Many months of reading motorhome forums whilst we were waiting for ours and I was undergoing treatment have definitely paid off. I’ve absorbed lots of tips that will hopefully help us on our travels ahead and one of those was a recommendation to stop at Brown Brothers Winery! As you all know I don’t normally need a recommendation to stop at a winery but the difference here is that you actually do ‘stop’ at the winery…. Some years ago Brown Brothers made the very savvy decision to allow overnight stays in self-contained vehicles (i.e. those that have own toilet and grey water collection) in their car park. This has become so popular that they have now expanded and provided a designated RV overnight stay area which can be utilised for up to 72 hours free of charge. It is repeatedly mentioned on my forums and the fact that Brown Brothers is situated in the ‘gourmet’ village of Milawa added weight to the decision to check it out.

Only a little over an (event free) hour later we rolled into the empty RV area and staked a spot facing the winery across the road. The ‘free’ camping soon incorporated a half dozen bottles of excellent vino, what’s not to love?

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After lunch we checked out the Milawa Cheese factory which was impressive but disappointingly no in-store tastings available in the Covid world. We bought a take home taster and sat in the sunshine in solitary splendour, still no sign of incoming vehicles. We ended up seeing no one else until the next morning as we were preparing to leave.

Next morning we headed toward Bright, once again only a relatively short trip, this time along the Great Alpine Road for most of the journey. The Bright Riverside Holiday Park fit the brief – alongside the Ovens River which flows through Bright – but no riverside sites available until Sunday, this being the very popular autumn Mother’s Day weekend. We had intended to stay here for a few days so were happy to move on Sunday and site 7 was fine in the meantime.

Bright has been a long time favourite of mine since visiting many years ago on a year 7 camp! It is a base for nearby ski resorts Mount Hotham and Falls Creek as well as Mt Buffalo and Alpine National Parks and at this time of the year also features stunning autumn foliage. After setting up we wandered through town which was buzzing with activity in the late afternoon sunshine and indulged in an decadent ice cream 😉

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Arriving back at the carpark which was almost at capacity we were amazed to see a Britz hire motorhome! We thought the drive was challenging enough in the Jimny. Hats off to them.

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Further down we saw car parks for a couple of waterfalls and decided to check them out another day if the weather held. We returned to the caravan park thinking we had earned dessert tonight. The following morning saw us de-camping and moving down to the riverside site with the sun shining obligingly, albeit briefly. Misty rain fell intermittently until early afternoon and I thought it would be a good time to check out the waterfall. By the time we got back to the lower slopes of Mt Buffalo the rain had virtually stopped and we set off on the 2.5 km hike to Rollason Falls which allegedly had a “short steep section” at its end. I would dispute the ‘short’ part of that description (and disputed it even more on the ascent) but it was absolutely worth the effort.

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Sure that we had burnt enough calories for pasta, Russell knocked up Mother’s Day dinner and then we strolled across the footbridge to the very cute Bright Cinema which was playing “The Last Vermeer,” a film that Russell was keen to see. The cinema was originally the Masonic Lodge and was re purposed four years ago as a cinema incorporating couples seating, full bar facilities and very fancy tapware! The film was quite good, Guy Pearce’s performance was a highlight.

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In conclusion, a very enjoyable Mother’s Day ❤
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We left Daylesford in cool sunshine with Marysville, Yarra Valley entered into Google maps but it wasn’t far up the road that we saw the sign to Hanging Rock and an adjustment had to be made.

As a teenager I was fascinated by the story of “Picnic at Hanging Rock.” For those of you too young to remember,  it involves the mysterious disappearance of a number of schoolgirls and their teacher on Valentine’s Day in 1900.  A critically acclaimed film in 1975 was based on Joan Lindsay’s novel from 1967,  Joan was deliberately ambiguous about whether the events actually happened or not but I was sold and have always wanted to visit the spot.

The car park, which also accommodates the picturesque Hanging Rock racecourse, was almost empty as we drove in and we started the climb with no one but Eastern rosellas for company. The very eerie soundtrack  – Gheorghe Zamfir’s  ‘Doina Sus Pe Culmea Dealului’ –  was a persistent ear worm as we climbed and the monoliths came into view.

Glorious views of surrounding farmland from near the summit were almost eclipsed by the spectacular rock formations themselves and we took many photos before we were joined by several groups that had followed us up.

After descending (just as hard on the knees) we briefly visited the Discovery Centre and then had morning tea in the picnic grounds before resuming our journey.

We had traversed another 20kms or so of undulating countryside when we entered the small town of Lancefield, we made a left turn at the T junction, heard a terrible bang and scraping noise and to my horror I could see the Jimny coming up our right hand side, seemingly about to hit the Moho. I pulled over as calmly as I could and we jumped out to find the whole towing system had come out of the towbar and was sitting on the road. Fortunately the emergency breakaway system had done exactly as it should and the Jimny was stopped about two feet from the back of the Moho. Feeling more than a little weak at the knees we collected the various parts of the towing system, disconnected the Jimny and drove separately around the corner to a safer spot than the bus park I had stopped in.

Despite having a good look back to the intersection that we had come from, we were unable to locate the hitch pin or R clip that holds it in and were completely mystified as to how it could have come out on its own….. I was so relieved that it had happened at walking speed and not coming down a hill at 85 kms/hr and to be honest was very shaken. Ironically we were now parked in front of a hardware store and Russell was able to buy a replacement hitch pin but I was reluctant to hook up again until we had had a chance to recover form the ordeal and take stock about what might have happened so we continued on in separate vehicles, intending to stop at the next caravan park which would be at Kilmore, about 20 minutes away.

Unfortunately Kilmore was fully booked and our next option looked to be a promising free camp on the bank of the Goulburn River, about 50 mins to our north east. Google maps decided to take us on a quintessential Victorian single lane ‘C’ road for most of it and was I needing a drink by the time we pulled in to the camp site!

It proved to a very pretty and popular spot with about ten other rigs already parked up for the night and several campfires burning. I noticed on the map that nearby Seymour had a Maccas and feeling the need for comfort food persuaded Russell that a burger would go OK with wine and by 6 pm we were sitting beside a fast moving Goulburn River debriefing with our wonderful fellow motor homers via Facebook. The general consensus seemed to be that this was unlikely to have happened without human intervention which is a very sobering thought… we had only stayed in caravan parks up to this point and couldn’t imagine this level of vandalization but decided to drive to Shepparton the following day and buy lockable hitch pins recommended by the ever reliable John.

We purchased the last two that BCF had on the shelf, I had a short back and sides hair trim and we headed back to our campsite feeling somewhat more insured against disaster! Our neighbour had spent the afternoon with his chainsaw chopping up a fallen branch and generously donated a pile of (slightly damp) wood and more importantly, half a bag of heat beads and we eventually got a smoky but atmospheric fire going 🤣

Feeling refreshed and with our confidence returning, the next day we hitched the Jimny without incident (taking a large detour so as not to go under the railway bridge in Seymour, although we should have had 10cm to spare..) and headed toward Marysville in the northern Yarra Valley.

The reason for including this part of Victoria is the famous Black Spur drive, allegedly the most scenic drive in the state and recommended by my son, Ben. We weren’t game to traverse it in the Moho but instead drove to the pretty village of Marysville (which is quiet at the moment before gearing up for the ski season), booked into the Caravan Park and set off in the Jimny for the scenic drive south to Healesville.

The scenery didn’t disappoint and we were able to get some lovely shots of the massive tree ferns and towering mountain ash trees before stopping off for a picnic lunch and completing the drive in Healesville . This village was noticeably busier, understandable as it only 60 odd kms from Melbourne and we were happy with our decision to stay in Marysville.

The road was much quieter on the return trip and we decided to celebrate an incident free day by having dinner at the local, The Duck Inn which proved to be more than OK 😉

Tomorrow, not sure where but en route toward Bright.

 

 

An relatively short but wet trip trip from Nelson saw us checking into the Gardens Caravan Park at Port Fairy just on lunchtime. We were delighted with site number 95, facing the Moyne River under large Norfolk Island Pine trees (which would later prove to be an effective block for our satellite dish 🤣) but the view was great. This caravan park encompasses the local oval but it must have been an ‘away’ game for the Seagulls as we saw no action on the oval or netball courts.

Port Fairy holds a very special place in my heart as my favourite uncle lived here until his death and my auntie and cousin still live here.

Family were largely the reason for including Port Fairy in our itinerary, but what is not to love about this charming village that sits on the bank of the Moyne.  It is one of the busiest fishing ports in Victoria and vessels of all sizes are tied up at the picturesque wharf where many families try their luck with a line in the water.

We spent five nights in Port Fairy, walking along the beach and into town and perusing the shops. It is interesting how easy it is not to buy things when you only have about 22 square metres to live in.

It was lovely to be able to catch up on family gossip with Auntie Heather and Jacki and be treated to dinner at Chez White twice!

In an effort to offset the calorific intake we incorporated an afternoon at Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve one day and a day trip to Warrnambool with another stroll on the beach there. Like Port Fairy there had been significant storm damage a couple of weeks earlier, thick kelp littered the beach and the breakwater was closed to pedestrians.

The weather still wasn’t lending itself to barbeques and sitting outside watching the sunset but the forecast was getting better and we looked forward to some sunshine at our next stop some 55 kms north at Penshurst.

Our good friends Jenni and Bill farm several thousand acres in Penshurst and we were to spend a couple of nights pulled up in their driveway.

We arrived in bright sunshine, parked up and proceeded to catch up on the last couple of years over a cup of tea before Jenni surprised me by saying she had a ride planned for the afternoon.

I was ecstatic, first ride in a couple of years and whilst Russell headed off in the ute with Bill, I saddled Paddy to help Jenni check on calves a few paddocks away.

Paddy was a perfect gentleman and when we found a newborn calf that needed tagging we called the boys and watched while the job was done.

Penshurst is a gorgeous little town and the next day I had the opportunity to check out the Wetlands whilst Russell and Jenni had a roll at the local Bowls Club where Jenni is a member.

I’m not sure who was the eventual winner of the bowls comp but we all enjoyed the pies from the Penshurst bakery that we had for lunch before saddling up for another ride in the afternoon.

We covered enough kilometres that my soft unused muscles felt it the next day (and the day after)  but it was wonderful being back in the saddle and I am very grateful to Jenni and Paddy for the opportunity to do so.

We finished the day with dinner at the pub where it was great to catch up with another friend, Sharyn, as well as Jenni’s daughter in law and grandchildren.

On Saturday, our fridge well stocked by Jenni with produce from the farm, we headed off to our next destination, Daylesford.

Daylesford sits in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range and despite its beginnings as a gold mining town,  is  best known now for being a ‘spa’ town. The area around town encompasses several natural mineral springs and is in fact the source of over 80% of Australia’s mineral water reserve.

The main street was a hive of activity with many restaurants, chic clothing stores and galleries. We arrived early enough to walk around beautiful Lake Daylesford along with many other tourists. Melbourne is only an hour and a half away and that makes Daylesford a very popular weekend destination.

Very nice but very expensive Thai takeaway completed the day and we were pleased to see the sunny forecast for Sunday as we planned to visit the markets the next morning.

The ‘Covid safe’ style market with reduced stalls to maintain social distancing, was still worth visiting, situated as it is under picturesque deciduous trees adjacent to the railway station. We made a few purchases, had morning tea at nearby VERY popular “Cliffys” and then headed back to wait for the arrival of the restored Diesel Electric Rail Motor (D.E.R.M.) that would take us on a scenic ride to Bullarto, about half an hour away.

A quick stroll in the main street (the chef needed a rolling pin) and we were home in time to get our washing off of the line before threatening skies delivered a brief thundery shower. Tomorrow we are on the move again, destination still to be decided 😉

On our initial practice runs with the Moho we were fortunate enough to enjoy fine weather and sunshine, our first night in Kingston introduced us to life inside a washing machine 😱

Strong winds and lashing rain assaulted us all night, little sleep was had but we emerged unscathed the next morning and pretty sure that we don’t have any leaks at least.

The next night was much better and well rested we continued on toward Nelson, just over the border in Victoria. En route we stopped at the popular Periwinkles Cafe in Port MacDonnell, the home of the Southern Rock Lobster and I couldn’t go past half a lobster for lunch which lived up to all expectations and didn’t break the bank.

Crossing the border (permits in hand but no one in sight) we trundled into sleepy Nelson on the banks of the Glenelg River. I have wanted to visit Nelson for years ever since seeing a photo of the riverside shacks but we have always been time limited on the way to Port Fairy.

The tiny River Vu Caravan Park was perfect, backing on to the estuary with a jetty and boat launching area visible from our kitchen window.

 

It was a perfect base to explore nearby Donovans with its stunning cliff views, catch up with friends in Mount Gambier that we had met previously at the Milang ‘get together‘ and even throw a line into the river, alas with no luck.

We ended up staying three nights. On our last day there we drove about 70 km to Cape Bridgewater, just west of Portland. Wow! What a hidden gem. Miles of spectacular coastline dotted with the alien like wind farm resulted in numerous photo stops and a couple of lovely walks although not the one to the local seal colony which a returning couple told us was strenuous and that most of the seals ‘were out to lunch.’

Next stop, Port Fairy,