Skip to main content

Back to where it began



It's Australia Day. That's its official name. Also called Invasion Day. Either way, it commemorates the First Fleet's landing in Sydney Cove. Or, on a personal note, our return into Sydney back from our holiday in the south. 

Basically the only nod we made to the date was sharing a lamington for breakfast. A pink one bought from the Beechworth Bakery in Bendigo yesterday. You could say we spent the rest of the journey back from Gundagai celebrating the Australian countryside, but we didn't really. It's a route so familiar that it was basically let's just get home with some remarks about sheep the colour of the dry Patterson's curse in the fields and the elegance of the spinning wind turbines past Yass.

We hunted cheap fuel and were surprised to find the Caltex at Marulan even less expensive than Sydney. It is another town that mainly seems to exist as a service centre for those passing through.

I don't know why I find such places so attractive. Maybe it's the dream that I'll have nothing else to do and just be able to stay in the motel and relax.

That doesn't happen. I always seem to end up watching some sport on television and typing this blog.

Maybe I need to stay more than one night. Consider being stuck in Gundagai, Hay, Marulan or Meningie for a few days. Nothing to do but try the local eateries or make do with the small supermarkets and a microwave and take walks around the town. Yeah, I could cope.

We return home to find the very big thought-to-be-pregnant guppy has died in its own tank and a couple of others are missing from the other. Other than that it's just bloody humid. Already I miss the dry heat of the interior and the south. 

I enjoyed this trip. Though short, we saw, ate and experienced a lot. What's more it was a chance to gaze upon vast vistas and appreciate the colours of the countryside. There's plenty of space to isolate out there.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Down the Oito Line

Riding the length of the Oito Line from Itoigawa to Shinjuku (well, Matsumoto, really, but you might as well go the whole way) has long been a dream of mine. It suddenly gained urgency when I read that the last length of it between Itoigawa to Minami-Otari would be closed once the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa and Toyama opens by next year. Now, as mentioned last time, B and Alex are among those that would much rather catch the very fast Shinkansen, but in the end she decided to follow me, despite the very early morning. We rode the Hokuetsu Express from Toyama to Itoigawa, completing a little more of that West Coast for me. Though the coastal stretch was short there were some nice views at times. I should like to see more of Itoigawa one day, explore its geology. But now we had to quickly cross over the platform bridge to catch our train to Minami-Otari. To my great delight it was a KiHa 120 railcar, my favourite. I felt a degree of sadness standing up at the front...

Asagaya and heading home

How can I be happy? I am about to return to a country where the toilets have at most two buttons and no seat warmers. But the tickets are booked and there are no cyclones, typhoons or other disasters standing in our way. It's almost time to go back to my first home. First B wants to do some "local shopping". So we catch the Chuo Line up a few stations to Asagaya, a residential area with a number of Shotengai, covered and uncovered arcades leading away from the station and narrow alleys lined with bars. It is an interesting area for a wander around. We are mainly looking, do some shopping for toothbrushes and sweets from Seiyu, a Wal-Mart owned supermarket/minor department store. We skipped breakfast and lunch is ramen and gyoza at a small restaurant near the entrance to the Pearl Centre shotengai. With the help of a staff member, I manage to purchase tickets at a branch of Lawson to the Ghibli Museum for a friend travelling to Japan in May. There are some...