couple had a more adventurous wife, while the more active husband was reluctant to explore around to get the best view of animals.
I spent nearly three hours going around, which for me was a long time. I went to get an ice cream for a late morning tea, saw a peacock strutting in the outdoor café area and encountered monkeys near the al fresco area. Memo to self – don’t frame photos on the move when the path is next to a lake!
I left the zoo and had some lunch on the way back to the motel. I parked and then went for a photographic walk around the town. There weren’t many empty shops, there was a wide variety of items available and most people appeared to be friendly. I did notice a beautiful pink building, beloved by my sister. Towards the end of my walk and entering the sports ground, I did notice that someone had removed the point posts and, for some reason, nailed one each across the goal posts.
A pipe band hall grabbed my attention – and reminded me of the remark about Scots gentlemen; those who can play the bagpipes but don’t. It also had a playground, which made me wonder how young the players were.
After a 2·7 kilometre walk (as I was using a GPS to stop me getting lost) I was back at the motel. I read a little, then watched some television. A news item which grabbed my attention was that the population of Dubbo at the time was 40 306 – growing and quite large, surprisingly so for me as a visitor.
After a good night’s sleep I rose earlier and packed, left by 0700 and was out of Dubbo on the Newell Highway. I had assumed that I would continue on route 39 as the quickest way home, but was directed along the Goldfields Way from West Wyalong to then travel on the Hume Freeway. On reflection it most likely was the quickest way, as from just north of Albury to only a few kilometres from home I would travel on freeway conditions all the time. On route 39 I would encounter many towns, corners and lower-standard roads.
I stopped in Albury for lunch and was home about 1700, in plenty of time for my meeting in the evening.
I had managed to catch up with two friends, see different scenery and find that Dubbo was large country town with many attractions including a world-class open zoo. Very enjoyable and I hope to be back on my slower, meandering touring in the future.