Duration of travel: 4hrs 22 minutes
Distance travelled: ~205km
Time of Arrival (back home): ~8pm
Fuel Consumption: 9.2l/100km
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This weekend trip, we headed out with my parents along for the day. We were heading up to Marysville, famed for its mountain ranges and magnificent , cascading waterfalls. Setting off with the car filled to the brim with the usual breakfast sandwiches, bbq utensils and assorted picnicware, spare clothes and shoes, lots of water and seven people, we headed to the first stop point, Healesville Information Centre.
I love information centres. Even if I have fully researched a location of the place we are going (which not everything is satisfactorily explained in detail online anyway), I like stepping into a building, fully dedicated to stacks and stacks of gleaming coloured brochures. I like flipping through them, looking at the pictures and reading about things I can do or things I can buy. I always inevitably come out from said centre with a pile of brochures so heavy that I have taken to bringing a shopping bag solely for putting the brochures in. Jeffrey however, is happy to take a few brochures, and when he is done with reading and "memorising" it, throws it into the recycling bin. I however, am an hoarder and tend to have way too many "collectibles" ("rubbish" is his description), littered all about the house. Its been about 4 road trips now, as I m writing this blog (road trip 4 write up - coming soon), and already I have 2 shopping bags full of brochures and leaflets. The great thing about information centres is, they don't only have information about surrounding areas, but gives me ideas of where to go next. I even have some brochures for Adelaide and Tasmania that I nicked from Healesville.
Back to the road trip. We left the information centre in Healesville and headed for our breakfast stop at Beechworth Bakery. I was considerably more cheerful with my armful of brochures. The helpful information centre man had enlightened me as to why there were so many cars and people about Healesville. Rochford Wines were having their "A Day on the Green" concert this weekend, and their performer was none other then Rod Stewart!!
Beechworth Bakery was a sight to behold. A huge building standing by itself, it was all windows with a light airy atmosphere. The smell upon entering was heavenly. Being in a bakery, for me, is like a child in a sweet shop. A sense of euphoria from the smell and the sight of all the yummy delicacies laid out in their glass cases and I was lost in indecision over what to get. The only thing that could top being in a bakery is being in a chocolate factory! I was happy to discover that Beechworth Bakery was having its annual Beesting Sale! A Beesting is a little bun like confectionery with almond and custard fillings. A description of what it is wouldn't do it justice, it just tasted yummilicious! The best thing was, with the sale, u could get a second beesting for only 5 cents when u got the first one at normal price ($3.50). Beechworth Bakery proved to be a popular place in town as an endless stream of customers continually trooped in and out as we sat savoring our morning tea. A group of Harley bikers even stopped by, much to my father's delight, being a big fan of Harley Davidsons.
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Our tummies full and appetites temporarily satisfied, we headed back on the road. Our next destination was the Maroondah Reservoir. I like reservoirs. The tranquil waters just seem so peaceful. I can easily picture myself, seated on a deckchair next to the waters, book in hand, enjoying nature in its splendour. Then I remember that there are no electicity power points and my laptop would be dead within an hour, and there is no internet connection. What would I do without my electronic gadgets?
Anyway, the Maroondah Reservoir was a beautiful site, with the water levels at 48.1%, although its capacity was only 22,000 ML as opposed to the Cardinia's (Road Trip #1) 287,00 ML. We stopped at a viewing area to have a look at the Reservoir and did not actually attempt to get nearer as we did not plan to actually walk along the treks. With the constant reminders that water levels were depleting and that our next generations could be seriously deprived of good quality water in the coming years, it is nice to have a look at our reservoirs every now and then, and see that all the effects of our water restrictions have made a difference in helping this worth while cause of preservation for our children.
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Back on the road, we took the Black Spurs drive past Narbethong to Marysville. This scenic route was absolutely enchanting, with its majestic Victorian Ash trees lining the path, towering above us. The winding road was also a challenging drive for Jeffrey, although it was less harder for the passengers to enjoy as we swayed back and forth at the back. Nonetheless, the beauty of the trees, and the whole idea of how long the trees have been on this earth and what it had endured and seen as it grew ever so stealthily towards the blue sky made the drive thoroughly recommendable.
The pictures taken by my father cannot convey the true splendor of the trees and surrounding forestry, but hopefully, it would give u an idea of its size.
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Heading past Narbethong, we made it into Marysville and I proceeded into the Visitor Information Centre to grab a map to Steavenson Falls. I was advised that I could actually hike up to Steavenson Falls from our current location, but a 5 km walk with 3 kids were out of the question. We decided to drive up, but ventured into the town area to have a look at the shops, while the kids enjoyed the playground.
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In town, there was a toy shop, Manical Mechanicals advertising a Meccano display. We used to have Meccano set when we were kids, they were the predecessors of Lego, and my parents decided to have a look at it although it was only in 3 rooms. The man who made all the displayed items started when he was about 12 years old, and till this day at over 80 years old, still adds to the display. There were buttons to start up the displays, as most of them were set up to twirl or move forwards or backwards. The display link above has photos of examples of the meccano builds, but we took some photos of our own as well.
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to be continued.......
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