Russ Travelling Australia

I started my journey at Royal Park where Bourke and Wills set off in August 1860.  Bit of a struggle finding a park for car and van but eventually I found one with a 1-1/2 Km walk to the cairn in Royal Park.

The expedition was enormous with 20 Tonnes of supplies, 18 men, 6 wagons, 26 camels, and 23 horses.  Getting this organised delayed the start until 1 pm so they only covered 6 Km to Moonee Ponds.

The explorers followed Mt Alexander Road and then Bulla and Lancefield Roads.  You cross a couple of blue stone bridges that Bourke and Wills used but there was nowhere to park for photos.  Camp 2 was at Bulla.  One bridge crossed Deep Creek and they had issues with getting wagons up the steep hill so they left 3 wagons to follow later, which they did and met up at Swan Hill.  The weather was wet and the crossing of the flat plains was a struggle in the black soil, and the camels were quickly losing condition.  Camp 3 was near the present village of Clarkefield and the Inn was a Cobb and Co staging place.

They also passed the Duck Hole Inn that still stands.

Camp 4 was near Lancefield but I couldn’t find the cairn.  They are travelling between 20 and 30 Km a day and found riding camels to be quite comfortable.  Camp 6 was at Mia Mia near Lake Eppalock and the tree below would have been standing at the time when they camped there.

I had to drive around Eppalock, but the expedition was able to go straight across as it didn’t exist then.

In the left hand picture you can see the O’Keefe Rail Trail which I think runs from Heathcote to Bendigo.  This section is built on an embankment to keep it above the water and you can see that Eppalock is full.  Lots of people visited the expedition from Bendigo and a local landowner provided a banquette.  I rejoined the trail north of Eppalock at Knowsley (Camp 7) when they turned north on an old bush road which travelled alongside the Campaspe River. They crossed the river on a punt which had sunk in February 1860, but the owner who also ran the nearby Inn had managed to refloat it, the previous owner had drowned in 1855 trying to swim to the punt in a flood.   Camp 8 was at Barnadown just before they headed north east to Terrick Terrick Sheep Station which was reputed to be the best in Victoria at the time.  I headed to Rochester for the night and will rejoin the trail tomorrow.  The map below shows my travels today.

After 10 days at Eden I moved to Lake Tyers for our annual November Camp, its 44th year.  Sadly it was the first one that Marg has missed in all those years.  I felt her absence keenly.  It was great to catch up with everyone including the next generation of campers, Lillie, who at 12 months was a delight, obviously well parented by Jacqui and Josh, Jacqui is Pete and Barb’s eldest daughter.  Cam flew home from Amsterdam to attend with his sons Rhys and Heath and it was great to have them with us.  Rhys at 6’2″ and 15 years towers over everyone except Josh who is 6’4″.

  On the journey from Eden I passed through Cann River and noticed the wonderful old pub that holds good memories for my neighbours Ivan and Olga.

We all enjoyed Lake Tyers, but got thoroughly sick of the howling wind that blew all Saturday and Sunday, so we all gathered for a counter lunch at the Lake Tyers Hotel, which was excellent.  After that it was games and conversation in the camp kitchen.  The entrance to Lake Tyers and the ocean beach are in the two photos below.

Deen and I are staying until Monday and went to a seafood cafe in Lakes Entrance (to escape the wind) and enjoyed another excellent fish and chips meal.  We also did some touring to the Stoney Creek Trestle Bridge, which at 347 m long and 20 m high is the largest in Victoria.  It was opened in 1916 when the rail was extended the 97 Km from Bairnsdale to Orbost.  It closed in 1987.  It is a very impressive bridge, well worth a visit.

We also toured around Lakes Entrance seeing the opening to the ocean and a view of Fraser Island where a group of us stayed about 20 years ago.

On Sunday night Deen and I enjoyed a great fire using the last of Pete’s wood and enjoyed the last of the Wonboyn oysters, washed down with Deen’s Champers, what a way to go!

So I head off home tomorrow for an overnight stop and then through the city to start my trip following Bourke and Wills journey.  Not sure how far I will get as I am scheduled home at the start of December, but I can always pick it up again in the future.

I travelled to Wonboyn yesterday to visit Jim and Jenny Ellis, friends we have had for many years and our two families have camped together many times over the years.  They have a great holiday home in Wonboyn, a very small town about 30 Km west of Eden, situated on the ocean and surrounded by forest and Nadgee Nature Reserve.  It is very picturesque, lots of natural bush, heaps of birds, a lake for fishing and an ocean beach for swimming.  Jim has done a marvellous job of his house and has built every facility himself to finish with a great set up for entertaining and holidaying.  Their garden is a delight with lots of natives and orchids, no wonder there are so many birds, including lyrebirds in their garden, plus wallabies and a friendly kangaroo.  The orchids were nearly finished, but still looked great, so you can imagine how good they were at their prime!

We visited the ocean beach, which was crowded (3 other people!!), and then spent some time chatting and getting the two roasts, pork and lamb on the go.  Jenny did a fabulous job with all the vegetables and Jim cooked the meat perfectly, although toward the end Jenny and Greg took over.  Their daughter Rachel and her husband Greg and their three children came around for dinner as did their friend Mick.  The meal was excellent, everything cooked to perfection – lamb, pork, potatoes, pumpkin, peas, corn, broccoli, and gravy. Even the crackling was perfect, although in consideration to my teeth and waistline, I did not have any, but the sound of crackling being eaten said everything.  At about 1.30 we acknowledged defeat and all headed off to bed.

The next morning some more conversation over breakfast and cups of tea and then headed back to Eden to do a few chores, shopping and then to Nethercote Falls picnic area for a BBQ lunch, which is only about 15 Km from where I am staying.

After the BBQ, I set off for the falls, a 2 Km walk each way that started with a kilometre descent down a closed road that was so steep you had to be extremely careful not to lose your footing in the gravel.  This was followed by a vey rough track with lots of steps and a couple of log crossings of the river.  The falls were picturesque and different to most as the river came around a corner that looked like a cave before dropping over the edge.

Tomorrow I pack up after a very enjoyable 10 days at Eden and head to Lake Tyers to catch up with my friends that I meet up with every November.

Visited the Eden Killer Whale museum today and found it well worth a good two hour visit.  Most fascinating was the relationship between the whalers and the killer whales.  The killer whales in three groups used to herd a whale back into Twofold Bay where the shore based whalers could then harpoon the whale.  Also a couple of whales would alert the whalers by swimming over to the whaling station and banging there tails or breeching to make loud noises.  Once the whale was harpooned it would take off and tow the whaling boat behind it until it tired and then it would be killed and towed back to shore.

The symbiotic relationship between the whalers and the killer whales was that the whalers would anchor the dead whale and leave it for a while in the ocean.  The killer whales would then eat the tongue and lips of the whale, which was the only part they wanted and what the whalers didn’t use.  A whales tongue could weigh up to 4 tonnes so there was plenty for the killer whales to eat.  Apparently the local aborigines used to attract and use the killer whales to drive whales to shore in the same way.

What was really interesting was that there was a lead killer whale called Tom who used to lead the others and he would grab the harpoon rope and try to slow and tire the whale or grab the tow rope on the whale boat to pull it faster out to the whale.  His skeleton is in the whale museum and his first 6 teeth on the left of his jaw are worn down from repeated rope tugging and the seventh tooth has a groove from the rope about halfway through the tooth and on its way to being cut off short like the first six.  You may be able to see that in the photo of his skeleton below.

After an enjoyable visit to the museum I bought another serve of fish and chips (flathead this time) and consumed these overlooking Twofold Bay, no whales today, but I did enjoy the fish and chips.

On Saturday I went to Eden for the whale festival and met up with Jim and Jenny Ellis who had just come down to their holiday home at Wonboyn.  The festival had a parade which was mainly trucks and hot rods.  The truck drivers showed how they could manoeuvre and tip a truck and trailer in a confined space and log trucks deployed and retracted their trailers.  There were lots of sirens and horns blasting and kids with water pistols spraying the crowd.  A unique event.

Then everyone walked down to the wharf where there were lots of stalls and a band playing.  Through the afternoon there was to be other events and fireworks at night, but we decided it was time for lunch so we walked back up the hill to the fisherman’s club and enjoyed fish and chips.   Jim and Jenny invited me out to Wonboyn for dinner tomorrow so that will be good.

I have enjoyed the stay here and the caravan park has been quiet although this weekend has been busier.  I took a couple of photos of the beach that the park fronts and the creek alongside the park.

I have enjoyed a couple of days of good weather and enjoyable outings.  Yesterday I went out to Saltwater Creek in Ben Boyd National Park, where Marg and I have enjoyed a number of camping visits.  It is much the same as it was when we first visited many years ago except the beach has suffered some recent storm damage.  I walked along the beach and part of the walk we used to take west to a rock fishing spot where Marg caught a very large Bream, I can still remember her dance of delight!  There is a gas BBQ that was working OK so I enjoyed a steak sandwich and some good memories.

I then travelled out to Green Cape and spent an enthralling hour watching whales swimming passed the cape.  It was marvellous and hard to leave.  I saw a giant whale completely out of the water horizontal followed by two coming straight up out of the water at the same time about 10 metres apart and about 2/3 out of the water and vertical, before they dropped down into the water.  By the time you focus your camera you miss getting a photo but it was great to see.  They were about 100 metres or less off shore and you could hear the thump as they landed back on the water.  After that we had to be content with numerous examples of tail slapping and small breaches.  There must have been around 100 individual whales visible at different times over the hour I watched.  It was really wonderful and something I will always remember.  I managed to get one photo of a whale jumping.

The drive out to Green Cape is interesting, I can remember taking the family out there in around 1976 and travelling through forest all the way until the last Km when you suddenly break out of the forest into heath land about 1 m high max, it is like going into another room.  It is still the same today except in the meantime some small shrubs have grown but they have been burnt so the skeleton remains are not very attractive.  However the views over Disaster Bay to the south and of Green Cape shoreline from Pulpit Rock to the north are wonderful.

After Green Cape I enjoyed some oysters mornay for tea.  The Sydney Rock Oysters came from Wonboyn Lake at $8 a dozen unopened, they were delicious.

Today I travelled to Timbilica State Forest to Newtons Crossing on the Wallagaraugh River that eventually flows into Mallacoota Inlet.  Had gather some wood and light a fire, but it was a great spot, lots of birds and a backdrop sound of water flowing over rocks.  One of the birds I saw was a Cuckoo Shrike Thrush, a bird that has very often accompanied us on our camps and picnics with their wonderful tuneful song.

There were many wildflowers out in the bush, as there were yesterday at saltwater creek.

Now off to open some more oysters!

After getting some stitches out at the doctors (a BCC removed), I hooked up the caravan only to find that the left van indicator didn’t work.  Couldn’t find the problem so set off anyway, then the brakes stopped working.  Headed home tightened screws and got them going.  The only thing is that they turn off in reverse!  I can live with that.  Out to Moorooduc highway, oh bugger no towing mirrors, another u turn back to home.  Now I am away, I think I need a sidekick to check things for me!

First night at Stratford and then on to Eden, lucky to set up and pack up in the dry.  On the way passed through Cann River which holds special memories for my neighbours Olga and Ivan, that story is for another day!  I am camped at Eden Beachfront Caravan Park on a holiday auctions deal of $175 for 10 days.  Nice park right on the beach 4 km west of Eden.  The sites are quite small and the next people were partly on my site which I didn’t realise until some time later and I realised I was overlapping the next site.  So after some discussion, my neighbour and I went to reception with the sad tale and I ended up being allowed to stay on the two sites, upgraded to ensuite and no extra cost, that has to be a win!

I decided fish and chips were the go for lunch and went to the best shop in Eden and for $10.50 enjoyed an excellent meal that I couldn’t finish, the fish was whiting.

The next day was shopping followed by a picnic and walk at Goodenia Rainforest in South East Forests NP.  It was an enjoyable walk but downhill all the way out with quite a few steps and very rough underfoot.

Today was a picnic in Bed Boyd NP where Marg and I have enjoyed a picnic in the past.  It is a lovely picnic area although the BBQ didn’t work, so it was out with the little gas stove and cast iron fry pan to cook my steak sandwich.  You may notice the little stove on the end of the table.  Did a short walk to Haycock Pt, which has good views up and down the coast.

On one of the walks I noticed some beautiful lilies and a echidna beside the road which had dug in before I could get close, so this photo is from a distance.

After all the sadness around Marg’s death, we had a chance to rebuild our positive energy with a visit to Australia by my niece Justine, Robert and their two lovely daughters Lucy and Holly.  We had a family gathering on the seventh and celebrated Lucy’s 17th birthday.  Deen cooked two wonderful Paellas and everyone contributed to the success of  the day.  It was good to see my sister Lyn after a gap of more than 10 years.

Then we went to the Prom with our UK relatives and enjoyed a beautiful part of Australia.  They had a motorhome, Deen was in her teardrop camper, and I was in a small caravan.  Tidal River was just as good as ever, as were the Wombats.

Then we went to Mallacoota and stayed in the Foreshore Caravan Park.  What a wonderful spot.  We enjoyed using the OzPig to keep us warm, as you can see in the photo

Justine and her family stayed 2 days before heading for Sydney.  We had a wonderful BBQ picnic at Sou West Arm.

Deen and I stayed 4 nights and went into Croajingalong NP for BBQ’s each day.  The we headed home taking 2 days to return staying at Stratford on the way.

There was only one thing missing and that was Marg.  Still it was a good trip and got me back into camping.  Just as I miss Marg, you, the readers, will miss her entertaining writing, I will do my best to fill the gap she left.

We arrived at Kelso In the Tamar Valley near the mouth of the Tamar River to spend two days, before we had to move on to Ulverstone.  Now that we are at Kelso, had we known, we could have booked in here for six days.  It is a lovely Big 4 caravan park, with promises of wildlife.  Our site is on Wombat’s Way!  and wombats there were.  Russ said that he’d have to get some womballs, to have a game.  (They don’t get any better, but they’re fun).

A place to see from here was the Narawntapu National Park.  We have stayed at Bakers Beach last time, but Kelso is at the Northern end of park and after a short drive, Russ was able to walk to West Head and Badger Beach.  Narawntapu became the first Tasmanian park to revert to its Aboriginal name.

We also went to Goaty Creek Winery, where we had ordered a gourmet platter for $60 for two.  The wines were delicious, but expensive.  We chose a wooded chardonnay to accompany our smoked salmon, ham, olives, pate, terrine, some cabana (which we could have done without) and lovely cheeses, biscuits and a small stick loaf of bread.  It was delicious, but didn’t compare with our Wahgunya platters, for the same price.

We then moved to Ulverstone, which was quite a surprise.  A much larger shopping centre, an incredibly busy, but well run caravan park, coping with the Easter influx and more to do from here than we thought. We thought this would be just filling in time, but we drove out to Leven Canyon, where Russ walked 2 x 700 steps, but he said it was worth it.

 Yesterday we went to Gunn’s Plains Caves, had a picnic and spent a couple of hours relaxing in a beautiful setting, but didn’t go into the caves.  Not our thing!

Today we drove to Preston Waterfall.  A steep, short walk to the falls, which Russ saw, but then we drove back to Ulverstone to one of the many tables around the beach.  The wind was freezing, but we can’t complain about the weather – it has been outstanding.

Tomorrow, it’s the ferry, boarding at 5pm, then home at 7am on the 30/3.

We don’t do as many exciting things now, but we have really enjoyed Tasmania and we both love the people.  We haven’t met an unfriendly person once.

We arrived here on Sunday, taking a short drive from White Beach.  St Helens is a much more ‘touristy’ town, with a main strip of shops, a good supermarket, but in Tassie you don’t see the large shopping centres that we have in the outskirts of Melbourne.  I haven’t seen a Target, but Russ has seen a Bunnings, so his withdrawals have been curbed!

After setting up we wanted to have a look at the Bay of Fires Conservation Park, where we took another picnic lunch.  We had fun driving into all the beaches, where people were setting up their sites in time to get the best spot for Easter.  We are always looking for picnic tables – these are sadly lacking in Tassie.  We follow signs to Day Use Areas where you come to the end of the road, then a walk to the beach.  Tables would be fabulous.  We set ourselves up on stools at Cosy Corner North, beside a river and with a view to the ocean.  It was beautiful, although stools in the sand for a couple of hours, is a bit hard on old knees.

The coastline is absolutely stunning.  Wherever you go we see massive boulders, with aqua coloured surf crashing over them, mountains in the background and white sand.  Quite spectacular everywhere.

Yesterday we went to a place called The Gardens.  This is still in The Bay of Fires Conservation Area and is on a point on the Bay of Fires.  Activities much the same as the day before, but still wonderful views. The bush is low, dense, with a huge variety of plants, including Melaleucas, eucalypts, banksias and sheaoaks (all the female plants are in flower at the moment).

We splashed out and bought a cray for tea tonight, some champers – figured we had to sample the Tassie seafood.  We were able to choose our own live cray, pay for it, then return 40 minutes later and collect it cooked.  It was delicious and tonight I have all the legs etc. to pick at.  Russ isn’t that keen on that part of it, so cheese and biscuits for him!

Today we drove to St Helens Conservation Area, which again, was beautiful, although there were very large sand dunes on the eastern side of the point.  At St Helens Point, we could see St Helens Island.

We have had to book at Ulverstone over Easter, so we have two days to find somewhere between here and there.  It is just a case of getting back towards Devonport now, sitting pretty over Easter and leaving for home on 29/3.

Before arriving at Freycinet, we had a few leisurely days, which was just as well as I had a few health problems.  On one of my better days, we had lunch at Steward’s Bay Resort.  This was an amazing place, tucked away off the main road and if you were not wanting camping or caravan accomodation, it would be a fabulous place to stay.  The setting was beautiful, with individual self contained units, a private beach and boat trips to Wineglass Bay and other places.  This photo is the view from our table at the restaurant.  We had Crumbed Blue Eye, with chips and salad and when the waiter placed our order with the kitchen, he just called out “the usual”! We are now staying at Freycinet National Park – in my opinion, the most spectacularly scenic place in the world.  We were here three years ago and it is just as good as I remembered it to be.  Coles Bay has a licensed cafe, general store, two small supermarkets, post office etc., and the bay is surrounded by three rugged mountains.  It is an absolute tourist hotspot and bookings are essential.  The National Park sites have water, electricity and drainage, with flushing toilets. Today we drove to Cape Tourville, which is within the National Park and we walked to the lighthouse, where again, the scenery was breathtaking.  Looking south, you can see Wineglass Bay and the start of the mountain range running down the national park, as well as the impressive Southern Ocean.

We had lunch at Honeymoon Bay, sharing a table with a delightful young couple and their 2 year old son. We had our eye on their lunch, consisting of gyozas, fried rice and fruit.  We sufficed with a pastrami and salad roll.  The actual day-use area looked as if a very strong wind storm had come through, with loads of fallen trees.  The national park rangers could put in more tables to cope with the number of tourists.