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We drove from Castlemaine to Yea, just a short 2 hour drive though the backroads of Puckpunyal and Seymour. I love this country and am constantly amazed at the different landscapes in such a small area. We had loved Castlemaine and were reluctant to leave but our idea was to drive to Yea and listen to the announcements from your premier hoping he might have eased the restrictions in Melbourne so that we could stay a few days in Yea and then drive to Warburton to stay for two days while we caught up with family. This didn't work out so we will probably stay in Yea for 5 nights and then drive home from there. When I am out in the van I could just drive forever but we have things to go home for and then of course Christmas will be on us before we know it.
There is only one caravan park in Yea so that was our destination. It is a beautiful park, so much so that we will probably return here at some time for a quick stay. The lady who checked us in was very friendly and when we weren't sure if we would stay four or five nights she was flexible enough to say if we changed our minds she would give us a discount on the fifth night. We drove over to our site and weren't really happy with it so we went back and asked if we could have another one further on, mainly because the first one was on gravel and we preferred to have a grass site. Anyway it was ok for us to move so we parked and set up, which only takes us 20 minutes now because we have it down pat. After we set up we drove into town to pick up a few items we needed and then drove back to the van to set up for the afternoon. I cooked lunch and then did a few jobs that needed doing before settling down with my computer. I had organised dinner so all I needed to do was go through our tourist information to see what we were going to do the next day, with all that out of the way and dinner over we watched a bit of TV before I went to bed.
The next day we were up and showered and ready to drive to Alexandra which is only 30 minutes away. We have been there before but it is such a pretty town we thought it was worth a return visit. We had not had our morning coffee so on arrival we went in search of a coffee shop and chose Redgate Espresso where we enjoyed a good coffee while having a bit of a read. After that we walked around Alexandra taking photos, visiting the supermarket for a couple of items we needed and then we found a store where I purchased a V-Pillow I had been looking for since leaving home. We drove down to the park before leaving and had a bit of a wander and then we were back in the car driving back to Yea. On the way back we stopped at The Cheviot Tunnel which is an old railway tunnel outside Yea which is no longer used and has a rail trail running through it. It is really quiet beautiful, surprisingly long and the old brickwork over the years has taken on many colours that have just added to it's beauty. We were going to go home for lunch from here but decided to stop off at the Yea Wetlands first. We had a quick walk around this very peaceful area but we were not interested in doing the full walk so drove back to the van from here.
Today we are driving to Marysville where we have stayed lots of times in the past and the last time we were there was shortly after the 2009 fires where the region was devastated. At that time we sat at the bakery watching all the rebuilding going on which included lots of private homes rebuilding but immediately putting their properties on sale because they did not want to stay in the area. So today we passed through Acheron and took photos of the fantastic views over the valley and then onto Marysville. We parked and then walked around Gallipoli Park which has been established since we were last here. It is a very pretty area with the river running through and seems to be a popular walking area for locals. After this we walked over to the lolly shop that after the fires had been run out of a container before building the lovely outlet they currently have. We could see lots of new buildings in this area which were very attractive but it has lost the old world feeling that Marysville used to have and was the reason for so many people visiting. However, we had a lovely visit and it is through Covid so just wondering how much they have been effected by losing that old world feeling.
We thought we would visit the Nagambie wineries today as Mitchelton and Tahbilk are two of our favourites. We have been visiting these wineries now for over 30 years and when we first used to go here there was a boat ride that would take you from Tahbilk to Mitchelton along the Goulburn River, it was a lovely little cruise that we enjoyed many times with friends. The cruise stopped operating ages ago but we always make it a point to visit here when in the area. We drove to Mitchelton first, we weren't going to have a wine tasting but the staff were extra friendly and we were encourage to sit and have a chat with them and as it was we were there for awhile chatting about one thing or another, mainly food and drink. We purchased three bottles of their prosecco which seems to be my favourite at the moment and then came away and moved onto Tahbilk winery. When we arrived at Tahbilk we did something we had never done before and walked around the yards to look at all the old buildings. This is a wonderful museum of this very old winery which was established in 1860. You can walk down and around the cellars but we have seen this many times before so did not worry about looking this time. I had a tasting here and we came away with a case of their clean skins which I had been buying for years. We drove back to Seymour from here so that we could shop at Aldi on our way, we thought if we took care of this now we would not have to worry for a couple of weeks after returning home. Robb had fancied a Devonshire Tea for lunch and we had seen a cafe in Trawool advertising these teas so we had decided to stop here on the way home, however, when we enquired about them they weren't doing them at the moment so we decided to stop for rolls at the bakery in Yea and to have salad rolls back at the van. After lunch we sorted the car out ready to go home. We ordered take away Chinese for dinner from a local cafe in Yea and it was surprisingly good.
Today our original idea was to drive to the town of Ruffy for lunch because it had been recommended to us by a friend but when I tried to book in the website told me the cafe was only open on Saturday and Sunday so we had to re-plan our day. We are finishing our holiday tomorrow and our idea was to grab a coffee in the morning and bring it back to the van and have a bit of a read, which I haven't been able to do for awhile now. Then we would pack up the things we could before driving around Yea to photograph some of the more interesting buildings. We did this and then drove back to the Peppercorn Hotel for lunch but unfortunately it was closed today. Our plan now was to drive down the main street and see what was open for lunch and came across the Royal Mail Hotel. We enquired inside as to whether or not we could have lunch here and we were assured we could so we picked up a couple of menus and walked to find a table. We wanted to share our meals so Robb chose the salt and pepper squid and I chose a Moroccan chicken pizza. I ordered a couple of Sauvignon Blancs to go with our food. I am sure the Peppercorn serves up a good meal but I have to tell you we felt like we had been blessed to have been directed to the Royal Mail. We could not recommend this hotel enough. the food was excellent and the service from the food staff was much better than expected. We feel very privileged to have been led here by circumstances. Not an extensive menu but the food is certainly worth a visit.
