T+208 The Riverina - 'Where's that hound when you need him'
Now, I said to Tobes the morning after, ' Dare's no point in havin' a dog and barkin' yerself is there now?' In my best County Cork accent. AWOL he was, not even missing in action, totally disinterested. Well, to be fair he claims to be a Border Collie not a Rotweiller, but still you would have thought just this once when he was really needed he could have come up with a Pit Bull impersonation and risen to the occasion. Dogs are like tax accountants, where are they when you really need them.
The occasion in question takes place in deepest Don Corlione country. Well, glorious Griffith to be precise, capital of the Riverina, bread basket of NSW, a huge Italian community - and the world's best Italian bakery.
5:30AM. I'm awoken by a large thump on the left ear from a clearly agitated spouse. The Beast is shaking. I immediately think - as you would - earthquake, and try to crawl under the bed which is not easy in a motorhome. But wait, Jane has pulled up the rear screen and there's a guy, bold as you like sawing through the retaining strap on the bike rack and trying to make off with the Blueberry!
We hunt around for the nearest weapon and duly armed with a wooden spoon I make for the door without a thought for my own safety. However my heroics to be are brought to a halt by the screeching of tyres on gravel and that's the last we see of him and the Blueberry survives, albeit with a shredded tyre. Not a whimper from the hound. Breathless, shaken but not stirred, I return to the safety of the Beast and its family and ponder whether I'll get PTSD in 10 years time.
Griffith turns out be a bit of a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma as Churchill once said about Russia. It's a busy, attractive, vibrant, foodie, welcoming and affluent town of 20,000 people blessed with gourmet restaurants and as I've already mentioned the world's best Italian bakery. Must be time for another Tiramisu. It has thousands of itinerant workers from all over the world giving it a truly colourful and mult-cultural feel. It also happens to be the location of one of the Calabrian Mafia's largest Australian cells, has a flourishing trade in illicit substances and a well-documented history of internicine gang warfare.
Now, whether the Don (not Bradman) himself put out a contract on the Blueberry is a matter of conjecture, but it's a fact that due to Covid lifestyle changes bikes, especially electric ones are in short supply and worth their weight in white powder. Personally, I have no doubt that if it wasn't for Jane's alertness and my staggering bravery, the Blueberry would, at this very moment, be on a courier run in Napoli ridden by Gina Lollabrigida to the soundtrack of mandolins from the Godfather and flapping laundry.
Be that as it may and as we sat pondering our next move over a Cappuccino and Vanilla Slice - btw did I mention that Griffith has the world's best bakery- we decided that reporting the incident to the local constabulary could well result in the unwanted addition of a horses head to the Beast's inventory and that accordingly we should hoof it out of town.
Still, there's time to explore before word gets around and there's glorious vineyards such as De Bertoli to visit on immaculate bike tracks, lakes galore, verdant fields of every fruit and vegetable you can think of including thousands upon thousands of hazelnut trees planted by Ferrero Rocher, all topped and tailed by a tasty morsel at the world's best .... Before I forget the world's best bakery is called Bertoldos and should be awarded the status of national treasure. Or UN Heritage Site perhaps.
Having by now outgrown all waistbands, raised cholesterol levels to unparalleled heights and recovered the now intact Blueberry, we headed for the peaceful, delightful backwater of Darlington Point on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River just 50kms south of Palermo, sorry Griffith. And what a pleasant place this is. We set up camp right next to the river and enjoyed the numerous trails through the pristine woods and along the river. All for free.
A further 50kms east is the bigger town of Narrandera which is considered to be the gateway to the humongous 1.6m acre Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. The Murrumbidgee National Park is virtually on the towns doorstep and has extensive networks of trails through Koala country and alongside the river. We ended up staying for 3 days and other than getting bogged down in our camping spot necessitating a tow from the gracious Barry, Narrandeera was enjoyed and liked by all.
Coincidentally, a documentary on a bloody mystery crime in Griffith even more heinous than that suffered by the Blueberry is the subject of a Channel 7 documentary to be aired in September. Cue Godfather theme song again.
⚽⚽⚽⚽for the intriguing and occasionally scary Riverina. Would have been an extra half if Toby had been up to the job.
Now, I said to Tobes the morning after, ' Dare's no point in havin' a dog and barkin' yerself is there now?' In my best County Cork accent. AWOL he was, not even missing in action, totally disinterested. Well, to be fair he claims to be a Border Collie not a Rotweiller, but still you would have thought just this once when he was really needed he could have come up with a Pit Bull impersonation and risen to the occasion. Dogs are like tax accountants, where are they when you really need them.
The occasion in question takes place in deepest Don Corlione country. Well, glorious Griffith to be precise, capital of the Riverina, bread basket of NSW, a huge Italian community - and the world's best Italian bakery.
5:30AM. I'm awoken by a large thump on the left ear from a clearly agitated spouse. The Beast is shaking. I immediately think - as you would - earthquake, and try to crawl under the bed which is not easy in a motorhome. But wait, Jane has pulled up the rear screen and there's a guy, bold as you like sawing through the retaining strap on the bike rack and trying to make off with the Blueberry!
We hunt around for the nearest weapon and duly armed with a wooden spoon I make for the door without a thought for my own safety. However my heroics to be are brought to a halt by the screeching of tyres on gravel and that's the last we see of him and the Blueberry survives, albeit with a shredded tyre. Not a whimper from the hound. Breathless, shaken but not stirred, I return to the safety of the Beast and its family and ponder whether I'll get PTSD in 10 years time.
 |
| Scene of the crime |
Griffith turns out be a bit of a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma as Churchill once said about Russia. It's a busy, attractive, vibrant, foodie, welcoming and affluent town of 20,000 people blessed with gourmet restaurants and as I've already mentioned the world's best Italian bakery. Must be time for another Tiramisu. It has thousands of itinerant workers from all over the world giving it a truly colourful and mult-cultural feel. It also happens to be the location of one of the Calabrian Mafia's largest Australian cells, has a flourishing trade in illicit substances and a well-documented history of internicine gang warfare.
Now, whether the Don (not Bradman) himself put out a contract on the Blueberry is a matter of conjecture, but it's a fact that due to Covid lifestyle changes bikes, especially electric ones are in short supply and worth their weight in white powder. Personally, I have no doubt that if it wasn't for Jane's alertness and my staggering bravery, the Blueberry would, at this very moment, be on a courier run in Napoli ridden by Gina Lollabrigida to the soundtrack of mandolins from the Godfather and flapping laundry.
Be that as it may and as we sat pondering our next move over a Cappuccino and Vanilla Slice - btw did I mention that Griffith has the world's best bakery- we decided that reporting the incident to the local constabulary could well result in the unwanted addition of a horses head to the Beast's inventory and that accordingly we should hoof it out of town.
Still, there's time to explore before word gets around and there's glorious vineyards such as De Bertoli to visit on immaculate bike tracks, lakes galore, verdant fields of every fruit and vegetable you can think of including thousands upon thousands of hazelnut trees planted by Ferrero Rocher, all topped and tailed by a tasty morsel at the world's best .... Before I forget the world's best bakery is called Bertoldos and should be awarded the status of national treasure. Or UN Heritage Site perhaps.
Having by now outgrown all waistbands, raised cholesterol levels to unparalleled heights and recovered the now intact Blueberry, we headed for the peaceful, delightful backwater of Darlington Point on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River just 50kms south of Palermo, sorry Griffith. And what a pleasant place this is. We set up camp right next to the river and enjoyed the numerous trails through the pristine woods and along the river. All for free.
 |
A further 50kms east is the bigger town of Narrandera which is considered to be the gateway to the humongous 1.6m acre Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. The Murrumbidgee National Park is virtually on the towns doorstep and has extensive networks of trails through Koala country and alongside the river. We ended up staying for 3 days and other than getting bogged down in our camping spot necessitating a tow from the gracious Barry, Narrandeera was enjoyed and liked by all.
Coincidentally, a documentary on a bloody mystery crime in Griffith even more heinous than that suffered by the Blueberry is the subject of a Channel 7 documentary to be aired in September. Cue Godfather theme song again.
⚽⚽⚽⚽for the intriguing and occasionally scary Riverina. Would have been an extra half if Toby had been up to the job.
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