Hi there , we've moved again after having 6 great days at Tallangatta . We headed to Benalla , then on to Yea . Stopping at Benalla for some fuel & shopping then off again .
As a side note , we decided it was time to go over a weigh bridge and check our weights out - it was interesting , we weren't overweight , but we were getting close in the van . Our gross weight ( weight of van & ute ) was well under , but the weight was close to it's limit in the van . Time for the van to go on a diet !!
Back to the road , we headed toward Mansfield , not sure where we were going to end up till we had some lunch and decided where to stay . Yea was the destination !! The road took us through more beautiful valleys and also climbed a bit - pretty gradual , so that was a bonus - better than steep climbs !!
The road takes you through Bonnie Doon , Ahhh the serenity !! , seriously though , it's a nice little town on the shoreline of Lake Eildon .
There's a lot of road works near Yea with over 20klms of winding road being worked on in several worksites , the last as the worst - the temporary traffic lights broke down and the one our end didn't talk to the other one at the other end - it let the traffic come through 5 times before they organised stop/slow to get our side moving - I'd hate to think how long the line of traffic was behind us , we'd been stopped for about 10 mins , and it's a busy road .
Arriving at Yea , we found the park and went in through a tight bridge & entry gate setup , before making our way around to our site . That's as much as we did for the day !!
19/1/17
Deciding to go for a drive again , this time we are doing a loop around to Kinglake and check out some waterfalls . The drive is going to take us through where the fires went through in 2009 . We went to Tasmania that year , and drove down the Hume Freeway the day after the fires went through - it was scary then , but now it was a bit eerie - knowing that 173 people lost their lives , homes & businesses destroyed . It might be nearly 8 years since it happened , but the evidence is still there to see , ridge lines with dead trees very prominent , most of the larger trees are still black from the fire - those that weren't killed outright !! This is Kingslake West .
As you can imagine , there's lots of new houses , not many old ones survived !! From here we headed toward Kingslake , but turned off to Kingslake National Park to look at Mason's Falls . As a bonus , Mt Sugarloaf has a lookout that overlooks Melbourne - it's in the haze there somewhere !!
The canopy of the trees is much lower now than it was before , with the old trees dead or still struggling , and new trees still getting up to the old heights .
Walking around the top of the mountain was an eye opener , and was good to see a lot of bird life around .
Back down the road to the picnic area and Masons Falls . The trees here were certainly singed by the fire , but most in the picnic area survived .
Further down towards the falls , the canopy is also lower with the dead trees above .
The falls had a trickle of water running over them , but would be very pretty after rain . The water flows over many steps and cracks in the rocks .
This tree is huge , but still struggling to get over the fire - only small branches pushing out of the trunk - which is about 1.5m through !!
Back out near the park entrance are a lot of houses - again , mainly new , but there is something completely unexpected , that we hadn't noticed on the way in - a Buddhist Temple !!!
Back out and on to Kinglake , past a raspberry farm , other farmers making a lot of hay - and I do mean a lot , round bales everywhere !!
Next waterfall was Wombelano Falls on the northern side of Kinglake - it was a 700m walk in & down to the falls . This is the start of the walk .
Eventually we found the viewing platform and saw the falls across the valley - the undergrowth nearly impenetrable .
Found a little parrot sitting on the burnt remains of a tree on the loop walk back to the carpark .
Back to the ute and off to another waterfall . Driving through the hills here certainly brought the fires & damage home - people don't have many options here to escape via roads - there are not many roads in & out of Kinglake and it's surrounded by forest .
Deciding against walking the 6klm return to Wilhelmina Falls , we were surprised to find a viewing area for the falls - they were a long way away up near the top of the ridge - this photo is at full zoom .
There are many camping areas here , all in the National Park and they are beside the river / creek .
Onwards again toward Murrindindi Cascades , we followed the road further & further up the mountain - we were starting to wonder where the cascades were , and whether there would be much water flowing this high up the mountain . After about 10 klms we found the carpark and got out , you could hear the water running from across the road , We walked across the road and then down lots of steps , the noise getting louder . You can see the water crashing over the rocks barely 10m from us - you couldn't see much due to the undergrowth . The first opportunity to see the water was off a side track . The water cascades over granite boulders for over 400m and probably further than that on it's way down the mountain . There is a walking track that takes you 12 klms back down to the first campsite - we aren't doing that one !!
Following on from other photo's of dragonflies , here's another !!
Back to the ute and back to Yea , it's been a busy day , plenty of walks and driving , we got back to the van at 5:30 .
The weather has changed , with rain forecast for tonight , and cooler temps for tomorrow .
20/1/17
The rain came overnight as predicted , temps barely getting above 22 degrees for the day . We spent the day stripping some of the fat from the van - not easy to prune all of your belongings to less than a few hundred kilo's , but we're working on it !!
Here's a map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lmiMpNnO_5pS1ifb8Gxcer8QYUc&usp=sharing
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