45.2021 I NSW Clockwise Unwinding Tour. The Rock and down the Olympic Highway to Albury.

The Rock, 32km south west of Wagga Wagga on the Olympic Highway in the Riverina region of NSW, stands 364m above the surrounding plains and was once called Hanging Rock due to a hanging protrusion on the eastern side, however, when the protrusion collapsed in 1874, locals changed the name to simply "The Rock"

We tackled The Rock at the end of April 2021 

The view of The Rock as witnessed by passing motorists. 

Backyard view of The Rock. 

Sign at the base of the walk. 
Up until now we thought that Lake Eyre at 15m below sea level was the lowest point in Australia. 
This sign states the summit stands 364m above the plain and 225 above sea level.
Hence by our maths the plain must be 139m below sea level.

Onward and upward. 

Natural rain and sun shelter. 

Safety first with timber handrail. 

Silhouetted bird.  

No sign of wild fires here. 

On a clear day, Mount Kosciusko can be seen. 
Today was not clear due to the burn-offs. 

    Chequerboard paddocks. 

Considering having got up here, we now have to get back down. 

Well deserved lunch break. 

We witnessed some of the world's fastest birds which can swoop at speeds of up to 300kph.  

Peregrine in gliding mode. 

Peregrine in stall mode, ready to swoop.
We didn't have a fast enough shutter speed for the swoop. 

Our caravan is in mid frame at the The Rock Recreation Ground. 

This stone evidently does not roll. 

So many towns such as The Rock, honour the armed forces, with all forces represented in the large central traffic island.  

A daisy a day!

A 15km drive down the road to our new campsite at Yerong Creek set us up in the laidback village which lacks all forms of retail therapy including coffee shops and service stations. 

The AFL football ground has been kept meticulously predominantly by the one caretaker since the 1960s, who mentioned the last game played in the grounds was in 1972

Idyllic campsite without neighbours.  

Field with potential sporting The Rock in the distance. 

The neatly mowed grounds. 

Railway line ballet.

The backyard tram swing so common back in the day, however, now said to be too dangerous for public parks.
 

"Sheep may safely graze and pasture
In a watchful Shepherd's sight". 
(Johann Sebastian Bach)

Another 15km drive for several nights at Henty. 

Well presented Henty main street. 

Pending storm over Henty Showground. 
We are planning a four day pushbike ride shortly, so this doesn't look promising. 

The third consecutive 15km move took us to Culcairn, a thriving small town of about 1,500 coffee scene folk and wide streets. 

Autumn colours, three coffee shops to the right and one around the corner. 

Imagine the Culcairn pool back in the day with free flowing clear water, but it has sadly lost condition of the diving platform, banks and water quality. 
The town though is immaculate apart from the leaves playing havoc.    

The heritage listed Albury Railway Station has the longest platform (at 455m) in Australia due to the requirement of accommodating trains from NSW and Victoria end to end allowing transfer of passengers.  It wasn't until 1962 before the standard gauge railway was completed that passengers could travel from state to state without changing trains. 

Australia's longest railway platform at Albury Station

Looking down a time tunnel. 

Monument Hill stands towers over the end of Albury's main street, Dean Street, and features a memorial for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in WW1 and subsequent wars.  The imposing structure was built in 1924 with substantial new works carried out in 2020

The monument can be seen for miles in all directions. 

Memorial plaques for all overseas engagements by Australian armed forces.  

Unbelievable toll, as with so many conflicts over the years. 

With an eye on the weather, we now break our original plans and head across the border to Victoria to tackle the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail on our tandem pushbike.

With that in mind, keep in mind that life is like a bicycle. 

"To keep your balance, you must keep moving!"

Cheers, Don and Carrol. 

(Posted 27th June, 2021)