An hour at the Mathoura Bird Hide did not reveal sufficient life to justify an overnight camp there, so to Jerilderie, a township more associated with that famous Visit FROM Victoria in 1879. This is an oasis in the well-grazed plain nestled along a black-soil creek with ancient red gums. The grass on an island in the village billabong is kept low by a pair of goats that step carefully to avoid the pelicans. The goats put me in mind of the excellent goat sausages I had for breakfast the previous morning in Echuca. Also enjoying a breakfast of its favourite kind of caterpillar was a Fan-tailed Cuckoo foraging in the thick litter beneath the red gums.
