On the road, Dalby and Parkes

Hi everyone, we are the road back to Victoria after 3 beautiful weeks in Hervey Bay QLD.  We spent the first 2 nights at Dalby, then on to Narrabri for a night, we are now in Parkes NSW.  We have covered about 450-500 kms per trip, very tiring!  Tonight is our second night in Parkes, off again tomorrow to Deniliquin.

Part of Jimbour Station near Dalby.

The Dingo fence trail at Jandowae- the fence is the longest man made structure in the world, approx 5000 kms.

This area is the cotton growing heart of Australia.  As we drove along there was stacks of white fluffy balls at the edge of the road. Very soft.

The first pub we have encountered that is painted pink, at Jandowae. We decided to have lunch there, big mistake! When we asked what the soup of the day was-"Dunno" Quiche of the day? Ditto answer. I finally ordered lasagne, after waiting 20 mins for it to arrive, was then told  "You're gonna kill me-it not available" It was then I asked for my money back! Warning to fellow travellers- never ever order a meal at a pink pub. 

Dingo sculpture

Dingo fence, above & below about 5.5 feet high.

Cattle being driven ( droved?) from Qld, spread across the highway for approx 5 kms. We loved seeing the Jackaroos & one Jillaroo on their beautiful horses herding them along.

NSW- "Big Sky" territory.  A model of Saturn by the roadside.  There were other planets at various locations, but not very well signposted, so we missed the others. Hard to do a U turn with a big caravan behind us.

We were held up on the way to Parkes by a CFA roadside burn off, there was very thick smoke across the road. We had the UHF radio on, & listened with amusement to 2 truckies having a ding dong fight regarding the hold up.

Views of Parkes from Memorial Hill lookout. The yellow fields in the background are canola crops.

Today we visit Parkes Radio Telescope- really interesting. The distance from the ground to the top is equivalent to a 5 storey building. 

Sculpture of the first radio telescope ever built, sometime in the 1930"s 

The Whispering Dish- Grae might look like he is taking a leak, but in fact he is talking to me- I am at another dish approx 100 metres away and can hear him as if he is right beside me

Left of flag, the 2nd whispering dish.

Inside the visitor area at the Dish.

This was a fascinating display, a working model that let you hear sounds from different pulsars.

Mock up of console circa 1969 ( Moon landing) Made for the movie "The Dish", then donated to the centre.

This structure in the foreground is an older version of the white structure above the dish & housed radio equipment. The telescope is now digitally run.

Loved this, my weight on Earth, Moon & Mars!  Unfortunately my earth weight has increased a bit.

Some more exhibits

The dish from about 5 kms distance

I also visited the Parkes Museums today, first off was the Elvis Presley Museum. It has the biggest collection of Elvis memorabilia in the Southern Hemisphere, privately owned by one of the "Wiggles" & on permanent loan. Above, a pair of his bathers & a handwrittn note to the then president Nixon.

His desk, chair, & the weird looking contraption is a telephone ( very 70's)

Some of his furniture- if you look at the photo above the couch he is lying with his daughter on this very bed. Although I am not an Elvis fan I still found this exhibition fascinating.

Certified copy of his death certificate, also a rose from his coffin, which was then preserved in resin.

His notes on Numerology- he was very into spiritual stuff & astrology. 

His car, which he drove the day before he died. Below, some of the Motor museum.

Fiat Bambino- I once owned one of these, but it was red.

Local history museum

Elvis's TV- state of the art in 1970. One day when he couldn't get reception he shot it! Each year here in Parkes they have a huge Elvis festival, with impersonators all descending on the town.