Today we ran from Brindabella, to the town of Tumut. The weather was exquisite, clear sunny skies with not a breath of wind.
The boys team started in the early morning to cover the remaining distance from Brindabella. The air was crisp and we were blessed with the foggy morning.
We met the dirt road again and soldiered on with that crunching sound under our feet...
Drishalu soaking up as much Aussie sun as he can. We thought he is going to be abducted by aliens.
We finished our morning's run in the midst of extensive pine forests.
Our Peace Run Team was delighted to be invited to take part in the local parade as part of Tumut's "Festival of the Falling Leaf", celebrating the deciduous beauty of trees, which has been an annual occurance since the early 1950's.
The population of Tumut is around 6,000, and judging from the size of the crowd one would imagine that the majority of the town's residents were either in the parade or watching it!
Our team was warmly welcomed by the crowds, and we are most grateful to the hundreds of children and adults who supported the Peace Run by holding the Torch and making their own wishes for peace.
There is nothing more beautiful than the sight of a child's face, filled with spontaneous delight and light, whilst holding the torch.
Everyone was eager to hold the Torch!
We were very happy and honoured to meet with the mayor of Tumut Shire, Trina Thompson, who was only too happy to take a moment to hold the Peace Torch.
The Mayor was presented with a letter of greeting from the ACT Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher. Trina also told us about the festival and that the major industry of Tumut is timber, from seedlings, harvest and production.
In our journey around the nation, Trina is the first Mayor to greet our team and take a few steps with the Peace Torch.
When the parade was over, our girls team headed back to the road to finish our miles for the day.
THe going was not as hilly as yesterday, and we enjoyed a glorious afternoon in the countryside.
The afternoon sun was strong, shining brightly on the beauty of the surrounding hillsides.
As the peace of the fast approaching dusk set in, we packed up the torches and headed to our first sponsored night's accommodation with the kind people at Riverglade Caravan Park, in Tumut.
