Heading South to Victoria 2018

15th September 2018.

Left home on our first caravan trip for some time.  Headed south down the highway, then through Beerwah to Kilcoy for our lunch stop.  Continued through Toogoolawah, Esk, past Wivenhoe Dam and Lowood to Regency Downs where we were made welcome by Norm and Deb.

16th September 2018.

After an enjoyable evening, decided we would make our way with them up to Clifton where Norm was working.  Through Gatton and Grantham and on to the Rec. Grounds at Clifton.  The countryside is very dry and looks rather sad.  A lovely camp site although the wind was quite strong and we had a cold night.  Took a trip into Toowoomba where we visited Picnic Point, Highfields, Queens Park Gardens and Spring Bluff Railway Station.  Spring Bluff Railway Station is a heritage listed site and although now closed as a station, is controlled by a trust which maintains the station and gardens. All the gardens were quite lovely given the difficult circumstances and they were being prepared for the Carnival of Flowers on the coming weekend.  Returned to Toowoomba the next day to replace a part at the caravan shop and visited the Japanese Gardens at the Uni - once again a credit to the gardeners.  Returned via Nobby where we visited the craft shop, Rudd's pub (of Dad and Dave fame) for lunch, and the Sister Kenny museum.  Sister Kenny was an amazing woman and her treatment of polio victims was not appreciated as much in Australia as overseas in the early days.  She started a cottage hospital in Clifton, then served as a nurse during the First World War where she was wounded.  She returned to Nobby and opened a hospital to treat victims of the Spanish Flu.  Later she went to America and presented classes to American doctors on the treatment of polio and was greatly admired there with many treatment centres being opened and a film being made of her life story.

19th September 2018.

Moved on from Clifton to Glen Innes Showgrounds via Warwick, Stanthorpe and Tenterfield.  Not quite as dry on this drive with touches of green in most places.  Very cold and windy at Glen Innes - explored the town but did not venture further afield.

21st September 2018.

Left Glen Innes and travelled down the New England Highway through Guyra, past Armidale and turned off just before Tamworth to the Chaffey Dam near Nundle.  Very dry all through this area and the Chaffey Dam was quite low.  Spent a couple of quiet days here with just a visit into Nundle which hasn't changed much since our last visit a few years ago.  Still a lovely little spot although very dry.

23rd September 2018.

Continued on from Chaffey Dam rejoining the highway and travelling through Wallabadah (First Fleet Gardens and good free camp), Murrurundi, Scone and Aberdeen to Muswellbrook for an overnight camp at the showgrounds.  The town itself did not impress and the showgrounds were not value for money - mostly workers staying there.  Once again very windy.

24th September 2018.

From Muswellbrook to Denman then along the Golden Highway and down Ulan Road past the Ulan and Moolarben Coal mines.  Lots of open cut and underground coal mines in this area.  Made our way to a caravan park in the Mudgee Valley for a couple of days.  Explored the town which is very appealing with lots of old buildings and nice parks and gardens.  Went on a day trip to Rylstone which is another very old town with some very well maintained old buildings and then on to Kandos.  Kandos is a different town as it was only founded in 1914 as a private village to service the cement works.  The cement works only closed down in 2011 and there is a museum in the old Methodist church which tells the story.  Unfortunately the museum was not open on the day we visited but we were able to walk around the outside.  Not quite sure why the cement works closed but must have really knocked the town around as there doesn't seem to be any other industry except cattle and sheep.  Returned to Mudgee via Lake Windamere and walked along the dam wall.  Visited the bakery in Mudgee for Vanilla Slice and apple cheesecake for afternoon tea.  The next day was cold and wet but we visited Moothi winery for a tasting and ploughman's platter for lunch.  When we returned to the park ran into Julie and Keith who we last met at Elliott Heads several years ago so enjoyed happy hour with them until the cold got too much.

27th September 2018.

Left Mudgee in better weather and headed towards Gulgong but turned off and headed across country through Goolma to Wellington.  Was held up by a wide load - part of a wind turbine being transported to a wind farm, but were not in a hurry.  Made our way to Wellington Caves park and set up.  The next day decided to move to a higher site as rain was predicted.  Went for a drive into Wellington - lots of old buildings but plenty of empty shops.  Then visited the Japanese gardens opposite the park (quite lovely and the wisteria was spectacular) before doing a tour of the Cathedral Cave.  Very enjoyable tour with a very knowledgeable guide and some of the formations were outstanding.  The next day went for a drive to the old gold mining areas of Dripstone (forgettable), Burrendong Dam, Mumbil (almost as forgettable) and Stuart Town (formerly known as Ironbarks made famous by Banjo Paterson's poem "The Man from Ironbark".  The XPT train from Sydney came through on time and we visited Boehme's Hall dating from 1880 and a display of old farm machinery. A nice drive through mainly sheep country but very dry and the dam looks to be quite low.

30th September 2018.

On the move again from Wellington Caves down the Mitchell Highway through a few small towns to Molong to Manildra showgrounds.  What a gem, cheap, friendly caretakers and spotless amenities.  Enjoyed tea at the Bowls Club (Chinese) then watched the football final.  The next day visited the markets in Molong, then took a drive through Cumnock to Yeoval the childhood home of Banjo Paterson and home to the largest bronze statue in Australia.  Very dry again but enjoyed the animals on bikes sculptures between Molong and Yeoval.  Went for a day trip into Orange and walked around the streets with still a lot of the old buildings well maintained.  Still a little early for all the trees to be showing their new growth but lots of flowering blossom trees.  Drove out to Lake Canobolas which is a great recreation area for the town then up to Mt. Canobolas which at 1397m gives you great views of the town and surrounding area.  All around this area is quite green so obviously have had some rain.  Back into Orange then down through Lucknow (gold mining) to the historic village of Millthorpe.  What a lovely village with many historic buildings still being used for restaurants, shops etc. although they only seem to come alive on weekends.  Continued on to Blayney the site of a large Nestle factory and then on to Carcoar.  Another gem of a village with so many historic buildings from the gold mining era, many of which are being restored. The School of Arts, Railway Station, school, hotels and several churches are outstanding. Continued on to Mandurama then the back road through rolling hills of canola, wheat, sheep and cattle to Canowindra.  Getting late so on to Cudal then back to Manildra.  Manildra is a lovely little town with the largest flour mill in the southern hemisphere.  It started operations in 1907 and was purchased by the Honan family in 1952 when it became the Manildra Group and now processes over one million metric tonnes of wheat per annum. Also home to the Amusu Theatre which commenced as a travelling picture show in 1923 and has been screening films since 1936.  The rain came in for a couple of days so we stayed put enjoying our quiet little spot.

5th October 2018.

A break in the weather so headed off south again through Cudal and Canowindra to Cowra which we had visited previously.  Continued on the Olympic Highway (very bumpy) to Young and Cootamundra where we had planned to stop for a pie but there was no parking for long vehicles anywhere near the town so continued on.  Turned off the highway here and cut across to the Hume Highway and made our way to a caravan park on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai. Right next to our site is a cairn to Charles Sturt who passed this spot in November 1829. Also almost under the twin bridges over the flats - Prince Alfred Bridge is a timber span bridge over 900m long opened in 1869 and closed to traffic in 1984 when the highway was re-routed.  The railway viaduct was built in 1903 and is the longest timber truss bridge built in Australia at 809 metres.  The old township was built on the river flats and in 1852 the flooded Murrumbidgee swept through the town drowning more than 80 people and destroying all the buildings except for the flour mill. Went for a drive through some lovely sheep, cattle and canola country to the pretty town of Tumut and then to the Blowering Dam part of the Snowy Mountains scheme.  Ken Warby set a water speed record here in 1978 of 511kph.  Walked across the dam wall - a lovely view down the valley of the fast flowing Tumut River.  Continued on into the Kosciuszko National Park and the little town of Talbingo childhood home of Miles Franklin.  Then on to Tumut 3 Power Station before returning to Tumut where a large Carter Holt timber mill is sited.  Our next stop was up in the hills at Batlow where we bought some apples and enjoyed the sight of apples, stone fruits and cherries flowering.  On to Tumbarumba where views of the snow capped Snowy Mountains can be seen.  Tumbarumba is also the site of a large Hyne timber mill.  The day was getting late so headed across through Rosewood to the Hume Highway and back to our camp site at Gundagai.  The next day was R & R so spent the day watching Bathurst.  Decided to stay another day and headed out to see the dog on the tuckerbox (he definitely has seen better days and looks quite tired) and on through some quite dry countryside to Junee. Wandered around town and the large railway station then to the Chocolate and Licorice factory in the old flour mill.  Quite impressive and we sampled and purchased some of the wares and also wandered through a display of old ford motor cars.  Then on to Wagga Wagga where we had some shopping to do before enjoying lunch down on the "beach" on the Murrumbidgee River.  A well maintained area which appears to be well patronised by the locals.  Back to Gundagai through the green rolling hills.

9th October 2018.

Left Gundagai and travelled down the Hume Highway, through Holbrook, skirted Albury/Wodonga and over the border to Beechworth where we pulled up for the night. Spent a full day exploring Beechworth even though we had been here before and visited the Burke Museum, the Ned Kelly vault and Harry Power's cell.  This time we did a guided tour of the old Beechworth Gaol which was closed in 2004 and is now heritage listed.  Very interesting.  Also went for a drive along the gorge road visiting the old powder magazine built in 1859, the cascades on Spring Creek and Newtown Bridge and Falls.  Then visited the Chinese Burning Towers in the cemetery built in 1857 and used by relatives and friends for burning paper money in memory of the dead.  Quite a large number of Chinese were buried in the Beechworth cemetery from a population of 5000 Chinese in the gold rush days.  Continued on to the Woolshed Falls which was the site of one of the earlier gold rushes where a diversion of the falls and a granite race were constructed to aid in gold prospecting.

11th October 2018.

Left Beechworth and travelled via Tarawingee to join the Hume Highway near Wangaratta.  Down the Hume Highway passing Benalla and Euroa to Seymour where we turned off and made our way through lovely green countryside to Yea. The next day decided to visit Stuart and Tamara at Riddells Creek.  Another lovely drive through Flowerdale, Kinglake West, Whittlesea, Wallan and Bolinda.  Suburbia is creeping out this way with lots of new housing developments and satellite suburbs being developed.  A lovely day admiring Stuart and Tamara's new house and terrific gardens - all done over the last two years.  Back to Yea through Romsey, Kilmore, Broadford and along King Parrot Creek Road to Yea.

13th October 2018.

On the road again leaving Yea and heading south towards the big smoke.  Straight down to Yarra Glen and Lilydale and then joined the M3 around Ringwood before joining the M1 past Dandenong and Narre Warren. Turned off to go through Koo Wee-Rup and followed the coast down to San Remo and across the bridge to Newhaven on Phillip Island. Went for a drive to the Grand Prix circuit where the super bikes were racing, Pyramid Rock and Cowes which is the main town on the island.  All is nice and green on the island with cattle, sheep and wineries spread around.  Also visited the little fishing hamlet of Rhyll.  The next day went driving to Cape Woolamai, visited a couple of surfing beaches, out to the Nobbies on the extreme south west of the island for walks along the boardwalk and visited Flynn's beach.  Returned to Penguin Parade to see the little penguins come up the beach at dusk and make their way to their burrows.  They are very vocal, not afraid of humans and happy to spend time outside their burrows at night so was able to spend quite a bit of time watching them from the boardwalk.  Just coming into mating season so no little ones around yet.  A great experience.

15th October 2018.

Left Phillip Island and made our way along the south coast passing Wonthaggi, Inverloch and Fish Creek to the small town of Foster.  Went for a walk into town and how pretty was the town with flower gardens all down the main streets and a vegetable garden in the middle of a roundabout. Gold was discovered here in the 1870's and timber and dairying were the main industries. After our superb weather of the last few days, it turned a little bit ordinary but decided to go for a drive down "The Prom".  Called in at Whisky Bay, Squeaky Beach and Norman Beach at Tidal River and wandered along these lovely spots.  Wasn't up to climbing any mountains but also did the Prom Wildlife Walk where we sighted emus and kangaroos on the old airstrip although no wombats to be seen.  Returned to our camp past many dairy farms as the rain became a little heavier. The rain set in so we stayed put for another day of R & R.

18th October 2018.

The weather looked a little kinder so we left Foster and headed along the South Gippsland Highway through Toora, Alberton, Yarram and Longford to Sale Showgrounds.  Initially the countryside looked good with dairy farms etc. but became drier the further east we headed.  Sale appears to be thriving with a new info. centre/library/art gallery at the Port and everything you need in the town centre. The Port was opened in the 1880's when the Gippsland Lakes were opened to the sea and a canal was built to Sale. Went for a drive to Seaspray then along Ninety Mile Beach with Lake Reeve on one side and the beach on the other to Golden Beach and Paradise Beach.  Then turned inland and along to Loch Sport on Lake Victoria which is quite a large town and the end of the road.  Went across the causeway to the surf beach. Returned to Sale via the swing bridge at Longford over the Latrobe River built in 1883 which still operates and is the oldest surviving swing bridge in Australia.  The Roulettes from the local Air Force Base put on a show for us in the afternoon.

20th October 2018.

Left Sale and headed along the Princes Highway via Stratford and Bairnsdale to the Rec. Ground at Lakes Entrance where the black swans have made themselves at home.  The rain set in again and a wet afternoon ensued. The next day started out fine so we went for a drive to  the lookout which gives a great view over the town, lakes and harbour, Nungurner Jetty and Metung which is a pretty little place and a boaties paradise.  The weather was perfect the next day so went for a drive up the mountain on the Great Alpine Road (the highest sealed road in Australia) via Swan Reach, Bruthen, Tambo Crossing, Ensay and Swifts Creek to the pretty little mountain village of Omeo in Victoria's high country. Traveled through some lovely country to Omeo which started as a gold mining town called Livingstone Creek in 1845.

23rd October 2018.

Time to leave the picturesque Lakes Entrance so continued along Princes Highway to Orbost, Cann River and across the border to a park just outside Eden right on the beach.  We had  been to Eden before but hoped to see it without a roaring gale blowing.  The weather was better so we visited Snug Cove where they are building a new cruise terminal, out to the lookout but no whales and Quarantine Bay.

25th October 2018.

Left Eden and made our way up the coast through Bega, Narooma, Moruya and Batemans Bay to Murramarang Resort at South Durras Beach where we pulled in for the night.  A lovely beach but still quite cool and windy.

26th October 2018.

Just an overnight stop so returned to Batemans Bay and travelled up the mountain on Kings Highway via Braidwood to the showgrounds at Bungendore where the caretakers supplied us with scones, jam and cream. Quite a steep pull up the mountain with lots of curves but the road surface was one of the better ones we have travelled on.  The next day was a day trip into Queanbeyan which has old buildings dating back to the 1840's but did not linger long as the town was very busy (Oktoberfest). Then a trip to Captains Flat where gold was discovered in 1864 and the mining of lead, zinc, copper, pyrites and gold continued until 1962 by Lake George Mines.  Captains Flat is on the banks of the Molongo River and was named after a white bullock called Captain who liked to escape to the Flats to escape work.  The bar at the Captains Flat hotel (which is about the only business left in town) was the longest bar in the Southern Hemisphere when built. Visited the lookout over the mining sites, the Miner's Memorial and called in at St. Thomas's Church at Carwoola. The railway line to Bungendore closed in 1968 but was used in the film Ned Kelly in 1969 starring Mick Jagger. The sheep dog trials were on at the showgrounds and also enjoyed a wander around some of the local antique shops and wood galleries. (very expensive).

28th October 2018.

Off again leaving Bungendore and out on to the Federal Highway past a dry Lake George then joined the Hume Highway to Goulburn before heading north to the village of Crookwell up in the high country at 946 metres.  Pretty village with lovely gardens and the area produces fat lambs, wool, beef cattle and seed potatoes as well as many wind farms in the area.  A day trip into Goulburn stopping at the Wheat Sheaf Inn, Pejar Dam and St. Stephens Anglican Church and graveyard built in 1883. Visited the Big Merino and  the Goulburn Historical waterworks.  Goulburn has many buildings from the 1800's many of which have been restored.  Continued up to Taralga which is renowned for its stone architecture dating back to the 1860's.  A picturesque village in this district which was first explored in 1819. Back to Crookwell via the village of Laggan which was once host to troopers and bushrangers being on the main road between Goulburn and the Tuena gold fields.

30th October 2018.

Left the cool weather of Crookwell and travelled west through Rugby and Boorowa, north to Cowra and then to Canowindra.  Was going to stay in the showgrounds here but did not appeal so headed to the familiar showgrounds at Manildra for an overnight stop. The weather had warmed up considerably by this time.

31st October 2018.

Away again and followed the familiar route to Molong and then to Wellington before heading to the showgrounds at Gulgong for another overnight stop. Weather still very warm.

1st November 2018.

Just an overnight stop so left Gulgong, through Ulan to Merriwa then across to Scone and up the New England Highway to Wallabadah and a camp beside the First Fleet Memorial Gardens.  The gardens are a memorial to all convicts, mariners and seamen on the First Fleet with all the names inscribed on memorials.  Well done to the local council for maintaining the site.  Quite hot so enjoyed a beer at the local pub and returned later for dinner.

2nd November 2018.

On the road again up the New England Highway past Tamworth to Bendemeer then headed down the Oxley Highway to Walcha.  Still very dry around Tamworth but once up on the plateau the countryside became much greener. Walcha is a very pretty town at an altitude of 1067M and the caravan park was lovely.  John Oxley visited the area in 1818 and the first settlers arrived in 1832.  Sheep farming is now the main industry with cattle, dairy and timber also prominent.

3rd November 2018.

The first part of today's drive was lovely up on the plateau but then the windy downhill part started.  Many corners most of them at 25/30 kph but wasn't too steep so quite manageable for our expert driver.  Made our way to Wauchope then down the Pacific Highway to our next stop at North Haven where we have stayed before.  Planned a few days of R & R here.  Met up with Greg and Kerry here by accident and enjoyed coffee and Melbourne Cup afternoon put on by the caravan park with them.  Very enjoyable.  Enjoyed walks along the river and on the beach, and mini golf but did not venture far.

7th November 2018.

Had a storm Melbourne Cup afternoon and more wet weather was predicted but the morning was fine so decided to move on.  Travelled to Bonny Hills then straight up the highway passing Kempsey, Macksville and Nambucca Heads to Urunga where we have also stayed before.  Very windy, had quite a storm and the weather turned cool and overcast so more R & R. Walked out on the boardwalk to the ocean a couple of times at different tide times and sighted stingrays, water dragons, snakes and quite a few fish. The Bellinger and Kalang Rivers are quite impressive here.

10th November 2018.

Continued up the coast, wending our way through Coffs Harbour, passing Woolgoolga and Grafton and turning off at Maclean to Brooms Head. A lovely caravan park right on the beach with some spectacular coast line.  Survived another storm and enjoyed walks along the beach at low tide.

12th November 2018.

Decided it was time to head home so straight up the coast passing major roadworks in northern New South Wales. Will be interesting to pass this way again in a couple of years. Arrived home at our little piece of paradise.