Covid-19 is going to make 2020 a much different year for us all. Thankfully, we have been very lucky compared to the rest of the world – we lament that we are a long way from anywhere when it comes to travelling however being an isolated country does have its advantages !
Our plan has always been to do the long-haul travel whilst we are young (🤔)and fit (🙄) and “see Australia” more extensively down the track. Well that track might be here a bit earlier than expected with any timeframe of overseas travel a long way off in the current circumstances.
During our overseas hiatus – however long that may be – we’ve decided to do lots of little tours, hopefully at least every couple of months – a few days here, a week or so there. And with the regional travel restrictions lifting we are booked already ! 🚗🏁🏞
In the meantime, here’s one we prepared earlier –
A few days away for Adrienne’s birthday celebration this time gave us a chance spending some time and money in rural NSW and Victoria – in the Albury-Wodonga region.
Our “go to” for a good deal, Luxury Escapes, came good again and we spent our time at the relatively new “Circa 1928 Spa Resort“, right in the heart of Albury.
With only 2 rooms, the owners provide an “attention to detail experience” for their guests – including being pampered with canapes and drinks in the lounge each evening as part of our experience. We chose the “Dean Suite” – fronting Dean Street – where the decor is inspired by iconic Australian artist, Pro Hart (the other room is Andy Warhol inspired). Along with prints on the wall, large ants, a lizard and lady beetles from the Pro Hart Gallery in Broken Hill provide unusual but stunning decor.
On a “stinking hot” Saturday, we briefly walked to the nearby Albury Botanic Gardens before visiting “MAMA” – Murray Art Museum Albury – and enjoying their airconditioning ! We braved the weather again, driving out to the Hume Dam across the Murray River. Retreating inside again, we had a leisurely late lunch at Albury Brewhouse – where we enjoyed a few share plates and sampled a few of their locally made brews, of course !
Sunday was a more comfortable day for sight-seeing so we drove across the border to visit historic Beechworth. We did a guided walking tour which gave us a brief history of the town, through the escapades of Ned Kelly and the events of the goldrush days. The telegraph office had an elderly gentlemen sending telegrams via morse code – a dying trade with only about 4 “volunteers” still keeping the art alive and operating across Australia.
After a walk around town – even dodging a few welcome rain showers along the way – we drove to Rutherglen where we had a lovely late lunch at the “Pickled Sisters Cafe” at Cofield Winery, in nearby Wahgunyah – accompanied by the tasty local Sauv Blanc !
Heading back to Albury, we took advantage of the cooler weather and went back to the Botanic Gardens for a late afternoon stroll and to listen to the raucous cockatoos settle in to the trees for the evening.
The whole area is so very dry – the landscape brown and dusty and the dams in paddock after paddock very low or empty – much in need of some good rainfall ! It has been such a long time since we visited the area – 1983 to be precise – but there is much more to explore, we’ll be back much sooner next time and hopefully that good rainfall will have been before us !
