Big Desert - Mallee Country

Wednesday 24th September

School Holidays and I was off with my boys for a camping trip to the Mallee, my first visit into this area of Victoria.

Leaving home at 7:30, we drove up the Western Highway, stopping at Ballan for a Maccas Breakfast (I did have the the kids with me!)

Approaching Ararat we noticed a wind farm that wasn't here a year ago when we last up this way.  Mount Buangor and Langi Ghiran both looked worthy of exploration on a future trip, but we continued on through Ararat and Stawell, past Mount Zero at the top end of the Grampians and into Horsham for a fuel top-up.

From Horsham we headed north to Dimboola, bypassing the Little Desert and followed the Wimmera to Jeparit we were detoured to investigate Lake Hindmarsh, which was completely dry.  So the fishing rod stayed in the car whilst we braved the wind swept sands for a photo.  As there was no water I ditched the plans to drive up the western shore and headed back into Jeparit, on through Rainbow and to Lake Albacutya which is normally dry, and was guaranteed to be as much based on Lake Hindmarsh.  Albacutya only fills when Lake Hindmarsh overflows into Outlet Creek.

We drove along the Eastern shore of Albacutya and looked at OTIT campground to see what it was like.  Here we saw a father emu and his young chicks running off away from the car, much too fast for me to get a photo.  Lunch time was approaching, so we made our way through Nypo into Wyperfeld National Park.  A quick chat with the Ranger and after paying our fees we made our way to the campground, spotting our first of many Stumpy Tailed lizards sunning himself on the roadside.

We arrived at the campsite around 2 in the afternoon and after choosing a nice shady spot to set-up camp that was not too far from the toilets we had some of my Mum's delicious rissoles for lunch.  Once the campsite was established, we set off for a short bike ride to explore the campground, riding up to Baby Cameron's grave and then down to the information centre.

We spent some more time relaxing around the campground, as well as playing some ball games before heading off for a drive around the Eastern Nature Drive where we saw wallabies and emus, as well as going on a short walk to a Mallee Fowl nest.

After the drive it was back to the campground for a BBQ dinner and the joy of relaxing under an amazingly clear star filled night.

Thursday 25th September

I awoke in the morning to the sound of rain on the tent; so much for being in the Big Desert!  But when I had gotten up, there was no sign of any rain!  After a sustaining bacon and egg breakfast, we all headed off for a bike ride down one of the management vehicle only tracks.  The going was quite tough on the sandy track, and there was no way we would be able to ride to the start of the Desert Walk, do the walk and then ride back.  It also started to rain lightly again, so we sheltered under a large tree until the rain stopped before riding back to camp.

Leaving the bikes behind, we drove to the start of the Desert Walk; an 8 kilometre walk through various differing vegetation types of the Big Desert, with scrub at the start of the walk, progressing into Mallee and Box Pine along the flood basin of Outlet Creek, and then back into the arid scrub as we ascended up and along a large sand dune.  Some of the plants we saw included Desert Banksia, Black Box, Flame Heath, Slender Leaf Clematis and Golden Pendants.  Liam made it about half way along the walk before I had to carry him the rest of the way.

Back at the campground we had a simple salad lunch and a lazy afternoon with the kids playing around the sand dunes near the campsite.

Dinner was a roast chicken and potatoes cooked in the camp oven.  A small chicken takes at the least 1.5 hours, possibly longer.  I'll get this camp oven sorted out eventually.

There were numerous birds around the campsite, with some very big Ravens that were quite tame as well as many Cockatoos, galahs and wattlebirds.  We also say Red Rumped Parrots, Mulga Parrots, Currawongs, Magpies and Regent Parrots.  Oh, and of course more emus, as well as more parent emus with their young chicks!

Friday 26th September

I packed up camp early after a simple breakfast of cereal and we made our way along some very sandy 4WD tracks, including North South Track, Eagle Track and Moonah Track.  I had planned on going up North Callitris Track, but this looked quite step as it climbed  a sand dune and I didn't fancy digging a bogged car out of sand so we followed Moonah and Freeway Track into the relatively deserted Casuarina Campground.

From the campground we took a shortcut along Wool Track and ended up at what I believe was the O'Sullivan's Pine Plains Lodge, but it appeared to be a large working property where we saw some Peacocks.  My planned route was across Wirrengren Plain but the track was closed so we continued along Gunners Track where we saw a pair of Bearded Dragons sunning themselves on the track.

We stopped for a little bit of civilisation in Umberbool, enjoying ice-cream and picking up some fresh bread and a paper before exploring the Pink Lakes.  These salt lakes have a pinkish colouration due to the algae that live in them.  They truly were pink, and we walked down to Lake Hardy as well as Lake Crosby, which has a nice campsite on the southern shore.  A quick explore of the salt mine and lunch at the campsite on the northern shore near Lake Becking where we spotted yet another Stumpy Tail.  After lunch, we headed off through Sunset Country across the sand dunes on Honeymoon Hut Track to our next campsite location at Lake Hattah.  We got slightly lost along the way with some locked gates, and a wrong turn near Wymlet but we made it out in the end.

We arrived at Hattah about 3 or 4 in the afternoon, and picked up some ice from the store before heading into the National Park to the campground.  Whilst I was filling out the camping permit, a number of Choughs and Apostle birds welcomed us to the campsite, and remained our constant companions for our entire stay.

Not surprisingly, there was no water in the lake.  The last time it held water was reportedly 2000.  We setup camp and enjoyed the birds company while we waited for our spaghetti bolognaise to cook.

Saturday 27th September

We again awoke to the company of the Choughs and Apostle Birds as we cooked our hearty Bacon & Eggs breakfast.  The plan for the morning was to drive down to the Murray, and explore along River Track.  We found many great campsites along the river and a very nice beach where the kids played for an hour.  We spotted many birds as well, with the usual parrots as well as a Black Kite and a darter perched on a tree that had fallen into the river.  It was getting close to lunch time, so we cut our trip along River Track short, and cut back to the camp ground along Chalka Track stopping in at Mournpall campsite, which we agreed wasn't quite as nice as Lake Hattah.  We visited Jack Mahon's grave site, which is near where he drowned crossing the flooded Chalka Creek, which at present is bone dry.  Liam of course climbed the sand dunes.

After lunch, we drove along the nature drive where we actually got to see some of the lake bed, as well as the pumping station where water was drawn from the lake and pumped back to Hattah and the railway station to supply the trains as well as the town's water.  We saw more emus, and also walked around Blackbox Waterhole, which did have water in it.  We saw a Blue Billed duck here as well as Cockatoos and other assorted parrots.

We spent a lazy afternoon back at the campground enjoying the antics of the Apostlebirds, as well as the company of two very friendly Pied Butcherbirds.  One quite happily perched on the back of James chair, while the Apostlebirds were quite happy to walk across my legs as I reclined in the camp chair.

We downgraded to tinned food for dinner since I had left one of our meals at home, and the Butcher Bird helped himself to some of Liam's fruit salad when he wasn't looking.  We spent the evening around a very toasty campfire under another perfectly clear star filled night watching a possum in the tree near our tent.

I could hear the call of a Southern Boobook owl, and went for a walk to investigate, finally spotting him high in a gumtree.  I also saw another owl flying off away from my investigations, as well as hearing the unnerving sound of one or more Tawny Frogmouths.

Sunday 28th September

With the campsite all packed up we headed off to Mildura, spotting a Nankeen Kestrel hovering by the roadside at Hattah.  We stopped at Red Cliffs to see Big Lizzie, a huge tractor sent to the Mallee from Melbourne to assist all of the returned Diggers in setting up their farming ventures after the First World War.  It apparently proved quite useful in pulling out many Mallee stumps as well.

We continued onto Wentworth and then to the Perry Sandhills where the kids got a taste of what they thought a desert should really look like.  They played on the sand dunes for quite some time before we drove around the sand hills and then headed back to Mildura for lunch.  Lunch was an assortment from the bakery, topped off with the most delicious Vanilla Slice.  Though I've heard that Ouyen is the place to go for Vanilla Slices, so perhaps next time.

From Mildura we headed into New South Wales to explore Mungo National Park.  80 something kilometres of dirt road, and one stumpy tail later we arrived at the Park Visitor Centre, which told of the earlier animal, aboriginal and geological history of the area.  We explored around the walls, which in actuality are a large sand dune system, before doing the park circuit nature drive.  The latter was a mistake given the length of the drive, and the length of our trip home.  Not to mention that there wasn't a real lot to see that we hadn't already seen on the 100 K plus trip to get to the park.  Though the ruins of Zinco Station were interesting.

We started our long drive back to the border along which we saw many Ring Neck Parrots, Mulga Parrots, Galahs and a bearded Dragon, and after an eternity we finally got off the dirt tracks and into Robinvale for well earned ice-creams.  From Robinvale to Chinkapook, the sun was setting with the most glorious display of magentas and oranges that lasted for ages and which was beautifully offset by the gentle rolling fields of grain.  We passed Lake Tyrell with the last of the light as we continued across country to the Sunraysia Highway when I just barely made it to the petrol station at Bungaree.  We had a very late dinner at Mum's where I left the kids for the next few days of the school holidays as Michelle and I were heading up to the Victorian High Country.

4WDing in the Toolangi State Forest

Henric - Pathfinder

Mark & James - Patrol

Well, off to Toolangi again.  Henric was free, most of the tracks in our preferred destination of Lerderderg were closed, so Toolangi it was.

Turning off The Melba Highway just before Marginal Road brought us to a little track than ran back down  parallel to the highway.  This track was a little wet with a small boghole at the start but it posed no problems, apart from being narrow in parts, and climbed quickly quite high up from the highway.  A quick scoot back along the highway brought us back to our starting point. 

Most of the other tracks from this point led to dead ends, so we attempted Rocky Track.  This is aptly named, looking like a huge rut chiselled directly into solid rock, with all of the rock fragments left on the track.  I was able to make it a short way up before reaching a rock ledge which I knew would be impassable, so after reversing down we continued up Marginal Road to the steep track that connects up to Wee Creek Track.  Though I had climbed this track previously, today we were not able to make it up with the ground perhaps being a little wetter than last time.  So back down again up Wee Creek Track the easier way.  The southern end of Wee Creek Track proved as slippery as ever, with Henric at one point doing the better part of a 180.  After a little fun in the clear felled logged area, we gave the truck bending Victoria Range a miss (it was Seasonally Closed anyway) and made our way down Gutter Creek Road.

Along Pine Track and Martins Road to the Bush camping site where we had lunch, drove through a few bogholes and crossed Kalatha Creek where we attempted climbing Campsite Track.  This also proved too steep for Henric, though I made it up this one with some trouble, though not requiring winching as on one of my previous trips to Toolango.  So turning around we attempted another track unnamed and unmarked on the map, which proved even more hairier, with me sliding back down in the mud, and barely missing a tree on the side of the track.  With some careful manoeuvring I escaped unscathed and we watched some others attempt the hill, requiring a snatch at the very top to get through.

After crossing Kalatha Creek again, I managed to roll a tyre off the rim, and came way to close to giving the other front tyre the same treatment, with a considerable amount of mud scooped in between the rim and tyre.  Only having one spare which was most enjoyable changing on the track in the mud I have finally come to the conclusion that I have explored pretty much enough of the Toolangi State Forest.

We retraced our tracks to Twin Hills Road and made our escape, tired, wet and slightly scuffed around the edges.

In search of the Wolfram Mine & Mt. Strickland

Mark & James

James and I set off early on Saturday morning in search of the Wolfram Mine, near Marysville. Wolfram is more commonly known as Tungsten, and is used in light filaments. I had seen the mine marked on one of my maps, and it had appeared easily accessible, with a 4WD track leading directly to the mine site.

After gathering some supplies, we made our way towards Marysville, turning onto Anderson Mill Road which ran along the ridge top before descending to an old mill site. There were no signs of an old mill site remaining, however there was still a lot of active tree milling occurring in this area. We were not able to find any remains of the timber tramway or other ruins that were marked on the map, so we investigated the Bicentennial National Trail camp site prior to driving up past Three Towers Lookout and onto Keppel Lookout were made a rest stop.

Keppel Lookout gave us views over the valley to Marysville, and on to the Cathedral Ranges in the distance. As we were enjoying the views, a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles circled low overhead.

From Keppel Lookout we drove across the top of the range along Paradise Road past cleared areas around Mount Kitchener before descending to Wilkes Creek Road. The track here became quite steep and there was no sign of the side track to the mine. We drove up and down the track a number of times unable to find any indication that there was ever a track here, there being a quite steep drop-off from the side of the track which was quite thickly overgrown. We couldn't even see any signs of the building ruins that were marked on the map opposite to where the track should be. I decided to leave finding the Wolfram Mine to another day; perhaps approaching the mine along the creek bed, either upstream or maybe better heading downstream from Boundary Road where the approach seemed less steep and overgrown.

We continued down Wilkes Creek Road to the creek, but as the track onwards was quite wet and boggy and not suited to travelling without a companion vehicle, we backtracked and then continued on up to Mt Strickland.

Coming out of the Woollybutts on the top of Mt Strickland was a cleared area covered in frost, and further on we came to a roadside puddle that was frozen over with tadpoles happily swimming beneath the ice.

We passed Lowering Gear Track, which appeared permanently closed and soon came to a locked gate which marked the boundary of the water catchment area. We backtracked to the edge of a clear felled area, and set-up our lunch spot on a small sidetrack.

With Lowering Gear Track closed, we made our way down to the Acheron Way along a well constructed logging road which brought us out at the lower end of Lowering Gear. From here we explored up White Hill Track, which continued west as opposed to it's northward deviation as marked on the map. No sign of the north path remained, and our westward travel was eventually halted by a locked gate. The map also indicated a walking trail, which went on to Cleft Rock, but this was also elusive.

We backtracked to Acheron Way and caught up with White Hill Track where it was part of the National Bicentennial Horse Trail. The track climbed steeply to the top of the ridge where we travelled it for about a kilometre before deciding that the track was too wet and boggy. It would be an enjoyable drive with friends, but without a winch or another vehicle I decided to ere on the side of caution and leave this track for another day.

Higganbotham Mine

Mark, James & Liam

James, Liam and I were out on a boy's day, exploring the Black Range State Forest for old mining relics and sites.  After stocking up on food supplies, we headed along the same route as my previous trip to Higginbotham.

Exploring along Grant's Track, we investigated the old diggings on the top of the ridge above Higganbotham, before continuing to the end of the ridge, just before the track descends down to private property.  We stopped trackside, where we set-up for our BBQ lunch.  We got a small fire going on the top of the ridge, and kicked back to the magnificent views of the mist and low cloud blanketing the valleys.  Liam described it best, "It looks  like a huge bubble-bath, with the mountains peaking through like islands."

After lunch, we backtracked along Grant's Track and drove along the next ridge across on Beatsons Track, which brought us back to Grant's Track which descends steeply down in to the valley where the Higganbotham Mine is located.  The track branched off near the gate into private property backup along the valley, which we followed until we reached the first of many large gumtrees which had fallen down across the track.  We clambered over these trees to only be confronted with at least another 4 or 5 such obstacles across the track.  Looking across the creek to the other side of the valley showed numerous trees which had been either uprooted, or snapped and brought down.  It looked as though some mini cyclone had passed through the area.  As we continued along the path, we caught site of a wombat running through the bottom of the ravine.  He clearly knew there was somebody else down here with him, but he couldn't see where we were.  We watched him for a while as he sat outside his wombat hole, wondering what was going on.

I had no real indication of what, if anything we would find; nor exactly where to look so we continued along the path where we eventually came to a hollowed out semi circular area, the walls of which were lined with stones.  Exploration further along found a square cut out flat, likely housing some machinery or a small hut.  I continued further upstream trying to locate the mine I believed was in the area, coming to a junction in the creek but still no sign of any shafts.  It was clear I was in the right area, and looking up to the top of the valley was what was pretty definitely the diggings we had explored earlier, but still no mine shaft.  I walked up some of the feeder creeks, climbing up the valley sides, which were strewn with tailings, a good sign I believed, but still no mine shaft.  Giving up in this area, obviously having travelled too far up stream we headed back to where the ruins where.

South of the stone circle, there was a small gully which I climbed along.  This was looking more promising with a significant amount of tailings.  I eventually came to the foot of a tailings heap, which I climbed up to find the shaft of the mine.  Well, it would have been the shaft at one time, however the entrance was completely caved in.  I called the boys up to have a look around; not what they expected, but at least we found it.

We made our way back down, and climbed over many fallen trees again on our way out.  We drove out north, via Limestone where we came across a paddock full of Highlander Cattle, including calves.  Magnificent!

Cathedral Range Camping Trip - Queens Birthday Long Weekend

Mark & Liam

Oiyee

Mark

Shirley & Marty

Julia & Andrew

Saturday

We arrived late on Saturday afternoon to a surprisingly packed campground.  I arrived first and setup the tarp between the trees and waited for Mark & Oiyee to arrive.  We setup our tents, and started preparing dinner, which as usual was a culinary feast.  Tonight consisting of Chinese Dumplings as an entree. followed by Lamb Curry with roti.  We had little luck getting any significant fire going, having only redgum timber and an extremely wet fireplace.  We enjoyed various cheeses and chocolate around our small fire before we retired to beneath the tarp to play cards into the evening.  A light drizzle continued through the night, resulting in Mark waking up wet in the morning due to a hole in his tent.  Oiyee and myself also woke up through the night to the sound of running water close to our tents.  We were both much relieved to find it was water overflowing from the tarp, and not what we first believed!

Sunday

Warm porridge for breakfast and a relaxing morning whilst we waited for Julia and Andrew to arrive.  We all headed off for a walk upstream along Little River, which took us through a fern filled gorge.  The track was quite difficult to follow at some points, being unmarked with a slippery scramble down.

The area was very wet and green, with a vast assortment of fungi, toadstools and mushrooms growing along the track and on fallen logs and trunks.  We continued along the river for a kilometre, climbing over granite rocks and fallen trees, but it was evident we could not reach Little Falls and walk back out again in time for us to do our other planned activities for the day so we gave up going any further and headed back to camp.

The trip back out found Mark, Oiyee and myself all attacked by leeches.  A rather vicious one had attached itself to my neck, which Andrew most bravely pulled off.  The sound of a Lyrebird added a more peaceful and relaxing tone to the rest of the walk back to camp.

Lunch was left over dumplings and soup.  Shirley and Marty arrived in the afternoon and setup camp.  We left them to enjoy the campsite as we headed off to the Buxton Trout Farm to catch our dinner.  We caught 3 good sized Atlantic Salmon, 2 full of roe.  Liam caught the biggest fish of the day; so big that the line snapped and the fish got away!

We said our farewells to Julia and Andrew, collected some decent firewood and returned to camp to start the cookup.  We cooked the salmon in foil over the fire with ginger, garlic and lemon which I thought quite tasty.  We sat around the fire and chatted till late, gorging ourselves on cheese and chocolate again and then returned under the tarp to play cards till very late.

Monday

No rain overnight, so we awoke to a reasonably dry campground.  Oiyee and Mark headed off for an early morning run, whilst I got the campfire going.  We had a huge bacon & egg breakfast, including Italian sausages, hash browns and baked beans.  Shirley and Marty had corned beef.  After breakfast, we relaxed around the campfire watching the kookaburras, currawongs and choughs before setting off for a walk downstream along Little River towards Ned's Gully.  There were some magnificent red toadstools with white spots among the pine trees, as well as the sounds of lyrebirds.

We returned to the campsite for a relaxed lunch, before heading on home late afternoon.

Wombat State Forest Range Rover Club Trip

Trip Leaders
Mike Farrow & Sermin Tanyeri	Range Rover
Participants
Neil Buttigieg	Discovery
John Cunning	Land Rover
Kwok Chan	Range Rover
Gareth Brown	Discovery
Mark Fitzgerald	Patrol
Tail End Charlie
Manole Ioannou	Patrol

Report: Mark Fitzgerald

We all met at the Mineral Springs Hotel, just short of Spargo Creek at 9:00, and after quick introductions, a run down on the convoy procedures, tyre deflations and a radio check we were off by 9:30.

We headed off the main road and were soon on the dirt, heading along Werribee Track, which was wet and only slightly rutted.  This track was of a reasonable standard, having a solid base and no clearance issues and was easily traversed in 2WD.  The track took us past a burnt area of forest which was set up as a Forest Effects Research Area.  Signs at each end indicated that this area of the forest was divided into 5 separate sections.  One area was left unburnt as a control and each of the other 4 areas were burnt at different set intervals.  From memory, one area was burnt every autumn & spring, one each year, one every 5 years and one every 10 years.  This was done to study the effects of fire on the forests regeneration.

At the end of Wombat Track, we turned right onto a 2WD gravel road and then turned left onto another track which took us past some farmland and up past Edwards Hill.  Again, this track was solid and posed no problems or challenges, being only slightly potholed, even though the track was quite wet from the days drizzle.  We drove past some recently logged areas, and areas signposted as being set aside for commercial logging as well as domestic firewood collection areas.

We took a right turn onto Mayhers Track, which soon started to climb with the track became rockier, prompting a precautionary recommendation to drop down to low range.  The track became in parts slightly overgrown; nothing too serious however with only some soft shrubs encroaching the track.  The track turned out to still be quite tame, having a solid base with a little water in some of the larger ruts.

From here we turned right onto a 2WD gravel road, which took us past Wombat Creek Road where it was getting quite misty and foggy.  We made our way right onto Leynards Hill Track, another 2WD gravel road then left, at a crossroads keeping us on Leynards Hill Track when the rain started to come down quite heavily.

We soon crossed a marker indicating the Great Dividing Range, with an elevation in the low 700s before turning right onto Post Office Track.  This track took us down to some more serious 4WDing.  We passed through some more heavily logged areas with the occasional Pink Heath along the track edge.  The track started to descend through some forest that didn't appear to have been logged for some time, the trees being much taller, thicker and denser than what we had passed earlier today.

The track was becoming wetter, with a number of bogholes; none which gave us much trouble as they all had quite firm, solid bases.  A left turn into Paddock Track brought us to some more substantial bogholes.

Gareth got stuck in one of these bog holes.  Mike and myself listened on the radio to see what the hold up was, and returned back through a couple of bogholes to see if any recovery assistance was required.  Everything was under control, and John performed a snatch recovery of Gareth out backwards.  Gareth's front diff was hanging up on the top of the rut in the soft clay.  He was easily able to bypass the obstacle by straddling the ruts on the left hand side.

Two bogholes further on however proved far more disastrous, with Gareth getting well and truly bogged.  He ended up taking on a good bit of muddy water to the inside of his car before being snatched out.  Mike made it through without any serious problems.  I got stuck half way through where the bottom had become quite soft and had to use both front and rear diff-locks to reverse back out and try it a bit faster; making it through.  John gave it an unsuccessful go, and I was able to snatch him out forwards, while the rest of the group drove around this one.

A number of other bogholes along this track were all passed without incident or need of recovery, as we continued through the mist shrouded gums.

We stopped for a late morning tea near an old rundown bridge.  The bridge ran across a steep railway cutting, which at one point in the past the rail line to Daylesford passed through.  Now it appeared to be a dumping ground for stolen and abandoned cars.  A track ran up and around a nearby graded mound, providing a very steep section which a number of us practised ascents and descents on before we all pulled up for a warm coffee and snacks.

After our tasty beverages, we were all back in our cars descending  a steepish track alongside the gas pipeline.  Climbing up the other side brought us to some more heavily logged areas, with the ubiquitous logging tracks meandering in all directions, many of which we took before finding ourselves on a track that seemed to have more trees growing on the track then along the sides of it.  A bit more backtracking and we were heading in the right direction, giving all of the cars an opportunity to show-off their turning circles.

We passed even more logged areas, where the track was well graded and covered in crushed rock as it was likely used by the logging trucks; but it soon became rougher.  We descended steeply into a lovely valley through some thick forest; the muddy boghole at the bottom of the valley had a small steep exit, but everybody made it through with no dramas.

We were now driving on the other side of the logged areas, and the track had become quite slippery.  There was a layer of wet clay on the track surface which clogged the tyre treads.  Kwok felt this the most, having to make a number of attempts around a sharp corner as he was running road tyres.  Everybody else with All Terrains or more aggressive got around the corner without problems.

We then arrived at our lunch stop, where we relaxed, ate and chatted until 2:15 when we packed up and departed as a light drizzle began to fall.  We turned right onto a 2WD gravel road alongside a clear felled logging area, and surprisingly at this late hour it was still quite foggy.

Turning left down Batson Still Track took us through some very scenic forest, which included a clear grassy area surrounded by trees which would make a good campsite.  There were a number of muddy patches, but the track was quite firm and not slippery and easily driven in 2WD.

We came out of the forest into farmland and private property, passing a number of very old rusting cars and truck bodies.  Before we knew it we were back at the Hotel, pumping up tyres, and giving our farewells and thanks to Mike before returning home.

Great Ocean Road, Mt Eccles and Mt Gambier Region

Thursday

The first part of this holiday was an extended family holiday in Apollo Bay.  We rented a unit in the back of Apollo Bay which served as our base and we had a relaxing 4 days exploring Apollo Bay, relaxing on the beaches, visiting the craft market and also exploring some of the Otway National Park.

James spotted a penguin playing in the swell off the jetty at the boat harbour one evening, which he was quite chuffed about.

Friday

We also went on the Mait's Rest Rainforest walk where we spotted an unusual black snail slithering across the path, which we lifted up and placed in the bracken at the path edge to protect him from being trodden on.  An information sign further on indicated that this was a rare Otway Black Snail, so we wandered back up the trail in search of the snail for a photo!

We also drove along the Barham River Scenic Drive, and came to Paradise Point, which is a magical picnic location on the river, with tables under the tall tree ferns.  We came back here after dark and saw a number of glow worms on the embankments of the path edges, which the kids, and the adults thought fantastic.

We also drove along some of the back country roads behind Apollo Bay, where we enjoyed some great views of the rolling hills, ocean and rainforest, and Liam and I walked along the rocks at Marengo to the incoming tide.

Saturday

Saturday Shazzy, Clark, Arthur & Glenda, Gards and myself went on a fishing trip with Moonlight Fishing Charters, where we fished for Snapper off the Lighthouse at Cape Otway.  The fishing wasn't too great, with only a few undersized Snapper and Flatties being caught, and a decent sized Blue Throated Wrasse that I caught.  We baked this for dinner, but it wasn't particularly tasty.  Though the fishing wasn't too great, the views and the boat ride where enjoyable, except for a couple others who suffered sea-sickness!

Sunday

Sunday we had Easter lunch at the pub, and then Michelle, Sharon, Glenda, James, Liam, Shannon and myself drove along the Great Ocean Road to visit the Twelve Apostles and some of the other sites.  The Twelve Apostles was quite different to the last time we visited, some 15 years earlier, being very touristy now.  Gone is the small carpark on the side of the road and the dirt walking tracks meandering through the salty scrub; replaced with a large tourist information centre, hoards of tourists, landscaped paths and highway underpass and the constant thrumming of the helicopter joy flights.  We also visited Loch Ard Gorge and walked down on the beach, as well as the Thunder Cave and Blowhole.

On through to ANZAC Day

Monday

With ANZAC Day falling straight after Easter this year, it was the perfect opportunity for an extended break without using up much Annual Leave.

We said our goodbyes to all of the Tuffens, and Michelle, I and our kids continued onto the next leg of our holidays.

Our first stop was the lighthouse at Cape Otway, very historic with the lighthouse built in 1848, powered originally by whale oil, and the old buildings and various artefacts on display including the anchor from Eric the Red, a ship wrecked on the reef 3 kilometres offshore on it's way to Melbourne, laden with exhibits for an exhibition at the newly opened Melbourne Exhibition Buildings.

After exploring the grounds, the views from the lighthouse and a nice morning tea at the cafe we set off exploring some of the tracks in the area for future campsites.

There was a nice campsite at Parker Hill, near where the stone that the lighthouse and buildings was quarried.  There were toilets here, but the walk down to the beach was a very long way; still this was a nice sheltered camping site.  A better site close to the beach was at Crayfish Bay, but this lacked any facilities.  We spent some time here exploring the rock pools which were quite good, with a number of colourful pink starfish, glass shrimp, anemones, gobies and other critters spotted.  We also found the other anchor for the Eric the Red, embedded in the rocks!

We also drove down to Johanna Beach campground, which too seemed a very nice beach campsite with the added advantage of toilets.  No fires are allowed here, same as the other campsites along the coast.

Having seen a number of the sites along the Shipwreck coast the day before, we were able to drive past Port Campbell before our next stop, The Arch.  As well as viewing some scenic rugged coastline, there also was an echidna walking along the path!

From here we had to visit London Bridge.  The last time Michelle and I saw London Bridge it was still a bridge, so we had to see it with the collapsed arch.  All signs of the arch had vanished into the sea, and the kids were pretty impressed that we had walked on the new island, something I guess they will never be able to do.

Time was now running short.  We drove past the Bay of Martyrs and the Bay of Islands past Peterborough and headed into Warrnambool for fuel and food supplies.

We arrived at Mt. Eccles just before dusk and quickly had the tent set up.  A chat with another camper identified a farm house down the road where firewood could be purchased, so it wasn't long before we were relaxing around the campfire and entertained by Brush Tail Possums, as well as having a close encounter with a Boobook Owl!

Tuesday

Tuesday we woke to kookaburras and other bird calls, and after a campfire cooked Bacon & Eggs breakfast, we walked around the Mt Eccles crater rim and explored the lava cave, and the kids made some friends with some kids who camp at Mt. Eccles each Christmas and Easter.  Lunch was an easy cold meat and salad sandwiches amongst the Superb Fairy Wrens, who were totally oblivious to us, hopping around our feet through the campsite.  After lunch, we drove to the Natural Arch, a section of un-collapsed lava tube.

For dinner we roasted a chicken in the camp oven, which we are still getting the hang of.  A small chicken could easily be done in about an hour; while some of it and some vegies were overdone, it was still generally a very tasty roast dinner, and being prepared for the possums tonight we had some apple ready which they very much enjoyed.

Wednesday

Wednesday we walked down and around Lake Surprise after another Bacon & Egg breakfast, spotting a koala and a number of other noisy kids on our way, then returned to camp to pack up and head to Mt. Gambier.

At Mt. Gambier, we explored a few lookouts before looking for a caravan park for the night, settling on Pine Country Caravan Park, in a comfortable cabin.  We cooked up a big BBQ dinner and then at dusk headed to the Umpherston Sinkhole to feed the friendly and cheeky possums.

Thursday

Thursday morning we circumnavigated Blue Lake, which was still a strong blue colour given the time of year, and also drove down into the other crater for a quick explore.  We then drove down to Mt. Schank, where James, Liam and I climbed the summit and descended into the crater to leave our mark.  From the crater rim, I had a magnificent close up view of a goshawk as it flew across the rim just metres in front of me.

From Mt. Schank we continued on down to Port MacDonnell for some Fish & Chips, and a quick explore along the coast here.  We lunched on Shelly Beach, and the kids and I had a quick snorkel, though it was getting quite cold!  We also went to Port Northumberland, the southern most point in S.A. where we viewed the site of an old lighthouse, which was removed for fear of it collapsing into the sea.

From Port MacDonnell, we left around 2:00pm for our long drive home, arriving in Ballarat about 6:30 for dinner at Mum's and eventually getting home late Thursday night.