The first place we got to stay with our caravan and actually start living in it was called Mooroopna and is known as the fruit salad city! It's a big fruit farming area which is why we started there hoping to get a job. It has all the quirks of a small town (population 7200). We were both really enteratined by the building across the road from where our caravan was parked since to us it looked a lot like a tower in a fairytale castle!
On closer inspection we discovered it was a Turkish and muslim convention centre which was not at all what we expected from the damsil in distress tower!
With a name starting with moo we figured they must be big on their cows, but to our surprise it was not Mooroopna but the closest city (5km away) Shepparton that are obssessed with cows. When I say obssessed I mean that one of their biggest attractions is a display called moooving art! The pun has no limits as this display includes fiberglass cows that are painted and placed around town. Did I mention that the display moooves as the cows are placed in different places throughout the year and the designs change! I guess since the area produces 35% of Australia's milk that they sort of have reason for said obssession. I intially thought they were cooked and it was ridiculous but the cows grew on me as we passed them frequently. We particulaly liked the ones that were placed with meaning like the cop cow outside the police station and the how now brown cow outside the library. Mooroopna was even given a cow that was painted in all the different fruits!
One of the great things about being out in the country is that these small towns always have such cool events! We happened to time a few perfectly such as the rodeo which I will get onto later and the coming of Formula 1 to town :) The F1 season starts this coming weekend in Melbourne, so to raise awareness and allow what they called country Victoria to see the real cars up close, they bring the cars to one of the outlying towns each year. This year it was Shepparton and we got to see a real racecar driver in a realy F1 car lol. We went down to high street where it was open to the public for free to come and watch the car be driven up and down taking VIPs like the mayor on trips in a two seater. It is as loud as you would imagine when you watch it on TV and we were given earplugs to help with the noise. A stroll down the road and a chocolate milk (destined to be the death of me for sure) while watching mini formula 1 made for a fun morning.
Otherwise small things that we are learning along the way... bread stays "fresh" for a week. I am yet to decide whether this is cool or disturbing! Drinks cost a fortune (so anyone that has ever travelled with me can have pity on James and his wallet). We picked up black seedless grapes for 60c a kg and couldn't work out what was wrong with them. Hurricanes on one side of Aus means heat wave on the other=not cool. Cheaper is not better when it comes to olives. Sunburn happens in approx 10mins even with suncream on. You can kill flies with a magazine that is older than we are. Wine glasses can make a 300km journey if given TLC :D
With a name starting with moo we figured they must be big on their cows, but to our surprise it was not Mooroopna but the closest city (5km away) Shepparton that are obssessed with cows. When I say obssessed I mean that one of their biggest attractions is a display called moooving art! The pun has no limits as this display includes fiberglass cows that are painted and placed around town. Did I mention that the display moooves as the cows are placed in different places throughout the year and the designs change! I guess since the area produces 35% of Australia's milk that they sort of have reason for said obssession. I intially thought they were cooked and it was ridiculous but the cows grew on me as we passed them frequently. We particulaly liked the ones that were placed with meaning like the cop cow outside the police station and the how now brown cow outside the library. Mooroopna was even given a cow that was painted in all the different fruits!
One of the great things about being out in the country is that these small towns always have such cool events! We happened to time a few perfectly such as the rodeo which I will get onto later and the coming of Formula 1 to town :) The F1 season starts this coming weekend in Melbourne, so to raise awareness and allow what they called country Victoria to see the real cars up close, they bring the cars to one of the outlying towns each year. This year it was Shepparton and we got to see a real racecar driver in a realy F1 car lol. We went down to high street where it was open to the public for free to come and watch the car be driven up and down taking VIPs like the mayor on trips in a two seater. It is as loud as you would imagine when you watch it on TV and we were given earplugs to help with the noise. A stroll down the road and a chocolate milk (destined to be the death of me for sure) while watching mini formula 1 made for a fun morning.
Otherwise small things that we are learning along the way... bread stays "fresh" for a week. I am yet to decide whether this is cool or disturbing! Drinks cost a fortune (so anyone that has ever travelled with me can have pity on James and his wallet). We picked up black seedless grapes for 60c a kg and couldn't work out what was wrong with them. Hurricanes on one side of Aus means heat wave on the other=not cool. Cheaper is not better when it comes to olives. Sunburn happens in approx 10mins even with suncream on. You can kill flies with a magazine that is older than we are. Wine glasses can make a 300km journey if given TLC :D
Mooroopna, such an inspiring name. I hope it is good fun and that you meet some interesting locals!
ReplyDeleteEach of those small things should be a post by itself, I can't wait to hear those stories!
How goes the job search? What do you do for an internet connection?
ReplyDelete