EXPLORING THE UPPER MURRAY

28^th January, 2013

Our house sit in Albury has come to an end and Dexter is keen on joining us in our travels.  It’s certainly been a fun experience looking after Dexter, and just thinking about how his whole body wags (not just his tail) when he holds something like a ball or an ice cube in his mouth brings a smile to our faces.  And yes!  Dexter likes ice cubes – especially on a hot day.  For the first ten days of our house sit the daily temperature did not drop below 38 degrees Celsius and for five of those days it was over 40 degrees.  Whew!  To say it was HOT is an understatement.  There were catastrophic bushfires raging across areas of Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania and we just crossed our fingers and hoped that they stayed away from our neck of the woods.  Thank goodness Daryl and Meredith’s home is air conditioned as we (and Dexter) spent most of our time indoors.  When we finally got cooler weather (well 35 degrees is cooler isn’t it?) we started to explore our surroundings.  It only seemed reasonable to check out Albury first.  Once upon a time the highway between Sydney and Melbourne used to go straight through the middle of the town causing a major bottleneck.  Now the highway bypasses the border towns of Albury/Wodonga making it much more pleasant for locals and tourists to get around.  Albury is a large country town with all the facilities of a major city.  It is hard not to miss the tall white spire standing on top of the hill at the end of the main street.  

War Memorial in Albury

The war memorial dominates the skyline and there is a splendid view over the town.

View of Albury from War Memorial

We visit the Information Centre which is housed in a lovely old two storey cottage and pick up lots of maps and information on the area.  

Albury Information Centre

Across the street from the Information Centre is the Railway Station and this would have to be one of the most impressive country train stations we have seen.

Albury Railway Station

Then it is time to head down to the Murray River which divides the New South Wales town of Albury from the Victorian town of Wodonga.

Murray River

There is a lovely parkland area with walking trails beside the river and it wasn’t long before we spotted the ‘Hovell Tree’.

Wok stands under the Hovell Tree

This large Red River Gum marks the place where explorers Hume and Hovell discovered the river and named it the Hume.  It was later renamed the Murray. 

Inscription on Hovell Tree

Hume and Hovell’s cross country exploratory journey from Sydney to the coast of Victoria prompted pioneering men and women to venture into these inland areas to farm and raise livestock.  We are sure these two explorers would be amazed by the progress that has taken place over the last 179 years.  As Albury lies about 155 kilometres west of the Snowy Mountains and Kosciuszko National Park we decided a day trip was in order.  Our starting point was at the Hume Dam just to the east of Albury.

The Hume Dam

This large dam holds six times the capacity of Sydney Harbour.  We have always wondered why Sydney Harbour is used as a yardstick to compare water holding capacity of dams etc. in Australia?  Perhaps it is because they (whoever ‘they’ are) think people can better visualise the vast amount of water they are looking at by comparing it with such a well known icon as Sydney Harbour.  Whatever the reason, the dam is popular with fisher people and water sports enthusiasts.  Dexter also likes the dam – he loves to go swimming in it!  We follow the river upstream until it becomes little more than a mountain creek and then climb up the mountains to visit the Murray 1 Power Station.

Murray 1 Power Station

This power station is one of seven major power stations located in Australia’s Southern Alps and is the second largest with ten turbines.  The Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme began in 1949 and was completed in 1974.  It is recognised as a civil engineering wonder of the modern world and the greatest engineering project undertaken in Australia.  Besides the seven power stations (two of which are underground) there are 16 major dams, 80 kilometres of aqueducts, 145 kilometres of tunnels and a large pumping station.  In addition to electricity production the scheme mitigates the effects of drought on irrigated agriculture along the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers.  We remember being told as children in primary school about the engineering marvel being undertaken in the Snowy Mountains.  As children we never really understood the massive undertaking that was under way.  Even now as adults, it is difficult to comprehend the project’s immense overall size and the challenges that were faced.  It is a marvellous achievement!

Unbelievable!  This weather is simply unbelievable!  More super hot days and the grass has turned brown and crackles underfoot as you walk.  The leaves on the trees are dry and brittle and it feels like the whole place could just spontaneously combust.  Wok has taken to watering the plants in the garden each morning and night trying to keep them alive.  This usually takes Wok twice as long as it should as Dexter likes to help by sticking his head under the water coming out of the hose.  Did we happen to mention that Dexter really loves water …. 

Ahhh!  Back down to 35 degrees again.  Nearly time to dig out those woolly jumpers!  We decide to take a day trip to Falls Creek in Victoria.  This alpine village is a winter ski resort and twenty six years ago we spent a week there with our children (Tina and Trent) our nephew (Wayne) and good friends (Ken, Margaret and their daughter Sharon).  Of course there will be no snow there now as it is mid summer but it will be interesting to see it without the snow and see if we can find the apartment where we stayed.  The drive up the Kiewa Valley is very pretty and at the base of the mountains is the town of Mount Beauty. 

The town of Mt Beauty at the base of the mountains

We can’t quite work that one out as the town is not on top of a mountain but it does look beautiful nestled against the side of the mountain.  From Mt Beauty it is a long winding drive up the mountain and signs and snow poles appear along the side of the road as we climb past what would be the snowline.

Sign on snowpole says 'Keep Right of Poles' - Wise advice

There are lots of dead trees by the roadside, in the valleys and along the mountain tops.

Burnt out trees by the roadside

Ten years ago this area was threatened by a bushfire that burned through a huge area of the national park.  From the very top the dead trees look like the mountains have had a frosting of snow.

The dead trees make the mountains look like they are frosted in snow

It was amazing to see how close the fire had come to the village at Falls Creek and even more amazing that no homes or buildings had been destroyed.  The fire fighters sure did a magnificent job up here to save the village.  We take a drive along the narrow laneways in the village.  In winter these roads are only accessible by snow mobile or on foot and one’s vehicle has to be left in the car park off the main road.  Surprisingly we find the block of apartments that we stayed in 26 years ago.

Southern Cross Apartments - our unit is top left

They are still called the Southern Cross apartments and the outside appears to be the same.  There does seem to be some inside renovations happening though and the adjacent metal staircase is a new addition.  This area made a great snow slide and provided us with a lot of fun.  Guess that would be out of the question now.  Snow sliding out of control human beings usually come off second best with metal stanchions.  We certainly appreciated the cooler weather while we were up on top of the mountains, but all good things must come to an end and we headed back to Albury via the picturesque towns of Bright and Myrtleford.  As we passed the turnoff to the ski resort of Hotham we could see the billowing clouds of smoke from the bushfire that was raging near Mount Feathertop.  We hope that a cooler change with perhaps some rain will come soon to give the fire fighters a chance to bring the many out of control bushfires under control.

Our next excursion is to the historical gold mining town of Beechworth – about 60 kilometres south of Albury. 

Beechworth town centre

We plan on spending a full day in Beechworth and at the Visitor Information Centre book in for a couple of guided walking tours.  At 10.15 am we meet Ian (our guide) for the Echoes of History Tour and for the next one and a half hours are regaled with stories of the settlers and gold miners who called Beechworth home.  Ian takes us on a trek through time from the 1850’s visiting many of the historical buildings as we walk in the steps of the early pioneers.

The old courthouse built in the early 1850's

Gold was discovered in 1852 and one year later 8,000 miners had swarmed to the area.  A tent city arose around the diggings and in 1853 the government responded to a request made by local store keepers to lay out a township.  The town was named Beechworth and soon became the central town of the Ovens Goldfields.  Of course no town would be complete without a lockup and Beechworth saw its fair share of crime.

Ian (our guide) tells us stories outside the old lockup

At its height during the goldrush the town boasted 61 pubs.  Well there were a lot of thirsty miners out there!  In the main street outside the old butcher’s shop we stop at the carved dished rock where beef and sheep carcases were bled.

Outside the old butcher shop - Ian has his foot on the carved drain

The carcases were then hung outside the shop ready to be butchered.  Yes we know!  We don’t even want to think about the flies, the horses in the street and the little presents they leave behind topped off with a stinking hot summer day.  Our guess is that the butcher shop would not be the most pleasant place.  After a nice lunch at the Hibernian Hotel we joined Ian again for the Ned Kelly guided tour.  For our overseas friends who may not know much about Australian history – Ned Kelly is an infamous or as some people would have it ‘famous’ bushranger (outlaw) of the 1870’s.  He and his gang wore suits of armour they fashioned out of old ploughshares and the capture of Ned Kelly at Glenrowan is the stuff of legends.  In the courtyard of a B & B in the main street a metal sculpture of Ned takes pride of place.

Metal sculpture of Ned Kelly

Ian (our guide) once again takes us on a journey back in time.  He tells us of Ned’s early childhood days and his Irish heritage.  The family’s struggle to ‘make a go of it’ in Australia and constant troubles with the law.  Ian is full of interesting scraps of information and how the misconception of Ned being a dangerous criminal occurred.  We visit the cell under the old courthouse where Ned’s mentor Harry Power (also a bushranger) was held during his trial.  Harry’s story also makes interesting reading.

We visit the cells under the courthouse in Beechworth

Beechworth has many fascinating stories to tell – one of which is about Robert O’Hara Burke who served as superintendent of police in Beechworth between 1854 and 1858 and was presented with a set of pistols in appreciation of his local service.  One of these pistols was found next to his body after the ill-fated Burke and Wills trek to the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1861.  The museum in Beechworth is named after him.  On our way back to Mitzi we came across this tree in the main street with two small doors.  

Little people must live here!

Wok knocked on the doors but no-one was home at the time.  It’s a pity - as we have always wanted to meet a leprechaun!  We’d had a great day in Beechworth and enjoyed the guided walking tours.  History can sometimes be very fascinating in the hands of a skilled storyteller!

The van is hitched up and we are on the road again.  This time we head west along the Murray River to a free camping spot we checked out a few days ago.  It’s only 45 kilometres from Albury so we are all set up by lunchtime and can relax beside the river.

Our campsite at Police Paddocks

A news broadcast catches our attention.  A massive rain depression has formed along the north coast of Australia and is slowly making its way south.  Coastal towns in Queensland and northern New South Wales are being devastated by flooding rivers and emergency services are stretched to breaking point.  What a country of extremes!  Here we are still experiencing scorching hot days and bushfires while a couple of thousand kilometres away torrential rain is wreaking havoc!  We know that it will only be a matter of days and the danger will have passed but our hearts go out to those people who have been affected by these natural disasters.  Thankfully all our family and friends are safely out of harm’s way. 

Camped beside the river

We go for a walk along the river and something on a River Red Gum catches our eye.

Something interesting on this River Red Gum

This aboriginal dot painting is well done - someone has spent quite some time doing it.

Dot painting on River Red Gum

It is very relaxing camped beside the river. 

Wok enjoys the serenity

School holidays are over and the next (and only other) camper is 100 metres away.  It is two kilometres back along a dirt track to the main road so there is no traffic noise.  There is just the occasional bird sounds and the gurgling of the water flowing past in the river.  Oh – and the odd boat cruising by. 

Just taking the dog for a ride ...

Okay - we don’t need any more convincing …. this spot will do just fine for a few days!