Road Trip - Day 2: Balranald to Canberra

Day 2 was an uneventful drive across the Hay Plain.  Not much to see other than birds - Wedge Tailed Eagles taking advantage of the kangaroo road-kill, some emus in the scrub off to the side of the highway, pelicans along the irrigation ditches, sulphur crested cockatoos and plenty of the loud and slightly crazy pink, grey and white galahs eating grass seeds right on the edge of the road.

The countryside started to improve markedly as we approached the town of Wagga Wagga.  The flat saltbush plains gave way to gently rolling hills and grassland - I am sure the sheep and cattle are happier here than their brethren on the plains who are really doing it tough!

After a stop for lunch in Wagga, a short drive had us in Gundagai where we stopped to take a look at a pioneer monument - a statue of 'The Dog on The Tucker Box'.

In old Australian English, 'tucker' is food, so a 'tuckerbox' is a food chest. The dog was a drover's dog (a drover was a long distance overland cattle or sheep herder).  Being the faithful companions on the trail that dogs are, this monument shows a dog guarding his master's food chest.

We arrived in Canberra late in the afternoon and were greeted by one of the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos mentioned earlier as we checked into our hotel.

After a counter meal (this is a pub meal for those unfamiliar with the Australian terminology), it was off to bed with some sight-seeing around Canberra on the program for the morning prior to setting off for Sydney and the beautiful Coogee Beach - pictures to follow in the next installment of WTF? - Where are The Farrows?