It's a nice 236 mile drive from Cootamundra to Albury (population 45,267).
Unfortunately we were not meant to be going to Albury but Adelong (population 884) 177 miles before. Some of the more astute drivers in our group of six cars had suggested to our lead car that perhaps the Hume Highway was not exactly a rally track. But the lads whose identities will remain nameless, because you know who you are Todd, Jay and Ben, were reading and laughing at the book Great Australian Slang.
The Dog on the Tuckerbox is a beautiful life sized statue of a dog sitting on a tupperware food container that brings to almost life the canine hero of a 1880s poem. In fact so iconic is this metal and plastic art form, created in the manner of Michelangelo Buonarroti's Pieta, that Prime Minister of Australia, Joe Lyons, unveiled the statue in 1932 to mark his election campaign.
But friends, this mistake was the start of a descent into the ninth circle of hell. To come on our journey to the quaint village of Dargo was snow, blinding fog, fallen trees, cyclonic winds, dust and narrow winding rock infested mountain roads where one error at the wheel could turn the car into a deadly missile.
Finally after 23 hours or nearly a day of driving we reached Dargo (population 144) where Tom and Teen Howson have just taken over the wonderfully rustic former timber mill the 1898 Dargo River Inn which offers Bundaberg rum on tap.