Our Mystery Bottle of Tambo Bay

Hi there,

I hope that this new year is being kind to everyone.

Lots of busy things going on throughout blogland, so thought it was well time I updated too.

A couple of weeks ago, MD and I took our Son to Tambo Bay.  It's a little out of the way holiday home type of place, very quiet once the holidaymakers had returned home.

Thinking back to the first time we visited Tambo Bay, a raging storm was in progress (the weather doesn't deter our drives!).  We sat in the car and looked out over the Bay with its grey clouds, pelting rain, waves lashing the sand and some poor seabirds hanging on to the jetty for dear life.  Since then, I've always thought of Tambo Bay as a dramatic, wind-blown, romantic type of spot.

Anyway, the three of us decided on a walk before our picnic and, in the distance I saw what I thought was just an old beer bottle bobbing up and down in the water.
As we got closer, it looked a bit more interesting so, trying to keep my sneakers dry, I had a go, between waves, at trying to pull it in to shore.
Darn, I forgot the camera but fortunately our Son had his phone and took some beaut photos .... (ok, I 'fess up... I was yelling to him fairly over-excitedly in between the sloshing waves something like "quick ... phone...take  picture"... fortunately our darling children know that Mum tends to get a bit over-the-top sometimes! )

After a bit of encouragement with a stick (and the inevitable 
soggy sneakers),  I got it to shore

Yep, definitely some flotsam... or jetsam...
well, a bottle, and it looked old.

Yay - it was obvious this bottle had been in the water 
a long time.

Complete with rotting cork and partly covered in barnacles...
we were hoping there might be a note inside!

it has three sides and
was about two-thirds filled with liquid.

Here's a closer look and the words "This... must... use... food"
are visible.

(Still banging on about the bottle!)

Here's a shot of it now that it's been home with us
for a few weeks.
The cork dried out and dropped inside the bottle.
The liquid had no smell at all.

Alas.... no note was found

A closeup of its barnacled bottom.

Our mystery bottle sits in all its glory here at home.
I wonder where it came from.

Come on, fancy a bit of a wander? Noooo, we're not trespassing - true dinks.

Ha ha, I'm just teasing... the sign belongs to the property further
up the road - trust me ;-)

See!  The gate to our property is   w   i  d  e   open...
practically begging for a visit.

Gorgeous view up the track
The coast is clear

.... and over to the right is this lovely old house.

Doesn't look like anyone's been home for many a decade.

Wooden shingles under there .... better have a closer look!

What a lot of stories this house could tell.

That was fun... thanks for coming along.

On the road to Ensay - part two.

Continuing with our drive up The Great Alpine Road....

Another curiously named historic site:

This 1000 Pound Bend is so named after either the cost of repairs and insurance when two coaches collided, or the cost of constructing the road through hand-hewn rock at this troublesome spot.

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I'll return to some more curious historic sites further down the page. In the meantime, I'd like to briefly chat about  Wombats.  We saw evidence of a lot of them when we stopped by the Tambo River (in part one), and the surrounding area.

Here's a photo of the Common Wombat, the species who lives in this part of the country. I've also inserted a  link to the Australian Museum for those who wish to know more about this short, stout and solid marsupial, who's also earned the nickname "the Bulldozer of the bush"!

The Common Wombat
(Photo borrowed from Lone Pine  Koala Sanctuary)

[Warning.... some may choose not to look at the next photo]

We found lots of evidence of wombats.
Their scats are cube shaped  (so that they stay in the same
spot and don't roll away), thereby, marking the wombats' 
territory. 
This lot was smack bang in the middle 
of a bridge over the Tambo River!


I included this photo because those of us who follow
Laura of ForestWalkArt blogspot, know she'd be
interested ;-) 

When wombats want to go somewhere, they just go... nothing stands in their way except, perhaps,  solid rock.  

Farmers' fences are undermined, pushed out of shape, treated with complete disregard, much to their annoyance.  It not only wrecks their fences, but it leaves openings for predators, and other unwanted fauna,  to access their paddocks and stock.

Many methods have been used to try and deter wombats from ploughing straight through fences. One is incredibly inhumane and cruel and I'd hate to think it's still being used these days.  

On the other side of the road, and a bit further north,  from where we stopped by the Tambo, we saw another type of  wombat-proof fencing.  

This sort of wombat-proof  electrified fencing went on for 
kms - in both directions!
I did read that it only takes a few days for the wombats to learn 
to avoid it, so then it works on a visual warning basis,
rather than a physically preventative one.

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Back to the curiously named historical sites:

Left of Top Photo (Battle Point): was named after a fight between two bullock drivers or road foremen.

Top right (Haunted Stream): was named after its connection with the murder of Ballarat Harry. (Couldn't find out anything further about that story... think I'll leave well enough alone anyway!)

Bottom right (Dead Horse Flat): after a horse which was dragged along for some distance, dead, after being tied by a halter, while still alive, to the rear of its owner's wagon.

Bottom Photo (Devil's Backbone): after the tortuous nature of the country. 

We continued north, passing through open country with mountains on either side of the river valley, to Ensay, which is a small town now, but once celebrated for its wool production. 

It is at the base of the Nunniong High Plains sitting alongside the Tambo and Little Rivers.  The aboriginal name for Ensay is Numblaminjie, meaning "black fish".

Ensay Town Centre
Not my photo [source]

Hungry. Thirsty. The Cafe is open. I couldn't wait to check it out.

Pies, sauce and coffee - yum.

Refreshed, and homeward bound. 

We spied this wooden charmer giving everyone a big smile as they passed.

No clue as to her story.
She just is!

Next time we'll venture further up The Great Alpine Road and see what we can see.  

Hope you enjoyed the drive with us!

On the road to Ensay - part one

This time The Great Alpine Road called our names and off we went. It's a 308 km route in Victoria that extends from Bairnsdale, in the heart of Gippsland to Wangaratta in the north-east.  

We're doing a short section from the Bruthen, in the South, up to Ensay - a nice hour's run  We're essentially following the route of early european travellers.

We passed through beautiful Eucalypt forests

Catching a glimpse of the Tambo River down below

While I was taking a picture, MD was 'eyeing' off some timber
that'd fallen off a load, or something.... I sensed he was going to try and
retrieve it from that sheer drop.  Oh, I'm a spoilsport ... ;-)

We've stopped to play down by the Tambo River.
Can't resist a water shot

So peaceful.
The Great Alpine Road  is very close, the line of it can be seen in the
background.

Further up the river, all is calm 

Riverstones always catch my eye!

Time to walk back to the car to continue our drive

Still wet from the early morning rain 

En route are a number of curiously named historic sites. I've done a bit of research but information is a bit sketchy - would appreciate it if anyone can provide any further details, as I've made a few assumptions intermingled with what I could find out.

The whole area in the Tambo Valley was mined for gold back around the 1920s and beyond.
Guess most of the mullock (mine waste) ended up in this creek.

Couldn't find why this creek was so named.
However, Bullock teams were used extensively for haulage purposes.
May have been a favourite watering hole.

Here's a photo I found on the internet titled "Bullocky Jack
and his old red team".
It was taken in NSW, but the setting and purpose
 would've been similar
in Victoria - to clear land and haul huge logs

It was real nice to see the regeneration after the disastrous fires which began on 1st December 2006 until 7th February 2007. An area of 1,116,408 ha  was burnt across Gippsland and the North East of Victoria. Small towns were protected during the fire campaign, among them were Tambo Crossing and Ensay.

The bush is coming back.

More in the next post .....

Herbals, Childrens' Street Art, Teasing the Gulls and a bunch of Real Sweet Ladies

~ Herbals - Heartsease (Viola, Johnny-Jump-Ups):

This beautiful old book was kindly given to me by my BIL a while back. It makes fascinating reading and is, I'm sure, a reference source for herbalists today

Nicholas Culpeper, a very famous astrologer-physician of the early 17th Century writes that Heartsease (Violas)  is "an excellent cure for the venereal disease. The spirit of it is excellent, good for convulsions in children, and a remedy for falling sickness, inflammation of the lungs and breasts, pleurisy, scabs, itch, &c. The flowers are cooling, emollient, and cathartic..." 

Who would've thought this little plant would have so much responsibility!

My collection of Heartease (also known as Violas, Johnny-Jump-Ups).

Once they're in the garden, happily, you've always got them.

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~ Childrens' Street Art: We drove over to Paynesville (as regular readers would know, it's one of our favourite spots).  I wanted to show the efforts of the local schoolchildren. They added to the street 'theme' by each painting a marine-based wooden cut-out. The cut-outs were then attached to planters and rubbish bins (as shown in the group photo below), making them very easy on the eye.  The council similarly decorated various street poles. All combined to create a unique and charming streetscape and a source of pride for the children concerned.

The footpath wasn't left out either, inlaid with a
beautiful mosaic fish

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~ Teasing the Gulls: Still in Paynesville. The Autumn air was a bit brisk, so our thoughts turned to food.  Fish and chips perhaps?  You bet....   

"Two serves of flake and chips and 4 scallops thanks!"

Definitely too chilly, so we drove a little down the road and parked overlooking the lake.  Enjoying the view we hoed into our fish n chips....  until

"Helloooo in there.
Wot you two doin' ?
HEY  ! ... CHIPS!!"

"Gonna share? That's real
friendly of youse"

"Awwww, not that's just plain mean...
how can I get it through
the windscreen ... flamin'
tourists.

Ok fellas, we got a coupla
smart-alecs here, call in
the troops!!"

"How do ya like this for
a view? "

"... or this,
wheeeh... give em hell fellas,
we'll get a chip outta them yet"

*thinks* "I'm too dignified
to beg for a chip. I'll just
sit here and pretend I
couldn't care less"

Time for a cuppa.  MD gets the picnic basket out of the back.  I walk off to take a photo of the lovely view we had of the lake  ... oh no, they've got him surrounded! Run for it darling !!!

Please don't report us to the Cruel Humour In Persecuting Seagulls authorities. We've got to get our fun somehow ;-)

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~ Real Sweet Ladies: Last, but definitely not least, is MD's crop of Pink Ladies for this year.  They're soooo sweet. It's such a delight to eat home-grown fruit - no wax, no sprays.  
His decision to let the chooks have the run of the orchard (until the fruit started to form), has kept attack by coddling moth to a bare minimum this year.  

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May your days be full of fun and happiness