20th Oct
So the Crispies were on the road home this morning, it will take them 2 days to get back to South West Rocks. We have really enjoyed their company and look forward to joining them in Tassie for a walk next year.
We dropped our van at a park in Cobram and called in on Zol, another of Eric's past work colleagues and golfing buddies. Then instead of driving straight back to Yarrawonga where we were to meet up with my brother Col and Beth, we took a round trip along the North East Victoria Silo Art Trail and Benalla.
First stop Tungamah. The artist who did this silo is one of my favourites Sobrane Simcock. I first saw her gallery in Broome earlier in the year and had to buy one of her pieces for Eric's birthday. He has a pair of dancing brolgas too. The local hotel had a small gallery of her work but this time I resisted more purchases.
Next was St James, where artist Tim Bowtell dedicated his mural to Sir George Coles, a St James local who founded Coles supermarkets. It is hard to imagine this tiny place raising a man with such enterprising ambition.
Devenish came next, where Cam Scale's three towering murals pay homage to local community involvement in military service. It still amazes me that these tiny one horse towns committed so many young lives to join the 'mother country'.
We drove on to Goorambat, where the grain silos feature three works by Melbourne street artist Jimmy Dvate, in April this year he added a team of Clydesdale horses (Clem, Sam and Banjo) to the original endangered barking owl completed the year before.
The artist known as 'Adnate' has painted his depiction of the female aspect of the Holy Trinity on the wall of the Uniting Church. The stunning 'Sophia' was created as part of the 2017 Wall to Wall festival.
There is one more tank on the trail, in the Winton Wetlands but we just didn't have time for that as well today. I'm sure this will not be our last trip in these parts. Arriving in Benalla for a late lunch we took a stroll through some of the alleyways and back streets to see the wall murals. There are so many, you couldn't even appreciate them all in a whole day, you need to take a weekend. 'Do yourself a favour', as Molly often said. Here is a small selection. We've been totally impressed by all we have seen today and highly recommend you see it for yourself if you haven't already.
Then we returned to Yarrawonga where Col and Beth are sharing an apartment with us. They have recently returned from a trip to Costa Rica and the USA so had lots of tales and pictures to share. Their lives are very full and, as with so many of us, the state of their health has not always been at the top of its game recently, so we were very lucky that they could squeeze a few days in to visit us, as well as Graeme and Villa.
Today we had a call from the Mundays who are waiting on the birth of their next grandchild before they can join us. No action there yet. It was planned that we would meet-up in Swan Hill, but we will have to wait and see what nature brings.
The next morning we rose early for a quick round on the Black Bull Golf Course. The Peter Thompson designed course transformed a former Black Angus cattle stud into a links course and Charlie is their mascot. They have a stretch of three signature holes on the front 9 which they call the bull ring. I had a mixed day scoring a birdie on one of these but also finding water and sand on many others. Eric had a rusty start but came good later in the round.
We met up with Col and Beth at Rich Glen Olive Estate and enjoyed an an early lunch in the beautiful gardens sharing it with many superb fairy wrens and children excited by the wonders of the sculptures, colourful plants and playthings.
For different reasons they both have a big week ahead and we sent them on their way with our best wishes for good outcomes. They are going to view the silo art on their way back to Bickleigh Vale.
Meanwhile we returned to our van in Cobram, moving on to G song titles as we travelled through Boosey (love that name). We have had almost a week's break from the cosy confines of a caravan but we are quite comfortable with the idea of many weeks ahead calling it home.
In the map below you can also see where Pullar Rd crosses the Murray Valley Hwy and our house was located at the red cross, between that intersection and the main channel. In the afternoon we walked around Quinn Island, which was formed by a bend in the river just upstream from the bridge near Thompsons Beach.
The loop walk takes you through River Red Gum and Silver Wattle Forest, there's a bird hide positioned to overlook the billabong during the wet when you have a good chance to see waterbirds. When I worked at the Cobram Adult Centre we had weekly walks here with the clients who could manage it and when the weather was suitable. I don't remember ever seeing koalas there then, but today we saw two.
Tonight the Crisps called to say they had arrived home safely which is great news. Tomorrow we move on to Echuca and we are looking forward to catching up with more family and friends.
So the Crispies were on the road home this morning, it will take them 2 days to get back to South West Rocks. We have really enjoyed their company and look forward to joining them in Tassie for a walk next year.
We dropped our van at a park in Cobram and called in on Zol, another of Eric's past work colleagues and golfing buddies. Then instead of driving straight back to Yarrawonga where we were to meet up with my brother Col and Beth, we took a round trip along the North East Victoria Silo Art Trail and Benalla.
First stop Tungamah. The artist who did this silo is one of my favourites Sobrane Simcock. I first saw her gallery in Broome earlier in the year and had to buy one of her pieces for Eric's birthday. He has a pair of dancing brolgas too. The local hotel had a small gallery of her work but this time I resisted more purchases.
Next was St James, where artist Tim Bowtell dedicated his mural to Sir George Coles, a St James local who founded Coles supermarkets. It is hard to imagine this tiny place raising a man with such enterprising ambition.
Devenish came next, where Cam Scale's three towering murals pay homage to local community involvement in military service. It still amazes me that these tiny one horse towns committed so many young lives to join the 'mother country'.
We drove on to Goorambat, where the grain silos feature three works by Melbourne street artist Jimmy Dvate, in April this year he added a team of Clydesdale horses (Clem, Sam and Banjo) to the original endangered barking owl completed the year before.
The artist known as 'Adnate' has painted his depiction of the female aspect of the Holy Trinity on the wall of the Uniting Church. The stunning 'Sophia' was created as part of the 2017 Wall to Wall festival.
There is one more tank on the trail, in the Winton Wetlands but we just didn't have time for that as well today. I'm sure this will not be our last trip in these parts. Arriving in Benalla for a late lunch we took a stroll through some of the alleyways and back streets to see the wall murals. There are so many, you couldn't even appreciate them all in a whole day, you need to take a weekend. 'Do yourself a favour', as Molly often said. Here is a small selection. We've been totally impressed by all we have seen today and highly recommend you see it for yourself if you haven't already.
Today we had a call from the Mundays who are waiting on the birth of their next grandchild before they can join us. No action there yet. It was planned that we would meet-up in Swan Hill, but we will have to wait and see what nature brings.
The next morning we rose early for a quick round on the Black Bull Golf Course. The Peter Thompson designed course transformed a former Black Angus cattle stud into a links course and Charlie is their mascot. They have a stretch of three signature holes on the front 9 which they call the bull ring. I had a mixed day scoring a birdie on one of these but also finding water and sand on many others. Eric had a rusty start but came good later in the round.
Meanwhile we returned to our van in Cobram, moving on to G song titles as we travelled through Boosey (love that name). We have had almost a week's break from the cosy confines of a caravan but we are quite comfortable with the idea of many weeks ahead calling it home.
In the map below you can also see where Pullar Rd crosses the Murray Valley Hwy and our house was located at the red cross, between that intersection and the main channel. In the afternoon we walked around Quinn Island, which was formed by a bend in the river just upstream from the bridge near Thompsons Beach.
The loop walk takes you through River Red Gum and Silver Wattle Forest, there's a bird hide positioned to overlook the billabong during the wet when you have a good chance to see waterbirds. When I worked at the Cobram Adult Centre we had weekly walks here with the clients who could manage it and when the weather was suitable. I don't remember ever seeing koalas there then, but today we saw two.
Love the art works Libby. The St James one is new since June and I were there and the Tungamah birds have been added to...the kookaburra was alone on its silo when we visited.
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