Spring Outings – North Central Victoria

We finally got our first good day of Spring sunshine, the first nice day in such a long time. It is still quite early in the season for wildflowers, but with all the rain we have had recently, many of the waterfalls were sure to be running. I was keen to try my new camera out for the day, outside. So we headed off early in the morning. First stop was Trentham Falls, friends had been there the day before and reported it as running full bore. We decided that it was sort of on the way to our main destination for the day, and we had not been to this one before.

Trentham Falls

It is not very far to walk from the car park (maybe 500m on the zig-zag track, perhaps a little shorter if you take the stairs). Unfortunately, you cannot get down to the bottom and can only see the waterfall from a viewing platform, but it was a lovely set of falls, and we were greeted with a wonderful rainbow at the base of the falls, magic!

Central North Victoria

Our main destination for the day was Heathcote, but we were very happy to stop off for interesting photo opportunities along the way. While stopping to take images of a shearing shed, we spotted this fantastic gully. I could not get over the fence, not climb down to the gully, but Hubby did. I was happy to shoot some interesting Barbed Wire fences and a few wildflowers I managed to find.

Heathcote

A wonderful little country town, most of the money was originally in Gold, pretty much this whole area of Victoria was mined for Gold. A quick visit to the Information Centre gave us maps and a list of things to see of interest. There is quite a bit to see the old Hospital and Powder Magazine, lovely old building and architecture. So much we never actually had time for, perhaps another trip back. We stopped briefly for Fish and Chips and then drove out to the Pink Cliffs.

Wander through intriguing mini gorges and cliffs of fine pink clay. The colourful phenomenon was created by early gold-mining activities: sluicing work in the 1880s revealed the ‘pink’ hills near the historic town of Heathcote.

You’ll find a variety of stones at this geological reserve, including smooth ironstone with a distinctive volcanic appearance. It’s a great area for bushwalking and photography, so strap on your boots, grab your camera and get set to explore the unique landscape, wildflowers and wildlife.

~ Parks Victoria

This was what we had come to see, it was wonderful, a cross between Red Cliffs and Mungo, from our Outback Adventure. We spent quite a bit of time here, exploring the ravines and gullies. No real animal life (lizards and wallabies) still not quite warm enough, I guess. Lots Wattle trees in bloom, but not much else.

Pyalong

We then started to head back towards Melbourne, via Pyalong, as we had heard about an old wooden trestle bridge, still standing but in much need of a good repair. Just our sort of thing, so off we went. Similar to the Trestle Bridge at Noojee, but not as well maintained.

Beveridge

Once we had our fill of the old bridge and wonderful Spring blossoms, we inched our way closer to home, but not before stopping at Beveridge and chasing some Canola Fields. They are getting harder and harder to get to, many of private property with signs up to stay out. Still, I managed to find a few 🙂

What is it about that bright yellow canola and bright blue Spring skies….I love it.

All too soon, we were travelling back through the City and headed back to the South Eastern Suburbs and Home, by the time we got home, the sun was getting low and the chill was back in the air, I still wondered if we should have headed back out to shoot Sunset, but as there were no real clouds in the sky, it was not that great. A great Sunset needs just a touch of cloud…but not too much.

~ Julz