Part 2: Bundanoon, Batemans Bay, Braidwood and Goulburn
My
2024 Australian sojourn continued April 28-30 with a road-trip from
Bundanoon to
Goulburn, via
Batesmans Bay and
Braidwood. Accompanying me on this trip were my friends Kerry and Kate.
Following are some photos of our travels.
Above: While in the Southern Highlands town of Bundanoon, Kate and I stayed at the
Bundanoon Hotel, built in 1922.
Left: A sweeping view of
Morton National Park from a look-out just outside of Bundanoon.
Above: Typical Australian road signs.
Above: When in Batemans Bay we stayed at Quays Hotel.
Above: Dusk at Batemans Bay – Sunday, April 28, 2024.
Right: With my friend Kerry on Surf Beach, just south of Batemans Bay.
Above and below: Sunrise at Surf Beach – Monday, April 29, 2024.
Once again the earth has completed its 24-hour turnaround and again has come to face the brilliance of our sun-star. As its light floods the darkness of space, may the Spirit that sings its ageless song continuously in the cave of my heart now flood my heart with the rays of light eternal.
As the sounds of life begin this Monday, may my voice be one with the chorus of all creation which rejoices in the ripeness of autumn. May this morning prayer echo through my every deed of this new day.
Above: Yellow-tailed black cockatoos depicted in the style of Indigenous Australians.
Notes Wikipedia:
The traditional custodians of the land surrounding Batemans Bay are the Walbunja people of the Yuin nation. The language spoken by the Walbunja people is Dhurga, one of the Yuin-Kuric languages. A number of sites in the region are considered culturally significant to the Walbunja people, such as Bhundoo [now generally known as the Clyde River Estuary].
Above: The
Royal Mail Hotel in
Braidwood, a New South Wales town inland from Batemans Bay.
Above: Kate and I enjoying lunch at Braidwood’s Royal Mail Hotel – Monday, April 29, 2024.
Above: A view of the starkly beautiful landscape between Braidwood and Goulburn.
Above: Goulburn, Australia’s oldest inland city and a place I once called home.
I lived and
taught in Goulburn from 1988 until the end of 1993, prior to my
relocation to the U.S. in January of 1994.
While in Goulburn this past Monday and Tuesday (April 29-30), I caught up with three of my former teaching colleagues – Mike,
Gerry and Carmel (pictured
below), at the
Goulburn Workers Club. It was a very meaningful and enjoyable experience.
Above: Kate, my dear Minnesotan friend . . . and my traveling companion on this first week of my Australian sojourn – Goulburn, Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
On Wednesday, May 1, Kate and I left Goulburn and drove 7 hours south to Hanging Rock. On our way we stopped to visit the famous “
Dog on the Tuckerbox,” just outside of the town of
Gundagai.
NEXT:
Hanging Rock
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Farewell Minnesota Spring
• Hello Australia Autumn!
• A Season of Listening
• Journey to the Southern Highlands & Tablelands – Exeter and Mt. Alexandra (2017)
• Journey to the Southern Highlands & Tablelands – Bundanoon and the Sunnataram Forest Monastery (2017)
• Remnants of a Past Life (Part I)
• Remnants of a Past Life (Part II)
• Goulburn Revisited (2006)
• Goulburn Landmarks (2006)
• Goulburn Reunion (2006)
• The Southern Highlands (2007)
• Australian Sojourn – March 2015: Goulburn
• Australian Sojourn – May 2016: Goulburn
• Australian Sojourn – May 2017: Goulburn and Canberra
• Australian Sojourn – March 2023: Goulburn
• The Australian Roots of My Progressive Catholicism
Images: Michael J. Bayly.
Above and below: Goulburn is home to many beautiful and stately buildings constructed during the time of Federation (1846-1900). These include both public buildings, like the Goulburn Court House (pictured above), and many private homes, big and small.
