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.