Today's drive from Euroa to Beechworth was to be a relatively short one, a leisurely 125 kms.
And again, once clear of Euroa itself, we were back on the Hume Freeway for some distance.
This really does make towing a pleasure.
Before long the sign to Glenrowan reminded us that we were sill in 'Kelly country'. The tourist folk have actually prepared a very informative brochure, 'The Ned Kelly Touring Route', which identifies ten towns and sites of relevance in the Kelly story stretching all the way from Melbourne to Jerilderie in southern NSW. For those whose travels rely on a theme, this is the answer.
As we made our way steadily north-east along The Hume, the ranges of the high country began to appear as a blue haze in the far distance.
Within no time the long, blurred hump of Mount Buffalo lay along the skyline to our right (a sign to that effect on the roadside was useful!)
Shortly beyond this first glimpse of the mountain which was later to be the backdrop of our caravan park at Porepunkah, it was time to leave the highway. Beechworth beckoned.
We took our last look at The Hume
as we made our way onto the B500
or as it is much more commonly and colourfully known, 'The Great Alpine Road'. Today we were only to travel along it for some 10 kms or so today before turning off to Beechworth.
We were still passing through wine country. In fact, the junction of the Beechworth Road is but a few kilometres north of the township of Milawa, home to the famous Brown Brothers winery (and many more), an area firmly on our agenda for a later visit.
There are also quite a few wineries around Beechworth, but we were on a mission of a different kind during this visit. History was to take precedence over hedonism (for now)!
We were soon on the climb into the hills which surround the town.
and some 25 kms from the turn off the Great Alpine Road, here we were.
We edged our way down the very busy main street of town (shown here on a different day when I was out and about with camera in hand rather than the steering wheel)
and made our way through the CBD to the entrance roadway of our chosen park, The Lake Sambell Caravan Park.
Peach Drive took us past the largest of several park camping areas
(where I was excited to see that some of the Canadian Maples were already on 'on the turn')
and down to the entrance to the park proper.
This is a large park, and we still had some distance to travel before pulling up outside the office to complete the normal arrival formalities.
Mine Host, Roger, who with his most obliging wife Sue has owned this park for a number of years, led us to our allotted patch, site 5 in what is know as the 'back end' of the park.
We were soon set up and ready to explore our new surroundings. Unlike the majority of the sites in this park, we were not under trees.....something for which we were grateful when the weather turned a tad chilly later in our stay.
This park is very well managed and maintained. The main amenities block, which was not too far from our site as you can see here looking along this row (that's us at the end),
are kept spotlessly clean, and, here we had no complaint about the showers....a 'strong, hot stream', as we say.
Even the various notices posted around the park are of high quality.
The nearby camp kitchen
is equally well equipped and maintained.
We took advantage of the BBQ plates here on a couple of occasions. On one of these, we struck up a conversation with a chap who was having a quiet libation at the time. It transpired that he was one of the support crew for a large group of international cyclists who were peddling The Great Dividing Range from Lilydale, (the outer Melbourne suburb through which we had driven to get up here) to Curumbin on the Gold Coast. Now that's quite a ride.
Apparently all involved are keen cyclists in their own countries (a pretty useful start) and wander all over the world doing these highly organised rides. They had chosen to spend a couple of days here in Beechworth before pushing on, a decision we are sure they came to regret.....more shortly.
In the course of a highly entertaining yarn our new found friend said he hailed from Capplla...."somewhere I'm sure you have never heard of", he said. "Not only heard of it, we have driven through it....it's about 50 kms north of Emerald. We plan to stay there on our next journey through that part of the world", was our reply. We became friends for life instantly!
Let me finish a quick tour of the park and then I'll explain why the cyclists stayed on one day too long.
Up on the higher level of the park at our end are a row of cabins which were well occupied during our stay. Those staying here even have their own 'private' BBQ area in the small shed next to the roadway.
Other cabins, which abut the roadway to the office,
have views out over the lower park sites (not seen here) and Lake Sambell.
These lower sites also provide for lake views and are serviced by nearby toilet blocks, but these have definitely seen better days. We were happy to be where we were rather than to have to make the hike up to the heads from this area.
Adjacent to the office, those so inclined can play a round or two of mini golf,
leap about on the volleyball court,
or merely muck about in the playground.
And as you would expect, given the location of this park right on the edge of the lake, canoes are available for hire. As we drove in, seeing all this immediately had us on alert, but I am pleased to report that we were not beset by rowdy youngsters...they began to arrive for the Easter break the day we were leaving (not that we escaped them at Porepunkah).
Quite a few 'annuals', as they call them here in Victoria, enjoy their visits in varied styles of accommodation. This pseudo log cabin was one to catch our eye.
Another obviously belongs to someone with a sense of humour. It's a little hard to read, but the caption in the timber across the verandah reads 'Captain Walker D Plank'. Dare we speculate on the owner's name? We suspect No 73 has been the scene of many rollicking shows.
All was fine (literally) and dandy for our first three days here at the Lake Sambell park. The sun was warm and the nights pleasantly cool. Until Friday, that was. It had been forecast and we were expecting it, but not quite as much......from the first spots which hit the roof at 0410 hours (I was sleeping with one ear open in case of heavy winds) until early afternoon the skies opened in a constant series of very heavy showers.
The park was enveloped in mist and gloom.
The houses at the far end of Lake Sambell had disappeared from sight
and the ground all around our patch was soon sodden.
Up to about 1000 hours we had been sitting pretty. The floor under our awning had remained mostly dry.....and then we had a real dump. The water poured off the slope beside us and in no time we went under. I could actually see the water flowing across the floor! But as all good and well prepared campers do, we had read the forecast and were prepared. Everything, especially the Waco freezer, was up off the ground. And with the sun back again on the following day, we soon dried out.
Our problems were minor compared to our poor cycling friends. Their schedule would not allow them an extra day to see off the weather. They did not look a particularly happy bunch at breakfast in the camp kitchen. Waterproof capes and other assorted wet and cold weather gear were everywhere to be seen.
By now we had decided to extend our initial planned stay of seven day to nine, and I have to say that apart from this one particular day, the weather we enjoyed was as good as we could have hoped for.
Before we leave the park, I have to have a quick word about the bird life. It is magnificent. Beechworth and surrounding areas are known for their populations of the Crimson Rosella, and I was finally able to (just) capture one on film as it was munching its way through the grass beyond the park fence.
As I said, getting this shot had been something of a fluke......His Nibs had also cottoned on to the parrot's presence and was keeping a less than friendly eye on it. 'Pretty be damned....that's breakfast'. Not whilst you are on your lead, Max! But the parrot didn't know that....I just managed to capture it photographically before Max's baleful stare was too much for its comfort.
The Black Panther did enjoy his stay here. If not prowling the fence in the capable hands of his trainer, he would sit for hours at the back of the site looking hopefully towards the bush. Tiny finches and other small scrub birds such as thornbills, kept him on his toes throughout, not to mention the constant rustle of small lizards and other reptiles which could be heard but not seen (by us at least).
Poor old Max almost needed counselling at the end of our stay....he would collapse each night with his primal instincts unfulfilled. But I can report to all you lovers of nature that not one animal was hurt in the making of this blog! Max's hunting abilities are far greater in his mind than in practice.
Other, frequent and much bolder feathered visitors were the resident park Kookaburras. They were always on the look out for a tasty scrap or two. Here is one between our van and our neighbour's making its way towards some discard or other.
A quick stab of the beak, swallow and that was it. Goodness knows what it had spotted, but if it had been a lizard or the like, its days of carefree scurrying through the grass were over. As I have mentioned before, these birds are consummate hunters and very well equipped for the task.
From this wonderful base at the Lake Sambell Caravan Park we sortied out on several day trips and wandered in and out of town and around the lake on numerous occasions. Beechworth and its immediate surrounds are indeed a place of Australian historical significance. More of all this in the ensuing missives.
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