Back on the road again!

Here we are back on the road again. We’ve turned the Australia Day holiday into a 4 day long weekend and hit the road for the Alpine National Park for a bit of bush camping on the banks of the Wellington River, upstream from Licola in the Gippsland region of Victoria.

We stripped, cleaned and checked over the Tvan the previous weekend – flushing out, then topping up, the water tank with reliable Melbourne water in place of water that had dubious heritage from our big adventure last year. All that would be needed before we left were items for the fridge and freezer.

We were packed and on the road just after 9.00am heading east from Mentone – first to Dandenong, then onto the freeway that stretches out beyond the Latrobe Valley power stations and only a few kilometres short of where we turned off and headed north to the mountains.

The road north of the highway meanders through lush dairy country before passing through Heyfield – a small, sleepy rural town like so many others in this part on Victoria. Beyond Heyfield the road dips down and passes along the shores of Lake Glenmaggie, which is full after many years of being little more than a dust bowl during the recent extended drought years.

From the lake north, the countryside starts getting hilly and the twists and turns of the road require increasing attention. We were soon upon the town of Licola – the last town on this road before entering the Alpine National Park.

From Licola, the road hugs the Wellington River as both climb into the hills at the base of the Great Dividing Range. About 20 kilometres north of Licola a series of campsites appear – some with toilets and others without. We checked out the first site marked with toilets and found a great spot overlooking the river with a fire ring and picnic table all to ourselves!

After our big adventure last year, setting up the Tvan was second nature and it wasn’t long before we were enjoying the view of the river while we ate lunch and enjoyed a cup of tea. We filled in the afternoon by walking further along the river checking out the other campsites on offer. After visiting another 3 sites we decided ours was probably the pick of the bunch and returned happy with the choice we had made. If we had spotted a better site we would probably have stayed put anyway!

On returning to camp it was time to check out the river and wash away the accumulated dust and sweat from setting up and the walk. Being mid-summer the Wellington River is no raging torrent (although there are plenty of signs that it can be) but there is a steady flow of water bubbling over shallows and into deeper pools before more shallows and so on. As a result the water is incredibly warm with no chill to take your breath away. Consequently we wallowed in what was a tepid bath for ages!

We left the comfort of the river only because it was time to rustle up dinner – nothing too adventurous but very enjoyable – vegie curry with rice, raita and naan bread, washed down by a glass or two of wine. Needless to say, we both slept well – helped along by the fresh mountain air and a sky filled with stars!

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