Ballan to Corryong for the holidays!

It's been a long time, in fact a very long time, since we have been camping and when friends recently asked if we would like to go camping over the Christmas / New Year holiday period we said YES!

But of course we had forgotten how crowded many places are at this time of year, never mind, we set off on Boxing Day (for those that do not celebrate this day, its the day after Christmas Day (26th December)) and drove to Corryong (NE Victoria) which takes - on average - about 5 hours.

Ballan is 69.2km west of Melbourne and Corryong is 317.5km north-east of Melbourne as seen in the following map:

We left Ballan - which is situated halfway between Ballarat and Bacchus Marsh - by 8:00am, traveling along the M8 and turning off at Melton, driving towards the Western Ring Road before turning onto the Hume Freeway ....

 

naturally at this time of year there are many others on the road with the same idea of going camping!

Once we had turned off the freeway and traveling along the Murray Valley Highway the traffic eased off considerably.

The following two images are of the Huon Reserve Rest Area which is 11km south east of Bonegilla or 17km north west of Tallangatta on the Murray Valley Highway. Right beside Lake Hume.

This stop provides a pleasant rest area with some shade and a boat ramp.

We continue on our journey towards Corryong, following the shores of Lake Hume.

and now we cross the Mitta Mitta River.  The upper reaches of the Mitta Mitta River, including its tributaries, drain from the High Plains through deeply dissected forests. The Mitta Mitta River then flows for 70 km through forest, Lake Dartmouth and then a wide valley down into Lake Hume.

Lake Hume is an artificial lake in Australia formed by the Hume Weir east of Albury-Wodonga on the Murray River just downstream of its junction with the Mitta River. The small towns of Tallangatta, Bonegilla and Bellbridge are located on the shores of Lake Hume. It is often referred to as the Hume Weir, only named Lake Hume in the mid 1980s.

After we cross the Mitta Mitta River we come to the lookout point for Old Tallangatta as seen in this image below:

above: map of the old township shows what it was like prior to the drowning!


Tallangatta, located 39 kilometres east of Wodonga (338 km north of Melbourne) and 230 metres above sea level, describes itself as 'The Town That Moved' and that is its central claim to fame.

Tallangatta was physically removed from the Murray River valley when the Hume Weir was built in the 1950s. There is now a plaque on the side of the Murray Valley Highway (the road from Corryong to Albury) which reads 'The township of Tallangatta was originally situated in the valley immediately below this point on land subject to inundation by waters of the Hume Reservoir. The transfer of the township by the State Rivers and Waters Supply Commission to the new site five miles to the west was completed on 29 June 1956.'

The drive along the Murray Valley Highway is truly beautiful and the scenery is superb.

 The following image is the intersection of B400 and C545, just prior to the town of Corryong.

and so we arrived at the Colac Colac Caravan Park just west of Corryong by 4:00pm:

More posts to follow on our visit to the Colac Colac Caravan Park, our trips to Khancoban, Tintaldra and Walwa.

In the meantime, I appreciate the helpful advice that I found on the following websites:


Old Tallangatta

Colac Colac Caravan Park

Tallangatta (Sydney Morning Herald)

The Mitta Mitta River (DPI)

Lake Hume (Wikipedia)

Huon Reserve Rest Area (Caravan.com)


the following image was taken beside Lake Hume near the Old Tallangatta Lookout: