Let the fun begin.
I left home at 9:00 according to plan, heading to Jugiong on an overcast morning to meet the other members of Noreen’s tagalong group. The initial 20 limit has blown out to 27 with the additional Rollers joining in along the way. My first stop was Goulburn as is my habit going down the Hume Highway (M1) and Belmore Park didn’t disappoint, the gardens looked a picture.
I reached Jugiong about 14:00 and found our designated spot along the Murrimbidgee River. Several of the group had arrived and it was good to catch up with familiar faces and meet the new members.
Junee
Then on to Narrandera for overnight stop at the Brewery Reserve.
Next day we set out for Echuca where we had a 2 night stay in a Big 4 CP. Tuesday was Melbourne Cup so a public holiday here in Victoria. The CP as you could imagine was full. We had an enjoyable pub lunch at the nearby Shamrock Hotel and stayed to watch the race on their large screen TV. Great atmosphere although no big winners amongst us. Noreen’s sister was a part owner in number 7, Just Fine. Great excitement when it led at the beginning of the race.
We walked back along the Murray River past where the paddle steamers leave. Then as I walked I didn’t realize that I was on the edge of a shallow gutter and unfortunately turned my ankle, fell over and had to be helped up. Fortunately one of the ladies organized a ride back to the CP for me because I wasn’t able to walk that far.
This is how I spent the next day. I bought a bag of ice from the CP office.
With a rest day yesterday I was now able to hobble around and drive my automatic van( thank God).
The next couple of days we travel through the Mallee farm region of Western Victoria. The countryside comprises of vast acres of grain, barley, wheat and canola. Teams of harvesters, equipment and trucks are industriously bringing in the harvest. Each little country town has silos, collection points and loading facilities to transport the grain by rail or road.
Joans jottings 