Before you (a) get out the violins, or (b) laugh derisively – oh, forget it... Chortle away if you must – but check out these pics:
These were all taken from the same place, believe it or not. Now, as soon as I can figure out how to retrieve/copy MY photos that I uploaded to Facebook (yeah, good luck with that) I should have a few more to show you!
After 2 failed attempts in the last couple of weeks, I almost despaired of seeing the dam so full – I rode to Boorowa last week and found a sign on the way to Wyangala that said the road was closed somewhere or other, so I rode home. I googled. I rang the local copper.
“I'd like to ride to Wyangala Dam. Is the Frogmore Rd open?”
“God no! After the recent floods, there's a dirty big hole in the road. You need to go via Cowra. It's only about an extra 45 minutes.”
After the disgustingly hot and humid weather of the last few days, this morning dawned cool – chilly, even – and with some fairly threatening cloud cover. I thought I'd make a third attempt. I texted my mate Deb. Coincidentally, she was engaged in the completion of a jigsaw puzzle (a 1000-piece beach scene that sounds far harder than the 1000-piece Top Gear Vietnam puzzle that has been on MY kitchen table since New Years Eve) and reluctantly dragged herself away from it to come to see the dam with me. Heh heh, does this mean you're a nerd too, Deb?
Deb & I have Wyangala History – but haven't ridden together for ages now. We were part of the “Mud-Wrestling Biker Chicks” tour (an 'in-joke' – there was no mud-wrestling, honest!) that braved 42C heat to go to the dam – twice – and therefore have a personal interest in the place.
The comparative pics of the dam speak for themselves – here's what you don't get from the pics, though...
The Superb Bakery at Boorowa is just that.
Roadkill smells horrible.
There's a divine scent reminiscent of orange blossom hanging over the road in various spots where the roadkill isn't – I'm such a horticultural numpty that I have no idea where it came from, but it was beautiful.
Clouds of white butterflies rose from mauve roadside flowers in a bizarre sort of Mexican Wave as we rode past them. Some of the silly little buggers splattered themselves on my helmet. One even managed to get inside my visor – how the heck did that happen?
Just as we got to the dam, thunder rumbled, and we spied forked lightning as well. We spent enough time at the dam to take a couple of pics (thanks, by the way, to the elderly gent who took pics of us in the rain) and then, mission accomplished, we headed for home via a huge goss session at a lovely cafe in Boorowa (a cafe that makes potato scallops from REAL potato!)
Water water all around.... including coming from above!
It was almost 7.30pm when I got home. What a splendid, splendid day!
1 comment:
The ride up to Wyangla Dam is a favourite of mine. Make sure that rather than just riding back to Cowra that you continue on up to Woodstock and the main Hwy again. Its a fantastic ride up through the hills and up over Mt Mcdonald.
Have riden this many times as i used to live out at Forbes.
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