Bylong Mouse Races – 27 to 31 March 2009

“Mouse Races” you say?

This would be our second Winnebago RV Club outing and another opportunity to catch-up with some folks that we met at the Winnebago Christmas Party last December.

Bylong is a very small rural community (pop about 60 persons) located midway between Mudgee and Muswellbrook just to the north west of the Hunter Valley in NSW. From home it is about 290 kilometers or just under 5 hours on the road.

We and 41 other Winnies camped in the paddocks and around the homestead of a couple who are members of the Winnebago RV Club.  We were incredibly surprised when the motorhome that arrived after us and was sent to park beside us in the paddock was one of the people who had been on the Safari with us and one of the ladies who was also on the Safari also turned up and park nearby. 

On Friday night we were provided with a delicious BBQ and after a communal breakfast on Saturday, we had a 1 Kilometre flat walk back to the showground for the Races – what a hoot!  Country Motor Company (a Winnebago dealer) sponsored our stay and provided us all with red “Bylong Mouse Races” shirts and we certainly all stood out in the crowd.  Bylong has a population of 60, with one shop/garage, and as a result of the races there were over 2000 people in town.  We won a $50 petrol voucher on the chocolate wheel which was very handy.  “He” also won $25 on the races.  BBQ dinner again that night

Sunday, a coach tour was arranged for us.  We visited Gulgong and wineries around Mudgee and then back to our base for a BBQ dinner.  One thing that I did fail to mention was that Dawn Fraser stayed with us too.  Now we know why she deserves the title of being an Australian Icon.  She just bogged in and helped – cooked toast for everyone for breakfast, helped with barbequeing and on various occasions entertained the six children who attended with parents and grandparents, taking them to feed the ducks and the dogs.  At the races, there were so many people around and she just blended in in her red top and was probably not even noticed by the crowd until she was called on to make a short speech last in the afternoon.  No airs and graces about her, just a genuinely “nice” person

On Monday we set off home and after “dumping” our dunny at the CMCA / Kea sponsored dump site at Bylong (yes, we finally got around to using the dunny in the manner in what it is designed for!), we had a leisurely drive back to Sydney.