Day 115 - Saturday 22 April- Mount Buffalo to Beechworth

Day 115

Saturday

22 April 2017 –

Porepunkah – Mount Buffalo – Beechworth – Myrtleford – Bright

Heavy rain came down during the night though no storms as was predicted. The rain had petered out by the time I woke at 8am and began reading, however it didn’t stay that way. After getting up and having the breakfast the rain had set in again.

I had a shower, rescuing a tiny frog from the shower cubicle and returning him to the gardens outside. When I was back at the van, I sorted the things we would need for our adventure and then we clambered into the car, trying not to get wet and questioning what views we were likely to get at the top of Mount Buffalo .

Before us was the Mountain, well it was but you couldn’t see it through the thick layer of cloud and the rain coming down. We began our climb in the little car, now use to the swinging action required to get up mountains in vehicles. We passed a waterfall on the way, noting to come back on the way down. 

There was another waterfall, but this time it was just the rainwater hitting the rock face and making its escape in sheets of water, another spot to return to.  The journey up the mountain road was slow and arduous, but at least we weren’t riding, unlike some other silly buggers. You shake your head and say WHY? As you pass them, dry and warm inside your metal bubble.

We passed the camping areas and Lake Catani before seeing the sign 3.5km to the Horn the highest point of Mount Buffalo. Here is went to dirt roads, some spots were smooth, others needed grading and one muddy spot had the back wheel skipping out behind us.

We pulled into the car park with the clouds enveloping us and any chance we had of checking out the view, but at least the rain had stopped. As expected it was quite cool at the top. We walked to the viewing hut and looked below, nothing but white. It was quite surreal. Paul thought it was amusing that there was a sign indicating what could be seen in the distance, because there was just a great big nothing in front of us. 

The board telling us what we can see.

What we could actually see.

Had trouble finding the car on the way back

This will be ski fields soon. Anything above 1000m is expecting snow next week.

We returned to the car noting that there was less of a viewing distance than before. The cloud was rolling in thick and fast, it was going to be an interesting drive down the mountain.

I set the GPS so that we had a red ribbon to orientate ourselves. I took up the position of navigator, calling out “sweeping right” or “Hairpin Left”. Three meters beyond the car’s bonnet was a misted cloud, oncoming cars were signalled by their headlights. Like an apparition, they were there one second and gone no sooner had they passed us. 

Not much of a view through the windscreen

I had intended on stopping to take some photos at Lake Catani, but you couldn’t even see the lake as we passed it this time around. We continued our slow descent , cloud parted from time to time and you could see out beyond, but there was no where decent to take a photo.

We stopped at Eurobin Falls, taking the rock staircase through the green forest. It had stopped raining, but everything was still quite wet and slippery. The rush of the water over the rocks could be heard well before we reached the walk bridge spanning the Ladies Bath Section. I took some photos from the bridge before getting out on the rocks almost going arse over tit, being saved only by my knee crashing down on the rock and keeping me upright.  I took the pics I wanted and then we moved on.

From a platform further up, you could see the water cascading over the rock face, Eurobin Falls in all its glory.  We chose not to keep going, happy with all we had seen and returned to the car and back to the van.

We had lunch and regrouped for half and hour and then it was back in the car at 1.30pm and on to Beechworth to check out Bridge Road Brewery. We passed through some smaller towns along the way before climbing again and being welcomed by the sun.

We arrived in Beechworth at 2.15pm and drove the main strip before locating the brewery. We parked the car down a side street and walked back to the alley entrance of the brewery. The place was packed. I took some pics, while Paul organised his tasting paddle and then we found a place to sit outside and enjoy the break in the weather. 

While I take the photos for his reviews, I have also become chief beer smeller, giving my expert opinions of what is I smell, usually it’s beer!  We enjoyed the atmosphere of the open garden, watching others enjoy their beers and the selection of food.

Paul enjoyed the brewery and the beers, coming away with some to take home. We dropped them off in the car and then walked the main streets. The buildings are quite old and rustic. Much of the town was built on the gold found around the town site. The town is also famed for the Ned Kelly Vault, a museum of artefacts collected on Ned Kelly. The building it is housed in is the sub-treasury building built in 1858. 

We wandered up to the Beechworth Gaol and spied two gang-gang cockatoos in a tree, making a meal of the nuts the tree provided. We stood fascinated for ages before moving to the front of the gaol. Ned Kelly spent 6 months in this Gaol in 1870/71.

We returned up the main street, passing the Beechworth Honey centre, town hall, post office and other beautiful old buildings. We then made our way back to the car and began the journey home. This time we stopped in the little town Myrtelford, where I could take photos of the trees, still dazzled by the spectacular colours. 

The closer we got to Bright, the darker the skies became. Out to the west, the sun was giving off a beautiful yellow glow, making the trees seem like they were lit up. We returned to Bright for groceries and fuel and then made our way back to the van just after 5pm. 

I went through the photos, while Paul went for a walk around the park. When he returned we got on with dinner. We had the heater cranked as the cool air had seeped into the van, however with dinner on, the van soon became toasty and we switched it off.

We ate and then retreated to the “Lounge”, enjoying the music playing from the ipod before retreating to bed.