The 'Gong to Jugiong

We left Wollongong after lunch yesterday and drove as far as Jugiong.  Most of the way it looked dark and wintry, with leaden grey skies making it hard to believe the Summer Solstice is only two days away.  We have driven this road so often when travelling between Melbourne and Sydney, but I never tire of it.  Today I enjoyed looking at the beautiful cloud formations rolling up over the horizon.  Just before Goulburn I was taking the lens cap off my camera to capture the view ahead- dark clouds all around with one wide, vertical stripe of grey where the rain was falling- when we drove straight into it a curtain of water.  It was like driving under a waterfall and the windscreen wipers made no difference at all to visibility.  Then, just as suddenly we came out behind the curtain into gentle rain.  I've never experienced such a downpour, and now know what is meant by the expression "bucketing down"!
There is a large free camping area along the river at Jugiong where we had decided to stay overnight.  As we got closer the clouds parted to leave an expanse of blue sky right over our destination!  

The "Big Merino" has been moved and has had an update since I last saw it!  I don't think I've been through Goulburn since the freeway bypass was built.

When we arrived the children helped gather wood and prepare a fire.  Before lighting it, we strolled across the road to see whether there was somewhere where we could get a cup of coffee.  There is a really nice cafe across the road, but like the rest of Jugiong, it had closed for the night and doesn't re-open till Wednesday.  The children enjoyed looking at the sculptures and artworks on display before heading back to light our campfire.

"Let's climb up the bridge and catch pigeons, Esther!"

After dinner (cooked on the coals) Philip read the children a story.  When they were in bed we sat and looked at the firelight and the night sky, listening to the silence.  The stars were clear and bright overhead, while on the horizon we could see flashes of lightning where storms were raging around us.

This morning the only clouds were a few vapour trails left by aeroplanes passing high overhead.  It was lovely to wake up

"...Where the bluegums are growing

and the Murrumbidgee's flowing

beneath a sunny sky... "

As I write we are in fact on the road to Gundagai.  After more than four months on the road it is strange to think that we are on the home straight....