CHARLTON TO BIRCHIP

CHARLTON TO BIRCHIP = 66km
CUMMULATIVE TOTAL = 207km
Birchip motel and caravan park = $12 powered ($10 unpowered)

Before I start on todays blog I thought I would share a few photos of Charlton ...
the Avoca river - which flooded last year at 8.1m and this crept into the township itself and the campground was under water!

a few of the locals ...

I don't think this is a local fish but I think it is from the Commonwealth games - so maybe Charlton purchased this one ...

and this one is for you Penny ... do you recognise this building?

We had a relaxing rest day and read for most of the day.  Dinner consisted of eggs, sweet potato chips (they were heavily marked down as I don't think they are a big seller!) and onion, mushrooms and snowpeas ... but Kouta had a beauty ... triple smoked ham ... it took him all of 30 seconds to demolish 120grams worth :)

So onto todays ride - not alot happened today.  It was cold again last night and we had to sleep with our clothes on - we think the tent which is mainly mesh is not good during nights that are below 5 degrees - it will be great when the nights get warmer but at the moment it is not warm at night and tonight it is to be a frost and 1 degree ... I am sleeping in my sleeping bag tonight and kouta will have to fend for himself ... he has fur!

anyway we woke frozen, had breaky frozen, packed up frozen and rode frozen at the toes and finger tips!  we left around 8.15am and managed to avoid peak hour in Charlton, mind you the traffic going into Charlton and very heavy ... we were lucky we are going the opposite way to everyone ... not sure if the town roundabout could cope with the 3 car traffic jam it had ... Melbourne traffic problems are nothing compared to Charlton ... at least Melbourne has lights!

It took ages to warm up especially the fingers and toes ... did think of stopping and putting socks on but thought the fashion police would frown at sandles and socks!

Did stop at Lake Wooroonook for a quick break - does have camping but cheaper at Charlton!  Riding along we noticed a bit more farm animals and in particular flocks of sheep that had quite a few black sheep ...

some where so cute and looked like miniature cows with their markings.

Stopped for lunch at the turnoff to Birchip - pretty hard going so far mainly headwinds  due to a very lazy and cold south westerly wind blowing.

I rode in my thermals and vest for most of the ride and didn't take the vest off until after lunch.  We made good time to Birchip considering the headwinds we had.  We have been here before and the campground is behind a hotel, gas servo, laundromat etc.  It is pretty rough and cheap and the facilities are very limited and my shower flooded when I had one ... I think the up keep of this place is non existent but for $12 we don't expect much.

Tonights tea is pasta salad with chickpeas and tomato and cheese sandwiches.  Tomorrow on to Beulah.

WEDDERBURN TO CHARLTON

 

 

WEDDERBURN TO CHARLTON (via Wychitella and Borung-Charlton road) = 45km

CUMMULATIVE TOTAL = 141km

GORDON CARAVAN PARK = $13 powered tent site ($15 powered site or $12 unpowered)

 

I tell you it was soooooooooooooooo cold last night in Wedderburn ... we definitely needed another dog in the tent last night!  We both slept with clothes on and poor Kouta even he found it cold and had to snuggle up close to me ... why not Neil? ... well listen to this ... we wake up when Kouta moves and he comes between us and flops nearer to me, Neil states that he is freezing and momentarily picks up the dog blanket that is on the floor between our sleeping bags so that the dog has something to lie on rather than the cold tent floor and puts it over his sleeping bag!  Meanwhile Kouta and I are cuddling each other trying to keep warm.  It was a very sleepless night ... and when I mentioned to Neil in the morning that he shouldn't take Koutas blanket as the tent floor is cold for him and Neil admits that he still wasn't warm ... so that is his Karma!

Anyway we had a good giggle about it and judging by the weather today I think it will be another cold night tonight here in Charlton.

So we start out with the usual quiet road out of Wedderburn and take the road that goes to Whychitella (the turn off is 5km along the Calder hwy).  It climbs a bit but not continuous more like steps. 

We are riding along chatting away and I am babbling about something clearly Neil is not listening to a word I am saying as he blurts out snake so we both slam the brakes on and I say where (I have been looking religiously for branches alongside the roadside as they all look like snakes!) and he says in the middle of the road! So I look back and take a photo ... can you see it?

no you can't see it can you?  so you can understand how I missed it!  Have a look at the next photo as I have circled it ... the damn thing is in the middle of the road and Neil and I rode either side of it!

here is a close up ... just for you Leanne!

it was a small one and very difficult to see, not sure if it was dead and I couldn't see any tyre marks on it ... I think it was just cold (after last night!) and sunning itself on the road.

 So this road to Wychitella is quiet as per usual and not exactly flat more gentle climbing and then going down hill.  It is not until you get to Wychitella that you can see flat open land (which is so pretty it hurts your eyes!).  Just after Wychitella we turn left onto the Borung-Charlton road.  From here we are going west to Charlton and lucky for us we had a gentle tailwind to push us along. 
Charlton was nearly closed by the time we got here at Lunchtime and the IGA closes at 1.30pm and reopens for 3 hours tomorrow (sunday 10-1pm).  So we got here in time to get dinner - nachos with mexican beans!  woo hoo I hope it sets Neil off enough to keep the tent warm!
The campground at Charlton is a community one and after the floods the community banded together to put the campground back together and I tell you it is a great community park alongside the Avoca river - the shower and toilet blocks are clean as with the kitchen.  The water is incredibly hot and the showers huge!
We are tucked in the corner in the open as we didn't want to camp under trees, so we got to try out our expensive shade cloth (more expensive than the tent!) ...

as the sun moves you move to the shade that the shade cloth creates so it is great and the wind is not too strong at the moment.

In the afternoon the shade is on the side of the tent so I am sitting there looking at my view of the gums along the river (I can't quite see the river from my spot) ...

They have only charged us $13 for a powered tent site which is good.  We are staying here tomorrow for a rest day.  We will have a look around town this evening and tomorrow.  I must take a photo of the flood line which is about half way up the laundry building wall!

INGLEWOOD TO WEDDERBURN

INGLEWOOD TO WEDDERBURN (via Powlett Plains, Mt Korong and Wedderburn Junction) = 42km

CUMMULATIVE TOTAL = 96km

WEDDERBURN CAMPGROUND $24 for power (or $18 unpowered)

 

Oooh the legs felt it this morning!  Not stiff and sore just a little weary when you first start pedalling.

As you know last night we stayed in Inglewood and around this time of the year there is copious amounts of wild flowers alongside any road and one of my favourites are the gazanias ... here is one

 

while walking the dog early evening we came across a tourist attraction (which wasn't open at the time) it is a Eucalyptus distillery ... an ancient one at that but the town has made a smaller one as a demo and this is inside a new building complete with a cafeteria etc.  It does say that it is open for group bookings ... maybe an idea for your Probus groups Ray & Flo?  We could waunder around the old one and here are a few photos ... personally I couldn't make heads or tales of it!

In the evening while enjoying the setting sun and the atmosphere of the campground! we indulged in a little treat for ourselves and Neil was really excited about this and insisted that we document and photograph it just for you Sharon ... we found an unopened Cherry Ripe twin pack (it obviously was meant for us as they made it a twin pack!) on our morning walk around Bayswater on monday ... we offered it to dad but he turned it dow (I don't know why ... must be getting a good pension!) so we decided to take it with us for our first nights celebration ...

this one is for you Sharon :)

LOL I can hear you now!
Anyway onto today - we got up early and had brekky and as per usual we are about to set of and out comes everyone for a chat - this ALWAYS happens and we can't understand why they leave it until we are about to go ... why not while we are packing up?  But we did manage to get away by 8.30 not after everyone telling us the weather is turning bad ... down south yes but there has been no reports of it up and around here ... but we did know that the wind was going to be a headwind for us ... but hey that is okay so we start of on a lovely quiet road heading north to Powlett Plains (a locality) and the usual one lane road and plenty of places to camp alongside the road so we must remember that for next time.  You ride up towards the mobile tower and then down and along a plain where you get an awesome view of Mt Korong

once at Powlett Plains you turn left and start heading towards Mt Korang and again still a one lane road which takes you up to Mt Korang ...

and then past it and down to meet the Calder highway ... we took a break just before joining the highway ...

we go along the Calder for 1km and then turn left and head towards Wedderburn Junction and then turn left and rejoin the Calder just out of Wedderburn.  I began to feel it just after the Junction as the wind was relatively strong but I suppose it is a good reference point for future headwind days and I am sure we will be getting some more of those!

This is the 3rd time staying here at Wedderburn and I love this town and campground ... we have splashed out and got a powered site.  It has a little kitchen and bbq area so it is bbq veges, beans and rice tonight ... mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Not alot at the campground ... just the usual grey nomads that dabble in gold fossicking.

The lady next to us last night does a little fossicking with a metal detector but is going to sell it as in the past she has done okay at finding gold but lately has had very little success as the areas where you are allowed to fossick is heavily picked over by other people just like herself but I suppose they do it as a hobby.
One thing I noticed about the people in the Inglewood campground and here in Wedderburn is they are a different type of grey nomad traveller - by no means poorer but I would describe them as 'weathered' they look like they have had a very hard working life but I suspect it is the retirement days out fossicking that has done it to them!
Tomorrow is Charlton.

BENDIGO TO INGLEWOOD



Bendigo to Inglewood via Howard Rd, Pyramid Hill Rd and Sebastian Rd = 54km
Cummulative total = 54km
Camping at Inglewood = $25 unpowered but with own ensuite (no tent section)
It was a good day today considering it was our first day out and we are feeling a little tired at the end of the day ... but we did have a good tail wind so I would hate to think how we would be feeling right now if we didn't have a tail wind!
Leanne took a photo of us just before we left ...

We took Howard road all the way along the which was a busy road (due to school traffic) but ridable not exactly the widest by the traffic was courteous to us.  We stayed on the road right to the end and we reached McClelland Road, we went along this road and up the hill and then onto Sailors Gully road and then Pyramid Hill road which was good to ride along ... only local traffic.  This road travels in a northerly direction and since the wind was more an easterly this morning it was blowing on our sides and it wasn't until we got to Sebastian road where it turns west that we got a fabulous tailwind!  and it was blowing.

The first 4 km of this road was unsealed ... still firm despite the rain last night

This is a wonderful road to ride along really quite and very litte traffic.   

So we could ride side by side and chat ... and top of the chat list was yesterdays snake.  Todays local paper had a story about our friend George catching another brown snake earlier in the day at Kangaroo Flat train station which is on the edge of Bendigo.  He obviously is a very busy man at this time of the year!

Thinking about the snake ... it is scary that more than likely it was there over the winter and the fact that it was co-habiting with Leanne and Russell over the winter ... it is almost like they had a pet snake!  woo hoo!!!

We stopped for a cuppa at some CFA building we found and it is so lush out here ... the fields are either grain, for grazing or canola ...

the scenery is so pretty and to quote Neil "it just hurts your eyes!"  The sides of the roads are covered in yellow wild flowers.  Along this road we came across this dead tree with its' trunk painted pink and the cross is made out of horse shoes

We made good time getting to Bridgewater on Loddon due to the tail wind (sometimes we were cycling in our big chain ring!).  Since the flooding last year the town hasn't rebuilt the council caravan park and we are not sure if the private one that was next to it is still open and it was hard to tell as we crossed the Loddon river if both parks were still functioning ... definitely the council one isn't as it stated it on its' website.

Here is a photo of the Loddon River ...

So from here we join the Calder Highway and since it was lunchtime there wasn't alot of traffic on the road, we had a rough shoulder.  By now we started to feel it, still okay to cycle but looking forward to setting up camp. 

Along the roadside there are heaps of Gazania flowers blooming ... so many that it makes the Calder highway 'pretty' if that is possible!

We get to the town of Inglewood which is a popular town with potential prospectors, ie. grey nomads with metal detectors!

As you ride through the town there are lots of antique type stores in old buildings ... we did manage to spot this bike/lawn mower ...

I giggled at this as our lawn mower has just died and maybe we should detour back this way and pick this up before we get home!

Here is a photo of the town (taken just outside the IGA)

rather relieved to get to the campground which is on the west side of town behind a motel.  The park is full of caravaners that I think dabble in prospecting.  Every site has its' own ensuite so that makes camping a little expensive at $25 unpowered.  You can have power but it is metered.  You can also have a site without an ensuite but only if you have a shower and toilet in your caravan ... so rules us out!

I tell you not only were we tired when we got here but Kouta was half unconscience when we lifted him out of the trailer ... he was ready to sleep (even standing up!) ..

as you can see from the photo of our campsite it is a lovely sunny and warm day ... very lucky we were!

 

tomorrow we will cycle to Wedderburn via some back road (although it is heaps shorter via the Calder highway)



HI DE HI CAMPERS - BENDIGO

Hello there ... we are just about to go on the road again this time we are heading over to Streaky Bay South Australia.

Yesterday Neil drove up here to Bendigo with our equipment and dog and he drove back (without the dog!) and then today we caught the train with our bikes to Bendigo and then we rode out to Leannes' place which is in Epsom ... normally I wouldn't blog about today but we have a fabulous story to tell you and I have to admit we have never had such a spectacular start to any cycle trip as we have for you today.

So arriving at Leannes mid afternoon and entering through the gate at the side of the garage Neil is ahead of me and I hear a rustle under the lemon tree and think oh Kouta is there ... meanwhile Neil is saying stop there is a snake (he/she must have been sunbaking!) and at that moment I see the tail flick and disappear, so Neil continues on to tell Leanne that she has a snake in the garden and we have lost it, meanwhile I am still at the gate trying desperately to see where it has gone.  After a while passes I go through and Leanne has gone and rung for a guy to come and see if he can find the snake ... he will be there by 3pm.

So we sit down for a cuppa and a few minutes later he has turned up ... his name is George and quite a relaxed fella!

Neil shows him where we saw him and this George dives straight in ... no apprehension what so ever! dig around the water tank (as we thought the snake may have gone under it) and no there was nothing.  It is not until I look at the end of the brick wall next to the water tank that I see that it is open ended and I said that it may have gone in there.  So Leanne gets a crow bar and George  takes of the top tile and breaks a hole in the brick and then digs down in with his hand  and no still no snake but reveals that the whole wall is hollow so it might be somewhere along there ...

George breakin the first brick

 and here is George breaking nearly all the bricks along the wall!

 okay I took this photo this close AFTER he had removed the snake to show you how it was hollow all the way along and it was a fantastic home for the snake ...

So after making so many holes and getting glimpses of the snake and telling us that 'oh it's a big one!' he finally dives in again with his hand to grab the tail of the snake ... Neil tells me that he had the tail and the head was coming out the end of the row of bricks ...

 here is George grabbing the tail and pulling it out ...

 and here it is all the way out!  It is a whopper and I am very excited and clicking away and all I can hear either side of me is Leanne squeaking and wimpering (or was that Neil?) LOL and Neil is gasping at the size of it!

You can see Georges' friend in the background going off to get a bag for the snake to be put in ... meanwhile George is .... not sure what he is doing ... I think 'playing' with the snake! ...

by now the snake is really, really angry with George and thrashing about ... at this point I am thinking this snake is about  1.3m long or 4 feet long

 unfortunately Georges friend sort of forgot to open out the bag so poor George has the snake in one hand and trying to open the bag with the other ... meanwhile none of us can say 'oh here let me help you George!'

So George manages to get the snake in the bag ... but not before the snake tries to have one last go at George ...

... there we go safely in the bag!

here is a close up of the snake ...

gosh it was exciting to watch George (the only licensced {spelling?} snake handler in Bendigo).  He tells Leanne that the snake may have been there all winter!  That is probably not something she wants to hear as she was working around that area the other day ... quite unnerving to know that the snake may have been there!
So that is our start to our cycle journey ... Tomorrow we are off to Inglewood.