Braving the countryside on a search for their elusive quarry… 🦆
Vern and Merle decided to celebrate spring by heading to the countryside in southern NSW and NE Victoria.
First stop on the trip south was one of their favourite surfie towns, Sawtell. Just south of Coffs Harbour, it boasts beautiful beaches and a laidback lifestyle. Managing to get a great site next to the beach, they settled in for a few days.
Sawtell turned out to be a good start to the season, and they were able to bag their first catch at Taste Restaurant… Yum… 😋
.So the hunting season was off to a great start!
Heading further south into the wild and cold region around Canberra, they wondered whether they might have left a bit early in Spring for camping in a caravan… 🥶❄️
After arriving at the nation’s capital, Vern and Merle slipped into tourist mode to visit some of the city’s great attractions.
First stop was the National Gallery to see the Gauguin exhibition, which was fabulous. What an incredibly talented and prolific artist who seemed, like many of his peers, to fight personal demons throughout his life. His best known images are from his time living in Tahiti, where he went to escape the torments of modern life in the 19th century.
Next stop was Floriade, on a perfect spring day. The flowers were beautiful, and the whole event was very well done.
This was followed by a trip to the National War Memorial, where Robert found his Uncle Geoff Wood on the Roll of Honour. He was a fighter pilot from the RAAF flying Hurricanes for the RAF at Morston Moore in Yorkshire.
After he had finished his tour he was to head back to Australia, however in a dreadful twist of fate he died as a passenger in a plane crash just after take off – the plane was heading for Morocco on it’s voyage back home.
After Canberra it was on to Rutherglen, a cold climate wine district just on the Victorian side of the Murray River.
Rutherglen is famous for its fortified wine and, as the sign in the town attests, it has a great port… Its most famous product is Liqueur Muscat, which is a wonderfully rich fortified wine that fetches over $250 a small bottle for the good stuff. Surprisingly, they didn’t have any of that for available for tasting…
Rutherglen is a lovely town and the caravan park is on a lake a short walk from the centre. Vern and Merle did some stocking up on local wines and even managed to bag another hunting trophy at the delightfully named Pickled Sisters restaurant.!
On to Whitfield and Bright, two favourite towns nestled in the valleys of the Victorian Alps. Whitfield has a winery across the road from the caravan park (very convenient), and the wine tasting at Gracebrook in the King Valley was a highlight!
Bright is a great place to walk shop and eat, so plenty of that was done….
Just near Bright is Mount Buffalo which has amazing views right across the Australian Alps. After a very windy drive to the summit you get to the resort, which was the place to go for Victorians in the twenties and thirties. It is now being restored to its former glory and should be magnificent when the restorations are complete.
After Bright we headed on to Yackandandah, a strangely named but wonderful little village not far from Beechworth. Here Merle was able to rekindle her love for shopping in the Emporiums that many of the cool country towns have these days. Vern got very nervous… 😬
The final destination was to Walwa, following a stunning drive along the Murray River.
This tiny town has a caravan park right on the Murray and was absolutely beautiful. Vern and Merle will be back for sure!!
Until the next trip…
Always love reading about your trips and adventures and this one certainly doesn’t disappoint ! Have a safe trip home and look forward to hearing all about it in person.
Photos look incredible, what an epic trip! 🤩