From Home to Ouyen - 21 Sept. 2016

A last minute change of plans due to recent heavy rains had me ducking and weaving through central Victoria to reach my first day's destination, Ouyen. That had a couple of favourable outcomes. I was able to easily visit Trentham Falls, the longest single-drop falls in Victoria (no match for Niagara, obviously!) which, a recent news item had informed me, were flowing beautifully. Indeed they were!

Afterwards, early lunch in Kyneton and the best foccacia I've had since I don't know when. Their mediocre coffee was forgiven.

The other lovely thing came later in the afternoon but perhaps (no perhaps about it!) that wasn't exactly good for me. Birchip is on my return route but now I went through there on the outward journey too. Naturally, I couldn't pass the award winning bakery without sampling one of its famous vanilla slices! I'll be back for more.

En route to St Arnaud, the verges were filled with flowers, the daisies of my childhood daisy chains - crowns, necklaces, bangles, ear-rings - and other daisies of some sort that were a riot of colour. Plus the odd clump of fresias and other “pretty flowers” (i.e. I have no idea what they were!)

Memories of daisy chains

Stunning!

Although there was no water on the road, there was plenty everywhere else – in ditches, channels and depressions at the side of the road, and every dam was full. I've never seen anything like it, not to mention how green the countryside was – unseen before now. 

Lush green crops, golden canola in the distance - and rain that held off!

As I drove along there was one lovely feel-good moment. Approaching a cross-road in the middle of nowhere, I noticed a farm vehicle off to my right. To be on the safe side, even though I had right of way, I slowed down. The farmer and I reached the intersection at the same time. He gave me a wave to acknowledge my slowing down - and boosted my spirits which were already high.

St Arnaud was the “stretch my legs and loo stop” break. I'm now particularly conscious of leg stretch stops. Long hours in the car without regular breaks can be just as conducive to a DVT as can a long flight. A librarian at the public library (where I have visited before) showed me to the loo via a door normally forbidden to the public. I must have looked old and desperate!

St Arnaud streetscape - How to block an unused door

Then for a walk up and down the main street when lo and behold, amongst all the beautiful old buildings, I stumbled upon the Bible Museum. Looking in the window, I was caught when the woman who spotted me came outside to drag me in. It's run by a mother and daughter who are obviously into the Bible – but no attempt at preaching. Their interest seemed to be historical as much as anything else. There were some old and interesting items there but also many facsimile copies of various codexes and even of the St John's Abbey bible, a modern day illuminated text. I love illuminated texts!

Leaving as quickly as I decently could, it was on to Birchip for the vanilla slice, eaten at a pavement table in view of the town's other claim to fame, the Mallee Bull!

Birchip's Mallee Bull

Another news item alerted me to the newfound fame of Sea Lake. Apparently you can see your reflection, or the reflection of the stars of the night sky in Lake Tyrell, just outside the town. Chinese visitors are flocking there supposedly. I stopped to look – presumably at the wrong point of the lake's shore or the wrong time of day, since all I could see was murky water and mud nearby and the more distant algae-induced pink effect. Plenty of saltbush though! If I were a Chinese tourist I'd have been feeling well and truly dudded!

The vaguely pink Lake Tyrell from the viewing platform

More saltbush than you could possibly want!

Then on to Ouyen before the shadows lengthened any further, bringing the risk of kangaroos on the road. Lovely old hotel on the outside, anything but on the inside. It's famed cuisine was nothing more than marginally above average pub grub. Say no more!

Hotel Victoria, Ouyen, in the morning sunlight

On the road home – Day 2

y margcalFirst posted on March 2, 2014

In the morning I did a self-drive tour of Robe. It is a glorious place with some very expensive looking (holiday?) homes. However, as with Victor Harbor, also a popular destination, I’d rather not stay there. I don’t know what the alternative to Victor Harbor is, but for Robe, for me it’s Beachport, a much quieter spot a little way down the coast.

My car near the red and white striped pyramid, symbol for Robe  

Gaol ruins at Robe

However, I didn’t visit Beachport on this trip. Unhappily, my homeward plans were changed at the last moment. While at the Adelaide zoo I got a text message that the old school friend in coastal Victoria, whom I’d planned to visit en route, was going to Melbourne for treatment for a recently diagnosed, very serious health issue. I’d planned to take two nights to get home but having got as far as Robe, I decided I could go straight home the next day, via Penola, Hamilton, Ballarat.

The Robe-Penola road was probably the most minor route I travelled on but while the road surface was fine, it was narrower than more significant routes and seemed to carry more trucks. To be honest, that was scary. One truck in particular was inches – seemed like single digits – from me. I was glad to get to Penola and a more major route again.

At Penola I went to the Mary McKillop Centre. I wanted to tell the people there how much joy I get every time I look at the quilt I won in a raffle on my first visit there, about 10 years ago. It’s a beautiful thing, entirely hand-stitched by a then 80 year old lady from Mt Gambier. Imagine my surprise when I told my story – the ladies on duty exclaimed, “She keeps making them!” So she must be 90 now and I bought more tickets in another quilt raffle

As well as libraries, when I go away I usually do a church crawl too but not this time. However, I did visit the church at Penola, said a prayer and lit a candle for my school friend.

               For my friend - the candle at 12 o'clock

Then it was lunch (very slow service) and from that point I pushed on to home through Casterton, Coleraine, Hamilton (abortive hospital library visit and rest stop at the tourist info centre), Dunkeld and then Ballarat. 

       “Blackboy” grass tress – on the road to Casterton 

       Casterton – was once a fine building 

                    Casterton, rising up out of a valley 

                           Coleraine Railway Station ...

... it’s been a while since the last train!

     Wannon Falls near Hamilton ... the water is - where?

I know it’s evil but it was easy to have tea at Macca’s on Bakery Hill in Ballarat – don’t tell anyone! The break at that point allowed me to get into Melbourne having missed the peak hour traffic, cutting about an hour off the driving time doing it that way.

Finally, it was home after 562km that day for a grand total of 1,856km (480 + 367 + 447 + 562) for the four says (in total) driving to Adelaide and back. I didn’t work out how much the petrol cost but it would have been cheaper to fly!

THANK YOU to the ALIA  Vic Library Technicians Group for organising the library tours and dinners in Adelaide which were the impetus for this little road trip.

In a rainforest you get……rain

First posted on May 7, 2013

y margcalFirst posted on May 7, 2013

It was a watery day today – admiring waterfalls and getting rained on. And admiring the countryside too. Followed by another yummy family meal with the Boston babies and their rellies. Thank you so much!

First stop – Malanda falls, a modest affair. A school group was there, measuring temperatures and pH levels from what I overheard.

At Malanda Falls – mosaic of cultural images by local Aboriginal people

Malanda Falls

In hindsight, my favourite falls were next – Millaa Millaa Falls. The water here fell in a delicate curtain rather than bouncing over rocks. This reminded me of the water wall at MONA in Hobart – minus the written messages, of course!

Millaa Millaa Falls

Looking away from the Millaa Millaa Falls

The Millaa Millaa Falls were the first of three on the “waterfall circuit’, a loop road off the Atherton-Innisfail road.

The second of the trio was Zillie Falls.

Zillie Falls, top

Zillie falls, bottom

And third of the three was Ellinjaa Falls.

Ellinjaa Falls

Looking away from Ellinjaa Falls

Last of the waterfalls was Mungalli Falls but I only saw the rapids properly. Walking down to get a view of the falls proper would have meant walking back up again – at a seeming 60 deg slope, I thought 'No'.

Mungalli Rapids

Mungalli Falls

It wasn’t cold when visiting all these falls but it was so grey that to sit by them, where that was possible, wasn’t appealing, as it would have been if it had been sunny. It was very much a ”now you see it, now you don’t” day as far as low clouds and mist hanging about went.

The countryside between Millaa Millaa and Zillie Falls was typical of so much around this area. 

After a brief stop at Crawford Lookout …

… it was on to the MaMu Rainforest Canopy Walk.

I heard of a similar one in WA quite a long time back and it sounded a lovely thing to do. But I haven’t been there. Closer to home, there is the Otway Fly just off the Great Ocean Road. I’ve been close, but not close enough, to it. Now was my chance. The huge black clouds some distance off didn’t seem to be a problem although the ticket seller said she couldn’t guarantee it wouldn’t rain. Just as well!!

Rain clouds

I got through the entrance gate and the skies opened up. I was lucky on two counts. I wore my rain jacket. I had a book with me. (I was expecting a cafe there and was hoping to get a bit of lunch. I almost returned the book to the car so I didn’t have to carry it. Thank goodness I didn’t.) When I got to the first shelter I was pretty wet apart from where the jacket protected me. I sat and read while waiting out the downpour. I found out “who dun it” so not a wasted break in my walk!

Rain!

Most of the walk is in fact at ground level. At a guess, 20% max is on the elevated walkway. But it’s no less enjoyable for that.

Elevated walkway

Ferns ... obviously! 

Long since fallen tree - not a lot of tree roots and soil left

Giant funghi, with my foot for comparison

Cyclone damage

Trees, river and misty clouds

I got to the farthest end of the walk – where there’s a 100 steps, 37m viewing tower to climb. I’m not good with heights so stood there for some time telling myself not to be pathetic. I could also hear Piers (father of the Boston twins) saying “Oh come on! Don’t be so pathetic Margaret.” So up I went! My legs were a bit wobbly and I wasn’t feeling too well when I made it so staggered to the welcome seat that was there … making the tower move and me feel even worse! But after a while I recovered enough to appreciate the views – until the patchy mist turned to solid cloud and whited it all out.

Looking to the path at the bottom of the viewing tower

Now you see it - sort of!

Now you don't - and it got worse!!!

Then the rain bucketed down again. Thanks again for the book – and for the roof over the viewing deck! I finally realised the rain wasn’t thundering on the roof any more. The “rain” I could still hear was all that water dripping from the trees. And the cloud had move on again, a bit!

Not forgetting the ubiquitous bush turkey!

In spite of the rain, mist and clouds it was a terrific day, seeing some of the best the environment has to offer.