A small silo with beautiful imagery

What an excellent way to discover the not-so-well-known parts of Australia! We found we had a 10-day break from commitments just after Christmas. Not the ideal time to travel you say! True, but this was the longest break we would have until winter. We left on the hottest day of the summer so far. Well, we were travelling in an air-conditioned motorhome and by the time we had crossed the border into Victoria and reached the western edge of the Grampians, we had left some of the heat behind, so it wasn’t really a problem.

Our plan had been to not really have a plan — maybe see Lake Hume when it was full, maybe call in at some Murray River towns and see how they were recovering from the floods, maybe get as far as the High Country and look over the Alpine meadows and the flowers I knew were on show, maybe view some of the silo art we had been reading about, maybe visit  memory lane at Lake Eildon, maybe…

The view from the top of Mt Arapiles

So, our first night was at Lake Ratzcastle (amazing name) — lots of water, very few people and free. It was much cooler and raining the next morning, so we continued to Goroke and our first painted silos. We drove through some lovely rolling countryside — what on earth was that weird-shaped rock ahead? Turned out to be Mitre Rock,  part of the Mt Arapiles National Park. We drove to the top of the mount and were awestruck by the amazing colours in the patchwork of farm paddocks.

We drove into the Grampians for our next overnight stop at a small low-key caravan park — with lots of kangaroos and kookaburras. We started off at McKenzie Falls — beautiful, with no people. We then drove to Reid Lookout, and oh my  goodness, so many people! So we took the back road out and went to explore the non-tourist areas of the Grampians National Park.

We found ourselves a lovely free camp on a channel of the Glenelg River outside of the park — no traffic, only birds and running water. We thought we would continue heading east — how about some wine tasting at Great Western? Our trip planner showed us some interesting back tracks, so off we went. We found flowing streams, green paddocks and some great wine. Keep heading east, we thought, so through Ararat on to Lake Bolac. We found an excellent camp spot by the lake with fairy-wrens for company.

Pink rocks at Lake Tyrrell

New Year’s Eve in Maryborough was next, and the Highland Gathering was the next day. For a no-plan holiday, we were doing well. Where to stay? Our trip planner suggested Newstead Racecourse — an excellent choice: open paddock with some trees and brand-new ablutions (cleanest we have ever seen) including hot showers for a donation! Just an aside — this was the longest racecourse in Australia at one time.

We meandered into Maldon in Pink rocks at Lake Tyrrell The Glenelg River Road the morning. What a delightful town! The streetscape is almost intact as it was in the gold rush era. Surprisingly, not busy for a public holiday.

We followed some back roads (stopped at Muckleford Railway Station just for the name) and found ourselves in Castlemaine. It was another delightful town — beautiful old buildings and  interesting Botanic Gardens. The art exhibition in the old market building was very enjoyable. Although we thought we had seen enough people, so we drove out to Mt Alexander — a free camp with flushing toilets and only a few campers, and fascinating granite rocks with moss sheets over them. It was a very long day’s drive — 80km!

The Glenelg River Road

We enjoyed a night of rolling thunder and lightning but very little rain. We drove through Heathcote and on to Yea. This close to Lake Eildon, we decided to try lakeside camping. Oh dear! Wall-to-wall caravans, cars, boats, jet skis and PEOPLE! We were out of there and up the Midland Highway to a very small, old caravan park. Benalla the next day and a wonderfully helpful information centre. They sent us to the Winton Wetlands — a huge area complete with an art trail and  campgrounds. They suggested we then follow the Silo Art Trail through Goorambat, Devenish, St James and Tungamah.

The silos were amazing, all very different but with really interesting stories and artwork — obviously working as intended by bringing tourists to these small country towns. We experienced the most amazing free camp at Tungamah on the banks of Boosey Creek — with hot showers! A $10 donation is the least we could do!

The next day we drove up to Barooga to check out flood damage from the Murray floods. The town is recovering well but some damage is evident to the riverbanks and quite a few sites were still closed. We continued our silo trail going to Colbinabbin and admiring the four silos there — love the town names in this part of Victoria! We found our way via back roads to Kerang Golf Course where there are powered sites for $20 per night and use of amenities. Lovely and green and we enjoyed the sunset over the greens.

The Winton Wetlands

Koondrook is another river town with flood damage still to repair. On to Lake Boga, which surprisingly was not very busy. We thought we would continue on our silo trail, so we went out on Sea Lake Road. We found Lake Tyrrell and explored the new boardwalk and viewing platform — the pink of the lake and floating salt crystals made for interesting photos. NB to tourists: the boardwalk is there so you DON’T walk on the lake floor!

On to Greens Lake and then to Woomelang. There was more art on the smaller mobile silos parked around town and some very clever 3D-corrugated iron pictures all around a small lake at Cronomby Tanks. There was a lovely little campground with fireplaces, tables and chairs and toilets. Please leave a donation in these small towns, they are providing a great service to traveller.

More silos the next day — Lascelles, Roseberry, Brim. All different and all very well done. We finished at Kaniva — the silo is beautifully painted but very hard to view properly as there is a building in the way. There’s an amazing flock of sheep and I think pigs throughout the town with lovely informative ear tags. The Blues Brothers and a pig adorned the hotel balcony!

Before we crossed back into South Australia, we detoured to Serviceton. We were amazed by the size of the old Railway Station building. Besides being  a super busy station in its heyday, customs and border fees were paid here and there was a distinct bias to Victoria in the layout of the station. An elderly gentleman showed us around. He had so much information we can only hope he writes it all down so that history won’t be lost. Heritage Australia should be involved in the upkeep of this magnificent building, which is far too much for the few volunteers that are available!

The Serviceton Railway Station

We went through Wolseley and viewed the World War II fuel tanks. We had no idea such things existed in that part of SA. We found a lovely little caravan park in Coonalpyn by the swimming pool — power and showers for $5. Unfortunately, it was back home the next day through Wellington and Milan. River levels were up but no flooding yet.

We were so impressed by the silo art we viewed, not just one trail but multiples and all exceptionally well done. It’s a great way to explore the back roads and small towns of Victoria and see the countryside you wouldn’t normally go through on the main highways. We have learnt there are many more trails to follow, so the next trip may be to ......?

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Written: Mon 01 May 2023
Printed: May, 2023
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