We went on the Wyanga Park Winery Cruise today and what a treat that was. Our cruise left the Post Office Jetty in Lakes Entrance right on time at 11am with a full boatload.

Our skipper took us right into the co-op wharf so we could see fishing boats unloading their fresh catch. One of the largest fishing fleets in Australia operates out of Lakes Entrance. The co-op can produce 36 tonnes of ice each day to supply the fishing fleet. 70% of all flathead caught in Australian waters is caught in this area.

Our cruise continued out to the entrance (where the lakes meet the sea) and we were really lucky to see some seals and a pod of dolphins. The entrance was man made to keep a channel open for the fishing fleet and other boats to be able to access the open sea. It was built because the original entrance would block up regularly. The entrance is kept open by huge sand dredges that pump the sand out of the channel and out to sea or onto the beach.

The lakes comprise an area of over 400 square kilometres that makes them 7 times large than Sydney Harbour. You could spend years exploring the lakes by boat.

Then it was a lovely cruise up the North Arm to arrive at Wyanga Park Winery wharf. The skipper gave a great running commentary all the way there.

On arrival at the winery wharf a mini bus was waiting to shuttle people to the top. Some of us elected to walk to the top. It was a very steep 600m climb. Our cruise group was greeted at the entrance to the winery and shown to our booked tables. Covid rules dictate how many people can be seated in the restaurant.

Sally, Kevin, Richard and I had a lovely table on a balcony overlooking the vegetable garden below. We could see vines growing on the hills around us.

Our cruise deal included a main course each accompanied by a wine tasting. We were also given a cheese and fruit board and delicious home made bread.

Our meals were superb. We had fish & chips, a chicken salad, Morrocan lamb and zucchini fritters. I can’t say we enjoyed any of their wines but it was interesting to taste the different wines on offer.

Our return journey seemed to go by in no time at all. It was fun to see the rear of our motorhome parked up in the Caravan Park as we went by. We all thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and thought it was $75 each well spent.

We really enjoyed our stay at Victoria Falls Campground but after two nights we were ready to continue on.

It was a great drive down the mountain. It was very pretty scenery with rugged alpine bush and tumbling rivers down in the valley below.
The cattle on Cobungra Station were very fat and glossy as we drove through that valley. The green grass was so tall we wondered what happened to summer. By February our countryside is usually browned right off with no green grass left. Not this year!

There was a lookout that we stopped at that gave a fabulous view towards the main range with Mt Kosciusko and Mt Townsend in the far distance.

We arrived in the historic gold mining town of Omeo and paid a visit to the Tourist Centre. Sadly the Historical Museum was closed undergoing renovations so we couldn’t do that and Livingstone Park which runs alongside the river had suffered a lot of damage due to recent floods. The walk to Oriental Claims was also closed because of flood damage. The dump point was also out of action as it went under water too. So not a lot for us to do in Omeo then.

We did need gas though and we were told to try the hardware store. Richard went into the hardware store and while he organised two new swap & go gas bottles I wandered around and got some pics of the historic buildings.

We continued on down the winding road to Bruthen. The scenery was very picturesque with the road following alongside the Tambo River. We chatted with Kevin & Sally using the UHF and we all thought the scenery reminded us of Canada except the vegetation was all wrong. I think it was the river below us. It would tumble over rapids and then there’d be a large pool then more rapids. We would get glimpses of the river from the road as it wound it’s way down the mountain. It was very scenic.

We stopped in Bruthen for a toilet stop and found part of the East Gippsland Rail Trail behind the Tourist Centre. There was an original Fettlers Hut and a Police Lockup. Fettlers were the workers on the railway line who did all the maintenance of the line. The hut is one that would have accommodated Fettlers. The railway came to Bruthen in 1916 but the line has now been converted into the East Gippsland Rail Trail.

We left the Great Alpine Road at Bruthen as it headed to Bairnsdale and we wanted to head east to Nowa Nowa and on to Lakes Entrance.
What an experience the Great Alpine Road was. Rich and I put it up there with one of Australia’s best road trips. It was truly epic!

At Nowa Nowa we turned south to the popular holiday destination of Lakes Entrance. I’d been to Lakes Entrance as a child but couldn’t really remember it. I was keen to see what it was like.

As we drove along the Main Street we kept our eyes peeled for a seafood restaurant and, sure enough, there was one right near all the fishing boats. After finding parking spots for our RV’s we wandered back along the Esplanade to the Soda Fish restaurant. We all had the fish and chips with a greens & grains salad that we all shared. Wow…real fish with superb, thin, crunchy batter washed down with an icy cold beer. Soda Fish wasn’t very busy so we had our pick of the tables and ended up on a balcony overlooking the marina under the shade of a shade sail. Perfect.

Some campers we met at Victoria Falls came from Lakes Entrance and they recommended we stay at the Lakes Entrance Recreation Reserve Campgound as it is right in town and walking distance to everywhere. Sounded good to us so we called them from the restaurant to book in for 3 nights. Unfortunately they don’t have two waterfront sites for 3 nights. We could only get one for 3 nights and the other for 2 nights. Oh well.

We found the campground and checked in. The site for 3 days was long enough for the motorhome so Sal & Kev had to take the one for 2 nights. We were hopeful they’d be able to add on another night later. We quickly set up camp and were delighted to have a waterfront site. We had the caretakers on one side of us with their motorhome and a caravan on the other side. We felt very squeezed in but at least the site was large enough that we could have our slide-out out on one side and our awning out on the other. As we were staying for three nights I set up our awning with the legs down, pegged and roped down with our anti flappers on. It made for a lovely spot for happy hour when Kev & Sal came to join us.

You’ve got to have a non-travel day every now and then and, as it was such a lovely camp at Victoria Falls, we all decided to stay put for another day. One of the other campers left in the morning however by 1.30pm another caravan had pulled up and set up on that spot.

How many of you use your oven in your RV? I’ve read heaps of forums and Facebook posts about people not cooking inside their RV. I cook inside all the time and this morning I made a batch of scones for morning tea. I thought they turned out all right. What do you think?

Kevin & Sally unhitched their vehicle so they could go for a drive to check out the falls. I enjoyed my bike ride out there yesterday. I’ve been updating this blog and might have a bit of a read this afternoon. Rich is having a reading day too. Our solar panels are charging well on this very sunny day so I got a load of washing done and used my Bamix to whip the cream for the scones. So glad we had the bigger inverter installed.

I’m cooking a lamb roast for dinner and it’s all prepped and ready to go in the oven later.

What another great campsite it was at Smoko Campground just out of Harrietville. Except for the crying baby in the camp next to us it would have been excellent. I kept thinking of the poor parents trying to soothe a screaming baby knowing that most of the camp could hear it. That would add to their stress levels somewhat!

This region’s first peoples are the Dhudhuroa and Waywurru and their country stretches from Omeo to Wangaratta and the Mitta Mitta to King Valley. There are people from the Dhuddhuroa and Waywurru that live in the area to this day.

All this region was part of the gold rush in the 1850’s and this attracted thousands from all around the world including Germany, American and Chinese.

After a leisurely start we headed out of Smoko Campground about 10am and continued on southwards. Harrietville was just up the road and we needed to call in to the park so we could both fill our water tanks. There was a convenient water tap next to a free BBQ in Clarrie Keating Memorial Park with room for both our RV’s to pull in.

Once our tanks were full it was time to head up the mountain to Mt Hotham. Mt Hotham sits at 1861m above sea level so it’s quite a climb from Harrietville. It is a very popular route for cyclists and as it was Sunday we had to keep our eyes peeled for them. We saw quite a few coming down so that meant they’d already ridden up and were on their way back down. They must be fit!

It was a steady climb with lots of winding curves however it was pretty good going. The views as we rose higher and higher became more spectacular. Eventually the white posts on the side of the road became orange ones (for the snow) and further on they became tall orange poles with signs reminding cars to stay right of the poles. I’ve only ever been to Mt Hotham in the winter and it was certainly a different trip in the summer. There was no need to stop at one of the many snow chain pullovers. No chains needed for this journey up the mountain.

Mt Hotham village sits at the top of the mountain unlike most ski resorts in Australia. Most places the resort is at the bottom and at the end of the day you ski down the mountain to go home or to your accomodation. At Hotham the accomodation is at the top all along the ridge and during the ski season there is a regular shuttle bus along the road to collect people from their lodges and take them to the ski areas. At the end of ski day you catch a chairlift up to the top and then catch the shuttle back to your carpark or your accomodation.

Mt Hotham, along with Mt Feathertop 1922m and Mt Bogong 1986m, are situated in the Alpine National Park. The park is spectacular in winter all covered in snow but is also a popular spot in summer for hikers, cyclists including mountain bikers. The alpine bush with it’s wildflowers and snow gums is just beautiful at this time of year.

Not much was open in the village however we found a pub called The General that was open and stopped for lunch. We enjoyed pub grub with a magnificent view across the tops of the mountains. We discussed our trip up the mountain and all reckon it is one of the epic journeys to do in Australia.

We continued our drive across the top of the mountain and came to Dinner Plain. There is a dump point at Dinner Plain so we called in to find it. What a gorgeous little village. I took lots of photos of the distinctive homes.

Dinner Plain is home to extensive Mountain Bike Trails and in the middle of the village is a pump track. It is also home to a few ski clubs who have their lodges in the village.

Continuing our journey we drove past the Hotham Airport and we began to descend the mountain. We arrived at our camp destination at Victoria Falls. This lovely free camp has fire pits and lots of green grassy sites. Not many were level though. There was a camper already set up on the flattest site! Oh well. Out came the chocks. We managed to get the MH almost level and quickly set up camp.

Down the hill from the camping area is a toilet block and continuing down the path leads to the picnic area at the bottom alongside the Victoria River. Kevin just had to get the fishing rod out to try his luck. Sal took her chair and book down to enjoy a read by the river.

I had a chat to the neighbouring campers who were from Lakes Entrance. Interestingly they retired to Lakes Entrance and live on a boat. Think I’d like to do that. They were able to give me lots of info about Lakes Entrance and I’m looking forward to going there. I think the last time I was there I was about 9 or 10 years old.

While Rich read and snoozed I took my ebike for a ride to check out Victoria Falls. It was a 14km round trip. The road follows alongside the river but gradually the river becomes further below. The river occasionally runs over little rapids and you could hear the rush of the water as I pedalled along. Eventually the river valley became a gorge and that became deeper and deeper. At the end of the road you look back and you can view the falls. There was a lot of water tumbling down the falls however they are quite a distance. I didn’t fancy scrambling down the cliff to get a closer look so my pics from a distance will have to do. It was a very pleasant ride.

I arrived back at camp to find Rich had a fire going so it was time for drinks and nibbles. It was quite cool. I thought it would be good sleeping weather.

While we were sitting around the fire a small car drove in. We noticed it had a bike rack on the back but no bikes. We wondered if their bikes had fallen off! After a little while Richard went across to chat and asked if they’d forgotten their bikes. They were a young couple who came from Bright. They’d left the bikes at home but also discovered once they arrived here that they’d also forgotten their tent and camping gear! Oh dear. They hopped in their car to leave and promptly drove the car into a big log. The car went up and over the log making a terrible crunching sound. They backed away from the log making mor crunching sounds and sheepishly drove out of the campsite. We all had a good laugh at their expense but felt sorry for them as they will have to drive down the mountain in the dark. Not a trip we’d like to do. Hope they make it home OK.

There were only two other campers at Victoria Falls Campground and there was plenty of room for lots more. The fire pits are excellent with a steel post that has a swinging BBQ plate and a rod with hooks on chains for hanging camp ovens and billies. There was even a pile of cut wood ready for our use.

Left our lovely campsite on the banks of the Murray River at Howlong after a peaceful sleep the night before. As we were packing up a couple walked past walking their little dog. Richard (Mr Have-a-chat) stopped what he was doing to talk with them and quickly discovered they were from Coleambally and are related to people we know from Leeton. Isn’t it a small world?

We headed south and stopped in the historic town of Chiltern. We cannot remember ever going to Chiltern in spite of having been to most of the towns in the area including Rutherglen, Wangaratta and Beechworth. We stopped for a wander around the historic Main Street and found quirky stores selling home decor, local art works and one selling beautiful childrens clothing. This store was in an old pub and as I wandered through the old rooms I found myself in a lovely courtyard. Growing in the courtyard is a huge grapevine and I discovered it is the largest grape vine in Australia. It’s even in the Guinness Book of Records.

We had parked the RV’s next to a lovely park in front of the visitors centre. One of the shopkeepers had told us to take the short walk through the park to check out their lovely lake. Lake Anderson was built in 1876. The little caravan park has a prime spot right on the edge of the lake.

Chiltern was a delightful stop. Chiltern is located on the Hume Highway and also the Melbourne to Sydney rail line. It is a small historic village with a mining history. The town was surveyed in the early 1850’s. Many of the buildings are listed with the National Trust.

Continuing our meander we headed further south to Beechworth. We have been to Beechworth many times over the years and we love the historic buildings and wonderful boutiques. We’ve had many a fabulous meal at restaurants in Beechworth. Bright is a very popular tourist destination and there are many B&B’s all over town.

We found a park a couple of blocks back from the Main Street. Our first stop was to Beechworth Gold. This historic building on the corner of the Main Street was the original Bank of Victoria Gold Office where most of the gold mined in the area was traded. The building houses a Gold Vault where the gold was stored prior to being transferred to Melbourne. The building and vault were constructed in 1861.

Inside the vault there is a display of over 8,000 names of people who cam to the area during the gold rush. We found Fletcher, Plunkett, Farrell and there is even a Bud (with one D). There is an outline of a huge Shire horse on the wall and the amount of gold that was found in Beechworth was the equivalent weight to 200 of these huge horses. 154 tonnes of gold. That’s a lot of gold!

Of course we had to go to the famous Beechworth Bakery for lunch and enjoyed our pies, wraps and coffee sitting on the upstairs balcony enjoying the glorious weather. There was a slight cooling breeze and it was very pleasant sitting up there and people watching.

Continuing our journey south we passed through Myrtleford and Porepunkah before we came to Bright.

OMG Bright was packed with people. We struggled to find somewhere to park just to go to the visitors centre. We filled up with fuel then eventually found a park in a back street. Sally & I walked back to the visitors centre through the extremely busy park that runs alongside the creek. What a spot. It was packed with picnickers and families enjoying the waterslide, the splash park, the diving board into the creek and just mucking about in the water.

We picked up some brochures and info from the Tourist Centre and had a good chat to the lady there. We talked about places to camp and told her we don’t usually stay in caravan parks and she suggested Smoko Campgound not far out of town. I’d seen that on WikiCamps and had thought it might be a good spot. She also explained that there was a big event on in Bright hence the huge numbers of people everywhere. She said it wasn’t usually like this.

We also asked about the road closure of the Great Alpine Road at Cobungra as we plan to go that way and she explained that there’d been a bad collision there in the morning and emergency workers were still clearing the wreckage however she expected the road to be open the next day. We would have to check the VicRoads website the next morning to see if the road is open.

These lovely little historic towns have gorgeous huge old trees. Driving through Bright was like driving through a living green tunnel. The Crepe Myrtles everywhere were in full flower and were just so pretty.

We continued our journey southwards and pulled up at Smoko Campground. It is a very popular spot with lots of campers however we found a spot where we could both fit and set up camp. As we were right next to the gurgling Ovens River Kevin got his waders out and went for a fish. He did manage to catch a small trout but it was too small to eat so he threw it back.

We enjoyed our dinner sitting around a lovely little campfire. I’d cooked seafood chowder in my crockpot. I’d put it on in the morning and it cooked on low all day as we travelled along. The delicious smell wafted around the MH and our mouths were watering by the time we pulled up. We enjoyed our chowder served with a crusty bread stick. Yummo.

You might ask how I run the crockpot as we travel. Simple really. It is plugged in to the inverter. I sit the crockpot on the floor in my collapsible washing basket so it doesn’t move about with an elastic band from one handle to the other to keep the glass lid from bouncing off. It works a treat.

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.