Beechworth

The last two days we have spent at the historic gold - mining town of Beechworth.

 Yesterday after only a short journey from Bright which was in light drizzle, we arrived here at the Lake Sambell Caravan Park. Once we had unhitched we set out to explore the town. After stopping in at the Information Centre we were armed with plenty of brochures about the town and the surrounding areas. First off the list was a visit to the Old Court House, you are able to stand in the dock where Ned Kelly stood during his committal hearing. Next it was off to the Beechworth Bakery for a coffee (hot chocolate) and a Beesting. We finished off our day with a short drive out to the Woolshed Falls.

This morning the sun was shining and we thought we would take the bikes off the back of the car and ride around Lake Sambell. It was an enjoyable ride through avenues of Oak Trees in their Autumn glory. Next it was off to the Beechworth Gaol where we joined in a very informative tour and saw the very harsh conditions that the prisoners had to endure.

After all this activity we had worked up an appetite so we thought we would visit the Bridge Road Brewers a craft beer producer. Thought we would sample some of their handcrafted beers with our lunch, but that was a big mistake, Baz and I didn't enjoy any of them, yuk should have had a glass of wine instead!

The last couple of things on our to do list was a visit to Beechworth Honey then we headed off to Yackandanda a pretty little village stepping back in time. The village is home to many artists with galleries and shops brimming with arts, crafts and antiques.On the return trip we stopped at the cemetery where we viewed the Chinese Burning Towers. Many Chinese came to the Beechworth Goldfields and they built these towers to be used in their burial ceremonies.

Have decided that I need to take Baz to SpecSavers as when we were in Bright he found himself in the ladies amenities, wondering why there was no urinal. Only for me to catch him emerging from the ladies amenities here at Beechworth again confused that there was nowhere to hang out!

We also met Bette, an 85 year old lady that is traveling by herself and towing a small pop top. She lives south of Melbourne and is on her way to Wonga Beach which is located north of Cairns, she does this trip every year and will spend 3 months there. What an inspiration to all of us that someone of her age is out there doing what she loves and even talking about buying herself another van a small Jurgens Caravan.

Beechworth

Woolshed Falls

Bike track

Beechworth Gaol 

Beer tasting

Chinese Burning Towers

Bette getting ready to hit the road

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Bright

After a good night's sleep we had a leisurely get away and on the road at 9am, our first stop was at Glenrowan which is the home of the "Big Ned Kelly" statue. The small village of Glenrowan was the scene of the Kelly Gang's last stand against police. Ned was shot and captured here in June 1880, so of course there is a very good Museum with plenty of memorabilia from the Kelly family.

Arriving in Blight we booked into the Top Tourist Caravan Park then decided we would make the journey along the Great Alpine Hwy up to Mr Hotham. Leaving Harrietville we then had a steady slow climb up the mountain for 32klms on a very winding road with a very steep drop and no guard rails. Unfortunately we only managed 22klms as the higher we climbed the weather was deteriorating with rain and low cloud so we made a joint decision to turn around negotiating the road much better on the return trip. Bright and the surrounding countryside is very picturesque with the red and yellow Autumn colours of the trees.

Autumn colours Bright

View of Bright from Huggins Lookout

Views from Mt Hothman

Hobart - Shepparton

How the time has flown since our last trip to the Big Island, we returned home at the end of September to be welcomed by our newest grandson Archer who was eight weeks early. Now it is already May again and we are are packed and ready to start another journey.

Yesterday 17th May we said a teary farewell to Tan, Greg and our four grandsons and must not forget our beloved dog Doug,  just hope there are no mishaps with the chickens this year! We had an uneventful trip north stopping for morning tea at Ross then of course we cannot pass the Raspberry Farm where we enjoyed a very nice lunch. Having time up our sleeve before we need to board the boat we had time to pop over to Ulverstone and catch up with Dennis & Lynne.

Today we arrived in Melbourne with a forecast for 21degs and had disembarked by 6.30am it was then onto the Citilink making our way to the Hume Highway stopping at Seymour to enjoy a good old cuppa and our breakfast. Next stop was in Shepparton where we called to see Jan & Martin before heading 53kl east of Shep to a free camp at Casey's Weir. There are three other campers stopping here for the night it feels quiet a safe environment, hopefully we will not be bothered by passing traffic and get a good nights sleep. (All very quiet so far!)