The Roads to Many Places ....

.. only some of which one wished to visit.  And indeed some of those one did wish to visit beforehand have now switched to the 'avoid if at all possible' list.

I knew we had a long drive today, and when it seemed that the sprinkling of rain around 5:30 had ceased we were pretty much up and at it.  Said sprinkle hadn't really made things damp so just breakfast and pack up and outtathere by about 7:20.

The sprinkles returned as we headed towards Naracoorte but nothing too serious.  The sky being heavily overcast made for more pleasant driving than going straight into the sunrise.  We duly passed through Naracoorte and got back into Victoria, with a mild curse as we lost 30 minutes due to time zone.  (We had a desire to fit in a winery visit at the end of the day, if possible and getting to Rutherglen before 5pm was going to be a stretch anyway.)

In effect the first 450kms were going to be the second half of the drive to Robe but in reverse.  So we got a look at the back side of Mount Arapiles, which was nowhere near as impressive as the front side!

Passing onwards we entered Horsham and the eagle-eyed navigator spotted a lurking sign which got us through that burg very efficiently and on the road (designated B240) towards St Arnaud. About 20km out of town I was having difficulty with some pelican in a Volvo causing me to slow up.  As I overtook he swung off the road - in the mirror he was stopping, probably to answer a phone call telling him to take his tablets.  A few minutes later I noticed that the road had switched designation to the B200.  Que?

A u-turn followed and we then noticed a minor road signed to Murtoa, which was on our route so we headed down it, passing through the metropolis of Jung (population 100).  We eventually got to Murtoa (probably going 10 km extra) and found that it had a population of 1,000: there is obviously a need for some Freudian analysis of the obsession with round numbers in this area.

We didn't bother with Lake Marma this time, but did admire the graffiti at the skate park (Sigmund could wonder why the artist - signed off as Ruby, and thus either female or very much in need of Siggy's services  - only included blokes in the art.

A flowering eucalypt was impressive as was the flock of about 100 (round number disease had struck me as well) Musk Lorikeets feeding therein.

So we headed on back towards Bendigo.  This time we paused to take a photograph of the piles of red rocks a few kilometes West of that town.  (There seemed to be a large quarry nearby, according to a hoarding so perhaps this is an area of unusual geology?)

We stopped briefly in Bendigo to hunt up a pie (see below and then go to the pottery as we had a need for new coffee cups.  Here are some kilns.

The pottery area is an artistic hub and a metal sculptor had got examples of her work on display.

Onward, onwards.  At this point we had options on our route.  Google maps suggested going back through Violet Town to the Hume Highway and along that for a while and in to Rutherglen.  This was a lot more repetition so I thought we could go via Shepparton and Yarrawonga for a more interesting trip which was only slightly longer.  You have remembered the time constraints haven't you?

It became obvious that the A300 was a much more major road but not a problem.  At least not until we got to the outskirts of Mooroopna.  This is a suburb of Shapparton and it became apparent that whoever planned the roads here had not taken the phone call about keeping their tablets in the correct sequence.  Not quite gridlock at 1530, but gridlock could be anticipated,  Also the 60/50- kmh limits seemed to stretch for about 20 kms.

Eventually we got to a major intersection with none of towns listed being Yarrawonga.  Checking a map it looked like Benalla was the best bet so off we went.   Frances then drew my attention to Benalla being on the Hume, so we had gone about 30km out of our way and through a town that was a definite contender.  (The competition being for the spot where the tube will be inserted if the Earth needs an enema.)

From then on things improved and we got to Rutherglen in time to swing in to Rutherglen Estates to get a case of their Shiraz/Durif blend.  Then on to the caravan park where we took an unpowered site - largely to avoid the crush at the powered sites.  Due to operator incompetence the van was parked on a bit on an angle which caused a little grief in my brain (where was Siggy when I needed him?).  Then about 1800 an E grade garage band started up somewhere in the area and boded not well for the night.

However, I was knackered after a 10 hour drive and went to sleep about 8:30 (by when the garage band had stopped) and had a good night's kip.
Bird of the Day:  Noisy Miners at Rutherglen.(see below)
Plant of the day:  Grevillea Robusta, all along the way.(see below)
Creek name of the day Dunmunkle Creek
Oddity of the day:  A sign advertising 'sheep scanning services'.  What on earth is this about?  It turns out to be about pregnancy testing!
Striking thing of the day:  Bendigo Pottery
Pie rating:  A bakery in North Bendigo.  They only had plain pies but the crust and meat:gravy ratio were both good.  Since they made no claim to spiciness it is not a big loss that this wasn't delivered.  Overall pretty good, just a point down on Holbrook etc..

The next I morning I took a snap of a Grevillea robusta (Silky Oak) growing nearby - they are a very common and impressive planted tree in this part of Victoria.

We were visited by the local horde of Noisy Miners.

After a walk round Lake King we headed off to Warrabilla Wines.  As it was a tad early we called in at Lake Moodemere to see what was going on.  Rowing was the main deal but I noticed a ski-boat drive in, possibly explaining the lack of waterbirds on the Lake.

Our credit card took some damage at Warrabilla, and Tammy met the owners Red Heeler pup (only about 6 times her size).  We were able to fit the purchases in the car!

As we still had a little room in the car we also swung into Chambers Wines to top up our stocks of their produce and headed for home, which we reached at 1545.  En route I noted a massive migration of butterflies - possibly Caper Whites - between Holbrook and about Gundagai.  Apparently this is a normal event, and the butterflies have flown about 1000km before getting here.

Bird of the Day:  Yellow Billed Spoonbill.
Plant of the day: Oleanders on the dam wall behind the Rutherglen Bowling Club
Creek name of the day Murdering Hut Creek
Oddity of the day:  .Driving along the Hume Hwy, about 100km from Canberra in fine weather at 25^oC and hearing the Canberra weather offered as 14^oC and overcast.  When we got home, that is just what it was!
Striking thing of the day:  River Red Gums on the banks of Lake King at Rutherglen..
Pie rating:  Holbrook Bakery plain pie.  Very pleasant and similar comments to the Bendigo entry.  

The (Old) Road to the Coorong

Today we went North from our base at Robe.

Before setting off we went for a stroll to incite some desirable behaviour in the small dog, and saw a couple of interesting birds, so I will start with a small bird thematic section.  The first is a Red-kneed Dotterel: there were two in the area but I couldn't get a twofer.

 A little further a Great Egret posed on a seaweed enhanced rock platform.

Much later in the day, after leaving Kingston SE, we crossed a drain which was full of about 200 Banded Stilts. My 'mobshot' didn't work, but this shows the needed features

There were also a good number of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and Chestnut Teal  plus a few others.

After our days travels we returned to the area of the morning's photos.  There was a Black-winged Stilt ...

 .. 2 Fairy Terns ...

  ... and 2 Pied Oystercatchers.  (I am endeavouring to find out the story of the flag.)  The good folk from the Bird and Bat Banding Scheme have advised that the bird with the leg flag was banded as a chick on 4/1/2013 at Carpenters Rocks (about 100 kms SE of Robe.  Looking at details in HANZAB that is a reasonably long distance for the species but that entry includes one movement of 470km, so they can fly long distances.

Going back to the timeline, our first stop was at Cape Jaffa Wines, who had got a very high rating for their Epic Drop.  This was close to sold out, but if folk ask for it a few bottles can be made available.  We tasted it, and immediately ordered some.  It is a snorter of a wine.  So were a few others.  The boot is beginning to get full.

Of course Tammy was welcome in the winery and we were taken on a tour.  We'd got there a bit before opening but the charming financial manager showed us around.  On being asked where they got the stone for the building ...

... he explained that they had quarried out the barrel stores, both small ....

... and large ...

... and put the stone to good use.  A great example of their sustainable philosophy.  Chatting with the winemaker (and owner of two pooches who had exchanged sniffs with Tammy) she explained how these eggs worked to make biodynamic wine.

Here are a couple of tourists and their small dog.

We swung into a mega-development of a marina and McMansions and it really looked horrible.  No gardens for the mansions and a pretty boring coastline.  Do we want a floating gin palace in the marina?  No we don't, so on to Kingston SE - the SE is needed to distinguish it from Kingston on Murray.

They had an interesting sculpture Park including the sundial in the background of the seal, which works on the shadow of the visitor rather than a gnomon.

I liked the crab.

Not too keen on the Big Lobster!

I was also not too keen on the prices at the only servo in town, so we only took 20 litres to get us where we needed to go that day.

The old Post Office was quite attractive...

... and the beach interesting with a Caterpillar D6 piling up the seaweed.  If they can sell it fpor mulch they'll make a motza!

Heading North we saw a sign to "The Granites".  If you look at a large version (by clicking on the image) you can see the big rocks in the surf.

By chance this had led us to the Old Coorong Rd which we followed North, looking for birds.  There were few around, but the salt lakes were interesting and attractive.

The dominant flowering plants were Melaleuca sp ...

.. and Clematis sp.

Bird of the Day:  Again several contenders. In the end the huge flock of Banded Stilts got the nod ahead of the Fairy Terns (even though the latter was only my second tick of the species).
Plant of the day: Clematis sp..
Creek name of the day  No contenders..
Oddity of the day:  A very tough call.  The Big Lobster got on the red carpet due to much Bad Taste scoring.  However the oddest thing was a recently deceased Echidna Frances found beside the drain near our camp.  It was definitely n longer with us but didn't seem to be road kill: how it it achieved this status< 
Striking thing of the day:The barrel stores at Cape Jaffa did it for me,  The salt lakes of the Southern Coorong gave it some strong competition.
Pie rating:  Bakery in Kingston.  Again a pepper-steak pie. Ticked all the boxes but had a little too much gravy so slightly behind the real leaders  (For the benefit of any gourmet readers I will note here that Polly's Fish and Chip shop in Robe gets a very high rating, although of course nothing to do with pies.), 

The Road to Beachport

I will start with a little known meteorological fact.  The Limestone Coast weather forecast includes a severe weather warning for low winds.  This allows residents used to proceeding while leaning at 45^o into the prevailing Southerly gale to get upright before falling on their schnozz.

Jeez it has been windy for the 2 days we have been here.

I will begin with a few snaps of flowers.  I can't really identify them, but will have a look at our Eyre Peninsula books when we get home.  Meantime they are pretty.

 I normally hate grasses but this one gets a spiffy rating.

 This is an overall shot of plant of the day.

 Here is a close up of the open flowers.

At Nora Creina I started up a steep track towards the beach and hit this mini-dune going slowly.  I then went very slowly backwards as we had no need to drive over the top.

 When we got over the top the rocks were rather spectcular.

This shot explains why the beach here is called Stinky Bay.

 There were a few waders there, including 7 Ruddy Turnstones but they didn't hang around.

The settlement of Nora Creina is mainly fibro shacks.

The road in is gated, but not locked, so they claim it as private property - fair enough.  On the subject of locked gates the Lock the Gate campaign is alive and well down here.  Presumably there is a geological link to the Bass Strait oil fields.

Time for a few birds.  I was very surprised to find 2 Great Crested Grebes on Fresh Dips Lake.  They were not on the Robe bird list (nor, until now, on the eBird list for the site).

 At least 8 Musk ducks were at Fresh Dip Lake (and another seen in the evening at the Marina in Robe).

 2 Emus in a paddock beside Bog Lane were a surprise.

 When we got back to Robe we went for a walk on Long Beach and found 2 Hooded Plovers.  I thought I had failed to get one in focus, but 2 photos turned out well.

 Looking at its reflection?

 One of the sculptures going in to Beachport.

 A mural in Beachport.

 This was called a wind bottling plant.  It suggests the wind is a constant feature down here.

 Some hero had driven their 4x4 on to the jetty

The two guys on the main boat had gone out there in the tinny, which at times had questionable grasp on the water.  That they did this, without life jackets, in these conditions is certainly a contender for a Darwin Award,

 The Beachport light house.

Taking the scenic drive gave several great views.  This is Post Office Rock.  I tried to get out there but the wind was so strong it made boulder leaping on the causeway a hazard.  The sign is about eroding dunes - presumably washed there from somewhere else!

 It being 11 November there had been a ceremony at the Robe War Memorial.  The roses were all crocheted: something I had never seen until Broken Hill earlier this year, but have now found many times.

Bird of the Day:  Marsh Sandpiper got the nod as I rarely see this species.  Many contenders today: Musk Duck (especially the one in the marina) Great Crested Grebe; Emu, Little Egret, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and Hooded Plover were all jostling on the red carpet.
Plant of the day: Purple thing with rosette.
Creek name of the day  All Creeks were Drains.
Oddity of the day:  4x4 parked on Beachport Jetty!.
Striking thing of the day:The extreme wind!
Pie rating:  Deli in Beachport. I think it was called spicy beef and was very flavoursome with rosemary.  Good crust, meaty and not too much gravy.  Again up there with Holbrook and Penola.