Days 28-34, 375-495km, Corryong to Wodonga

Oh my, what a blissful week - Westward bound! Sunshine, mist, rolling hills and gentle inclines, and best of all? Over 70km of RAIL TRAIL!! Yes indeed, a multi-use trail linking "Australia's highest railway station" (despite the fact the station has been closed since the 70s) at Shelley to Wodonga, rolling through forestry and lush farmland down to "Lake" Hume. Being off busy roads yet going directly where I wanted to go was a sensation approaching luxury.

After a day off in the picturesque town of Corryong, we set off in the morning mist heading due West - finally! That first day was a total treat, the sun broke through the mist and the countryside was beautiful enough to be paradise, what with all the lush green grass and the autumn leaves turning. The two-steps-away-from-being-a-ghost-town of Cudgewa in particular was glorious. A couple of days later we picked up the High Country Rail Trail just outside Shelley, the route that would take us all the way to Wodonga. There are really no words to adequately describe my appreciation of and gratitude for infrasture like this. Honestly, it has made the last week an aboslute pleasure, being able to enjoy travelling through the beautiful Murray Valley without having to worry about being hit by a car or a truck. The trail is relatively new in sections, sometimes so new that bits of it were marked as not yet open on the maps I had, yet when we got there, I found the gates open and the track freshly graded.

One of the best things about being out of the high country is the GRASS! So much of it by the roadside, the boys stuffing their faces whenever they got a chance. It really doesn't take much to make the boys and therefore me happy - grass, water close by at night, sunny days.... #railtraillife 😁

We made it down to "Lake" Hume on Day 32. The lake is pretty low at the moment, according to what I heard only at 17%, so for the next day it was mostly a series of wide paddocks.

So far, I have only had positive reactions from people, ranging from mild curiosity to extreme generosity, but Day 33 marked the first and, so far, only negative reaction I have experienced, something that, looking back, was pretty hilarious. We'd camped in a pretty open spot by the Mitta Mitta River next to the highway (after all, my only criteria for campsites are grass and water). In the morning, as the mist burnt off, I moved the boys to a fresh patch of grass and was just having a cup of tea when a ute pulled up and a guy got out. I went down to say g'day. He didn't respond and didn't look too happy, but not everyone is a happy type, so I increased my smile and tried again. "What's going on here?" He asked a bit brusquely. "Oh you know, just riding through, stopped for the night, grass, water, y'know...." He looked at the horses suspiciously. Richard came up thinking he had a treat. " Yes, but why are you HERE? Seems a bit strange to me." "What do you mean?" I asked. He was silent for a moment before he just kind of shook his head. "A normal person wouldn't do this," he said. And to be honest, I couldn't really argue with that. As he drove off, still looking perplexed and unhappy, I wished I'd asked him what a normal person WOULD do. Kind of feel like I could use some tips.

Anyway, you can't win everyone to your side. Later on that day, past Tallangatta and the many terrors that are horse-eating bicycles (poor Mick-Mac had never seen a bicycle and nearly died the first time. The only hazard of a shared trail), we met an incredibly lovely lady, Jacinta, who offered me a paddock to keep the boys in for a few days so they could fatten up a bit whilst I reprovisioned. Really, the kindness and generosity of people blows me away. So the next day, we had a late start and before long the boys were frolicking around in lush green grass and I was being picked up by an old family friend Paule and whisked off across the border to all the luxuries of suburban Albury.

So here we are for a few days, having some down time before leaving the glories of #railtraillife and striking out on public roads as we continue heading West along the Murray River.