Like a child on Christmas morning, I woke up far earlier than I expected with the anticipation of this new adventure. I completed my list of things to do and set off from Sydney.
The destination for today was Wagga Wagga in the southern part of NSW. Along the way I stopped at 2 iconic sites, the first being the Big Merino in Goulburn and the 2nd being the Dog on the Tuckerbox on the road to Gundagai (I bet you just sang that line). I had seen the large sheep before but it was a good distance to stop anyways and like most Aussies I knew of the Dog on the Tuckerbox but could not remember the story behind it. So upon stopping just outside of Gundagai I found the dog on his Tuckerbox and discovered it is all related back to an incident in the 1850s when Bill the Bullocky was having a bad day and to make things worse he found a dog sitting (or in one version, s***ting) on his Tuckerbox. So in typical Aussie fashion a poem was written and it became a part of Australian folk lore.
A short distance from the dog I had a minor incident with the car. The plastic protector plate at the front of the car had decided to come lose and drag along the road. Luckily I had an occy strap and was able to temporarily repair it to get me to Wagga, where I have since made slightly better repairs with cable ties.
I have set up my first night of camping at the Big 4 in Wagga and cooked my dinner, washed up and I'm ready for bed at 7:30pm (no TV), luckily I have plenty of books to read.