Little piggies went to market! Oh! And cows.

G'day and welcome to my April Update. First a U-turn back to the start of said month (sorry Rocky, mate)

Yep April started, then before I knew it, it was finished and here we are again.

You might remember I ended my March update by being in Young NSW well, I left there mid-April and now, sit down and hold on tight, cos. Go on, guess where I am?

No, you didn't guess right sorry. Not Townsville. Yes, I do normally head to Townsville and usually there around this time of the year ready for Winter but.

I am not going to Townsville this year and will be in VIC for Winter. Yeh I know, I have lost my mind but very good friends from my old stomping ground of Wonthaggi, South West Gippsland VIC asked if I could look after their two lovely breeding dogs and the house while they headed north. I obviously said yes cos here I am in down town Wonthaggi.  

Just a little backward step to Young NSW while I continue with the goings on for April.

As said above I started the month still in Young NSW and spent the first day of the month and April fools day looking around Iandra Castle (iandra) just a little north of Young in Greenethorpe NSW. This was a very old homestead really and didn't actually look much like a Castle, well a slight resemblance, but still an enjoyable visit just the same. It was open day and hundreds of people visited the place. The 32,000-acre property was first purchased in 1878 and the construction of the first house made of bricks fired on the property was built. In 1908 commencement started on the conversion of the single-story house to a two-storey reinforced concrete building and the Heritage listed house still stands today although needs plenty of TLC.   

The next day came and I went on a cattle drive. Garry has a stock transport truck and off we went to pick up a load of very large critters. Cattle in actual fact. We had to transport them to the Cowra Meat Processing Plant (Abattoirs) so off we headed, picked them up from a nearby farm a little south of Young then to Cowra. We arrived around 3.00pm and Garry said they would be ready and waiting for delivery to butchers around the area or further afield by midday the following day, quick turnaround indeed.

The day after that I also went with Garry to pick up a load of pigs, oink, oink. Again, off to a pig farm further south of Young, loaded them into the truck and off to Cowra. Boy how noisy are pigs! squealing, screeching etc all the time, pass me the ear plugs please. I definitely didn't hear as much squealing and screeching on arrival at Cowra and I tell you that for free. Its as if they knew what the place was and off they reluctantly trotted out of the truck and down the race into the darkness. I didn't see beyond the walls at their destination and didn't really want to. I must admit that part of me was curious. Just a little part though.

Yeh, I know I said little piggies went to market right up the top of the page but hey, there ya go. They go to a market after that, OK! :)

Speaking of markets, my last trip with Garry was to the South Eastern Livestock Exchange in Yass NSW, west of Canberra, you know, Canberra, the place where that big kindy place is. Wow! What a big place the livestock exchange is and I tell you that for free. Photos don't do the size of this place justice. Garry had picked up a load of cattle from a local farmer and dropped off at Yass. 1000's of sheep were there from the auction that day with trucks arriving to pick them up and 100's of cattle already there and 1000's more being dropped off ready for the cattle auction the next day. Yep, busy, busy, busy. Jackeroos and Jillaroos working away everywhere you looked. Being a city slicker, I was surprised at the number of young girls working there, late teens to early 20's and all looked like they knew what they were doing. Strange how all their names are Jill though. All the boys are Jack, strange indeed. I didnt even see a roo in sight.

The three days spent with Garry in his truck were very interesting indeed with plenty of action and noise and dust. It's always good to see different things. Being a city slicker, I see these big trucks and smaller ones moving stock around on our busy roads but you don't think of what takes place prior to and after seeing these trucks. Thats the interesting bit and the drivers work very hard.

I decided to take a sicky and not go with Garry after all that but instead visited the Young Bluestill Distillery. Just on the north side of town. I have been to this place before and got some really nice Whisky and Bourbon so wanted to get some more. In I went and ordered what I had before. Got back to the van and that night had some of the Whisky. Bugga. The blend must have changed as smelt and tasted nothing like the original.

Next day, back I went armed with said whisky. I explained to the lady at the counter about my problem and the owner was called out. After finding an already opened bottle of older stock he tasted and sort of agreed so as it was the only Whisky they have, offered my money back, in full. I did just that and was disappointed in not getting the Whisky I had been very much looking forward too. Never mind, you can't win all the time. Oh! The Bourbon was very nice indeed, thank you very much. I'm not a big drinker but like to enjoy it when I do.

TIMBEEEER!

Back in the real world and down on the farm there were two very large trees that were not looking very safe at all. If they were to come down the wrong way in a storm a massive water tank would be destroyed and 1000's of litres of fresh water floating down the hill, leaving the house without water. Not a good thing to happen when your only water is tank water. So, the tree cutter downerers arrived one day armed with chain saws etc. Looking, looking, looking and it was decided how they should attack this cut down. A pull of the cord on the chain saw and it all started. Cut, cut, cut and with a crack sound here and a crack sound there TIMBEEEER down it came. OOOPS! So, did the fence near it. Wrong calculations? Wrong choice of wind direction? Wrong angle of cut? Who knows but it happened. The bloke doing the cutting was very annoyed and upset but there ya go, accidents happen. Luckily it came down to the side and not over the water tank. Phew!

Oh! Garry had the fence fixed by days end.

A few days later I played tourist again and checked out Monti Cristo Haunted House in Junee, a short drive north east of Wagga Wagga NSW. The house as it now stands was built by the Crawley Family who lived there until they all died. The Crawley Family lived on the property in a much smaller residence, more like a shack from around 1876.

The Crawleys where are very prominent family in the town and eventually owned most of the area and after the Great Southern Railway Line opened in 1878 and very large railway station built, Mr Crawley built the Railway Hotel opposite the then bustling railway station.

The House was upgraded and got its reputation of being haunted due to a suicide or as some thought, the murder of a maid. She was reported to have jumped, or pushed from the balcony above the main entrance. A bleached section of the concrete steps can still be seen after all these years later after trying to remove the blood. People have reported seeing a woman standing on the balcony and some photos show a figure that wasnt seen there at the time of taking the photo. Believe it or not. Nope, I didn't feel any tap on the shoulder from a ghost.

What did I think of this place? Well. I was very disappointed to be honest to think that such history and such a magnificent building and out buildings including a Ball Room are let go and not maintained by the current owners, the Ryan family also well known in the area. A LOT of TLC is needed at this place. $12 adults and $10 seniors will let you see this place too. Mrs Ryan will meet you at the front entrance area and will let you know very quickly by holding up a sign and saying, cash only, no credits cards. She is well scripted in a little information she tells you too. Ghost tours can also be had at night, we didn't bother though. Unfortunately, don't expect too much at this place though. Maybe I did? I have included a pic below but it makes it look really nice indeed but its not what it looks like, really.

Lunch was then had the Chocolate/Liquorice Factory also in Junee and that was very nice indeed. A quick look around the very small factory and some goodies purchased prior to departure and a return to Young via a different way. Oh! I purchased some chocolate coated bananas that tasted nothing like banana. Oh well. Garry and Roxanne played host for the day so a very big thankyou to them for a lovely day. I can recommend the Chocolate Coated Liquorice and Rocky Road though.

Struth! I'm buggered just writing all above as it was only the first two weeks of the month, phew! Time for a holiday and a poppy nap me thinks.

That all said and moving right along the time arrived to pack up the aluminium tent, hook up to the Collie and head south again for a few more days at Jugiong, talked about in my February update. Yep, I was on my southern migration down to the bottom of VIC.

A VERY BIG THANKYOU to Garry and Roxanne for allowing me to stay a little longer after looking after things for them while away. See you both later in the year.

I had an extremely windy trip to Jugiong through the hills and dust everywhere being blown across the dry and dusty hills and road, the collie and aluminium tent were very dusty indeed and even though windows etc were closed my mouth felt dry and dusty so a slow drive but safe, all good.

What was that wet stuff falling out of the sky? Yep, my first night at Jugiong and the first rain for a couple of months started falling out of the sky. YES! At long last some rain to settle some dust even if only for a couple of days. About 10mm fell overnight and most of the dust on the car and van had gone. Ripa Rita.

My stay at Jugiong was spent relaxing, reading and watching the place get busy very quickly each afternoon. I was set up with a view of the entrance and one afternoon I was sitting outside reading and I counted 30 vans arrive in 30 mins. I could safely say it is a very busy donation camp for sure and only hope every van or similar put a donation in the box near the toilet block. Im sure many dont though as is the case at many of these places. This little black duck does as I appreciate this place and similar places. Plenty of room for everyone though.

I also headed across to Wagga Wagga one day to check out a few places and decided on the way back I would go via Tumut so headed along the Snowy Mountain Highway. I checked out a couple of places and said to self, self, you must come back and spend some time in this lovely area. That I will but not at 15c as it was on the day. Maybe early or late summer would be better. I was also going to slip across to Canberra but decided to leave that till next around the area as I have always wanted to go into Parliament and watch the little kids act away. That will happen one day in the maybe not too distant future.

Weather? Had plenty of that. The first half of the month was hot and windy. Temps were 12c 18c overnight and 31c 34c during the day It was also very, very dry with no rain at all. It was that dry even the ducks were hiding and not to be seen anywhere. That all said, the second half of the month arrived along with my relocation from Young and the first night at Jugiong saw cooler weather arrive, like 9c 12c overnight and 20c 22c during the day. Yep, the change in weather had arrived for sure. Rain also made an appearance, not a lot but two nights in a row was enough to settle the dust down for a couple of days. The wind didn't relocate though. It was good to get some slightly cooler weather after many months of heat but I'm sure my attitude toward that will change rapidly when I get further south. Friends that are heading to North QLD said they will send a daily email letting me know what I am missing. Gee, thanks guys.

After my stopover at Jugiong it was time to move on again and start heading further south. I had a one-night stand near Barnawartha VIC south west of Albury/Wodonga then a one-night stand near Wallan VIC south of Seymore then into Melbourne early the next day to try and beat some traffic and down to Wonthaggi, arriving safely after still heaps of traffic through Melbournes Freeway system. That was at 6.30am on a Sunday. Melbournians should have been in bed asleep at that time of day on a Sunday. NOPE!

Now come on Weather Gods, be nice to me during winter please, I'm nice to you.    

Mmmm, you didn't listen weather gods. The 24/4 saw a thunder storm arrive mid-afternoon and that was the heaviest rain I had seen for a few months. There was even a bush fire at the time out the back of Wonthaggi. I reckon the rain helped sort that out though.

25/4/18 LEST WE FORGET

So, to bring this update to an end, it finds me in Wonthaggi and settled for a few months AND a little, well, big project in the back of my mind as we speak that you will have to wait and see what that is maybe next update [ sorry Dennis M:) ] So until next we meet in cyber space, keep safe everyone.  

DOUG

Some pics below as usual.