A somewhat late start this morning. The morning was comfortable and sunny, I had morning coffee to consume and Nina had her daily walk to complete.

First stop of the day was the town of Orange, population about 40,000. An attractive town that left us with the impression of being very prosperous. The main street sported a number of up-market clothing shops and many restaurants.

Probably the highlight of the day was the town of Parkes and its nearby Radio Observatory, or as most Australians call it The Dish after the movie of the same name. The dish is not very impressive in the flesh as it is small by current world standards. But in 1961 when it was built it was one of the earliest Radio Telescopes in the world.

It was interesting to read the plaque (see photo above) describing Grote Reber and his contribution to Radio Astronomy. It did not explain why someone interested in Radio Astronomy would move to Tasmania.

We camped the night in Alectown just up the road from the Dish. The town makes their local reserve available to travelers for $10 per night.