Travelling Around Australia: Continuing our journey..Hopetoun, Victoria

January 11^th 2013 to January 21^st 2013

I am writing this blog a little earlier than I had intended, I prefer to do one every month or so, but this destination needs to be written about. Who knew Victoria had such a lot of attractions, not many of us, because we prefer travelling interstate. But believe me if you can think outside the square and don’t mind a bit of camping, Victoria has a real lot to offer, including this delightful destination I am blogging about. We met a lady from Tasmania (no reflection on the beautiful Tasmanians we have met) at Bass Reserve on our way home in January 2012 who told us she hated Victoria because there were no decent places to camp and nothing to see. Clearly she didn’t try too hard. I now know Victoria is fantastic if only we took a little time to explore.

The day we left Rocklands it was tipped to be 44 degrees. In hindsight we should have stayed another day. The trip to Hopetoun was difficult to say the least. We travelled into a very strong northerly wind which prevented us from doing more than 70 kph all the way. A one and a half hour trip turned into a more than two hour trip. The only reason we chose Hopetoun was to split the trip up between Rocklands and Mildura. We generally don’t like travelling more than two or three hours between destinations. Aside from the length of travel, we find we miss too much if we travel long stints.

We had never heard of Hopetoun as far as a tourist destination, so we weren’t sure of what we would find on our arrival. After the long and hot trip from Rocklands and the flat, dry and bland scenery we came upon our destination. Lake Lascelles in Hopetoun is an oasis in the Mallee, there is no other way to describe it. It was a very welcoming sight and before we even set up for our stay we dove straight into the water to cool down. We camped on the Eastern side of the lake, which is the free camping area and only 10 metres from the lakes edge.

Hopetoun is about 5 hrs from Geelong and is between Horsham and Mildura in the Mallee region. It is only a small community with about 590 people, but it has everything you need as far as supplies go. An IGA, a bank, 2 service stations, a pub, a butcher, a cafe, newsagent, pharmacy and Post Office among the services provided. The people of this town are very friendly and welcome visitors into their small community with open arms. The Apex Club, the Angling Club and the community in general have done a fantastic job of developing Lake Lascelles into a tourist attraction and take great pride in their achievements.

Lake Lascelles is a mecca for walkers, swimmers, boating enthusiasts and fisherman. Water skiing is an extremely popular pastime here and we have witnessed many days of this activity. It is a perfect lake for our Hobie as the circumference of the lake is around 2 km’s and it makes for a great workout. It also great for swimming and the weather this time of year allows us to enjoy it every day. It is also the perfect lake for take a stroll around. BBQ areas are situated in four areas around the lake with maintained grassed areas. Playgrounds, toilet and shower facilities and firepits are also provided. All free of charge. But if you are like us, a donation wouldn’t go astray to help this lake remain fully maintained and functional.

We are camped on the Eastern side of the lake, which is a free area. We have access to fresh water, can dispose of our rubbish as well as enjoy the grassy areas. It is really very beautiful. On the Western side of the lake (town side) there are powered sites available on a first in first served basis. They only cost $15 dollars per night and are based on an honesty system, as is the hot water for showers. Also on that side of the lake is the Mallee Bush Retreat accommodation area. The buildings are built from corrugated iron and timber and have a very rustic feel. It is a fantastic complex and offers unique accommodation for a very moderate price.

The buildings in this complex have unique names which represent the farming heritage of the area such as Cow Shed, Horses Stables, Silo and Limestone Grainstore. The Shearing Shed houses the camp kitchen which is fully functional and includes a TV and fireplace. The Mallee Bush Retreat would be a great place for a completely relaxing holiday in a natural environment. They were all designed and built by a local builder.

We have enjoyed a beer with two locals who both had a hand in developing this site. Peter is the treasure of the Apex Club and Chick represents the Angling club. They really love their lake and its surrounds and volunteer their time to maintain and keep the area clean for visitors and locals alike. I really commend their efforts, it truly is first rate.

For those of you who have never been here, you really should do yourselves a favour and try it out one long weekend. It is really popular over Christmas, New Year and Easter, so perhaps a quieter time in February, March or April would be and ideal time. If you don’t mind the free camping and are self sufficient, 2 or 3 nights on the Eastern side of the lake in your tent would be perfect. I honestly cannot recommend this place highly enough and of course the people of the community would welcome and deserve your patronage.

Hopetoun is also the gateway to the National Parks in the area. The Wyperfield National Park, the Murray-Sunset National Park and the Big Desert Wilderness Park are popular with 4WD enthusiasts who want to take the great Mallee Drive. It is 625 km drive, which is usually done over a numbers of days with some fantastic camping spots along the way. It is best done at a leisurely pace so you can enjoy the region and even though the Mallee is Victoria’s driest region, there is still an abundance of wildlife and flora to enjoy.Althoug we had a peek at it, Greg and I did not do this trip as it is best done in the spring. The weather is far too hot this time of the year, but it is something we will look forward to doing in the future.

We are heading off tomorrow (Monday 21^st Jan) to camp at a little spot called Psyches Bend about 12 km’s east of Mildura on the might Murray river. I love the Murray and look forward to giving you details of that adventure in my next blog. Cheers til next time.