Eating And Other Ways To Spend Your Money At Five Mile Creek

As well as stopping here on the Hume Highway, on the outskirts of Gundagai, to see the Dog on the Tuckerbox and what little that is left of Carberry’s Inn this is also a major rest stop along the highway connecting Sydney and Melbourne – about 4hrs from Sydney and just over that from Melbourne. It is also about 2hrs drive from Canberra, Australia’s Capital.

Because of this prime highway location there are a number of eating options here and it is a major vehicle refuelling stop, in addition to offering souvenirs, etc related to the Dog on the Tucker Box.

In my opinion, the best eating option by far, and also the newest is Oliver’s Real Food.

Oliver’s is a chain which advertises itself as selling “REAL FOOD. Fresh. Natural. Organic.”

It certainly offers a nice alternative to KFC and Subway and a couple of other not particularly appealing outlets at the adjacent service (fuel) centre.

While most recently I just had a round of chicken and salad sandwiches and a coffee the sandwiches were fresh and tasty as was the coffee.

No burgers and chips here – instead the offering includes omelettes, soups, a couple of curries, pita pockets, sandwiches, fruit and fruit salads, vegetables, muesli and yoghurt. Gluten Free, Vegan and Vegetarian are all catered for here.

Here you are more likely to be asked ‘would you like vegetables with that?’ then ‘would you like fries with that?’

Oliver’s also offers sushi though I should add that a lady I was chatting with outside the store, referring the sushi, indicated that ‘it was dry and they didn’t have any wasabi’.

Expanding on the ‘Fresh. Natural. Organic.’ theme, at the rear of the restaurant there is a bank of Tesla charging stations should your organic car need a top-up while you eat or sight-see. This is actually the most charging stations I have seen together anywhere is Australia – and also the least used that I have seen.

Cost-wise, Oliver’s Real Food is a little on the expensive side – my round of sandwiches and coffee cost A$12.50 in January 2016.

Opening Hours:
Mon – Sun: 6.00am – 9.00pm

Right beside the Dog on the Tuckerbox statue you will find the Dog on the Tuckerbox Tourist Centre which is a combined souvenir shop and café.

In terms of souvenirs, it has quite a range of Dog on the Tuckerbox postcards, dog themed souvenirs and other more general Australian souvenirs (mostly made in China!) ranging from quirky to artistic to tasteful to tacky.

The café offers a range of rolls and burgers, sandwiches, cakes, slices and the like together with hot and cold drinks and ice creams. The Tuckerbox burger come highly recommended by Nev the truckie who rates it as the ‘Best burger on the highway’. I am not going to argue with Nev (see picture above) but just don’t tell him I prefer the food at Oliver’s Real Food.

While there is no indoor seating there are plenty of tables and chairs and grassy spaces to sit down and enjoy your food outside.

At the rear of the Centre there are toilets clearly marked for the use of shop/café customers only though in reality everyone uses them. The toilets are only open when the shop/cafe is open.

Prices here are quite reasonable – due to nearby competition, no doubt.

Opening hours:
Daily 09:00 to 16:00

As alluded to earlier, there is also a BP Service Centre which, in addition to being a popular spot to fill up with fuel, has a large general store of the type normally found in service stations. Additionally, within the centre is a Subway, a KFC, and a couple of cafes. For me the whole place is cold and characterless and the only reason I would stop here would be to buy fuel. The Service Centre (fuel and shop) is open 24/7 with the food outlets operating lesser hours.

Between Oliver’s Real Food and the Dog on the Tuckerbox is an antique shop called Old Wares. The main ‘building’ is a few shipping containers merged together and clad on the front with corrugated iron. Some of the shop’s wares are also on display in an adjacent large wire cage. While more on the trash end of the trash and treasure scale, it is certainly worth a poke though opening hours are a bit restricted and indeed flexible – ‘Most Fridays 10:00 – 13:30 and most weekends 10:30 – 14.00’. Another smaller antiques shop is located about 100 metres away at the Snake Gully Café (Wednesday – Monday 08:30 – 15:30). The café here, which I have not visited, is open Thursday – Monday 09:00 – 14:30.

To round out your shopping experience here there is a small art gallery which I have never seen open and a shed selling apples (which I presume is seasonal). Next to Oliver’s Real Food is a greengrocers which looks as if it is owned by Oliver’s.

Address: Five Mile Creek, Gundagai
Directions: Just of the Hume Highway on the Sydney side of Gundagai – well signed posted (Dog on Tuckerbox) as is the nearby modern service station.

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