Melbourne to Parachilna

June 11

Departure Day. It’s wet and cold as we pack the last things into the van and then Philip decides we need to wash the van and vehicle before we leave. Great!! Anyway we get it done and it looks nice and clean to head away. We board the Spirit of Tasmania just after 6pm and have a great spot. Should be about 6th vehicle off tomorrow morning.

June 12

We arrive in Melbourne and disembark just after 6.30, to a very cool morning. Philip has a doctors appointment at 10 am so we have planned to meet Kevin and Isabel for breakfast in Richmond (near where Philips appointment is). We had a lovely breakfast and a good catchup before heading up to the doctors.

Once the doctors was done we headed for the freeway and out of Melbourne, heading North towards Mildura. Leaving the city behind by midday. We had a pretty good straight run heading up through areas we have visited before so not much stopping this time. Our aim is to reach warmer climes as soon as possible so our first couple of days will be long ones. By 5.30 we are ready to stop and found a nice rest area at Lake Tyrell, Victoria’s largest Salt Lake. A nice dinner and an early night ends a good days travel.

NB. The vehicle and van stayed clean for about two hours before being covered in dirty spray from the road. Guess we know we left home with it clean.

June 13 Wednesday

On the road early after a quick breakfast and again driving straight through many interesting towns, all of which we have visited on previous trips. There is not much traffic and the miles tick over quickly. We share the driving and Philip gets to sleep while I drive. We stopped for lunch at Burra, and refuelled and then did a quick drive round some of the Copper Mine area. There has been quite a few paddocks being sown with grain as there has been some rain. Some green tinges are showing through and the hills have a tinge about them, but they need a lot more rain for it to continue.

Later in the day, around Orrorro and Hawker, the green tinges have gone and the ground is barren. The roadsides have a small amount of feed and there are heaps of road kill, Emus and Kangaroos.

Around 5pm we pull into Parachilna and find the camping area before going for a walk around the town before darkness falls. Then for a lazy night we head down to the Parachilna Hotel for dinner. A lovely meal (Goat Curry for Philip). Back to the van and another early night. Two big days but we can now slow down and enjoy the area we have come to see.

(P- A couple of big days only made possible by the fact that Judith is very competent in driving our “rig” and gives me many rest breaks to grab a quick sleep while she drives- Interesting OBSERVATION! Truckies don’t usually wave but when Judith is driving she seems to attract many waves from the Truckies. She also get a lot of looks and comments as this not so tall lady climbs out of the drivers seat!

Tomorrow we are looking forward to visiting Farina – the old Ghan Railway Ghost Town that has the most ruins and a restoration and preservation program ( undertaken by volunteers) to maintain this history for future generations. Rumour has it the original underground Bakery is in operation which will be interesting to see! We will now wander aimlessly North absorbing our Outback History as we do so.)