ECHUCA, VICTORIA : Tuesday, 25th May.
Once again I am way behind with my blogging so will attempt to bring it up to date.
On Friday, 21st May we left Sydney, having completing the always difficult task of farewelling the family as they left for work and school that morning, and set off in the rain for the 'Shire' to collect the caravan from the caravan park storage. We actually had quite a good drive with not a lot of traffic, resulting in a fast getaway out of the suburbs and on to the M5, soon leaving the metropolitan area behind and the M5, which ended and morphed into the M31. Stopping at the Caltex Services along the way, while consuming our sausage rolls and coffee we fell into conversation with a motor cyclist who had ridden that morning from Port Macquarie and was on his way to his home in Healesville, a long way we thought but to him it was a spit in the ocean! He sported a luxurious, long, white beard which he carefully brushed while we were chatting, I guess it becomes a little tangled in the wind. There were two more stops on the way, both at rest areas named in honour of VC Winners and at one we bought a cup of freshly cooked mini donuts from a caravan kiosk.
and settling in to the caravan park, we drove into the town, visited the Information Centre where a helpful young lady gave us a map and directions to do a little sightseeing. We drove up Rocky Hill, on the outskirts of town, home to the War Memorial
The Courthouse was opened in 1887 at a cost of 24,593 Pounds
The Rogers Building (1853), built as a large country emporium for Jones & Co., now home to Dimmey's and Harvey Norman.
The Post Office (1880). The original arch in the centre of the building features the head of Queen Victoria and was once used by coach and horse to access the yard behind.
Belmore Park, originally the town's Market Square where residents could sell their livestock, farm produce and merchandise. The park has been a botanical garden and for a number of years also housed a small zoo. As the light was fading fast (it was 5.30pm by this time), we decided to call it a night and headed back to the caravan for dinner.
We woke to heavy fog and 3degrees on Saturday, 22nd, hung around until 9.30am when the temperature had soared to 7degrees and left Goulburn, managing to see the 'Big' Merino
who'd moved to a new home since we last saw him.
Although it was foggy, visibility was okay
We made a few stops along the way, first into the services for coffee, then detoured into Jugiong
The Beuatiful old Sir George Hotel in Jugiong, a small town with galleries, a winery and gift shops.
Of course, we couldn't go past the Dog on the Tuckerbox without stopping to take the obligatory photo
and one of the 'Big' Koala as well - Bonus!!
A brief stop at the Little Billabong rest area
yielded a photo or two or a water tank mural.
Intrigued by a glimpse of a sign mentioning something about HMAS Otway, we were prompted to drive into Holbrook
to see what it was all about and found this :
The town was named in honour of Lt. N.D. Holbrook, a decorated wartime submarine captain & winner of the Victoria Cross. The Town Council acquired a portion of the hull of HMAS Otway, an Oberon class submarine, after it was decommissioned by the R.A.N. in 1995. The town purchased all of the outside skin of the Otway above the waterline and this part of the Otway is now displayed in Germanton Park in the heart of Holbrook. There is also a submarine museum, closed when we arrived but we liked the town and decided to stay the night.....which we did!
On Sunday, 23rd May after leaving Holbrook, we drove a mere 58 kms to Albury and checked into the Big 4 Caravan Park as we had a gift voucher to do so! As soon as we were settled in, we took off again to visit nearby Hume Dam and places along the lakeside.
Leaving NSW for a few hours, we crossed the Murray River via the Heywood Bridge, into Victoria.
Here we visited the Bonegilla Migrant Experience, of particular interest to us as a good friend spent his earliest days in Australia there in his youth.
Initially a military camp, in the 1940s it became a migrant camp, housing thousands of displaced men, women and children from European countries. Much of the camp is gone now, what is left is well maintained and is a museum which we found very interesting. Until a few days ago, we didn't know it existed.
Scenes from our journey around the lake
We called into Tallangatta for a bite to eat and managed to arrive at the bakery there about 10 minutes before closing. Being Sunday, there was not a lot going on in the town but a very nice town all the same.
Along the road a little way, we pulled in to a parking bay overlooking the valley where the old Tallangatta used to stand
Not having enough time to circle the entire lake, we drove through the Mt Granya State Park,
a steep, winding, narrow road where glimpses of the valley way below could occasionally be seen, passed this cute little old cottage
and on the other side of the state park, this :
and this
and this
and this
and this
The end of a fantastic day....
back into NSW for the night!
On Monday, 24th May we left Albury and still in NSW, for a while, took the Riverina Highway, through the quaintly named Howlong
with its tree lined main road
then through Corowa
passing by Lake Mulwala
into Mulwala
stopping in at the bakery for excellent wraps and coffee for lunch - plus a couple of their excellent for afters!
Next stop Victoria! Across the Murray River
into and through Yarrawonga.
Our GPS sent us down a few country back roads,
through Numurkah where my Mum had relatives
with a brief stop at a rest area
and a detour into Tongala
where we found a War Memorial
an Avenue of Honour
and several murals throughout the town.
The next stop was in Echuca where we booked into the caravan park for two nights.
ECHUCA : Tuesday, 25th May.
Rain and strong winds were predicted for this afternoon so we decided on the 10.15am paddle steamer cruise on the Murray River. The wind was cold but the rain held off until this afternoon so we enjoyed the boat ride, which we followed with a walk around the town and coffee and cake in the bakery. Echuca is a lovely town, much quieter today than it was the last time we were here so we enjoyed our stroll.
Hot work!
the old wharf
We made it back to the caravan before the rain came and had a lazy afternoon staying dry. Mike ventured out late in the afternoon when the rain eased a little and visited the Moama Bowling Club, across the river in NSW.
Tomorrow we will continue our journey west and who knows what we may find along the way?
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