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Next stop Parkes via Bathurst to see the famous 'Dish' as featured in the movie (The Dish) following it's involvement in the Apollo 11 moon walk. But before the dish we visited Bathurst, the home of Australian motor sport.

The famous Mount Panorama race circuit at Bathurst. 2nd picture is the view from the highest point of the track.

The most amazing thing about the Mount Panorama track is that you can drive the whole track for free anytime as it's a designated public road. We don't understand it and were certainly not complaining. OK a 40 year old VW camper doesn't quite have a racing pedigree but nontheless two laps we did!

On the grid and preparing for ;Gambons'.

Bathurst is also home to the National Motor Racing Museum which houses a collection of cars and motorbikes from both Australia and beyond.

 

Mini Cooper S, need we say more?

Jack Brabhams Lotus 7, a Ford Cortina 1500 GT and Mike Hailwoods racif leathers are but a few of the overseas contingent.

We wish.....and with the famous Peter Brock.

Free Camping in between Bathurst and Parkes

It's not all beer and skittles on this trip. Andrew's homemade rod holder gets burnt from the exhaust.

Quick visit to the DIY shop, 400mm lobbed of the end, make good and job done..

Karen refuged to use the drop toilets at the free camp and we erected the toilet tent for the 1st time on the trip. The idea is that a bag goes underneath but were not roughing it...a plastic bucket is much more refined.

Everyone in Qatar know's Thursday night is Shisha night so we took our portable hookey on the trip. We picked up some 'tobacco' in Melbourne but were dismayed to find that it contained no nicotine or tobacco and was just molasses with fruit!!!!.

10 puffs and in the bin. Hopefully pick some of the real stuff up at Nimbin.

So off to Parkes to the Dish which is actually not secured to that round base that looks like the bottom half of a windmill? When the wind getd over 35kph they point it straight to the sky and cannot use it. You will remenber in the film the day of the landing the wind was 110 kph true and it still gave produced the two hours of footage.

The dish is a radio telescope and is gainfully employed 300 days of the year looking for stars and black holes and things.

They also use it to look for ET's . It's a weird vibe being near it.........

Why is my coffee suddenly bigger than the dish?

Strange cloud formations? and voices?

We didn't leave empty handed.........a fridge magnet and we should be able to pick up Home and Away with the new roof dish.

Karen and Jack topping off the visit at the RSL.

More famous than the dish....Parkes is host to Australias largest ELVIS convention each year.

Andrew having a stroke or the worst Elvis impression to date, you decide?

All good things come to an end.....Andrew packs away the tent / awning in the rain before leaving.

Wer'e off to Newcastle next 1.5 hours North of Sydney. Hopefully it won't be as grim as the UK one!!

See you there.

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