To Bruce’s Bend Murray River Vic

Our first stop for the day was Ouyen, the one time Vanilla slice capital but sadly no longer. After yesterdays indulgence we give the bakery a miss. We park next to the Big Mallee Stump and have a shake for breakfast. This hundreds of year old stump is believed to be the largest in Australia and enables the tree to survive long periods of drought as well as quick regeneration after bushfires. Back in the 1900’s pioneer farmers cleared the mallee scrub of the land, collecting the stumps to use for firewood. The district is now one of the most productive areas of the nation. 

Further up the road we ventured into the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park which is based around the Hattah Lakes system. We were ready to do some walking but unfortunately we couldn’t go very far as the tracks were flooded. We still enjoyed the beautiful scenery. 

Returning to the Calder Highway we had a brief stop in Red Cliffs and admired the engineering feat of Big Lizzie, a 45 tons traction engine built in 1916 in Melbourne. It’s original use was intended to cart wool around the Broken Hill area but it couldn’t cross the Murray so was then commissioned to clear the land near Red Cliffs for the largest soldier settlement.

Not far from here we made our way to the banks of the mighty Murray River near Bruce’s Bend, find ourselves a waterfront spot and enjoy watching a few boats pass us by. There is plenty of bird life too. A couple of Km along the track there is Kings Billabong offering lots of walks. It’s a great spot to stay for a few days.