The Big Trip

Our first big trip with our daughter was out to Dubbo starting from Newcastle. Now I know this doesn't seem like a big trip to many but for us this was the furthest we had gone before, we have annual trips about an hour north but apart from that our travel experience was limited, and with a 1yr old at the time it was quite an adventure. But an adventure that we fell in love with.  

With a new (to us) caravan, full car and full of excitement we hit the road.

Dubbo was a beautiful place to visit. The historical parts of Dubbo such as the gaol was incredible for my wife and I as we walked around and read about the 'interesting' characters that had been held in the gaol and the events that led to them being there. Our daughter absolutely looovvved the sights and sounds of the western plains zoo, though she now has an addiction with meerkats but hey, who can blame her for that. A side tip for anyone planning to do the zoo- driving a (car or buggie) means A LOT of double backing between carparks to see the attractions, if you're physically able, walking or preferably biking around I recommend to be a better option. 

A stay over in Wellington on the way back and a visit to the caves and the Japanese gardens (pictured) was the icing on the cake. Some of the caves are pretty physically demanding being very slippery and steep so check with staff what will be most appropriate for you. Each of the caves show a different flashback into the past with one of them even being used to hold church sermons with the book now encased in limestone!

Double check with the caves before you go to ensure they are open as they do sometime need to close due to temperature and flooding. Some parts of our caves were inaccessible due to flooding but luckily the caves were not completely closed.

Finally a stop in to Mudgee (which got extended as we realised we couldn't fit in all the vineyards) to visit some friends and stock up the cellar. 

Now, a year later and when are all booked to go to Lighting Ridge this time where Dubbo is merely a stop over. The return trip does of course include a stop in Mudgee to restock the bar 😉.

To think just 12 months ago we were nervous about going 'all the way' to Dubbo, now we are only limited to how far we can go within school holiday dates. This travel bug is addictive and I can not wait to see where our journeys take us next time (a Broken Hill trip is already on the drawing board).