Day 28 - Tue 30 Apr: Weetangera to Jerilderie

Temp: 4-26 degC

Drive: 408km; total towed: 2654km

It wasn't so cold this morning so we didn't need any of the heating options available. Wendy was a little slow in getting going and packing up (Greg had done most of his yesterday) and we only left just before 9am, which was a bit of an error.

First stop was at Gundagai as Bob and Noeleene had said it was worth a look. We had lunch and coffee in the van before heading out and must have spent an hour and a half looking at all the old stuff. There was quite a bit to see and the stand out for Greg was the Catholic Church with LOTS of lead-lighting in the windows. Wendy can't really claim a stand-out.

Next stop was to refuel the truck at Collingullie as it seemed to have the cheapest diesel around.

Final stop was here in Jerilderie. We chose a free camp on the Billabong Creek right by the weir. We expected a lot more campers, but we are it at the time of writing (7pm). There is a steady stream of water over the weir which will either make us want to go to the toilet all night, or sooth us into a deep sleep.

We had a chicken curry which was knocked up pretty quickly so we could enjoy it with a glass of wine whilst overlooking the Creek.

"The Great Rescue of 1852" - sculpture in Gundagai

As above

As above

Gundagai Theatre

Catholic Church Gundagai

Inside the Church

Gundagai pub - one of them

Old Gundagai Gaol

Gundagai Courthouse and War Memorial

Coffee shop in Gundagai

Gundagai Post Office

Gundagai

Gundagai Cenotaph

The old rail bridge

The old vehicle bridge in Gundagai in a very sad state

The two old bridges

A very old house in Gundagai

Water tank to replenish water into the old steam engines

Old Gundagai Railway Station

A nice house in Gundagai

Courthouse, again

Old pub being done up, Gundagai

Old petrol pump, Gundagai

"Dad and Dave, Mum and Mabel" (aka the Rudd Family), Gundagai

RAAF Museum @ Wagga Wagga - Meteor??

F1-11

Canberra Bomber

Painted water tower at Lockhart

Easter Rosella on the water tower

Farm Art Sculptures in Lockhart

As above

As above

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As above

As above; the coach driver

Lockhart

Lockhart

Scenery today - flat and dry!

Free camp in Jerilderie - Billabong Creek The Weir

Free camp in Jerilderie - Billabong Creek The Weir

The weir at Jerilderie

Day 27 - Mon 29 Apr: Weetangera

Temp: 2-21 degC

Walk: 3.5km

Not quite as cold this morning but we tried out the gas heater just to make sure it worked before we leave Canberra and head towards the Murray and have to use it. The heater works just fine, so fine in fact we did not have to stay in bed for long before it got too warm!

Whilst Greg went for a walk, Wendy did the clothes washing in preparation for tomorrow's departure. She then dropped Greg in the city and continued to HMAS Harman for a medical. That done, Wendy joined Greg in the Canberra centre for lunch and a wander. Greg needed to have a new battery installed in his iPhone and that took an hour.

Home for a quick LLD before Wendy went to the shops for more groceries and Greg did what Greg always has to do when in Canberra - visit a bicycle shop. We then had good friends, Michael and Kate over to view the new van and say hello on their way back from Yass. We had a small glass of wine inside and chatted for a while. It was really good to catch up with them again. Thank you Mick and Kate for taking the time to visit us, really appreciated.

No photos today.

Day 26 - Sun 28 Apr: Weetangera

Temp: 0.5-17 degC, sunny with a very lazy breeze

Ride: 36km

After another little sleep-in with the heater on, we got up and did stuff before breaking our fasts. Breakfast out of the way, we jumped on the bikes to ride to Casey to return some photo books Bob had left for Greg to peruse (they were from the India trip they did in 2017). Noeleene was out but had baked some scones for us, and they were delicious - thank you!

The ride home was a tad faster as we had a tailwind (still very fresh!) most of the way. We only needed a small lunch after the scones. Wendy then had an LLD whilst Greg played on his computer looking at bicycles.

The other Beswicks (Kevin, Samantha, James, Ben and Jemima) came over for dinner which was Chinese takeaways.

Ride route

Day 25 - Sat 27 Apr: Weetangera

Temp: 1-17 degC

Ride: 31km

The reverse cycle aircon had a workout this morning! It didn’t take it long to warm the van up to 18 degC, so we could get out of bed.

Greg went for a ride with Dale&Suz whilst Wendy looked after the kids.

Good friends (Bob and Noeleene Barb) came over just after lunch for a catch up and a cuppa. Bob is riding with Greg in France later in the year so it was good to catch up.

We then went to visit long-time friends Phil and Sandy Anderson at their place in Gungahlin. Phil has not been well lately but was looking quite fine despite the long hair and hairy face; since he has left the Army, he has gone back to his hippy days.

Back home for dinner then a chat whilst watching The Gods Must Be Crazy with Dale and Suz.

A couple of friendly Magpies on the deck this morning

Our free camp in Weetangera

Dale & Suz

Coffee shop in Acton, Canberra

Their ride

Day 24 - Fri 26 Apr: Batemans Bay to Weetangera

Temp: 10-15 deg C, windy and getting very cold

Drive: 163km

We didn’t rush to get up this morning as we wanted to let the normal traffic get up the mountain before us. We had a leisurely pack-up then the last of the hot cross buns and a stiff coffee made by Rob.

We left Batemans Bay at 10:20am and the drive up the mountain was easy as there was very little traffic and we didn’t hold up too many people. Most were happy with the speed we were doing so just sat behind us.

We stopped at Bungendore for little lunch and it was blowing a gale - up to 50 km/h, and it was cold!  So, we sat in the van and got buffeted a bit. When we arrived in Canberra, the wind had dies down somewhat the cold had not gone away. We went for a walk to the shops (not far) and had to put three layers of clothes on. We both said we might skip the southern parts of Australia and just go back to QLD.

We are staying at another family free-camp and Greg did another awesome job of reversing the van in. BBQ dinner tonight.

Canberra’s Light Rail system is finally in operation

A Crimson Rosella