Orange

Orange from Borrodell Vineyard

After our Tiger encounter (see post here) at Western Plains Zoo we hit the road and headed to Orange. The back roads were lovely, and the drive from Dubbo to Wellington was thoroughly enjoyable, with long windy roads and lush green fields. We stopped in at Wellington to grab some lunch, and were assisted by a lovely lady in the information centre, before walking around Wellington Park and Gardens.

Cotton like substance blanketing Wellington Park lawn

We arrived at di Russie apartments which are good value, but in my opinion the photography on their website is too good as it leads you to expect more than what is on offer. That said we would certainly stay there again as it is good value for money and in walking distance to the centre of town.

Lunch time came around very quickly and we stopped in at bensons cafe on Summer Street where the hospitality was very friendly, and I thoroughly enjoyed a turkey and gherkin sandwich after going almost a week without my daily gherkin fix. They also make a great iced coffee.

We went to Borrodell Vineyard where Borro gave us a great lesson on Orange region wines, and why you have to pay for a good Pinot Noir. This grape demands more from the soil, thus there are less vines to square metre, and Pinot Noir has to be carefully hand pruned rather than machine clipped as they like morning sun, but need to be shaded from the harsh afternoon sun. Borro also has plenty of fruit trees and truffles growing on his amazing property, so hopefully we will be able to go back during truffle season some time.

After a big day exploring we had dinner at Lolli Redini which was nice, but nothing amazing. Entree and main wasn't anything to write home about, the waitress was haughty, and the only meal that impressed us was the lemon curd tart with coconut sorbet and vanilla ice cream that Mark and I shared for dessert. That was special.

An early morning walk from our accommodation to Cook Park was pleasurable, as was my run around the park (the only real exercise I had all holiday) before my ears froze from the cold and I walked around to enjoy the gardens, whilst Mark took photos, and it finally clicked on me what ISO does when I was taking a few shots of my own. Cook Park is a lovely place to walk around or stop and enjoy a picnic lunch, there are many tree, plant and flower specimens to admire, and at this time of year the tulips were simply striking.

Cook Park