This morning we first stopped at Peak Hill for the Open Cut Experience which is a self-guided walk of old gold workings and 5 open cut mines. The open cut pits were pretty big but we were impressed most by walking over the old mine shafts. It was eerie to hear the wind coming up through them. We stopped in the town of Peak Hill to post some postcards but Kent ended up talking to a local retired school teacher for ages and I had fun looking through the antique and craft shop. Kent also dribbled and ogled some 60 year old, still on the showroom floor, Holden cars. Although they were dusty and some covered with cardboard they were still "new"! There were lots more in another lot in town that were rusty. So Peak Hill was a fun and friendly little detour! Then it was onto "The Dish" - the radio telescope at Parkes. We enjoyed some lunch beside the dish, watched a 3D movie on space exploration, listened to some stars, looked at the displays and browsed in the gift shop...and Callen slept through it all!!! I had read somewhere that a great Australian road trip is not complete without a visit to The Dish, and we really enjoyed our time there. So that's one thing ticked off the Bucket List!
We continued onto the town of Parkes itself and did some shopping but gave the museums a miss - Elvis doesn't really excite me and although the Henry Parkes museum would have been interesting, it was getting late in the day and we needed to find somewhere to camp.
Our next goal is fossicking at Mt Hope, so we drove onto Condobolin and have camped at Gum Bend Lake for the night. This is a beautiful spot and we arrived just in time to see the sunset over the lake - it was spectacular! And of course Callen spotted the waterbirds on the lake so he was happy too!