I wanted a slow journey to connect with James and wean him off computer games for entertainment. The train was perfect.

It’s a comfortable 828km trip, departing 7.40am from the Adelaide Parklands station just 1km from our home in Mile End.

We had to arrive an hour beforehand to collect pre-paid tickets and check-in our baggage. It was immediately apparent that most of our fellow passengers were elderly, with a smattering of backpackers.

Our fares cost just under $100 for two people (one way), which is excellent value. It would cost more to drive to Melbourne by car.

While waiting at the station I had a tasty breakfast of egg, cheese and bacon wrap with coffee in the well-run cafe.

The train was nearly full and left Adelaide on time, rattling slowly past the Showgrounds and suburbs toward the Adelaide Hills.

There were frequent showers of rain throughout the journey, including when we crossed the Murray at Murray Bridge (pictured below).

We had four bags, two of which we checked in. I carried aboard my backpack with electronic gizmos (iPad, Nintendo DS, etc) and enough food to keep a seven-year-old nourished for several days.

James munched his way through the early part of the trip, finishing most of the “sour worms” and Burger Rings, however I recommend tacking snack food aboard simply for convenience and value.

Trolley service is provided for refreshments twice during the day. In the morning we ordered a coffee and chocolate muffin for $6, which again was good value. We skipped the afternoon visit in lieu of buying direct from the cafe carriage (pictured below).

James really liked the dining car. There were few people there each time we visited, so we were able to spread out, and in his case at least, run around. There are power points in there too, which I utilised to charge my mobile phone.

The scenery is probably better in winter than summer. The greenery and wet areas made for interesting viewing. It’s fairly dull though between Murray Bridge and Nhill. Bordertown (pictured below) provides a welcome break from the flat, brown farmland and bush.

The towns are a little closer together in Victoria, with Dimboola following Nhill, where there was a change of driver.

Unfortunately it was raining when we passed through historic Stawell and Ararat. The sun shone afterwards, giving some lovely views of the Grampians and lake country (pictured below).

It surprised me the train went through Geelong, rather than Ballarat. The North Shore station at Geelong was an unappealing, sparse outpost in the suburbs.

It was a short trip from there to Southern Cross Station (Spencer Street) in Melbourne. It was fully dark by the time we arrived there, more than 11 hours after departing Adelaide.

Southern Cross is on the edge of the CBD, but close enough to quality accommodation. We stayed three blocks away on the corner of Latrobe Street.

I strongly recommend the train journey for anyone who is not in a hurry to get from A to B. You can stretch out, walk around and enjoy fine amenities.

It actually seems contrary to the “Anzac spirit”, which wartime historian Charles Bean defined as: “Reckless valor in a good cause, enterprise, resourcefulness, fidelity, comradeship and endurance that will never own defeat.”

Although, I suppose it is resourceful of Australians to contrive an excuse for a long weekend.

Maybe I’m just bitter that I worked most holiday Mondays during my career as a journalist.

But it’s interesting to note our Kiwi friends aren’t taking a day off on Monday.

“A spokesman for the Minister of Labour said there were no immediate plans to change the current situation and most New Zealanders wanted to recognise Anzac Day on the day itself.”

And it will be interesting to see how resourceful Australians are next year when Anzac Day falls on Easter Monday.

Regarding Anzac Day itself, there has been some discussion this year about whether relatives of deceased servicemen should be allowed to march, as they have been encouraged to do in past years.

Relatives were today being asked to join the back of the marches. The RSL said this was to boost the dignity of the events amid concerns about the dress sense and behaviour of some planning to attend.

That’s fair enough. I’ve been concerned that Anzac Day has lost its solemnity in recent years. Some people behave as if it’s a celebration, rather than a commemoration.

There will come a time soon enough when there are no longer WW2 veterans marching. The RSL needs to start planning for this, both in terms of its membership and managing the Anzac Day ceremonies.

I suggest doing away with the marches. Simply have an 11am service in addition to the dawn service.

We returned to Mount Gambier today after a lovely two-week holiday in the Alpine Shire region of North East Victoria, where we used to live.

The video shows the kids jumping into the Ovens River at Porepunkah.

We stayed in a four-bedroom holiday house on the Buffalo Creek Road, south of Myrtleford. It was a little remote from town (8km), but offered great scenery and plenty of space at good value.

James (6) wanted a helicopter to pick up the house and take it back to Mount Gambier!

Regular readers will know we visited Bright and Porepunkah, swam in the Ovens River and Lake Buffalo, climbed The Horn and enjoyed fine food at Milawa and Beechworth.

The weather was a mixed bag. Some days were hotter than we were used to (from previously) and there was a cold snap, but most days were perfect.

I commented to friends that in our nine years at Porepunkah we could only recall one day over 40 degrees. I kept daily weather records for much of that time as well.

However, we struck two 40-degree days during our holiday. That followed some similarly hot days earlier in the summer and more are forecast this week.

Deny climate change? Not me.

Our house was air-conditioned and we avoided the worst of the heat by cooling off in the river or lake.

Despite being away for four years, a lot of people remembered us. Juliet took the boys into Myrtleford for a haircut and the hairdresser remembered everyone’s names. We bumped into many people we knew.

The drive was just under 10 hours, including voluntary and necessary stops. We travelled up via Ararat, Bendigo and Shepparton, returning via Melbourne and Ballarat.

The return trip was on better roads and slightly quicker, despite the longer distance. Kathleen and Maggie both get carsick, unfortunately.

I’m a great believer in three-week holidays. This one was terrific, just a little short.

Not much has changed. They are still wonderful places to visit.

This time we also went to Walkabout Apiaries, where they offer honey tasting and sales.

Unfortunately we followed a bus load of elderly tourists into the cheese factory and mustard store, so it was nice to find ourselves alone at the honey farm.

The owner gave us a description and tasting of about six different honey varieties.

It was a revelation to me, having only eaten mass-produced supermarket honey before today.

It makes sense that honey will taste different depending on the pollen of the tree.

We bought 2.5kg of honey! The varieties are River Redgum, Orange Blossom and Chestnut.

The chestnut honey isn’t sweet.

We also bought some honeycomb. It’s claimed to be beneficial as an anti allergen.

I read a scientific report at work before going on holiday that honey has been proved as good for the digestive system. It produces “good” bacteria, apparently.

First stop in Beechworth was the Murray Breweries cordial factory.

The brewery (pictured) was built in 1865 at the height of the gold rush. The original owner was George Billson, hence the name on the building Billsons Brewery, however over the next 50 years it underwent a number of name changes until 1916 when the current name of Murray Breweries was established.

The site was chosen because a natural spring occurred there.

Beer production ceased during the 1920s due to the intervention of a temperance group, although stout continued to be made for another 30 years. It was at this time a soft drink and cordial factory was opened.

Today the “brewery” specialises in 19th century cordial mixers of long-forgotten flavors made to traditional recipes and methods.

The flavors we bought were Sarsaparilla, Portello, Lime and Coconut, and Lemon Lime and Bitter.

The site also includes a carriage museum. The 19th century hearse is worth a look.

Next stop was Beechworth Gold, which my wallet would like me to forget.

The Beechworth Sweet Company is a huge lolly shop and it was absolute mayhem inside with kids everywhere.

Maggie said afterwards she nearly got “trapped”. That must be every child’s nightmare, being locked in a lolly shop.

Beechworth is one of the few country towns to retain its historic facades. So many other places knocked them down as part of an ugly modernisation from the 1950s onwards.

The Beechworth Courthouse

Beechworth Post Office

Today was my 43rd birthday. I don’t feel any older, of course, and milestones come around so quickly now they no longer excite me.

It’s nice to celebrate a birthday while on holiday though. That’s been my practice for the past four years.

I enjoyed my usual Saturday morning newspaper routine. However, in addition to The Age and The Australian, I read Albury-Wodonga’s Border Mail, one of the best regional newspapers in the country.

At 11.30am Juliet and I left the lunatics in charge of the asylum (the kids at the house) and went out for lunch.

First we sampled some delightful cool climate white wines at Gapsted.

The cellar door is beautifully situated on the Great Alpine Road, overlooking a vineyard with Mount Buffalo in the background.

I drank a toast to the late Ron Bailey, whose name I always associate with Gapsted given his vision for the place.

Ron died of motor neurone disease while I was editor of the Myrtleford Times. When Dale Baker was diagnosed with the same condition I couldn’t help but think of Ron, who was a dynamic, visionary man.

After Gapsted we went to the Old Butter Factory in Myrtleford for lunch.

The original butter factory ceased production in 1966. After being vacant for several decades, it underwent sympathetic restoration in 2005, just after we left the district. Today it retains many original architectural features, as well as its turn-of-the-century industrial feel.

It is now a licensed cafe restaurant with a produce store. Butter is hand made on the premises.

We were welcomed by part owner Naomi Ingleton. Her mother Bronwyn Ingleton, a former chef with the US consul general in Melbourne, is the other owner and chef.

I have trouble describing how our entree of bread was served because I’ve not experienced it before.

It came with the locally made butter (delicious) and goat cheese spread. The garlic though, was amazing.

There were tiny bulbs, from which we extracted the garlic, and spread it on the bread. I’m sure there’s a more technical definition.

I had an Angus beef burger with beetroot relish for the main meal. It came with crispy potatoes. Juliet and I both loved the salt flakes, which come from Murray River Salt.

According to their blurb: “This pure ancient sea salt contains no additives or preservatives, but is loaded with natural minerals and elements such as magnesium and calcium. These natural mineralized brines give the salt a lovely pink color, as well as a unique and delicious flavor. Our Gourmet Pink Salt Flakes are enjoyed by food connoisseurs the world over.”

I don’t normally add salt to my food, but this was just superb.

Before leaving we purchased some of the hand-made butter, cauliflower mustard pickles and peach and rosemary chutney.

Picture: The vineyard at Gapsted Wines.

We visited Porepunkah today for the first time since we left almost four years ago exactly.

The twins, now 6, don’t remember Porepunkah at all, but for the older children it’s where they grew up and where they attended most of their primary school.

I had mixed feelings today. Seeing how wonderful it is I wondered why we ever left.

The reasons were sound at the time. Financial gains; career move for me; and a chance for the older kids to live in a major regional centre, giving them more educational, sporting and cultural options.

Kalgoorlie was a stark contrast, but it delivered on the financial aspects.

At Mount Gambier we sacrificed the financial gains and hoped for an upswing on the lifestyle scale. Has that been achieved? Time will tell.

Porepunkah hasn’t changed much. The only new business we could see was the Rail Trail Cafe in the old shop opposite the hotel near the service station and the old bridge.

When we moved to Porepunkah in 1996 we were told the shop used to be a butcher. Our neighbor used to work there.

It was vacant for many years and then it became a residence.

Today it was thriving as a cafe, with more than a dozen bikes parked outside the front and all the tables full.

What a great idea! We used to cycle from Porepunkah to Bright and enjoy a wine and coffee at the Riverdeck, but there was nothing for the majority of people who travel the other way, except the Porepunkah Hotel.

Not everyone feels comfortable going to a pub.

The swimming hole at the river was just as we remembered it (pictured above) … a great place to cool down on a perfect summer’s day.

Summer in Porepunkah was nearly always perfect. Most days were in the range of 28 to 34 degrees, with not much variation.

Our arrival to 41 degrees was quite a shock. Next week there is a forecast of several days in the mid 20s, which is unusually cool.

Today was normal for summer, as we remembered it, and everyone enjoyed a swim in the river.

I’m sure we’ll visit two or three more times before we leave.

One visual disappointment was the overgrown state of the Porepunkah Oval, pictured below.

There is obviously no cricket or baseball being played at the moment, and the school children are on holiday, but people might use the oval if they could.

It’s a shabby look that I can’t imagine seeing on a public sports ground outside of Africa.

Carlton great Newton Chandler (pictured), who played his first football on the oval, would be turning in his grave.

We caught the sun rising over a ridge near Casterton (pictured).

The drive took us to Hamilton, Glenthompson, Ararat, Avoca, Maryborough, Bendigo, Shepparton and Benalla before crossing to Myrtleford along the Great Alpine Road.

We had covered half the distance before the heat kicked in. It was over 40 degrees and very uncomfortable by the time we got to Shepparton.

Juliet wanted to visit the SPC cannery and pick up some fruit snacks for the kids.

A cool change is expected in Victoria on Tuesday afternoon.

Thanks to that, a Mastercard I’ve had for two years and some holiday spending, I have accrued 85,000 points. It’s a significant amount, and I now have some attractive flight options.

For instance, I could book a return flight to India, Japan or South Africa.

I could book two return tickets to Auckland, Christchurch, Cairns, Darwin or Perth.

I doubt we’ll use the points in the next 12-24 months, but it’s good to know they’re accumulating.

Unlike Fly Buys, the good thing about the Qantas program is the points don’t drop off if you don’t use them within a certain timeframe.

Hopefully, we’ll double the points in the next three years. That would entitle Juliet and I to a return trip to South Africa or Europe, or possibly we could fly the family to Perth for a repeat of the Mandurah summer holiday we used to enjoy from Kalgoorlie.

Another feature of the American Express card is I get a free return flight with Qantas each year to Sydney or Brisbane. I might go to Brisbane for a Lions game, or maybe to Sydney for a rugby test and to see the great view (pictured) again.