To the north

Day 1 - Saturday, 08th September 2018
I must say it is much harder to pack for a road trip to Central Australia than a trip to the other side of the globe.  With previous trips to Europe, we are limited by our suitcases, once they are full, packing stops. However with the car there initially appears to be an endless void, however, this is not the case.

This trip we will be using some accommodation like underground motels in Coober Pedy and the tent when the ground is not totally made of rock.


As we need to include different options the camping gear came out and lists were made.

Thankfully everything appears to have fit into the Forester and this morning we headed off.  The first 90 min Katie was at the helm taking on the roads of home and Geelong and landing us in Skipton.  This was in time to see the market (one brick a brac stall) and peruse the Op Shop.

From the Bric a Brac stall we purchased a little coffee mug, where the vendor thought he was funny, making the comment Katie had a drinking problem, then over to the op shop where we got some 'camping' wine glasses. We can now say we are the holders of a Skipton Golf Club Trophy and didn't need to step foot on the green or swing a club!

Onward we passed through Beaufort getting some important bread for the sausages we cooked in the Apex park beside the Avoca River. It was chilly but so far we'd had some sunshine and temps were around 13 degrees.

From Avoca we passed through St Arnaud, and walked the Botanic Gardens. We realised it was Saturday afternoon and most shops were closed but the town did have a very deserted feel and many shops were for lease.  The Botanic Hotel was closed and the liquidators had even posted notices on the doors showing how much rent the landlord had outstanding.  Al that was missing was the tumbleweeds. We enjoyed a coffee stop at the 'Dabbling Duck' situated in the old Council Offices, which served (surprisingly) excellent coffee, before hitting the road again.

Putting more rubber to the road, for some reason, Katie insisted we make a stop at Birchip to visit the Mallee Bull. It appeared we were the only people on the main street, except for the elderly lady who sat on the park bench and watched our every move, one can only wonder why.

We then travelled around the outskirts of Donald, the home of Kookas Cookies.

Before our final destination, we came into the two-horse town of Woomelang and found the road blocked by a stationary freight train. We waited for around 5 minutes and realised this beast was not moving in a hurry and with the help of TomTom found a bypass and a little dirt road (first one for me in the Forester).

We have now checked into a one-horse town Lascelles and have a Cabin for the evening. Apparently, according to the female flys in the bar, the town has a population of around 33.

Lascelles is one of the towns that make up part of the Wheat Silo Art trail and the one in this town is much more impressive than imagined.

Tomorrow, from wheat and silos to toes in the water!