Day 5, Tuesday 25/2/20 Broken Creek, warm 33

The boys drive into Benalla for newspapers. I shoot the sunrise over the sheep paddock. Over by the quarry there are rabbits skittering about and a family of purple swamp hens walking single file and busily chatting to themselves.

We carry our coffee machine over to the camp kitchen to use the power and pay Doc an extra $1 privilege. It’s a beautiful morning to eat breakfast in the camp kitchen overlooking the paddocks and to have a little more room to stretch out for a change.

We pile into one car and take the relatively new North East Silo Art Trail firstly to nearby Goorambat where three silos have been painted by Jimmy Dvate. A rural scene, a Barking Owl and three Clydesdale horses. The Barking Owl is endangered. The ‘feathered ‘ hooves of the Clydesdales are captivating. At the Goorambat Uniting Church artist Adnate has painted a stunning mural titled Sophia. We learn that Sophia is the female aspect of the Holy Spirit. She is hauntingly beautiful and Woody explains that he has never known a Sophia who wasn’t beautiful. Driving towards Devenish we all try to recall an ugly Sophia and sadly we have to agree, they are all beautiful. We stand under an old peppercorn tree at Devenish. The silos have a military flavour with two female military medics of old and modern eras pictured. The artist is Cam Scale. We can’t miss the sign asking us to visit the Devenish pub across the road for scones, jam and cream. We pop in and meet the publican and his wife who is the cook. They are a cheery pair and we have a beer and a snack and learn a little about the district. The next town is St. James with a less inviting pub that asks that people not use their toilets and to go down the road to the public amenities. Yes, that would put you off entering. It is a sleepy town and there is little happening except for a chook playing chicken with the traffic. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get away from the pub that doesn’t encourage visitors. One of the murals by Tim Bowtell depicts Sir George Coles a St. James local who went on to found Coles supermarkets countrywide. The original Coles store run by his father is still standing in town. Further north the little town of Tungamah has a colourful silo painted by Sobrane Simcock with a theme of kookaburras and brolgas. Also in Tungamah there is a well appointed RV campsite beside Boosey Creek. We forego the Winton Wetlands drive as it is late in the day and return to camp.

We join the Coppers for dinner and cook snags, fry sweet Mooroopna tomatoes with buttered potatoes. It’s hot, but a cool change brings bursts of dust that coats every surface before short showers of rain.

Summary Accom $17+ power donation.