We love being retired. Do you? Or are you still planning to retire or is it still too far away to think about?

When we arrive home from a trip we unpack the motorhome, give it a good clean, wash all the linen, and then get it ready for the next trip. Our motorhome has its own carport to keep it out of the weather and while it is parked up we keep it plugged in to maintain the batteries. We do all this so when we decide on the spur of the moment to go somewhere it is only a matter of packing our perishable food, clothes, our ebikes, topping up the wine cellar (two boxes under our bed) and maybe a book or two. Simple.

A couple of days ago we were sitting in the kitchen discussing what is coming up on our calendar for the next couple of months and we discovered we had a two week window where we had nothing planned, no looking after grandchildren duties and no events scheduled. Two whole weeks. What to do?

So we spent a day packing the motorhome and the next morning we headed off on another meander. We had a rough route planned but whether we complete the whole route or not didn’t matter. It was just great to be off again.

The rough route would take us south to the Murray River at Howlong, then further south to the lovely towns of Beechworth and Bright. Then I was excited about travelling over the Victorian alpine country via Mt Hotham, Dinner Plain and Omeo and on towards Gippsland and eventually all the way to the coast at Lakes Entrance.

Our route home would maybe go via Healesville and Lake Eildon and we thought we’d go to Wagga Wagga to check out the Leisure Show. Sounds like a plan!

Day one of this meander saw us drive out our driveway at 9.20am. I know, I know, we didn’t get away early however Richard had been for a swim from 6-7. What a gorgeous day it was for travelling. Only 28 degrees and sunny. How lovely the countryside looked after all the recent rains. All the dams we saw were full and there was lush green grass everywhere. How different from the dry of the drought a couple of years ago.

A short lunch break at the Lockhart Recreation Ground saw us parked in the shade of an old Pepper tree before continuing southwards.

We passed through the village of Brocklesby (population 183) and here’s a fascinating bit of trivia for you. In the park next the the hall is a large motor with a propeller on display. What could that be about?

On 29 September 1940 a mid-air collision occurred over Brocklesby. The accident was extremely unusual in that the two aircraft became locked together after colliding and then managed to land safely, one on top of the other. They were Royal Australian Air Force Avro Ansons from the No 2 Service Flying School that operated out of Wagga. All 4 of those on board survived the crash and the event is commemorated with two memorials. One in the paddock at the landing site and the other is the large Avro Anson motor and propeller on display in the village.

You can read the full story of this extraordinary event here
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2020/10/the-strange-1940-mid-air-collision-at.html?m=1

Arriving in the riverside town of Howlong in the early afternoon we crossed the mighty Murray River and found a campsite at the Lions Park just across the bridge. The Lions Park is right on the river and we’ve stopped there for a lunch break previously. There is No Camping in the actual park but if you take a right at the bottom of the entry there is a track along the river bank that is on a TSR (Travelling Stock Route). Camping is allowed in most TSR’s.

The Lions Park has picnic tables, BBQ’s (bring your own wood), toilets and is right on a bend in the river.

We quickly set up camp on the river bank. What a lovely view! There was a boat ramp nearby that looked like the perfect place to launch my kayak. I thought I’d have a paddle while we waited for our friends Kevin & Sally to catch up to us. They had left home later than we did and would meet us at Howlong. They were to join us for some of this meander.