About 6:30am one morning not so long ago, an alarm sounded to wake me. Not my usual alarm, but several hundred Corellas taking off for their morning flight. When I say noise, it was very loud indeed. I was to learn very quickly that this was a daily event. It did mean that I was up in time to watch the sunrise across the lake every morning — something I could do easily from the deck of my cabin.
I was doing something a little unusual, at least for me in recent times. That is, undertaking an extended trip that crossed a state border a couple of times. It was a work assignment to a part of Victoria I have not been to before — Nagambie Lakes.
Getting there involved a drive down the Hume Highway from Sydney, which is certainly a smooth, if somewhat boring drive. With the cruise control set on the speed limit, there’s not much to see except the passing traffic. An audiobook is a great distraction (I like British murder mysteries) and it’s easily done via my iPhone and the vehicle’s Bluetooth. As I travelled along, I did notice the well-stocked parade of new caravans on the delivery run between Melbourne and Sydney and points beyond. I stopped briefly at a few towns along the way. One afternoon in particular, I was a little desperate for coffee and a rest break. However, pulling into a town just off the freeway, I was surprised to find one coffee shop had already closed and the other two with their machines shut down for cleaning — all before 3pm!
Nagambie Lakes is surprisingly easy to get to. It’s less than a 30-minute drive from the M31 and a mere 90 minutes from Melbourne. A very diverse region, Nagambie (through which the Goulburn River passes) has a good selection of wineries, waterways and wetlands. It also has abundant birdlife, including several squadrons of the previously mentioned Corellas. Late one evening, I came across a couple of possums who appeared to be taking a stroll.
Sunrise at the lake
Much of the waterway area owes its existence to the Goulburn Weir which was built in 1891 and effectively created the lakes area from what was once a lagoon. Apart from irrigation, one of the main purposes of the Goulburn Weir, Nagambie Lakes offers a considerable variety of water sports — wild swimming, fishing, canoeing, paddle boarding, and rowing. I was tempted by a bit of paddle boarding, given the mostly flat water and warm weather but time did not permit. If you don’t own a boat, there’s always the Goulburn Explorer river cruise which features a winery cruise including the Mitchelton and Tahbilk wineries, or a sunset cruise which travels up to the historic Kirwans Bridge.
The Nagambie region was once home to the Taungurung people who lived in the mountain areas during summer and autumn but travelled to the warmer areas around the Goulburn River during winter and spring. Thomas Mitchell was the first explorer to put the Goulburn River area on the map, and for some time it was on the postal route from Sydney to Melbourne. Like many other areas in Australia, the discovery of gold at Spring Creek and Whroo really kickstarted population growth. Transport to the area came in the form of paddle steamers from Echuca and the railway from Melbourne. Some of the history is still around, either in the form of historic sites, like Whroo, or still operating like the railway (I could hear the diesel horns in the distance).
A beautiful native black swan
One of the lovely surprises in this area is the Mitchelton Gallery of Aboriginal art. Established by Adam Knight and Gerry Ryan OAM of Jayco fame, the gallery has works on display from 15 different art centres and communities throughout Australia, including the local Taungurung Clan. There’s even a Land Rover on display — the former Vietnam ambulance was painted by 200 Indigenous artists as a peace symbol.
There are several caravan parks around the Nagambie area which offer a range of facilities, but our little crew was staying at the Discovery Parks Nagambie Lakes. Being right on the lake, it not only offered caravan and camping sites (some with ensuites) but also a wide range of cabin accommodation. Of note were the decent-sized swimming pool, camp kitchens, communal meeting areas and dump point. During my five-day stay, there was a steady range of caravanners coming and going. I did wonder, however, if the area was on many motorhomers’ radars since I only saw one RV while I was there.
Nagambie is certainly a place I am planning on returning to, but that will be for leisure. There are several wineries in the area and sampling the local product whilst watching the sunset across the lake sounds very appealing!
