‘Visit The Country. Enjoy A Rural Break’, said Facebook

I’m a city guy. As much as I like to think a part of me comes from the Bush (Outback Australia), I’m not at all. I’ve lived most of my life near a city where electricity, water, and every modern convenience is always at arm’s length. My days of riding horses, milking cows and sleeping under the stars are fiction.

Speaking of that, fiction took a break this week as Margo and I headed to the Bush for a brief stay in Dwellingup, a country town an hour’s drive due East of our coastal one.

Blame karaoke.

I saw an ad on FB for a one-night karaoke show at a country pizza place and decided to stop writing for a trip to the Sticks (another slang term for Bush), a slice of pie and a sing-song. Why not? A new venue with a new audience can add to a holiday experience, right? (Yes, I’m a karaoke and pizza tragic.) But the trip wasn’t all about music, food and cocktails. An overnight stay in a strange place also means a morning start in a brand-new world. Why not hang around for a while to discover its sights and hospitality?

So we did.

Dwellingup is a bloody fantastic town. Its IGA store and pub are its social centres. Everyone and everything fits around these two places. A railway museum (remnants of a historical station, line, and trains restored by retired engineers) features nearby. There’s a riding trail through the forest for cyclists to enjoy and a bicycle service station to wash down and make repairs/adjustments to their bikes afterwards. How clever and innovative!

Margo enjoyed the flowers, and I savoured the old iron at the steam engine depot. We loved shopping and eating the local produce in the town’s rose garden. Good one, Dwellingup. We’ll be back with our tent next time!

Enjoy reading my fiction (see below)

–Michael Forman (Author)