Glenrowan

 12 - 15 February 2025

We have stayed at Glenrowan quite a few times so Mick can photograph the Turquoise parrots that frequent the park, so we didn't want to miss another opportunity. We drove from Bendigo straight to the caravan park on a very hot day. We set up but were disappointed that the birds didn't seem to be around.

On previous stays at the caravan park there have been regular visits to the bird bath by a number of birds, and there are usually a few visiting birders - but not this time. There has been talk that the management of the park has been less than encouraging of birders and some feel that she has actively discouraged them. This certainly looks to be the case which is such a shame.

We had wanted to stay a few days, but thought that maybe one would do - until we checked the weather forecast for the places that were next on our list and saw that there might be some significant rainfall and possibly damaging storms. We decided to stay for three nights and hope that the weather wasn't too bad where we were.

Despite the lack of birds,
we did enjoy the peace and quiet

We took the opportunity to catch up on some shopping and general day to day tasks while we were there, and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Most visitors only stayed overnight so the park was very quiet during the day. We also drove over to Benalla to have coffee with Mick's sister. Collette is always pleased to see us, and it was a nice morning out.

We rose early on our final morning to go for a spot of birding in the nearby Warby Ranges National Park. Mick had been told about a spot not far away and he was happy to see that there were a number
of Turquoise parrots right where he hoped they would be. 

We drove back to the caravan park and were packed up ready to leave by 9:00am. We headed off up the highway on our way to Colac Colac, in the Victorian High Country.

Glenrowan

9 – 15 March 2023

With only a short drive to Glenrowan ahead of us we took our time leaving Chiltern and stopped at Wangaratta along the way. Wangaratta is a busy town, without much parking for towing vehicles. Most of the main street and surrounding streets are metred, angle parking so we had to drive around the back streets for a while and had almost given up when we found a suitable stretch of parallel spots with free parking. We popped into a camping store and a couple of op shops before continuing on to Glenrowan.

Glenrowan is best known as the site of Ned Kelly’s last stand and the small town is geared for tourists interested in this part of Australia’s bushranging history. For us, though, it’s all about the birds. The caravan park has a lovely spot with a bird bath that is frequented by a number of species so Mick spent much of his time there. He met a number of other keen birdwatchers and photographers, happily swapping notes and tips.

An interpretative trail leads visitors to key points of interest around the Heritage Seige Precinct

Our campsite was right on the edge of the park, looking out to the bush covered hill. It gave us some privacy from the crowds who descended on the park for the long weekend, and allowed some “on the spot” birdwatching.

On Saturday evening we were joined by a family member on his way home from a golfing and mountain bike riding adventure in Tasmania. We hadn’t seen Tony for about 5 years so enjoyed a very nice evening before he set off for his night’s accommodation a few hours away. Travelling, and meeting new people, is fabulous but I do miss seeing family and friends so his visit was very special.

On Sunday we went for a drive to have a look at the campsites at Winton Wetlands. We have visited a number of times but have never camped there, so we were keen to do so this trip. We stopped along the way at each of the points where there was water and had morning tea on the edge of Bill Friday Swamp, near one of the campgrounds. From there we drove on the Nesting Ground Campground on Green Hill. We decided that this would probably be the one for us when we returned to camp later in the week.

On Tuesday we drove in to Benalla to do some shopping and also to visit Mick’s sister who lives there. Once again it was lovely to spend some time with a family member and to meet Mick's youngest great-niece.

Mick spent most of the rest of our time in Glenrowan staking out the water point, photographing birds and chatting to fellow birders and photographers. We had intended to spend four nights but ended staying for six, and probably could have stayed longer, but with the weather forecast for clear skies for the next few days we booked our spot in Winton Wetlands and moved on.

Benalla

 20 - 22 March 2022

Glenrowan was a top spot to spend our first few nights back on the mainland, but we had the car booked in for a service in Benalla so we had to head there. On the way we did some exploring in the Winton Wetlands. We had picked up a very good map at the Visitor Information Centre in Wangaratta and set off to have a look at one of the campgrounds, as well as some of the other points of interest. There are a number of marked walks, as well as a comprehensive cycling trail. We managed to spend the best part of the morning poking around, looking for birds and enjoying the scenery. We made our way to a picnic spot near the Mokoan Hub and Cafe for lunch. From there it was on to Benalla just a short distance away.

We checked in to the caravan park and settled in for the afternoon. It was very hot so we were grateful that we had some shady trees nearby. We were almost tempted to try out the pool! On Monday morning I took the car into Toyota for a service so we were stuck in the caravan park all day. We made use of the time to do some housekeeping tasks, and Mick utilised the camp kitchen to do a heap of photo editing. 

Benalla is known as a centre for gliding and we did see a couple while we were there. We were surprised to see some sort of motorised hang glider, adding interest to a stunning sunset.

On Tuesday morning we set off with Little Desert in our sights but no real plan about where we would spend the night. We set the GPS for Shepparton where we would plan our next move. On the way to a coffee shop, Mick wondered if he might be able to get onto the bird guide in Deniliquin - definitely not where we were headed, but worth a try.

Mick phoned after we had finished our coffee and was pleasantly surprised to find there was a spot on a tour with another couple the following night. By sharing with others the cost would be much more affordable, so off to Deniliquin!