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Published: March 8th 2015
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Kangaroo warning sign
We saw many of these signs ...... And then.... A long and windy road up through the mist covered Snowy Mountains should have had spectacular views but not for us!! Extensive forests were present, many showing widespread dead trees from previous forest fires, which take decades to regenerate. The road was constantly up, until eventually we crossed the highest point of the Great Dividing Range at Dead Horse Gap ( I'm glad to report none were seen!) at an altitude of 5180ft. As it was summer, no snow was present, although things were pretty bleak, especially in Siberia, as one sign indicated - I'm pretty sure we hadn't taken a wrong turn!! The long downhill descent had begun, through vast Eucalypt forests. Stopping at a rest area, we were fortunate to see a small family group of kangaroos and even more fortunate to be able to get a few photos! - at last our first wild kangaroos!!
We entered our next State, Victoria, and after driving through splendid countryside arrived at our next destination of Beechworth. This is an old, well preserved, gold mining town, with many original buildings along the main street. Gold was first discovered in Spring Creek, in 1852, and the heyday of the gold rush
lasted another decade with prospectors arriving from all over the world. Beechworth was also famous for one of its notorious sons, the Australian legend 'Ned Kelly' who lived in the town. The Beechworth Museum and the Court House, recount his reign of crime, culminating in the shooting of two Police Officers. Standing in the original dock one can still hear the judge saying 'Guilty' as the infamous Australian outlaw was sentenced to the gallows - subsequently being hung at the old gaol in Melbourne. We enjoyed our few days in Beechworth.
We called in at Brown Brothers Winery, one of many in the area, and found the whole "cellar door experience" interesting, coming away with a couple of bottles of award winning Shiraz, at a very reasonable price!!
We continued south to the small seaside resort of Lakes Entrance. We found our B & B, Goldsmiths in the Forest, with the help of the sat nav, down gravel roads deep within the forest. What a fantastic place, especially for bird watching!! We had breakfast watching, King Parrots, Superb Lyrebirds & Crimson Rosellas plus many others!!
On our way to Wilsons Promontory, we stopped off at Raymond Island.
We had been tipped off we may see koalas in the wild, and sure enough we were lucky enough to spot many, mainly sleeping koalas - how cute were they!!
We spent a day on scenic Wilsons Promontory. Walking on narrow tracks to remote beaches and enjoying the wilderness.
We are now back in Melbourne, in a one bedroom apartment with a fantastic city view from the 30th floor. Domestic chores are underway, admixed with trips to the Botanic Gardens & the world famous MCG - Melbourne Cricket Ground tour - imagine making a century here in front of 100,000 fans!! - before we set off along the Great Ocean Road for the final leg of our road trip.
Accommodation - Beechworth Boutique Motel B & B - Beechworth
- Goldsmiths in the Forest B & B - Lakes Entrance
- Fish Creek B & B - Fish Creek near Wilsons Promontory
- Wide Horizons B & B - Healesville
- Oak on Williams Apartments - Melbourne
Weather - Generally sunny with some clouds and warm (25c). The odd rain shower and somewhat cool (16c), cloudy and overcast for two days in
Melbourne.
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Helen and Bob
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Snowy mountains
I enjoyed reading the blog - living the trip vicariously! I liked the koalas in the wild, but you are right, they do sleep a lot. They are meant to be semi stoned on eucalyptus I believe! Glad the trip continues to go well x