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    2024 - Western Victorian Deserts and Silos - Part 2

    Click here for the previous part of this article.

    Day 9 - Friday 15 November 2024 – Lake Albacutya Camping Area to Gravel Pile South of Nhill

    Weather: Fine, 8.0°C minimum

    I am awake for a while from 4:00 am but then slept well till just before 7:00 am. I get up at 8:00 am and have breakfast. Amazingly there are no flies this morning. I read the SMH and at 9:00 am I pack up and we leave at 9:37 am. It is now 17°C.

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    Our campsite at Lake AlbacutyaThe Lake Albacutya silos

    We stop a short distance away at the Albacutya Silo Art. These are much better viewed in the morning when the sun is shining direct on them. We take photographs and Donna flies her drone to get some photos. We leave at 10:10 am.

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    The Rainbow Lake picnic areaA mural on a wall in Rainbow

    We pull into Rainbow at 10:23 am. We were going to refuel here but the fuel station is out of order. Lucky we are not that short. We go to the bakery and I get a vanilla slice for later morning and afternoon teas. We only go a short distance out of town and come across Rainbow Lake. We stop here for morning tea. It is a very nice recreation reserve with BBQs, picnic areas and a swimming area.

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    The Rainbow Lake picnic areaThe Arkona silos

    We leave at 10:45 am and follow the Dimboola-Rainbow Road. At 11:30 am we arrive at Arkona Silo Art. We have travelled 77 kilometres. This artwork is of an invisible man who is playing tennis. It is meant to represent local Arkona legend, Roley Klinge, who loved tennis but died back in 1991. A very interesting concept that has been well done.

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    The Dimboola Post OfficeTwo old signs on a wall in Dimboola
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    The former Dimboola Holden dealerAn old car in the window of a Dimboola shop

    We leave at 11:37 am and at 11:48 am we arrive in Dimboola. We park behind the main street in as there is little parking for campers etc in the main street. There is a laundromat here so I put a load of washing on while I walk around. I get a few things from the IGA.

    There are some nice buildings in town and the hotel is quite nice as we will see in a few days time when we return here. We have lunch in the park behind the street while we wait for the washing to finish. I put the washing in the dryer and it is soon finished, the cost was $5 and $4. We leave at 1:45 pm and head west on the Western Highway, the main road from Melbourne to Adelaide.

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    Some of the older shops in DimboolaThe Pink Lake from my drone

    We stop just out of town at the Pink Lake. This is a salt lake that is tinged pink by tiny little animals. It is quite pink, much more so than the pink lakes we have already seen on this trip. It is also damp so you could not really walk on it. I fly my drone to get some photographs. We leave at 2:15 pm.

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    A panoramic photograph of the Pink Lake

    We arrive in Nhill at 2:37 pm. Nhill and Dimboola are both about halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide, so they get a bit of tourist traffic from both cities. We refuel here and I take 93.6 litres at 168.4 cents a litre, $168.40. I have averaged 14.9 l/100 km.

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    The Pink Lake from my drone, looking towards DimboolaThe Nhill Farmers Arms Hotel

    We go to the Farmers Arms Hotel for a beer, a Carlton Draught $8.65 a schooner. We leave at 3:27 pm and head south Nhill Harrow Road. We stop at Stringbark for a few minutes walk. At 4:00 pm we arrive at a gravel pit and have a look behind it for a camping spot. There is no place to camp there.

    We were originally going to camp in the national park but as the access roads are down soft sand tracks, we do not want to go through what we did two days ago. We go down the road a little more where there looks like there might be a spot but nothing was seen. We turn around at another access road and see that it is signposted as soft sand.

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    Ron and I having another schoonerAn interesting use of bottle tops inside the Farmers Arms Hotel

    We return to the gravel pit at 4:27 pm and decide to stay the night there. It is not too bad, but there are lots of flies around. We setup and at 5:15 pm we start a fire using the very dead timber around the gravel pit. We have drinks and later I cook buffalo wings in my small camp oven. The first lot take 35 minutes to cook and the second 20 minutes. These are from Aldi and only cost $7 and you get about a dozen. I eat the second lot and put the first lot in the fridge for lunches in coming days.

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    A panoramic photograph of our gravel pit campsite

    The flies are finally gone by 8:30 pm. We ring our friend John in Melbourne and have a chat to him and look at the sky for satellites. We only see six. There is a total fire ban tomorrow in all the area near us so we have decided to modify the trip and not go to the national park near Dimboola. Instead, we are going to stay at Dimboola.

    I go to bed at 10:05 pm.

    Weather: Fine, max 26°C Arrived: Gravel Pit Time: 4:37 pm Distance: 162.5 kilometres

    Day 10 - Saturday 16 November 2024 – Gravel Pile South of Nhill to Dimboola

    Weather: Fine, 6.4°C minimum

    I have a great sleep and wake at 6:45 am. I read the SMH and listen to the ABC news. I get up at 7:30 am and the flies are also up! After breakfast I pack up and we leave early at 9:07 am. It is already 23°C with high overcast.

    We continue south on the Nhill Harrow Road and then turn west onto the Natimuk-Frances Road. We arrive in Goroke at 9:36 am and go to the silo art. These have a kookaburra, magpie and galah on them. We leave at 9:49 pm and backtrack east on the same road. We arrive at Mitre Rock at 10:22 am.

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    The silos at GorokeMount Araples

    Mitre Rock is a very well known rock climbing location in Victoria. We go for a short walk here and see quite a few people climbing. This is an easier climb compared to nearby Mount Araples. I then have morning tea. We leave at 11:05 am and drive around Mount Araples and then up the access road. This is narrow and steep in spots but we are okay with the camper trailers.

    Mt Araples
    A panoramic photograph of the view from Mount Araples

    The top is 369 metres and at 11:23 am we arrive at the fire tower which is a little lower. We walk to the tower. There are fantastic views in all directions, but especially to the west, north and east. There are many salt lakes visible from here. As it is a total fire ban today, the fire tower is staffed today.

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    The Natimuk Court HouseA sculpture in the Natimuk park

    We leave at 11:49 am and at 12:04 pm we arrive in the small town of Natimuk. It is now 32°C. There are some nice buildings, the court house, bank and hotel are the best. There are also some sculptures in the park where we have stopped. There is even a wood-fired pizza oven in the park. We leave at 12:42 pm.

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    The Natimuk National HotelSome of the old buildings in Natimuk

    We arrive in Horsham at 1:05 pm. I visited here way back about 1990 for work when I flew down from Sydney in our plane to examine some second-hand road maintenance machinery (graders, dozers and rollers). We ended up buying a stack too!

    HorshamHorsham
    The main artwork at the Horsham silo showing YanggendyinanyukThe second part of the Horsham silo

    Anyway, we first go to the silo art. This tells the story of Yanggendyinanyuk, a notable figure in the Wimmera region. He was a skilled tracker and talented cricketer. He was also a member of the Aboriginal cricket team which toured England, the very first overseas tour by any country’s team. There is also a red-tailed black cockatoo. I then go to the Conways Bakery where I purchase a lamb shank pie for $8.50. It is excellent. We leave at 3:35 pm.

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    A panoramic photograph of our campsite at Dimboola RV Freecamp

    We arrive in Dimboola at 2:04 pm. We go to the Dimboola RV Freecamp which is in the Dimboola Recreation Reserve. This is also the football field and a gymkhana area which is being used today. The camping area is under some pine trees. We find a spot with a fair bit of shade. We setup camp. It is 36.8°C. I disconnect the car as tomorrow we are going to go for a drive.

    I read the paper and then a book in the shade. Despite the temperature it is not too bad. We have decided to go to the hotel for dinner as it will be cooler there. At 5:10 pm I walk to the free showers, it is about 800 metres each way. I am back at 5:22 pm.

    At 5:30 pm I walk to the Victoria Hotel, it is 750 metres. Ron and Donna drive. The hotel is packed. What we did not realise till now is that as Dimboola is about halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide, they get a lot of weekend trippers here, so most accommodation is full and there is only one place to eat (I think).

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    The Victoria Hotel, DimboolaRon and I having a beer in the dining area of the hotel
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    The main staircase area of the hotelThe fancy dining room of the Victoria Hotel

    Anyway, the owner says we can sit at a reserved table so long as we are finished by 7:30 pm. We get some beers and order dinner. I have chicken parmigiana for $29. Ron and I end up having two local beers (after our first Carlton) which are quite nice. The hotel is amazingly restored inside and also has been decorated with heaps of memorabilia. We are back at our camp at 7:55 pm. It is now a lot cooler at 31°C.

    The wind has dropped and we have a couple of wines and then I read. I go to bed at 9:55 pm and sleep about 20 minutes later. It is now 27°C.

    Weather: Fine, max 37°C Arrived: Dimboola Time: 2:04 pm Distance: 158.3 kilometres

    Day 11 - Sunday 17 November 2024 – Dimboola to Nhill and Return

    Weather: Rain, 18.9°C minimum

    Despite the heat of last night, I spelt fairly well. Till 7:00 am it was still warm, minimum of 18.9°C. However, a change came through about then with some spits of rain and a dramatic drop in temperature. I stay in bed till 10:00 when the rain stops. It is now 12.0°C after 11.4°C a bit earlier.

    The sun comes out at 11:00 am but it is still cool. I have read the paper and book and only have toast for breakfast. I discover that there is a closer toilet than the one with showers, it is only about 200 metres away. I put my solar blanket out as I think my plug from the car came loose yesterday or the day before.

    We leave at 12:20 pm and take lunch with us. We go back to Nhill again and this time go to the Nhill Aviation Centre where we arrive at 12:55 pm. It is 44 km to here. It is blowing a gale, with a very strong westerly wind. I have lunch and then we go into the museum. This is here because during World War II there was a pilot training centre here.

    There is a Commonweath Wirraway trainer, a Tiger Moth biplane and an Avro Anson which is undergoing restoration. There is also a Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 engine (same as those in the Spitfire, Mustang and Avro Lancaster). There is a lot of information about the training centre and much more. We leave at 2:18 pm and head into town and then out towards Dimboola.

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    The Avro Anson undergoing restoration in the Nhill Aviation MuseumA Commonwealth Wirraway
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    A Tiger MothA very early flight simulator, it works

    We stop at the Australian Pinball Museum which is in an old motel. This has dozens of pinball machines dating from 1930. It is a donation to enter and you can play using coins or get tokens. I play a Sinbad machine (manufactured 1978) I used to play at the Maroubra Sands Hotel in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

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    The Australian Pinball Museum, note the flippers and bumpersSome of the pinballs inside the museum

    We leave at 2:45 pm, it is now 20°C but feels much colder in the wind. A bit along the road we stop at a strange place that has all its fences lined with bicycles. We arrive back in Dimboola at 3:20 pm. I hook the Land Cruiser back up to my camper. I have a cuppa and at 4:15 pm I go for a walk to the river and along it to the north. From here I go past the IGA to the railway station and get back at 5:05 pm. I walked 3.12 km.

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    The fence lined by pushpikesThe Wimmera River
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    The Dimboola Railway StationThe train in the park in Dimboola

    I grab my washing gear and walk to the showers again. I am back at 5:45 pm. I pack up my solar blanket and we then have drinks in Ron and Donna’s van as it is still cool. Later I cook the last of my sausages with onions and have on toast. I read some more and go to bed at 9:45 pm. It is now 15°C.

    Weather: Mostly fine, max 21°C Arrived: Dimboola Time: 3:20 pm Distance: 88.6 kilometres

    Day 12 - Monday 18 November 2024 – Dimboola to Lake Lascelles, Hopetoun

    Weather: Overcast, 9.0°C minimum

    I had a rotten sleep from just before 4:00 am till 6:00 am when I manage to fall asleep for a bit more. I get up at 7:30 am, it is 13°C. After breakfast I pack up and at 8:55 am I move over to the toilet area so I can get some water and use the toilet. We leave at 9:08 am.

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    The Murtoa siloInside the Murtoa Stick Shed

    We head south towards Horsham and just south of Pimpinio we head east on Rules West Road and then zig-zag across to Blue Ribbon Road which we take south to Doeen School Road which we again take east. At the Henty Highway we cross over onto the Wimmera Highway. We eventually come to Murtoa. We go to the silos to see even more art. We get there at 9:55 am, it is 59.3 km to here.

    Murtoa
    A panoramic photograph of the Murtoa Stick Shed

    We then go to the nearby Stick Shed. This was built during World War II (1941) to store wheat. It was constructed in four months and is built entirely of timber poles and is huge, 270 metres long and 60 metres wide and 19 metres high in the centre. Entry is $10 for seniors. We spend a lot of time inside looking at it. It is an amazing building. After I have a cuppa and we leave at 11:15 am.

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    The conveyor belt that transferred wheat from storage to the trainsAnother photograph inside the Stick Shed

    It is only 17°C but it is cool due to the wind and it is cloudy. We continue on the Wimmera Highway and at 11:28 am we arrive in Rupanyup. There is more silo art here. After this we walk down the main street. There are chainsaw sculptures all along the middle of the street. Chainsaws have been used to cut timber into interesting shapes. There are also some mosaic artwork too.

    The town is in a bit of a decline it seems, the hotel has shut down and there is not much open. We leave at 12:02 pm and head north on the Stawell-Warracknabeal Road and after a short detour at 12:30 pm we arrive at the Sheep Hills Silo Art. These are some Aboriginal kids and elders. We have lunch here too.

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    The Rupanyup silosA chainsaw sculpture of an eagle
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    The Rupanyup store and sculptureMe and my mate!

    We leave at 1:06 pm and get back onto the same road and at 1:28 pm we arrive in Warracknabeal. The aim here is visit some second-hand places that Donna has been to before. The first is Wheatlands Warehouse. This is a huge place, with so much “junk”. There is everything you could ever think of from glasses, to plates, books, camping equipment, furniture and more.

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    The Sheep Hills SilosWarracknabeal Hotel

    I end up buying two books, one called Outback Highways about Len Beadell who built a huge number of outback roads. The other is Mailman of the Birdsville Track about Tom Kruse ($13 total). The first one is well written and extremely interesting, the second is poorly written but also interesting.

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    The Wheatlands WarehouseSome of the stuff inside the Wheatlands Warehouse

    We then go to another second-hand place, the owner tells me that he gets a lot of TV and movie people coming in to buy items for historic shows they are making. There are four pubs in town, but two are shut down. We leave at 2:42 pm and continue north on the Henty Highway to Brim where we arrive 16 minutes later. More silo art is here. We are back on the road five minutes later.

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    The Warracknabeal Post OfficeThe Rosebery Silo Art

    Further north are the Rosebery Silo Art where we arrive at 3:24 pm. We leave six minutes later and and at 3:45 pm we arrive at Lake Lascelles at Hopetoun. The lake is about 600 by 400 metres. We drive around the lake and find a spot on the western side where we setup camp. This is near one of the toilet blocks. It’s a bit windy so we cannot have the camp oven we originally planned for tonight.

    Lake Lascelles
    A panoramic photograph of our campsite at Lake Lascelles

    We are not sure if we can even have a fire, so I try ringing a number for the CFA (Country Fire Authority) that is on a poster on the toilet block and also on their website. It does not work!!! So much for doing the right thing. Today we learnt on the radio that Sydney radio personality and former Australian Wallaby couch Alan Jones has been arrested for sexual offences. The best news I have heard for many years, I have known of his little “dalliances” for over 30 years via a former Wallaby player.

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    Lake Lascelles from my droneLooking straight down at our campsite
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    Drinks beside Lake LascellesSunset over lake Lascelles

    I cook some chorizos for later. I then have a shower and at 5:55 pm we have drinks. At 7:00 pm the wind finally drops and I then cook a pasta dish and using some of the chorizos I make up a dish for dinner. It is very good.

    We spend the rest of the night stargazing. We see an amazing 36 satellites and five shooting stars. We have a couple of ports and go to bed at 10:30 pm.

    Weather: Fine, max 25°C Arrived: Lake Lascelles Time: 3:45 pm Distance: 193.4 kilometres

    Day 13 - Tuesday 19 November 2024 – Lake Lascelles, Hopetoun to Tooleybuc

    Weather: Fine, 6.7°C minimum

    I slept a lot better last night and wake at 6:35 am. I get up at 7:40 am and it is a beautiful morning. I fly my drone now as it was too windy yesterday. After breakfast we pack up and leave at 9:35 am. We go into Hopetoun. There are a couple of nice buildings, the community hall, the old Bon Bon Café and billiard room but that is about it. The nice looking pub is a bit of a ruin and the community run hotel is in a dump of a building (but I suppose it’s good they still have one).

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    Some old shops at HopetounAn old photo of the shops at left
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    Hopetoun Memorial HallMemorial to the founder of Hopetoun, Richard Lascelles

    We leave at 10:20 am and at 10:43 am we arrive at Cronomby Tanks Art. These are small portable wheat silos that have been painted and put in the Woomelang Bushland Reserve. There are some wrens on one and a Major Mitchell cockatoo and a fruitbat on the other. There is a nice walking trail around the wetland. There are lots of birds and a small camping area with a toilet.

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    Tank at Cronomby Woomelang Bushland ReserveAnother one at Woomelang Bushland Reserve
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    And a batPink cockatoo (Major Mitchell)

    At 11:02 am we go to town and stop at a small shearing shed. This is very interesting as the outside sheeting is made from flattened egg tins! You can see the imprints on the metal. It dates from the 1950s and is certainly unique I would think. Next to it is another of the portable silos, this one with a snake on it.

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    The Cronomby Shearing ShedA close-up of the mark on one of the flattened tins
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    CronombyCronomby

    We then go to the Woomelang War Memorial Park where there are two more, one with a spotted quoll on it. From here we go to the Uniting Church where there is a silo with a pygmy possum on it. We then go to the service station to where there is another one with a desert monitor and an orchid. We try to refuel at the fuel station however it will not work (it is an automated system).

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    CronombyCronomby
    CronombyCronomby

    We go to the railway station where there is a western whipbird on the silo. We leave at 11:50 am and continue north to Lascelles (which is not near the lake!). We get there at 12:03 pm and go to the silo art. This is a grazier couple. We leave at 12:15 pm and travel via the Sea Lake-Lascelles Road. At 12:40 pm we arrive at the Sea Lake Silo Art. This is a child and the sky.

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    The Sea Lake SiloA mural on the side of a cafe

    We move to the Sea Lake Rest Area where we have lunch. There are some toilets and showers here but for the life of us, we cannot get the showers to work. We then walk into the town. There is a great hotel that has been taken over by a community co-op and restored. This is the Royal Mail Hotel. It closed in 2017 and the co-op took it over in 2019. It is beautiful inside and out.

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    The Royal Mail Hotel in Sea LakeRon and I having a schooner

    Ron and I go in and have a Carlton Draught ($8). The shop and the hardware store are also community owned. We go back via the showers and discover there is a separate button that needs to be pushed for them to work. However, the water is cold! We go to the fuel station and I take 81.45 litres at 177.9 cents a litre, $146.55, an average of 14.5 l/100 km.

    We head off along the Robinvale-Sea Lake Road and at Manangatang we turn east on the Mallee Highway. At 3:50 pm we arrive at Tooleybuc. I have camped here now three times. The camping site is just on the Victorian border before the bridge over the Murray River. We head down and stop at the exact same spot that I camped at before. We setup right over looking the river.

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    Our campsite at TooleybucOverlooking the Murray River at Tooleybuc

    I read the SMH and have a cuppa. At 5:05 pm we start a fire as we are having camp oven roasts. I setup my shower and we all use it. At 6:05 pm I put my boneless marinated pork and vegies on. Ron has already put a chicken on. At 7:05 pm it is all ready. They are both excellent. We have with a sparkling wine I purchased.

    Afterwards we sit around the fire and have a Baileys and a port. We see a few satellites. I go to bed at 10:00 pm.

    Weather: Fine, max 26°C Arrived: Tooleybuc Time: 3:50 pm Distance: 189.7 kilometres

    Day 14 - Wednesday 20 November 2024 – Tooleybuc to Jugiong

    Weather: Fine, 10.9°C minimum

    I don’t have a great sleep and am awake for 90 minutes from 3:05 am. I wake at 6:45 am and get up at 7:05 am. I have breakfast and park up as I want to leave early. I am leaving Ron and Donna here as they want to take three days to get home but I want to be back tomorrow. I leave at 8:15 am.

    I travel back the same way I did in April 2022 on the way home from great white shark diving in South Australia. This is via Kyalite and Moulemein to the Cobb Highway. At 10:23 am I arrive at the Holmwood Rest Area, 172.1 km from Tooleybuc. This is probably one of the most shithouse rest areas I have ever seen, it is dirty, over grown and stinks. I quickly have a cuppa and leave. At 11:32 am I arrive in Jerilderie, having travelled 260.6 km.

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    A statue of Sir Thomas Monash (at left) and Ned Kelly meeting in 1878The former premises of the Jerilderie Journal

    It is a nice 26°C and sunny. I decide to buy a sausage roll for an early lunch and also a donut for later. While here I notice a stature I have not noticed on my three previous strips through here. It is of Australia’s greatest army general, Sir John Monash, with Ned Kelly who is on a horse. It is said, and was confirmed by Monash, that back in 1878 when he was young, Monash met Kelly when he came to sell some horses to Monash’s father.

    I leave at 11:52 am and at 1:56 pm I arrive in Wagga Wagga. I again refuel here as diesel is much cheaper here than even Sydney. I take 76.17 litres at 157.5 cents a litre, $119.97, an average of 14.3 l/100 km. I leave at 2:04 pm.

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    The Family Hotel in GundagaiHaving a beer in the Family Hotel

    Twenty minutes out of town I stop at a rest area and have a cuppa and the donut. It is very good. I leave at 2:34 pm and at 3:15 pm I arrive in Gundagai. I go to the Family Hotel and have a Reschs Draught ($8.10). I leave at 5:55 pm and at 4:25 pm I arrive in Jugiong. I go to the free camping area and find a spot overlooking the Murrumbidgee River. It is a warm 29°C.

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    My campsite at JugiongA superb blue wren

    I setup and then have a cuppa and read the paper. There are at least another 50 vans here, but still plenty of room. At 5:30 pm I have beers and nibblies, it is a bit cooler at 19°C. I later have the rest of the chorizo pasta from two nights ago. At 8:40 pm I go for a walk around the camping area, it is 1.45 km. I think it is warmer now, sure enough it is 22°C. I go to bed at 9:05 pm.

    Weather: Fine, max 29°C Arrived: Tooleybuc Time: 3:50 pm Distance: 189.7 kilometres

    Day 15 - Thursday 21 November 2024 – Jugiong to Home

    Weather: Fine, 17.0°C minimum

    I slept very well and wake at 6:10 am. I read the SMH and at 7:10 am I get up after stripping the bed and taking everything out from inside the camper. I have breakfast and drive over to the toilet area. I leave town at 8:15 am, it is now 20°C.

    Soon after I start off I have the problem with the gearbox locking me out of 5th and 6th gears. I stop, turn off the engine and start again and it does not happen again all the rest of the way along the Hume Highway. It is so weird! I stop at Chowne VC Rest Area at 10:00 am (161.4 km).

    After a cuppa I leave at 10:09 am and travel via Appin. Here I refuel again as the fuel here is up to 20 cents cheaper than Sydney. I take 56.4 litres at 165.9 cents a litre, $93.60, average 14.1 l/100 km.

    I have the 5th and 6th gear problem once more on the Princes Highway. I think it may somehow be related to how much shit is in the DPF (diesel particulate filter).

    I arrive home at 12:17 pm.

    Weather: Fine, max 25°C Arrived: Kareela Time: 12:17 pm Distance: 331.0 kilometres

    SUMMARY

    Distance: 3,465 kilometres
    Fuel: 515 litres
    Economy: 14.9 l/100 kilometres
    Fuel Cost: $875.25
    Camping: $20
    Silos visited: At least 11 plus 10 mobile silos/tanks

    Copyright © Michael McFadyen 1990 to 2025
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