It’s day two of my holiday adventure. Today I drove from Wangaratta to Geelong. I was expecting it to take about four hours but I ended up spending more than three hours in bumper to bumper traffic because of two major accidents on the Princess Highway just past the Melbourne airport.
I woke up at the Parkview Motor Inn in Wangaratta with welts on my skin because there were biting midges in the bed. I didn’t sleep well and missed having my CPAP machine. After two instant coffees and a shower I felt well enough to check out and head for Benalla. I found Hides Bakery and enjoyed a passion fruit iced vanilla slice and coffee for breakfast.
After Benalla I made my way to Wallan expecting the Top of the Town Bakery to be a suitable place to find lunch.
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What I found was a relatively small bakery with a couple of old warped tables. I bought a beef, bacon and cheese pie and found a park to eat lunch.
It was still midday when I set off and I thought I’d make good progress getting to Geelong with the thought I might have an afternoon at the Geelong Arena. In the end I sat in traffic for more than three hours.
On getting to Geelong I checked in and tried to relax a little.
Later in the afternoon I went for a walk to Corio Wharf and then found a Thai restaurant to have dinner.
I asked for the salt and chilli squid plus a BBQ pork laksa. Both were hot like fire from the chilli. The laksa was very spicy and the coconut milk wasn’t as creamy as I’ve had elsewhere. Overall both were really nice dishes.
Today I started five days recreation leave from work. I drove from Canberra to Wangaratta and stopped at the Dog on the tucker box (near Gundagai), Holbrook, and Wodonga.
I’m on my way to Geelong to spend a couple of days watching Miss13 compete in the WAG National Club Championships at the Geelong Arena.
I’ve never driven through southern NSW and Victoria before so in preparation I spoke with many friends who have lived in Victoria. A recurring theme is the food in Victoria is better than anywhere else and the bakeries can’t be beaten.
The next stop was Holbrook because I heard the bakery was amazing and the vanilla slice there was the best in NSW. That is a big claim given my love for the vanilla slices from the Gumnut bakeries in Mittagong and Bowral.
Before I got to the bakery I stopped at HMAS Otway. Holbrook is the adopted home for the submarine.
Then I got into the bakery and asked for a vanilla slice.
It was good but it wasn’t great. It certainly wasn’t as good as the vanilla slice from the Gumnut patisseries.
The drive was made more interesting by podcasts. I love the fact with my iPhone I can listen to podcasts rather than having to rely on the radio or a CD. Today I listened to a couple of Star Trek podcasts from Trek.fm, a Jared Polin “I shoot RAW” podcast as well as a Trevor Long “Your tech life“ podcast.
The next stop was Wodonga just over the NSW/Victoria border. The Murray River at the cross over is fairly narrow. I was expecting a more substantial river.
I stopped at Henri’s Wodonga Bakery and enjoyed a nice pepper steak hot pie with sauce.
I also had another vanilla slice. This is the first time in decades I’ve tried a vanilla slice with pink icing just like when I was a kid buying them at school. This one was very good, although the icing was a little too thick and very very sweet. The custard was nicer than the Holbrook bakery vanilla slice.
The next stop was Wangaratta and the motel I’d booked.
I love how motels in Australia always seem to place this strip of paper or a variation of it over the toilet seat.
The room is pretty good and it has free wi-fi. I’ll write a review in TripAdvisor soon.
For dinner I went for a walk to find a restaurant. I found Cafe Martini and decided to ask for a steak.
On the way to Cafe Martini though I shot some photographs of some public art and the King River
I asked for the rib eye fillet on the bone cooked rare with vegetables. The steak was rare and well rested. It was very good. I’d eat here again.
For dessert I had the tiramisu. It was also pretty good.
So that’s it for day one.
Have you driven through southern NSW and Victoria? Tell me about your experiences.
But for me the best thing about Bowral is the vanilla slice at The Gumnut Patisserie
The day started well with scrambled eggs from Bron. These were so buttery and so delicious. Bron does good scrambled eggs.
The point of going to Bowral though wasn’t so much to enjoy a vanilla slice but to do a little exercise and get some fresh air on a fine Spring day.
After the vanilla slice and a coffee we went to the Bowral Cheese Shop and bought some food for lunch before going for a walk along one of the trails. While we were at The Gumnut Patisserie Bron bought some sourdough and a rye sour bread.
At the cheese store we bought some quince paste, some duck and peppercorn pâté, some Small Cow blue cheese, some truffle brie cheese and some chicken, pork and pistachio terrine. This would be an indulgent lunch.
We drove to the base of the Mount Gibraltar walking trail and walked up the stairs to the Mount Gibraltar lookout. The walk took about 40 minutes and involved some stair climbing, some trail walking and some lookout gazing. I tried to shoot some photographs but most of them turned out badly. I forgot to set my white balance properly and I forgot to bring my circular polariser. It was a very glary day and so most of the shots were not very good. We came across a wombat hole and I didn’t adjust the ISO properly and ended up with a very soft shot with a 1/2 second shutter speed. By the time I was at that point I was huffing and puffing and my heart rate was high so the shot was soft and blurry. Anyway, enough excuses, it was a good day out.
We decided to drive to the Mount Gibraltar Jellore Lookout for lunch. It’s a nice place with a good view of Mittagong.After our strenuous walk to check out a number of the fantastic views around Gibraltar rocks, we set up our picnic at the Jellore look out, which is on a little outcrop and is usually quite serene. Today it was not so, with the arrival of a number of groups, including a particularly large and boisterous family that felt the best place for their numerous selfies was half a metre from where we were sitting. After they left we were able to enjoy some peace and quite looking over the hills around Bowral before heading back to Canberra.
This was a very indulgent but utterly delicious lunch.
Eating the pâté with the rye sour bread was like eating smooth dark chocolate. It was just amazing!
This is where we were sitting for lunch.
Sunday. Bowral Mount Gibraltar Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/1250sec, ISO 200
Sunday. Bowral Mount Gibraltar Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/500sec, ISO 200
Sunday. Bowral Mount Gibraltar Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/500sec, ISO 200
Sunday. Bowral Mount Gibraltar Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/160sec, ISO 200
Sunday. Bowral Mount Gibraltar Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/640sec, ISO 200
Sunday. Bowral Mount Gibraltar Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/320sec, ISO 200
Sunday midday. Bowral Mount Jellore Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 200
Sunday midday. Bowral Mount Jellore Lookout. | SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/5.6, 1/800sec, ISO 200
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Bron and I had a brilliant day. The weather was good and the food great.
Have you been to Bowral? What did you do? What did you eat?
If you have any comments or questions please send me a comment in the space below.
Tonight I walked from my hotel into town and through to the Hanuman Restaurant. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to eat initially and I thought it would reveal how predictable and obsessive I am, but you know what? Who cares. I like the food. I like the restaurant. It was my choice.
I’ve just got home (Canberra) after a busy weekend in Brisbane to see my daughters. May is a big month for us, my father’s birthday is in May, my eldest two daughters both share a birthday in May (two years apart), it’s mothers day in May and my birthday is in May.
I arrived late Friday night and the girls were already in ‘bed’ ready to sleep. They had a big Saturday ahead of them.
On Saturday we got out of bed at 5 am and ate a quick breakfast. I had peanut paste on toast (I didn’t have time for a low carbohydrate meal) while the two youngest ones had Mum’s lemon curd on toast. We had to be on the road by 6.30 am and on our way to Yatala for the QGSSSA Cross Country championships. Athletics is not the favourite sport for Miss13 and Miss17 however, as all rounders they compete in as many sports as possible. The meet is held at Rivermount College which isn’t part of the QGSSSA. The college is at Yatala near the Gold Coast.
Just thinking back a bit, when I arrived Friday night I discovered that a tube of moisturiser (yes I have Ichthyosis) had ‘exploded’ in my bag and the shirt I was going to wear had been ruined. Mum said I should wear one of Dad’s shirts. She also said it would be warm so short sleeves wouldn’t be a problem. I always listen to my mother.
So we arrive at Yatala and it’s cloudy and cold. I’m shivering. Thanks Mum 🙂
The girls run well and enjoy themselves. The next stop is the Sleeman Sports Complex in Chandler. We have to get Miss17 there for gymnastics training. Even though she didn’t make the Queensland team this year she’s allowed to compete at the national championships this week in Melbourne. She has to train at Gymnastics Queensland headquarters in Chandler. Before we get there though, Miss17 suggests a spot of morning tea at Yatala Pies.
Yatala Pies is a bit of an institution in South East Queensland. Their pies are known far and wide. Funnily enough I’ve never eaten in the Yatala Pies shop. This was a first.
Miss17 had a curry chicken and vegetable pie, Miss13 had a sausage roll and I elected to have a pasty. It’s been ages since I’ve had a good pasty. This one didn’t disappoint. I loved it.
Now regulars readers know me so it shouldn’t be any surprise that when I saw Vanilla slice I had to have one. Yatala Pies sells French Vanilla slices with a whopping big layer of French vanilla cream. It was gorgeous.
After a lot of driving back and forth between Chandler and Chermside it was a long tiring day. After getting the kids back to my parents’ place it was time to cook our special May dinner to celebrate so many birthdays and mothers day.
I said to Mum that I wanted to cook salmon and would be wonderful is Miss17 could make a salad. I also made a pumpkin cauliflower mash which I used to smear the plate and perch the salmon on.
For dessert, Miss17 had made an ice cream cake. The base was made with Ferrero Rocher, Chocolate Mint and Queensland nut (Macadamia) ice creams. The top had a combination of mixers added to make it a cake to remember.
After dinner we watched The Hunger Games on DVD. I’d never seen it before. It was good.
After a good night’s sleep Miss19 joined us after a busy weekend of working and studying. We had planned a special breakfast together. My daughters and me 🙂 We decided to head to Groove Train at Chermside because it was close and the last time we were there we enjoyed the food.
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