Heading West

2/12/2018 Sunday It rained heavily a couple of times during the night, was particularly warm and generated thunder, though all had cleared, bar a grey sky, by morning.  R & R were out by 6:00am as they intended to take J to the markets before leaving for lunch with CT, RA’s brother, and his wife, CA on the north eastern edge of Melbourne before finding a camping spot to begin the journey home.  But J had thought that he could enlist R & R’s help to get some back boards loaded into the truck and get them down to Casey and maybe still get to the markets before lunch.  The truck was loaded by 9:30am after which coffee was in order before RL drove J in the truck to Casey about 10:00am.  They were back about 11:30am and were just contemplating going to the markets when W sent R to pick up some bits and pieces from J.  That meant R & R had time to pack the camper down and put it on the back of the Ute.  J figured it would be nice if he had lunch with R & R before they left.  After watching Landline and last-minute instructions about medications and food, R & R set off for Greenvale via Princes Highway, Bourke St, Rosanna, Greensborough Hwy and then across the top of the city toward the airport.  It took a couple of hours which surprised R & R as they had hoped it would be less busy on a Sunday.  Not so … in Melbourne, anyway!  R & R arrived at C & C’s about 3:30pm and stayed for a couple of hours, eating a very late lunch or very early tea and chatting.  It was 5:30pm when RL headed away from Melbourne, in an easterly direction, to Bulla and through Sunbury, up the Calder Freeway to find their free rest area at Kyneton Mineral Springs Rest Area.  The sky was dark and grey, but the sun shone golden on the near ripe grain crops.  There were lots of trees in the hilly country and Mt Macedon stood to the east of the road.  It was lovely to be out of the city and the Kyneton picnic spot, with its gazebo and water pump, was delightful. It was 6:40pm when R & R set up the camper and within 20 minutes RL was ringing his sister, E, and then his brother, G, while RA prepared dinner despite the fact that they had already eaten three meals for the day.  When R & R had finished it was well after 8:00pm and they were just too tired to do anything.  At least they had begun their journey home … even if the next day was not exactly westward.

3/12/2018 Monday RA woke early and could not get back to sleep.  Eventually she disturbed RL near 5:30am and they got out of bed to a cool 10*C with the promise of a pleasant day and quite strong winds from the west.  By 7:30am, RL was heading north to Kangaroo Flats just south of Bendigo, about 50kms, where fuel was 143.9c/lt.  The Calder Freeway had been built to level out the road, so it did not follow the ups and downs of the countryside and tended to obscure much of the view.  Grey clouds and a mist hung over the mountains to the left and right at a distance while sheep and cattle grazed.  Other activity included vineyards and orchards and all the communities just off the freeway boasted historic or mining connections, ideal for boutique cafes and antique shops.  On the outskirts of Bendigo, R & R popped into Spotlight to ask about a specific embroidery kit which they did not have.  Fortunately, RL had parked near an op shop so all was not lost.  About 9:30am, they were headed north to Kyabram.  RL stopped twice in Huntly.  First for a comfort stop for RA and then a few hundred metres further as he had seen another op shop, so it was more like 10:00am before they were really out the other side of Bendigo.  The road was flat to undulating.  There, the crops they had seen weeks before were already cut and baled and could be seen in massive storage sheds by the side of the road, while other crops, still near harvest were in paddocks next to green crops where sheep grazed, supported by water from nearby channels and ditches.  A large horse agistment facility featured just before RL turned east at Elmore, on the Campaspe River, towards Shepparton.  R & R saw some ploughed ground, vineyards, more sheep than cattle and swamps near Corop where nearby Green’s Lake and Lake Cooper supported channels for irrigation.  One sign welcomed the traveller to Yorta Yorta Country while another in Stanhope claimed to be Legendary Capital 2015 and Town of the Tastiest Cheese.  RL turned north a few kilometres to Kyabram where R & R spent about an hour chatting with the guys there about the Northstar campers, again.  From there RL drove to Shepparton to chat with the guys at Mazda and then to take RA to see the Windmill Café at Emerald Bank, Kailia.  It was 1:45pm when R & R had lunch in the Ute on the street.  It was a pleasant 21*C with quite a strong breeze while RA checked out where a suitable place might be for camping that night. With two good options in hand, RL drove out of Shepparton south east towards Bendigo about 125kms on the Midland Highway.  They passed Turnbull Road and then the turnoff to Ardmona. RA rang and chatted with their daughter, S, as it was country that they had been through before. RL stopped abruptly on the main street of Goornong when he saw that the price of a gas refill was $20.  RA could not resist taking a photo of the Drovers Arms Hotel which was built in 1882.  It was just before 4:00pm when R & R went through Bendigo and 11kms to Marong on the Calder Highway before veering west onto the Wimmera Highway another 30kms to Tarnagulla where an old hut and historic cemetery stand on the side of the road.  That section of the road wound and turned, passing through state forests with lovely big trees on the verges.  R & R saw sheep and cattle stud farms, Shetland ponies and patches of rocky ground in between good crops.  The last 15kms towards the Moliagul rest area was more hilly.  R & R arrived at the camp site shortly after 5:00pm, had a cup and studied maps.  They ate dinner just after 7:00pm when their friend from Perth, J, rang, so it was good timing for a chat.  RL read a while and RA wrote diary.  It was after 9:00pm when a flock of kookaburras set up a chorus. RA was delighted … since she could actually remember how long ago it was when she last heard that sound. 

4/12/2018 Tuesday It was 12*C and the wind was mild when R & R woke at 6:30am.  Within an hour and a half, they had breakfasted, set down and were heading west on the Wimmera Hwy towards St Arnaud’s with 108kms to Rupanyup where R & R were hoping to see the first of six silos on the Silo Art Trail.  The countryside was very pretty with sections of forest or reserve in between grain growing farmlands.  In the early morning galahs, pink and grey as well as white and yellow, were feasting on the spilled grain left from harvest on the ground in the fields.  Lovely old buildings featured in St Arnauds.  The area around Marnoo was called Wimmera Ag District and RL commented that, in the early days, Wimmera Rye was grown with oats in the south west of WA.  It was just on 9:00am when R & R drove into Rupanyup and refuelled before looking at the silo.  The Silo Art Trail followed six different sets of silos built as far back as the thirties, in different towns, and each focussed on aspects of community and rural life, painted in different styles during 2016-17. Rupanyup’s silo featured youth and team sport; a monochromatic work by Julia Volchkova.  Forty kilometres north, having passed through Minyup (Coopers Crossing) which was the setting for the very popular Australian TV series The Flying Doctors, R & R arrived at Sheep Hills.  Its silo, a colourful work by Adnate, featured indigenous persons, young and old, the importance of transferring knowledge and custom, and the night sky.  At 10:20, R & R stopped in Warracknabeal where they popped into an op shop before continuing up Henty Highway to Brim.  Brim’s silo, the first to be painted in the Wimmera Mallee, features young and old, male and female farmers exemplifying the resilience and strength of the farming community despite economic and environmental changes; the work of Guido van Helton, it had been worked in sepia tones.  Twenty-four kilometres north at 11:30am, R & R stopped in Rosebery where Kaffeine’s sepia toned work featured young farmers.  The young woman on one of the silos symbolised the future while the mutual trust and love between young man and horse wass depicted on another.  The silo at Lascelles was only another 40kms so it was not long before R & R were admiring it.  It featured the mature faces of a husband and wife with a four-generation farming history; depicting wisdom and concern for farming and the community over a period of time.  North of Lascelles, at Speed on the Sunraysia Highway, RL turned west to Patchewollock a total of 60kms.  There the silo, worked in colour by Fintan Mage, featured a young famer whose expression and appearance reflect the harsh environment and the challenges it presents.  R & R were enchanted with the cactus garden which was in bloom near the silos.  It earned a spot with the photos of the silos.  Back at Speed, RL turned north to stop at Tempy for lunch at 1:30pm.  It was warm at 24*C with not a cloud in the sky and the bush flies, which R & R had not seen for weeks, were out in force.  Up and down the roads, grain truck moved the harvest.  At 2:30pm, at the junction of the Mallee Highway, R & R stopped at Ouyen with the knowledge that there was a Vinnies.  Initially they missed the building but were please to find it and see that they had a sale on.  There were a couple of pieces of blue and white china that RA felt she could find a spot to store.  It was 27*C at 3:00pm as R & R headed to Pinnaroo, 142kms west.  The road was excellent with sections of orange sand hills or swampy land in between the areas that were suitable for cropping.  R & R had to pass through border inspection before entering Pinnaroo and there was a time change requiring ½ hour set back to 4:00pm.  There, R & R turned north for Loxton 104kms and knowing that it was another long session of drive, RA popped Slim Whitman in the player. Along the way, R & R saw, one paddock with four harvesters all working together, another paddock with green potatoes being irrigated, a feedlot and close to Loxton and the Murray River, orchards and vineyards.  “That’s the Murray! Whoa. Love it!” RA exclaimed as they drove through Loxton and veered west to Swan Reach just short of 100kms at 5:20pm, back through crop farming country again.  R & R were pleased to be riding on the ferry 860-004 Water Hen at 6:30pm with Tenbery-Hunter Reserve, a free camping area, on the other bank.  RL had driven 700kms in the day, almost all of it flanked by grain farming in stages of: near harvest, harvesting or harvested.  R & R walked down to the river before dinner to dip their toes in the water and after dinner to take photos of the sunset.  It was lovely to be by the river again.  R & R read and wrote a while and quit a little later than usual about 10:00pm … which was actually normal as they had gained that half hour.

5/12/2018 Wednesday It was a warm 15*C, and still, when R & R woke early to breakfast and pack down.  They were heading the wrong way back over the river on the ferry only to turn around, wait and go back, just over 160m across, again.  The ferrymen never ceased to be amused at the number of tourists who make the same mistake.  R & R were heading for Angaston, passing first through Sedan where conditions were dry and the settlement featured some very old stone buildings.  Ahead of them R & R saw a mountain range and it was not long before they were driving through what is called dry stone wall country.  There the hills were virtually treeless with sheep grazing up and down in a scene where the paddocks and the edge of the road were fenced by stone walls.  These had been constructed in the early days by the German pioneers. It was an amazing sight!  Almost impossible to take a photograph as there were no turning out or parking spots and the road was busy with vehicles and a school bus at that hour.  The route was only about 5kms up and then similar down again into the Barossa Valley.  While the road had been about 100m above sea level at Sedan, Mons Hill was 473m and required a couple of switch backs with suggested speeds of 35 and 45 km/hr.  It was very pretty countryside with taller gum trees going down into the valley and the land too rocky to crop. At Nuriootpa, where a magnificent statue of Michael the Archangel feature in the main street, R & R refuelled and sought instructions from the cashier at 8:30am.  She suggested setting the Navigator for Port Wakefield (and then Port Pirie) via the Sturt Highway, Gawler, only a distance of 51kms, to Two Wells.  The route would take R & R away from the hills and wine growing region, through more grain farming lands on nearly flat roads, virtually directly to the coast, with only a minor diversion to the south. That suited R & R nicely as they were towing the camper and were homeward bound, not looking for diversions or distractions. It was flat at 10m when R & R joined the Stuart High heading north 68kms to Port Wakefield at a distance of less than 10kms to the South Ocean coastline.  Beyond Port Wakefield the road veered inland and the coastline dipped back down to form the back of the boot which is the Yorke Peninsula.  A drive of 127kms to Port Pirie required the soothing sounds of the Howie Brother (Australia’s combination like Foster and Allen) to help pass the journey.  The Hummock Range with its wind turbines ran to the west of the road, which passed Lochiel and its salt lakes.  RA noticed a saltbush nursery venture and was surprised by the storm damage from the weekend.  Trees were ripped from the ground and dozers were still in the process of tidying up.  Shortly before noon, R & R arrived in Port Pirie on the coast to a very warm 33*C where they did some shopping at Coles and popped into an op shop.  There were lovely old buildings, possibly about 60 silos near the port and the sea was brilliant azure blue.  The road north ran near the railway line and RA counted the 100 or so carriages on the south bound Pacific national which required 2 engine and another which followed only five minutes later with three engines. RL commented on the police presence on the road.  R & R had seen at least half a dozen that morning and very few in total over the entire time they had been on the road.  For a long way south (at least 50kms) of Port Augusta, R & R could see the beacon of light from the Sundrop power station and wondered at why it shone imagining only that it was to release excessive power as required, since the temperature was just short of 40*C.  At Port Augusta, R & R picked up a globe for RL’s low beam, refuelled and enquired where they might find shade under a tree for a late lunch.  Again, R & R noted how clean and tidy the town had become and the toilet block was just another example. “A quarter to three … and heading west!” RL commented as they set their sights on Kimba.  There at 4:00pm they had a shower before getting back on the Eyre Highway looking for fuel at a good price or a free camping spot which ever came first.  The auto fuel pump at Kyancutta was malfunctioning but R & R were able to refuel (including all three jerry cans) at Wudinna about 6:30pm.  Within half an hour RL had parked at Minnipa free camp spot.  Dinner was a little late at 8:00pm after which RA only worked on the day’s expenses on the ipad.   It had been a long day … RL had driven about 700kms and … it was still 33*C.