Day 18 - Backroad Beauty (mostly flat)

-

Bowna - Holbrook  53km

Google Maps promised us a 'mostly flat' route to today's destination. We ponder the definition of 'mostly flat' as we slowly pedal the rolling hills towards Holbrook. Probably some kind of algorithm. But once we got the hairy and very brief stint on the Hume Highway out of the way and turn into Mountain Creek Road, we find ourselves in cycling backroads heaven. And some flat stretches, too. 


Rolling along with ease.

We notice the change in the flora around us, different shades of green and blue, but the sight of a Wedge Tail eagle is still as breathtaking as ever. We have the road almost to ourselves and if there is the odd car passing, it always comes with a friendly wave and a big smile. We pass numerous cattle properties, big hay sheds and sheep paddocks,  always accompanied by the screeching sounds of the cockatoos.

I always get a bit of a thrill when we ride into places that are mainly associated with motorised vehicles. And Holbrook is certainly such a town. The Hume Highway is humming in the background and the caravan park is called the Motor Village something. When checking in, I joke to the very friendly lady at reception that I hope we don't get disqualified because we arrive by bicycle. 

Like probably many of you, we have been here before. By car, of course. And we always wondered what's with the submarine in the centre of town? So we head to the submarine museum to find out. Warning: this is not a place for claustrophobics. For people familiar with the concept of tiny or small house living, thinking you could manage to live in a massive tube of steel mostly underwater for a few days or weeks, think again. This is a whole different level. The Mawson Hut in Antartica looks like a mansion in comparison.

The museum is highly informative and one can indulge in as many engineering details as one can absorb. The cute bit at the end comes in form of a hologram that tells the story about how Holbrook became Holbrook and ended up with the top half of the HMAS Otway submarine in the centre of town.

The town was originally called Ten Mile Creek. Then around the 1860's a German came with lots of beer, and it became Germanton. But around WWI to be associated with Germany wasn't helpful for public relations and the morale in town. So the shire suggested a name change and had it down to four promising names (which included Martin and Asquith). It became Holbrook in honour of the heroic achievements of Commander Norman Douglas Holbrook VC, who commanded the B-11 submarine, and against all odds successfully entered the Dardanelles, where he torpedoed and sank the Ottoman navy’s ironclad Mesudiye. The town was renamed in 1915 and Mr and Mrs Holbrook visited for the first time in 1956. But strong connections to the family remained. When the submarine HMAS Otway was decommissioned in 1996, the town of Holbrook bought it (part of it) for the scrap metal price and planned to relocate and rebuild the upper half in Holbrook. When the project ran out of money, Mrs Holbrook come to the rescue and issued a generous personal cheque. And thanks to this, you can now stretch your legs on HMAS Otway, while journeying between Melbourne and Sydney. For more info see: Article in the SMH 2021
Big submarine, small bicycle.

I almost got a bit teary coming out of that Hologram theatre. The story was told from the perspective of Norman's wife, an Austrian who grew up on the ski slopes around Innsbruck. When we exit the museum, we spot a little commemorative frame with a picture of her - she died in 2020, age 106! After so much information input we had built up an appetite and enjoyed lunch while watching visitors climbing the submarine.

Setting up camp came with a very unique but funny element of entertainment. Jack, only 11 weeks old and currently in ankle-biter phase, found pleasure hoping in and out of the tent, chasing a feather which one of the down sleeping bags had released.


Playtime!

Tomorrow's stage into Wagga Wagga will be the longest one so far. Google Maps is promising more of 'mostly flat'. Fingers crossed!


Comments

  1. FrancieFebruary 26, 2022 at 7:40 PM

    So loved this commentary. Agree re the small space inside a submarine. Joe and I explored one in the magnificent Technik Museum in Speyer Germany and it was certainly an eye opener as to how to live in a cramped space. Love the doggie.
    I spent 9 hours with Eddie today and he was great. [Mum with girlfriends at 'Moulin Rouge' and Dad working as Timekeeper at Sandown Motor Races]
    Eddie has 'found' the Ukulele and John Kat lent him his one. Eddie was picking and playing most of the day. First time when he has spent less on screen time. He and I lunched at his favourite cafe - the Vegan "Soul Pod" within the WholeFoods shop up the road. I gave him 100% effort and focus on him today and it paid off. We saw a demo on cooking curry at WholeFoods, bought the spices and replicated - much to his Nonno and Father's joy - at home. No coconut milk, no problem! I put in full cream milk and sprinkled desiccated coconut.
    Good luck with the big ride tomorrow

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for sharing! We read all the comments, replies depend on internet connection and energy levels.

Popular posts from this blog

Accidents happen

-
Image
It's slow going writing this particular blog post as I am doing it with only one functional hand.  After almost 7000kms on the bikes, injury found me while running.   I wish I had a fantastic story to tell, but I simply tripped on a rocky trail and fell over.  You know that meme that goes "If you want to know if you're old fall over.   If people laugh you're still young,  if people panic then you're old!"  I can confirm, I am definitely old! It probably didn't help that two of my fingers were quite obviously either dislocated, broken or both.   I begged Kerstin to remove my wedding ring before the finger started swelling, being three hours from the hospital I was imagining the worst case scenario of the ring tourniqueting my finger and its subsequent death and amputation.  Poor Kerstin, this kind of thing makes her faint, but she gritted her teeth and pulled off the ring.  I then gritted my teeth and asked the ex-army maintenance guy to try and relocate my
Read more

Learning a new language

-
Image
There's plenty of things I anticipated learning when we accepted the positions at Avon Downs.  I thought I'd learn a lot about cooking for groups, about different cuts of beef and how to prepare them.  Maybe some stuff around the logistics of running a community which is 260km from the closest centre, and even then, its still Mt Isa... But I didn't really expect to learn a new language.  To be fair, I haven't spent a lot of time in the Territory.  But they really do speak their own dialect here.  Much different from costal Queensland, which is a slower, relaxed kind of Australian drawl.  Here it's fast, brief and usually mumbled.  I think I spent the first month constantly asking people to repeat themselves, answering the phone is always a diabolical risk.  And trying to understand the radio chat, impossible! Then there is all the slang and local shorthand.  To be fair some of the slang I suspect has been created by the Ringers themselves, as they are on their own l
Read more

Generation Z's perspective

-
Image
Q:  "Which is more important, the journey or the destination?' A:  "The company." Introducing the team at Avon Downs Station.  This video was made as part of a competition between AACo Stations for the Employee Challenge.  It's a great way to show the outside world what life on Avon looks like.  It will change your perspective on who works on Cattle Stations. There is a lot to be said for keeping company with Generation Z.  The stockcamp (the staff who do all the stock work) are all aged between 16-23 years old.  We feel pretty privileged to be given access and insight into their world.  They are generous when asked for explanations of everything from the work they do, to how the social system between them as individuals, as a team and as a Station works.  I'm pretty sure the education is going both ways!  If you want to be reassured about the future, then I recommend spending some quality time with it.
Read more