Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[roverdriver]

It has been a while since I inflicted a travel story on you, and I must admit to the odd tour that my Wife and I have undertaken without reporting about it. To remedy that, here is a tale about our latest, and fairly short, excursion.

Parts of Australia are enjoying something of an art revival. It could also be called a tourism boost, but whatever it is called anyone who enjoys good painting should enjoy these. Don’t think that any of these can be bought, don’t think that you could take one home to hang on the lounge room wall. They all have something special as a canvas.

On Sunday, the 17th of this month, my Wife and myself set off in our 1959 Rover 90, dubbed ‘Beatrix’ for a bit of a drive. We had a fair way to go so set off at 6.30 in the morning. We live in a small country town 80 miles (130 K’s) from the State’s capital, Melbourne, and for this trip we had to get to and through the metropolis before we could set our sites on the destination for the day.


The rolling hills of Gippsland (S.E. of Melbourne)

There had been a little light rain as we drove through the neighbouring town of Korumburra.



We had started off on a two lane country road that eventually morphed into a highway, that led us to the Monash Freeway and so to the outskirts of the City.



I should point out that what we call a ‘freeway’ is what is a ‘motorway in the U.K. To get from one side of the City to the other is a tollway, and part of the tollway is a tunnel. My Wife suffers from claustrophobia, and I suffer from a dislike to pay to use a road that my taxes were used to build originally, so we by-passed the tunnel and the tolls by some nifty driving through some inner suburbs.



Having been on the road for an hour and a half and with the trip meter indicating 114 mile from home, a short stop was decided, so we pulled into a petrol station to top off the fuel tank and take care of personal comfort matters. On we went again and finally joined the Calder Freeway on the other side of the City.


I should point out that in Victoria, most roads and freeways have a speed limit of 100 kph, with a few at 110 kph. That translates in real measurements to approx 62 and 68 mph respectively. The Calder is 110 for quite some distance. Beatrix seems very happy at that speed in spite of her years. We do find some motorists in their modern ‘tinware’ getting a surprise as we gently waft past them!

As we progressed the landscape changed to show drier environment compared to the green of home.



The co-pilot (my Wife) told me that she was photographing outside my window!!!



At Bendigo, the freeway gave way to suburban streets, then, outside that rural city, it became a normal two-lane road, but still called the Calder Highway. On we went and reached the township of Kerang just on midday. We had driven 180 miles from our Melbourne fuel stop and were 294 miles from home. We lunched at the Kerang Sportman’s Club, then gave Beatrix a reward of more fuel. I had hoped to re-visit the Kerang Museum to see a rather interesting car there. I had seen and examined it forty years before, but wanted to see it again. Alas the museum was not open, but I do have a picture taken on our first visit there. The car is based on a Ford Model T, but it is a ‘cut down’ version. That is- the chassis has been cut down, the body cut down, and the engine cut in half, making it just two cylinders. The original car is a pre 1918 model and the work was done, I believe, in the late 1920's by a local farmer.



On we went, but foolishly, I was attracted by a sign to a bird sanctuary off the road, so turned off to see it. Alas it was a couple of miles out of our way and certainly not worth the effort, so back onto the main road again. We came into the outskirts of the rural city of Swan Hill a little before 2 o’clock, and after finding our way about we booked into a cabin at a caravan park. Here many of the commercial caravan parks have self contained cabins for holiday makers and travellers. My wife and I prefer them to motels or hotels so usually try to stay in them.

Once settled in and after a rest, I wandered to the railway station to look around. It was interesting to see that the station was a shadow of its former glory, but is still in use for freight, however most passenger movements are accomplished now by bus. Although Swan Hill was to be our stop for the day, it was not our intended destination, but merely the starting point for the next day’s adventure. We had covered 313 miles from home.

But what of the purpose for this excursion? Well I have covered the first day, the real reason for the trip will be on our second day, so I'll have to continue this tomorrow.

Part 2 can be found here- http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/forum/phpbb/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=170809#170809
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.