Off for an explore of North Central Victoria. First stop was
Mount Franklin reserve. The campsite is in an old volcano crater. We went for a
walk around the ridge which offered some nice views.
Today we had a short drive to Vaughan Springs and decided to stay in the free camp next to the picnic area, which has flushing toilets and a swimming hole. During the gold rush in the late 1800’s the population grew to 13,000. Many were Chinese immigrants whom are buried in the cemeteries here. We enjoyed a walk out to Central Springs but the well was dry, as were the others in town. After lunch we walked through town to the still used cemetery that also had an interesting art work. Mark was surprised what he found when he opened the door!
We started the day with a stop in Castlemaine for a quick shop. The town began in the gold rush era in 1851 and there are still many buildings left from these days.
The richest shallow alluvial goldfields in the world were in this area. We were loaded with brochures from the Tourist Information centre of the plenty of things to see and do around town. We decided to continue on to Mt.Alexander if we wanted to get a walk in before the day got too hot. Major Mitchell climbed the mountain in 1836. We were the only ones to set up camp at the Leanganook picnic area. Which surprised us as a flushing toilet block is always a draw card.
The richest shallow alluvial goldfields in the world were in this area. We were loaded with brochures from the Tourist Information centre of the plenty of things to see and do around town. We decided to continue on to Mt.Alexander if we wanted to get a walk in before the day got too hot. Major Mitchell climbed the mountain in 1836. We were the only ones to set up camp at the Leanganook picnic area. Which surprised us as a flushing toilet block is always a draw card.
After a cuppa we set of along another part of the Goldfields Track. Along this 4.5km section we were rewarded with lovely views on both sides of Mt.Alexander. To the west we looked down on Harcourt, well known for its apples.
We spotted some wild goats and evidence of the wallabies that live in the park. Luckily not one snake although the echidna we saw was not too happy about us being there. After having reached the dizzying heights of the summit 746m we walked the faster route back along the road concluding our 8.5km walk and ready for a refreshing bush shower!
The next morning we retraced our drive back to Castlemaine. Along the way we stopped in Chewton to have a closer look at some of their heritage buildings. The Town Hall is said to be the smallest in Victoria! There was also some life size sculptures depicting the life of a few local residents.
We went to see the remains of the foundations of Garlfield water wheel which was the largest in Victoria.
We stopped to look at an old gold mining site where they used water -10,000litres per minute- to spray onto the cliffs.
The cemetery told the sad stories of the time...
Not far up the hill from where we stayed last night was a lookout tower which offered some great views of the district and some interesting information.
On our way to our next destination we had to stop at the well known bakery in Dunolly. Once a gold rush town it seems the bakery is now the pulling card with plenty of people stopping to sample its wears.
We drove out through Bealiba and onto Wedderburn and went to have a look at the Sunday Market. We went to have a look at the RV parking area but it was taken over by the annual Lions Gold Fossicking Jamboree. There were kids and adults participating in various activities with metal detectors and gold panning. After a quick look, we continued on to Boort, where we decided to stay. Again we had a quiet afternoon as the Mercury hit 37. Later on we walked into town and admired the talented work of the local artist ‘Spanner Man’ near the lake.
Having looked at the weather report on Lake Mungo, we decided that it was a good time to go as the temperatures would be below 30°c. We were sill 400km away so we needed to do some driving. Destination Balranald, not quite half way but there were a few places we could stay the night. The towns mascot is the Southern Bell green frog which is only found in the lower Murrumbidgee Floodplain. As we walked down the Main Street there were many information panels about some buildings and the ex service men of both WWI and WWII.
Tonight we stayed on the bank of the Murrumbidgee River in Yanga NP. It was once a huge sheep station. We went to have a look at the woodshed and read the history of the area. The 1870’s homestead can also be visited which is a little bit further down the track. It was another peaceful night with a couple of other campers joining us.
The road to Mungo NP wasn’t too bad but very dusty!
We chose a spot in the Main Camp, had lunch and then went to the information centre to register and pay for the car and our camp.
We then set off on the circular route to explore the park. The area became well known after 40,000 y.o human remains were found here. As we drove across the once 6m deep lake ( now dry for some 18,000 years), we could see ‘the walls of china’, also know as Lunette (due to it’s crescent moon shape). Erosion has created some interesting natural formations. It was along these shores that evidence of human life and activities were found.
On the other side we travelled through Mallee country and were shown a few relics of when this area was settled from around 1850. The Cobb & Co had their route through here too. Stopping at Vigars Well. Here we were able to climb the sand dunes created by the westerly winds and that are still moving at a rate of 3m per year.
At the 2 homesteads, Sanci and Mungo, we visited their shearing wool sheds. Sheep were grazing here until the NP bought them in the 70’s. Now we mainly see kangaroos and emus along with an extensive range of other mammals, birds and reptiles (lucky we didn’t see any of those!)
This morning we had a look around the Mungo wool shed and the aboriginal interpretive centre.
We then did the Foreshore walk that took us into the cypress forest where we saw lots of kangaroos. On our way back we spotted for ‘wild’ sheep (escapees from a neighbouring farm no doubt). Mark also picked up what was to be a fox’s tail (that was all that was left of it!), to show the park officer and we surmised that it was probably attacked by an eagle.
So after this excitement we drove 110km to Mildura and were not prepared for the city traffic. Having done some shopping we took off to find a spot nearby in Marbein, along the great Murray River. During the afternoon only 3 boats went past but plenty of fish were jumping.
Today we continued south along the Sturt and Murray Valley Highways. We passed many types of orchards but grapes, almonds, pistachios and citrus fruits were prevalent. Australia (7%) is the second highest producer (after the US 80%) of almonds in the world! We stopped for lunch in Euston and walked along the banks of the Murray River to Wier 15. It seemed a very popular fishing spot for the cormorants and pelicans.
We checked out a couple of spots to stay in Tooleybuc but decided to continue on to Nyah, where we have stayed before. It is quite a popular spot for campers. We enjoyed our day on the Murray River at Nyah. The magpies were obviously used to being feed by campers.
We decided to spend the hot day at the free camp in Cohuna. Lots was happening in town with the 105th annual agricultural show being held as well as the bowls final. We had a chat with the lady at the information centre who has a dairy farm nearby who had visited a farm in Brittany! Later we were lucky to get a table and enjoy a yummy pub meal.
This morning we woke up to strong gusts and promptly moved from under the shady red gums. Unfortunately our caravan batteries struggled in yesterday’s heat so we ventured down the road to Pyramid Hill that has a small community run caravan park. We braved the winds and dust to walk into town and we’re surprised at some of the substantial buildings. Later we walked to have a look at the actual Pyramid Hill, a granite out crop that Major Mitchell once climbed.
Our last couple of days wondering through this little piece of Victoria had us stopping in Dingee (pop 84). The historic railway station has been done up and the train services pass through twice a day linking it to Melbourne via Bendigo. The pub and local store was still in operation and it said in the tourist book that the iron clad Memorial Hall was unique for this area. A famous bike rider Ernie Olde was also from this town. The family of 9 children made quite a mark on the area including inventing a piece of farm equipment. It wasn’t long ago that the town suffered major flooding in 2011.
We continued down the road and stopped in Elmore. The town is known for a few famous things including Elmore Oil and Elmore Field Days.
Today we stopped to have a look at Greens Lake Reserve which was also popular and by the amount of camping area, would be very busy during the holidays for those interested in speed boating.
On our journey south towards Heathcote we passed some productive farms including a few vineyards. We stopped 6 km short of the town and set up camp at Dargile Reserve in the Heathcote-Graytown NP.
We enjoyed our breakfast before heading on to Bealiba Resevoir and we’re surprised to be the only ones here until later in the day. We once again had a quiet afternoon in the shade before looking forward to the coolness of the night as we watched the colourful sunset over the water.
Having looked at the weather report on Lake Mungo, we decided that it was a good time to go as the temperatures would be below 30°c. We were sill 400km away so we needed to do some driving. Destination Balranald, not quite half way but there were a few places we could stay the night. The towns mascot is the Southern Bell green frog which is only found in the lower Murrumbidgee Floodplain. As we walked down the Main Street there were many information panels about some buildings and the ex service men of both WWI and WWII.
We then had a look at the replica Southern Cross airplanes of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith who was a famous aviator who landed here in 1933.
Tonight we stayed on the bank of the Murrumbidgee River in Yanga NP. It was once a huge sheep station. We went to have a look at the woodshed and read the history of the area. The 1870’s homestead can also be visited which is a little bit further down the track. It was another peaceful night with a couple of other campers joining us.
The road to Mungo NP wasn’t too bad but very dusty!
We chose a spot in the Main Camp, had lunch and then went to the information centre to register and pay for the car and our camp.
We then set off on the circular route to explore the park. The area became well known after 40,000 y.o human remains were found here. As we drove across the once 6m deep lake ( now dry for some 18,000 years), we could see ‘the walls of china’, also know as Lunette (due to it’s crescent moon shape). Erosion has created some interesting natural formations. It was along these shores that evidence of human life and activities were found.
On the other side we travelled through Mallee country and were shown a few relics of when this area was settled from around 1850. The Cobb & Co had their route through here too. Stopping at Vigars Well. Here we were able to climb the sand dunes created by the westerly winds and that are still moving at a rate of 3m per year.
At the 2 homesteads, Sanci and Mungo, we visited their shearing wool sheds. Sheep were grazing here until the NP bought them in the 70’s. Now we mainly see kangaroos and emus along with an extensive range of other mammals, birds and reptiles (lucky we didn’t see any of those!)
This morning we had a look around the Mungo wool shed and the aboriginal interpretive centre.
We then did the Foreshore walk that took us into the cypress forest where we saw lots of kangaroos. On our way back we spotted for ‘wild’ sheep (escapees from a neighbouring farm no doubt). Mark also picked up what was to be a fox’s tail (that was all that was left of it!), to show the park officer and we surmised that it was probably attacked by an eagle.
So after this excitement we drove 110km to Mildura and were not prepared for the city traffic. Having done some shopping we took off to find a spot nearby in Marbein, along the great Murray River. During the afternoon only 3 boats went past but plenty of fish were jumping.
Today we continued south along the Sturt and Murray Valley Highways. We passed many types of orchards but grapes, almonds, pistachios and citrus fruits were prevalent. Australia (7%) is the second highest producer (after the US 80%) of almonds in the world! We stopped for lunch in Euston and walked along the banks of the Murray River to Wier 15. It seemed a very popular fishing spot for the cormorants and pelicans.
We checked out a couple of spots to stay in Tooleybuc but decided to continue on to Nyah, where we have stayed before. It is quite a popular spot for campers. We enjoyed our day on the Murray River at Nyah. The magpies were obviously used to being feed by campers.
We decided to spend the hot day at the free camp in Cohuna. Lots was happening in town with the 105th annual agricultural show being held as well as the bowls final. We had a chat with the lady at the information centre who has a dairy farm nearby who had visited a farm in Brittany! Later we were lucky to get a table and enjoy a yummy pub meal.
This morning we woke up to strong gusts and promptly moved from under the shady red gums. Unfortunately our caravan batteries struggled in yesterday’s heat so we ventured down the road to Pyramid Hill that has a small community run caravan park. We braved the winds and dust to walk into town and we’re surprised at some of the substantial buildings. Later we walked to have a look at the actual Pyramid Hill, a granite out crop that Major Mitchell once climbed.
Our last couple of days wondering through this little piece of Victoria had us stopping in Dingee (pop 84). The historic railway station has been done up and the train services pass through twice a day linking it to Melbourne via Bendigo. The pub and local store was still in operation and it said in the tourist book that the iron clad Memorial Hall was unique for this area. A famous bike rider Ernie Olde was also from this town. The family of 9 children made quite a mark on the area including inventing a piece of farm equipment. It wasn’t long ago that the town suffered major flooding in 2011.
We continued down the road and stopped in Elmore. The town is known for a few famous things including Elmore Oil and Elmore Field Days.
We drove out and stayed at Ayons Reserve, where the field days used to be held on the banks of the Campaspe River.
Today we stopped to have a look at Greens Lake Reserve which was also popular and by the amount of camping area, would be very busy during the holidays for those interested in speed boating.
On our journey south towards Heathcote we passed some productive farms including a few vineyards. We stopped 6 km short of the town and set up camp at Dargile Reserve in the Heathcote-Graytown NP.
