Tag:travels with friends

image by mitchell luo

Outback Road Trip Day One

Day one saw us head off on our Outback Road Trip from Nagambie with our first stop, Redesdale, just on an hour away. Situated in the Agnes Mumford Reserve on the corner of Lyell Road and Heathcote-Redesdale Road is the Redesdale Water Tank Art. Painted by Damian Arena in 2019, it marks the 10th anniversary of ‘Black Saturday’ when fourteen homes were destroyed along with 7086 hectares of land.

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.

Avoca Silo Art by Jimmy Busuttil Outback Road Trip Day One
Avoca Silo Art by Jimmy Busuttil

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
St Arnaud'Hope' silo by Kyle Torney Outback Road Trip Day One
St Arnaud ‘Hope’ silo by Kyle Torney
miner mural st arnaud Outback Road Trip Day One
The Miner Mural
Ron Reyne Mural Outback Road Trip Day One
Ron Reyne Mural
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.

mural at royal hotel Outback Road Trip Day One
Royal Hotel Beer Garden
Royal Hotel Beer Garden Outback Road Trip Day One
Royal Hotel Beer Garden
  • open fire
day one map Outback Road Trip Day One
© Bevlea Ross