Day 10 Saturday 5/6/21 Lake Cargelligo to Trundle, 1-14 icy then warm in the sun

An icy morning. Woody goes over for a shower, forgets his undies and reckons that the shower was hot by the time he got back! After all the rain the ground is red slippery mud that the water just runs off.

On the road again and we’re not inspired to tour the town. There’s a clear blue sky, bright sunshine, patches of mist and roadside grasses glowing cream in the morning light. We see a graphite mine and magnificent broad acre farms of newly sown grains.

On the outskirts of Condobolin there is an amusing display called Utes in the Paddock which started in a farm paddock but has grown and been moved to a more convenient location for tourists. Old utes have been donated to be painted and sculpted to represent aspects of Australian life. It’s now a warm sunny morning and we dash back and forth picking out our favourite works. Even a truckie pulls in to snap a few pics.

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Condobolin seems like a nice town, people care for their homes and gardens, the public buildings are grand and some folk have even taken up the decorated ute theme in their front gardens. We stop to stretch our legs at a pleasant park beside the Lachlan River where there is a monument to a local hero. William Beech who invented the Trench Periscope during the First World War which when attached to the .303 rifles allowed soldiers to aim and fire their rifles without popping their heads above the trenches of Gallipoli. 

Heading north east along a narrowing road (with Woody getting anxious) we arrive at the village of Trundle. This tiny town has the widest Main Street that one could possibly imagine and the second longest pub verandah in NSW which stretches for a whopping 68 metres. This is a town with big aspirations.

Two blocks back from the pub is the Trundle Showgrounds and we instantly feel at home. A large (of course) perfectly level and well mown area with a brand spanking new toilet and shower block. And before you ask, yes they are flushing toilets. We have trouble getting the power box to work so VeeWee scoots back to the hardware store for the key only to find that it is not needed for power. One only has to turn the switch on and plug the cord into the van for the power to work. What will they think of next. You know sometimes I wonder how we’ve actually made it this far north. VeeWee is so excited she knocks the top off a bottle of De Bortoli wine to accompany lunch in the wintry sun.

A perfectly pleasant caravanning afternoon is spent wandering the town. We meet an alpaca whose job is to guard a what we take to be a wrecker’s yard or maybe that of an avid collector? We marvel at the flattened grey mouse bodies on the bitumen, the recent mouse plague has obviously been through here. We chat with the volunteers who are planting shrubs at the well-appointed sports ground and marvel at the fact that one can buy a fully renovated and attractive home for a mere $220,000. As we admire the grand proportions of the School of Arts, a chap wanders up and launches into a long discussion about his prostate cancer treatment at the local hospital. They are a friendly bunch here, but I really don’t need to know such intimate details about their health. Folks are falling out of the pub with big smiles and boxes of pizzas so we round off the afternoon with a wine in the pub’s sunny beer garden. Have you ever wondered about that expression ‘beer garden’ because it can be many things? For most country pubs Beer Backyard is probably more apt especially as we sit contemplating the cost of upkeep of a crumbling pub of these dimensions, a patch of mowed lawn and a few straggling plants. The roses are a nice touch and yes, the pub is a bit of a beaut.

We have a lovely sunset over the Showgrounds to end the day. Yep, we can recommend this town.

Towing Kms: 155kms

Accom: $15.00