A "Bright" couple of days.....

A suggestion from our family prompted us to go south into the Alpine Region of the Great Dividing Range for a few days, and it proved to be well worthwhile.

Passing through Beechworth, we discovered that not only was Ned Kelly arraigned there, he was brought up locally. We had a guided historic tour, where we also learned that Burke of Burke and Wills fame spent a few years as police chief before his ill fated expedition north to the gulf of Carpenteria. The police office and the gaol have been preserved, and we were able to see uniforms and documents from that era.

Bright is a lovely resort area favoured by Ausies from as far away as Melbourne and Sydney,  at this time of year the trees are showing a colourful palette of reds, browns and greens as the deciduous trees begin to shed their leaves. We are quite high up here, maybe 2500 ft, probably the highest we have been in all our travels to date, but as this area was mainly settled by the British, they brought along many trees from home.

Beleive it or not, we decided to take a bike ride along a disused rail track, we hired a tandem so that Anne could take it easy, travelling 20km to a winery and back. It was a lovely ride, but we were both complaining that a certain part of our anatomy was suffering badly when we arrived back!

In the afternoon we took a motor trip up Mount Buffalo, little knowing how steep and windy the road would be. It was 45km to the top, probably only 10k from Bright as the crow flies. Was it worth it? By hell it was! We climbed to over 6000 ft, and the views from the top were superb, we could see the hills and mountains for at least 40 miles, and the varied views on the way up were just great. I just wish I had the space here to show you everything.

Many of the trees around us as we drove appeared to be dead, there had been a huge wildfire here in 2005, caused by lightning, killing off many of the trunks. However, the roots survived, and were regenerating the forests just as they had over millenia before.

While here we visited the Bright Rotary club, where we were made most welcome. We learned that they have two main fund raisers, a weekly market, and a water slide that they man only for the two summer months of January and February, making £25,000 a year. With the market they earn over $100,000 each year, makes me green with envy!

If you think my smile is not up to it's usual standard, you would be right. I lost a tooth the day before, and there is no dentist here. So my smile is not as "Bright" as normal........

Welcome to Australia....

Over the last couple of days we have moved up to Albury, still on the Murray river, still within the navigable area.

As we travelled we came across a man made lake that had been flooded in 1919, but leaving all the trees in the valley standing. All died of course, but the red gum trees are still standing, as I said yesterday, they are virtually indestructible. A fisherman's heaven is the result as the fish breed and live among the dead trunks.
At one point we had to divert some 80kms around a flooded town, Nathalia has had problems for the last two weeks, it is virtually suurounded by flood water.

Further along we crossed a weird bridge, the Murray being the boundary between Victoria and New South Wales, before federation the two states had totally different governments, different taxes, and rarely talked together. Two bridges were started- from each side of the river, at different heights and on different lines, and it wasn't till they were half built that it was decided that they should meet midstream. So frantic redesigning took place, resulting in a bridge that rises and curves in the middle.

A museum in Albury features the migrants who came here in the thirty years after the second world war, who were initially housed in Barrack blocks near the city. We found this so interesting that we spent the afternoon at Block 19, in some of the original buildings that were used.

The earlier occupants were refugees after the war, mostly from the Balkans, Greece, Italy and the Soviet countries, they were encouraged to learn English as without it they could not be employed. They had spent six weeks on the ocean to reach Melbourne, to be immediately put on a train for the six hour journey to Bonegilla, where they disembarked into a field and walked up to three miles to their huts, carrying the one suitcase that they could bring with them.

Conditions at that time were rather bleak, the men were housed in seperate 20 bed dormitories from the women and children, all were fed cafeteria style with army type rations, and some became disillusioned with the life even though they spent only a short time there before they were sent off to labour in Steel works, or civil construction and the like.

Many had been back since the centre reopened as a hertige museum, and we read a  visitors book with many remarks that showed the mixed feelings that the residents had about the camp.

Later residents were a little more fortunate, the barracks were converted into seperate rooms about 4mtrs by 3 mtrs, meant to take a family, or perhaps two rooms for a large family. Many rooms could only take two single beds and a wardrobe, and the one suitcase that most had brought with them from their home countries.

It was impossible not to be moved by the stories we read, the many children who died from diseases like measles and tuberculosis despite the best efforts of the doctors here.

It seemed the "Ten Pound Poms" who came here had much better treatment in camps nearer Melbourne, invariably their trade qualifications would be accepted, which was not the case with the Europeans who came to this area. 

Later we drove to the Hume dam, it took 17 years to build between 1919 and 1936, and now generates sufficient electricity for 85,000 homes, as well as irrigating much of the upper Murray valley, and providing drinking water for the area. However all of this is controversial, as less than 4% of the river reaches the sea, and there is a danger that the river can become salinated in it's lower reaches, so the federal Governemt has stepped in to resolve the problem by limiting the amount that can be taken out. Consequently we see notices throughout the area exhorting us to save water- all this despite the floods we had to divert round yesterday! 

Time for Rotary- we attended Albury North club where we heard a young ex youth exchange boy tell us about a charity he has started which will build a village for the disposessed of The Phillipines. He is just 22 years old, and has already raised a large amount of money towards his aim, and we have no doubt he will succeed in building a village of 100 homes in the next few years.

The club itself raises $80,000 a year from a weekly market they hold- rather puts our club's fundraising in the shade!

It all started with steam....

the great energy producer of the past. From 1860 to 1900 Echuca was the vital and vibrant centre of the Murray river trade, and steam powered river boats, locomotives, sawmills and wharf cranes. The wharf itself is in the process of being rebuilt, and in a year's time it will be possible to relive some of the glory days of the 19th century in this area. In the meantime, the Port authorities are doing their best to entertain the thousands of tourists and schoolchildren who come to see the exhibits in this living museum.We took the opportunity of a trip on the Murray in a side paddle steamer, one of a number who ply the river to this day, but only for tourists nowadays. Side wheelers because they pulled barges, and if they were to stop suddenly stern wheels would be smashed by the barges behind.


The river at the moment is some 4 mtrs above it mean height, but can go as much as 10 mtrs above in flood times. The wharf is built to allow for this, and is in the process of being partially rebuilt. Redgum is the preferred wood, it is almost indestructible, resists decay very well, ( some of the original piles are being reused) and is very strong. Surprisingly- it is so dense  it does not float, so had to be carried  downriver- it couldn't be floated down!

The main exports from Echuca were wool, cattle and sheep, which were brought here from the outlying stations by steamer and barge. Earlier they were barged all the way down to the ocean some 1800 miles away. Later they went by rail from here to Melbourne, and during the gold rushes at Ballarat and Bendigo many thousands of cattle and sheep were sent there to satisfy the appetites of the miners.

We spent the day at the wharf, investigating the steamers, the rebuild of the wharf, the rail head and the sawmills. The wharf museum is very informative, giving us the history from the first ferry across the Murray right through ubtil the decline of the river trade in the early 20th century as a result of road development.
A good day, well worth the trip up here.

A day at the races

two towns on opposite sides of the Murray river, in two different states. Echuca in Victoria, and Moama in NSW, are joined by an old iron bridge, and are Australia's paddle steamer capital. The boats line the river on both sides.Two other rivers join the Murray here, the Goulbourne and the Campaspe, making the Murray navigable by paddle steamers all the way from the Southern Ocean at Lake Alexandra in South Australia.

Founded in 1853 by an ex convict from the UK, Harry Hopwood saw the potential of an inland port serving the outback sheep stations, at one time with over 100 boats.

Recently there have been very severe floods upriver from here, many towns were cut off for a while, and some roads are still closed. As a result the Murray is still very high, waterlogging some of the area around the river and carrying broken trees down river and submerging others.

Today there was a race meeting with a difference- harness racing is all the rage over here. With a sulky in tow, they race round a track about 1k long, perhaps two or three times before they really put the pressure on and start racing. If they gallop they are disqualified, and have to get into step before the race can start behind a mobile starting gate.

We stayed for three races, al of which were won by the favourite, with the second placed every time. The odds were poor, sometimes as low as returning just a few cents on the dollar, we didn't bet. But it was an interesting couple of hours, some of the horses were quite beautiful and obviously well cared for, the owners travelling long distances to race their rigs.

We are here for a couple of days, so tomorrow we will have a good look round and find out more about the history of this area.

On the way again.

After a hectic few days staying on the Mornington Peninsula with Barbara and Dave we are once again on our travels. Our stay enabled us to thoroughly clean Betty, even to the extent of polishing her, and cleaning her out for the first time since we left Perth last August.

We were also able to catch up with all my extended Aussie family, and we spent time with Paul and Marrianne and their 'kids', as well as Barbara's family and grandchildren. Hastings, just down the road from Somerville, is on the Westernport Bay, and Anne and Barbara take advantage of a good swimming pool there to excercise each day.
The weather is very mixed down here, it is Autumn and some days are warm, and others are very wet indeed. On our last night it rains all night, and as we leave the peninsula the rain continues.

We have decided to bypass Melbourne and make for Healesville and Maryville, some 200k north. This is the area that was devastated just four years ago by bushfires, both towns were almost completely destroyed, and evidence of new building is all around us. Shelterbox sent tents here during that period, and Rotary worldwide responded with funds to help rebuilding.

Much of the flora, the gum trees, the tree ferns etc, are able to regenerate after these fires, and we saw hundreds of burnt trunks supporting new growth as we went along the roads. Some of these gum trees are 40-50 metres high, and there are huge forests in the Yarra ranges.

Leaving the main road we drove to Lake Eildon, a reservoir which not only provides much of Melbourne's water, but much of the region's electricity also. A beautiful area, the lake has filled many of the valleys in this hills around, and provides a great deal of boating recreation, including houseboats which the area is famous for.
The weather had improved a little by then, with just a few short showers, and quite a bit warmer, so it was a real pleasure driving through the mountains. However it is Saturday night, and a holiday area, so we found ourselves without accommodation, having tried quite a few camp sites for cabins. So we had to move on out of the immediate area, and made our way to Bonnie Doon, where we were fortunate to pick up the last cabin in the area, on the side of another lake some 80k further on. Tomorrow we hope to move on up to the Murray river for a couple of days, we have already seen many vineyards in the Yarra valley, we expect to see many more in the Murray!

A few day's rest??

Or what might have been followed our day out at the Highland Games in Geelong. In fact we worked even harder cleaning Betty ready for the next stage of our trip. But back to Geelong...

A super day at the games, meeting many ex-pats from the north of England and Scotland, and witnessing the Skirl of the pipes, Scottish country dancing, as well as battle re-enactments and heavy games such as caber tossing and shot putting.

There was a pipes and drums marching competition of some of the many bands in this area, some from as far as two hundred KM away, all were really good, probably as good as many in Scotland itself.

Young girls took part in country dancing, in pairs and groups, and they were really excellent, or seemed to be by my judgement, but I'm no expert.

But we really enjoyed the heavy games, competitors from as far away as New Zealand and New South Wales putting the 2 stone shot, tossing the caber, I don't think I could even lift the things!

What with haggis and black pudding for lunch what could be a better finish to that section of our adventure!


Crossing the mouth of Port Philip bay by ferry took us to the Mornington Peninsula ( see map below) where my cousin Barbara and husband Dave live. What a welcome!

However we had to get down to work- stripping Betty completely for the first time since we put her together last August to give her a really good clean, and taking her for an equally good service and checkover. She of course passed with flying colours, she's a great old bird! Now we only have to put her back together before we move on on Saturday, up through the parks and mountains of Victoria, following the upper Murray River to Canberra.
Also this week we have to book our passage to Malaysia and Bangkok for the convention in May, a lot to do as well as see all the family here. So it isn't much of a few day's rest........

The Great Ocean Road,

at just 200km long, took us a full day to travel as there was so much to see. Built in the twenties and early thirties by servicemen returning from the first world war, every turn found another amazing view. It is the largest war memorial in the world, and certainly the most interesting.

Many hundreds of ships were wrecked along this coast. Having sailed from Britain for perhaps 75 days Melbourne was to have been their first landfall, and if they had been unable to take star or sun sights near the end because of inclement weather they had to rely on dead reckoning, which, because of tides, currents and the vagaries of the wind may not have been very accurate. They likened it to 'threading the eye of the needle, finding the entrance to the Bass Strait, the passage between King Island to the north of Tasmania, and the mainland.One such ship was the Loch Ard, whose demise I described yesterday, travelling along the road we were able to see the rocks where she met her end. As I described yesterday, only two survivors made it ashore, and we saw the beach they washed up on, and the cave in which they spent their first day and night before being discovered by searchers.

Every turn brought new delights, the Twelve Apostles, although having now been whittled down to six, are amazing. Limestone pillars worn away by the tides and seas, they stand proud along a section of coast bounded bt massive cliffs. The sea was fairly calm when we were there, but it is easily possible to imagine huge waves pounding the shoreline and the Apostles themselves.

Further along the road took us through miles of virgin primeval forest, the trees almost reaching and closing overhead. Many huge gum trees can be seen along this part of the road, some of which has been cut deeply into the rock, and in other places built up. Bear in mind that every foot of this road has been built by hand with pick, shovel and barrow by the thousands of 'diggers', a tremendous feat in those days when the only way to reach them was by sea before their road was built.

Our day ended at Torquay, a smaller version of it's English namesake, where we found it impossible to get accommodation- it was pure luck that we called into a campsite where we were given a cabin which had just been cancelled. We nearly had to sleep rough.........

Mount Gambier behind us

we rejoined the coast road taking us along to Portland, a busy port exporting ore and cattle. A tram along the front took people into the shopping area, from the many attractive homes along the shoreline. 

The coastline itself was mainly concealed behind sand dunes, but occasionally we would catch a glimpse of lovely beaches.

A few miles further on took us to Port Fairy, an extremely attactive fishing port nestling along a busy riverside,  it's Norfolk pine-lined streets fronting whitewashed cottages. Settled by whalers and sealers in 1835, it still has a large fishing fleet. We had just missed by a week the Port Fairy Folk Festival, one of the biggest and best in Oz, but we probably would not have been able to get near the place anyway!

Our target for the day was a larger town called Warrnambool, we had read about a maritime village there that we wished to visit.

Flagstaff Hill is a recreation of an 19th century colonial village, modelled on an early Aussie port. It contains a large collection of maritime artifacts,, but in particular the Loch Ard Peacock, rescued after the ship of that name went down further along the coast after striking rocks. The Peacocock is porcelain, standing about 5ft high, worth around $5m  and quite exquisite.

Among the buildings are an early bank, a newspaper office and printing presses, a sailmakers loft and an Inn.

The harbour had two ships in- one a coaster that served the area under sail fror many years, athe other a steam packet that oringinally brough tourists out from Melbourne for day trips to the many beaches of the Great Ocean Road.

After dark we returned to the Village for a presentation of "Shipwrecked", an amazing sound and light presentation of the wrecking of the Loch Ard, quite amazing the way the action was projected onto a spray of water over the harbour.

Only two young people survived the disaster, one young apprentice crewman and one Irish Girl, and of course the aforementioned Peacock, which was so well packaged it floated ashore undamaged.

Earlier I took the opportunity to take a photo of the sunset over the promenade of Warrnanbool, well I thought it was quite good.......

It's a tough climb...

up Mount Gambier, but worth it when you get to the top. An extinct volcano, the mountain itself as opposed to the town, it is the only relief in many hundreds of square miles of unredeemed flatness, visibility stretching from the southern ocean some thirty miles away to a similar distance the other side.

The mountain was first seen from the sea by Lt Grant, Captain of the Lady Nelson in 1800, who thought it was an island til he got a bit closer.

Just below the peak is a lovely walk through a forest teaming with Roo and other fauna, in particular water birds. Here you can see cjust how high we had to climb to the tower at the top, a monument to Captain Grant and the Lady Nelson.

It was here that we saw our first snake, in all the time we have been here the only snakes we have seen have been dead on the roads, until today. This one is a red bellied black snake, quite venomous so I didn't go too close, and this photo does not show it's head which is in the long grass. It is around one metre long, so most of it is in view here. As I got closer it slid away in the grass.

Further down the hill are three lakes- one of which changes colour by the season. From November to March it is a bright blue, just now in the process of changing to grey. The blue colour is caused by by the limestone reacting with the heat of the summer. The lake being the source of all the drinking water for Mount Gambier, is very well protected with signs prohibiting certain vehicles from the vicinity in case of polution. It is in the caldera of the volcano, below the water table, and is continually filled by filtered water from the limestone underground.

This evening we went to a small park on the outskirts of the town to feed Percy Possum, but the reason there is no photo is that they just wouldn't come out to play!

Along the Limestone Coast

Over the last couple of days we have travelled south from Goolwa to Mount Gambia, along the coast of southeast South Australia, ( see location- below). The first few miles involved the circumnavigation of Lake Alaxandrina, a large freshwater lake near the mouth of the Murray River, which you will remember drains many of the Eastern states of Australia.Ot one point we had to cross the Murray, there are few bridges on the lower Murray, so we crossed by a free ferry, about 150 mtrs across. The service was started as early as 1846, and has continued uninterrupted since then, working 24 hours nowadays, paid for by the Oz government.

By the side of the river is an old inn, reputed to be the oldest continually licensed in South Australia, since 1848,so we stopped off and had a coffee just to see what it was like. Not a lot different from many others we had been in!

Lower down the coast there is a narrow peninsula of sand dunes which runs parralel with the coastline for some 110 miles, sometimes as close as 300 yards, sometimes as much as a mile. There are some beautiful coves along here, with many interesting features!

This evening we attended Mount Gambia Rotary Club, heard a talk about the integration of refugees from Burma and the Congo, and how football and gardenng were being used to teach English and help integrate them into Mount Gambian society. As usual I presented a banner, and gave a talk about RIBI and our district, as well of course our club.

It has been an extremely hot day, even the wind which came up mid afternoon was scorching, to the extent that I had to go in the swimming pool! But now it has started to rain with a vengeance, a cool change was forecast and it has arrived! Hopefully though it will clear for the morning, we have plans to do a bit of walking round the lake close by here.

On the way down we spotted another "Wicked" camper..........

The last four entries were posted together, because of transmission restrictions on Kangaroo Island

Farewell to a beautiful place

An early start saw us at the ferry terminal almost before dawn, as the later boats were fully booked it was the 8 o'clock one or none at all. Perhaps it would have been better to stay! Anyway- here we are, once again marvelling at the truck driver's ability to reverse their hige trailers with infinitesimal accuracy on board. One was full of sheel- another with potatoes. Still a third was full of- refuse, and didn't we know it. The aroma was more than a little ripe, encouraging us to go inside and upwind.

A little way along the coast is the charming resort of Victor Harbour, as today is a bank holiday it was rather busy, so after giving Betty her twice annual bath, and taking lunch at Subway we decide to travel just a few KMs further on to Goolwa.

This is  a charming sleepy little town at the mouth of the Murray River, famous for it's wines further upstream. The river and it's tributaries drains much of the east of Australia, covering four states, from Queensland, New South Wales, Vistoria, as well as South Australia. Indeed many of the presently flooded areas to the north of here will eventually drain into this river.

The town itself was once famous for it's wool exports, much of the wool from the Murray River valley was exported through here, brought down here by paddle steamer, and tranfered to larger ships for transfer to Europe.

There are still a few paddle steamers about here, and we took advantage of a trip on the river in P.S.Oscar W, a side paddler, still operated by steam engine.

Originally lauched 103 years ago as a wool carrier, it vis now owned by the local council, and manned entirely by volunteers.

We had a pleasant hour cruising around the lake formed at the mouth of the Murray, which incidentally is blocked from the sea by a number of barrages to form a fresh water lake, with locks through to the sea for shipping.

Tomorrow we will move towards the Great Ocean Road, which leads us to Melbourne. The first part of this road is the Limestone Coast, a long lagoon formed by a visible reef a short distance offshore.