The Tingle Factor Box

Roaming Roy Takes A Leap - Govetts Leap

This week, Roy decided he wanted to visit somewhere quiet, somewhere breathtakingly beautiful and somewhere which retains its old world charm. He loves visiting these sorts of places, and is always fascinated to discover the stories behind them, and behind their names. Govetts Leap in the Blue Mountains of NSW is one such place. He thinks it is one of the most beautiful places in the Mountains, with a stunning view, but without the crowds you find at lookouts like Echo Point.

Roaming Roy Feasts - The Conservation Hut

This week, Roy decided that with such lovely mild days, and beautiful Autumn sunshine, it was the perfect time to have a nice, outdoor lunch in a beautiful place. One of the things which Roy most loves when he is out and about is trying new cafes, and getting ideas for his own cooking! He decided it was the perfect weather to go to the Blue Mountains and look over the World Heritage National Park, and wanted somewhere he could eat, pick up some tourist information and enjoy the view at the same time. Only one place would do, the Conservation Hut at Wentworth Falls. It is not only a great place for lunch, it's the perfect place to take overseas visitors. Roy strongly suggests you try the Quandong Icecream - yum!

Roaming Roy Is Repulsed - Caleys Repulse

This week, with the weather turning cooler and people starting to think about travelling to the Blue Mountains to see the beautiful Autumn colour, Roy decided he would like to show you a little known place in the area, Caley's Repulse. Roy has been fascinated with the story of this mound of stones, and was surprised to discover when he visited that they are overgrown and forgotten, but thought this almost made them more fun to discover!

Roaming Roy Finds Himself In A Grave Situation - Pulpit Hill Graves

This week, Roy decided that he wanted to head towards the Blue Mountains for his weekly outing. Recently, we had purchased a very old tourist guide to the Blue Mountains and noticed that in the guide, there was mention of convict graves on Pulpit Hill, behind the Explorers Tree. Roy was really intrigued by this possibility because we have visited Pulpit Hill (you can read about his visit by clicking here), and had never heard anything about convict graves. Roy just had to see what we could find. We eventually located the 'graves', and Roy was so surprised by this secret place that he thought he would share it with his online friends.

Roaming Roy Gets Wet Feet - Blue Mountains Lily Pond

This week, Roy decided he wanted to head towards the Blue Mountains for his weekly outing. The weather has been very changeable recently, and he is finding the hot weather, after the cold days hard to deal with, so escaping the heat in the cool mountain air sounded perfect to him! He loves the Blue Mountains, and knows lots of his online friends also enjoy the area. There are many popular tourist destinations to see, but there are also fascinating places to visit which are less well known, like the lily pond which is beside the Great Western Highway.

Roaming Roy Sees The Writing On The Wall - Convict Graffiti

Convicts are a subject which children seem to find endlessly fascinating. They are enthralled by the places where convicts lived and worked, and love to see personal items which reflect who the convicts were. Yet most of the children Roy knows have never had the oppotunity to see one of the most personal remants of convicts, the graffiti they left behind them. There are several places where this graffiti can be found, but Roy is particularly fond of the amazing graffiti to be found in Little Hartley's Courthouse Cells.

Roaming Roy Holds Court - Hartley Courthouse

This week, with the school holidays upon us, Roy decided it was time to tell you about a place which some of his online friends might be able to visit during their break. Jenolan Caves is a very popular holiday destination, yet many of Roys friends don't take the time to stop by the amazing Hartley Historic Site on the way to the Caves. Roy thinks this is a real shame as the town is not only beautiful but it is fascinating as well. There are many things to look at in Hartley Historic Site, and so Roy has decided to write several posts on the town, the first two of these being this week and next week. This week, Roy will look at the history of Hartley's Courthouse, and next week, he will investigate the amazing convict graffiti found inside.

Roaming Roy Finds Signs Of The Past - Portland Signs

This week, Roy has decided it is time to visit a place which he has found fascinating ever since he first stopped by a few years ago. Portland is a place which for a long time has been bypassed by tourists heading across the mountains towards the Central West. Roy thinks this is a real shame though, because anyone who doesn't stop by misses out on seeing what Roy thinks of as 'Portlands Open Air Historic Art Gallery' - the amazing painted avertising signs dotted around the town. There are many other things to see around Portland, and Roy will revisit to show you some more another time!

Roaming Roy Gets Lit Up - Jenolan Hydro Electric Scheme

Last week, Roy visited the Nettle Cave at Jenolan Caves, which he found a wonderful place to spend some time. While at Jenolan though, he discovered a fascinating fact. Jenolan Caves were the first cave system in the world to be lit by electricity and what's more, they generated their own power! He thought this was amazing and decided he wanted to see where the power was generated and learn more about how and why the hydro-electric scheme at Jenolan came about.

Roaming Roy Gets Nettled - Jenolan's Nettle Cave

This week, with holidays coming up and so many parents planning what to do and where to take their children, Roy decided that the perfect place to visit would be a common school holiday destination. Now the question was where? Roy has many favourite destinations, but there was one place which he recently visited which he really enjoyed and wanted to encourage his friends to visit too - the Nettle Cave at Jenolan Caves (NSW).

Although many of Roys friends have visited Jenolan Caves, few had visited the Nettle Cave, which only reopened to the public in 2006. Roy thought this was a real shame as the Nettle Cave is not only very different to the other caves, it also gives visitors an idea of what visiting the caves in the early days would have been like. There are many places where you can view the original stairs, railings and lighting systems, and even an original wooden ladder! The Nettle Cave is 'free' with any other show cave tour, and is a self guided tour. An audio guide is provided to tell you about the cave, and you can listen to the guide in many languages, including Klingon! The guide tells visitors about everything from the history of the caves to the amazing formations, including the crayback formations, like the one in the photo above, which are very rare. To find out about these craybacks click here.