This Adventurous Age

Adventures travelling and working around Australia.

Monthly Archives: April 2025


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2019 Life and Travels August

AUGUST 2019

After the brief interlude that was our aborted trip north, settled back into making changes about the place, to put our stamp on it.

John wanted more space for his vegie growing. The gravelled area in the back yard – perhaps intended to be a lawn – was crying out for a more productive use. Solution – raised planter boxes. Their construction was easy for the woodworker, then he carted in some trailer loads of soil and mushroom compost. The height of the new beds would make it easier for ageing bodies to do the garden work.

New garden box beds – all planted and thriving

Two new gas bottles for Bus were bought. John fitted one, and that all seemed to function normally. He put the other new bottle aside for future use – for something. It was good to know the problem had been so easily fixed, though I admitted to a lingering slight distrust of it all, now.

John’s brother turned 90 and hosted a dinner to celebrate at a Melbourne club. Since it was an evening event, necessitating an overnight stay down there, I elected to stay home with the dog! John stayed with friend M at Croydon.

Friend M came to visit again, and we went one day to view an exhibition at the marvellous Bendigo Art Gallery. This gallery was making a real name for itself staging unusual and special exhibitions. Back in 2016 there had been the unique Marilyn Monroe feature one. In 2019, the special exhibition was portraits of British royalty; the British theme extended to city decorations and events. A tram, painted with the Union Jack was lifted into the town centre, to be a temporary café and promo. We had been going home one evening, after a meal at the wonderful Malayan Orchid restaurant near the town centre, and found it hard to believe, as we came around a corner, that we were actually seeing a red, white and blue flag painted tram, swinging on the end of a crane. One of those “How much wine did we have to drink?” moments…

Apart from the blockbuster exhibitions that only happen every two or three years, the gallery has a regularly changing program of smaller features, ensuring there is often something of interest to visit.

The display that M and I wanted to see was of batik style printing on silk fabric done by aboriginal artists of Central Australia.

There was an outline of the development of this form of art in the central desert, since about 1950. The display was excellent.


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2019 Life and Travels July 23

TUESDAY JULY 23     TOCUMWAL TO HOME     205kms

Tocumwal morning

Left the park at 10am, then refuelled at the servo in town. $152.9cpl.

Between the GPS and me, the route we took home seemed a zig-zag one, but avoided Shepparton, going via Kyabram. South of there we spied  an unexpected, and incongruous, sight – a paddock containing a mob of camels!

We just had to stop at Elmore, for John to sample the bakery treats from there: pie and pastie. I snagged a salad sandwich.

Reached home in good time to do the usual unpack of foodstuffs and the electronic gear. I was even able to get started on the washing.

Neighbour was surprised to see us arrive home so soon.

It was good to be home again – home here still being such a novelty.

TRIP STATISTICS

Kms travelled: 976

Fuel Cost: $284.57

Accommodation cost: $391-80


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2019 Life and Travels July 22

MONDAY JULY 22     WALLENDBEEN TO TOCUMWAL      350kms

After a really cold night, we woke to sunshine and blue sky.

Breakfasted with our friends, who were planning to head back to Canberra later today, and left their place at 10.15am.

A comfortable overnight stop

Knowing the proximity of the larger centre, Cootamundra, to our friends’ intended retirement home, we paid more than usual attention as we travelled south through there. It seemed a sizeable centre, with interesting old flour mill buildings.

Wagga appeared to be growing fast, from what we observed as we took the ring route that avoided the town centre.

Took the Narrandera road west, then turned off that at Collingullie onto a road that would take us directly to Jerilderie. This was a way we hadn’t gone before; not a major road but perfectly fine for our rig.

Stopped at Lockhart for lunch, pulling in at a park by the swimming pool, where there was also a toilet block. Pleasant spot for our purpose. I made sandwiches from the makings I had in Bus.

John decided to let Couey off the leash for a little run on the grass. But the great swamp dog sniffed a distant puddle of water and took off for a wallow in that, coming back muddy, smelly, but oh-so-happy. I wasn’t.

Lockhart park

After Lockhart, the country became flatter with less natural vegetation and more obvious farm activity. For quite a while, trees were almost a novelty.

Trees!

At Jerilderie, joined the Newell Highway, a very familiar route. Decided to stop for the day at Tocumwal, where we had stayed on previous occasions.

Took an en-suite site at the caravan park, costing $37.80, after chain discount.

Tocumwal site

This is a park that has a dedicated, fenced, dog exercise run – something I’d love to see more parks adopt. So, after setting up, dog got a nice ball throw session in the run.

The carvavan park dog run

Lazed about for the rest of the afternoon.

Tea was a concoction made in the frypan, from mince and some vegies – kind of a stir fry, but without rice.

Had we realized then that this was to be the last night we would spend in Bus, probably would have made a bigger occasion of it.


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2019 Life and Travels July 21

SUNDAY JULY 21     YOUNG TO WALLENDBEEN     35kms

No rush to get up and going this morning, as we were only going such a short way.

Fuelled up Bus at the servo conveniently located by the caravan park. $149.9cpl.

Headed south out of town, along the Olympic Way, through the quaintly named hamlet of Wombat, to Wallendbeen. Cherry orchards, grazing and cropping country, lots of granite outcrops and rocks along the way.

The little township of Wallendbeen, located by the Sydney-Melbourne railway, is sandwiched between that rail line and the modern Olympic Way highway, so we had to turn off and trundle through the village to reach the destination of our friends’ home.

For the last several decades, careers had determined that these friends lived in Canberra, but a few years ago, they had purchased a cottage here. Initially, this was to be a weekender, but they had plans to eventually retire here. Less than two hours’ drive from their Canberra home, it was an ideal semi-rural weekend retreat in a quaint village.

Wallendbeen ruins

Clearly, the village had once been functioning as a larger centre than it is today. A common tale for so many rural settlements, sadly. The settlement grew as a service centre on what had started as a large pastoral run, from the mid 1800’s. The railway arrived in the 1870’s and with it a rail passenger service. A large silo complex was built for movement of the grain grown in the district. Today, those silos would be perfect for some new silo art!

Some art work would really brighten this up

It has been decades since passenger trains stopped in Wallendbeen; the Sydney-Melbourne trains and long goods trains just go straight through. With today’s car travel and larger service centres in nearby Young and Cootamundra, the only business still operating in town was the hotel.

Parked Bus out front of our friends’ place, hooked up to power with a long lead and had a great catch up, over lunch.

After lunch, we all went walking. Firstly, along a beautiful tree-lined track to the cemetery – old, historic.

The track to the cemetery

Wallendbeen cemetery

Browsed among some interesting old gravestones.

The cemetery track passed by a paddock containing some cattle. Being curious critters, these all came to the fence, perhaps to see if we had food to offer. Our big, brave cattle dog was having none of it – forget the “cattle” part! Big, brave, stick-retrieving, yes – sticks are much more her scale. She resolutely ignored the cows, much to the amusement of H and C. Not even a bark.

Cattle – what cattle?

Our walk continued around the village, so we could see it all, then adjourned to the hotel. This seemed to be flourishing – had clearly modernized its offering to bring in travellers as well as locals. We supported it with some happy hour drinks before wandering back to the cottage for tea.

Old General Store

Wallendbeen Hotel

H told us that there was a Rest Stop at the town park, by the highway, that was an overnight stop for RV travellers – toilets, a little picnic shelter, but no other facilities, apart from being very quiet and pleasant.

Some interesting walking around the village

Exercise and fresh country air led to an early night, and a good night’s sleep. This was one place I felt quite secure, even private, sleeping on a nature strip in front of a house!