Two things stand out when you cross back into NSW along the Monaro Highway – the landscape opens up and the potholes disappear. The tall timbers and dodgem car driving gave way to sweeping green open country on a steady but comfortable uphill climb towards Bombala. I gotta confess, I always thought Bombala was another seaside town probably because it sounds like bombora, but there you go, not even close.
Platypus Reserve took me just a couple of clicks off course and I spent a night on the promise of spotting these critters early the next morning. But with the viewing platform thirty metres above the water and the average platypus no bigger than a Sherrin, it was hardly a surprise that even at the appointed time, not even a telltale V-shaped ripple broke the surface. Never the mind, a clear blue sky and a gentle breeze – clearly I wasn’t in Victoria anymore.
Bombala was literally 10 minutes away and I arrived early for a coffee. However, hobbling around with a badly bruised big toe cut short my quest for a decent cafe and decided Nimmitabel, closer to Cooma, would be the beneficiary of my largesse. Nimmitabel is a tiny way-station on the highway, where the three cafe’s and bakery dominate the modest shopping strip. Remember, we’re talking rural, country, National Party quintessential. So, you could imagine my surprise when sandwiched between two shops in a small park stood this…
Meet ‘George’, purchased on a whim in Bali by previous owners of the bakery next door back in 2003. Shipped in two containers and re-constructed, it was taken on a tour from Sydney to where you see it now. Talk about incongruous. Still, it worked. Here I am talking about Nimmitabel, a ‘blink -and- you’d -miss -it’ dot on the map. The town was a stop on the now abandoned Canberra to Bombala rail line, so at the last moment, thought I’d take a look at the station and yes, truly abandoned. Even the Men’s Shed, who had assumed occupancy of the railway station, had temporarily closed.
Cooma was only 20 minutes further on and NOT an RV friendly town. After a short stint at the local sales yard, I was politely moved on and eventually found a dream location at the top of Mount Gladstone, adjacent to the lookout and, serendipity, the best location for someone with a camera.
