Day 116 Sunday 4/10/20 Grenfell to Ariah Park, hot dusty northerly 29

Wowsers, bowsers and peppercorn trees

We cruise down the road to Young (the cherry capital) through green wheat and golden yellow canola. Young sits atop numerous hills and is a large prosperous looking town. How do we know that? Because it has an Aldi! And we make good use of it.

We’re in the Riverina district now and it feels like Victoria. I always feel like someone got the border wrong and rather than using the Murray River as a delineation they should have used climate zones. Along the Milvale Road we’re in a sea of green and gold, not eucalyptus and acacia as our sporting emblem suggests but young wheat and canola.

At Temora we take a quick detour around the Temora Aviation Caravan Park to show the Prado’s this unusual housing estate beside the airport where every home has its own hangar. We stumbled across this a few years back when visiting the aircraft museum and staying in the adjacent caravan park.

Pulling in to the Ariah (pronounced ‘area’) Park Recreation Reserve we see that we must call in to the pub to pick up our power box key and pay for our stay. El Prado is a happy man he has been telling us that their menu is good.

With vans still hooked on we park out front of the pub, the Main Street isn’t that busy, she’s a quiet place. Before we know it we’re through the creaky flywire door and out the back in a charming old dining room with pressed metal ceilings and a ‘wobbly’ glass window that provides a view of wheat paddocks and gum trees. This is Australia. And we’re tucking into the $25 Sunday Roast and veges with sweets. Of course, El Prado opts for the parmi instead. Up to pussy’s bow, we ask for the sweets as take away.

The Rec Reserve costs us $15 for power and water and we can take our pick of sites. It’s neat and tidy with a recently modernized toilet block and the camp kitchen is well kitted out.

Accom: $15.00

Travelling Kms: 159kms

Note: Wowsers, Bowsers and Peppercorn Trees is the name of a book by Nigel Judd on the history of Ariah Park. The term has become synonymous with Ariah Park. Wowsers are prudes in the Australian vernacular, bowsers are petrol pumps and there are still a couple of old bowsers on Coolamon Street and of course Peppercorn Trees provide wonderful shade on a hot day. Which is apt as the name Ariah is an Anglicised version of the Wiradjuri word ‘Narriyar’ which means hot. (Source: Wikipedia)