Ten Day Break Day 5

With our stay in Whitfield at an end it is time to move on to our next destination. The day is a carbon copy of the last three, starting cool but with the promise of warmth in the air. Once packed we say fair well to the King Valley and travel south west taking a scenic route that takes us into the mountains. Almost immediately the landscape changes as we rise in elevation. Eucalyptus forest appears on either side of the road becoming denser and taller the higher we go. We are soon travelling through a thick grey green tunnel of foliage that blocks out the sunlight above. The tunnel twists and turns taking us higher and for the first time we see some wildlife. Small agile kangaroos with dark fur hop through the undergrowth as we briefly inhabit their territory. This is snow country, the lower reaches of Victoria’s snow fields of Mt Buller and Falls Creek, the Victorian Alps that attract skiers from Victoria and South Australia during our winter ski season in July – August. This long hot dry Summer is taking its toll, ground vegetation is straw brown while even the eucalypt leaves are leaking colour, the greens and blues fading to a dusty grey as they hang bedraggled from their tinder dry branches.

There are a few homesteads just visible through the forest, one wonders about their existence in such an environment. This doesn’t seem to be good cropping, sheep or cattle country. We have seen logging trucks loaded with native timber but no sign of any mills. In this high country this would be a contentious industry. Research confirms our suspicions that yes this is a logging district. Nearing the peak of our scenic drive the forest gives way to open ground that previous generations had cleared. We pass through a tiny settlement called Tolmie, at 782 metres (2566 ft), consisting of a Hotel/Pub festooned with Australian flags surrounded by a field of rusted out vehicles. No doubt left over from the recent Australia Day festivities. Opposite sits a general store that is slowly giving way to gravity and the elements. There is no sign of life. This town suffered from the severe bushfires of the summer of 2006/7 and by the looks never recovered. With an average of 8.7 snowy days per year and with the honor of being the second wettest and chilliest district in Australia’s temperate zone, settlers would have not imagined they could be touched by the bushfire scourge.

Descending down through the western slopes the country once again opens up with magnificent views over golden brown farm lands.

We are now on the Maroondah Highway 168 kilometres northwest of Melbourne when we come across Bonnie Doon. With such a strong (to my mind) Scottish name there has to be story behind this town of a mere 666 people. The town originally named Doon took its name from an Irish town when named in 1866. As is common in this area gold discoveries seeded many towns. When the Post office and railway came to town in 1891 the addition of “Bonnie” put the town firmly on the map. In the 1915 the construction of a lake by damming the Goulburn river had the township literally picked up and moved, that is apart from the stone buildings that the lake skirted around. Enlarged in 1955 and now covering 3885 sq kilometres, today Lake Eildon as it is known is a minor tourist attraction, with weekend holiday makers using the lake for water sports of all kinds. The popularity of the lake caused the destination to be satirised in a Australian iconic film of 1997 called “The Castle” worth a watch if one wants a humorous snapshot of the now fast fading Australian lifestyle of this time. We pass over the bridge that spans the lake and stop for a closer look.

As we near our final destination of Woodend we pass through another tiny town known as Strath Creek. The area first opened up by squatters in 1840. Known then as Flowerdale. These squatters had pushed beyond the original boundaries designated by the British for sheep farming beyond New South Wales far south into Victoria, this is well before federation. Governors of the day turned a blind eye as the demand for Australian wool exceeded all expectations. This in turn forced the local nomadic indigenous people off their land. The discovery of Gold changed everything between 1859 and 1866 with permanent towns springing up out of tent communities. Following this came the selectors, in 1870, who recently arrived immigrants or ex convicts were able to license up to 320acres of land for framing at little cost. By 1888 township blocks became available for sale. By 1909 the town has become a small farming community changing its name to Strath Creek, a name the townspeople and locals had historically referred the settlement as. Here in this tiny town we can see and feel the heritage of Australia from its very beginnings to the current day.

From here it’s a relatively short drive to our destination, Woodend where we are greeted by our long time friend Allan who will be graciously hosting us for the next three nights.