Your current caravan feels comfortable and homely, you know all the little quirks and characteristics
But after much discussion we bit the bullet.
Yep, we began our hunt for another van.
We travelled to quite a few caravan shows and dealers yards, and spoke to many sales people. We constantly shortened our list of new vans. It was always pleasing when you threw lots of questions at them and the return remark was " you really have done your homework haven't you." And that is the key - Do your homework. Know what you want and need, and don't be swayed by sales talk..
And have a budget in mind.
We knew what we wanted, and we knew our budget.
And surprisingly, while we were looking at new vans, an excellent caravan popped up in the second hand market so we became it's next owners.
So our caravanning changed from our lovely little Roma pop top to a full van, complete with ensuite.
It was quite a few weeks of ownership before we were free enough to head off for our first trip.
And our first trip was to the little town of Nathalia in northern Victoria.
It is an area that we have driven through but never stopped. You know, one of those towns that are on a main road but you are always heading somewhere else, so you have no time to stop and explore.
It is not really that far from our home base in central Victoria, so many of the towns that we drove through on our trip have always been quite familiar to us.
But for those caravanners out there, Stanhope has a good area to park the van right near the public toilets, which we have always found clean and tidy. Turn left just as you enter the town, if you are travelling east.
Travelling along the Murray Valley highway from the Echuca direction the entrance to Nathalia is so beautifully set out and welcoming. The median strip is very lush and wide.
We had booked into the Riverbank caravan park which is walking distance to the main street and situated along the banks of the Broken Creek.
It is a small and well maintained caravan park with shady trees and large grassed sites, clean amenities and friendly staff.
https://riverbankcaravanpark.com.au/
Shops and a couple of pubs line both sides of Nathalia's main street
And yes, during our stay, we visited the bakery, and there were no complaints with the food. A brisk walk was definitely needed after lunch.
Opposite the bakery is the local I.G.A. supermarket which has quite a useful selection of much needed groceries.
And at the local butchers we purchased a very tasty amount of beef stir fry for tea. They had quite a range of products so if any one is in the area it is a good place to grab some meat supplies.
During our stay we found plenty of tourist attractions to keep us entertained.
One thing that hubby neglected to throw in the back of the ute was a fishing rod so it was off to the hardware shop to purchase another one. He was happy being so close to a body of water, but all he was able to remove from the Broken Creek was a pesky European carp. Oh well, he was satisfied with his minor fishing exercise.
If you are caravanners who carry bikes with you, then the shared paths along the river may be something that you could tackle. We walked, but not terribly far.
A most interesting drive is the Silo trail. We decided to make a day trip further east to check them out. It was roughly 80ks to our fist stop, St James, but so pleased that we did. For all those heading to the north/ north eastern area of Victoria, mark these small towns in as a must see.
A row of four silos is painted at St James, with plenty of people stopping to admire the artistic talent of these artists. And the great thing is, there is plenty of room near them to park your caravan.
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| St James Silos |
You have to admire the artists and the subjects. You stand and are dwarfed by these tall structures and wonder how the artist achieved the correct proportions. It must be such a challenge to be working at such a height and painting giant sized people.
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| Devinish |
From there we headed to Goorambat. And looking straight down the main street were Clydesdales. Just wonderful, and yet again, so clever. The colours used were magnificent and the detail astonishing. And make sure you take a walk to the other end as there are another two silos painted which face the other direction.
Now I will let you in to a little secret. If you are checking out these silos around meal time take a wander in to the pub and treat yourself to a nice tasty morsel. Lamb roast for me, followed by lemon tart. This made it well worth the drive. And the young guy behind the bar was extremely friendly. Funny thing while we were there, a helicopter landed opposite the pub and the four occupants hopped out and wandered in for lunch. And strangely enough the male occupant was someone that hubby knew from his early pre married days when he lived in Elmore Victoria. How small is our world ! And travel makes it so much smaller.
On our way back to Nathalia we made our way to Tungamah to check out their silos which sit on a small rise overlooking the town. Also worth a look, but no one else was there when we were there.
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| Tungamah |
A must do when you are in the Nathalia area is a cruise on the Murray with Kingfisher cruises.
http://www.kingfishercruises.com.au/
Head up to Barmah township and follow the signs near the pub. The cruise leaves from the Barmah forest day area. The little boat can take quite a few passengers but there were only six of us on this quiet Saturday morning. The river was quite low, with many logs stretching across the water. None of which caused any problem to our small craft. Our very capable Captain was even able to maneuverer completely over the top of one stubborn log.
I thought we would just have a recording playing with all the information, but no, it was our captain commentating for the whole cruise. She is such an encyclopedia of information, all ready for any questions. And she was able to answer any questions that were thrown at her.
She must have really excellent eyesight as she could spot the very small birds before any of us passengers did. It was wonderful to see the Kingfishers hiding in the reeds. I never realised they were so small and have such bright colouring.
We were informed of some very interesting facts about the Murray River, the Barmah forest and the region in general. What a learning experience while floating sedately along.
The Barmah forest is certainly a place to drive through but take care with the road and weather conditions. And do not speed as there are plenty of animals which call the forest home. You will see the stately Barmah Brumbies running freely through the bush. Kangaroos are very common and emus run along the roads. We did not see any wild pigs or deer but if information is correct, they roam Barmah forest as well. And if you can find a spot to sit quietly you will hear different bird calls.
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| Barmah Brumbies |
All in all our few days at Nathalia was a relaxing time, but also a learning time. We managed to do a few different things and learnt quite a bit of information about the region. We found the people in the area very friendly and always ready to share useful information. We also had time to get to know our new caravan as it is quite a bit different to our Roma. Our bed was comfy , the stove and fridge worked well. And it towed well. You may say we are extremely happy with our Kingdom caravan.
Keep enjoying your caravanning and travel safe
