Doin it in Dubbo

We have been looking forward to Dubbo.  The Taronga Western Plains Zoo has been on my bucket list for quite some time. When I started researching things to do in and around Dubbo I found the list to be quite extensive.  Unfortunately though, we had only booked into the Discovery Park for two nights so we were somewhat limited as to what we could fit into this short period of time.  I did try to book an extra night but as it is still NSW school holidays it was never going to be on the cards.  

So, what did we decide.  The zoo was top priority so I purchased tickets online for our first day.  We knew that the 5km circuit that I decided to walk and Philip decided to cycle would take us the best part of the day and we weren't wrong.  The 5km turned into almost a 10km walk for me as I wandered in and out of the many animal enclosures.  It was fantastic.  Philip chose to hire a bike and he loved being back on the saddle! My favourites were the Meerkats, the baby Asian Elephant that kept me smiling as he played with a giant ball, and the Galapagos Tortoise.  My goodness they are HUGE!  We smiled at the little boy standing beside us who asked his parents why the big Tortoise was on top of the small Tortoise.  Randy old bugger.....  

Our intention was to have lunch at the halfway mark on the circuit but the line-up was out the door and around the corner.  We simply purchased a bottle of water and continued on the circuit, deciding to wait until we got home to have a late lunch.  The things that we were disappointed in were simply luck of the draw things. We didn't get to see the Lions as they were some distance away and all asleep and I only spotted one Cheetah and he was also a very long way away. But, it is definitely worth the visit.  The animals are as close to being in the wild as you can get and all extremely healthy. 

Philip taking a small rest in the Safari area.

 The next thing on our list was the Old Dubbo Goal.  Dubbo Goal dates from 1847 as a courthouse lock-up. The West Main Gates and brick walls were complete in 1887 when upgraded from a Police Gaol to a Minor Gaol. The Goal was closed in 1966. As we wandered around the quite small complex that could house more than 100 inmates and reading about their various stories we shuddered at the cruelty that was handed out to prisoners in that era.  I was also left wondering why murder and rape in that period of time were accorded the same punishment -"death by hanging" but these days rape is considered almost a minor offence. The completely "blacked out" cells that were used for solitary confinement gave me heart palpitations and just thinking about the 21 days that prisoners were kept in these rooms for punishment with only their thoughts as company would be enough for them to lose their mind.

We thoroughly enjoyed Dubbo.  It is a much larger city than we envisaged and there is a lot of roadworks happening in the town.  Like a lot of towns in Australia the town outgrows the infrastructure.  The Discovery Park that we stayed at was very clean and tidy with a huge play area for the kids.  We were allocated a pull through site but sadly there was barely enough room for our slide and awning. I guess it is all to do with dollars and trying to fit in as many vans as possible.

We  have now travelled the short distance to Coonabarabran where we are staying for three nights. This is in the Warrumbungle Region that we can't wait to explore.