Hamilton and Horsham

Wednesday 30th March - Friday 1^st April

Happy Birthday Dad/Grandad.  Hope you had a great day.  It was really good to be able to talk to you on Sunday, and see you as well, thanks to Skype.

We woke up to heavy mist which soon turned to showers, so packing up was a bit messy.  However as soon as we were all hitched up and ready to go, it stopped raining.  We asked Know All Nancy to give us a course to HAMILTON which was to be our next stop.  She soon had us heading down a very narrow and bumpy country road.  At least it was sealed and straight.  We knew we were heading in the right direction, so just hoped the road didn’t get too much rougher.

Eventually we popped out onto a two lane road which Nancy promptly told us was the road we knew we had to be on to get to HAMILTON.  From there it was plain sailing, and we arrived in HAMILTON at lunch time.  HAMILTON has a population of about 10,000 and was founded around the wool industry.  Driving through the countryside it was easy to see why.  Huge sheep farms set in, what to my mind is, typical Aussie sheep farming country.  Dead flat land, brown grass, water holes, and dotted with gum trees to provide shade, with little mobs of sheep sleeping in the shade under the trees.

We set up camp, had lunch and then headed in to the visitors centre.  It was our intention to spend a day exploring the southern end of the GRAMPIANS National Park from HAMILTON, and then move up to HALLS GAP, which is the main centre for the GRAMPIANS, and see the rest of the GRAMPIANS from there.   After that we would move on to HORSHAM in time for Cameron’s birthday.

We knew the GRAMPIANS had been affected by the January floods but weren’t prepared for what they told us at the Visitors Centre.  Basically the GRAMPIANS were closed.  A few tracks around the outer edge were still open, but most roads and tracks from HALLS GAP were closed due to slips and washouts from the floods. There was one road into HALLS GAP still open, but it was obvious there was little point in staying there, as there would be nothing to do.  Time for a re-think.

Armed with information from the visitors centre, we headed out of town to visit a couple of waterfalls.  The first was the NIGRETTA FALLS where the Wannon River drops over rocks over 410 million years old.  The setting reminded us of pictures we had seen of streams and waterfalls in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

The next falls, the WANNON FALLS, also on the same river, were higher, and dropped into a huge basin which had gradually been eaten out by the river over millions of years.

Back in town we visited the ANSETT MUSEUM, which was actually housed in the original Ansett Airways Hanger.  Ansett Airways started in Hamilton, and the museum housed the original Fokker plane used by the airline.

Back in camp we got talking to our neighbour Hilary.  What a lovely lady.  One of those people you feel you have known all your life, and have an instant affinity with.  Hillary and her husband Greg had farmed on a 4000 acre sheep farm, at nearby CAVENDISH for many years, before moving into HAMILTON, and then eventually selling up and ‘Hitting the Road”.  She was very interested in our travels, both past and future, having done a fair bit of it herself, and she was only too happy to pass on any advice she had from her experiences on the road.  It was great to meet you Hilary, and we hope we can keep in touch, and that one day you will be able to take up our invitation and come and visit us in New Zealand.

On Thursday we headed west to nearby DUNKELD and from there were able to gain access to a small part of the Southern Grampians.  We took a walk up to a small peak known as the PICCANINNY with great views out over the surrounding farmland and the town of DUNKELD itself.  We had lunch while we enjoyed the view, and were able to spot several mobs of Kangaroos lounging about in the paddocks bordering the National Park.  We also had the thrill of watching several Wedge Tailed eagles soaring above us and at one stage were able to look down on top of one that swooped across below us. 

 Now that our plans to spend some time in the GRAMPIANS had been dashed, we decided that instead of going to HALLS GAP, we would head up the western side of the GRAMPIANS along some magnificently long straights

 and stop off for some fishing at a free camping ground beside ROCKLANDS RESERVOIR about halfway between HAMILTON and HORSHAM.  So Friday morning we headed north again, driving for miles through the same sort of sheep farming country, only to find the reservoir was about half a km from the campground and virtually unfishable due to all the logs and debris floating at the water’s edge.

We decided me may as well keep going to HORSHAM and take it from there.  Just north of the Reservoir we came across a neat little picnic area at the side of the road beside the GLENELG RIVER, so stopped in there for lunch. 

On the way we saw wild kangaroos bounding through the bush beside the road, and also an Emu wandering along doing his thing.  We also saw our first snake.  Unfortunately it was a dead one on the side of the road.

We arrived in HORSHAM at about 2.00pm and after setting up camp, went in to town.  HORSHAM has a population of about 14,000, and like HAMILTON is based on the sheep farming industry.  The town has several Agricultural Machinery Supply shops with huge tractors and other machinery on display.  After a look around town and a beer in one of its many pubs, it was back to camp for tea. 

Tomorrow, Saturday, after the usual morning’s school work, we plan to drive the 100 odd km down to HALLS GAP for a day visit as we are still keen to see what we can of the Grampians, and if we’re lucky perhaps get in a bit of fishing.