Gunning

March 16, 2024

It was cold and wet last night and we hauled out woolen clothing and down jackets for the first time on this trip. It was a chilly ten degrees this morning and so we didn't rush in the (vain) hope that the tent would dry.

First stop was at the Big Merino. Be thankful that this photograph is from the front of the ram. The rear view shows a pair of three meter high concrete testicles.

After a stop at the large Bunnings hardware store across the road from the Big Merino it was after half past nine by the time we rolled out of town and onto the Hume Highway. We had only seven kilometers of highway before we were able to turn onto the road to Parkesbourne and Breadalbane. We enjoyed forty odd kilometers of relatively easy cycling on very quiet roads until we rolled into Gunning at about two o'clock.

The countryside is much more open and the hills are gentler since reaching Gouldburn.

About nine kilometers was on unsealed roads crossing the flat and shallow bowl in which Parkesbourne and Breadalbane lie.

In 1824 the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Thomas Brisbane, commissioned Hamilton Hume and former Royal Navy Captain William Hovell to lead an expedition to find new grazing land in the south of the colony, and also to find an answer to the mystery of where New South Wales's western rivers flowed. Hume was farming near modern day Gunning at the time and this monument a few kilometers out of the town marks the spot from where the expedition set off.

Gunning has two free campsites, the showgrounds and Barbour Park. Barbour Park is a neat little park on the northern edge of town named after Dr William Barbour OBE and dedicated to those lost in WW1 in which Barbour served as a stretcher bearer. We chose to stay at the showgrounds because the amenities at Barbour Park are closed for renovations.

A Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa), one of a number wandering around Barbour Park.

After setting up the tent and enjoying a hot shower at the showgrounds we cycled back into town to find an early supper. Both cafes were just closing up and the bistro at the hotel would only open after five. So we bought a couple of meat pies at the Mobil filling station to see us through the next hour and a half. The pies were eaten in Barbour Park where we enjoyed watching the birds there until it was time for the bistro to open. A hamburger and chips with what they referred to as "the lot" (fried egg, bacon, cheese and pineapple) washed down with a beer filled the hole.

Not the most elegant meal but we didn't go to bed hungry.

It's only thirty kilometers tomorrow, a short ride to Gundaroo, followed by another easy ride to Canberra the next day. At least, that's the plan for now.

Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 414 km (257 miles)

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