It was a case of deja vu as we headed up the range, west of Shellharbour. Our final destination was to be Myrtleford & we decided to break the journey into two legs, planning to stop overnight in Gundagai. It was a fair drive and feeling peckish stopped at KFC in Yass for lunch only to find they had run out of chips! Another customer asked if many patrons were upset by this, the staff member comically replying 'not as much as last week when we ran out of chicken'. We stopped at a free camp we discovered last time we were here, just outside of Gundy on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River & were off again early the following day. Passing into Victoria through Albury we arrived at Myrtleford in the early afternoon. The caravan park was relatively empty and we were given a large site under the canopy of some large maple trees.
Shaka was getting some special attention this day & for good reason. On the 31st March, 15 years ago a pure bred kelpie by the name of Luack Coke (later Shaka) was born on a small farm near Townsville. We adopted him at 4 months & at the time couldn't image he would reach such a venerable age. He's had his challenges - lost an eye at 6 months, hit by a car, allergic reactions, set upon by a couple of vicious staffies, heart murmur & a spinal growth that left him unable to walk so we are grateful that he's managed to keep going all these years. As per our custom we feasted on some of Tomoko's finest efforts - prawn gratin, sushi rolls, karaage (Japanese fried chicken) & steamed vege dim sims followed up with sponge cake for dessert. It was a great feed...even Shaka managed to have a bite or two.
Myrtleford is centrally located between the towns of Beechworth & Bright, making it a convenient base from which to visit the two towns. Beechworth is one of Victoria's best preserved gold rush towns & many buildings in the town centre maintain the feel of yesteryear. Being early autumn, the deciduous trees are starting to show some colour, adding to the town's charm. We strolled through the main street, dined on french toast for brekkie and I managed to unearth some second hand books from my latest favourite author at a christian book store (which was surprising considering the nature of the Les Norton series).
Bright serves as a base for the snow resorts of Halls Creek & Mount Hotham. Despite the town being named after a British politician you could easily imagine the moniker stemming from the local flora in autumn - the poplars, maples, elms and oaks exploding in a myriad of oranges, yellows and reds. It's a busy holiday town & where we originally planned to stay but with some parks charging as much as $89 a night for a powered site, found Myrtleford more appealing at less than half that price. We spent an afternoon roaming among the holiday crowds checking out the many trendy shops & cafes, reminding us a little of Bangalow, but with an alpine flavour.
As we progressed into the Easter long weekend the caravan park was filled to bursting with holidaying families & I was pleased to escape for the day to watch Manly take on the Raiders in Albury. In another stroke of good fortune the game was only a 50 minute drive from Myrtleford & dressed in my lucky jersey, left late morning headed for the city. The first stop was the Commercial Club where I was to attend a pre-game function. In the club I spotted players, Peta Hiku & Cheyse Blair. I didn't think they were drinking but the way we have been going lately couldn't be certain. The function consisted of a Q & A session with the new CEO, Joe Kelly. He spoke well & I came out of the session confident the club was heading in the right direction. The enthusiasm didn't last the evening though as the team put on a terrible, lacklustre performance going down to Canberra 29 - 16. As the game entered it's final stages rain started to fall adding to the melancholy & making it a lonely, morose drive back to Myrtleford.
The doom & gloom didn't last long & the early morning sighting of a platypus certainly perked me up. As the long weekend wound down & the holiday crowds dispersed we were able to relax a bit more. With the traffic on the roads easing up, we are ready to move onto the next part of our trip. Until then...adios amigos.