After two days camped in the bush next to the river it was time to come back to civilisation. We treated ourselves to breakfast at a cafe near the main drag of Cowra and it was very nice. A couple of policemen were getting coffee and one of them gave me a strange look, when I went to the bathroom later and saw myself in the mirror I understood why. After 2 days bush with my hair unkempt, 2 weeks beard growth and wearing a bandana I did look a bit feral.

After breakfast we strolled the main street stopping at the Reject shop to buy some storage boxes for our fridge and Jenny bought a pair of shorts at Target.

Japanese Gardens

Cowra has a shared history with Japan as during world war two a prisoner of war camp was set up just out side the town. With Australia giving the Japanese prisoners fair treatment a friendship evolved which led to the establishment of the Japanese Gardens and cultural centre. The entrance fee for seniors was $13 and we spent a couple of hours strolling the gardens and visiting the cultural centre.

After our visit we headed back into the town, first to the laundromat and while our clothes were being washed a trip to the supermarket. The mundane things still need to be done even on holidays. We strung up a washing line in the camper to dry the washed clothes, then back out of town a few kilometres to our next point of interest.

The Cowra Breakout

The prisoner of war camp housed prisoners from many countries including over 1000 Japanese. On the 5th of August 1944 the Japanese prisoners decided to break out of the camp. This resulted in the deaths of 231 Japanese and 4 Australians. The site of the camp remains but there is little to see.

We drove back into town and to the tourist information office where they play a hologram video. The video tells the story of the town from a personal perspective of a local girl during the second world war including the POW Camp and the breakout. Very well done and worth a look. It was free.

Showground Stay

After a full day we consulted the Oracle (wikicamps) and decided to stay at the Cowra showgrounds. Many towns have utilized their resources at their showgrounds and make it a place for caravans and motorhomes to park overnight. This is our first, and for $20 we had a quiet pitch, could have plugged into power, but as we didn’t need it we just had a shower and use of the toilets. The caretaker was friendly and the facilities clean. Couldn’t ask for more.

About Scamp

The tale of the traveling solar panel!! Our solar panel was purchased from Germany many years ago and had it posted to the Netherlands where we used it in our motorhome and travelled all over Europe, Turkey and Morocco. We found that we were not using it as much on our last trips as we were taking less electronics that needed charging. The motorhome mainly runs on gas, ie fridge, heater, water boiler and the stove. In 2019 we brought the solar panel back with us and have been using it with the Scamp. The main reason is to run our 12 volt fridge. Our well travelled solar panel is now travelling Australia and a real advantage .