Category Archives: Holidays

Where is that pesky Murray …

Looking at the map, there were a few options to get to the source of the Murray. The first option was just up the road on a track called Cowombat Flat Track. We followed it in and proceeded on a pretty good track for about 4 kilometres but came across a locked gate with no way round. With a 9 kilometre walk in and another 9 kilometres out and the temperature already in the low 30’s we decided to find a different track.
 
Continuing further west was the Limestone Creek Track with signs showing no trailers and Chris’s map showing some extreme spots. Despite this we went in to see how far we could get. The first bit was steep with some bumpy bits but it improved passing the Limestone Creek camp area which we would come back to for lunch later. There were some more steep sections with the grader ledges to stop erosion but we managed to get in about 9 kilometres before finding the extreme spot. It was steep, there were drop offs and I am sure we would have got down with some banging and scraping but getting back up would have been very difficult particularly as we didnt have a winch between us. This was a good spot to turn back to the Limestone Creek camp area. There was one creek crossing we drove through which showed as Stony Creek on most of the maps but on one map it showed as the Murray River so I guess that is as close as we are going to get to it. Even though it is not the actual Murray, it does feed into it in another 4 kilometres.
 
Back at Limestone Creek, we found a nice spot next to the creek in the shade with a gentle breeze. All the bumping and banging had taken its toll on Chris and Sues car. We needed to do some bush mechanics on the driver side rear leaf springs but more importantly, almost a whole carton of cider bottles managed to loosen their lids and fill the ice water in the esky with cider.
 
From the campsite we could spot a rocky outcrop called the Rams Horn. Our last track for the day was a short 5 kilometre return journey on the Rams Horn Track. The track wasn’t too bad with some rocky sections and skinny bits but you could almost do it with a normal car.
 
We drove until we found a large outcrop with Chris and I making the climb through some bitey bush only to find that the Rams Horn was further on. Back to the cars and continuing on the track we found a carpark at the end and path leading to the top of the Rams Horn. A lot easier than what we had just pushed through. The view were breathtaking and with phone coverage, I was also able to renew the Satellite TV certificate. That should keep the cricket tragics happy.
 
It was back to camp for a night of cards and cricket with the occasional noise from the brumbies in the bush.

High Country here we come …

It was already starting to warm up as we left Wangaratta and headed further north to Albury. We needed to make a quick stop to pick up groceries and other needs that had been forgotten in the initial stocking of our vehicles. You would think it would be a quick stop and shop but we didn’t count on the main shopping area in Albury being in the middle of town and nowhere to park a couple of vehicles towing a caravan and a camper trailer. We dropped off the girls and then circulated around town until they had finished shopping, then it was time to head east into the mountains.
 
The views were spectacular as we headed up the Murray Valley but it was slow going with a lot of curves and hills, so it looked like it would be be another long day but at least the scenery was good.
 
We had hoped to get to the Blue Duck Inn at Anglers Rest for lunch but unfortunately didn’t get there until 3pm and the kitchen shut down at 2pm. Across the road from the pub was a shady grassed area on the Cobungra River so we made our own lunch before moving on to Omeo.
 
If we thought it was a windy road so far, there was a lot more curves and hills in store for us through to Omeo which slowed our progress even more. Needless to say, the fuel consumption was definitely up so we needed to refuel at Omeo before moving on.
 
This is the first time I had been to Omeo after many years of going to Falls Creek during the winter for skiing and always seeing the road to Omeo closed. I guess people use this as a base for skiing the Mt Hotham area with the road kept open to those ski fields in the winter. Even though it was the middle of summer, fuel prices seemed to be ski field prices.
 
From Omeo we continued northeast to Benambra. There was a bit of a crowd at the pub in Benambra where we turned off onto Limestone Road. Apparently there was a lot pointing at my large caravan as we headed onto the road. Not sure what we were heading into. Our map was saying dirt road but we were still on bitumen so it seemed to be OK. Eventually the road turned to dirt and there was a few steep and skinny sections but the Colorado had no problems pulling the Taj through them.
 
We finally arrived at our campsite at Native Dog Flat to find a large open area with shady trees and almost bowling green grass. There were only two other campers in the area so it looked pretty good. We found a secluded area to set up but it wasn’t adjoining the Buchan River as those spots had been taken but it was still good.
 
There was evidence of wild brumbies in the area with piles of “offerings” through the camp and some associated flies but they soon disappeared after sunset. Not long after the sun had gone down we heard the brumbies coming in but they were not that tame so did not get close to us. Hopefully we will get some photos before we leave.
 
I tried the satellite dish to see if we could get some Big Bash League cricket as there were a couple of cricket tragics (not me) but I had forgot to renew our travellers certificate so it was card night tonight and if I get some phone coverage tomorrow will renew the certificate if I remember.

Murray where do you start …

After being home for only 2 weeks it was time for another travel adventure and this time Jenny was coming along. The plan was to follow the River Murray to its source if it was even possible. We were travelling with our friends Chris and Sue. They had their camper trailer in tow and we had our Taj.
 
Today was to be a big travel day so that more time was spent looking for the source rather than spend too much time getting there.
 
The small convoy left Crafers just after 8am stopping only for fuel until Ouyen for lunch and of course their famous Vanilla Slice.
 
We were looking at getting at least to Wangaratta and evaluate whether to continue further when we got there. Well after 11 hours on the road, we only got as far as the Big4 Wangaratta North Cedars Holiday Park. It was still around 32C so a short walk out the back gate was the Vine Hotel. And as luck would have it, it was steak night. For $16.90 they had a steak with chips, veg and a choice of sauce. It was a good meal particularly after the long drive and washed down with a cold “Furphy” beer.
 
Tomorrow shouldn’t be as long a drive into the High Country.

Heading west towards home …

Today was a big travel day with 550kms from Orbost through to Bendigo. It wouldn’t be too bad except that there was only one route to get there and that involved skirting through Melbourne and its traffic.

The Princes Highway was good doing until I hit Narre Warren and the traffic started to build up and slow down. Roadworks didn’t help much. It took a while to get round to the Metropolitan Ring Road and just as I reached the Calder Highway exit the traffic stopped. It was OK though as I was headed to the Calder Highway.

It was certainly different when travelling through Morwell. Last time I was here you couldn’t see for smoke. I was here fighting the coal mine fire in February 2014 – it doesn’t seem that long ago. The fire went for a month and cost somewhere around $1 million a day to fight, with helicopters, ground crews and lots of different fire appliances from all around Australia. Today, the power station is closed and the only activity in the pit seemed to be remediation work. Oh and the air was clear.

There was one little “oh wow” moment when I took the Alternative Calder Highway exit and what looked to be a stick in the middle of the road was a 1.5m snake. I tried to miss it and didn’t see it come out the back. Hopefully he is not coiled up somewhere under the car or van.

Onward to Mildura tomorrow.

Can’t go any further East …

Well the rain did make it here with some heavy downpours through the night and continuing through the morning. This rain didn’t slow me up much as I had a drive through the forest to the north to grab a cache.

It was a 45km drive on windy, hilly, thick forested road for a single cache that gave me a geocache find on Map 23 for the Victoria Country Road Atlas Challenge. It rained all the way there, rained while I was signing the log in the geocache and it rained all the way back.

After doing some restocking and having lunch, it was time to head east to grab the last 2 maps for the Victoria Country Road Atlas Challenge, Map 24 and 34. This would also take me to Mallacoota which is the furthest east you can get in Victoria without serious bushwalking. The rain had moved on, I guess onto New Zealand.

Mallacoota must have one of the biggest foreshore caravan parks in Australia. It seemed to go on forever and was starting to fill up. It has somewhere around 600 sites with around half with power. Although the sites looked small in places – hopefully they were tent sites.

After grabbing a few caches at the beach lookouts along the coast, it was time to head back to the van at Orbost. It was a straight drive back as I had grabbed all the caches on the way here. Just out of Cann River, there was a slight delay with a learner motorcyclist not making it around a corner. Luckily he was wearing full leathers and seemed to be moving OK. The ambulance didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get to him when it passed me.

The rain started again when I arrived back at Orbost but it was just showers that came and went.

Tomorrow it is time for the journey home via Bendigo.

Time to go Underground …

You could have sworn we were in Darwin today and not south-eastern Victoria with the temperatures in the mid to high 30’s and humidity around 60%. It didn’t take much walking to work up a sweat. Lucky Jenny is not here as she would be one unhappy camper.

So what to do in these conditions, go underground of course. I headed to Buchan Caves which is between Bairnsdale and Orbost. Even though the humidity was similar the temperature was 17C for the couple of hours I was underground in the Royal Cave and Fairy Cave. But did it hit you when you got out.

As far as caves go, these were impressive for their features with good stalagmites, stalactites, flowstones, shawls and columns. They even had some helictites that defied reason in their direction of travel.

One thing that did make it unique for tourist caves was the amount of squeezing and stooping through manmade tunnels and tunnels made of chicken wire. This allowed you to be up close and personal with the features without being able to touch them. I would recommend doing these caves provided you are not claustrophobic.

Rather than drag the van around for a couple of days, camp is now set up at the Orbost Caravan Park on the banks of the Snowy River. The weather hadn’t abated with mid 30’s still at 6:00pm but a change was to come around 9:00pm.

On the radar you could see it sweep across Victoria dropping heavy rain and large hail stones. The winds hit here first bringing with it dust. Eventually there was rain but the heavy stuff seems to have missed us for now.

Update on the geocaching: I managed another 3 maps for the Victoria Country Road Atlas Challenge and another 1 shire for the Victorian LGA Polygon Challenge. Only 3 more maps left and still plenty of shires.

Tomorrow I will be heading to the far eastern Victorian border (well as close as I can get).

What about the humidity …

The first thing that hit you today was the humidity. It would be because of the coastal influence and with a bit of warmth and temperatures of 28C today, it didn’t take long to work up a sweat on my little walks.

Today’s travels took me through Koonwarra and Foster which were undulating, and at times steep hills, eventually giving way to coastal flats through Toora, Welshpool, Alberton, Yarram and finally to Sale.

I stopped off at a free camp by the Franklin River but even though my hearing is not the best at times, the noise coming from the cicadas was deafening. Not sure how anyone can get any sleep here. No a problem for me as I am camped at Stratford on the Avon River Tourist Park. It is all quiet here.

There was a large amount of roadworks along the way but the traffic management was not always well executed with lines up to 2 kilometres at the Stratford Bridge.

After setting up around 400pm, I spent the rest of the afternoon grabbing the caches around Stratford. I managed another 2 maps for the Victoria Country Road Atlas Challenge and another 2 shires for the Victorian LGA Polygon Challenge.

Tomorrow it is onto Orbost.

Time for a cruise …

Well the “grey nomad” trend didn’t last long. After waking up at 700am, I promptly looked at my watch and went back to sleep. Needless to say, the Taj was finally on the road just after 1000am.

I farewelled the volcano’s and headed down to Geelong via a roundabout route to take in another couple of council areas for the Victorian LGA Polygon Challenge.

At one of the stops, I noticed the left indicator wasn’t working on the Taj even though my indicators were on. Previously it was just a loose connection but when I went to push the plug in, I almost burnt my hand. A couple of the lugs had melted through the plug. There must have been some serious load on it.

The first order of business in Geelong was to find a new plug. No luck in Bunnings so across the road to Super Cheap Auto which had plenty of 7-pin flat plugs but no 12-pin flat plugs. Third time lucky at Repco but a whopping price of $49. Oh well, I need it.

There was now a choice to make. Choice number one was a 230 km drive through Melbourne traffic on a Sunday afternoon or choice number 2 was take the Queenscliff-Sorrento ferry which was 180 km drive with a sit back on a ferry for 45 minutes. The only choice was the second option. Best $137 I have spent.

The ferry is a roll on – roll off. At Queenscliff, I drove in through the bow and at Sorrento, I drove off through the bow. The trip was smooth with a little wind but it was relaxing up on the top deck taking in the sun. You couldn’t even see Melbourne in the distance.

There was a bit of traffic on the M1 but I was only on it for 25 kms before heading east and south to Inverloch. Even had the opportunity to “blow in the bag” at Tooradin at a police random breath test station but of course came up “zero”.

Made a couple more stops for geocaches, one at the Lang Lang Holden Proving Ground. I wonder how much use that will get now that Holden have ceased manufacturing in Australia.

Digs for the night is the BIG4 Inverloch Holiday Park. A nice park and it is very busy with a lot of kids running around but they have put me in a quiet corner.

Tomorrow I will continue east along the coast.

Volcanos as far as the eyes can see …

The inner “grey nomad” must be coming through as I had the van packed up and was on the road by 830am. 🙂

First stop today was Dartmoor in Victoria. This must be the home of tree carvings with an “Avenue of Honour” with chainsaw carvings depicting service men and women. Down the street at the playground there are Australian animals and Nursery Rhymes. A lot of work has gone into them and worth a visit. Down by the river is the Fort O’Hare free camp and there was one group that had “circled the wagons” with a campfire in the middle. Very apt.

It was then down to Warrnambool for a quick visit as I need to find a geocache as part of the Victorian LGA Polygon Challenge. Also made a stop at Bunnings to pick up a short extension cord. It was needed to go from the new inverter to the microwave to warm up my lunch when there is no power available.

Heading northeast now and all around dormant / extinct volcanos were starting to pop up. This area must have been amazing to see back in the day. The last one active was around 8000 years ago which not so long ago in geological terms. I wonder how dormant / extinct they really are.

The caravan park tonight is again on the rim of a volcano. I am starting to see a pattern here. I am staying at the Lakes & Craters Holiday Park which straddles Lake Gnotuk and Lake Bullen Merri which are both volcano craters full of water.

After setting up the van, I spent the afternoon touring the area, grabbing some geocaches as well as climbing some volcanoes.

Headed to Melbourne tomorrow.

Can’t get much more South than here …

A relaxing morning before heading south to Port MacDonnell and South Australia’s most southern point. Along the way, I made a stop at Mount Schank, another extinct volcano in the South East area. There are 3 geocaches here but I only grabbed one this time through.

It was fairly quiet at Port MacDonnell with a few boats coming in and out of the harbour area. I guess it gets a bit busier on the weekends.

Most of the afternoon was spent checking out the points of interest along the coast. This coast was fairly treacherous in the 1800’s with at least 30 ship wrecks. It is on its second lighthouse at Cape Northumberland.

There was even a fairy penguin colony with no penguins. They had some issues with dogs and foxes decimating the population and there haven’t been any penguins there for a few years.

Adam Lindsay Gordon was a famous Australian poet and horseman who called Port MacDonnell home. His home is now a museum.

I tried to get to the lighthouse and the road on the map ended up being someone’s driveway so you could only get about 200 metres from it.

Heading home, I checked out Hells Hole, a sinkhole in the middle of the pine forest but at the moment with all the pines having been harvested, it stands out on its own. The walk into the hole is through some thick scrub to a metal platform. At the end of the platform it is at least a 30 metre drop down into the sinkhole which is full of water. This is a popular dive cave and to get in you need to abseil in and out with your gear. No diving for me today.

Tomorrow it is time to head east and into Victoria.