Author: Mr A
From: Cowra
To: Orange
Distance: 101km
We said goodbye to the lovely Keira and Glen, and hit the road. A very hot road….winding through this park-like countryside and coming to our first hills since Adelaide. We drive through the settlements of Milthorpe and Blayney, looking as fab as ever. Then we rolled into Orange and straight past our caravan park entrance. It looked like it had been abandoned, with a scruffy half derelict building lot out the front. 
Thankfully once you are in the Canobolas Caravan Park the aspect brightens up…a little. We decide to only pay for one night and see what we think.
We unhitch and leave Tas in air conditioned comfort as we swelter in the 32 plus degree heat of mid afternoon. We decide not to cycle and take the car as we need to grocery shop. It is a productive stop at Bunnings (what would a self respecting caravaner do with out the Big B?) and then into the town centre. Now we have this image in our minds of a very picturesque, tranquil Orange. Wow…it has changed. Catherine literally is millimetres from getting knocked over by a car that overtakes the one that has stopped to allow us to cross the road. I shout out and she just pauses as he whistles past in front of her and flies off. We are back in ‘civilisation’. The local Supa IGA is also a disappointment. For an area that’s known for its produce, the fruit and veg is really very ordinary.
We drive back to our park a little disappointed (and shaken), with our first impressions of the Orange we were so looking forward to revisiting. Tomorrow should be better – we’re not fasting – and it definitely wont be an AFD (alcohol free day) that we compell ourselves now to have two days a week…..and we are going wine tasting. Yippee..!
