The last lap of Roger and Denise travels – report 6

Bright, 14-15 November 2009

We only stayed two nights at the caravan park we chose because the sites have been booked out for a Probus convention. The weather conditions are still a bit too hot for us so we do not mind having to move on.

We were not up to a walk round the town during the whole day here, so just did a little bit of photo shooting during the morning then read for the afternoon.

Swing bridge over Morses Creek, Bright. © D Neal 2009

 

Historic building in camp ground, Bright. © D Neal 2009

Had an interesting time chatting with the couple who had their brakes over-heat during the descent from Mt Hotham.

One thing that distressed us slightly was a couple of blokes on a site not far from us lighting a wood fire (in a brazier) for no purpose other than to sit there and look at it during the night. This on a 34 Celsius day! The grass and surrounding trees at their location was tinder dry and to make the whole scene worse, the park owners delivered the wood free to them! Not much sense of responsibility here.

Bright to Seymour – 16 November 2009

This was another easy driving day and we got into a nice park right on banks of the Goulburn River – a pleasant and relaxing place. Denise had an urge to walk around the town and maybe buy some cooler clothes, so we filled in a couple of hours doing this. Later, as the sun was going down I managed to get a couple of shots of the river.

Vineyard on main road out of Bright. © R Neal 2009

Goulburn River at Seymour. © R Neal 2009

Seymour to Castlemaine – 17 November 2009

We took the well-made road route via Bendigo to do this journey, past Puckapunyal Military Training facility. That area looks small on a map but on the ground it covers a huge area. Roads are in good condition though.

Stopped in middle of Bendigo for late morning coffee and a snack. That was quite a challenge getting the car and van parked where we could get out easily afterward.

Anyway, we survived that OK and got into Castlemaine early afternoon.

We were able to catch up with an associate of mine from my employed days and had a really delightful evening over dinner at the Railway Hotel. This is great place for a hearty, inexpensive meal but you do have to book – even with a 6.00pm and an 8.00pm sitting time it is packed to the rafters.

Maldon – 18 November 2009

This historical town, only 20kms from Castlemaine, is reputed to have more buildings listed by the National Trust than any other town in OZ. Apparently it was also the first settlement in rural Victoria?

We left the van at Castlemaine and headed off early in the morning to beat the heat of the day.

Having acquired a walking tour map of Maldon we started off with all good intentions of checking out and photographing every site featured in the town. After the first three locations it was obvious that we would not be able to walk every where due to lots of hills and the hot weather. So, we drove to the locations we felt we wanted to see (or should see).

Maldon Post Office. © D Neal 2009

War memorial and rotunda, Maldon. © D Neal 2009

Stately home in Maldon. © D Neal 2009

Maldon Primary School. © R Neal 2009

After a couple of hours of this we had had enough. Got an ice cream and cold drink then drove back to our van in Castlemaine.

Castlemaine Municipal Office. © D Neal 2009

I do not usually take photos of oddities (Big this, Big that) but this cat on the veranda has to just about be the ugliest thing I have ever come across. However, the book store did have a huge collection of books covering every conceivable subject.

Cat on the veranda, bookstore, Castlemaine. © R Neal 2009

One of our fellow caravaners at the park was walking around with video camera in hand, so I asked him what he was shooting. He explained that a tourist steam train travels between Maldon and Castlemaine twice a week and was due to come past us at any moment. So, Denise and I lined up to try and get some shots of it too. We managed to get about three frames each before the opportunity was gone.

Maldon to Castlemaine steam train. © R Neal 2009

 

Castlemaine to Warrnambool – 19 November 2009

The road out of Castlemaine via Daylesford to Ballarat is quite hilly but not too difficult. We had reached the point where we would be happy just to arrive home safely so our mood was a little bit somber realizing that our five week holiday was just about over. Fortunately we did not have any dramas and pulled up at home in time for a late lunch. Mind you, by the time we had emptied our belongings and souvenirs from both the van and the car we did not feel like eating. All we wanted was a rest.

Would we do it all again? I think we would but if we do our plan will be to spend at least five nights at each stopping point. Take the time to tour the place and get to know it better, and shoot a bigger variety of photographic memories.

So, now it is back to the real world again.

We hope everyone reading this diary of our first caravan holiday has enjoyed traveling along with us.

Safe travels everyone.

Still traveling with Roger and Denise – report 5

Merimbula to Mallacoota – 9 November 2009.

Nice and easy short trip of just on 120kms today with the final 23kms being the only road in and out of Mallacoota. Having read a lot about Mallacoota and the Croajingolong National Park over the years we just had to visit to see for ourselves what people rave about.

Well, it definitely is a fisherman’s paradise, with beautiful lakes and rivers to fish in, from jetties or tinnies or half cabin cruisers. Many boats we saw are purpose built just for fishing. There were several good catches of flathead and gummy shark whilst we were there.

Mallacoota’s main wharf, as well as holiday camps, all provide free, fish cleaning facilities. Pelicans crowd into the wharf area whenever a boat pulls in. The smell of fresh fillets grilling on the bbq is a joy to behold.

Pelicans ready for free feed at Mallacoota wharf. © R Neal 2009.

The area has plenty of subject matter to keep keen photographers happy too. With high temperatures and high humidity we didn’t venture far but were still able to get some nice shots.  We definitely prefer cooler weather! However, this is one spot we’ll need to come back to some time in the future.

Boats moored on Mallacoota inlet. © R Neal 2009.

Seagulls in a tranquil beach scene, Betka Beach. © D Neal 2009.

Betka Beach, Mallacoota. © R Neal 2009.

Monolith on beach. © R Neal 2009.

Mallacoota to Bairnsdale – 11 November 2009.

This was another morning’s drive in hot and humid weather. Pulled into Orbost for petrol and a short rest. I needed to give my eyes a rest so took a cat nap on side of street whilst Denise investigated the Pioneer park opposite. She was able to get some nice images here – her enthusiasm for nice photos is growing.

Pioneer Log Cabin, Orbost. © D Neal 2009.

Old bridge leading to Log Cabin. © D Neal 2009.

After about 30 minutes rest we headed on to Bairnsdale where we now plan to spend a relaxing three nights as preparation for our journey along The Great Alpine Way. We have driven this route before but this will be the first time towing a caravan!

The road is sealed all the way and climbs through Bruthen, Swifts Creek and Omeo to Mt Hotham, then twists and turns its way down hill to Harrietville and Bright.

Bairnsdale – 11, 12 and 13 November 2009.

Settled into Bairnsdale Holiday Park. Weather is hot and humid. Could not be bothered cooking so went to Mitchell River Tavern for tea – great feed of grilled barramundi, delicious. Next day, weather is still humid.  Stocked up on supplies, drove around town checking out sights and then just vegetated at camp ground.

The park has a fauna island to entertain and amuse kids – alpacas, chooks, sheep and a family of emus. Only problem is a lagoon surrounds the island – breading ground for mozzies! They were thicker than a swarm of flies! Managed to take a few snaps but retreated to a fresh can of Aeroguard and stayed inside the van.

Emu with chick. © R Neal 2009.

Lazy, over fed ducks resting in holiday park. © D Neal 2009.

Mitchell River flows through Bairnsdale. © R Neal 2009.

On our third day here a cool breeze came up, which seemed to keep the mozzies away.

Bairnsdale’s must visit tourist attraction is St Marys Catholic Church. Well, it is not just a tourist attraction – local Catholics worship here too. Big feature of the church is the murals and icons painted on the walls and ceiling. The church has guided tours each day – check at entrance for tour times – it is worth a visit.

Statue of Jesus, St Marys Catholic Church, Bairnsdale. © D Neal 2009.

Interior of St Marys Catholic Church, Bairnsdale. © R Neal 2009.

 

Bairnsdale to Bright – 14 November 2009.

What an adventure this turned out to be. Another hot day so we were hoping it would be cooler up in the mountains? First 100kms were quite easy going – continuously climbing with several twists and turns but nothing worse than our previous experiences.

Opportunities to pull over were few and far between with the road following course of Tambo River for many kilometres, but we did manage to get a few shots of the river and countryside.

Tambo River between Ensay and Swifts Creek, Gt Alpine Road. © R Neal 2009

We got to Omeo about 11.30 and the temperature was already 34 Celsius so decided to have an early lunch and a short nap for me to be fresh to tackle the climb up to top of Mt Hotham and the torturing, twisting 35km run downhill to Harrietville then on to Bright.

Omeo is a pretty town. Centre for skiers travelling to Mt Hotham during the snow season and a quiet, restful place to stay during summer time. Twinkles Café provided a nice lunch for us – huge menu geared for wintertime. Denise snapped some good shots whilst I slept but I did grab a few shots before we took off again.

Twinkles Café. © R Neal 2009

Omeo Court House. © D Neal 2009

Water wheel at Omeo. © D Neal 2009

Canon on display at WWII memorial, Omeo. © D Neal 2009

Parkland and rotunda, Omeo. © R Neal 2009

The road out of Omeo is a very steep climb for about 5kms! With a bit of coaxing and TLC the X Trail got us, and the van, over this hurdle and onto some relatively easy driving again – what a relief!

About an hour and a half later we arrived at top of Mt Hotham. How different this place is on a hot snow-less day. Signs of drought and lack of water everywhere. Silver snow gums looking like skeletons of trees lined all the ridge tops – contours reminded me of men’s chins with a weeks growth of stubble on them.

The usual pull over sites were blocked to us by poles set just too close together to be able to navigate the car and van through them so our photo opportunities were seriously curtailed but we did manage a few snaps.

View across top of Victoria, Mt Hotham. © R Neal 2009

We made it to the top of Victoria! © R Neal 2009

Using a combination of lower gears, auto fwd and judicious braking we eventually made it off the mountain safely – much to Denise’s relief – and cruised into Bright hot, sweaty and tired.

About an hour later another couple set up their van near us and dropped by for a chat. Turns out they had just come down the mountain too, driving a rent model Ford sedan and towing a van about same size as ours. On more than one occasion they had over-heating brakes and transmission so had to stop to let everything cool down. Hooray for the X Trail.

We plan to stop two nights here then take an easy drive down the Hume to Seymour then on to Castlemaine. We don’t like the heat that is covering Victoria so have decided to travel south in the hope of finding cooler temperatures. After a couple of nights in Castlemaine we will have a one-day drive to Warrnambool and home.

More travels with Roger and Denise – report 4

Canberra to Kiama – 31 October 2009.

More travel on the Hume Highway. It gets a bit nerve racking with all the semi-trailers and B-double rigs roaring up behind us but eventually they get past. The only benefit for us on this highway is good fuel consumption figures.

Scenery on this leg is quite different to anything else we have seen so far. Broad green valleys, backed by mountains and rolling foothills. The area either side of Goulburn is quite lush. Its no wonder this area produces such a huge variety of foodstuffs.

We were relieved to finally leave the Hume behind at Exeter and head into the NSW southern highlands on the Illawarra Highway. Lots of rolling hills covered with plenty of forests – a very pretty area of NSW.

We had to stop at Moss Vale to ask the correct route out of town to get to Kiama as there were almost no direction signs anywhere. The bloke we spoke to was very helpful and recommended stopping at the bakery in Robertson for one of their home made meat pies.

We did. I had a beef, tomato and onion pie – possibly the best flakey pastry I have ever had in a pie. A local café were very helpful and made up a specials gluten free salad for Denise, so we were both happy.

The drive out to the Pacific coast took us down through Macarthur Pass, lots of twists and hairpin bends but otherwise a peaceful journey peaceful until we emerged onto the coast at Shellharbour and headed south on the Princess Highway.

NSW drivers speed everywhere. Thankfully we got off the highway safely at Kiama and booked into South Coast Caravan Park, which is located high up on a headland, facing straight out to the Pacific Ocean.

View from caravan park to Kiama lighthouse and blowhole point. © R Neal 2009.

The blowhole point café was able to do a very nice gluten-free savoury prawn and rice dish for Denise so we shared lunch there on Sunday with two other couples – a very pleasant day!

Kiama to Batemans Bay – 2 November 2009.

This journey took us through a series of delightful bays, inlets and coastal lakes. Unfortunately for us, not many of them had spaces big enough to pull over for a rest and photography. However, Ulladulla was the exception and we stopped to grab some shots and have an ice cream.

Ulladulla foreshore. © D Neal 2009.

 

The marina at Ulladulla. © R Neal 2009.

We were able to get a site at the Riverside Caravan Park for five nights so settled in for a rest and recovery time. This park is as good as the one we stayed at in Mildura. Free morning tea, bbq on Tuesday morning. Being Melbourne Cup day, the proprietor served up bbq mushrooms stuffed with smoked salmon and cheese – fabulous! Temperature rose to 37 Celsius, which we did not enjoy but it dropped to 20 the next day. Unfortunately the weather became overcast and rainy for the rest of our stay here.

Bridge across Clyde River, Batemans Bay. © D Neal 2009.

 

Overcast day on Clyde River, Batemans Bay. © R Neal 2009.

Boats on Clyde River. © D Neal 2009.

Shoe island near Batehaven. © D Neal 2009.

 

Rocks at observation point, Batehaven. © D Neal 2009.

 

Observation point scenic view. © D Neal 2009.

The annual Batemans Bay Camping and Caravan Show started on the Friday and we spent three hours walking around that. Innovation in the latest model trailers, vans and motor homes of all sizes is simply amazing – all the comforts of home on the road.

Night view of Batemans Bay from caravan park. © R Neal 2009.

Tiffany Islands at entrance to Clyde River, Batemans Bay. © R Neal 2009.

Batemans Bay to Merimbula – 7 November 2009.

Merimbula is another of the very popular holiday resort centres and also a major oyster farming area on the NSW south coast. We stayed two nights at the Merimbula Beach Holiday Park on Short Point, which again, looks out over the Pacific Ocean and north across the surf beach. Lots of photo subjects here.

View of ocean beach from caravan park at Merimbula. © R Neal 2009.

Late afternoon on Big Lake, Merimbula. © R Neal 2009.

We did a half-day trip out to Pambula and Pambula Beach, which is like a suburb of Merimbula. This whole area is full of holiday homes. It would be a fabulous area to retire to if money was no object. No wonder the local population swells ten-fold during school holidays.

Rocks at Pambula beach. © D Neal 2009.

Surf rescue boat on Pambula beach. © R Neal 2009.

Pambula River beach. © R Neal 2009.

Old water tank on Pambula River beach. © D Neal 2009.

Tree over Pambula River. © D Neal 2009.

We are heading back into Victoria tomorrow and will spend a couple of days at Mallacoota, on the eastern edge of Croajingolong National Park.

Travels with Roger and Denise – report 3

Mildura to Echuca – 22 October 2009.

Another clear, sunny, warm day. First destination is Robinvale – driving across a section of outback NSW then back across the Murray into Victoria. This must be a main route for trucks getting across NSW to Mildura and back again. Traffic in both directions was mostly trucks, several caravans and the occasional private car. Lots of wide-open spaces in all directions. Be a terrible place to break down. Relieved to get back to the Murray and into Victoria again.

Robinvale is another small, friendly country town. Looks like the centre of a wheat and olives growing area. Several big expensive homes on the outskirts so some people make a good living up there. Local train station is boarded up and its platform is overgrown with weeds.

Robinvale station and wheat silo. © R Neal 2009.

The drive down to Swan Hill was pleasant – easy going and nice scenery – but when we got there it just felt impersonal, like tourists were not really welcome. Might have just been us feeling all hot and tired? Anyway, we decided to push onto Kerang. Maybe that would be an OK place to stop overnight?

Not far out of Swan Hill is Lake Boga – fishing, water skiing, camping hot spot – so we pulled into a lakeside park for late lunch and for me to have a short nap. Well, hot is right! The lake is completely dried up.   Sign at what was once waters edge says “5 knots” to the left “Yachting only” to the right. At the moment you could stage a dune-buggy rally across the entire lake. Sad. Many expensive homes over looking the lake – owners must be wondering if they will ever get their investment back.

Bone-dry Lake Boga. © R Neal 2009.

Sign at waters edge. © R Neal 2009.

On to Kerang. Nothing here to encourage us to stay overnight. Same deal at Cohuna so we push on to Echuca, arriving late afternoon. Moama, across the river actually, close to the bowling club as we know can get a good meal there.

Check into the Riverside Caravan Park for three nights, to rest and recover from our long drive (and catch up with the laundry). Drive round to our allocated site and blow me down, the owner is having a controlled burn-off. Says he has to do it and today is the only day he could get a permit.

Too tired to debate the issue we set up, clean up and have a well earned meal and cold drink at Moama Bowling Club – good food and not too expensive.

This caravan park overlooks the Horseshoe lagoon and I have previously had some nice pics from here. To see how much the water level has dropped since our previous visits I re-shot a scene from the footbridge. Here are the comparisons.

Horseshoe lagoon, 2004. © R Neal 2004

Horseshoe lagoon, 2006. © R Neal 2006

Horseshoe lagoon, 2009. © R Neal 2009.

Echuca to Wodonga – 24 October 2009.

This journey proved to be quite boring. Very little change in the scenery. Very little change in driving conditions. The van is travelling well, our combination of X Trail and van running smoothly together. Fuel consumption seems to be OK, ranging between 5.5 and 6.0 ks to the litre at average price of $1.23 per litre so we are travelling under our budget so far.

Wodonga stop was just to catch up with laundry and give ourselves rest before starting on the NSW part of our holiday.

Wodonga to Gundagai – 27 October 2009.

First 60 or 70 kms was on Hume highway, double lanes in both directions, mostly concrete surface. But, all the way we were in road works for 10 or 12 kms with breaks of 2 or 3 kms – a very slow journey.

We chose to get off the Hume and drive into Gundagai via Tumut in foothills of the Snowy Mountains as, on paper, it looked like an interesting town. Hilly roads are a bit more exciting than constant flat and straight highways too.

Took a break at Adelong, which is another pretty country town looking like it is struggling to stay alive.

Continued on to Tumut. What a disappointment. Centre for logging, timber and cardboard industries but virtually no town as such to be seen anywhere. Filled up with petrol and straight on to Gundagai.

If it were not for the legend of the “dog on the Tucker Box” Gundagai might also be another town struggling to stay alive. At least the caravan park is nice and clean.

Gundagai to Canberra – 28 October 2009.

More Hume Highway to Yass then divert onto the Barton Highway for the drive into Canberra. An uneventful day on the road but we’re happy to find and book into Eaglehawk Holiday Park, about 10 kms on north side of Canberra. People in park at Mildura recommended this place for easy access to tourist attractions that are mostly on northern side of Canberra. We plan to spend three nights here then head out to Batemans Bay on south coast.

Canberra, Australian War Memorial – 29 October 2009.

It is extremely hard to find the right words to describe this memorial. Emotional, humbling, awesome, inspiring, any superlative can apply. Every Australian should visit this place at least once in their lifetime.

It does not glorify war. It answers all the questions about what makes Australians what they are, why they are the way they are. One cannot help but come away with a true sense of what it really means to call oneself an Ozzie.

For the best experience and to learn as much as possible we recommend the free, guided tours detailed by expert guides, who have served in our armed forces.

The various sound and light shows and movies are so well produced you can almost feel what our heroic defence forces went through – from the Boer War to Afghanistan.

Allow a whole day for the complete experience. After four hours we could not take in any more information and our feet would not hold us up any longer.

The following images are just a small selection from what we shot. As only two dimensional, still records they do not do justice to the memorial. You need to be there to get the full experience.

Australian Serviceman, bronze statue. © D Neal 2009.

Bronze statue of survivors in a life raft. © D Neal 2009.

 

Detail of bronze statue of survivors in a life raft. © R Neal 2009.

 

An Australian serviceman. © R Neal 2009.

 

Simpson and his donkey. © R Neal 2009.

 

The Australian War Memorial. © R Neal 2009.

 

Vietnam War helicopter. © D Neal 2009.

 

Model of WW1 Bristol F.2b fighter plane. © D Neal 2009.

Canberra – 30 October 2009.

The next day we went to visit the National Portrait Gallery, National Gallery and High Court building. We were not allowed to take our camera bags into either gallery and the High Court building was not doing any guided tours that day so we just walked around each building and took a few photos of stuff that interested us.

Fountain near High Court and National Portrait Gallery. © D Neal 2009.

Entrance to National Portrait Gallery. © R Neal 2009.

 

High Court building. © R Neal 2009.

Getting out of the car park area with construction works going on and signage designed by public servants took three attempts, which eventually led us into the CBD – not where we wanted to go! Found a U-turn and ended up passing in front of Old Parliament House.

Great looking building, just had to get photos so stopped on side of road (there may have been a rule against that too?), got the shots and went back to camping ground.

Old Parliament House. © R Neal 2009.

We have decided to travel the long way round to Batemans Bay, via Goulburn, and Moss Vale, and will be at Kiamma for Saturday and Sunday night.