Clunes is a charming town in Victoria's central goldfields. Its main street is wide enough to turn a wagon and is lined with a splendid collection of well-preserved 19th century buildings - a streetscape set in aspic. Clunes has become renowned as an international booktown and an annual hub for Australia’s literary heavyweights.
Ride Description
Clunes is 140-kms northwest of Melbourne but you wouldn’t expect us to go the direct way there. We’ve chosen some amazing roads with interesting sights along the way to make getting to our destination half the fun. Our adventure starts at Eltham taking in some lovely roads to Romsey. We skirt past Hanging Rock to refuel at Kyenton. We’ll ride between the Upper Coliban and Lauriston Reserviors. Lunch will be at the Malmsbury bakery. There is a short bit of dirt road at Glenluce on our way to Vaughan and Guildford. We’ll explore the Yandoit Hills to admire the few remaining drystone houses built by Swiss-Italian settlers. It feels a bit like Tuscany. Clunes is not far away. After setting up our little tents checking the stays are nice ’n tight and feeling faint-headed from blowing up airbeds, we’ll amble over to the pub to recover and unwind. After rousing on Sunday morning with sore hips and a foggy head, we’ll crawl out of our sleeping bags to seek a cure for the lack of sleep with a strong coffee in town. As we ride towards Smeaton, we’ll be surrounded by many domed hills which rise out of an otherwise flat plain. Each was once an active volcano. A highlight of Sunday’s ride is the splendid 1862 Andersons Flour Mill. A non-stop meander around Daylesford will include its two lakes and Wombat Hill. We’ll then ride up the side of a volcano and into its caldera. We have another short 8-km dirt road to negotiate which leads us to a secret spring, an oasis of green amongst all the dryness. We stop by the quaint Glenlyon General Store. Lunch is planned at the Pig and Whistle, a cute little pub in East Trentham. Our route home is via Woodend and Clarkefield finishing at Moonee Ponds.
Theme
Bleached landscape, summer heat, vast blue skies, dry scrubby bush, yellowing grass, flies, camping and discomfort (I won’t mention snakes) - the quintessential Aussie bush experience - simply wonderful. Pack sunscreen, a hat and water bottle.
Camping
Camping and scooters go together like a horse and carriage - a kind of marriage. Aussies are supposed to be outdoorsy people but one can’t help observe that Europeans embrace it more than we do. We’ve become soft. Let’s redress this failing in our character. Let’s toughen up and reclaim our pioneering past. Remember this event is about camping not “Glamping”. Okay if you must Glamp go ahead and make your own nancy-pansy arrangements. The rest of us will be tenting at the Clunes Caravan Park. Make your own booking here:
http://www.clunescaravanpark.com.au
Departure Point
Cafe Zen Den, 736 Main Road, Eltham departing at 9:30am sharp. You’ll need to arrive earlier for breakfast. Park down the drive behind the cafe or across the road. PLEASE ARRIVE WITH A FULL TANK as the next fuel stop is 120-kms away.
Comments
Fabulous weekend and sensational roads through the most beautiful countryside. Although I ended up having to drive, it was fun following you all in comfort :) Well done to all you campers, congrats to Paul and Judy for winning the "Best Camper" prize lol...glad you got home safely all the way back to Gippy. A huge thank you to David for organising such an adventurous route, I don't know how you remember all those turns. Also a big thank you to Gary and Donna for putting on such a delicious breakfast for us all, I certainly didn't eat until dinner time. I was sad to part ways after the breakfast but looks like the adventure ride continued until you all got back to the big smoke... think this one might need to be done next year...:) Great photos also David.
Thanks Paul and Les for your comments. Wow Paul and Judy, that was great commitment you showed in view of the distance you travelled. A shame about the drizzly start to our weekend, but you are right Les, its always great to get away. Sorry about my little brain fade when I missed the turn off onto that dirt road short cut. I quickly realised the mistake I'd made but was too embarrassed to turn the crew around. Oh dear. This is what we missed out on.
A slideshow of the trip:
https://vespaclubmelbourne.com.au/photo/photo/slideshow?albumId=641...
Great weekend, bit of a damp start, and the tyre of course, it still holds air but I'm loathe to trust it on another trip. thanks David for even more new roads and some time out of town, (always good).
What a great weekend! We made it home tonight after work (turned into a 4 day trip), sorry we bailed at Tullamarine - I was fading faster than the suspension two up with camping gear..... Thanks for all your company and to David for leading us on roads I didn't know existed - all great fun.
Paul & Judy
We have booked an unpowered tent site.
When I rang I was told that there was no need to book for an unpowered site, I'll ring tomorrow. Obviously some wires crossed somewhere.
Hello happy campers. Just rung the Clunes Caravan Park. It was reported that there was no need to book for an unpowered campsite. However when I rang they were surprised by that info. I have booked but there are only 2 tent sites left. I was unable to confirm who else from our club had booked. So, if you haven't done so yet, please book now. I'm sure we can pile a another tent onto one site if we have to. See you all bright and early on Saturday at Eltham.
Thanks for that update on Cabins Julie
Thanks for letting us know Tuan. Best wishes for a smooth move... to Perth is it?
Clunes Caravan Park cabins are all booked out so we are now staying at the Clunes Guest House which is a short walk from the Park.
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