The Bathurst races have been a fixture of Australian culture for as long as I can remember. They fuelled the aspirations of many an Aussie teenager as they saved their pennies to get 'into the race' with their own version of an Aussie Supercar.
At Orange you'll find not just gold, but also molybdenum and copper being extracted at the Cadia Hill facility, which is a far cry from the hand-panning methods used in the first gold rush of 1851.
Parkes Radio Telescope has been operating continuously for more than 50 years and represents a 20th century confluence of mathematics, engineering and astronomy. It is part of the CSIRO Parkes Observatory and in 2016 found the only discovered binary system of two pulsars.
Latin: Sieze the copper! This region of NSW has enormous reserves of copper.
Copper has been serving mankind for about 11,000 years in weaponry and cookware. Since the work of Franklin and Faraday in the 19c it has been the circulatory system of the modern world, conducting electricity across continents into our homes, and around our electronic devices.
The Lachlan River runs east to west through Forbes. It is named after Governor Lachlan Macquarie, the fifth governor of NSW from 1810 to 1821. It also features in the iconic Aussie poem "Clancy of the Overflow" by Banjo Paterson. NOTAM: The plains around the Lachlan River are so flat that hills of 500 feet stand out starkly and are useful aids to navigation. Where there is no terrain relief at all, look for junctions of straight lines such as road and rail intersections.
Condobolin is 4 miles south of Mount Tilga (329 feet), which is regarded as the geographical centre of New South Wales. Visit Lake Cowal Gold Mine which presents a stunning warm palette next to the cool waters of Lake Cowal.
Bogan' is Australian patois for 'a very simple person', Forrest Gump springs to mind. Bogan also refers to a very large moth which descends randomly upon Sydney in plague proportions and is regarded as a delicacy by connoiseurs of Bush Tucker.
Lake Cargelligo was first surveyed in 1817 by John Oxley, but didn't attract an appreciable population until gold was discovered by a cook in 1873. The combination of wheat and fruit growing in the aread attracts a variety of birds which congregate around the lake. If you sit quietly by the lake you can hear them sing!
Visit Lake Wyangala Dam (built in 1935) and return via Charcoar Dam and the Mid Western Highway. Or, if you prefer, follow the rail line. Note: We also visit Carcoar Dam in the flight out of Orange.
Enjoy the colours of the lush irrigated farms along the Macquarie River north of Warren. The main products of the region are cotton and fine Merino wool.
Discovered by John Oxley’s Lachlan River expedition in 1817 at the junction of the Bell and Macquarie Rivers, Wellington is the second oldest New South Wales settlement west of the Blue Mountains.