Day 16 - Getting on with it!

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Mongans Bridge - Tallangatta 52km

Today's title is the slogan of the Towong Shire in which the lovely town Tallangatta is situated. It's a matching motto for a lot of things that happened today. The town goes straight to the top of our favourite small town ranking. From the moment we rolled into the township, we just liked it. Sometimes these feelings are difficult to explain and I am sure there is also an element of 'at the right time in the right place' playing into it. The welcome couldn't have been better. From the rail trail (The High Country) we spotted the sprinklers going at the flash footy oval... best sprinklers ever!

Wet bike shirt competition on the oval

But before we keep raving about all the good things in Tallangatta, we need you to meet Eric. Eric is the caretaker of the Mongans Bridge Caravan Park, a relict from the good old days of caravan parks. Eric falls into the category of "it takes all kinds of people" to and then dot dot dot. He was very welcoming and excited to be in the company of two unexpected campers (we were the only guests). He watched our every move when we set up camp and chatted away. But soon enough, the conversation took a bit of an odd turn. Should you ever happen to meet Eric and talk to him, please make sure you don't use the word LIKE. He hates it, with a passion. I am serious. I soon stopped talking, too afraid that I would say it. Louise was much braver but every time it slipped out of her mouth, he had a hissyfit. No kidding. Thankfully Louise's professional experience in dealing with such characters came to the rescue. Don't  get me wrong, he was otherwise a kind enough soul. He even offered us his white wine house blend - two casks of two different white plonk, blended into a 4L apple juice bottle for under ten bucks! I sipped carefully, worried I would have to say 'I like it'. 

So when we roll out of the caravan park, we were not only relieved to use the word LIKE again, but we were also looking forward to a quiet morning on the bikes. It was absolutely beautiful. The first 30km were like a very long version of the usually second or third stop on a minigolf course. You know the one, with the camel humps and you thinking 'this looks easy', you never get it quite right but it is still a lot of fun. I think I never shifted gears so often as today. And with the flies coming into play, at some points, I ran out of hands to shift up, swat!, shift down, swat! and so on. The best morning tea break of the trip so far came at Gundowring North Tennis Club, nobody there, but beautiful facilities (flies and toilet block out the back just like Hilltown!)

Gundowring North Tennis Club

Chasing our own shadows


After 42km we see a familiar sight, this time from the other side. The Sandy Creek bridge, which was the bridge too far on day 12. With the heat on the rise, we are glad to see it's only 8km to Tallangatta. 

Sandy Creek Bridge

Back to the ode to Tallangatta. While we enjoy lunch in a nice little park right in the centre of town we discuss what a big difference these friendly and useful public spaces make to travelling cyclists. One immediately feels welcome - especially when these spaces are also well embedded into the local life. The shop fronts around are all adequate, some old, some modern, some a bit outdated but they all fit together. The next highlight is the Lakeside caravan park and its superfriendly caretaker. We almost feel like 'moving in'. 

After a quick swim in Lake Hume and some laundry duties we get to work: route planning of the next few days. All good intentions were leading northeast, in the direction of Tumbarumba NSW. Until we read about the Tumbafest - a festival held on the last weekend of February. Not a single campsite/bed/cabin/room to be found over the next few days. So we plan for the long way 'round and will head north towards Wagga Wagga, before turning east to reset the navigation towards Canberra. But what do they say here? Getting on with it - and that's what we will do. 

The grande finale to conclude our Tallangatta visit extraordinary comes in the form of a quick but decent thunderstorm. Strong enough to test the waterproof capabilities of our tent (thank goodness we fixed the window!). But the ambience at sunset is priceless.

Sunset at Lake Hume




Location: Tallangatta VIC 3700, Australia

Comments

  1. FrancieFebruary 24, 2022 at 11:53 AM

    Great description and yes "like" is a well used word instead of a pause or "um".
    Fabulous last photo. So interesting the people and the places as you journey on.
    Eric the Caretaker's 'blend' sounded a bit suss but you have to be gracious to your 'host'.
    Glad that you are flexible and at ease with the "reset" of the itinerary. In truth, I would probably find hundreds if not thousands of people close together a bit daunting these days (even outdoors).
    Continue enjoying.
    PS Just booked a 10 day Grand Tasmania Tour for 25th October this year. This replaces our "cancelled" around Scotland by Train trip/which then became the "suspended" Western Australia Hammersley Splendour Tour. Hopefully third time lucky.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kerstin KothradeFebruary 24, 2022 at 2:44 PM

      Tassie! So beautiful, I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time! And no jet lag ;)

      Delete

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