After what felt like weeks of rain and storms, the day dawned bright and sunny as we set off for Christmas in Victoria. That soon changed as a big storm chased us through Sydney all the way to our regular first stop in Gunning. The rain eased as we arrived but the fields were flooded all around and creeks that had been dry for decades were now gushing torrents. When we got to the pub for dinner the locals were all talking about how they had been trapped in their homes by floodwater the previous day. At the time of writing (end of February) towns in Queensland and Northern New South Wales are suffering terrible flooding, our experience was nothing compared to theirs.
The sun was shining the next morning and we drove in blue skies, listening to the Ashes first test, into Victoria. Everything became less green and more brown as we sped along, usually it is the opposite but La Nina has given the east coast its second consecutive very wet summer. We headed for Warby-Ovens National Park and set up in the Wenhams Campground. National Park campgrounds are quite basic, this had no water and drop toilets but they are usually well looked after. The areas for camping were very small so ok for our little van but not suitable for anything larger.
Apart from a group of birdwatchers we were the only people staying. It was a beautiful spot with various walks marked out and warnings about pythons. I have become quite Australian in my attitude towards snakes and, as long as they are not the deadly ones, they don't worry me so pythons are ok.
The birdwatchers packed up and left the following morning so we had the place to ourselves. We selected the Friends walking track which was flagged up as quite difficult and they weren't kidding! It was very up hill and down dale but fabulous with wild flowers and butterflies everywhere, grass trees too which we are used to seeing at home but don't come across in too many other places. We also saw evidence of wombats, cube shaped poo and diggings, but sadly didn't spot any. During a particularly strenuous section climbing up rocks a young couple jogged past looking as fresh as daisies as we puffed and wheezed our way to the summit, that didn't make us feel too great.
The next morning dawned hot and sunny again so we decided we must have outrun the weather at last so we packed up and pressed on. We took a look at the riverside camping for future reference but it wasn't for me. No toilets even within driving distance and a very lumpy road in and out. Ian was up for it but I prefer a little bit more comfort these days.
On then to Alexandra which has become a bit of a favourite for us. We stayed there last trip but it was raining and Covid was forcing us to hurry back across the border so we didn't get much chance to look around. We were not disappointed. The showground was good, $25 for a powered site, it does not take many vans so can be difficult to get in. It was only a few minutes stroll into town where we found a Christmas Tree Festival, a charity event where local businesses and schools had all decorated a tree and the public voted for their favourites, it was better than it sounds.
Christmas with Zoe, Shaun and the boys was fun as usual and we decided to try yet another route back. It was more difficult to find somewhere to stop than we expected, we had planned to stay in Rubicon State Forest but found the Kendalls Camp Ground completely full. We could probably have squeezed in but I didn't fancy sharing a toilet with 150 other people with the way Covid was taking off at that time so we carried on to Benalla Showground.
Benalla was ok for one night but no longer so we took the Silo Art Trail to Narrandera. We stopped to take photos of the silos in the tiny towns of Goorambat and Devenish. They were sensational and well worth the detour. The highlight of the return journey was Narrandera though, where we free camped at the Brewery Flat rest area. it was a great spot with public toilets and we will definitely stay there again. Narrandera was also on the silo trail and boasted a silo with a Frill Necked Lizard beautiful buildings and a visitor centre with a Big Playable Guitar. They also have a thriving koala population and we saw 5 on a walk by the river so they are doing much better than the koalas at home.
After Narrandera we headed home along the Golden Highway. The road takes us through Dunedoo which has always appeared to be a town absolutely on its knees. This time however, Dunedoo had transformed and all thanks to the Silo Art Trail. The town is in between some very prosperous looking racehourse studs but has never seemed to reap any benefit, however, the silos had now been painted which had put the little place on the map. There were visitors with cameras everywhere, the cafes had reopened and there was a new little park, brilliant to see what a simple initiative like the Silo Art Trail could do for a town.
