First day of a two week holiday to South Australia with brother Stefan, friend Lynne and wonder dog, Mitzy.
Stopped off to watch the Grampians Cricket Club in Dunkeld valiantly batting against the opposition…with a beautiful back drop of Mt Abrupt. A ‘Stefan’ in one of the teams was ‘dismissed’, much to the amusement of my bro Stefan siting in car hearing the match progress.
Onwards to see a giant River Red Gum (apparently the widest River Gum in Victoria with a girth of 13m and diameter of 4m), 400m downstream from the bridge near the Mirranatwa-Dunkeld Rd and junction with the Victoria Point Rd. We tried hard to find it but couldn’t…we must have looked like lost townies because a couple of locals stopped to help. They immediately knew it was the Rod Bird – photographed tree, driving us to it. As we peered into the thicket, they told us we needed Mary’s (the landowners) permission to walk onto the property to view it. So after all that effort, we drove on. Lynne and Stef decided we won’t be visiting any other ‘trees’ on this holiday.
Arrived at our budget accommodation in Hamilton, dropped out bags off the motel and went to see Wannon Falls – a tricklet of water flowed ….but it was wrong time of the year.
Visited Nigretta Falls the following morning, set in outstanding scenery and more spectacular than Wannon. Walk down the 143 steps to the base and you can swim in the water pool and fish. I didn’t.
Another tree finding adventure the following day, to see the 800 yr old Biltson’s tree in Casterton, with the same result…doh! a 1.5 hour round trip walk into the bush! We got lost on a bumpy goat track trying to access the quickest road to our destination for the night, Naracoorte….but it was lovely to see an emu and a mob of kangas hopping around the bush area we drove into….we turned back and finally found the right connecting road.
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