The new year break is a time when many families hit the road for an annual holiday.
Cars full of people travel up and down the Australian East Coast heading to their favourite travel destination.
If you find yourself travelling through Central NSW, why not check out the Animals on Bikes tourist trail?
Animals on Bikes is a 120km creative ‘paddock art’ installation of…. well…. animals on bikes… that you can see from your car as you drive along.
What is Animals on Bikes?
Originally, the inspiration for the project (started by Christine Western), was to capitalize on local tourist services and attractions, such as the Dubbo Zoo.
But as 8 years of drought continued to ravage local farms, it also become a way ‘to boost morale and improve the economic health of our rural-reliant central west communities’.
Animals on Bikes started in 2009 as a series of 45 creative 2-metre high sculptures and some smaller ones created by local farmers, farmers wives, Men’s sheds, bus drivers, preschool kids, playgroup mums and other locals.
Now, there are over 100 sculptures on display.
All installations are located off the main highway, between Molong and the Dubbo Zoo, via Cumnock and Yeoval. You can download a map and self-drive a route that suits you.
This project is quite remarkable.
Its impressive that the local community galvanised to link into, and extend, the local region’s tourism industry in creative and unique ways – as well as showcasing the talent, humour and ingenuity of local residents.
Many rural areas are being negatively affected by new highway developments that bypass communities – a theme immortalized as per Radiator Springs in the Disney movie ‘Cars’ for instance. This project is a great example of one community’s proactive approach to redress this.
What a great idea – and what an awesome theme!
See Animals on Bikes for more information.
A big thanks to Claire Tracey, who suggested this story after seeing Animals on Bikes on a trip from Brisbane to Canberra. Thank you! We love it!