Wedderburn to Bridgewater on Loddon

Wedderburn to Bridgewater on Loddon = 54km (via back roads rather than the Calder Hwy!)
Cummulative total = 353km

It was a quiet night at Wedderburn campground and no one came around to collect fees so in the morning we went to the office and again it was still closed ... so we left without free camp last night!!!
Expecting a tough day again today and opting for the longer distance on quieter roads over the shorter distance on the Calder Hwy. 
We did have to do a few kms on the Calder hwy but it was ok as it was early in the morning.
The back roads via Mt Korong and Powlett Plains are much nicer (it is nearly 17km longer!) but well worth it.  Our route on most of the roads were going in an east direction or a south direction and the wind is coming from the south - strong this morning (eased off in the afternoon after we arrived!) but it was ok to get into a rhythm and grind away.
Going along and there is no one around and we think only 2 cars passed us on these quiet roads we came across a little graffiti on the road ...

 can you believe that? it is a sign that we are on the right road for a vanilla slice!
It sure is picturesque around these roads and we found a new camp spot at Mt Korong - easy access on the fire track but best to come on a weekday or later in the day as I don't think you are meant to stay but it looked very appealing and quiet!

 just us on the road ...

 and a few of the locals ...

 it was blowing a real cold wind from the south and my toes were cold so I really envied the trio above as they looked so warm - I am not going to envy them next week when our temperatures go above 30 degrees!
A view as I climb a small rise with Mt Korong in the background ...

 So after a cuppa at Powlett Plains you cycle 13km and meet up with the  road that allows traffic to divert around Bendigo and by meeting up with the Calder hwy at Bridgewater on Loddon and continuing on through Marong - now we thought taking the back roads hooking up to this road was going to be quieter than the Calder ... well we were wrong this road was busy as - I say it is not the diversion around Bendigo but they are all rushing to the Bridgewater Bakery for the vanilla slices!
So we pedal hard for 14km into a strong headwind racing these people in case the vanilla slices all sell out!
We do get there at lunchtime and outside sitting area is packed, both sides of the Calder is lined with parked cars - yep they were in there getting their vanilla slices - so we decide to go straight to the campground and have a cuppa and lunch and shower then go up for afternoon tea.
This campground was washed out in the 2011 flood (you may remember camping here dad in 2010 - you made Neil build a small campfire!)  Well they have made it smaller and refurbished it - it looks great now and camping unpowered for us is $25 which is quite good - as usual there is only a few unpowered sites and they are at the end of the park but that is ok as it is quiet and it has trees for shade and we are close to the river

 It would be really busy in Summer along here as there is a speedboat and water skiing ramps close by and the unpowered tent sites are just at the end of the waterskiing lane so it is a little noisy until 5.30pm but from Nov 1 water skiing is extended from 8-8.30pm until April ... crikey it would be miserable and crowded here over christmas and summer.

 So at 2.30pm we walked up to the Bakery along the path that follows the river - quite nice really.
By the time we get there there is no queue and still alot of slices left - they are $3.80 each so we get one each and are about 6cm x 6cm x 4.5cm high, look at Neil rubbing his tummy!

 We have cycled a few kms to get these (despite that we live about 40km down the road!!!)

 Yep I am shoving it in my gob!

 Could only have it with a cuppa ...

So the prognosis?  well I am not going to compare it to Flos (as she doesn't have a Bakels account or have here own pastry made to specifications!) and you cannot compare something that comes out of a bakery that uses industrial products enmasse to create something and then compare it to Flos who is using supermarket home products.
But you can compare this vanilla slices to other vanilla slices at other bakeries.  It is really nice - the custard part is similar to what we used at work for trifle but probably is a little lighter and fluffier, the pastry is drier and keeps the slice together, the icing is a little too thickly applied for my liking and tends to make it a little sickly by the end of eating it, but take the icing away and it is lovely!  Definitely better than the one we had in Birchip all those years ago - that also had the honour of making vanilla slice of the year sometime!  mind you nearly every town we go through tends to claim that title!
So tomorrow we are home - coming in along some road that comes out at Howards road - we have done it before but can't quite remember the names of the roads!