Departure by 1130 was pretty good. An uneventful trip down the Hume Highway, if you except the occasional driver who cut in too soon (D’s pet hate). A mandatory stop at Jugiong for coffee. This little town is buzzing: the upgraded Sir George was packed with lunchers sitting outside in the soft sunshine and the Long Track Pantry was as busy as usual. The smoked trout pate and Lumberjack cake was ample fare! A new homewares and art ‘precinct’ has opened up the hill as well, but at this satage has limited range. Over the road at the Reserve, the Polo tournament was on again, so it was packed with horse floats and camping rigs. We had thought to head out last night, so as it turned out that was probably a good decision.

T wanted to visit the Australian National Art Gallery at Wagga Wagga, but as it closed at 4 PM we opted to spend the night in the vicinity. There were a few campsites available so we chose Oura Beach Reserve on the Murrumbidgee. There were just a few other campers and it was quiet (after the fishermen and mini-bike rider had departed, that is) and pretty clean – with some sculptures. We were able to scavenge enough sticks and twigs (Theo would have been proud of us) to have a lovely fire. It was remarkably mild, and the clouds that drifted axross later in the evening didn’t bring any rain until we were well into bed – and then not much.