Jindabyne via the Alpine Way–18 to 21 March 2012

We drove the Murray Valley Highway to Upper Towong and Corryong. 

The heavy rains had closed the highway beyond so we took the Alpine Way to Thredbo and Jindabyne.

This was a challenging drive.  The sign at Dead Horse Gap at the Jindabyne end of the road proclaimed, “Alpine Way Unsuitable for Trucks, Buses and Caravans”  Perhaps we missed the sign at the Corryong end of the road?!!

The Alpine way was built to service the Snowy Mountain Hydro Electric Scheme and the Murray 1 Power Station is an impressive example of the scheme’s engineering.

 

 

We camped at Jindabyne. The Dam was the highest that had been seen in living memory so we had a waterfront site, the rest of the sites were underwater. The water was not going to rise higher as it was over the spillway.

This was very pleasant and Tricia spent a happy afternoon wading and swimming around the caravan park.

While we were at Jindabyne we walked to Mt. Kosciuszko, the highest point in Australia.

We drove to Thredbo, took the chairlift to the plateau, walked in on the metal mesh pathway and had a picnic lunch at the peak.

 

 

The mesh pathway is known as Australia's longest lightening conductor but it does conserve the fragile Alpine Vegetation. The scars from previous paths can still be seen. It is also very easy to walk on.

Rawsons Pass just before the last rise to the peak has Australia's highest toilet. This is an attractive very ecologically sound design nestled into the surrounding countryside.

We were too late for the chairlift back and walked down the face of the plateau to Thredbo on Merrit's Nature Trail.  This is well sign posted. 

It comprises stairs set in the side of the face and the risers are rather high. This exercised some little used muscles and we were tired when we got to the bottom. 

We actually slid down the last bit of ski run and had a nice dinner at one of the pubs. We really enjoyed being up on the peak of Kosciuszko when no one else was there but Tricia thinks if she were to do it again, and wanted to stay late, she would walk in from Charlotte Pass.  This is longer but less steep at the end.

Walkerville to Healesville – 24 February to 17 March 2012

We drove from Walkerville to Melbourne, stopping at Kilcunda on the way for lunch and a great swim in the roiling surf.  The surf break was so sandy our bathers were completely full of sand.

We had a break from the van in Melbourne while John did his Professional Development courses.

Then we returned to the Caravan Park in Healesville where we had originally set up the van for our travels.

After more than three years of faithful service our reversing camera had become temperamental and had to be replaced, although not before we discovered that Tricia could give John accurate guidance for hitching up without the camera, which is good to know for the future.

We serviced the Toyota in Healesville, and walked, enjoyed the lovely Yarra Valley, the wonderful Restaurants, and visited friends and relatives.

Walkerville–21 to 24 February 2012

There really is no Walkerville as such, rather North Walkerville and South Walkerville.  Tricia has been coming here since she was nine and remembers driving on the sand between the two, now forbidden for cars, with the road being the only and the long way round.  The walk however, either on the sand at low tide past the lime kilns or by the headland with its cemetery is well worth it.

South Walkerville is the remains of a Village established to support a Lime Burning Industry which ran from 1875 till 1926. There were six kilns and the town supported about 50 families at its peak. The kilns and a few rock walls are all that remains, the kilns closed when David Mitchell opened his lime quarry at Lilydale.

There is a very nice Camping Park on the foreshore at North Walkerville. We had a lovely beach front site in amongst the tea tree with a good view of the swimming beach. Walkerville has a very rocky foreshore but it has a safe beach and is a wonderful place for children.

 

Bairnsdale – 20 to 21 February

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed at the Mitchell Gardens Caravan Park in Bairnsdale.

We had a good pull through site which makes onward travel easy as John doesn't have to hitch up in the morning.

It was a very quiet park which was surprising as it is on the Princes Highway.  We did the Riverwalk beside the Mitchell River which is lovely.

[Eden] & Mallacoota–18 to 20 February 2012

We drove from Pambula via Eden to Mallacoota.

Eden is an old whaling town on Twofold Bay, one of the deepest harbours in the world.  It is now a good place to go to whale spotting and still has a local fishing fleet.

It is caravan friendly having large amounts of caravan parking available behind Main Street. We we enjoyed a pleasant walk down to the Harbour past a number of historic buildings and had a good coffee in a cafe on the wharf.  We liked the sign in the local shop reading “God put me on Earth to accomplish a certain number of things .. right now I am so far behind I will never die….”

Mallacoota a little further South and off the main highway is a magnificent fishing village and holiday spot on the Mallacoota Estuary called by  the locals “Victoria’s best kept secret”.  It is very caravan friendly. The caravan Park runs along the foreshore for a long way and everyone can have a great site with a view of the water.  The local council runs the park and offers hefty discounts to people staying a full month, so all 200 powered sites were taken.  This is a great idea for the town as it keeps the locals employed and the shops busy.  Because we are self sufficient with power and water we had the pick of 400 unpowered sites, and got a great location with a perfect water view.

One can walk on the sand islands which are great bird habitats, and which protect the birds against predators. There are thousands of Hermit Crabs in the deep pools. There are a lot of water birds including pelicans and sea eagles fishing in the lakes.

John did a boat trip on the Loch Ard around the Estuary.

The place to eat is Lucy's Home Made Rice Noodles. It is a real demographic change as the once ubiquitous Fish and Chip shop is replaced with Rice Noodles with Abalone and Sea Urchin. There are also less challenging sauces. Lucy's sells great coffee and as one leaves all the caravans are lined up for that final cup of coffee to go.

Melbourne – 26 February to 9 March 2010

We drove back from Denmark stopping at Kojonup for lunch. The town has made a real effort and a recently built stopping place with an excellent coffee shop and park made lunch time a real pleasure.
We left the van at Forrestfield before flying back to Melbourne so John could do his compulsory professional development courses to maintain his legal registration. It was a hectic ten days of lectures and appointments, with not really enough time to see everyone we wanted to see.

Back to Melbourne - 25 to 29 June

From Burra we went back to Melbourne by plane to attend a function for one of our friends who was retiring.

Narrawong to Port MacDonnell - 26 to 31 May 2009

On May 26 we drove to Narrawong, stopping at Port Fairy for lunch.

Port Fairy has been "discovered" and almost every shop is a Gourmet Cafe full of happy retired people. Its kind of sad that it is no longer the fishing village it was when we first stayed there. We couldn't get fresh fish for dinner, the men on the boats said all the fish goes to Melbourne.

 

We stopped at Narrawong a delightful camp site on the River and two minutes from the sea beach.

The beach was deserted except for a few townsfolk walking their dogs.

We drove into Portland expecting a graceful old town. Although it had some lovely buildings it seemed miserable and dominated by the smelter.

 

On Thursday 28 May we finally crossed the border into South Australia and drove to Port MacDonnell the Rock Lobster Capital of Australia. The season ended that weekend so we got two Lobsters out of the last batch heading to China.

Port MacDonnell is a pretty town with a lovely white sand beach facing straight on to Bass Strait.

Apollo Bay to Warrnambool - 21 to 26 May 2009

The day was beautiful, foggy early and hazy by the time we were driving. The Great Ocean Road was beautiful in the haze.

We camped at Marengo Point in Apollo Bay and walked part of the Great Ocean Walk which goes from Apollo Bay to the 12 Apostles - over 100 kilometers.
 

 

 

 

Some sandy beaches but most the country is similar to Cornwall - rugged headlands - crags and mists.


The next day we drove to Warrnambool. On the way we stopped at the Lighthouse at Cape Otway.  It was the first sight of land most of our ancestors had since their Port of Embarkation. They would have been 100 or more days at sea.  The Telegraph station was originally for the link to Tasmania, but when that failed it was mostly used for giving information on ships which passed the Cape Otway Light.

We took a helicopter over the Twelve Apostles which was wonderful. What a great view from the air.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Then on to Warrnambool where we rode on the Promenade a bike/walking track on the sea shore. The Promenade is a great ride. They are reforesting the coast which means that views are limited but when you see them they are great.

Setting off from Healesville - 21 May 2009

Healesville is a beautiful Victorian country town in the heart of the Yarra Valley wine region



with a gracious tree lined main street
some great restaurants and cafes





surrounded by the Great Dividing Range. It narrowly escaped destruction in the Black Saturday fires












We set off from Healesville on 21 May 2009