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As we followed the Castlereagh Highway, rising into the hills, Pearsons Lookout provided a vista of the Capertee Valley, the world’ s second largest canyon. It’ s wider than the Grand Canyon in the US but not as deep. The sun’ s rays competed with rain clouds creating light and dark patterns in the valley below.
Further ahead was Capertee. Originally just a camp with an unlicensed Inn as a stopping point between Lithgow and Mudgee, a village was established when the rail line and rail station were built in 1882. The rail line is now closed, and the rail station has been converted into a private residence. The Royal Hotel on the edge of town is a popular stopping point for travellers. I’ d recommend refueling at the service station in the centre of town before heading to Ilford and Sofala as I’ m sure it is the last refueling station we came across.
Turning off at Ilford onto the Ilford Sofala Road, the sun had come out warming the day. My bike hugged the road, it became easy to absorb yourself in the surrounding eucalypt and open pastures while you glide along the ridge line. Roadworks since the last time I’ d passed through had blocked off a stopping point that overlooked Sofala.
In 1974, Peter Wier made his first feature movie here in Sofala, it has since become a cult classic.
The Cars that Ate Paris was a horror / comedy that used the town as the backdrop. It’ s a very quirky movie and indicative of its time. Riding down the main street, the buildings remained the same and some of the cars used in the movie appear to be still on the side of the road.
Today the street is lined with utes and 4x4’ s. A sizable number of travellers are on the street enjoying the cafes and secondhand stores. A young boy of about eleven or twelve had his stall in front of a mechanics shop to ply his trade, selling homemade jams and chutneys. He attracted passersby telling dad jokes that we used as ten and eleven yearolds.
“ Did you hear about Barry the card shark?”, the kid asked.“ He swam to his mate the tailor and said,‘ Here’ s the sick squid I owe you’.”
Phil was compelled to buy a jam so the kid could afford to buy a decent joke book. But not before telling the kid about an old mate that worked in a conserve factory. He worked there for years until one night he got his
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