20121211 VIC Mount Franklin, Woodend

20121211 We need to rest up for a couple of days, we are getting so weary with all this driving and what a great place to park up and take a load off.

Mount Franklin or Lalgambook, as it was known by the Djadja Wurrung people, was created by a volcanic eruption about 470,000 years ago.  The breach, through which the road now enters the crater, is thought to have been caused by a flow of lava breaking through the crater rim.  Lava from Mount Franklin and other volcanoes in the area filled valleys and buried the gold bearing streams that became the renowned ‘deep leads’ of the gold mining era.

A fly by shoot of the pine trees that cover the roof top of the mountain.

Camped amongst the great pine trees escaping the heat and what better place to hide. 

Ya gotta love the smell on the pine needles covering the ground of the forest and here we are sleeping with them.

12-12-2012  I blogged, Des is getting board he need something to do, what do you expect this is what travelling is about, it doesn't bother me I blog, read and am happy doing nothing but not Mr Hyper.  We decided to try out our new Webber so Des prepared the food and out come the fire lighter, heat beads and a beer. 

Well we watched and waited and waited, maybe you should add some more heat beads I said? should the lid be on or off?  Maybe we should phone the help line, now who do we know with a webber, arr Mick and Donna. 

Our instruction were, place the fire stater in the Webber add the heat beads; keep the lid off until the beads are blazing. 

We started around 5pm, Lyn & Dawn parked down from us were walking by when we started chatting and had a great laugh at our expense.  By the time we ate we were half tanked, some how I don't think Des will be in any hurry to try out our new Webber.  Arr well for $15 what do you expect.

13-12-2012  Waking up around 9 ish, Des said he was going for an early morning walk which didn't happen so we cooked breaky "on the gas stove" then packed up and stopped to say our goodbyes to Lyn and Dawn and exchanged cards before heading in the direction of Launching Place.

 

Woodend

 

Named ‘Woodend’ because it is where the Black Forest ended and consequently was a place, in the 1850s and 1860s prospectors, headed to the goldfields around Bendigo, could feel that they were out of reach of bushrangers who hid in the woodlands waiting to pray on them.

The Woodend Bridge is a bluestone structure built in 1862.

Holgate Brewhouse
 An independent craft brewery run by a small team passionate about hand crafting fresh, full flavoured beer.

Woodend Clock Tower 

Completed in 1928 as a memorial to the men and woman of the district who served in the First World War.

Woodend Post Office Built in 1905 the red brick building was one of the earliest constructed following Australia’s federations in 1901.  It is today a rare surviving example of post office building built in Victoria in the English Domestic-style during this period.

One of the major attractions at Woodend is the Hanging Rock Reserve which was the location on Joan Lindsay's mystery novel in which a party of schoolgirls picnicked at the rock on Valentine's Day 1900; with several members of the party disappearing without a trace.  We drove to the entrance and found we had to pay $40 for a coach, pissed off we turned around and left, I did however write a letter of complaint.

We drove onto Whittlesea looking for some place to park up for the night not wanting to get to Brownies until Friday.  You may have to go down a side street I said, so we turned down the next street and found a spot under some very large Cypress, this will do so we levelled out the van and settled in for the night, that’s what we thought.  A tow truck pulled up beside us and we shit ourselves, we jumped up and a guy asked what we were doing, camping the night said Des, how long you staying, just the night I said, he reckons the footpath belonged to him and of cause Des said he believed it belonged to the council, which it does.  He did say it was fine to stay but these trees are not safe and a storm was on its way, but there is camping at the showgrounds with power and was sure it’s free plus theirs a pub opposite.  We packed up and heads to town and sure enough he was right so we walked to the pub for a drink.

Tomorrow we head to Launching Place to catch up with Brownie.