Saturday morning there was an early start (well earlier than most days!!) and we were picked up by Bruce and Heather and taken to the Wodonga Farmers' Market. We enjoyed egg and bacon sandwiches and coffee before wandering around the stalls. We loved this van from the Free Range eggs stall, and the sense of humor displayed in the cartoons..........
In this building were rooms full of beautiful timber products to tempt us, and I do know someone who made a purchase, which I will show you another day.
The park was alongside the Murray River and we walked around the path...........
...and noted these carvings which displayed features of Wodonga.
Following our walk around we were given a tourist drive around the cities of Wodonga and Albury, which are really one big city, but separated by the River Murray which is the border between Victoria and New South Wales.
That evening we went back to the Wodonga Park to see the Limelight Show..........
I was interested to note the use of laces and curtain fabrics for this hanging in the morning, and now it was lit up for the show. (I might have some fabric that I could use to make these!!?)
Sunday morning it was special to attend church with Bruce and Heather,......
..............which was followed by lunch at the Plaza and a drive to the park, and a walk around the lake.............
..........and followed by coffee on the deck at their home. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and what a great view they have of the hills in the distance.
Monday was a work morning for Barry, while I downloaded more photos and edited them for a blog post and made a few phone calls. After chilly nights, the days have been blue sky and sunshine. I know a lot of the country are waiting for rain, but we are very happy to have nice weather to travel in.
After lunch we went to the plaza to restock the fridge with a few basics. We are well stocked with most food for meals as we have an Engel freezer in the car as well as the fridge in the van.
Then back to the van before heading back to Heather and Bruce's for a BBQ tea. While Barry has known these friends for close to 50 years, I have enjoyed getting to know them and spending time with them while we have been in Wodonga.
We have had a good week here in Wodonga, and Tuesday it will be time to pack up and move on. Stay tuned for the next instalment of newsfromjude.
We arrived at our next stop, Wodonga on Tuesday afternoon, after driving through mainly flat, irrigation land along the river. Just before Wodonga that countryside changed to hills. This was to be our base for the next few days.
Not long after our arrival we decided we had time to get out to the Hume Dam.
I was amazed at the sheer size of the lake, and can imagine how hard it would have been for the people of Tallangatta to relocate their town and homes.
Here Barry is checking out the turbines in the power station......
After leaving the Hume Dam, we drove into New South Wales and visited the Ettomogah Pub.
ETTAMOGAH MOB CARTOON
Example of an Ettamogah Mob cartoon. The Ettamogah Pub was originally conceived by cartoonist Kenneth aka Ken Maynard who started drawing the iconic building, with its outward leaning walls and bullnose verandah, in 1959. The Ettamogah Mob cartoons, an iconic series of weekly cartoons, were published in The Australasian Post for nearly 50 years until that publication closed in the early 2000s. As a boy, Ken would cycle around a water hole called Ettamogah, an Aboriginal word meaning 'place of good drink'. The pub was built by businessman Lindsay Cooper and first opened in 1987. The aim was to create a themed family restaurant which would become a tourist attraction. The timber building featured sloping walls and a distinctive architectural style true to the original cartoon design with the old Chevy ute parked on top. According to Ken Maynard's Ettamogah cartoons, the 1927 Chevy truck washed up on top of the pub in the floods and none of the regulars could be bothered to get it down. Ettamogah spelt backwards and said fast actually says ‘’how you going, mate’’?
We enjoyed our evening meal here at the Pub,.......
.............and had to laugh at these stools. Prob needed the left stool after this meal!!
Next day was a shopping day at the Wodonga Plaza and then the Albury Plaza as well as a Bunnings store.
While we were driving to Wodonga on the Tuesday we drove past a lake with a lot of dead trees in it. We were curious as to why they had died, so I went to Mrs Google to check it out......and thus we decided to back track on Thursday for a look. Apparently this is a man made lake and the trees have died after the land was flooded.
Mulwalla dam and Yarrawonga wier
Yarrawonga is on the Victorian side of the river and Mulwalla is on the other (NSW) side and only separated by the river and a bridge. As there is a road on both sides of the river which goes to Albury Wodonga we decided to drive on the NSW road this time. We followed the Riverina Highway and drove through the towns of Howlong, Corowa and to Mulwalla.
The Yarrawonga Weir is the farthest downstream obstruction across the Murray that does not have a navigation lock through it. When full, the lake is 124.9 metres (410 ft) above sea level. The weir is 1,992 kilometres (1,238 mi) upriver from the river mouth.
The road bridge across the lake was built before the lake was filled, commenced in 1917, and completed in 1924. It replaced an earlier wooden bridge built in 1889–1891. The bridge was started from both ends, each by the respective state government. However, they did not coordinate their efforts, and the bridge has a dip and a bend in the middle to make the two ends meet.
Lake Mulwala is a renowned fishery for the native Murray cod and is one of the few places where this Australian native freshwater fish is still reasonably common.
You can see the fish in the water below, and there were many birds around taking advantage of the fish.
On the way back from Mulwalla/Yarrawonga we stopped off at the Albury War Memorial. This is an impressive monument at the top of a steep hill in Albury.
You can see Albury down below in the distance.
The next day was a work day for Barry, and in between his tasks, we toured around with Barry's friends, who showed us the sights of Wodonga and Albury. These towns are really one big city, and only separated by Murray River, as well as being in different states!! Once again I can imagine how tricky this situation would have been for the population during covid and border closures.
Bruce and Heather decided to take us to Yackandandah for lunch and to try the Gum Tree Pies that are a renowned feature of the town.
While we were in the town, it was lovely to meet up with Susan again after many years. Susan is a fellow Statler longarm quilter and we met many years ago in our early days of quilting when we both attended conferences and Idid classes with her.
Some history of Yackandandah from the internet.............The discovery of gold late in 1852 began the rush of alluvial miners. They were a multinational mixture, who lived in small communities along the Yackandandah Creek – from Staghorn, Allan’s, Osborne’s and Rowdy Flats, along through present Yackandandah up to the Junction and through to Hillsborough.
Yackandandah, however, became the main focus. A survey of the town was made in 1856 and land sales there began in early 1857. Substantial buildings were erected, serving the variety of needs. Businessmen of the time held title to many of these sites.
Reef mining began in about 1860. By the mid-1860’s easily won alluvial gold became scarcer and many small miners were forced out - some onto the land or to the services. Large scale mining with barges and dredges from the 1890’s again transformed the landscape and the mining process. This largely cushioned the district from the effect of the economic depression of the time, although the town lost the Bank of Victoria in 1893.
The shops in the main street are largely as they were originally, and the town is a great tourist spot.
The guys were intrigued by some of the old items and laughingly said that the shop contents were as old as they were!!
I can't believe how much "stuff' was out on the footpath, and left out overnight, but then I don't expect many people would want to take much of this??
Apparently we were a couple of weeks too early to see the magnificent display of autumn leaves as they turn on the trees.
Bruce and Heather used to live in this town and took us for a drive around the area, and we walked down to the Gorge to see where the miners had cut away the granite with pick and shovel back in 1859!!
This was followed by a drive around the outer sections of the town with it's amazing scenery..........and much different to the flat land that we had seen along the Murray days before. The mountains can be seen in the distance of these photos, and we may see more of this as were venture further east.
This is a place called Indigo Valley.
The day ended with a yummy Roast Lamb meal with Heather and Bruce at their home. Thankyou for showing us your part of the world and lovely to meet you both.
