Roadtrip to Cobar

Cobar, NSW

685km from Sydney

This town had been on my radar for a while. It popped onto my 'visit-someday' list many many years ago when a blogger friend wrote about her trip to Cobar to see her partner's family. Many years later, I discovered that I had actually visited Cobar on the trip to Uluru. However, I have zero recollections and suspect it was simply a toilet break.

 
There was a lull in COVID cases during the October period which meant that intrastate travel was possible.

First stop, Bathurst. A loop aroud the Bathurst 1000 course, cruising at <60kmph as it was bucketing.

Second attraction of the day was the Animals on Bikes art sculpture trail. It was a novelty at first, but the sculptures were too far apart to enjoy properly.

Third stop (although technically it was the second stop) was at Yeoval. Yeoval is a small village and is close to where Banjo Patterson (poet) grew up. We had every intention of spending time at the Banjo Patterson Museum, but once we stepped in it was just so eerie. Instead, we went across the road to The Big Hat before jumping back into the car.

Next pit stop was at Nyngan! Another chance to stretch the legs and take a look at The Big Bogan. Soon it was back into the car for the final 130KM to Cobar.

The landscape changed quite significantly between Nyngan and Cobar. The quintessential red dirt, synonymous with the Australian outback. The fields were also covered in stunning purple flowers. However, I discovered after the trip that they are in fact a noxious weed, Paterson's curse.

 

Cobar at last!

We had our sunset dinner in the Newey Reserve by the water. I had forgotten how peaceful it can get, without the distant thrums of cars. Just birdsong instead; the warbling of the magpies. 

I can't visit regional NSW without taking photos of the stars. So here are those photos: