Travelogue:- Homeward Bound and SkyWatch *8

The Bandstand in the heart of Goulbourn.
Goulbourn is situated between Sydney and

Canberra, yet surprisingly has retained the character

of a real country town with friendly people caring

for the land and each other.

The journey frm Sydney to home base was roughly
1,800km. We chose a more scenic route through

the foothills of the Snowy Mountains.

Australia is famed for it's blue hills above
and good ski fields in the alps below

The green countryside was balm to our eyes
coupled with abounding blossoming wild plums

This settler's cottage from the 1940's though in

bad repair was charming amogst it's blossom trees

Crossing the Murray near Jingellic also crossed
the state line from New South Wales to Victoria

I particularly chose this route since I remembered
another spring when I had seen this glorious Magnolia

in a farmhouse garden far from the madding crowd

A black swan ignominously sharing a duck pond

And last but not least to show you all how dire
the droght situation here is, this is the Hume Weir,

Southern Australia's largest dam, where the

cattle peacefully graze. In normal years, the

pylons of the old railway bridge are under water.

It was still 3 day's drive to get home, just didn't

want to tax your patience too far.

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