Kings Billabong is a wet-land area near Mildura that feeds the mighty Murray River. It is also flowing through what is an arid region. So on one hand, I saw bodies of water like this.
But when I look at my feet, I saw what seemed to me to be plants that belonged in much drier regions. They’re species that are certainly a bit different to those I find around Sydney, anyway. And of course they’d be different, since I was 1,000km west!
We drove further west, over the border into Victoria and the regional city of Mildura. Because it’s over the border it’s technically no longer in the Riverina region (as that refers to NSW localities) but since it’s beside a very substantial river (a.k.a. the Murray River) I think I’ll make an exception.
Mildura is a very big town, with a population nearing 60,000 if you count the population of nearby areas that have become ‘suburbs’ of the town. It’s a food growing town, producing lots of grapes and citrus fruits for the Victorian market. The city is dead flat, and because the town grew gradually from agriculture, the architecture wasn’t exactly picturesque.
We stayed on the far eastern edge of town, near an area called Kings Billabong. The billabong is a part of the Murray River system. In the early 20th Century, pump houses were built to irrigate the surrounding farm-lands. We found an example close by where we stayed.
Kings Billabong, aside from being fed by the Murray, is an extensive wet-land, and recreational park with boat ramps, camping areas and walking tracks. It’s the kind of landscape that I don’t often find around Sydney since a lot of its wetlands have been developed.
From Mansfield, we headed on home, taking the scenic route through the Alps via the little town of Corryong, home to the real ‘Man from Snowy River’, Jack Riley.
It was 35C that day – not very alpine weather! We spent the night in Tumut and got home the next day.
I had sketched regularly during the trip, and here are some of them.
This was to be the last car holiday we’d make with our dear beagle, Bridie. She passed away in mid-August after a short illness. We were glad that she got to travel all the way to Victoria – she loved a drive and a sniff!
Rest in peace, old girl.
Our last stop for the day was the little hamlet of Jamieson, near the shores of Lake Eildon south of Mansfield.
It was another gold rush settlement, but the terrain around these parts were so rough that it only attracted a few hundred permanent settlers.
Nevertheless, the fledgling town soon had a Catholic chapel, an Anglican church, a school, a court house and police station, two banks, two insurance offices, five hotels and several stores.
Today, it is a quaint place with a museum (closed at the time of our visit) as well as plenty of historical artifacts in public places.
We ventured back down to the plains near Mansfield to visit Delatite Wines.
It’s a small winery and its vines have a very pretty view.
Of course, a tasting was on the cards. Being a cool-climate winery, it specialises in grape varieties not found in warmer areas in the Hunter Valley, like gewurztraminer, pinot gris and pinot noir. I particularly loved their ‘gerwurz’. A bit of fruit and floral notes but with a dry finish makes it great to have with a Thai curry, or by itself on a hot summer’s day.
The following day was a hot one, so we made our way into the foothills of Mount Buller. Carters Mill is 30km east of Mansfield and was the site of a former sawmill. Though nothing was left of the mill, it made for a nice morning tea spot and a good place to appreciate some high country scenery.
It’s not too far from the locations used in The Man From Snowy River films of the 1980’s, which I was a bit taken with as a child. Although we didn’t get out to Craig’s Hut (it’s a 4WD only location), it was good to finally be in the vicinity.
Next stop for us was Mansfield, in the foothills of the Victorian Alps. Since we arrived in early December, we experienced it in ‘working mode’ (not ‘holiday mode’ when the skiers come out in force).
We stayed in a cottage in the hills to the north of the town, and not too far from the Kelly Gang’s hideouts. These days, the area is more hobby farm than untamed bush, but it made for some lovely evening photos.
40km up the road from Castlemaine is the city of Bendigo. It’s a big and impressive place, made wealthy by the Gold Rush.
It has an impressive art gallery to rival any of the capital cities.
And a sizeable Chinese garden, temple and museum complex.
You can see by all the offerings that the Chinese community is very alive and well in Bendigo today.
Alice Barker House is located near Castlemaine in Specimen Gully, the site of the original diggings for the area. Within a year of gold being found, there were 25,000 people working the site.
There are still lots of bits and bobs from the era to be found on the property, and the owners made the most of it them.
Castlemaine itself grew rich from all the gold, and like Beechworth, there are many fine Victorian buildings – including many pubs.
Next stop was the Goldfields of Central Victoria. We based ourselves near the town of Castlemaine, at the wonderful Alice Barker House.
This holiday house is filled with artworks inside and out, particular the work of Melbourne artist, Judy Holding.
Static and Silence 