Dubbo 2021 - Day 3

Slept quite well. Again the bed is too soft for my taste, and the pillow was a bit too thick, but still managed to sleep ok. I had originally thought I could walk into town, but it probably would have taken half an hour each way, so in the end I drove. I parked on the main street near the gaol, then walked down to the river to find the spot Dad got a photo in 1981. Unbelievably I found it, with the exact same tree! Then I went around to the courthouse and got a photo of it too. Picked up breakfast from The Scottish Restaurant on the way back.

Macquarie River in Dubbo
Macquarie River in Dubbo

Railway bridge over the Macquarie River
Railway bridge over the Macquarie River

Dubbo Courthouse
Dubbo Courthouse

After breakfast we headed to the zoo. We sat in the car for a bit trying to decide what to do. Stu was worried about his back (and knees) hurting too much on bikes, and I was worried we wouldn't find enough parking if we drove. In the end we hired bikes. Stu managed pretty well so that was good.

Bike shed
Bike shed

So had a pretty good morning biking our way around and seeing all the animals.

African Wild Dogs
African Wild Dogs

Meerkat
Meerkat

Black Rhinoceros - Bakhita and Sabi
Black Rhinoceros - Bakhita and Sabi

Giraffe
Giraffe

Giraffe
Giraffe

Common Eland
Common Eland

Hippopotamus
Hippopotamus

White Rhinoceros
White Rhinoceros

Cheetah
Cheetah

Cheetah
Cheetah

Mouse
Mouse

Plains area
Plains area

Indian Elephant
Indian Elephant

Indian Elephant
Indian Elephant

Stu watching the zebra
Stu watching the zebra

Zebra
Zebra

Bongo
Bongo

Hippopotamus
Hippopotamus

White-handed Gibbon
White-handed Gibbon

Ring-tailed Lemur
Ring-tailed Lemur

Siamang
Siamang

Greater One-horned Rhino
Greater One-horned Rhino

Stu with otter size comparison
Stu with otter size comparison

Small-clawed Otter
Small-clawed Otter

Sumatran Tiger
Sumatran Tiger

Addax
Addax

Boab tree near the Waterhole
Boab tree near the Waterhole

We were getting pretty tired by 12:30 when we finally made it to the Waterhole, where we stopped and had lunch, next a noisy group of people, and Barbary sheep and apostle birds. I didn't realise how noisy the people were until they left and left us in peace and quiet. We had a couple of beers which went down very well, and a pie and pizza.

My bike that I rode around for the day
My bike that I rode around for the day

The Waterhole
The Waterhole

Stu at lunch
Stu at lunch

Barbary Sheep
Barbary Sheep

The sink for the bathrooms at The Waterhole was outside with a great view of the Barbary Sheep
The sink for the bathrooms at The Waterhole was outside with a great view of the Barbary Sheep

Stu feeding the apostle birds
Stu feeding the apostle birds

Eventually we got going again, but we were pretty tired and it was hard going. We kind of skipped the Australian section for the most part. They were doing a talk on the Galapagus Tortoises, but that meant there were too many people in the way to see them.

Meerkat
Meerkat

Blackbuck
Blackbuck

Stu in a yurt
Stu in a yurt

Deer
Deer

Przewalski's Horse
Przewalski's Horse

Emu
Emu

Scimitar-horned Oryx
Scimitar-horned Oryx

Galapagos Tortoise
Galapagos Tortoise

Baby Galapagos Tortoise
Baby Galapagos Tortoise

Stu with Galapagos Tortoise size chart
Stu with Galapagos Tortoise size chart

Finally made it back to the end a bit after three, dropped off the bikes, and then went and had an ice cream near the lake watching the monkeys and lemurs do not much.

Spider Monkeys near the entrance
Spider Monkeys near the entrance

Ring-tailed Lemur near the entrance
Ring-tailed Lemur near the entrance

Pond near the entrance
Pond near the entrance

Headed back to the motel to crash for a while.

Stu's back was twinging badly so he didn't feel like eating out. We went into town to find supplies, and even found a Chemist Warehouse open - after 6pm on Anzac Day! So Stu could get some stuff for his back. Then we dropped into Coles and picked up some microwave dinners.

Watched a few episodes of Border Security, and an episode of Air Crash Investigations. Meant for a late night - 21:30!!