27 October 2009 - Marriage  Lines
                                   (Mungo to Dimboola)

G'day. Before leaving Mungo we looked around an old woolshed, thought to have been built in 1869 and made from local Murray Pine, with nails and spikes forged at the station's smithy and a corrugated iron roof probably transported by paddle-steamer from Adelaide via Pooncarie and thence overland to Mungo. The power was provided by a ancient traction engine made by  Ruston Proctor of Lincoln - goodness knows how that made the journey.

On the dirt road from Mungo to Mildura, Audrey (who was driving) spotted a King Brown snake sunning itself by the side of the road. She jammed on the anchors and quickly reversed but by the time we all rushed with our cameras (why do we do this?) it had slithered across the road and was rapidly disappearing beneath a fallen tree. We didn't follow it into the undergrowth.

After lunch in Mildura we continued on good roads south to Ouyen, the 'Vanilla Slice capital of the world' but every shop we tried had sold out. Ouyen also had a Stump Meter Weather Indicator:
If this stump casts a shadow it is sunny
If this stump moves about it is windy
If this stump is wet it is raining
If this stump has no shadow it is cloudy
If this stump is red it is dusty
If this stump is white it is frosty
If this stump is not here it is stolen

The stump meter was outside the Police Station.

We continued south, stopping at Rainbow, a colourful little town  with a number of old shops and a grand pub complete with veranda and wrought iron decoration. Next through Jeparit which boasts the birthplace of Sir Robert Menzies. Another, less well-known, character had decorated the outside of his house with all sorts of signs: 'Beware of the wife, enter at your own risk'. 'Lost cat: 3 legs, blind in one eye, scar on throat. bullet wound behind right ear, left ear missing, tail broken in three places, no teeth, recently castrated. Answers to the name of Lucky'. We finished the day in Dimboola's Victoria pub for the night. Shares up to 54 cents - yippee!

Phil the Pom

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