Day 20 - One does nothing alone

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Wagga Wagga - Junee  42km

Today provides more proof that we are small town people. While in Wagga, we feel a bit out of place and awkwardly try to be friendly with the space around us. But rolling into a country town, where the bad smell of a sheep abbatoir hits you at the town welcome sign, we are just fine and feel relaxed. But before we get to Junee, we decide to give Wagga Wagga another chance and check out the Art Gallery.

Cultural hour at the Art Gallery

Once inside we are quickly absorbed in the often curious world of the arts. Titled 'One does nothing alone' is an exhibition of artworks from April Glaser - Hinder, who now lives in nearby Cootamundra NSW. My Swiss mind is fascinated by the geometric and well organised looking pieces and soon we find out that this visual artist lived and worked in Switzerland and Germany for a while. 

  April Glaser -Hinder exhibition


But our favourite piece of art is one of her poems - Poem: Waiting for you in Sun Yellow 
Next door's exhibition is something a little more out there and I would fail terribly to even try to explain. So here is the link Face to Face by Vic McEwan  This is more up Louise's alley but we both get a kick out of an interactive installation which, based on your vital signs (heart rate, temperature, oxygen levels) composes an individual piece of music, which you can listen to via a set of headphones. I can tell you that neither of us sounds like Vivaldi's Four Seasons on the inside! But the difference is significant, we move on as Louise was starting to worry that the installation would have a freakout detecting my pulse was only 39.... And we still had a ride to do.

The midday heat greeted us back on the road, heading out of Wagga Wagga into big sky country. The road follows the Melbourne - Sydney train line and we almost fall off our bikes when an actual passenger train passes us! The ride itself is nothing to write home about but we find a creative lunch preparation spot along the route. 

Improvised wrap toaster


Once we reach Junee (and the smell of see above) we release a sigh of relief. We both still feel the aftermath of yesterday's long day in the saddle. Junee is another country town jewel that has a few highlights in store. If you are a railway enthusiast, make sure you come here during opening hours of the Roundhouse Railway Museum, apparently one of the best of its kind. And if the volunteers there are as enthusiastic as the two local ladies we asked for directions to the supermarket, then you will be highly entertained and feel warmly welcomed. With limited time left in the afternoon, we give preference to the Licorice & Chocolate Factory, I mean who wouldn't? This sweet heaven is housed in an old flour mill (built in 1935) and was converted into a Licorice factory by a fairly creative and innovative organic farmer Neil Duce in 1998, the chocolate followed a few years later. 

Licorice & Chocolate Factory 

The set-up is quirky and somewhere halfway between tourist trap and informative sightseeing with benefits (the visit to the shop). We have all heard the many great facts about chocolate and that it could possibly be the greatest invention ever. But when I read in the brochure that there are more than 300 compounds in licorice, some of which have antiviral and antimicrobial properties, I quickly open the box of 180g of classic licorice we purchased five minutes earlier. It says further that recent research confirms ancient claims that licorice boosts the immune system, is a mild pain relief, aids endurance (no wonder Napoleon liked it so much), cures ulcers, aids digestion, strengthens the respiratory system... We both dig into the box. 

It has been a licorice all sorts of a day. And with so much goodness we look forward to continuing our NSW Tour de Small Town tomorrow, heading to Cootamundra. 
Location: Junee NSW 2663, Australia

Comments

  1. FrancieFebruary 28, 2022 at 3:07 PM

    A Tain and a Liquorice Museum - Bliss! What was that "wrap toaster" - some sort of heater?
    The Sun Yellow poem was so much like one of Helens. Even the writing, made me feel her. Especially as Kylie and I shared memories about her yesterday. We had lunch with Kylie and Adrian and Peter and June and Brenda and Harry at Kylie's place yesterday. Really pleasant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kerstin KothradeFebruary 28, 2022 at 4:26 PM

      The wrap toaster was just the guard rail, but hot to touch, solar power!

      Delete
  2. BrendaMarch 2, 2022 at 12:31 PM

    Licorice is a favourite of mine also, nice to know it has health benefits. Not that I need a reason

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMarch 12, 2022 at 10:03 AM

    Yum, licorice!! I'll take it over chocolate most any day, in fact.

    ReplyDelete

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