As we had decided to stay put in Nhill for another day we got off to a lazy start. First item of business for the day was to visit the caravan park office and pay for another night, then we headed off the 400 metres or so into town.
Right next to the caravan park is Jaypex Park, which is a fantastic family destination. There is play equipment, BBQs, covered seating areas, and one of the biggest slides we have ever seen – and it was nearly all under cover. Also in the park is a restored historic cottage, and the start to the Nhill Swamp Boardwalk (more about that later).
Jaypex Park with its amazing slide – our grand-daughters would love it!
A little further up the road we entered the main business district of Nhill. This is a historic town with many beautiful old buildings. Wide verandahs were definitely the order of the day when Nhill was established. The Nhill Post Office is a standout.
Nhill Post Office
Farmers Arms Hotel
One of the features of the main street of Nhill is the wide median strip separating traffic going into and out of town. Within the median strip is some off-street parking, a delightful rotunda, tourist information, toilets, grassed areas and gardens, tables and chairs, and a bus stop. It makes a very friendly and inviting environment.
Main street Nhill
There are several decent looking pubs, some very interesting art galleries, a good range of retail shops, and several options for meals. We stopped at the Olivia-Rose Café for a coffee and stayed for lunch once we saw the menu. I couldn’t finish mine!
Lunch at Olivia-Rose Cafe
After lunch we returned to Bertha to change into tee-shirts, before heading back to the Nhill Swamp Boardwalk. This is an incredible structure over 600 metres long over the Nhill Swamp. Today this area looks nothing like a swamp as it is terribly dry, but apparently there are irregular but massive floods at which time the water levels rise considerably. There are signs of bushfires, drought and swamp all in this area.
There are signs of bushfires, drought and swamp all in this area.At the end of the Boardwalk is Nhill Lake, and the tide is out there as well. Walkers are presented with 2 options for walking from there, and we chose the longer walk right around the lake. It was glorious and incredibly peaceful. Several brave folk were fishing in the lake, and one fellow actually caught something as we walked passed but threw it back in as it was a bit too small. Apparently there are rainbow trout in the lake so a decent size would make a nice meal.
Nhill Swamp Boardwalk
We then returned to Bertha at the caravan park, both having completed close to 10,000 steps today. Out came the chairs and we put out the awning and had a quiet time catching up with a bit of reading. As dusk set in I did some quick preparation for tomorrow’s early (maybe) departure, before we came inside for a light dinner, some computer time, and then settling in for some favourite TV shows.
Our home among the gum trees tonight.
Having looked at the weather forecasts for the next few days, it looks as though we’re going to get wet where-ever we go. We’ll check the forecasts again in the morning and decide exactly which direction we will go from here.
The adventure continues…..
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