I didn’t want to move on this morning. I had slept so well that it took me all morning to get my act together, to gather my wits, or whatever other name you care to give that deep unwillingness to get out of bed and on the road. Only the arrival of breakfast finally got me going… and what a breakfast! What is it about bacon and eggs that they seem to be accompanied by all manner of other little goodies, like half a grilled tomato and a slab of hash-brown, etc?
The Murray near Swan Hill.
A river like this has a fascination for me. If only we could rely on the quantity and flow of our major rivers we could use them for commerce, like they did a hundred years ago. It seems that their unreliability has rendered them useful only for messing about in boats.
At Benalla I had the opportunity to photograph the Benalla Monash Bridge, which I thought was rather pretty, guarded as it was by sturdy palm trees at each end.
A stately sort of bridge over the Broken River.
Benalla deserves more time than I could give it. There has to be a return trip to this part of the world, where Australia’s infamous bush-ranger, Ned Kelly roamed and terrorised the locals, and where such military heroes as ‘Weary’ Dunlop are remembered.
From now until the end of the year, fields of canola (rape) brighten the landscape as they ripen. Coming from a part of the country where grazing is the go, I find these sunny, yellow fields refreshing and, just as gloomy, grey days drag my mood down, so these bright fields buoy me upward and my mood soars.
Sunny fields of canola,
Tomorrow I expect to be in Koorawatha, where I’ll spend a few days with the kids – if they’ll have me – before driving home to Tenterfield.