As I mentioned in my previous entry it rained on and off for quite a bit of last night so this morning it came as no surprise that when we looked out we saw that the small creek by which we were parked up had overflown and the grass around most of our caravan was flooded (around an inch of water). This didn’t particularly worry us as, while it was going to remain dull and miserable for the remainder of the day, no further significant rain was forecast. Additionally, we had carefully inspected the site on arrival and were comfortable that the ground was sufficiently solid to support a bit of ground water and still allow us to get out without bogging.
While the expectation is that you will only stay a couple of nights at the Brown Brothers campsite we decided to push it and stay another one. We had been quite generous in our support of the business yesterday and as there were only a couple of other vans in each night of our stay there was ample so we would not be denying anyone else a spot. Most importantly, our host at the wine tasting said it would be fine to stay longer, given the time of year.
Being a very gloomy morning we just hung around the van, had a relaxed breakfast, read a bit, wrote a bit and, shock horror, did a bit of cleaning.
As anticipated, by early afternoon the weather had not improved and had, in fact, deteriorated. A dreary drizzling rain had settled in. Despite this, we decided to go and have a quick look around Wangaratta, located less than twenty kilometres from where we were staying. If nothing else it would get us outside the confines of the caravan for a few hours.
Wangaratta is a largish (popn. 30,000) regional centre in north-east Victoria servicing, among other areas, the Kings Valley wine region, in which Milawa is located. The town and its environs are a popular destination for people who enjoy walking, cycling, gold fossicking, fishing, or just relaxing and indulging in the many restaurants and cafes that are available.
Due to inclement conditions today we limited ourselves to a short walk through the central area of the town where we were rewarded by the sight of many fine old buildings.
It really was a quite dreary day so we soon threw the towel in and retired to a beautiful little cafe for the remainder of the afternoon. Here, in addition to enjoying the coffee and some rather indulgent cakes, we sat back and enjoyed watching the traffic going around the roundabout just outside the cafe. Oh, how such simple things can amuse the innocent!
Having overindulged in monitoring a roundabout we made our way back to the caravan in conditions much more reminiscent of driving around in country Ireland on a gloomy day than Australia. By the time we got back the water around our van had soaked into the ground and the creek had subsided sufficiently for us not to worry.
I feel I have done the town of Wangaratta an injustice with this review and look forward to a return visit after which I will, without doubt, be able to paint it in a better light.
The next review from my Adelaide to Canberra road trip can be found HERE.
Should you wish to follow this road trip from the beginning please start HERE.
The Rambling Wombat 
Despite the weather it’s clear Wangaratta has a lot of fine buildings, but there’s much to be said for simply sitting over a drink and/or meal and watching the world go by. If nothing else, it’s a pleasant reminder that while many in that world are obliged to go somewhere, you are a free agent and can make the choice to do nothing / very little 😀
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You’ve captured some lovely old buildings and I’m glad you didn’t get bogged.
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Glasgow House might not be the best looking building in town, but it has the best name!
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Some of those buildings look fabulous Albert, but I’m still trying to get my head around the word fossicking.
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