The scale of devastation from the Victorian bushfires is unbelievable. The numbers just blow me away. More than 100 people found dead (so far) and 650 homes destroyed. I lived through the alpine fires in 2003 and was on standby to evacuate at one stage, but I struggle to contemplate the horror of the weekend’s [...]
One horse town
We visited Dartmoor today and had lunch at the pub. Dartmoor is about 50km from Mount Gambier in Victoria. I could say it’s a “one horse town“, but that wouldn’t be true. I saw more horses there than people. In the 2006 census Dartmoor had a population of 219. It’s probably less now because the [...]
Traralgon Post Office
The Traralgon Post Office is an iconic building on the corner of Franklin and Kay Streets. I grew up in Traralgon, and the post office is the only heritage building of its type that I can recall. Gippsland was settled for its rich farmland. Gold discoveries were mostly short-lived alluvial rushes in the mountains. Walhalla [...]
Lake Bolac, Victoria
Lake Bolac is exactly half way between Mount Gambier and Melbourne, 200km from both. For that reason it’s a good stopping place for a toilet break and to stretch the legs. On the way to visit Mum last week I detoured off the highway to look at the lake. Sadly it’s nearly dry. The distance [...]
Wannon Falls
We drove 550km from Mount Gambier to Moe today to spend the weekend before Christmas with my mother. We stopped just over an hour from Mount Gambier between Coleraine and Hamilton in Western Victoria to see the Wannon Falls. The falls were created by lava flows that surged upstream to the Wannon River. They feature [...]
