Day 4: Thu 16 Feb 23 - Benalla to Epsom (Near Bendigo)

 Thu 16 Feb - Benalla to Epsom (Towed 169km)

A mild 14 Deg to hot 37 (felt like 47 Deg) by mid afternoon. We packed and after saying farewell to our caravan park neighbours from WA, then after meeting and chatting with an ex-Navy CMDR who also served on patrol boats in Darwin around the same time as me, we finally got away at 0915. We set off from Benalla still unsure what our destination would be today, but aiming for a free camp about 40km the other side of Bendigo. First stop was 32 km at Violet Town where we had a walk around town and our morning coffee (didn't take long as there's nothing to see here). Next stop was after 43km at Murchison which is a neat little riverside rural town which is famous for a meteorite which broke up above town in 1969. Here we had another short walk around before heading another 40km to the next town  on our list - Colbinabbin. More a small rural village, Colbinabbin (aboriginal meaning for 'the meeting of the black and red soils") has the most breathtaking silo artwork. The six-silo mural depicts significant moments from the town's history - absolutely beautifully painted and so colourful. We then continued on towards Bendigo, and stopped at Goornong for lunch by the roadside at 1300. The heat was scorching by now and we were both feeling the effects, but continued with the intention of finding a free camp on the other side of Bendigo. After 22km as the temperature reached 37 Deg we made a last minute decision to turn into the Gold Nugget Tourist Park. As we were about to pass by, about 8km north of Bendigo, we decided an overnight stay with power to run the air conditioning was a good idea. It was 37 Deg outside, but it felt so much hotter. The afternoon was spent mostly indoors (too hot to do anything outside), Noel did some washing and then we had a refreshing swim in the pool later in the afternoon. Tomorrow we will continue to Ararat for another overnight stay in a caravan park. As temperatures are expected to remain in the high 30s and into the 40s over the next week, we intend staying mostly in caravan parks.

A pretty flowering gum in Violet Town

Flowering gum tree in Violet Town

Flowering gum tree in Violet Town

Main Street Violet Town


Riverside township of Murchison

Murchison War Memorial

Murchison - War memorial


Mainstreet Murchison 


Riverside damage from the floods - Murchison

Murchison Park Art

More Murchison Park Art

A lovely garden craft shop in Murchison


Colbinabbin Silo Art

Colbinabbin Silo Art

Colbinabbin Silo Art

Colbinabbin Silo Art


Colbinabbin Silo Art

Colbinabbin Silo Art


A very hot lunchtime stop before calling it the day.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 57: Mon 10 Apr 23 - Port Augusta to Flinders Ranges (Wilpena Pound)

Image
Mon 10 Apr 23 - Port Augusta to Flinders Ranges (Towed 165 km) 11 Deg overnight reaching 23 Deg through the day. It was a beautiful morning and it remained so all day. We packed and drove away from Port Augusta at 0800, and our first stop was a short 42km later at the historic township of Quorn. This was our original destination, instead of Port Augusta, but everything here was booked out over the Easter long weekend. We parked, and walked around town for about an hour and decided we would not have been disappointed to stay here. Luckily our stop also coincided with the Pichi Richi Steam Train tour which was also about to depart on one of its daily tours. Quorn is a lovely town, and we would be happy to return for a longer stay some time in the future - even just for an overnighter, and maybe even a steam train ride. From Quorn, we continued to Hawker - the gateway to the Flinders Ranges. There is not much to see here, so we had a wander around, refuelled to make sure we had a full tan...
Read more

Day 48: Sat 01 Apr 23 - Elliston

Image
Sat 01 Apr 23 - Elliston 9 Deg and very still this morning reaching 22 Deg throughout the day. The strong SW wind arrived mid morning making it feel very fresh, and didn't let up until the late evening. This morning, I went for a 5km walk to the Jetty and along the town beach and back. It was a little fresh, but a beautiful morning with sun still rising and providing a little warmth. Back to the van and after breakfast, Dale (next door neighbour) and I went for about a 12km bike ride half way along the hilly Clifftop Drive around the Headland Sculpture trail with more spectacular views over the Great Australian Bight and the amazing coastline. Meanwhile Noeleene went for a walk into town and back. We all met back at the van, had lunch, then Noel and I drove the full loop of the Clifftop Drive and sculpture trail stopping several times. Watching surfers clamber down the steep rocky cliff face and paddle out 100s of meters into massive surf, captivated our attention for quite a while...
Read more

Day 13: Sat 25 Feb 23 - Robe

Image
Sat 25  Feb - Robe Another mild night; 15 Deg with steady rain falling from 0300, easing in the morning and reaching a very moderate 18 Deg throughout the day. It was nice laying in bed listening to the rain falling on the roof, and thankfully it cleared early by 0800.  I headed out for my morning walk, around the headland and back to the van past two very stale and smelly lakes - Lake Charra and Lake Fellmongery. Lake Charra is also known by locals as the smelly lake and looks like a dirty cesspit. There is conjecture about what causes the smell - some suggest its from acid sulphate soil in the lake when it dries and is exposed to the air, giving off the smell. Others believe it's a plant or weed giving off the smell, but I'm just glad we're not staying in the caravan park that backs onto it. We are however staying in the park that backs on to the larger albeit less smelly Fellmongery Lake. This lake has an interesting history in that a fellmongering business (the process ...
Read more