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It’s an all-day drive from Sydney to Victoria.
An early start to the day by being up at 4am, we had planned to be on the road at 5 but, having those few last-minute things to do, meant that we didn’t actually get away until 5-20am.
My brother Glenn and sister-in-law Bonny from country Dubbo in NSW joined us on this trip and, had offered the use of their car to drive us all down to Victoria as theirs is a bit bigger than ours so, would accommodate the 4 of us more comfortably as well as all of our gear.
Ted drove us out of Sydney and, at that time of the morning, traffic was light on the M7 and the Hume. We had wanted to get on the road as early as possible so, upon getting up and dressed, just had a quick cuppa, left home without having breakfast, intending to stop somewhere along the way.
An hour and a half later, we pulled into “The Coolabah Restaurant” at Exeter on the Hume Freeway at 6-45am, just on sunrise. Time for a hearty breakfast to keep us going on the long drive down south.
It was much cooler on the Southern Highlands than in Sydney, with a bit of a wind blowing which had us reaching for our cardigans or sweaters. I always make sure that I have a jacket to hand when we are stopping in the highlands as, invariably, it is always quite a bit cooler here than at home.
After feeding the inner man and woman, we were back on the road again by 7-35am with a change of driver with Glenn driving us on the next leg of our trip as far as Holbrook, which is about half-way between Sydney and Melbourne and, where we made our next stop.
There is a very good memorial in Holbrook of the life-sized replica of HMAS OTWAY, one of the Oberon-class submarines that were in service by the Australian Navy between the early 60’s until the 1990’s, before being replaced by the current Collins-class submarines.
Holbrook was chosen as the adopted home of the Australian Submarine Squadron in honour of Lieutenant Norman Holbrook R.A.N. V.C., the first naval Victoria Cross winner in 1914 during the First World War and, whom the town is named after.
Originally, the town was
named Germanton in 1858 but, was changed in 1914. Considering that the Allies were at war with Germany at the time, it was suggested that the name be changed so, “Holbrook” was adopted as being more fitting.
It is a very imposing sight as you approach the town, to see the life-sized submarine resting stately by the side of the road in well-kept parklands and gardens.
In memory of her husband, Commander Holbrook’s wife donated the incredible sum of $100,000 towards construction of the memorial. The rest of the money required to complete it, came from donations made by public-spirited residents and organisations.
Norman Holbrook had made a number of visits to the town before his untimely death in 1976 with his widow then donating his service medals to the town in 1982.
Holbrook, known both locally and nationally as, “the Submarine Town”, is now home to the OTWAY after Holbrook Council acquired her when she was decommissioned from the Navy in 1994 and scrapped.
Arriving in Holbrook around 11 am and having driven for several hours, we were more than ready for a break and a leg stretch, so stopped off at the park
where the memorial is to have a look at the submarine before heading off for a snack at a local café.
We spend the next 15 or 20 minutes having a wander around and reading about some of the history of the OTWAY and feeling quite miniscule in comparison to the size of this former giant of the sea.
These things are massive when you are standing up close and personal to them. 90 metres long, 8.1 metres wide, with the conning tower rising to a great height above you.
Back on the road again after our short break, we continued on down the Hume Freeway, on the last leg of our journey, finally arriving at our destination, Mansfield, in north-eastern Victoria, around 2pm.
We decided to stop in town and have some lunch before proceeding to what was to be our home for the next week, the Mansfield Country Resort.
Finding a delightful little eatery in the main street, “The Tea Emporium”, we tucked into some lovely country home cooking and, relaxed for the next hour or so before heading off to the resort outside of town on the last 13kms of our journey.
Mansfield and Lake Eildon are about 200k’s from Melbourne and both are favourite weekend retreats for Melbournians wanting to get away from the city for short breaks. The foreshores of Lake Eildon are also a favourite location for holiday homes for the city dwellers.
The other reason Mansfield is a popular tourist town is because it is only a stone’s throw from the ski fields at Mt. Buller, a popular ski resort during the winter months.
We are in Bungalow 10, with a view right over the lake. It is a 2-bedroom, brick building. Open-plan eat-in kitchen/lounge room area which is air-conditioned, with floor to ceiling windows on two sides of the lounge room. These look straight out onto bushland and also the lake when we draw back the drapes.
The master bedroom has a queen-sized bed with ensuite, ceiling fan; ample open hanging space with open shelving.
The second bedroom has two single beds, the same hanging space etc., with an adjoining bathroom and a smaller adjacent room which is the laundry.
The kitchen is well-appointed with dishwasher, microwave, plenty of pots, pans, utensils etc. Flat screen TV in the lounge room with
CD/DVD player etc. Two comfy 2-seater lounges, large wooden coffee table and a mother and child upright lamp. There is under-cover parking right at the front door. I think we are going to enjoy our week’s respite away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
As we are to be self-contained at the resort, we had brought a few provisions with us for our first night and a few breakfast things for the morning but, would sort out the rest tomorrow with a visit to the supermarket.
The resort itself is spread over 35 acres of natural bushland that many different types of birds and animals call home, including kangaroos and wallabies. Wild ducks and pelicans are regular visitors on the lake.
Our bungalow overlooks the lake itself and, most afternoons and evenings, we would sit chatting on our balcony with our drinks and nibblies, whilst we watched the sun go down behind the hills on the other side of the lake at the end of another perfect day.
Many evenings, we would also have dinner on the balcony whist we watched day’s end with beautiful sunsets over the lake and, as the darkness enveloped
us, sitting there in the cool of the evening, watching the moon gradually rise over the lake to become a beautiful moonlight night, turning the surface of the lake to liquid silver.
After we had gotten ourselves sorted and were sitting in the lounge room with a relaxing glass of wine after our long day, we had opened the drapes right back so that we could sit and admire the view of the lake outside, when we were delighted to see a mob of about 10 kangaroos – adults and young ones, come hopping past our windows within minutes of us sitting down.
We were so stunned and delighted that we had no time to grab our cameras to capture the event. However, over the next week, we were to find that they would become regular visitors in and around the resort as well as our own bungalow, particularly around sundown, when they would come in to feed.
After our very early start that morning and our long drive down, Glenn & Bon thought they would put their feet up for awhile whilst Ted and I decided to go off to explore the grounds of the resort
and, being set in 35 acres of bushland, we had quite an area to wander around in.
We walked down to the Reception area again to where we had checked in earlier and into the “Trading Post” there – the resort’s little on-site shop which sells a few groceries; some frozen meals, ice creams etc. as well as magazines, postcards etc. and also had a DVD hire service for the residents of the resort.
After browsing the varied contents of the store, we continued on our walk over to the swimming pool, sauna and gym and squash court. There is also a kitchen in this complex and a huge lounge area, and also quite a good library of books.
On the way there, we had stopped to watch several sulphur-crested cockatoos wandering around on the ground whilst they contented themselves by chewing the leaves off some of the plants in the garden. They are quite a large bird and attractive to look at but, are the most destructive things.
To my continual frustration, we get them at home quite often and, over the years, I have had them sit on the balcony railing and chew all
the buds off my roses and just drop them on the ground as well as destroy plants I’ve had growing. They have even pulled up spring-flowering bulbs out of my garden pots. Afraid they aren't my favourite birds.
Noisy and raucous in their screeching and, mostly seed-eaters, they never eat the plants they are chewing. They just chew it off and drop it on the ground. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if they actually ate what they were destroying. At least then you could put it down to them just being hungry. They will chew practically anything – even wooden balcony railings.
The swimming pool area is quite a distance from our bungalow and, it would have taken us about 10-15 mins to walk over there and a similar stroll on the way back again, this time along the foreshore of the lake.
Everything is very dry in this part of Victoria at the moment, with a total fire ban, so said the sign in the big campfire area outside the swimming complex. They haven’t had any rain for about 2 months. Lake Eildon has plenty of water in it but, is nowhere at full capacity
and, it’s easy to see where the water level has receded with some of the boat ramps stretching for some considerable distance out into the lake between the bank and the water itself.
Victoria, being a small state, means that you are never very far away from anywhere and, being in this part of the state, there is a plethora of beautiful scenic drives you can do; historical towns you can visit as well as being able to hike or bushwalk to your heart's content. Or, perhaps you prefer to cast your line in pursuit of that elusive trout in one of the many mountain streams that abound in the area. Whatever your choice and wherever you find yourself, you are always surrounded by beautiful scenery in every direction and able to gaze out upon on some of the most spectacular alpine mountain scenery in the world.
Mansfield and surrounding areas make up what is referred to as “the High Country”. The high country is a prime cattle and sheep grazing area of north-eastern Victoria which nestles in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains or Southern Alps, the border between New South Wales and Victoria. Generations of families
of cattlemen have lived and worked here, and still do to this day, with many families having become famous household names over the years.
With much of the countryside throughout the mountain ranges being so rugged and isolated, most of the work on the properties as well as the mustering of cattle, etc. is still done on horseback. Because of this, the cattlemen have become extremely good horsemen and their skill is widely recognised and admired, even in today’s modern era. Commonly known as “mountain men”, their horsemanship has become legendary.
For those of you who may have seen the movie (some years ago now), “The Man From Snowy River”, starring Kirk Douglas, Tom Burlinson and Sigrid Thornton, most of the movie was filmed around Mansfield and Merrijig, a small nearby community, with many of the local cattlemen from around here, being extras in the movie itself, because of their riding skills.
Also, many riders from around this part of the country took part in the Opening Ceremony for the Sydney Olympic Games back in 2000 which opened with “The Man From Snowy River” segment, where 120 stockmen and their horses took part in this segment as
a tribute to our country’s outback heritage and the Australian stock horse, thereby depicting our close association throughout history, of life on the land.
Ted and I wandered back to our bungalow by around 5-40pm to find Glenn and Bon making some preparations for pre-dinner drinks. A couple of glasses of wine with nibbles before getting dinner on. Bonny had made spaghetti bolognaise before leaving home which she brought down with us for our first night here so that we didn’t have to worry about cooking.
As it had been a long day, an early night was welcome. Tomorrow is another day to begin exploring where we head off on the trail of notorious bushrangers ….
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Sunrise
Makes it worth getting up.