Inland Victoria

A New Year and we found ourselves on the road again. Our first stop was to visit Marion and Frank in Yarrambat. Marion was a teaching colleague and a very good friend during our stay in Australia in the 70s. They have a lovely 20 acre property to the north of Melbourne with a mob of kangaroos which roam on to their land. It was good to catch up with them.

The next day, we went with Marion and Frank to see their daughter Sandra who was our bridesmaid and was holidaying with her family on her houseboat on Lake Eildon. Peter and I began our honeymoon at Eildon. To get to the houseboat we were picked up by speedboat which was a very exhilarating ride. It was great to see Sandra again after all this time and we enjoyed a lovely lunch on the houseboat. There was a cool wind and we were surprised to see the lake very low in water, in fact it is running at less than 20 percent full. We have noticed that Victoria is really suffering from lack of rain. Several times we have passed dried up lakes and water holes. We haven't seen many sheep, the farmers tend to be farming cattle with very little grazing fodder.

From Eildon, we drove up to the Victorian Alps via Glenrowan, which is famous for Ned Kelly – the notorious bushranger and stayed for two nights at Porepunkah. Tobacco used to be grown in the valley but this has given way to vineyards and fruit growing. Naturally, we called in for a sample of wines. We drove up the narrow twisty road, viewing Mount Bogong (2000m) on the way to the ski area of Falls Creek. It was quite cold and windy at the top and obviously no snow at this time of the year. On our return to Porepunkah we stopped at the pretty villages of Bogong and Mt. Beauty which were very alpine in design. Next morning, we went up to Mount Buffalo, again twisting and turning up the mountain through a vast variety of wildflowers and different gum trees. This area was ravaged by bushfires a couple of years ago and it was interesting to see how the new growth has appeared due to lignotubers underground that sprout after the fires. Also the eucalypt seeds settle in the ground after burning. The air was very fragrant with the eucalypt scent. Once at the summit we were rewarded with breathtaking views across a vast landscape of more tree covered mountains and valleys. Then we had to climb 'The Horn' to get an even better view. On the return trip down to the valley, we stopped at Lake Catani and Peter did a fry up of bacon and eggs.

Back on the road next day, we set off for Rutherglen via Beechworth – famous for its bakery. We now found ourselves in the wine producing area again and called in at two vineyards (as one does!) to sample and buy some of their wine. We arrived at Yarrawonga on the shores of Lake Mulwala, where my parents had managed a hotel/botel/motel in 1971 only to find the site has been replaced with lakeside apartments worth 1 million dollars! We hastily booked a very nice campsite right on the banks of the River Murray and spent a pleasant evening watching the sun go down with a tasty bottle of Shiraz!

From Yarrawonga we continued north-west along the Murray valley to Echuca, which means 'meeting of the waters' and where the Murray is joined by the Goulburn and Campaspe rivers. Steam driven paddle steamers used to ply between Echuca and the outback sheep stations back in Victorian times until the railways began. We had a ride on a paddle steamer and I gained my steerage licence by steering the ship for a little while! Again we were camped on the banks of the river and after dark, I was lucky enough to coax a possum down from the tree and hand feed him with some bread. Next stop was Swan Hill where we visited the Pioneer Settlement where I had once taken pupils from Melbourne for an educational visit.

Heading South again, we came to Ballarat the centre of the Victorian Goldrush in the 1800s and spent a pleasant day at Sovereign Hill, stepping back in time visiting the goldfields. We went down a gold mine, fruitlessly panned for alluvial gold, saw a gold nugget being formed from molten gold and chatted to a Victorian schoolmaster (who was also a trooper firing muskets in the afternoon). We then went to the spot called the Eureka Stockade where there had been a battle between the gold miners and the government regarding miners' licence fees. This was all very well produced. En route from Ballarat to the Grampians, we had a close encounter with a kangaroo that leapt out into the road in front of us. We braked and he was also narrowly missed by a car coming towards us. Peter reckoned the Skippy had used up 8 of his 9 lives!

Today Monday 12th Jan, we are in the Grampian mountains and we have been bush walking, just like the 'old days'. From Halls Gap we went up to the Wonderland car park and climbed up through the Grand Canyon, Silent Street to The Pinnacle. It was a very hot day, 30 degrees plus, with a perfectly blue sky. The walk was arduous and steep in parts (we had to climb steel ladders at certain places) but the view from the Pinnacle made it all worthwhile. We could see a long way across the State and the nearby mountains were very craggy. Three and half hours later, we returned to the van and made our way to the Mackenzie Falls lookout – another hour's walk through dense gum and fern forest with kangaroo tail plants. Then it was back to camp for a much needed swim and Happy hour! Next stop – back to Ocean Road.