22 September 2013 - Sundowner Rockbank Caravan Park, Rockbank, Victoria

It was nigh on 9 am before we were up this morning which is very slothful for us. It was probably because we had over indulged yesterday on food, friendship and a little wine. Yesterday’s lunch stretched from 10.30ish to 4 pm, and could have stretched out even longer had we not made our excuses to head back to camp.

Janet and Bob are friends from one of Chris’s previous lives, and I am but “the next wife” although I feel embraced by their welcoming ways as if I had been the first or second. And real old friends are those you can pick up with after years of absence almost as if you have never been away although it would be unrealistic to say the wrinkles have not deepened and the step not quite so quick, even since our last reunion early last year. We sat hours over coffee and great chunks of delicious home baked cake, wandered along the banks of Jackson Creek in Sunbury, our chatter drowning out that of the birds, looked through a couple of show homes and took delight in praise and criticism of the architectural features, and then sat long over a delightful lunch of steak and salad, followed by decadent sticky date pudding and ice-cream, all washed down by a bottle of New Zealand wine. And if that were not enough, we are returning for more on Wednesday night; a month’s calories in two sittings.

We had called into SuperCheap Auto in Sunbury and purchased the last few bits required to fix The-Tree-Hole, and this morning Chris made a start on that, and then again this afternoon when we returned, continued with the slow process of the repair. The rear of the caravan will soon be restored to a perfect state and we will all be happy again.

Weir across the Maribyrnong River

We packed a picnic lunch and headed over to Brimbank Park, a State Park administered by Parks Victoria, just over twenty kilometres from Rockbank and situated in the suburb of Keilor, just off the Western Ring Road, part of the Maribyrnong Valley Park. The river has hollowed out the valley some fifty five metres below the Keilor Plain and so the park encompasses steep banks and sloping terraces.

We easily found a picnic table and from there, as we digested our lunch, watched families arrive with their children, tricycles and bicycles, rugby balls, soccer balls and packs of sausages to barbeque on the gas appliances about the park. Soon it became too busy for our taste and we set off down to the river and along the pathways, under the River Red Gums noisy with a host of birds; fairy wrens, lorikeets, parrots, cockatoos, magpies, crows, willy wagtails and more. The paths down to the fords across the river were closed due to high water; the rushing waters over the weirs was far too dangerous to cross and upstream the river waters were brown and brooding, again not at all tempting to enter had we felt like a swim. Swimming is a sometimes occupation here, I think, because there were ropes hanging down from big trees, obviously for intrepid boys who come in the summertime to push boundaries.

Melbourne's Organ Pipes

Chris could not remember the park in existence when he lived here, not really so far away in Deer Park all those years ago, and yet it had been here, open to the public; the Park was opened in 1976. The whole park is 326.8 hectares, really too big to miss.

We were back at the land cruiser within the hour so decided to head further up the Calder Highway to the Organ Pipes National Park. Chris was aware of this 121 hectare park from when he lived nearby however had never seen it for himself, so we were seeing two new Melbourne attractions, new to both of us.

This Park in situated a deep gorge in the grassy, basalt Keilor Plains, cut out by the Jackson Creek, that we walked beside yesterday in Sunbury. Here are three geological features which draw the tourist; the Organ Pipes themselves, the Tessellated Pavement and Rosette Rock. We have seen “organ pipe” rock formations in several places around the country, the most recent being those in the Gawler Ranges National Park to the immediate north of the Eyre Peninsula, and I remarked then that those in New South Wales near Narribri were superior, and I would say that again today after seeing these in Melbourne, however these were not without their charm. Today’s version reminded me of dreadlocks rather than organ pipes, but still impressed for the mere fact of being unusual. About half a kilometre upstream we came upon Rosette Rock, and having no idea what to expect, were amazed to find this rock formation looking just like, of course, a rosette. This is actually a radial array of basalt columns, attributed to the cooling of a pocket of lava, probably formed from an earlier lava flow if you need to know the scientific version. 

The Tessellated Pavement

This park is Victoria’s smallest national park, and in its previous life, had lost all of its original flora and fauna. Thanks to the valiant efforts by Friends of the Organ Pipes, one could almost believe that today, it is in its original state. In 1972, The Park covered a mere sixty five hectares, but has since grown to an area of 134 hectares, still small by Australian standards.

The Rosette Rock

A little further upstream is the tessellated pavement, an assortment of basalt columns eroded by the creek and while not as impressive as the other two features, well worth the trek down the steep path and the rather exhausting uphill return. However again, we were back to the vehicle inside an hour, but this time headed home. 

We sat drinking our coffee watching a convoy of caravans and campervans leave the camp out through the back gate adjacent to our camp spot. They were all heading for the ferry terminal and had all made the choice to delay their exit from the camp. This resulted in another lot of rigs waiting at the front entrance waiting for sites to be free; not really the best arrangement. I am leaving organisation for next Saturday to Chris; he is still adamant we will find ample parking along the waterfront. I should make a bet with him.