Monday was a pleasant drive from Shepparton to Bonegilla, near Wodonga, stopping for a short break at Glenrowan, made famous by Ned Kelly and his gang. We had a wander around the Main Street, found some post cards for the grandkids and then continued onto Boatharbour Caravan Park, on Lake Hume, Bonegilla. The van park was a resort style with pool, spa, jumping pillow and tennis courts. None of this was of much interest, except for the heated spa. The other positive was the van site allotted to us was huge and we almost had the place to ourselves. Down side was we had planned on using the kayak but the lake was at only 40% capacity and was not very appealing. Joan found another positive in the High Country Rail Trail. 74 kilometres of reclaimed railway track that hugs the shoreline of Lake Hume from Wodonga to Old Tallangatta and then continues onto Corryong. It is now a bike trail but apparently also very attractive for runners.
Tuesday we drove north over the Murray River, into New South Wales to visit the Hume Dam and spillway. Engineering wise, it was fairly impressive but disappointing that the water level was so low. Wednesday was a day of reflection. We visited the Bonegilla Migrant Centre. This is one of a number of ex-military camps used after WWII to process, house and educate immigrants and refugees from war-torn Europe. This got Joan thinking about her parents when they migrated, in the early 1950’s, from Holland to Australia and if they had spent time in a place like this. Speaking to her dad that evening she learnt they had been processed through Bonegilla but had not stayed there as they had already secured employment and met all the other requirements to live and work in Australia. Joan’s dad went on to work at Savage River, as previously touched on, and also the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme.
Thursday we broke camp and drove the 35klm east along the shoreline of Lake Hume pulling up at the showgrounds in Tallangatta. Joan was pleased to find that the High Country Rail trail ran right behind our van. That afternoon we went for a walk along the rail trail exploring the Sandy Creek Rail Bridge area. We also went for a drive to the location of the old Tallangatta township, a further 8klm east of the existing township. In 1952 the township was relocated due to the Hume Dam level being raised to capture and contain more water. In the drier summer months the water recedes and the footprint of the original town is exposed and can be viewed from the highway.
Friday (Good Friday) was a warm clear blue sky day so we took the opportunity to go kayaking. As the water level was so low we initially had trouble finding access to the water. We found a useable boat ramp at Huon. Had a good paddle, first in awhile, though it was a little eerie paddling between all the dead trees still scattered throughout the lake. The weird thing being, exposure to water over time has turned the deadwood black, giving the impression they are burnt tree remains rather than bare drowned tree trunks. Unfortunately when driving out of the reserve we sustained our second punctured tyre in 6 months. The last one being at Paris Dam in Tasmania. Not sure what it is with access roads to dams but it must be about 10 years since I have had to change a tyre.
Saturday morning was taken up driving back into Wodonga to get the tyre repaired. Had a lazy Saturday afternoon around the van slipping out for a short time to visit the Tallangatta Lookout.
Easter Sunday was a quiet day. Started off with a surprise. Thought we had slept in but we hadn’t as unbeknown to us it was the end of daylight savings and the clocks had all been put back an hour. Once again spent the morning around the van. After lunch I went to the library to access wifi to do my weekly update of apps and write/upload the draft of this blog. Was surprised to hear cheering and clapping coming from the Tallagatta Hotel and even more surprised when I went to investigate to discover Easter Sunday ferret races underway. At the conclusion of the racing I took the short drive to Huon to do some caching along the rail trail and successfully located and recorded another find.
Anyway that’s about it for this week. Hope you all have a great week.