Echuca Scenic Drive, Vic

 Today was a drive day.  I love these days where you get to see the area more "in-depth" and it is always surprising what you find on these drives away from the tourist routes.  We had a circle mapped out that would take us to the towns of Kyabram, Stanhope, Rochester and Lockington before competing our circle back to Echuca.  

Kyabram is first and it is a 30 minute drive from Echuca and is situated in the Goulburn Valley area.  Because of Ky's access to irrigation it is a productive fruit and dairy region.  It is a small town and we only stop here to get a photograph of the Kyabram Water Tank that is part of the regions silo art trail.  It is unfortunate that there is a large wire fence surrounding the tank so it is difficult to get a good photograph.

Stanhope is the next stop and this is the birthplace and home of the late PM John McEwen.  There is a memorial in the town square with interesting plaques where we read about the life of John McEwen.  His family were farmers and he was instrumental in setting up the Stanhope Dairy Co-operative becoming its first president.  

Stanhope is known for its cheese production and the Dairy co-operative is now part of the Fonterra Group.  There is a fantastic mural (mosaic) along the wall of the Fonterra Office that is actually made up of 11,000 photographs of people and places from early Stanhope.  Once again it is a shame you can't get close to it....

There is also another mural in the town centre that is a memorial to the sinking of the Montevideo Maru Ship in 1942.  It was a Japanese ship that was loaded with allied POW's and accidentally sunk by a USA submarine.  840 lives were lost.

Our next town is Rochester that lies on the banks of the Campaspe River.  It is also on the Silo Art Trail and has some particularly fine silo art.  The platypus's eyes watch you as you walk around!

But what I am most interested in seeing is Ron Iddles Lane commemorating the career of one of Victoria's most respected homicide detectives.  At one of the connoisseur lunches we attended in Palm Cove, Ron Iddles was the guest speaker and it was one of the most riveting talks I have ever heard. 

We take a walk through Rochester town centre and it is one of the larger towns in the area.  There is a lot of heritage listed buildings that you become very used to seeing in country Victoria and I loved the "Story Tree" in a kids playground where you left your books for the next person to enjoy.

Our last "port of call" on our drive is Lockington.  We travel a back road to reach Lockington and here we see a great array of primary production.  There are canola crops that have been cut and lay to dry before baling and there are a large number or dairies along this route.  It is a very interesting drive.

I have read that as you drive into Lockington you are greeted by irrigation channels that are surrounded by native gardens and an abundance of wildflowers in spring.  No wildflowers this spring!  I have to be content to photograph a couple of the older buildings (again) in the tiny township of Lockington.

This is our last day in Echuca and later today we will walk the 5.5km Scenic Drive Circuit that takes us along the banks of the Murray River.  We will be leaving the Mighty Murray now as we head to Ballarat tomorrow and then on to the Grampians.  Stay tuned.....