Today was spent doing errands and finishing the laundry we started last night. We were hoping to meet up with Greg with or without Chrissy and JAM this weekend but they can't make it so we decided to head further away from Melbourne. We are on our way now north towards Benalla and then will eventually head east along the Great Alpine Highway to Mt. Beauty.
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| Duck family next to some flood debris |
13 Jan
We spent last night in Benalla. What a friendly little city. We stopped at the visitor center shortly before it closed looking for info on a place to park for the night. The nice LoL (lil ole lady) directed us to a city park along the lake and said we could stay anywhere left of the civic center. It was a pretty area with lots of grass and scenics. We walked the trail around the lake and then Trox rode around town a little. The weather was okay but humid. The mosquitos were little but ferocious and arrived in swarms (okay, I'm exaggerating - a little). About midnight and then again at 8 this morning a siren went off - we never figured out what it was for but the one at midnight made us pay attention in case it was a warning of flood.
14 January
Guess what? It's raining! Yesterday we left Benalla heading for Wangarrata which is about 3/4 of the way to Beechworth our next goal. This is a good sized city and we have begun the process of re provisioning. We hit the grocery store yesterday and plan on finding a butcher and a bakery today. We woke to grey windy skies but not much rain - it is now about noon and POURING. One of the town's - Hall's Gap near the Grampians - that we visited in December has been evacuated because of the rain and flooding. I just hope the dam above the town doesn't break. Queensland has started the process of cleanup from the horrid floods there as the rain moves our way. Victoria is not expected to be as bad as Queensland and this rain is supposed to be gone from here tonight. In the meantime we are staying in a nice Big 4 with a solar heated salt water swim pool and other nice facilities. Trox took advantage of the bush kitchen to make beans this morning and we will have tacos tonight.
16 January
The sun is shining!!! OMG IS IT HOT! AND MUGGY! Our tacos were wonderful! We spent another night at the Big 4 and when we got up the morning of the 14th we discovered the air conditioner had developed a leak and in order to work on it Trox was going to have to get up on the roof and it was RAINING sooooooo we headed into town looking for some where to park under cover. In town we found a park with a huge roofed area where a man riding a Harley had already taken refuge. We joined him and Trox fixed the air conditioner.
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| working on air conditioner |
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| Bunyip and Harley |
There are mountain bike trails here in Beechworth so when we got to town Trox found shade for Bunyip and he took off on his bike while I explored the antique shops and found the local Brewery and ice cream store. There is a festival going on - Opera in the Australian Alps - so the town is chocked. We were lucky and I found a spot (the last one) in a local caravan park so air conditioning would be available for sleeping. This morning we broke camp after Trox' early morning ride and headed into the local national park. Right now we are parked in a shady spot and Trox is making breakfast. We are just a stone's throw from the overlook for the Woolshed Falls and this is a popular spot with lots of people coming and going. We get some strange looks what with our canopy and table and stove. It also smells heavenly as Trox is making pancakes. I told him to put out a sign and start selling homemade pancakes.
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| Woolshed Falls |
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| taking a dip |
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| used to be a bridge up stream from falls |
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| water runs through this little cut in the rock before falls |
Later
I've been traumatized! We sent for a ride along a dirt road looking for a campsite when Trox turned down a track towards the river and drove over a big rock. After a gawdawful noise he stopped and checked. Luckily it had scraped the axle only and no damage was done and we weren't high centered. But because I've now been traumatized we're heading back into town so I can have an Avogatto, a short black (shot of espresso) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. We did find a place to camp and will go back out after it cools down a little. Bunyip also made a major river crossing today which was fun.
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| people playing in area around river crossing |
Later still
Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm not only did I get my Avogatto but I got scones with cream and jam AND 1/2 of Mr. Unit's ice cream! WOW!
17 January
We went back to the spot we found earlier. It is within in walking distance of the river crossing so Trox took a bath after dinner while I settled for a shower in Bunyip. We had a great dinner and slept "downstairs" for the first time. It was hot when we went to bed and we thought it would be more comfortable. It was and we both slept okay. Now we are trying to decide where to head next and thinking to go toward Mt. Beauty which is south and east and then maybe on to Omeo and Hotham. We are waiting to hear from Allan and if we don't hear soon we will maybe start working our way towards Adelaide and Carol's.
There is a nice park by a small lake in Beechworth and it is lined with Sierra Redwoods! Boy do they look out of place! We spent a few hours there yesterday enjoying the cool shade and a breeze and of course Trox went swimming. I'm beginning to think this continent is nothing but a big sand dune - every where there is man made lake the shores are nice and sandy whereas in the states they would be muddy.
Later
So, no sooner do plans get made than they change! The generator's governor (or some other part) was misbehaving last night and so Trox just called about it and they said "bring it in". The nearest service center is Wodonga which is kind of on the way to Mt. Beauty so that's where we're headed now.
18 January
We made it to Wodonga; dropped off the generator; found a wonderful fruit and vegetable stand; went to the visitor center; AND CROSSED INTO New South Wales! We have now left Victoria for the first time. While in NSW we went to a great library and like most libraries had free WiFi but it was sooooo slow that all I was able to do was check my email and find out that DnT are out of Chile!
We stayed in a Big 4 (back in Victoria) last night and I decided to splurge on an ensuite site. An ensuite site is a campsite with power, water, sullage and a little building that looks like a small storage unit (maybe 3m x 1m - 10' x 3') but is actually a private bathroom. It made a great bike garage and because it was just ours we decided to give each other hair cuts - not that either of us needed one.
Now we're back on the road heading for Mt. Beauty and will come back in a few days to get the generator.
Later
The woman at the visitor center in Wodonga told us about a campground near Towanga before we start up the mountain to Falls Creek. She said it is real nice and right along a creek. She is right - it is nice and the creek is pretty and clear and OMG is it cold! We found a nice shady site and had "brunch" and set up amp. Trox is getting ready for a ride and I'm enjoying the shade and listening to the creek just 20 meters (yardsish) away in our back yard.
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| it is really cold - I didn't stay in long |
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| our backyard |
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| along a path upstream from camp |
19 Jan
Trox went for a ride this morning and spotted a snake.
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| they both left each other alone |
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| red; 1st trip green; 2nd trip grey; current trip |
Later
We continued our way up towards Falls Creek and stopped just south of Bogong to hike to Fainter Falls. The first 700 meters (yardsish) is described as an easy 20 minute walk and the last 200 meters as an "adventurous" section. WHATEVER! The falls where pretty of course and have a cool story. Supposedly they had been long forgotten when a major fire in 2003 exposed the falls to view from the main road. Local volunteers built the trail up to the falls area.
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| First View of Fainter Falls |
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| Tree Fern in front of Fainter Falls |
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| part of the adventurous section |
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| A Grey Currawong |
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| sunbathing |
20 January - Thursday
The parking lots here are not secluded like Buller and all have signs indicating no overnight parking so we drove a little beyond the village towards Rocky Valley Lake. One of the roads which runs along the shore is actually quite a way above the water and we found a really great pullout area so we made camp! Trox pulled us in and we were level with no fiddling! Turn him off - we ARE home! As we fixed dinner the fog rolled in and by the time we were ready for bed it was THICK! We woke early this morning to heavy overcast and on his ride Trox said he hit fog and low clouds. By 11 or so it had burned off and although it stayed cool with a breeze the fog and overcast were gone.
There is an overflow pipe in the lake near the damn that has "ears" - kind of looks like a giant wing nut. The ears are to prevent a vortex from developing when the lake overflows.
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| after the sun came out |
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| wings |
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| horse camp in the high plains |
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