Bordertown to Campbell Creek

We started the day with a 6 km walk around the Bordertown lake with Sue. We checked out the local RV parks (the one near the lake looks great) and a couple of sculptures and got in another hour of chatting as we walked. I have limited the pictures here , as the internet is poor and takes forever to load.

After breakfast, cuppas and more chatting we finally left Bordertown at 10:42. We took the back roads to the North Serviceton road, and then cut back out to the main highway. There were some excellent-looking canola crops with thick bright yellow flowering tops.

I missed taking a photo of the numerous coloured sheep and dog statues in the centre of Kaniva as we drove through.

Glancing out to the left a little later Trev noticed the two turbines of the Diapur wind farm a little way out on our left. Apparently, these two turbines are linked to the grid and supply enough power for 6000 households!

We decided not to visit the pinball museum in Nhill.

We stopped at Dimboola for lunch, in the spot we know as the “Driver Reviver Stop” , but today there was no free cup of tea, and no sign of the local Lions club who usually serve it (despite the fact that it was a pubic holiday and also school holidays).

We were (of course) taking the back roads on the most direct route, which was lovely. The sun was shining and there was a lot of water next to the road and in the paddocks. As we drew closer to our destination we started to see the scraggy gums and uneven soil areas of the goldfield areas…. a warning of what is to come in the next week or so. Where else in the world can you travel on a backroad for 54 km without a turn and only see a handful of other drivers?

Just before Kiata there were a series of posts decorated in blue and yellow. This is a sign of the times, showing support for Ukraine against the Soviet invasion. Someone near here must be particularly invested.

We came upon the Murra Warra Windfarm when we were about 25km north of Horsham. There were 99 towers in this one! Apparently this is enough to power 420,000 average homes. The road actually went between the huge towers. Apparenty the long term plan is for a solar array and also a battery on adjoining land.

Since Trevor had not been feeling great, we had swapped drivers at Dimboola, and Erica ended up driving the rest of the way to give him a break.

We arrived at our home away from home, on the outskirts of Castlemaine, just before 4pm (perfect time for a cuppa). It has everything we need and a little bit more, which will be perfect for a home base for the next few days.

Tomorrow we start the competition, with two events near Daylesford. One is late morning and the other from about 4pm. If you are looking for results you should be able to find them here but please don’t get too excited. We have no expectations of any success. Trevor is competing in the M60 and Erica in the W55AS.