To read from the beginning, click here.
Despite the proximity to the highway, we did get a good sleep and heard from Stephen as soon as we got up. He was on his way and would be to Cudal by 9. We made breakfast and broke camp and were all packed up and ready when he arrived. We loaded our bags into his pickup bed and put the bikes on the rack and off we went.
We made a short stop in Molong to get coffee and took a very quick tour of a little museum across the street from the bakery (and used their restrooms). After that it was on to Wellington and a search of the pharmacies for contact solution for me. Now, you’d think that’d be an easy task, but it’s not. Unlike the US where almost every grocery store and “big box” has a pharmacy inside the store, in Australia, such items are only available in a pharmacy/chemist. There are big box versions like the “Chemists Warehouse” and “Your Discount Chemist” but they aren’t in all the small towns. In Wellington, only one of the two pharmacies even had contact solution, and it was over $20 for small bottle. I had enough to last for a while so I passed on that, though we did stop at Wooly’s for some provisions for dinner that evening (Wooly’s = Woolworth’s, just in case I haven’t used the common name before).
Stephen then took us to Mudgee where there was a Chemists Warehouse and I got a small bottle for $11. We took the opportunity to walk around Mudgee and had lunch and refreshments at the Lawson Park Hotel — with a beautiful outdoor seating area and excellent food.
We got to Coolah late afternoon and took a little walk around the town before heading to Stephen’s house. Wow. Amazing house and amazing story. The house was built by Stephen’s neighbor Tic’s (more about him later) farm hand. He made the bricks, poured the concrete, milled the wood, laid the tile, etc. Stephen happened on the house which is on 6 acres culled from Tic’s 200+. Pics coming tomorrow.
After oohing and aahing our way through the tour of the house, we got showers, made dinner, and had a great repast with Stephen, learning more about how he got the house, his business, his kids, and how he came to be in this place. Such a great evening, connecting and reconnecting with this man who we chanced to meet for a few hours in Valentine NE. After dinner, Dana and Stephen went out to watch the stars and I worked a little on the blog and went to bed. Dana soon joined and we slept only wondering what tomorrow held in store.
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