Our First "Big Thing"

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Here in Australia, apparently size does matter....

Not only do australians have an affinity for big landscapes, big beers, and big people (recently ranked the #1 fattest nation in the world), but they also love making larger-than-life road side replica's of the things dearest to them - like koalas, bananas, lobsters, and even macadamia nuts. You could spend your whole life touring the country looking for these 'impressive' road-side attractions, and we were lucky enough to happen upon our first big thing a few weeks ago, on a weekend road trip.

Taking advantage of the fact that we had a car for the weekend, we decided to take a trip down to Canberra (more on that later)... Canberra is about a 3 hour drive south-west of Sydney, and there isn't much on the drive except farmland and sheep. Lots of sheep. The only sizable town worth noticing on the way is called Goulburn, and fittingly enough, it has been made famous by its very popular 'Big Thing'.

What is this big thing, you ask? A Big Merino. That's right - a 3 story concrete replica of a merino sheep. Not only is it a giant sheep, but its also an actual building, and you can climb up into the merino's head and look out its beady eyes. (we opted against this). We still aren't entirely sure why the country folk are compelled to build these attractions, but its impossible to drive by without stopping. Keep your eyes out for future blogs, because hopefully we'll see more big things in our future travels. If you want to know more about big things, here is a website: www.bigthings.com.au

We only stopped in Goulburn for a few hours, and didn't see much of the actual town, but we did find a nice brewery for lunch which was great and very quaint. Clearly historic, the Goulburn Brewery is now run by one guy who continues to brew his own beer and also offers tours. ...A great place for some lunch and a beer on your way through town.

More to come soon - next blog on Canberra...
Matt& Heidi

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Photos

Sheep Country
view from the car on the drive...

The Big Merino
A bit scary I think - its actually a tourist shop and you an go up to the head and look out the eyes...

Big Merino Butt (and Heidi)
This was Matt's idea.