#gundagai

[penumbramewtwos]

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[canberramaidan]

Fording the Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai, NSW.

[walkswithmycamera]

Concrete bus stops of Canberra - Australia.

Unique to this particular city. Who knew it was such a thing?

Only discovered as we spent 5 nights staying in the Turner area of Dickson, about 20 minutes walk from the Duxton Arms where we met up with relatives one evening.

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Below: views across the city of Melbourne and the Yarra River at night.

We took a 7 hour road trip from Canberra to Melbourne, including some rather interesting stopping places on the way.

More photos of the quirky things we discovered, the route map and info here in my travel blog post.

[redrcs]

Posing like a cat

Yellow Rosella, Gundagai

Just to confuse matters, this rosella is a member of the Crimson Rosella family.

[drhoz]

The Great ACT-NSW-NZ Trip, 2023-2024 - Gundagai

AYArktos' photo from Wiki, since I was too busy looking for insects around the place to photograph the statue.

Gundagai is a small town on the Hume Highway between Sydney and Melbourne, and site of the famous Dog on the Tuckerbox, from a doggeral poem written at least as early as 1857. The bullock team driver in the poem was not having a good day, and the poem was considered quite rude even without the popular variations with an added 'h'

And the dog sat on the tuckerbox five miles from Gundagai.

@purrdence and I hadn't planned on stopping there - we'd originally intended to catch the train from Wagga Wagga to Sydney. But we didn't want to infect anybody with COVID.

[gretavdr]

On the road to Gundagai

It was time to go home. Google maps picked us a route via the city motorways to the Hume Highway but it being a workday morning, we politely declined. Or maybe not very politely. 😊Instead, we went to the nearby town of Gisborne for breakfast. There aren’t too many places open anywhere at that time of day so we went to a cafe we’d gone into a day or two before, a cup of tea. The lass at the…

[magstorrn]

starting to realise how much my life revolves around a) chess the musical and b) captain moonlite

[adreamthatsworthkeeping]

Rereading my wip it's amazing how when I'm in a good mood my characters are too. They've all been bickering for days but looking at what I had before they are perfectly pleasant.

[theopshoppoet]

The Road to Gundagai

The mountain road goes up and down From Gundagai to Tumut Town. And, branching off, there runs a track Across the foothills grim and black, Across the plains and ranges grey To Sydney city far away. It came by chance one day that I From Tumut rode to Gundagai, And reached about the evening tide The crossing where the roads divide; And, waiting at the crossing place, I saw a maiden fair of face, With eyes of the deepest violet blue, And cheeks to match the rose in hue - The fairest maids Australia knows Are bred among the mountain snows. Then, fearing I might go astray, I asked if she could show the way. Her voice might well a man bewitch - Its tones so supple, deep, and rich. "The tracks are clear," she made reply, "And this goes down to Sydney town, And that one goes to Gundagai." Then slowly, looking coyly back, She went along the Sydney track And I for one was well content To go the road the lady went; But round the turn a swain she met - The kiss she gave him haunts me yet! I turned and travelled with a sigh The lonely road to Gundagai.

A. B. "Banjo" Paterson

From The Man From Snowy River and Other Verses (Reprinted 1962)

[hotelbooking]

Garden Motor Inn Gundagai Set on a 2.5-acre property surrounded by countryside, Garden Motor Inn Gundagai features a large seasonal outdoor swimming pool. Gundagai town centre is just 3 minutes’ drive away. All air-conditioned rooms feature garden views and include a TV, a refrigerator and tea/coffee making and microwave facilities. The property has a self-service laundry and outdoor BBQ facilities. Gundagai Golf Course and the iconic Dog on the Tucker Box monument are each 4 minutes' drive from Motor Inn. Wagga Wagga is 55 minutes’ drive and Murrumbidgee River is 58 minutes’ drive away.

[blubushie]

What are your thoughts on folk music? (Australian or otherwise)

Mate.

Mate.

Mate.

I FUCKING LOVE FOLK MUSIC YOU HAVE NO IDEA. FOLK MUSIC IS MY SHIT. IF I CAN PLAY THAT SHIT ON A HARMONICA OR SING IT OUT IN THE BUSH WITH JACK YOU CAN BET YOUR ARSE I'M DOING IT.

Waltzing Matilda? Wild Colonial Boy? Moreton Bay? Fields of Athenry? Along the Road to Gundagai? And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda? Sun Arise? I've sung all of these in pubs and I'm either bought drinks and told to continue or cut off and told to leave. I fucking love folks songs.

Sea shanties too, both modern ones (hello, The Longest Johns) and traditional ones. I can sing Leave Her Johnny from memory and my favourite of the newer generation is Fire & Flame because it's about the Halifax Disaster and I love history.

[2024nepeannationalpark]

The Coffee Pedeler in Gundagai and the Garden Motel on top of the hill.

[redrcs]

Demonic (where the monsters hide)

Scorched plywood, abandoned hotel, Gundagai

On my travels

[drhoz]

#2178 - Tragopogon porrifolius - Purple Salsify

AKA common salsify, goatsbeard, oyster plant, vegetable oyster, Jerusalem star, Jack go to bed and a whole slew of Tragopogon species since rolled back into one, presumably.

Native to SE Europe and North Africa, but since introduced to the rest of Europe, North America, Australia and elsewhere. Grown as an ornamental, and for the edible taproots and leaves which are best after a frost and before flowering.

Two species found in the US, Tragopogon miscellus and Tragopogon mirus, are actually polyploid hybrids derived from introduced species.

Gundagai, NSW

[walkswithmycamera]

Canberra to Melbourne Road Trip: Quirky Stopping Places.

ROAD TRIP: CANBERRA to MELBOURNE.  Approximately 7 hours in total (including photo opportunities and rest stops).

As we began to put together our Australia trip plans, we always thought this leg of the trip would have either been by bus/coach, train or a flight directly into Melbourne - more so after discovering the length of time the bus or train took by comparison with each other....

So, when my stepson and daughter in law said they fancied coming with us for the 4 nights we had booked in Melbourne and that we could all travel together by car, it was a perfect opportunity as well as a nice surprise!

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We left Canberra at around 10:30hrs, first of all passing through and stopping at Gundagai to grab a comfort break and a snack, as none of us had taken breakfast before we left our accommodation.

GUNDAGAI - our first stop:

The Dog on the Tuckerbox monument was erected in 1932 as part of 'Back to Gundagai' week, and a large crowd "gathered to her again" to witness the unveiling by Prime Minister Joseph Lyons on 28 November 1932. 

It was planned to donate money placed in the wishing well at the base of the monument to the Gundagai District Hospital.  A souvenir shop was also opened nearby. Copyright on the monument was vested in the Gundagai Hospital, who for many years received a useful income from receipt of royalties from firms using the iconic image.

HOLBROOK:

Next, we were back on the highway, pointing ourselves in the direction of Holbrook. 

Now, if you haven't heard or visited this place, you may be just as surprised as we were to find something very unusual so far inland....  

Holbrook is a small town on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri people in Southern New South Wales, Australia.  

It's on the Hume Highway, some 384 kms by road North-East of Melbourne and 492 kms south-west of Sydney between Tarcutta and Albury (also our next stop, containing further oddities). 

Take a look at my YouTubeShort video below:

Is the Holbrook submarine real? You bet it is - take a read of the story: [GO THERE]

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ALBURY:

NEXT STOP: Table Top on the outskirts of Albury.

Here's where we found the Ettamogah Pub you can ream more about it on Wikipedia through the blue link), it also homes a light aircraft, some great signage and - we got locked inside a makeshift prison!

QUIRKY things to see at the Ettamogah Pub, one of our road trip stopping places.

There were some rather large spider webs inside our jail cell, so we found.

That's after my stepson had shut inside, and telling us once we were in there - not to touch anything or stick our hands inside any holes in the wood!

ALBURY well and truly behind us, we finally reach ACT (Australian Capital Territory) and began edging our way into Melbourne.  

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NEXT STOP - BEECHWORTH:

Photos First:

Beechworth, Victoria, ACT Ausratlia: a town made famous by the notorious Ned Kelly and his gang.

How much gold was found there then?

Over four million ounces of gold (115 tonnes or approximately 2 billion Australian dollars, based on 1997 prices) were found in the first 14 years from discovery in 1852. 

ABOUT BEECHWORTH:

Beechworth is a carefully and tastefully preserved 19th century gold mining town which has become one of Victoria's most popular historic goldrush experiences. It has over 30 National Trust-listed buildings, most of which have been well preserved. 

Is there more to Beechworth we need to know about? There is indeed, you can read more in the blue link here. And, there's a list!

Gold

a new Court House

killings

the Ned Kelly Gang descends

rioting

the first Train arrives and lastly;

the cost of Meat Pie rises to $0.23c.

--------------------------------------- It was starting to get a bit late in the day now and we really wanted to try to aim for Melbourne before darkness fully descended upon us.

One more comfort break and we eventually made it to our final destination at around 17:00hrs.

WE MADE IT - HELLO MELBOURNE!

We loved the views from the accommodation we'd chosen, purely for the location being close to Flinders Street Station as it was a place we needed to visit - a meeting place from long ago, for some of our new relatives, whom we had only recently met.

Take a look at the video above, our very first morning waking up. Looking down upon the city, the train network and the river. We definitely were immensely pleased we had added Melbourne to our travel trip list. It looked very futuristic!

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ACCOMMODATION IN MELBOURNE:

We stayed at Aura on Flinders serviced apartments (booked through Booking dot com for our last 4 nights of this road trip). 

The view above is from our 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment on the 14th floor.

That's it - we're all done here! --------------------------------------- All photos / video are by me, Shell  (HaveCamera_WillTravel / Thulborn-Chapman Photography).

Thanks for reading!