There’s a fellow who lives in Maiden Gully – let’s call him Greg, because that’s his name – who often walks around his neighbourhood, passing a mysterious old grave site. He wondered about it, until one day he went past and found a group of people gathered there. Being a curious fellow he went and asked the people who they were and why they were gathered around this grave. The story he got planted a seed, the seed grew to an idea, the idea grew to a plan, and here we are, about to set out on a ride from Burra in South Australia, to Bendigo in Victoria.
They say that Sydney is a city for tourists – flashy, plenty of attractions – where Melbourne is a city to live, with plenty going on, plenty to do, but not so much happening touristy-wise.
The ride from Campbells Bridge (a short drive out of Stawell) to Moonambel is a bit like Melbourne. There’s not a lot to see, but the riding is great.
They also say that familiarity breeds contempt, and maybe there’s a bit of that going on as well. We are all in familiar territory today. Gone are the dry, red landscapes and stone cottages of South Australia. Now we have the equally dry, grassy pastoral landscapes of central western Victoria, initially flat but becoming undulating as we progress. At the end of the day, we are less than 100km from Bendigo; we are nearly home.
Thomas Ninnes still has a way to go.
We passed the 4 post Publick House on the south end of the Wimmera Plain. Reached Daisy Hill, Messers Hall and Mr Neils Station.
While the details are sketchy about Thomas’ route, the fact that he had previously lived in the area suggested that he may have passed by Glenorchy (where we finished yesterday) and the Avoca Diggings. His route may well have resembled the route we take today, crossing the lower part of the Pyrenees range and on to Moonambel – then to Avoca (in our case, by mini bus).
Our morning’s ride is fast, held up once by a red traffic light! We are in Navarre in no time and enjoying lunch, fortifying ourselves for the lumpier ride this afternoon.
After lunch we make great progress, riding the undulations of the Stawell-Avoca Road between Navarre and Moonambel. We regroup at the base of the last hill, then enjoy the ride downhill all the way to Moonambel.
We have the loading of bikes on the trailer down to a fine art, and before long we are settled into Avoca Cottages. No pub, no nothing open for dinner tonight, so we resort to spag bog, cooked at home, with a special vegie version for me. (Thanks Neil and sous chef Pat for dinner!)
After dinner we pile into the mini van for a short excursion to see the silo art in Avoca. The art depicts a barking owl, and what is special about this silo art is that the painting is luminescent, and thus visible in a special way at night. Imagine what Thomas Ninnes and family would make of this!
The luminescent barking owl silo art at Avoca (Photo: Pat Dorey)
At the end of a day’s ride, our tradition is to enjoy a beer, and to photograph it for posterity. Today’s beer picture was taken at the Avoca Cottages, Neil with Pat.
Along the way today:
End of the day in Moonambel, Lexie resting against the sign for the Pyranees Cycling Trail
A slow day, where the excitement is the arrangement of water on a ladder
Today we are a machine! We are a fully-functioning, fast-moving, whirry-sounding peleton of six, and we whizz through the countryside from Horsham as one. We fly!
Maybe we fly because we are full up of fine bakery goods, taken after a drive from Edenhope to Horsham to get us back on track (and off highways). Nevertheless we fly, and reach our lunch spot near Taylors Lake in record time.
There’s only one problem. We are at the lunch spot, but our lunch is not. John is driving today, and he turned at the wrong Taylors Lake sign. I’m sure he set up a beautiful place for us, but unfortunately we were not there, we never arrived, and he had to pack up all the chairs to drive around to where we were!
This morning we started with glimpses of the Grampians. By lunch we have full-on views, and this continues as we make our zig-zaggy, peleton-ish way toward Glenorchy, our end point for the day.
But the best is yet to come! We have been promised a lovely ride into Glenorchy, and we are not disappointed, though it initially appears we will be, as the road that takes us to the lovely Gilles River Road is dirt, rough, rutted and way, way too long. Tim and Greg, who did the reccy for this know what is coming, but the rest of us are sceptical, bone-shaken and ready to give up just before we reach the bridge that takes us to redemption, and the canter home.
Gilles River Road, which runs alongside (we think) the fairly dry Wimmera River, is hard-packed dirt and makes for a great ride for the last 10km of today. We take a break to visit with a small group of beautiful horses, who come up very gingerly to say hello to us. I am transfixed as they run about the paddock, following us to the end fence, and watching as we ride off into the distance. Just beautiful. Horses are one of my most favourite animals.
There’s not a lot going on at Glenorchy, but we make a quick photo stop outside the old pub, which our friends Clarissa and Duncan used to own. They bought a wreck and renovated to make a beautiful home.
Glenorchy is the end of the ride, but not the end of the day. We load the bikes up and drive to Stawell, settling into a motel before heading out to seek dinner. My last experience of Stawell told me there’s not a lot going in the evening for dinner, but we find a pub that’s open and will feed us.
Our motel is right on the highway, which means for us not only road noise, but every now and then during the night a truck passes and the whole room shakes!
The Ninnes journey, I believe may have taken a bit longer.
Crossed the Wimmera at Salter Waldens Station. Reached Horsham. One Publick House, smithy store and 3 or 4 stone uts. Now is very large. I think Miss Rohan told me there is 10 Publick Houses in Horsham.
My understanding is that Thomas Ninnes wrote his diary retrospectively. So the above suggests that Horsham was very small when he passed through, but subsequently became much larger, with many more pubs!
At the end of a day’s ride, our tradition is to enjoy a beer, and to photograph it for posterity. Today’s beer picture was taken outside our room at the Goldfields Motel, Stawell. Same beer, different motel. Poor Thomas. I bet he needed a beer, or a porter, when he arrived in Horsham. Not to mention his poor, long suffering, pregnant wife.
Along the way today:
Taylors Lake
Taylors Lake
The farmers are not pleased with the government
Taylors Lake, waiting for lunch
Grampians glimpse
Grampians glimpses, Gilles River Road
Mushroom risotto anyone?
Neil, Gilles River Road
Pat, Gilles River Road
Some friendly horsey types
Outside Clarissa and Duncan’s former place in Glenorchy
I am driving today, so no bike stories from me. Instead, most of this post is a collage of photos from my day on the road, driving from Naracoorte to Edenhope and supporting the cyclists.
Today we cross the border back to Victoria, and spend the night in the Edenhope Motel, a fine example of 1970s motel architecture and decor.
We backtrack from Robe to Reedy Creek, where an Australian flag on a fence gives us a starting point for the day (it was even embedded in our detailed driving directions to the starting point). The flag is a reminder that today is ANZAC day, and we honour those who have served and those who have fallen. Two of our hardy team attended the ANZAC day service in Robe before setting out today.
We spend a leisurely day in Robe. Some laundry, some touristing, some lunching, some ice cream, some leg resting.
View of the Robe obelisk from the old gaol
The obelisk – a day-time guide for ships
Obelisk and coast
Must be entered – tonight’s dinner spot
Robe cemetery
Robe cemetery
Tim says there is always fresh water at a cemetery
Two year old died from injuries from being pushed from a pram!
Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin looking out to sea at Robe
The Pai Fang at Robe
The Pai Fang at Robe
The Pai Fang, erected in 2017, is a memorial “Welcome Gate” which recognises Robe’s shared history with the Chinese-Australian community. The text on the gate translates to:
Across the top: “Sky-reaching grand aspirations”
The left pillar: “After innumerable times of panning and washing (for gold) the hard times are over, good times begin and a glimpse of golden colour is in sight”
The right pillar: “Undaunted by repeated setbacks, pertaining to generations of persistence ad inheritance have finally initiated everlasting prosperity”
The Ninnes family continued their journey south travelling, I presume, close by the banks of the Murray River. There are a number of entries from the Thomas Ninnes diaries that describe the Ninnes party’s journey along the Murray and down the coast and I’ve included some extracts in this story.
We jump on our mini bus, drive over the bridge and take the road south to Wellington, tracking the Ninnes likely path. I feel that the Ninnes group had significantly more adventures on their trek, whether good or not.
I awake to a miracle. With the log out of my eye I seem to have made an almost complete recovery and so I can ride today!
We need to back track to Palmer this morning, to complete the ride from there to Murray Bridge. It’s going to be a warm one, with the forecast saying 30 degrees. What the? In April? Imagine doing this in the summer! I feel like everybody here must just hide inside their beautiful stone houses to wait out the heat in summer.
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:5)
The Ninnes group travelled from Kapunda through Angaston and Collingrove, so that’s where we turn our bikes this morning. The route out of Kapunda initially follows the Mawson Trail, past views of the open cut mine at Kapunda and then onto the familiar red-dirt, undulating roads of the area. Today John is driving and the rest of of enjoy riding as the scenery changes from the dry, barren surrounds of Kapunda to the slightly more lush vineyards near Nuriootpa.
Thomas Ninnes and family left Burra sometime in 1852.
Feb 3 1852 We left the Burra for the Victoria diggens. Brother Joseph and myself bought 2 horses and dray. Brother Joseph wife and Wm Roach in one dray. John Thomas, sister Mary and family in Hasset Bullock dray. Self, wife and three children in John Thomas second bullock dray. We locked up our furniture in one house and let two. We went on to Kapunda, Angastown, Collingrove. – From the Thomas Ninnes diaries
