We had planned for a bit of a later start from Bulahdelah this morning, but at about 2:30am when we were both awake at the same time, I asked Sooz if she would mind if we set off a bit earlier - since we had another 6-hour drive in front of us. Not a problem ... which was good because when we were getting the last of the bags into the car (at about the time we would have been getting out of bed on our original timeframe) , the Motel owner came over to tell us that the crane working on the property next door had just smashed the pipes, and they had had to turn off the water. Phew! I don't know that we would have wanted to start the day without our "wake-up" showers.
Driving out of the Motel, with the Motel owner smiling and waving madly to see us on our way, we were greeted with clear blue skies, singing kookaburras, and fog on the nearby hills. It was a fantastic way to start Day Two of the Great Southern Road Trip. We were planning to drive to Orange today (which we did) via Sofala (which we didn't). I'm not sure at which stage I decided I'd rather do the drive on major highways - which is how we found ourselves heading south rather than turning right at Raymond Terrace.
It's a while since we've been on the freeway into Sydney and while it's familiar, it was also quite strange - especially when we veered left on to the NorthConnex toll road and found ourselves in a tunnel! We loved it, particularly the two sections of the tunnel where the roof was bordered with blue lights and had "stars " (seen here) or "stripes". Hmmmmm, having just written that about "stars and stripes", I'm wondering if maybe there was a US construction company involved and they left a message for drivers who would use their tunnel. The tolls through the various roads came to $23.07 - an odd figure we thought. 
We stopped in at Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains, to have a look at the Three Sisters. They have fared better than the Twelve (now really less than 8) Apostles in Victoria. As I was walking from the car to the viewing area, I realized there was a helicopter nearby and it was hovering with a rope which had weight on it, and then ascending and moving towards the nearby hill - then flew off with the rope, now not weighted, before coming back with the rope with a big white bag on it. I've tried to check the local news to find out what was happening - but couldn't find anything. While I watched the helicopter hovering, I did notice the cable-car that stretched over the top of the valley - it was hard to miss it as it traversed just above the height of the helicopter.
ABC Radio is good to listen to on Road Trips, and once or twice Sooz mentioned that she thought she had heard some of the stories before. This is entirely possible since she is an avid Educational Radio (National) listener.
We reached Orange just before 5 and were happy to unpack the car and settle in for two nights now. Alas, the motel doesn't have a restaurant on site so I zipped out to collect our dinner. The good news is they do have a microwave oven in the room - so I will be able to heat the milk for our coffee (yes, the pod machine is travelling with us) in the morning.
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