We had a slew of gorgeous days last week, which piqued my motivation to take some photos around town.  Since I moved back to the country at the start of the year, I’ve been keen to share some of the special places in my hometown with you.  I’ve already written about our beautiful Rose Garden and the Art Gallery.  Today, I’m going to take you on a little tour of the Benalla Mural.

The mural sits on the foreshore of the lake, on the opposite side to the Art Gallery.  From the top of the mural, you can see the bridge that joins the two halves of the town, the gallery, the swimming pool and the botanical gardens.

The ceramic mural was built in 1983, and has had a series of facelifts and improvements since then.  It’s a beautiful place to visit.  When I was a teenager, I would bring my book down here after school to read.  Sometimes, Ross and I would take a picnic lunch and eat it while sitting in the ceramic seats that are carved into the side of the mural.

See that little hole in the wall over there?  It’s a crawl-space, barely big enough for a child to fit into.  It has a sky-light that’s built in to the top deck of the mural.  I tried to climb into it to take some photos, but I’m just too big!  So I stuck my camera through the hole, snapped away and hoped for the best.

This here is a thongaphone.  What you’re supposed to do is remove your thong (of flip-flop, depending on which part of the world you’re from), and bang it against the tubes.  It makes a very odd sound.  Sadly, on the day I visited the mural I was wearing boots, so I couldn’t give you a demonstration.

There are all kinds of mosaics at the mural.  I like these little birds, which are dotted about all over the place.

This is the roof of one of the under-cover portions of the mural.

The mural is a really fun place to explore.  It’s a nice spot to bring a picnic and there are plenty of great spots to take photos.  If you’re ever in Benalla, I recommend checking it out.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek at one of my hometown’s most fascinating places.