The theme for January - hot!!!

So after some hot days in Yackandandah, the weather forecast didn’t show that there was any relief  from the high temperatures anywhere in sight.  It was still hitting the high thirties.   Where to next?

We had a rough plan to head over the mountains to the coast, but that would take a while and there was the small matter of the Australia Day long weekend to contend with.  Every man and his dog would be out, so finding somewhere quiet to bunker down was the order of the day.  Using our trusted Wikicamps, we decided on a spot in the Buckland Valley and it turned out to be a gem.  

We travelled the grand total of about 80km that day, over the hill and down through the littl town of Porepunkah, turning right onto the Buckland Valley Road, and hitting the dirt road for a bit, before coming to Ah Young’s campground.  What a great spot!  There was plenty of room, a great, clean drop toilet and wonderful swimming in the clear waters of the Buckland River.  

Our swimming pool on the Buckland River

Ah Young was a Chinese miner from the times when the Buckland Valley was a thriving gold mining community and there was a sizeable Chinese population working the gold fields.  Further investigation turned up some disturbing historical facts about the area - that the Chinese were often the subject of violence at the hands of the other miners and of the riots that happened there.  The Chinese cemetery was destroyed by local land owners and all that’s left is a memorial to where they think the graves might have been.  There’s another old cemetery in the valley with graves from the late 1800’s and a plaque saying that the valley used to be known as the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” after so many who lived there were killed in 1854 by the outbreak of Colonial Fever that swept through there. 

There weren’t very many other campers in the campground and we happily settled in there for a few days.  The days were hot, and we spent long afternoons just sitting in the water down by the river, enjoying the peace.  On one day, we took a drive to the top of nearby Mt Buffalo.  We remembered coming up to Bright with the boys the first winter after we arrived in Melbourne, hoping to give them some snow to enjoy.  We knew they were missing the Scottish winter snow.  It’s all changed now - the ski runs are long-closed.

We drove up the winding road and watched the temperature falling to a blissful 23 degrees, the higher up we climbed.  We stopped to take in the old Mt Buffalo Chalet on the way up; closed now, but you could still appreciate its former glory and imagine the fun times that were spent by the fire apres-ski.  It would be wonderful is someone would take it on and get it restored to it’s former glory.

Closed - but still a wonderful.

Further on, we reached to summit, or The Horn, and were wowed by the wonderful views of the surrounding national park, although it was a bit disconcerting to note the bushfires burning in the distance (a result of lightning strikes the night before) and watch the activities of the fire helicopters as they tried to battle the fires in such difficult terrain.  By the time we drove back down the mountain, we had time to grab a swift beer in the Punka Pub before heading back to camp and a date with the river.

The view from the lookout at the chalet

Fires in the distance from The Horn

We eventually decided to move on from Ah Young’s - reluctantly - but we knew that the long weekend was getting close and we expected that that particular campground would be popular (read busy).  So we hooked up the van again, and headed off in a vaguely southerly direction.  We stopped in Bright to get some supplies and then started the journey over the Great Alpine Road.  

We passed through the little town of Harrietville before the climb got serious and we were winding our way up and up towards the summit of Mt Hotham.  It was a warm day again, so we made sure we took our time up the mountain, to give the car a chance.  It’s infinitely possible to take a big van over the mountains - you just have to take your time.  The scenery was absolutely beautiful - I just can’t describe the view and the layers of mountains that stretched into the distance.  

But I have to say how disappointed I was with Mt Hotham village.  Mt Hotham is one of Victoria’s premier ski resorts in winter, and I’m sure in winter it’s a busy, vibrant and colourful place.  But in summer it’s nothing - just a group of closed up chalets, apartments and ski lifts.  Nothing to excite the summer traveller at all.  In fact, I think that the place needs the snow in the winter to soften the edges and hide how shabby it is.

Dinner Plain, just a short drive further on however, is a different story.  We pulled off the main road, and took a drive around this little village.  Again, it’s a place that really thrives in the winter, but the feeling in the summer was still welcoming and the streets of little wooden ski lodges, all with interesting names, provided a lovely place to come and enjoy in the summer-time too.  We dropped in to the Blizzard Brewery - Australia’s highest brewery - for a welcome, cooling beer.  The day was still hot outside even though we were at 1550 metres.

On the recommendation of the owner of the brewery, we headed for a campground down the road a bit at Victoria Falls.  Not that the campground was at the falls - they were about 5km further up the track.  We found the great little campsite and there was no one else there!!!  At least for a while anyway.  Another van arrived late afternoon, but we were happy to share the large area with them.  We settled in for the night, but no fire was lit on that occasion - the strong breeze and all that surrounding dry grassland was just too much of a risk.

The next day saw us travel our furthest distance yet!  26km down the hill into Omeo.  We made sure we stopped off on the way at the Mt Kosciuszko lookout.  If you strain your eyes and follow the interpretive sign, you can just about pick out which of the far-away peaks is Kosciuszko.  The lookout had come up on Wikicamps as a possible campsite for the night and with hindsight, it would have been a great spot to stop off at.  We could have enjoyed sunset with a glass or two overlooking the beautiful valley and mountains.  Never mind, we’ll put it in the memory bank for next time.

We arrived in Omeo late morning and set about deciding where to stay.  We could free-camp in the grounds behind the pub or we could pay to stay in the caravan park.  Again, temperatures played at part in our decision - and the fact that we were going to be settling in for a few days over the long weekend.  We decided on the caravan park and handed over our money in exchange for power, water and shade - together with a swimming hole in the Livingstone Creek to cool off in.

Our stay in Omeo was a quiet one.  We couldn’t believe how quiet the park was over the long weekend.  Not that we were complaining mind you.  I guess Omeo is a town you pass through on your way somewhere else, rather than a destination in itself, but we managed to fill in four days quite happily.

One morning we set off on foot to explore the Oriental Claims - this was another site from the gold rush days.  The Oriental Mining company had invested in large alluvial mining sites on the outskirts of Omeo, where water was fired at the cliff faces via high-pressure hoses to wash the soil/gold down, and the gold could then be extracted from the slurry.  We climbed through the 2km of rocky sites and could make out the old water races and blasted cliff faces, but we were glad to get back to the air conditioned car as the day was heating up fast.

We took a drive along the back roads, through Cassilis, to the Ensay winery, where we stopped in to sample their wares and escape the heat, and left with a rather nice bottle of sparkling pinot to have with dinner.  And we visited the Cuckoo Clock shop and spent a delightful hour looking at the wonderful clocks, but also speaking with the owner of the shop.  She is a wonderful old lady (I’m 83 you know!) who has lived in the area all her life and was happy to share stories about her farming family and life in the high-country.  So if you’re ever in Omeo with some spare time, drop by and have a chat.

The weather continued to be hot, but there were also late-afternoon storms to contend with.  The sky would grow dark on the horizon and the storm clouds would circle the valley and thunder rumble around for hours.  One day we just got back to the van before the heavens opened and it bucketed down.  Good thing too, as I’d left the roof vents open - that would have been bad.

An unexpected highlight of our time in Omeo was a day-drive we took up to Taylors Crossing on the Mitta Mitta River.  It was a drive advertised in a local tourist office flyer so we didn’t think much of it and expected to be back in time for lunch.  But the road soon turned to dirt, and then to a track and after the recent rains, the track proved a bit more interesting that we had thought.  The final challenge was the river crossing at Taylors Crossing.  Normally quite low, but the rains meant the water was mid-door height, quite fast-flowing and no other vehicle around.  Doug wasn’t worried, but then it wasn’t his car!!!  Home via Benambra, where we stopped for a bite of lunch.  A bit longer than planned but it was a great drive.

The view across the Omeo Valley towards Benambra

Our time in Omeo came to an end on the Sunday and we drove the last 90km or so of the Great Alpine Road back down to the town of Bruthen.  Where to go now?  We thought that we’d stop in at the Bullant Brewery in Bruthen to have morning tea and decide (can you see a pattern forming here?).  While we were stopped, pouring over the map and our coffees, we were watching the endless stream of traffic heading towards Melbourne and the only thing we did know for sure was that we would head in the opposite direction.

So, a quick look at Wikicamps again, and we thought we’d try something new and made for Lake Tyers Beach, down on the 90-Mile coast.  We drove through Lakes Entrance, which was still in the throes of the last day of school holidays, and was crazy-busy and on to Lake Tyers.  Another little gem!!  Camping is permitted in the grounds at the back of the pub - nice, grassy area with power if you need it (yay - air con!!!) for a ridiculously small cost.  And a two minute walk to across the road to the beach.  It was a tight fit to get the van in - just as well Doug is a caravan-backer extraordinaire - but we had a great spot and looked forward to spending a couple of days here.

We took a walk over the beach in the afternoon, having to leave our thongs on while walking on the sand as it was too hot to walk on in bare feet.  That night we thought we’d repay the pubs hospitality by having dinner there - wonderful local seafood.  Prawns, flat head tails and…….lamb.  Doug decided on the lamb for dinner, which by the way was wonderful, but I wanted to make the most of the seafood while I could.

Monday morning, 9am and 28 degrees.  It would have been the first day back for all the staff after the Xmas holidays at my old work, but for us it was off to the beach for a swim before the day got too hot.  There was something symbolic about this for me - it really meant that life had changed for us and I appreciated how lucky we were.

The surf was rough in the morning, and we only felt confident going in to thigh depth.  The waves were big and the undertow was strong and sometimes it was hard to keep your feet.  Doug had brought the boogie board, but it wasn’t going to get a run that day.  After a while, we retreated to the calmer waters of the inlet and paddled about and swam in the water there.  It was cool and lovely and we sat for ages on the edge of the water.  Across the road and back to camp for a cold shower and a rest from the heat under the awning.  We took a drive into Lakes Entrance later in the day and had a stroll around, but it really isn’t our sort of place.  Too busy and commercial.  But it was a lot quieter on Monday than it had been the day before.

Our Victorian odyssey was coming to and end, and as if it knew, the weather turned.  We woke up on Tuesday to grey skies, rain and cooler temperatures.  We did a quick pack up and were on the road at the crack of 11am.  By the time we reached Bairnsdale it was lashing rain and cold.  We thought we’d break up the “long” drive back to Melbourne by stopping overnight along the way, so we found a nice little quiet spot at Cowwarr Weir, near Heyfield.  We pulled up and retreated inside and spent a very quiet afternoon reading in the shelter of the van.  How things can change in a day.  We’d had a month of temperatures over 30 degrees (sometimes over 40 degrees) and suddenly it was 14!!  

We arrived back in Melbourne and back to our spot beside the Green’s dam.  Thanks again to Darren and Allie for their hospitality, even though we didn’t get to spend much time with them this time.  We had a list of things to do and places to go during the four days we were there and it was great to catch up with the family and some of our friends.  But sad too, as this time, the farewells are for longer.

This morning, 5am and 12 degrees - we crept out of the Green’s driveway and pointed the car down the freeway towards the pier at Port Melbourne.  We were due to check in at 6.30am for our sailing to Tasmania and were a little nervous about where we were going, especially with the big van on the back, but as it turned out, it was a piece of cake.  We marvelled at the number of people/vehicles getting loaded on and before long it was our turn.  We’re now parked up on deck 3 and have made ourselves comfortable for the 10 hour crossing.  

We’re excited about the next two months as Tassie is somewhere we have never been and absolutely everyone we’ve spoken to says how beautiful it is.  We don’t have a plan - at this stage we don’t even know if we’re turning left or right when we get off the boat!  But that will be half the fun, won’t it?