Victoria, here we come.

We woke to overcast skies, wind and a hint of rain in the air, plus a sudden drop in temperature.  The hot weather disappeared overnight.  However the drop in temperature was a welcome relief, not just for us, but to everyone living in the countryside.   The threat of a bushfire in extreme conditions is ever present.

After a quick drive through the centre of Wagga Wagga, which appeared to be a very pleasant town, we set forth again, to drive the 100 kilometres to the border, and then a further 70 kilometres to Wangaratta.

Blaney Barracks, in Kapooka, the army training area for new recruits, just outside Wagga Wagga.  Walter spent three months there training to be a soldier, way back in the 1960s.  He remembers it all very well.   Great fun?  I doubt it.  But certainly needed if one is to become a successful soldier.

We drove south on the Olympic Highway until we came to an unusual little settlement called Culcairn.  Time for morning coffee.

There was nothing much in this settlement.  A few houses, shops, a railway line, a school, and some rural industries.

But it held an amazing Arts Centre building.

The library had a most interesting Christmas tree display.  A pile of books in the shap of a fir tree.

The main street, with shops that looked as if they were closed but had people inside.  No lights on, not even in the small supermarket.

But amazingly, there was an upmarket and very trendy bakery and cafe, which was doing a roaring trade.  People queueing for coffee, cakes and pies.   Where did they all come from!  It also appeared to be the social hub for the area.  The coffee was perfect, no wonder the place was popular.  The word had spread far and wide.

After the caffeine kick, we drove on, until we came to the Hume Highway, a motorway which ran from Sydney to Melbourne.   No risk of broken windscreens on this highway, unlike the old single lane road, where we managed to achieve this twice.  Driving without a front windscreen was no fun, even with one's coat on back to front to minimise the wind effect.

Then on through the twin towns of Albury and Wodonga, until we came to the lovely town of Wangaratta.   Our destination for the night.

We went for an historical walk around the town.  As well as being a rural town, Wangaratta became a centre of importance during the gold rush in the 1800s.  Now it has wineries in the area and ski slopes within driving distance in the winter time.

St Patrick's Church, one of the oldest buildings in the town.

The old Presbyterian church, now an art gallery.

Holy Trinity Church, not so old in parts,  although it looks it.   The church bell tower is very remarkable as it is wooden, and quite modern, however the bells are very old, having come from an old church in the United Kingdom.

I am not sure about this house.  Was it the Bishop's house?   The map was a bit unclear at this point.  A beautiful old house, though.

I loved the silvery gum trees, in the park below the motel.

And now we are about to go to sleep, having spent a lovely evening with Amanda, catching up on all the news.   She cooked a most delicious dinner, which we enjoyed very much.    Always great to catch up with family.

And as I drift off, I continue to puzzle on the lack of toilets in cafes in country towns in New South Wales, and perhaps in Victoria too.  Or throughout Australia, perhaps.  Combining a coffee stop with a toilet stop is not a possibility, except in McDonalds.    It is either cross one's legs and have a coffee, or find the public loos and forget the coffee.  There appears not to be a close link between the two in the minds of cafe owners.