N.S.W. | Central West & Orana Region

Coonabarabran & the Warrumbungles
Visit the Siding Spring Observatory complex set in the rugged Warrumbungle Mountains near Coonabarabran.
Australia
N.S.W. | Central West & Orana
YCBB Coonabarabran
Observatory
2023

Siding Spring Observatory
Visit the Siding Spring Observatory complex set in the rugged Warrumbungle Mountains near Coonabarabran.
Australia
N.S.W. | Central West & Orana
YCBB Coonabarabran
Observatory
2023

Bathurst Gladiators
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.
Australia
N.S.W. | Central West & Orana
YBTH Bathurst
Dam
2023

There's gold in them thar hills!'
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.
Australia
N.S.W. | Central West & Orana
YORG Orange
2023

Per Ardua ad Astra
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.
Australia
N.S.W. | Central West & Orana
YPKS Parkes
Observatory
2023

Carpe Cuprum
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.
Australia
N.S.W. | Central West & Orana
YNYN Nyngan
Open-Cut Mine
2023

Clancy of the Overflow
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.
Australia
N.S.W. | Central West & Orana
YFBS Forbes
I Follow Roads
2023

The Centre of NSW
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.
Australia
N.S.W. | Central West & Orana
YCDO Condobolin
Open-Cut Mine I Follow Roads
2023

Fly The Bogan Way
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.
Australia
N.S.W. | Central West & Orana
YTOT Tottenham
Open-Cut Mine Irrigation
2023

The Songs of Lake Cargelligo
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!
Australia
N.S.W. | Central West & Orana
YLCG Lake Cargelligo
Water
2023

Escape from Cowra
In 1944 more than 1,000 Japanese POWs broke out of Cowra Prisoner of War camp, the site of the largest POW breakout in Australian and British history.
Australia
N.S.W. | Central West & Orana
YCWR Cowra
Valley
2023

Lake Wyangala
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.
Australia
N.S.W. | Central West & Orana
YCWR Cowra
Dam Water I Follow Roads
2023

Warren's Wool
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.
Australia
N.S.W. | Central West & Orana
YWRN Warren
Irrigation
2023

Wellington and Lake Burrendong
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.
Australia
N.S.W. | Central West & Orana
YMDG Mudgee
Dam Water
2023