Bathurst - Race on!

If you ask someone in Melbourne about Bathurst they will most likely tell you about the V8 supercars, the race that stops the nation (Bathurst ) but there is a lot more to know about Bathurst, did you know that it was the terminal point of the only inland journey in Australia made by Charles Darwin in 1836?

Although it has been the town where we have stayed the longest so far, I feel its the town I got to know less, I tell you why. We arrived on a Sunday and from Monday till the following week Wednesday I worked as a locum at a Osteo Clinic. Initially I was not really sure about this, we had only been on the road for about a week and half and I was already working? I went in a little nervous not knowing what to expect however as soon as my hands started working, I was home, I was excited and I had missed it. Country people are very special, there weren’t many complaints about poor desk ergonomics at an office but instead getting knocked over by a sheep was a common one, also horses, feeding cattle and my favourite one treating a wood chopper that measured no less than 2 metres in height. The humbleness and gratitude, their ambitions, their needs are so different; I asked someone what is the number one in their bucket list and he said going to the MCG to see the swans play…I did not mention mine was to travel to Machu Pichu in Peru! Working in Bathurst was a great experience one that I will never forget, the super sister team of Amy and Amanda are doing an amazing job in Bathurst.

I managed to do some voluntary work, treating a Rugby university team, tall, solid young man yet so shy to come to the table for treatment, as soon as one got the courage, the rest came in, did my best to do my magic in only one visit!

In the meantime, kids and Carlos did more touristy things, you may need to link up to their blogs but evenings was all about the pool. We stayed at NRMA resort that had just taken over a Big 4, we thought since we were going to be there for a while and I was working, we could afford a little more, however, there were renovations, so shower block closed and portables instead, I’m not complaining though, having come from Carcoar dam previously, these were luxury! The park also had a resident “ghost” as the kids name her. She was a very fit early 70’s lady, white hair and fair skin, always wore thick black sunglasses. She lived at the park and walked around all the time and no matter how much we smiled and try to be friendly she never looked up and always mumbled something about the dogs, the dogs would go crazy everytime she walked past and she would, really appear out of no where (sorry no supernatural photos in this blog!). My time working was great bonding time for Carlos and the boys, another great benefit from this amazing trip.

Wednesday night we took Noah to scouts, we found out that where they meet and they were most excited to have us. Although kids were a little hesitant we believe that it is very important for them to learn how to make friends, instigate conversations with strangers, in life, this will be a great skill to have plus we are hopping to put the kids in other schools and if possible even with rural schools, aboriginal communities. Etc.

Another positive we managed to sneak out for a quick drink without the kids.

Friday I finished early and had the opportunity to visit Abercrombie house, built by the Scots, 52 bedroom house, beautiful. Usually old houses are cluttered and smelly, this one wasn’t and we even had a change to speak to the actually family that had inherited it from previous generations and are currently living there.

The weekend came quickly and it was an opportunity to do as much as possible as a family. First stop town centre, we volunteered to help the scouts bbq at a motorbike show. Bikes from all over NSW came over and so did bikies, I knew then than probably wearing white was a mistake, black and leather was the way to go. Great atmosphere and country rock and roll. As a coincidence a man call Johan, was also staying at the same caravan park. He is on a wheelchair and designs and builds trikes (3 wheeler motorbikes), pretty cool if you ask me, apparently he is the bee's knees in Australia.

Sunday, we visited Sofala, a town that stopped in time, lots of people recommended we go there, unfortunately, very disappointing. Yes, a very old town, old buildings but no guidance for tourist, nothing really to do but to walk up and down the main street. The information centre/general store/take away place/elderly woman’s house was very dark and cluttered and she was cooking some patties on the grill so no help. Unfortunately, another dying town.

Next stop the so called, one of the best in the world, mount panorama race track…yes, I can see that, tight corners, up and down the hill, kids wanted to keep going around it. It is said that the population of Bathurst (approx 40,000) triples during this race, lots of parties great for tourism.

I finished work on Wednesday and on that same day I managed to organise an observation with Gary Christou, who is this guy? Well I heard a lot about him from patients that used to see him in Orange (pronounced O range) but has since retired, last year actually. But it was when someone told me he is also the guru Osteo for horses and dogs I was intrigued. Following my research I realised that he is well known not only around Australia but also overseas, he is featured in a book called Takeover Target - The fine tuning of a champion where together with a trainer and owner he managed to convert an everyday horse into a champion, its name was Target. I have even watched a video of him treating a snake! I was so excited to meet him, I could not wait! Thursday came and we started packing, we left at 10 to meet up with Gary at the show grounds, over there, 3 horses waiting for him. I introduced myself, like a school girl, very excited. With a personality bigger than life I felt like I had known him for years, such a nice man. First horse, he explained to me the anatomy and as he is examining it he asks: “ do you see yourself working with horses Wendy? I love horses …I replied, that is not what I asked, he said.

He went behind the horse, grabbed its back leg, pulled it up and outwards and just like that did a thrust and adjusted its back (lumbo-sacral tilt) ….WHAAAT!! In the meantime I am miles away concerned that the horse will kick me! By the third horse, I stood a little closer, stared at their eyes and fell in love, Gary relieves their pain first and by doing that automatically earns their trust.

Gary is not fancy but he is definitely the best. This here is the highlight from Bathurst, I truly hope to come across Gary again.

We left Bathurst happy, it was good to us, on the way out we were told we had to stop at Millthorpe at a cafe called the “Old Mill”, we did and can honestly tell you they had the best sweets I have ever had in years. Beautiful town, small but classy, with a lot of character, we will always remember it and I am not surprised if we travel all the way back to Millthorpe to have some of these sweets again!