2016 Big Maroochydore Adventure – Day 1 – Melbourne to Jugiong

We got off to a ridiculously early start this morning and were out of the gate in Bertha about 6.45am in order to miss the early morning traffic.  In fact we slept in Bertha last night as part of our preparations – it’s amazing how many things you think about that you might not have packed etc when you’re actually “on the premises”.  Plus it was a good chance to make sure that the diesel heater worked.  It did!

One of our concerns about leaving that early was that it might be foggy, but thankfully it was a nice clear morning and the traffic was flowing well so we made great progress.  That was until about Wallan, when we hit dense fog and very limited visibility.  We took advantage of the situation to stop at the servo and top Bertha up with diesel and to treat ourselves to a hot breakfast and a hot coffee.

Foggy and wet at Wallan.

The weather improved somewhat as we went further north along the Hume Freeway and we settled for just constant drizzle.

Weather is a bit better.

Next stop was at a rest stop near Euroa for a cup of coffee, then it was back on the road until we both felt that we needed a stretch and a walk so we turned off the Hume into Glenrowan.  It was still drizzling lightly so we put on our coats and went for a wander.  In a “small world” moment we bumped into our long-time friend Simon who I had worked with many moons ago and who we hadn’t seen for several years.  Simon and his wife were on their way home to Melbourne from Canberra where they had been visiting relatives and after a brief chat we headed off in our respective directions.

Ann’s mother’s name was Kelly!

We continued our slightly damp stroll around Glenrowan before stopping off at the Glenrowan Bakehouse for something hot for lunch. .

View of Glenrowan.

Back on the highway the weather improved and the sun made an appearance and by Wodonga I actually needed my sunnies.  Travelling in sunny and clear weather is a lot more pleasant than driving in rain and drizzle so we bypassed Holbrook, where we would normally have stayed and continued towards Gundagai.  It was also great to see green pastures and some healthy looking livestock. We stopped just north of Holbrook for another stretch before continuing on to our final stop at Jugiong free camp.

Healthy looking pastures and livestock.

Weather is a bit better.

We have stayed at Jugiong before and it is a beautiful spot.  It’s a bit cold at the moment and there aren’t many people here but we have our heater and the music on and we’re quite cosy.

Jugiong is a great place to stay.

Today has been an exceptional day and certainly not typical, as we very rarely travel anything like 556 kms in a day.  However, an early start and quite decent weather, most of the time, have combined to create a long but successful day with the end result that we don’t have nearly as far to travel tomorrow to visit our daughter Katie in Canberra.

We will sleep well tonight though!