Before I left Mansfield, my foresighted friend Kath gave me a little electric fan heater. You never know, she said, it might come in handy. Handy! I have it duct-taped to the bench! As you can guess, it's been cold ... very cold. Snow and frost, rain, hail and gale force winds. I've taken to wearing at least four layers and have given up on free camping since there is no sun for the solar panels and I need power to run the precious little life-saving heater. Even Maggie is cold! None of this bouncing out of bed and asking to be taken for a walk. Walk? What! In this weather!
After a lovely two day interlude with friends in Wangaratta and Everton, I headed off for Burrumbuttock (a free camp north of the border) via Beechworth and the Woolshed Falls. We wandered through Chiltern and Howlong before reaching a great little campsite ... well it was great until Maggie rolled in a putrid dead fox. So, I used their shower to vaguely clean the dog and then left for the delights of the Walla Walla sports ground. Walla Walla had a lovely feel to it, some charming little junk and 2nd hand shops and a community pub that served international parmis. I had to giggle ... the Hawaiian had pineapple, the Hungarian had salami, the Australian had a fried egg on top and the American had corn! I entertained myself for ages trying to decide the additional ingredient for a range of nationalities.
I couldn't get a better shot of the rather beautiful paintings on the water tower since that would have involved getting out of the van. Sorry.
The next morning was appalling! Sleet, wind, freezing conditions ... but those little league footy players were out in the elements, Busting a gut. I left when the score was a tense nil-all. I was off to the glass gallery at Wagga Wagga. What a delight! They had an exhibition of black and white glass in the top gallery which was just mind-blowing.
On to Coolamon. Now, if you're feeling bored and want to go somewhere different, Coolamon is for you! It is a dinky little place, with a great bakery and a cheese factory! What a combination! I might have bought a little bit of cheese (persion feta, brie and a punchy blue) and some lovely sourdough with pepitas and honey. So that's lunch sorted for the next few days.
I learned all about the origins of the kelpie at Ardlethan, from two lovely men manning the new museum there (collie crossed with a prick-eared black dog) although I left them arguing about the origin of the name ("I heard it from ol' Bill who was related to the owner of Moss ..."). I was going to stay at Ardlethan but it (a) had no pub (b) had no power and (c) was too early to stop. So I left and wandered up to West Wyalong where I hunkered down in the van and watched burly men play rugby. I don't think they were having fun.
Travelling up the Newell, I was accompanied by lots of trucks and a few vans but generally the road was empty. It must have been something to do with the gale-force winds and driving rain. Last night I stayed in Peak Hill, a stunning little place which had pancake stacks for free for breakfast this morning. But who cares about pancakes? It was sunny! I kid you not. There was sun! In my excitement to get outside, I dropped my keys into Maggie's waterbowl.
Some people are so judgemental! When I found the key man and the battery man in Dubbo and explained the issue (central locking doesn't work anymore ... might have something to do with water in the keys) they got really grumpy with me. That's not how you're meant to treat your keys, you know. Really? Oh, I thought you could dunk your keys in the dog's bowl with impunity! Anyway, it's all fixed now.
And as I left Dubbo and travelled along the highway, I started getting more and more cheerful. Afterall, the sun was still shining (most of the time) and in the distance I could see the Warrumbungles. So I've now reached Tooraweenah, where the campground has doggy day-care (sorry Maggie) so that I can go walking tomorrow ... and there's more sun forecast! Warrumbungles, here I come!
You're moving north so that means warmth. Very envious! We actually had a few bursts of sunshine on The Ridge today but the cold days will continue. 26 inside 8 outside at the moment. Enjoy the journey.
ReplyDeleteLovely report but hope this new lot of Arctic weather hasn't hit you. We've done the Walla Walla, Burrumbuttock, Howlong stretch a few times without stopping- or timing right to explore. Definitely putting Walla Walla on the itinerary for a meal break now! Travel safely x
ReplyDeleteLast time we were in Ardlethan it had a pub which sold pizza, free power, toilets and a shower in the car park opposite the shops in the main street and was bitterly cold. Hope you get a good walk in at the Warrumbungles. We are off tomorrow....I know we were meant to be on the road already but let's not go into why!!! Might see you on the road.
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