Devonport to Melbourne
29 January - 30 January
After just over 7 weeks, it was finally time to leave Tasmania. We had enjoyed Christmas and New Year there and the school holidays were over so it was time to head home. We booked a day sailing on the Spirit of Tasmania, and again had a very calm crossing of Bass Strait. There are various entertainments onboard and we took part in the afternoon trivia competition.
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| The Spirit slips out of Devonport. |
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| I saw plenty of Short-tailed Shearwaters on the crossing but no Albatross this time. |
On arrival in Melbourne we were off the boat quickly and made our way to a motel in the suburbs for an overnight stop before heading to Bendigo to collect the camper trailer.
Bright
30 January - 1 February
The forecast was for temperatures in the thirties so we scrapped our plans to stay in Bendigo and decided we would drive up to collect the camper trailer and then head to the coast. When we arrived in Bendigo we stopped at a shopping centre for coffee and supplies and checked the weather forecast - a must when camping. The forecast for the coast was for rain so we made a last minute change of plans and decided to head for the high country. While the days would still be hot, the nights would be cool and there would be no rain - much better.
We drove across Victoria, with the temperature reaching 39° and finally arrived in Bright, a medium sized town in a beautiful location. We chose a caravan park on the river and settled in as the temperature started to drop to a much more pleasant level.
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| Male Satin Flycatcher at Eurobin Falls. |
On the way back down the mountain we stopped at the Eurobin Falls Track. As it was getting close to lunch time we only walked as far as the Ladies Bath Falls. This is a really pretty spot and there were some people swimming there.
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| The water looked clear and inviting. |
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| Ladies Bath Falls. One of the prettiest little falls I've seen. |
Back in Bright we explored the town and walked a short way along the river walk. Bright is a popular spot for cyclists and we saw many on the roads, including making their way up and down Mount Buffalo - serious stuff! A town map shows a number of options for walking along the river as well as a popular spot to swim. We might just return to Bright one day.
Bairnsdale
1 - 3 February
The drive from Bright takes you through the Victorian High country, along excellent, but steep and windy, roads. Again the views are marvellous, and there are a number of places you can stop to take in the views and take photos. It was very cold, as you would expect. We drove through Mount Hotham, a popular ski resort and stopped for lunch at Dinner Plain. From there we drove on to Omeo, where we stopped at the Visitor Information Centre. Not sure where we would end up, we looked at a couple of small towns along the way and finally settled on Bairnsdale. Again we chose a caravan park on the river, and although it was very nice, it was nowhere near as nice as Bright.
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| High country. |
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| Drive by shooting. |
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| There are thousands of hectares of dead Snow Gums in Victoria's high country. |
Sadly, fires have killed many thousands of hectares of snow gums in the high country of NSW and Victoria. This destruction will become much more common as climate change gets worse. Young trees can be seen replacing the dead ones but it takes generations to replace old growth forests. Mick.
Bairnsdale is a major centre so had all the services expected. It also has a morass! We had never been to one before so it was top of the list for birdwatching spots to try. A morass is an area of muddy or boggy ground, basically a swamp and
Macleod Morass didn't disappoint. An extensive wetland with a system of tracks it is home to many bird species. Unfortunately it is also used for duck hunting and we could only imagine how many natives are killed "by accident" during the season.
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| Spotless Crake. It was impossible to get close to these wary little birds. |
We spent quite some time there walking along the tracks. The only disappointment was the boardwalk leading to one of the bird hides. It started off okay but soon became overgrown, with grasses and reeds growing between the boards, to higher than head height. We had to fight our way through. When we finally reached the hide, it was unkempt and in very poor condition, Because the surrounding grasses and reeds were so tall, you couldn't see the water. While we would recommend a visit for birdwatchers, we would suggest not bothering with the boardwalk unless council has done some serious maintenance.
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| Eurasian Coot |
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| Three amigos. Juvenile Nankeen Night Herons. |
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| Time for some grub! Striated Pardalote. |
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| Purple Swamphen |
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| Fresh out of the nest. This Superb Fairywren chick was unconcerned by my presence. Not so the parents. |
After spending some time exploring the town, including the op-shops of course, we returned to Macleod Morass later in the afternoon so Mick could take some more photos.
Lakes Entrance
3 - 5 February
We left Bairnsdale for Lakes Entrance and a couple of days with friends. Because we didn't really have far to go and we didn't want to arrive too early we left late and detoured via Metung. We found the park at Shaving Point and had a good look around at this beautiful spot. Metung is a very popular holiday spot and we could see why. We took our time there and had lunch in the park before resuming our journey to Lakes Entrance.
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| Bloody tourist! |
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| A calm and clear day at Metung. |
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| There are lots of waterside walks around the village |
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| Lots of Black Swans call the estuary home. |
We found a parking spot in town and set about exploring the shops - op-shops to be precise! After killing time in town we made our way to Ruth and Boyd's. Boyd was out fishing and returned with a nice catch of flathead which he cooked up for dinner. There's nothing quite like fresh fish.
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| Relaxing on Ruth and Boyd's verandah. |
On Saturday morning we set off for Lake Tyers. The GPS did it's best and suggested the journey would take an hour which didn't seem right. We were right and she was wrong - again. A few minutes down the road we saw the turnoff and we were there shortly after. We wandered around for a bit, across the dunes to look at the sea and along the edge of the lake. From there we headed to another spot Boyd had suggested - Cherry Tree. It's a nice spot for a picnic and is popular for fishing. We walked a little way along the track which follows the creek and then headed back into Lakes Entrance for coffee.
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| View from the lookout at Lakes' |
Back in town, following coffee, we walked across the pedestrian bridge to the ocean beach. Again, another really beautiful spot. Back across the bridge we had a picnic lunch in the park, and then set off for Buchan, which is back towards the high country.
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| View from the pedestrian bridge. |
We found our way to
Buchan Caves Reserve which is a very nice looking place. It was really hot - in the mid-thirties - so we stopped for an ice cream and a look around. You can do cave tours but we chose not to. There is a camping area which looked to be quite nice - one to keep on the list for future reference.
Back to Lakes Entrance, we stopped for a swim at Eastern Beach before heading home to Ruth and Boyd's. After a nice nice breakfast out on Sunday morning we had a look around the markets and packed up ready to hit the road again.
Mallacoota
5 - 6 February
We stopped for lunch in Cann River and made our way to Mallacoota. This is another lovely seaside village which is a favourite fishing and holiday spot. This is obvious when you check into the council caravan park and see the size of the park - over 600 sites, and heaps of boats around. While Mick was having a look at the bush near our waterfront site, he heard a strange growling noise and found the culprit sitting up in the tree nearby. Later this koala walked right by our camp on its way to another tree. It's a special treat to see one up so close.
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| Our koala neighbour. |
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| The beach in front of our overnight camp. |
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| Wonga Pigeon |
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| Crested Tern |
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| Pelicans and Coots |
Despite the overcast conditions and occasional light spits of rain, we had a walk on the beach. I was drawn to a group of surfers making the most of the reasonable beach break. I got a couple of decent shots of one guy who looked like he was having great fun. On the beach there were a few terns around to practice on. The usual variety of birds around the camp; White-browed Scrubwrens, Eastern Yellow Robin, Brown Thornbill, and Wonga Pigeon. Mick
In the morning we went down to the other end of the caravan park, and the boat ramp. The weather wasn't great so we didn't spend long before heading off towards New South Wales.
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