Road Trip (Mt Egerton to Yendon)

...... continuing on with yesterdays 'road trip' from Ballan to Mt Buninyong, this post being on the section between Mt Egerton and Yendon as seen below:

Fabulous scenery in this area including an historical bluestone bridge that crosses over the Moorabool River on the Yendon-Egerton Road, as seen below:

the following black and white image of that same bridge was taken from the State Library of Victoria's website, here you can see the area underneath....

It is worth making the journey along this section of the road as the scenery is quite diverse with the historical towns of Mt Egerton and Yendon, the many farms, rivers, old buildings, fencing etc along the way ....

when driving on this road, do be cautious as there are some areas where it is quite narrow and steep, in particular if cycling along this section ...

This section of the Yendon-Egerton Road is only 12 klms, so it's not long before you enter the small village of Yendon ...

next blog post will be on the drive around Mt Buninyong!

URL's of interest:

Road Trip (Ballan to Mt Egerton)

Visit Moorabool - Mt Egerton 

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Road Trip (Ballan to Mt Egerton)

Last week we explored the area south of Ballan along Glenmore Road, towards Bacchus Marsh. Today we decided to have a look at the area south-west of Ballan and so headed towards the Ballan-Mt Egerton Road.

After leaving Ballan and turning left onto the Geelong-Ballan Road, it was not long before we needed to turn right, onto the Ballan-Egerton Road - as seen above.

This really is another delightful area to explore, to get off the main freeway and see what this regional road has to offer the tourist.

From Ballan it is only 14.5 klms, or 20 minutes drive time. Though it will take longer than that if you want to stop and admire the views along the way!

Today we are actually on our way to Buninyong via Mount Egerton which is an historic gold mining town in Victoria, Australia. The town was named after settler George Egerton.

In 1838 he held approximately 35,000 acres of stock farming land which to outsiders was known simply as "Egerton's Run".  Gold was discovered in this area in 1853.

The town's main street is Main Road and consists of an historic gold mine and battery, general store and hall. While nearby are the local primary school and recreational reserve.

The following images were taken along the Ballan-Egerton Road on the way to Mt Egerton .....

we stopped often to admire the scenery and of course, to take many photos along the way, but there was a cold wind blowing and didn't want to stay out too long. We are looking forward to exploring this area in the springtime now!

It was not long before we came to the intersection at Mt Egerton, it was here that we turned left (see image below) and followed the Yendon-Egerton Road - crossing the Moorabool River - towards Yendon, which is only a 12 klm journey.

The next blog post is on that section of our journey, to read about it click here.

a little bit of exploring in Regional Victoria

Get off those main freeways and highways and start exploring the small country towns that you only 'see' on the road signs as you whizz by....

If you think of country roads and roadsides as home to nothing more than a few motley old trees, think again! 

Nation-wide, the network of winding bitumen, dirt tracks and roadsides covers in excess of 1.6 mill km’s which offers a significant conservation upside- 1.6 mill km’s of remnant vegetation.

above: map of one of the rural roads from Ballan to Bungaree, via Gordon and Wallace.

Ever heard of WALLACE or GORDON for example?
The tiny village of Gordon is true to its Scottish meaning, “big hill”. Nestled amid rolling hillsides it is home to the slightly eccentric Wild Trout’s Gordon Hat Shoppe which offers a unique range of Scottish and Irish inspired apparel and music.

above: the township of Gordon

Wallace is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is located 99 kilometres (62 mi) north west of the state capital, Melbourne. The township was established in the 1880s, the Post Office opening on 22 February 1885

Wallace can a quick detour from the Western Freeway on the way to Ballarat, but better still don't use it as a "quick detour" but rather as another town to explore!

Difficult to find out exactly where the name came from, but on searching Google it seems that Wallace was named after a Mr R. Wallace or perhaps even a John Wallace, who was a notable figure on the Central Victorian goldfields.

above: the township of Wallace, showing the Wallace Hotel at the intersection.

the following article was located in an article titled "Did Matthew Flinders go one river too far?" that was on the ANPS website.

So when next you go exploring, you can do some research even after your journey ... it's amazing what you can learn about some of these country towns you have visited!

For some good old fashioned country fun, colour, festivals, markets, atmosphere, bakeries and a warm welcome .... 

you can't beat the smaller towns of Regional Victoria!

useful links:

Australian Place Names Survey

road trip: Gordon to Wallace

road trip: Ballan to Gordon

Visit Moorabool website

Visit Moorabool - Gordon 

Visit Moorabool - Wallace

Visit Moorabool - road less travelled

 

come springtime, we will be out in full force 

exploring Regional Victoria, 

so stay tuned!