Aussie Lap – Grampians, Bendigo and Daylesford VIC

April 19, 2024 Maryann McDougall Leave a comment

Locations: Halls Gap, Seppelt, Dunolly, Bendigo and Daylesford.

Dates: Wednesday 17 April – Sunday 21 April 2024

Regions:

Temperatures: 6 – 18 degrees

Wednesday 17 April 2024, 8 -14 degrees, cloudy, sunny, no rain.

Rob’s Birthday! We celebrated last night and have been every night since Saturday with both of us fully subscribed to the idea of a birthday week! One day not being enough 😄

Packing up early we are off to Rob’s birthday experience at Seppelts, an idea provided by Nick and Dee the previous evening, thank you, and we say goodbye to this lovely couple., new but wonderful friends.

We arrive Seppelt winery, about 30km from Halls Gap at 10:30, early for the wine tunnel tour at 11:00. Seppelt is separate but associated with Seppeltfield in the Barossa SA. Being early gives us time to explore the winery museum. A lot of history here!

The cellar tour is amazing and full of wine history. There are 3.7km of tunnel’s, 7 metres underneath the winery extending out and around the winery grounds.

Our host Colin, part of the Seppelt family is relaxed and informative. He has lots of stories and anecdotes to share as we traversed through the tunnels.

The tour is absolutely amazing and not to be missed if you are in the area and a lover of wine! I’m reading the book “The Widow Cliquot” at present. The first female entrepreneur vintner in France and founder of “Veuve Cliquot” one of the biggest and most successful family wineries in Champagne ever produced in France and set in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The tour brings the book to life for me in some many ways. Just brilliant!

We leave Seppelt and head towards Bendigo. We pass through Dunolly, an old goldfields town, full of history. We stop as the name is similar to that of the Clan seat of MacDougall in Scotland – Dunollie Castle, but we can find no link. Lots of beautiful old buildings though.

Our camp tonight is Pratty’s patch, a pub NW of Bendigo. The company is magnificent, we met Lyn and Andy from Ballina, and a local couple Val and her husband.

The food is amazing, Pork Bellly for Rob an Crumbed lamb cutlets for me which we share. Yum!

Lots of camaraderie and a great night!

Thursday 18 April 2024, Bendigo 6-18, cloudy, foggy then sunny.

Van Service today so we drop the van at All RV’s and campers, East Bendigo then head for the city and the Tramway museum and the Deborah pit which are located together.

The talking tram ride is full of the history of the trams, Bendigo and the Gold Rush era.

Bendigo is an amazing city. We hop off the tram at the centre of town known as Charting Cross. Apparently lots of English names were reused here in Australia as most of us know, to help the early settlers from the UK feel at home.

We walk up the Main Street towards the Art Gallery, then meander out and around to the Sacred Heart Cathedral then do a loop on the other side of town and back to the tram terminus.

MARY MACKILLOP

After return to the Deborah Pit we spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the mine and reading all about the rich Goldfields history of Bendigo before taking one last tram ride. Fun fact: Gold was first discovered by two women in Bendigo creek sparking the gold rush of 1851!

Friday 19 April, 2024, Temp 9-17

We camped just outside Bendigo on a quite a noisy section of the road last night and set off early for Daylesford. The day is overcast, drizzling but clear late afternoon.

We camp at Mount Franklin, about 8km outside Daylesford and after set up, trip into Daylesford for the afternoon.

Roast dinner, fire

Places we have been

Aussie Lap – Penola SA to Grampians VIC

April 16, 2024 Maryann McDougall 2 Comments

Locations: Penola, Casterton, Hamilton, Grampians, Halls Gap

Regions: SouthEast SA, Great South Coast and Central Highlands VIC.

Dates: Thursday 11 April – Tuesday 16 April 2024

Temperatures: 11-19 degrees

Thursday 11 April, 2024. 11-19 degrees Robe SA

A busy morning, up early to bake my latest Sourdough loaf in the camp kitchen before we set off today.

We leave Robe and head North East and our first destination is Penola a country town rich in grazing history and home to Australia’s only Saint Mary MacKillop.

We enjoy a stroll around town taking in the history of the Cameron family before visiting the Mary McKillop interpretive centre.

The centre outlined the history of Scottish families who came to Australia and then settled in and around the Penola area, the Cameron family and Mary’s association with them before starting her first school, St Joseph’s devoted to educating the most disadvantaged children and later her canonisation as a saint. Thought provoking and rich in detail. A lovely place to visit.

We leave Penola and within 30km’s cross over the Victorian Border. No quarantine here at all but I was extra careful using up all our fruit and veg so there would be no issue.

We enter the Southern end of the Grampians before long and the hills begin rolling with pasture and cattle again before we pass on through Casterton and then on to Wannon Scenic Reserve, our stop for the night. About 212 kms today

Our camp is a lovely quiet spot with the falls a 5-10min walk away. It’s chilly and there’s a fire pit so after checking the safety signs, Rob sets a fire to start and we enjoy our dinner of Chicken and pancetta stew with rice sitting by a warm fire.

Friday 12 April 2024, Southern Grampians, 7-18 degrees

We head off mid morning into Hamilton to shop for groceries, stow them and then have a walk around the town. It’s a bustling place with a busy Main Street and lots of shops including Coles, Woollies and Aldi. We have plenty of time today as we are only travelling 80km, 20km of which we have already done.

As we walk we see a sign for walk in flu jabs at a pharmacy so after enquiring and booking we have a couple of hours up our sleeve. Rob decides to get a haircut then we visit the local gallery and the botanical gardens.

The gallery exhibition – Emerging from Darkness: Faith, Emotion and the Body of the Baroque brings together National and International works from the 17th century showcasing three female artists alongside Rubens, Boulogne and Manfredi to name a few. A stunning exhibition, well worth the visit.

Next we walk to and around the botanical gardens before heading back to the chemist for our jab.

The drive out of Hamilton takes us further into the Grampians and the peaks begin to line up in front of us.

Tonight’s camp is just as nice at Wannon Crossing with lovely mountain views in the late afternoon sunlight. Another camp fire tonight too.

Saturday 13 April, Mafeking 7-18 degrees, cool cloudy then sunny.

Hiked Mt Sturgeon, 4.7 km with 300 elevation. A great workout with spectacular 360 degree views of the Grampians National Park. The trail began from Mt Victoria Valley Road with a gradual ascent to the summit and back again, starting with a sandy track, then natural rock stairway gradually becoming steeper towards the top. Great hike, stunning views with a wallaby on the way down!

After a good hike you need a good meal so I prepped Osso Bucco for a slow cook over the campfire. Accompanied by Rossi & Pissi. (Rice and Peas) risotto.

Sunday 14 April, 2024, Temp 7-19, Lovely sunny day.

Made sourdough crumpets and started a sourdough loaf then cleaned the van while Rob did some maintenance on the van, checking tyres etc.

About 1pm set off for Halls Gap about 43km’s driving through the Grampians.

Went for a walk around town, visited the brewery then caught up with Nick and Dee, fellow Qld travellers for drinks in the late afternoon.

Monday 15 April 2024, 6-18 degrees foggy then sunny

Today we got the bikes out (love my new bike!) and head out on the bike trail to Lake Bellfield. Great ride and then walk over the dam wall.

Tuesday 16 April 2024, 6-19 degrees cloudy to start, then sunny, then cloudy.

Today we are hiking the pinnacles and Rob has already done a run and hike up from the caravan park to one of the ridge lines below the pinnacles.

By 9:00am the sun is out and the day looks set to be a beauty and we stop to admire the valley.

We wanted to do the Grand Canyon walk but it is closed at the stair end due to structural issues. Nevertheless we hike about 300m up the canyon for a closer look.

The walk is picturesque and the rock formations never cease to amaze.

We turn on to the pinnacles walk and it is immediately up with lots of stone steps.

In the distance atop a hill I spy a lone gum seemingly sprouting from rock and it reminds me of the Wanaka tree in N Z which springs from the water.

The climb meanders past Echo Cave and Rob goes in for a look. As the morning progresses we see more and more people. Taking the time to say hello means we meet people from all over Aus but also, France and Italy. Towards the top we go through another canyon and the trail gets narrow and steep.

Finally after a bit of a rock scramble at the top we arrive at the pinnacle.

The views are glorious, down to Halls Gap and back to Lake Bellfield that we visited yesterday.

The return walk is lively and again we pass lots of walkers, families, young and older walkers like us.

Tonight we are off to dinner to celebrate Rob’s birthday with fellow travellers and Qld’rs Dee and Nick who we keep running into. Such lovely people.

Love to all, stay safe, be kind and most importantly in these turbulent times love one another and be humble…

PS. Will catch up March travels soon xoxo

Aussie Lap, Places we have been, South Australia

Aussie Lap – Clare Valley SA

April 12, 2024 Maryann McDougall 1 Comment

Locations: Orroroo, Jamestown, Peterborough, Clare

Regions: Adelaide City & Adelaide Hills; Barossa

Dates: Sunday 17 March – Thursday 21 March 2024

Temperatures: 9 – 32 Degrees

Sunday 17 March 2024, 15 – 32 degrees

Showers overnight and our first rain in months so it is a beautiful dawn at Walloway and the hills roll out all around us.

After breaking camp at RM Williams Way we head into Orroroo for a look.

We find our way to the Giant Red gum tree, said to be over 500 years old, nearly 11 metres circumference and over 60 metres high. What a beauty and home to 100’s of budgerigars.

Next we walk around Orroroo, exploring the charming Main Street then further afield to see some of the heritage trail buildings.

Next we head to Peterborough our camp for the night at the Showgrounds.

Once setup we walk into town. In the 20th century, this town was once the crossroads geographically and a rich hub for locomotives, Peterborough; originally Petersburg after the original land owner, now heroes “steam town” with a rich historical collection of all things steam train.

Monday 18 March, 15 – 31degrees sunny

Heading for the Clare Valley today we pass through Jamestown, the birthplace of RM Williams. Reginald Murray, one of Australia’s most iconic figures has a much bigger presence in the stockman’s hall of fame at Longreach I believe but it’s nice to see his hometown honouring their local lad. Interesting to read about his involvement in the Nepabunna settlement which we passed to and from Arkaroola just days before.

Continuing on we arrive in Clare and park in long bay parking. We have one more night off grid tonight and our camp is out at Blyth (10km South) before coming back into Clare to the caravan park tomorrow.

We take a walk around Clare, exploring part of the Riesling trail on foot and finding a nod to Monica McInerney (favourite author of “Hello from the Gillespie”) in the form of artwork along the way. of Irish descent, Monica grew up in Clare and her childhood home is just across the road from the artwork. How amazing to stumble across and one of the reasons I love travelling- you just never know what you will find.

Returning to the van we see a seat in front of a big gum tree and it turns out the tree was a resting spot for the Camel Funeral with the remains of Burke and Wills on the way from Innamincka to Melbourne in 1862 as well as early explorers from as early as 1839!

Onward to Blyth and a Golden Sunset.

Tuesday, 19 March 2024, 15-25 degrees and much cooler.

After starting a sourdough loaf and setting the van ready to move, we take a walk around Blyth. Quiet and full of beautiful old buildings and houses. It makes me think of the 1945 play, Blythe Spirit by Noel Coward.

We head into Clare, set down at the park and the rest of the day is taken up with washing and cleaning the van.

Wednesday, 20 March 2024, 9-20 degrees with our first chilly morning.

Morning hike – the Cascades Walk.

Short; 1.4km return, lovely walk with views of the gully below and out to Vincent Gulf through stands of Red Stringy Bark and Blue Gum Eucalyptus trees along the ridge line.

Referred to as islands from a conservation perspective, as the plains below were all but cleared of the same trees when the area was settled in the 1800’s.

After our hike in the hills we drive further down the valley to Seven Hills and the Skillogalee winery set in an historic cottage with views of vineyards and rolling hills. We enjoy a tasting while soaking up the Autumn sunshine. Our favourite, the sparkling Riesling.

On the way back we stop at Horrocks cottage, circa 1839 at Penwortham.

Thursday 21 March 2024, 9 – 26 degrees and sunny

We were planning to cycle some of the Riesling trail today but my bike is misbehaving with sticky brakes resulting in a spills and a skinned knee, so I decide to walk into town instead while Rob does a ride. Afterwards we head up to to do a ridgeline walk.

Great views but very windy!

After lunch we head out to on our favourite wineries – Taylor’s. We enjoy a fun filled tasting with lots of local stories from our host Robert!

A lovely few days in Clare for sure! Tomorrow we head to the Barossa Valley for the weekend.

Love to all, be kind, love one another and stay safe.

Places we have been

Aussie Lap – Flinders Ranges Pt 2

April 11, 2024 Maryann McDougall Leave a comment

Locations: Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary

Region: Flinders Ranges

Dates: Tuesday 12 March – Saturday 16 March 2024

Temperatures: 22 – 46 Degrees, hot and sunny.

Tuesday 12th March 22-36 degrees

My sister Kay and her husband Jon met in Arkaroola in the 1970’s. Jon was a ranger and Kay worked at the Wilderness Sanctuary. They recently celebrated 50 years of marriage with family last December in WA and the family presented them with a gift voucher so that they could return to Arkaroola and reminisce those early years.

Rob and I planned to travel into the outback of SA so we had organised to meet them in Arkaroola for 4 days. From Copley it’s 125 km of gravel road for us with the van and Kay and Jon are driving from their home in Morgan, SA on the Murray River, about 7hours away.

My ear has improved a little so I’m hopeful the antibiotics have done their job. Day 5 and last day today.

The gravel road is wide and well cared for so the drive is relatively straight forward. The scenery is stunning, stark and raw. Beautiful in its extremes and it feels like a real privilege to be here. We see a lot wedge-tailed eagles; very hard to photograph, but always a pleasure to see them, in their element.

We arrive, check in and go set down. Once organised we drive back to reception and Kay and Jon have arrived. We organise to meet for dinner, while Jon catches up with the owner of the resort, a fellow he knows from his time here then we take swim to cool off, it’s a hot afternoon in the 40’s!

After dinner we go see the rock wallabies feeding.

Wednesday 13 March, 21 – 37 degrees

It’s a beautiful sunrise after a warm night and after breakfast we meet up with Jon and Kay. 4WDing is not my favourite thing but it is Jon’s so we decide to drive the Mt Jacob back track. Kay and I want to catch up do it the girls in the Isuzu with me driving 😬 and the boys in the Landrover with Jon in the lead.

I know the pictures won’t show the roughness, steep angles, height, ruts and rocks on the drive but I managed it all, didn’t lose my nerve and felt like I had conquered something at the end of the day!

After a hectic morning, we relax in the heat then cook a roast dinner to share with Kay and Jon.

Thursday 14 March, 23 – 38 degrees

After another warm night and we are out 4WDing again. Jon wants to tackle the Echo backtrack (classed as extreme) and after some discussion Rob and I agreed to give it a go. We don’t get far though before we decide to bail at a very steep climb with washouts and agree to go around the longer way and meet at Paralana Springs.

Kay tells me later we wouldn’t have liked it so I’m glad we opted out.

The drive we took with Rob driving was challenging enough via Arkaroola Creek and Claude’s pass. Stunningly beautiful but very rough and hot! 46 degrees near Paralana. We did 70km’s over about 4 hours so the going was very slow.

Friday 15 March, 24-38 degrees

Unfortunately my ear has stopped improving so I decide to drive back to Hawker to pick up the remaining antibiotics that were left out of my order, these were the duo forte part; stronger drugs of the doctors order so I’m hopeful this will knock the infection for good. Kay opts to come with me and so we leave Rob and Jon planning another drive.

The drive into Hawker is eventful with lots of animals. We see emus, goats, horses and even a Wedge tailed eagle lifting off from roadkill.

Best day ever from that perspective. It’s cool in Hawker too, 26 degrees which is welcome. After collecting the antibiotics, we have lunch at the Flinders providore before heading back, just under 600kms round trip!

Jon and Rob did a couple of drives, one out to an old copper mine and they had had a good day too.

These are some of the tracks we drove over the 3 days.

After dinner we spend some more time watching the beautiful rock wallabies.

Saturday 16 March, 22 – 37 degrees

Leaving Arkaroola today so we say goodbye to Kay and Jon and beautiful Arkaroola and drive back through Copley, stopping at Quandong Cafe as it’s open today and we share a huge pie!

On the way we have an encounter with a lizard whom we slowed for and he ended up under the car! Had to get the broom out to make him move but he was unscathed.

We also saw another Wedgie on the highway back towards Hawker, again on roadkill. We slow and I manage to get a few pictures as they liftoff and fly to a nearby tree

After a quick refuel it’s on to Hawker, then left on RM Williams way toward Peterborough and Clare.

My ear is still blocked and the headaches continue but it’s a cooler 37 degrees top today.

We stop at the RM Williams way camp 13km out from Ororroo. 460Km’s today.

It’s been a wonderfully hectic week. Always great to see my big sister ❤️ and the great big outback too.

Next onto Clare Valley and the Barossa. Stay safe, be kind and love one another xx

Physio my way

Monthly Archives: April 2024

Aussie Lap – Grampians, Bendigo and Daylesford VIC

Aussie Lap – Penola SA to Grampians VIC

Aussie Lap – Clare Valley SA

Aussie Lap – Flinders Ranges Pt 2

Life Moves!