Canowindra

Apparently it is pronounced "ca-noun-dra" not "can-o-win-dra" and woe betide anyone who does pronounce it the wrong way.  You will be hung, drawn, quartered and run out of town!!

It is a quaint little place and, unfortunately, with a lot of empty commercial buildings.  The lure of the big smoke - Cowra and Orange - would have been the downfall of these previous businesses.  But we were not here for the shops (well, one of us wasn't), but to enjoy what was on offer during their annual balloon festival!

First port of call on the touristy list was The Age of Fishes Museum.  Spent a couple of hours working our way around this very interesting place.  An outdoor area was a pathway, with signage, meandering through the different geological time periods, where our continent was and what the local area was like when the fossils were actually fish!  The indoor exhibits had the original blocks of rocks showing the fossils and other great stuff.

The Mosaic in the Museum's Foyer

Out the front of the Museum, they had some placed some intriguing sculptures to replicate some of the fossils that had been found in the area.  Quite sure that I would not have liked to have had to face them!

Now that is a decent fish

In the meantime, The Deckie's eldest daughter and family had also arrived in town and so we spent some enjoyable time with them during the weekend.

 

Saturday was the first day that the hot air balloons had their practice flights and being very dedicated tourists, we were up very bright and early - even before the sun - and off to the nearby oval where the balloons were leaving from.  Not ever been to an event like this before, we were not entirely sure of what to expect.  Lots of vehicles with all of the gear in their trailers pulled up, disgorged their loads and then the occupants started organising their balloons and hot air (lots of blokes around so that wasn't a problem) with the assistance of a group of volunteers.  Within a few moments, the balloons were inflated and they were off.  A wonderful sight so early in the morning!

Getting Organised

A Bit of a Rise

A Point of Interest for the Crowd

A Blast of Hot Air

All Ready for Lift Off

Up, Up and Away!

After all of the balloons had sailed away, The Captain and The Deckie returned to The Turtle for a warming beverage, breakfast and to try and have a bit more sleep.  The Deckie decided it was best to have the first two and then hit the shops and galleries.  Much better than sleeping!

Lots of nice paintings and things but the best part had to be the book shop.  This particular shop had lots of secondhand books as well as collectables and so some considerable time was spent perusing the shelves.  It was with considerable restraint that The Deckie only bought three books although if she was really strong, could have walked out without buying anything.  But then that wouldn't have helped the local economy at all.

Saturday evening and it was back to the oval where the Festival committee had organised Food and Wine Markets to coincide with the Balloon Glow.  Lots of different food and wine stalls to tempt the very large crowd and then the highlight of the evening when all of the hot air balloons were inflated and illuminated.  A great spectacle!!

Yep, it's a Kookaburra!

More of the Balloons

The local Garden Club had also organised the opening of six gardens on Sunday and for a small donation we received a map and headed off.  The first garden was the local Public School where they have transformed a very dry and dusty school yard into an oasis.  All of the gardens were different - from a very old one, very formal, fairly new, a combined vegie and flower garden and a 'work in progress'.

The Very Old Garden

The 'Work in Progress' Garden

"Twins" enjoying an Autumn Garden

As if we had not had enough of gardens, Monday morning saw both families heading into Cowra to visit the Japanese Gardens.  Totally different than the day before and yes, very tranquil indeed.  We hired a couple of Audio Tour Guides (which helped keep The Grandson amused), fed the fish and generally had a great time.

The Family Feeding the Fish

The View From the Top

Today, Tuesday, is a rest day.  It is also very windy so any touristy stuff would be a little bit uncomfortable.  Off to see another cousin of The Deckie tomorrow and then we are probably heading to points further north.  The only unfortunate thing was that we didn't to a hot air balloon ride. Not a big disappointment as there are many other places that we can do one!