The Japanese connection

We enjoyed some excellent croissants and coffee for breakfast at the Perennialle Plants Nursery café before Marissa and I set off to buy some additional lunch supplies and explore the town.  We stopped off at the David Isbester Gallery with his impressive works capturing rural and outback Australia.  We encouraged Eugene and Simon to have a look whilst I took over bike watching. 

We took the Belubula Riverwalk out of town crossing the restored Swinging Bridge and were soon back on the gravel roads.  The day was a little overcast which made for pleasant cycling. 

As always, Eugene was in the lead with instructions to find a good spot for morning tea.  As we entered the village of Billimari, we passed a bus shelter which would have been ideal as it had a bench. However, Eugene had other plans and as we turned the corner we discovered he had stopped at a park with picnic benches.  A perfect coffee spot.  

The route out of the village stayed close to the old railway line for a while and we then continued along a mix of gravel and sealed roads before reaching Cowra and climbing a steep hill to our Airbnb accommodation.  

Once the washing was on, Simon and I headed out on our bikes to explore the Japanese Gardens which required another steep climb.  It was worth it.

The garden celebrates the relationship between the people of Cowra and the Japanese which originated with the Prisoner of War Camp that housed Japanese POWs in World War II.  The friendship developed following the decision of the Japanese Government to bring all their war dead from across Australia to be re-buried in Cowra. The garden design is based on the first Japanese landscape garden built in the Edo period. 

The walking paths took us through six design elements which represented the mountains of Japan, past waterfalls that flowed into mountain lakes and then followed the water as it flows into the river and then the ocean.  Traditional Japanese buildings were dotted throughout the garden and there was also a bonsai garden to explore. 

Leaving the gardens, we cycled through the Cowra Peace Precinct to the Cowra Prisoner of War Campsite.  This was the site of the largest prisoner of war breakout in modern history when 1100 Japanese prisoner attempted a mass escape in August 1944.  231 Japanese prisoners and 5 Australian soldiers died in the attempt and large areas of the camp were burnt to the ground. 

A replica guard tower provided an audio presentation on the history of the site, whilst a five-panel sculpture depicted images of those affected by the breakout, including an Australian guard, an Italian POW, an Indonesian mother and child, and a Japanese POW.   There were also a number of ruins around the site.  

We returned via the Garrison Walk and explored the Cowra Sculpture Park. Interesting sculptures included the Well of Wisdom carved from Japanese stone and Cowra granite, Blue Between 1971, Reconciliation, and the quirky H2O with the figure’s legs made of metal wheels. 

Having lingered a little longer than planned, it was a quick cycle back to town to meet Marissa at the supermarket to shop for Easter Sunday supplies as we had arranged to stay in a pub with no food. Unfortunately, Simon had a puncture leaving the car park and had to stop and repair it.  He just had time for a quick shower before we headed out for a fabulous dinner at Oak on Kendal. 

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