Day Four - Warrumbungles to Dubbo

We started the morning with a visit to Siding Spring Observatory where we wandered through the exploratory before making our way up the hill to the telescope. The exploratory held some interesting displays including a model of the Anglo-Australia Telescope and Voyager and some hands on exhibits demonstrating comparative planet speed and weight comparisons. 

As we reached the telescope we were assaulted by a fiercely cold wind so we didn't stop to admire the view but dashed straight inside the gallery. The telescope seemed to be undergoing some sensor maintenance and was tilted quite a long way down to make it accessible to the technician. It was difficult to for the kids to get a real appreciation of the size but it was still impressive.
It was a little disturbing to see how close the bushfires had come to the buildings. They must have worked ferociously to save the infrastructure here.

Our next stop was Dubbo where we planned to stay the night in order to spend the day at the zoo tomorrow. We arrived at lunchtime and enjoyed lunch in the park at the visitor information centre before walking up to the Old Dubbo Gaol. 

 We wandered through the gaol, reading all the interpretive signs and listening to stories of prison days. We were impressed with how dark the solitary confinement rooms really were. Even after standing in there for a while to give our eyes a chance to adjust, we couldn't see a thing! We were lucky to be there at the right time for the guided tour which told us of some of the attempted escapes from the gaol. 

The guide involved the kids in acting out some of the stories. Let's just say, my children are not the shy and retiring type! 

We ended up spending a couple of hours there and the kids enjoyed seeing something a little different than they've seen before.

We decided to find a caravan park for the night as we had accumulated a load of dirty washing to do. The one we picked was very busy and made us appreciate our free camps all the more. The kids, however, were excited to see a jumping pillow, playground and swimming pool. It was too late and cold to swim but the jumping pillow got a good workout while the laundry was on.

From the jumping pillow, we could see across the road to a variety of takeaway shops so we decided to treat ourselves for dinner. Not having to cook or wash up was much appreciated by all. 

An early night tonight in preparation for our big day at the zoo tomorrow.