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.