Jugiong to Melbourne

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The coldest morning we have experienced in 4 months, 0730hrs and the temperature is 0 degrees Celsius, foggy and damp in Jugiong. Jugiong is a small town that resides on the edge of the Murrumbidgee river in the Riverina, just off the Hume Highway. A quick light breakfast and off we travelled, before the polo games started on the showground.

Odometer 98755 and fog clearing, our first stop was the famous 'Dog on the Tucker Box' an historical bronze monument and tourist attraction located at Snake Gully five miles (8km's) from Gundagai, New South Wales. Unveiled by Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons on 28 November 1932 as a tribute to our pioneers, it celebrates the life of an allegorical drover's dog that loyally guarded the man's lunchbox. with the shops still closed here we pushed on to Gundagai. Here we completed our breakfast at the McDonalds.Gundagai is a small town on the Murrumbidgee River. A popular topic for writers the town has become an icon. the sun beginning to warm the green pastures along the Hume Highway, we travelled on to Holbrook.

Holbrook is in the Southern part of New South Wales, only 384 kilometres from Melbourne, Victoria. The town is named in honour of Lieutenant Holbrook a naval officer. The Holbrook Council and members of the Holbrook community raised funds and acquired the HMAS Otway, a decommissioned Royal Australian Navy Oberon-class submarine that resides in park land in the centre of town. This has always been a stop over for us when travelling the Hume Highway. in Holbrook we purchased diesel at 120.9cents per litre.

The rolling farm hills along the Hume Highway green and lush, we soon approached Albury the Murray River and the Victoria' New South Wales Border. Albury-Wodonga is a broad city that is separated geographically by the Murray River and politically by the New South Wales/Victoria Boarder.

Passing the Victorian state boarder sign on the road we crossed the Murray River for the second time in Our Big Lap, recounting that it is the longest river in Australia at 2,508 kilometres in length. From just South of the Murray River we travelled west to Rutherglen a small town in north-eastern Victoria near the Murray River. Originally a gold-mining town in the mid 19th century, it has since developed into a major wine producing area, with 17 wineries all located within a short drive of the town centre.

For our last stop before home we thought we would treat ourselves to some nice wines. We travelled to the largest winery in the region All Saints which was established in 1864. It features landscaped gardens, ponds, a restaurant and wine tasting experience. At All Saints we ate lunch and tasted and purchased some nice wines, The weather a beautiful sunny day now.

A last toilet stop and a refuel just out side Euroa, using the remaining diesel in the containers on the roof of the car we had saved, we drove down the Hume Highway into Melbourne.

No words could describe our feelings. Glad to be at home, however sad that our adventure was over.

The odometer read 99292. 24000 kilometres and 110 days since leaving home for Our Big Lap.

We've commenced the discussion of the next big adventure.

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