We sure have funny sounding names for places here in Oz! “Mudgee" possibly derived from the aboriginal word “mothi” meaning “nest on the hill” or maybe from the “Mowgee” tribe. To me it could be the sound of grapes being squashed by naked feet “mushy mudgee”. After all this is wine country! However, in spite of my reputation for the love of wine (greatly exagerated by Austin by the way!), I disappointed the tourist office lady by declining visits to the local vineyards. It’s just no fun doing the tasting on your own if your partner doesn’t appreciate a good drop!

So we went to the Honey Haven instead and indulged in sampling huge varieties of honey. Again we disappointed as we refused to drink the 'elixir of the gods', local mead. 

At the tourist office, we found an interesting exhibition of local painter Guido Maestri who won the 2009 Archibald with his portrait of the blind aboriginal singer Geoffrey Gurrumulwe Yunupingu. We quite liked his colourful, fantastic landscapes. I thought they looked a little mexican, but apparently they depicted this area (well, maybe after a few glasses of local wine!). My favourite was called “Blue Muppet”. Austin spent most of our time here rolling around in the dirt underneath the caravan. Apparantlt it was all about a faulty water valve!

We managed however a walk through the Putta Bucca Wetlands observing superior wrens, egrets, herons, fish and turtles and even found some hatched turtle eggs. 

Our next stop was at a place called Gulgong which most Aussies know from the Ten Dollar Note. The other claim to fame of Gulgong is that the poet Henry Lawson spent his childhood there. He also made it onto the Ten Dollar Note. 

I have to admit that the only one of his poems I remember is “The Drover’s Wife”. here he is on the bank note with the town of Gulgong in the background!

As the Lawson Center and other museums were still closed due to Covid, a visit to the Ten Dollar Note  pub was a must. it’s always nice to mix with the locals!

Now the next stop with the name of “Dunedoo” was a ‘necessity'. After all “dunny” in Aussie slang means “toilet” and do, we had to! Actually Dunedoo translated from the indigenous language means “Swan” - a much more elegant name.

Austin was particularly interested as his first secretary came from this little one and a half street town. But we also stopped here to view one of the many great silo art works.In this case it is a painting of the retired champion race horse “Winx” who was born in this little town. 

We must have been tired because we had a good sleep camped between the train tracks and the major thoroughfare for the road trains which go all night.