We slept well through the night, hearing only the click clacking of frogs, a particular variety not heard before, and were the last of the four overnight parties to leave this morning. The road on to Benalla continued as yesterday, passing through beautiful countryside very reminiscent of that east of Goondiwindi passed through about June last year. Evidence of the floods was all about, with creeks and billabongs filled to the top and the ground beside the road waterlogged and hazardous to those who might choose to pull off for whatever reason.
Benalla has a population of somewhere between six and nine thousand, depending on what source you use. Perhaps the woman in the Visitor Centre was referring to the entire district when she cited the greater figure. Whatever the correct figure, it certainly warrants more attention that we gave it this morning.
The township, situated on the Broken River, was surveyed and first populated in 1849, coming into its own in the 1850s when it served as a provisioning centre for the prospectors and miners passing through on their way to the goldfields. In the 1870s, Benalla served as headquarters for the hunt of the infamous Ned Kelly, and nowadays cashes in on Kellyana and Kelly history, sharing the role with other towns, Glenrowen, Beechworth and Wangaratta.
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| Ceramics beside the river |
We were most taken with the ceramic mural beside the river, which also serves as the town lake, although not today, the dam having been opened. The mural is a fascinating sculptural piece started in 1983 and finished decades later. Both Chris and I wondered why the nooks and crannies of this creation were not filled with rubbish and all sorts of other horrors that the homeless or the irresponsible care to leave in such shelters, and expressed our concerns to the volunteer in the nearby Centre. She confirmed that this indeed had happened along with mindless vandalism from time to time, and while appreciating the beauty and artistry of the sculpture, confessed that the whole project had its detractors.
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| Ned Kelly's Siege at Glenrowan |
We wandered up and down the main street, purchasing the day’s newspaper and a loaf of bread, then made our way across the river to the Art Gallery which is housed in a lovely modern building tastefully situated beside the sometimes lake. The gallery boasts paintings by some of Australia’s greatest artists, and we certainly can attest to this, however they are, in our opinion, poorer examples of their works. Again the now familiar names of Streeton, Von Guerard, Roberts, Bunny; confirming that we are being educated in matters Australian. Currently there is an exhibition of Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly Series, a collection of sixteen paintings depicting the highlights of The Story of the region. We had seen several of Nolan’s paintings where the armoured Kelly features prominently; I had not particularly liked them. This "collection of illustrations" (my words, not the curators) did appeal a whole lot more. But even more, both Chris and I were particularly taken with the large tapestry rendition of Sidney Nolan’s Siege at Glenrowan, Kelly’s last stand, made in Portugal. The tapestry is far more vibrant than the original painting and is huge. It is part of the permanent collection of the Gallery.
We left Benalla with a great handful of pamphlets about attractions that are evidently worth visiting, and for me, leaving so quickly seemed a shame. We discussed our travel plans again and agreed that we should set out an alternative itinerary then email Advantage Caravan Repairs to reschedule our service appointment.
Just east of Benalla, we re-joined the Hume Freeway and motored on to Wangaratta. With a population of over 16,000 and situated beside the Ovens River, Wangaratta considers itself the gateway to the gourmet wine and food region. Squatter’s runs were taken up in the 1830s and again, like Benalla, it prospered as a provisioning centre for those travelling on through.
There we called into the Information Centre where we were once more overwhelmed with the amount of excellent attractions on offer. We found a park just across the river, and after lunch worked through an optional plan, day by day, and decided that ideally a further week would allow us a more relaxed tour of this region which was becoming more and more fascinating as we travelled on. Contact with Advantage Caravan Repairs proved fruitful; hopefully it is a win-win for all. And so, confident that we would return this way within the week to do Wangaratta (and Benalla) justice, we headed south on the Great Alpine Road, travelling up the Ovens River, parallel to the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail popular even today with cyclists. The valley reminded us of travelling up the Motueka Valley in the north of New Zealand’s South Island, especially when we saw pockets of hop growing, the vines stretching toward the sky on high vertical wires, and the ruins of tobacco drying oast houses, some of which are now being turned into luxury accommodation according to our host here at the park. We also passed wineries and farm gate producers, such as fresh beef, free range eggs and berries, but have learned during the last year that this wonderful fresh produce sells for two to three times the price it sells for at Coles or Woolworths. (I am sure that comment will cause much criticism amongst those who would protect primary producers, but I am a firm follower of the doctrine of supply and demand).
Soon the flat land which we have been travelling through since well south of Shepparton, rose steeply beside us, and here at Porepunkah, just a few kilometres north of Bright, situated at the confluence of the Buckland and Ovens Rivers, the Mount Buffalo National Park protects us from any westerly winds and any hope of television reception. This is a Big4 camp, has many trees, is so superior to that we have stayed in recently, is full of very friendly fellow travellers, provides folk such as us with a television aerial cord which plugs into a socket beside the power outlet thus providing excellent reception after all, and of course charges accordingly, but fairly.
The highest peak in the Mount Buffalo Park, The Horn, rises to 1,723 metres above sea level. This is apparently a popular destination for snow skiers during the winter. We took a short walk from the park here to the river and looked up to the slopes rising steeply above, catching the last of the afternoon sun. The sparse growth at higher altitudes is evidence of serious bush fires here in 2006. We will drive high into the mountains around us over the next few days and will no doubt see this at closer quarters.
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