History

The Bright to Omeo section was upgraded in 1883 from packhorse to a wide road to allow horse-drawn coaches. It carried goods and people to the Ovens Valley, Omeo, Cobungra and goldfields. The route was a combination of the Ovens Highway and the Alpine Road and was renamed the Great Alpine Way when the final section was sealed in 1998. It’s a drive that requires respect. The Harrietville to Mount Hotham section is particularly steep, with a few extreme hairpin bends with sheer drop-offs requiring extra care in that section.

As it passes over Mount Hotham, the road has an altitude of 1,840 metres, carpeting it with snow in winter. Snowploughs clear the road daily. Extreme conditions still see the road closed from time to time. Take the road slow. It will be safer and allow you to enjoy the spectacular scenery.

Which Direction?

Which is the best way to do it? Southeast from Wangaratta to Bairnsdale or northwest from Bairnsdale to Wangaratta? The main factor in your decision is the sun. Between April and September, the sun is lower in the sky and taking the bends or going over crests will be more problematic if not downright nerve-wracking driving into the sun. Driving late morning/early afternoon Wangaratta to Bairnsdale is the best option as the sun will be behind you. The views and photography are much better if not shooting or squinting into the sun. If you are travelling early morning – then Bairnsdale to Wangaratta is better.

Mount Hotham

Mount Hotham, named after Charles Hotham, Governor of Victoria from 1854 to 1855, is Australia’s highest alpine village. With its short, cool summers and long, freezing winters, Mount Hotham’s climate is Subantarctic.

Planning on a few days to do it? NRMA has a great itinerary

Wallaces Hut

As you drive through Falls Creek, keep your eye out for Wallace’s Hut. Park in the Wallace’s Hut parking area and walk 750m down the path to the hut. The three Wallace brothers built the oldest surviving cattlemen’s hut in the Victorian Alps was built in 1889 by the three Wallace brothers. The family had a large ‘run’ at Kergunyah near Beechworth and grazing land on the banks of the Kiewa River. As was the custom, they took the cattle up the mountain to fatten the herd over spring and summer, allowing the home pastures to recover from the Winter.

Bogong High Plains

In 1889 the three brothers took a herd up to the Bogong High Plains. While there, they decided to build a hut to shelter from the extreme mountain weather. They searched for a site sheltered from winds. But one was close enough to water and firewood before choosing a site nestled among snow gums with a rocky outcrop at the back. They constructed the hut from snow gums and used straight mountain ash as roof shingles. The roof pitched at a steep angle to ensure snow wouldn’t settle heavily on it. Finished in six weeks, it measures just 6.3 mt x 3.5mt.

Wallace’s hut is now classified by the National Trust, owned by Victoria, and managed by Parks Victoria.

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We packed up our room, loaded the car, then headed over to the dining room for our last breakfast and group photo. Two people are missing as they got the meet time wrong – but otherwise, it’s our happy group.

We headed out of Mungo NP around 9 am and made our way to Balranald. Another 60 kms of dirt road or so. This was made a bit longer by the GPS sending up straight ahead instead of right. We drove 20kms down the dirt road before realising that the GPS had steered us wrong. Another U-turn sent us back the way we came and onto the right road. We would have eventually got to Balranald going that way, but it would have meant an extra 30kms of dirt road. We weren’t the only ones, though – the GPS from two other cars in our group also sent them that way before they turned back also.

Balranald

Reaching Balranald, we headed for the Visitor Information Centre. In search of morning tea, not information. They have an excellent complex with a cafe, visitor centre, toilets and museum grouped around a grassy lawn and kids play area. There are even showers in the toilets for those coming through with RVs or caravans. The cafe is excellent with fine coffee, teas and cakes. We had peppermint tea with apple and rhubarb crumble. Absolutely delicious!

After a quick fuel stop we headed to Hay via the Sturt Hwy.

Hay

Matt Adnate painted the two water towers in Pine Street Hay in December 2020. The art commemorates Lorna Whyte, George Murray, Clifford Farlow, George Cannon and Norman Flack, all local people who joined up to serve in WWII. All endured terrible hardships at the hands of the Japanese in prison camps. You can learn more of their story HERE.

From the water towers, we visited Shear Outback, a sheep shearing museum on the Sturt Hwy. I am always ‘wary’ of country town museums, but Shear Outback was excellent. Museum, shearing shed, cafe, gift shop, toilets – the museum entry is $15, but it’s def worth a stop.

The cafe featured a lot of lamb on the menu, lamb burger, lamb wrap, lamb pie.. but I couldn’t come at it…. after reading what the sheep go through for shearing and then to see there no light at the end of their tunnel (or is there? LOL) I couldn’t eat lamb that week.

Deniliquin

Our days’ destination was Deniquilan, and we were booked into the Settlement Motor Inn. The room was large, carpeted and came with a standard kettle, toaster and microwave. The shower was fantastic – loads of water pressure. After booking into the motel, we went in search of the water tower. Located in Scotts Park, Whitelock st; and painted by Cam Scale, it features two kookaburras resting on gum tree branches in front of a night sky.

We did try for sunset, but while it started out promising – it turned into a fizzler. We called it a day, picked up Chinese takeaway and headed back to our motel room. Tomorrow would be the last leg of our journey home.

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The alarm went off at 5.30 am, and amid much groaning and complaining, we were up and out of bed. Knowing how little motivation we would have at this hour of the morning, we had set our clothes out the night before. We had filled the kettle and readied two coffee cups, plus our go cups. With the kettle boiling, we dressed in a gazillion layers of clothing to cope with the cold. We then downed our first cuppa and donned our puffy coats, beanies and gloves. Once ready, we then headed out into the pitch darkness with the camera and tripod, clutching our go cup of steaming coffee and using a torch to light our way to the bus.

sunrise

Our group was heading back to the Walls of China for a sunrise. Mungo Lodge doesn’t usually run sunrise tours, but they had agreed to put one together for us at our request. So thirteen of us piled back on the bus, with two cars following, for the drive out to the walls in the dark. We waited for the sun to come up over the lunette, using the spots we had picked out the night before. Because of the fact we were out in the absolute middle of nowhere, surrounded by a silent landscape untouched for thousands of years, it was an almost spiritual experience.

Before we finished the shoot, I decided to do an HDR pano. So I set my camera for auto bracketing, taking one correctly exposed, another one stop underexposed, and lastly, one stop overexposed. As usual, I then took a pano overlapping each shot by 30% and then edited it once I was home.

With sunrise in the bag, we returned to the bus to return to Mungo Lodge and breakfast. Then, after breakfast, we popped over to visit the emus. Mungo Lodge raised the three chicks with NPWS permission after the parents were killed.

From there, we drove out to make the self-drive trail. But, unfortunately, the road was closed after recent heavy rains where part of it washed away. So our first stop was the old woolshed, a remnant of the pastoral heritage of Mungo.

pastoral heritage

In 1860, Gol Gol station took up 200,000 hectares, covering much of the Willandra Lakes. By 1869, Gol Gol had built the shed as its main shearing base. Chinese labourers constructed a drop log shearing shed out of termite-resistant White Cypress Pine logs using a drop log construction. Vast flocks of sheep used to roam this remote region. The shed was a hive of activity during the shearing season, with 18 men hand-shearing 50,000 sheep in 30 bays.

From the woolshed, we headed towards the parking area of the Walls of China, then followed the road to the right to continue on the self-drive tour. We came across a small waterhole on our way to Red Top Lookout.

Red top lookout

We had reached the locked gate now. However, the road loop was closed due to recent heavy rains washing away the road. So, turning back the way we came, we made a right at the Visitor Centre and headed for the other end of the loop and Zanci Homestead.

Mungo History

By the turn of the century, the massive stations had become unviable because of drought, rabbits, and overuse of grazing, causing widespread erosion. The 1920s saw the subdivision of many of the old runs. In addition, smaller soldier settler blocks were created for veterans returning from WWI. Consequently, in 1921, Gol Gol was broken up into five blocks, with Mungo and Zanci being 16,000 each. Albert and Venda Barnes bought the Mungo block in 1934 from the current owners, Ewan and Angus Cameron. In 1921, Joseph Vigar and his son Roy took over Zanci. Three other blocks were created to the north and south. As a result, the Mungo woolshed was reduced to four machine shearers, and a section of it was removed and rebuilt at Zanci station in 1922.

The Barnes sold Mungo to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) in 1978 after being on the land for 44 years. As a result, Mungo National Park was created in 1979 and added to the World Heritage List in 1989. Since then, Zanci and four other stations have also sold back to NPWS.

Zanci homestead

Given the fact it was nearing lunchtime. So, we headed back to Mungo Lodge. After a delicious lunch (there is no other kind at Mungo Lodge), we all enjoyed some downtime in the afternoon before heading out again for our last sunset.

As darkness fell, we again turned back to Mungo Lodge for dinner and drinks with the gang. It was our last night at Mungo before we all went our separate ways in the morning.

Next week – Mungo to Home via a few more water tanks and silos

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The previous evening

Last night, most of our group met our guide, Julie Pringle, at the visitor centre. We sorted out the gumboots for hire (the lake was supposed to be muddy) and headed off convoy style to Lake Tyrell. The plan was to shoot the lake at sunset. Which meant the plan went to hell in a handbasket very quickly. There was almost total cloud cover, barely any water in the lake— and no colour in the sky. So I didn’t even get the camera out of the bag. Fortunately, a couple of our group members had more optimism than me and shared their images, as seen below. Thank you, Julie Powell and Pio Marceline. By now, grumpy and disappointed, the sister and I had given up and retreated to the bar of the Royal Hotel, followed by a delicious dinner and off to bed.

The next morning

Having had no luck with sunset last night, we thought we would try our hand for some early morning shots of the lake before breakfast. But, unfortunately, I opened the door to our motel room, and it was pea soup fog out. So we went back to bed.

An hour later, we braved the fog, deciding to venture out to Lake Tyrell. Our thinking was a shot of the new Tyrell sign in fog would be nice. The closer we got to the lake, the thicker it got, and after a few U-turns, we gave up trying to find the road in. Hungry and defeated, we returned to Sea Lake for breakfast at the Bottom Cafe. We had to make do with sitting outside again, as the new dining room isn’t finished yet. However, the owners were lovely, brought out a patio heater, and set it up to warm us while eating. We both had the delicious brekky wraps, and the coffee was excellent and hot 🙂

With breakfast over and the fog starting to thin, we headed out of Sea Lake towards Mildura via Robinvale. At Robinvale, we called into an old homestead. Unfortunately, that was also a bust, nothing to see, but by now, we were 3 for 3 (sunset, sunrise, homestead), and hopefully, with our jinx behind us, we would have photographic luck hereon.

Mildura

As the morning wore on, and the further north we went, the fog cleared, and we had blue skies and sunshine as we drove to Mildura, arriving around lunchtime. We met up with our group at “Bobby and Me”, a cafe alongside the river, for lunch. It’s a ‘diner-type cafe in a shipping container, but they have tables and chairs on the lawn, and the service was good. We had the New York hot dogs and coffee. Delicious.

After fueling up all cars, (there is no fuel at Mungo), we headed to Wentworth and called in at the visitor information centre for last-minute info on roads. Our planned route would take us up Wentworth Road for 88kms before turning off onto Top Hut Road for the last 55kms. Top Hut is a dry weather road only, and while it’s dirt, it’s certainly in much better condition than Arumpo Road. Although due to being told, there is a rollover weekly on Arumpo Road, we had no intention of going that way. Also to be considered is it’s around 80 kms of dirt road compared to 55 kms on Top Hut.

Mildura to Wentworth

In convoy style, our group headed off from Wentworth. We made good time as we had sealed roads before turning onto Top Hut Road. From here, it was dirt all the way to Mungo Lodge. While the road was soft, sandy in parts and corrugated, it wasn’t too bad, and thankfully, we arrived in time for our sunset tour to the walls of china. The entire area is part of the Willandra Lakes, a UNESCO World Heritage region since 1981. However, there has been no water in the lake for around 15,000 years. What is left behind is a surreal landscape not unlike what you would imagine the surface of the moon to be.

The Willandra Lakes Region is an extensive area that contains a system of ancient lakes formed over the last two million years, most of which are fringed by a crescent shaped dune or lunette. Aborigines lived on the shores of the lakes for at least 50,000 years, and the remains of a 40,000 year old female found in the dunes of Lake Mungo are believed to be the oldest ritual cremation site in the world.

enviroment.gov.au

Walls of China

The Walls of China are open to public access. However, unless supervised, you must remain on the boardwalk. We opted for a guide as we wanted to get up on the lunette and shoot the sunset. The guide supervised us as our group of sixteen scattered across the dunes, looking for the perfect composition, setting up our tripods, and shooting the sunset. Not a great sunset, but still a lovely way to end the day before we all piled back in the bus and returned to the lodge for dinner.

next week – our second day at mungo – We get a fabulous sunrise and visit the old homestead

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Rupanyup

The first stop of the day was Rupanyup, 63kms to the east of St Arnaud. Twin steel silos painted by Russian artist Julia Volchkova in 2017 depict two young people, Ebony, who plays in the local netball team and Jordan, a footballer.

Sheep hills

Starting our run North, the second stop was 36kms up the road at Sheep Hills. Painted by Matt Adnate in 2016, it depicts Wergaia elder Uncle Ron Marks and Wotjobaluk Elder Aunty Regina Hood. Between them are two children, Savannah Marks and Curtly McDonald. Adnate’s artwork celebrates the area’s indigenous culture, and his depiction of the night sky represents the ‘dreaming’ element and highlights the strong ancestral connection indigenous children share with their elders.

brim

Heading off again, our third stop was Brim, another 42 kms up the road. The Brim silo, completed in 2016, was the first one to be painted in Victoria and the second in Australia after Northham, WA. Following the completion of the Brim silo, the town enjoyed newfound energy and optimism through the widespread attention towards Brim and the Wimmera, from both local and international media. It was from the success of the Brim silo that the Silo Art Trail was born. Guido’s work depicts four anonymous farmers, three men and one woman.

Rosebery

Just a short 24kms up the road, we came to Rosebery. Completed in 2017 by Kaff-eine, her artwork on the left depicts a female sheep farmer in a workshirt and cowboy boots. On the right is a horseman and his mount. The horseman wears an Akubra hat, bogs boots and oilskin vest – common attire for mallee farmers.

Patchewollock

Our next stop was Patchewollock. At 63 kms further north, it’s the longest distance between silos. As you drive down the road with endless flat fields and huge open skies on either side of you, you can’t help but reflect on the isolation of the land, the lack of ‘city’ conveniences and the continual hardships the farmers endure against droughts and fires. Patchewollock silo depicts local farmer Nick “noodle” Hulland. Completed in 2016, it shows the archetypal Aussie farmer in a faded blue flannelette shirt and worn jeans.

Fintan painted him with a solemn expression and squinting gaze to embody the harshness of the environment and the challenges a mallee farmer faces.

lascelles

From Patchellwock, it’s 50 kms south to Lascelles. With no breakfast, and 3 hours on the road, our tummies were rumbling, and we were looking forward to getting to our lunch stop. But, while close, Lascelles wasn’t it. Painted by Rone in 2017, its subjects are a local couple Geoff and Merrilyn Horman, part of a family who has lived and farmed the area for four generations.

Woomelang

A short 15kms further south from Lascelles is Woomelang (pop 150!). Our lunch stop. Being so far away from a major town, we weren’t expecting a sumptuous lunch. Still, given they promote the Woomelang “cafe” and its python mural, its closeness to the silo trail, and the fact that they have a ‘field bin’ trail within the town, we did expect a reasonably passable cafe. No. It’s a general store, combined with a post office and an opp shop that also sells fried food and pizzas. We settled for a potato cake and a couple of dimmies and sat outside as there was no tables or chairs inside.

Field Bins

The young Vice President of the Woomelang and District Development Association, Joe Collins (19 yrs old), had originally wanted their silo included in the trail. But, being privately owned, it couldn’t be included. He then came up with the idea for street art on the general store wall to boost the economy. Locals thought he had been in the sun a bit too long. Determined to forge ahead, he contacted Juddy Roller, who had started the silo art trail and was put in touch with Sirum. Sirum came back with a draft idea of the endangered carpet python.

A town meeting was called, and while many locals were against the idea of a snake on the wall, Joe prevailed. Once the python was painted and tourists started calling into town, the opposition vanished, and the townsfolk started looking at more ways to bring visitors to the town. They liaised with the Wimmera Catchment Authority, and eight new endangered animals were chosen to grace eight mobile field bins. Call into the general store to pick up a map. I would, however, suggest taking a cut lunch with you, rather than buying from the “cafe”.

Before leaving Woomelang, we also stopped by the Shearing shed in Cronomby Tanks Rd. Built of compressed kerosine tins, it stands as a monument to bush ingenuity during the wartime shortage of building materials.

Nullawil

We had one more stop before reaching Sea Lake. Nullawil, 65kms south from Woomelang, is probably my favourite silo. Painted by Smug it features a farmer in an obligatory checked flannel shirt and his mate a black and tan Kelpie.

Sea Lake

Turning north again, we covered the last 50 km to arrive at Sea Lake and the end of our days driving. The Sea Lake silo features a young girl on a swing looking over Lake Tyrell. Painted over three weeks in 2019, the silo embodies the wide-open sky of Lake Tyrell, the indigenous name of which is ‘Tyrille’ meaning ‘space opening to the sky’. After viewing the silo, we drove around town, capturing the murals on walls of stores. We didn’t go to Lake Tyrell before dinner, as our group were booked to do that on the sunset tour. Both decisions turned out to be huge mistakes—more on that in the next post.

Days End

After leaving St Arnaud around 8 am, we had made it to Sea Lake by 3.30 pm and covered the entire silo trail plus Woomelang and its field bins in 407 kms. We booked into Sea Lake Motel and dinner at the Royal Hotel. The old pub, built in 1910, burnt down in 2017. The only other pub in town had closed, and drastic action was called for. You can’t have a pub with no beer or a town with no pub. Locals started the Royal Hotel Co-op at $5000 per share and raised enough money to purchase the old pub. Seven months and 28 loads of rubbish to the tip later, the pub reopened in June 2019, providing 16 local jobs staffing the hotel.

Coming up next Sunday: Day Three is off to Mungo NP

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The Agnes Mumford Reserve is directly opposite the Redesdale Hotel – so either works for a pit stop. We parked in the reserve and enjoyed our cookies and hot coffee. As we never know where we are going to find an image – we always travel with snacks and a thermos 🙂

Avoca

From Redesdale, we headed to Avoca. Jimmy Busuttil has been working on the Avoca silo for a couple of months now, but work has come to a standstill while they await permission to paint the other side, which is almost on the railway line, so a few OH&S issues need to be solved. When it is finished, it will have a background of the night sky behind the owl; his eyes and stars will be glow in the dark paint – and it will be lit up at night.

We also stopped off at the railway cafe, up the road from the silo, for a late lunch – but they seemed to be mainly catering to cakes and coffee – and while they were open – there was no one there to serve us.

From Avoca, we headed off on the final leg of the days’ journey – to St Arnaud. Arriving in St Arnaud, we drove around photographing the street murals and silo – all done by Kyle Torney and featuring locals of the town or its history.

St Arnaud

Mural Locations

1. The Hope silo – Mc Mahon st
2. Ron Reyne Mural – opposite the Hope silo at 14 Mc Mahon st
3. Mates Mural – Cnr Wills St and Kings Ave
4. The Miner Mural – 22 Kings Ave
5. CFA Mural – Cnr Napier and Alma Sts
6. Andrea Hicks Mural – side of the wall at 117 Napier St
7. Loss Hamilton Mural – 36 Alma St
8. Torneys Fighting Fit Gym – cnr of Alma and McMahon sts
9. Owen – sidewall of 18 Napier St
10. St Arnaud Primary school – observe from Dundas Street
11. Royal Hotel Beer Garden at 60 Napier St

We were booked into the Motel St Arnaud for the night before an early start the next day to Sea Lake via the Silo Art Trail. Our motel was clean, beds and shower were good, and the free wifi was fast – for a budget motel it’s excellent value. Dinner that night was at the Royal Hotel, built in 1874 its full of character and old-world charm and decorated throughout with antiques and another mural in the beer garden. We enjoyed wine by the open fire before heading into the dining room for dinner.

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Originally it was planned as a one-off project just for Brim. However, the popularity of the silo’s saw many more added across Victoria, with more designed or being added all the time, making maps of the trail obsolete very quickly. As a result, there are now two silo trails in Victoria. The North East Silo Art Trail and the ‘original Silo Art Trail in the Wimmera.

To the tiny towns, while some are thriving, many are little more than ghost towns. The silo art trail brings the much-needed tourist dollars into town. Be it meals, fuel or accommodation and souvenirs. But, like in Field of Dreams, “build it, and they will come”, and come they do. At each silo, there is a constant stream of cars pulling off the road to marvel or photograph the works.

Doing the Trail

The entire Victorian Silo Art Trail can be easily done in a day. The most time required to view or photograph each silo is under 30 minutes. You will need accommodation at the end, though, as the trail will take around 5 hours – and leave you about 4 hours from Melbourne. So that’s an excellent opportunity to stay in Sea Lake and include Lake Tyrell at sunset before heading off in the morning again.

Our Plan

Some time ago, a group of friends and I planned a trip. We would visit the Silo Art Trail, Lake Tyrell and Mungo National Park. Departure day is tomorrow, and we are all meeting up in St Arnaud tomorrow afternoon. Along the way, we will photograph silo’s, water towers, street art and ancient landscapes. At Mungo, we go ‘dark’ for two days as it is so remote there is no cell reception there.

Follow along with us as the next few posts will cover our travels.

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Before leaving Greenland, we checked in on the polar bears we repatriated. Two of them were off hunting, but we spent a pleasant half-hour with Brutus. Unfortunately, he had stayed behind due to an injured toe (he’d stubbed it on the nosy penguin).

We said goodbye to Brutus, ducked out on the nosy penguin, and sailed to Paris. We planned to shoot a sunset from the top of the Eiffel tower during the annual migration of the Dodo bird. Being an imaginary travel journey, our planning and timing worked perfectly with no real-life nasty border problems, and we arrived just in time to catch them fly past.

From Paris, we took the train to Munich, just in time to catch the second wave of Dodo’s as they flew past. Our view from the top of the town hall clock tower was superb.

After a few beers in a German beer hall, we climbed the narrow staircase to the attic and went through the wardrobe to Wilsons Prom, where Aslan was waiting for us.

We strolled along the beach with Aslan and listened to how things were going in Melbourne (badly), but he felt the tide was turning, and it was time to go. With that, we hopped in our boat and made our way to Kangaroo Island. Our guide this time was Gandalf. He had just arrived via eagle express and, knowing the SA police would be on our tail for sneaking in a back way. He was anxious to be on our way.

We travelled around Kangaroo Island for a few days – trying to look like locals and keeping to the backroads. Our last stop on KI was Seal Bay – a fabulous spot and final landfall before Antarctica – which we weren’t going to. We had enough of the cold in the arctic circle. So we were heading home now. One night at a curiously named hotel and then back to Melbourne.

We did wonder, though – if Hotel Hell would live up to its name or it was just a tourist trap.

That’s the end of our journey… I hope you enjoyed travelling with us.

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We had visited the Northern Grampians in 2016 again basing ourselves in Halls gap. This time around we booked into Halls Gap Log Cabins, nice two bedroom cabin, and very comfy and handy to everything.

Wildlife at Northern Grampians

Every day as the sun went down the ‘roo’s came into the grounds. The owners, as a result, never need to mow their lawn here 😉

Another frequent visitor in the late afternoon were the emu’s. They turned up like clockwork every afternoon around 5pm in the large open paddock behind the cabins, wandering around foraging, only slightly interested in mad tourists.

We made the mistake, on the the first day of feeding a magpie…. I know, I know, I can hear you shaking your head. Within minutes we had a host of cockies joining the maggies.. and they ended up getting the lions share of the twisties!

Due to seeing a sign next morning, ‘please dont feed the birds’ we hung our heads and shame and refused to feed them next afternoon when they came calling.

Country Roads

We headed out next morning with plans to visit Boroka Lookout, Mackenzie Falls and Reids Lookout… unfortunately Google Maps on my phone directed us down a poorly signposted dirt road for about 30kms, then told us in the middle of nowhere “you have arrived”. By now, we also had no phone service so we kept following the road for about another 20kms. We came to a sign saying Halls Gap, and took it. Continued on the dirt road, for a few more kms, then came to a fork in the road, with no idea which way to head. Asses Ears Road or Rosebrook-Glenisla Road? Neither sounded a good idea.

Wondering which road to take, and with visions of search and rescue finding our bleached bones in 30 yrs time, I suddenly realised that right at this spot, I had four bars of service! Plugged in Halls Gap and off went again. Back the way we had come. Just a few yards down the road service dropped to one bar then none, but by now, I had the maps loaded. We eventually came back out at Northern Grampians road with a signpost to the lookouts and falls. Cue the applause in the car. We had just done a needless, 50km plus dirt road detour.

On the upside, we saw loads of wildlife, and while they moved way too fast to photograph, or get near, we did spots lots ‘in the wild’. From Kangaroo’s, Wallaby, Emu’s even a deer or two on these rarely travelled (by smart people) tracks.

Back on solid, man made roads we hot footed straight to Mackenzie Falls. Having absolutely no intention of going to the bottom of the falls, we took a couple of walks to view Broken Falls and Mackenzie Falls from the top.

Mackenzie Falls

Boroka Lookout

Leaving Mackenzie Falls behind we drove to Boroka Lookout.

Where both the MOTH and a visiting Scottish cousin ducked through the railing for a photo op

The rest of the day was taken up with non photographic but enjoyable stuff like eating, drinking, watching clouds go by….

Next Morning……..

Waking up next morning, we found the sun had gone.. .light misty rain was coming across the hills. We decided instead to visit Dunkeld in the Northern Grampians sector. Not the best idea. Rain pelted down as we were leaving the and the mountains had heavy cloud hanging over them

Arriving in Dunkeld we headed to the Arboretum. Maintenance was being done on the pier I wanted to shoot and it was completely blocked by fences and workmen. Plan B, we’ll go to the museum in the old railway station. Closed. Only open sundays and public holidays. After 1pm. **heavy sigh** Plan C – lets go to the bakery.

Set back off the main road in a suburban street the bakery is obviously well known as on a wet tuesday it was still busy. The carrot cake and coffee were delicious. No photo. Ate it too quick 😉

The Balconies

Leaving the town that was almost awake we drove back towards Halls Gap. By now the weather was improving so we decided to go to The Balconies on the way back. They are at the same carpark as Reids Lookout, but it had been too warm to do the uphill walk the day before.

The walk is supposed to be ‘easy’ as its only 1km each way. “Suitable for all ages and fitness”. According the to brochures its a ‘slight incline’. We, however, made use of the chairs on the way up and arrived sounding like asthmatic steam trains. Obviously our level of fitness is considered extinct and not worth mentioning.

This time I didn’t need to encourage the MOTH to climb the barrier and go out on the balcony. Not that I would have suggested it this time – it was blowing a gale up there. But an unknown man who “has done it heaps of times its quite safe” went out there for a friend and we snapped his pic as well.

Next day we headed back home to Melbourne…. had a lovely three nights there with Scottish girls. I thoroughly recommend the Halls Gap Log Cabins. Comfy stay and wildlife at your door, (and the shower was awesome)

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The accom was fabulous. Comfortable beds with quality linen, well appointed kitchen and bathroom and cosy lounge complete with a fire. It also had ducted heating and cooling but we went for the ambiance of the fire 😉

Travelling Down…..

Leaving Melbourne we started driving to Portland via Lismore Vic., and decided to pop in and say hello to Jimmy Buscombe who was commencing work painting the water tower in Lismore Vic., We then travelled on via Warrnambool to see Jimmy’s artwork on the bridge in Warrnambool

Portland

Arriving in Portland we picked up the keys to the cottage and headed the last 18kms to the lighthouse.

Sunset was a complete bust that night.. and sunrise was no better… so much for being ‘Johnny on the spot’ LOL

Leaving next morning our luck continued. We stopped off at a Lavender farm that was closed, but they did allow us to take a couple of pics. We then drove into Port Fairy.. past a strange fence of shoes…

Arriving in Port Fairy Google Maps drove us around in circles… we never did find the Port Fairy Lighthouse. Deciding to cut our losses we headed straight for Warnnambool and lunch. And found another Jimmy Buscombe work on the wall near the cafe

After lunch we continued our journey back to Melbourne… and as a nice surprise came across a field of sunflowers. Two firsts in a weekend.. lighthouse stay and sunflower field.

Sadly the no sunset/no sunrise is all too common with our trips away.

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