Day 8: Junee > Coolamon > Narrandera > Wagga Wagga > Junee

Where do I start today?

I probably need to start todays post with a warning: There is some graphic content in today’s post and you read at your own risk. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The other thing that I probably need to say is that I don’t write the blog for your benefit. I actually write it for our benefit. It is not meant to be read as a travel guide; rather it is a warts and all travel diary of the things that we see and how we feel at the time.

Sometimes I describe some really exciting stuff and you might go ”wow!!”, and other times I describe the minutiae of everyday life and you’ll just want to poke your eyes out. I am just reflecting on what we do and acknowledging that both the exciting things, and the mundane things together make up our journey.

But it’s nice to have you tag along, and even nicer to see your comments on our adventures (or mis-adventures).

If you cast your mind back a day or so ago, you will recall that we were in Beechworth and I found a Nelson DeMille novel in an Op Shop. The first one in a series of 2 books, where I have already read the second book. I am now the proud owner of book 1 that I can’t even borrow from the local library.

$2.00 I paid for it, and I didn’t think it had ever even been read. I started it a couple of nights ago and guess what? The corner of page 20 was folded over which says to me that someone did start reading it and didn’t get very far before giving up. Certainly they didn’t get to the good stuff that started a few pages later.

Anyhow, the reason that I started this DeMille novel is because I’d finished reading the previous book I’d brought. ”How full is your bucket?” is what I would describe as a ”personal development” book about making sure that every interaction with other people fills their (emotional) buckets rather that dipping from their buckets and leaving them emotionally drained.

I try my best, but goodness knows that there are some people I deal with that leave me feeling like I am dehydrated in a dust storm 🙁 Interactions with them are so emotionally draining that it is exhausting. Their negativity knows no bounds.

But that is another whinge for another day.

In a completely unrelated but nevertheless uncanny coincidence, the light on the toilet came on last night, so that bucket was clearly full also … but in a whole different way from the concept discussed in the book I have been reading.

In any case, the toilet light coming on means just one thing: Geoff has to empty it. That was one of the first jobs that needed to be done this morning.

Just a quick recap: we are staying at the Junee Golf Course. Lovely spot just out of town, with power and water although sadly no amenities. They do have a toilet that we can use inside the club-house, but no showers.

Alas, no dump point either. Think about that for a minute and join the dots.

We woke at the crack of dawn – about 7.00am – and it was cold. A quick peek out of the window and it was also foggy. Not just foggy, but “can’t see your hand in front of your face” foggy.

“You could probably cut it with a knife” foggy. Seriously, seriously foggy. And cold. 4 degrees cold that felt like 2 degrees. Only an idiot would be out in this weather.

And then I heard it. ”FORE!”

Yep, that sums it up. Only an idiot …

Out of bed and a hot shower, and I decided to cook myself some bacon, eggs and tomato to fortify myself for the task ahead.

The toilet canister.

Now in case you have been unable to join the dots yourself, let me do it for you. No dump point means that I have to take it somewhere else to empty it.

I am certainly not too ashamed to empty the toilet canister – that is just the price you pay for not having to wander around a caravan park (or golf course) in the middle of the night, in the cold, when you need a tinkle.

I gave some very serious thought to going around the golf course, starting at the first hole, and emptying some of the canister’s contents into each hole … just to see how many holes I could get around before the canister ran dry. That would serve two purposes: getting the canister empty, and showing my displeasure at the fact that they don’t have their own dump point.

In the end, good sense won the day and I decided to take it somewhere else.

But having to take it somewhere else means having to load it into the back of Elsie and drive it around town until you can find a dump point so that you can make a deposit of liquid DNA.

Solid DNA is not allowed in Percy’s toilet, except in the case of dire or exceptional circumstances such as a zombie invasion or the apocalypse. Anything less that that means holding on until you can find suitable toilet facilities.

And so it was that I found myself driving around Junee at 8.30 on a Sunday morning, fortified with bacon, eggs, tomato and coffee, with a canister of liquid DNA in the back, and looking for a dump point. As I drove, I considered the worst possible things that could happen and I came up with the following list (in order from best to worst):

1. Having the canister tip over in the back and leak. This particular risk was mitigated by placing it inside a plastic tub, so I wasn’t too concerned about that;
2. Being pulled over by the NSW Highway Patrol who decide that they need to perform a particularly thorough search of this Queenslander’s vehicle, and insist on knowing what I am carrying in ”that canister”;
3. Being involved in a particularly nasty nose-to-tail accident, resulting in the unsecured canister going flying past my head, smashing against the windscreen, and exploding.

Fortunately none of those catastrophes occurred, but I did have a great deal of trouble finding the dump point which turned out to be at the Laurie Daley sportsground. Laurie is a Junee native, and obviously so highly respected in these parts that they named a sportsground after him and installed a dump point.

Or maybe they named a dump point after him and installed a sportsground?

And then the next challenge occurred.

At the entrance to the sportsground there is a little guard hut, with a man in it stopping every vehicle and having some sort of conversation, or possibly collecting an entrance fee. I confess to having a mild panic attack and rethinking the strategy of tipping it onto the golf course … but then I realised that there was a side track off the main entry road that led to the dump point … so I casually went down, made my deposit, and escaped back to the golf course.

OK, that’s probably the end of the graphic stuff, and I’m pleased to report that all went well with no crises. Canister empty, hands thoroughly washed.

It certainly gives a whole new meaning to the expression ”I’m just going to splash my boots”.

We decided that we wanted to go for a bit of a drive today. We have three nights here in Junee and a few things that we want to see here, in Wagga Wagga and surrounds.

We packed up a few bits and pieces and headed off towards Coolamon.

I’ve mentioned that it was foggy, but it was seriously foggy.

We made a brief and unscheduled stop at a little dot on the map called Marrar, which was literally a main street with shops on one side only, mostly closed.

Onwards from Marrar to Coolamon whose claim to fame is … a cheese factory! We do like cheese.

Coolamon is a pretty little township (population 2,275) and the cheese factory seemed to be the main attraction open on a cold, foggy Sunday morning.

We got to taste test some beautiful cheeses, made a significant contribution to the local economy, had coffee, and were on our way to the next stop for the day, Narrandera (population 3,746)

Onwards towards Narrandera, we came across the NSW town with the stupidest name that I have ever heard.

Grong Grong. Population 150 … or 287 … who really knows?

Narrandera is known for two things: a big playable guitar, and water tower art. Both were pretty impressive.

By the time we had seen the sights in Narrandera it was close to 1.00pm and we needed to get back to Wagga Wagga to have a look at the art gallery which closes at 2.00pm.

But it takes an hour to get there from Narrandera, so that is clearly not going to happen today.

We still need to eat and we also need to get some groceries, so we headed back to Wagga Wagga anyway as it was the only way back to Junee … other than going back the way we came.

A quick pub lunch of steak sandwiches at Wagga Wagga. They may not be able to play football, but they make a GREAT steak sandwich.

Went to Woolies for a few groceries, and we made the 30 minute trip back to Junee again. The sun had finally come out.

Even though we have a washing machine in the van, it is only good for a couple of hankies and a pair of undies before it gets overloaded, and we had sheets, towels, and other clothes that really needed a wash.

Into town to the local laundromat, a quick load through an industrial sized washer and dryer, and we are back at the Golf Course for a spectacular sunset.

No dinner tonight, as that steak sandwich and chips is still working its way through my digestive system … but I will need a coffee to stay awake for my radio licence class tonight.

Clean sheets, clean towels, clean jammies and no work tomorrow. Does life get any better than this?

We plan to puddle around Wagga Wagga tomorrow, so I’ll tell you all about that later.

This is what today looked like.

Ciao

#RoadTripNSW2023