Tallangatta sits on the Murray Valley Highway, that skirts Lake Hume for the best part of 30klms, eventually bottoming out at Albury. While the quickest way back to Melbourne, it certainly held no surprises for me. I was much more interested in the Victorian High Country and the town of Omeo. In an idle moment, I’d though of a catchy title for a story about Omeo and wondered if I could build something interesting around it (writing a story or lyrics for a song, sometimes start the same way).
It was lunchtime before I left Tallangatta and headed back to the turnoff, to start the climb up the Omeo Highway. But I decided not to attempt the 165klm run with a late start and went looking for a place to chillax for the rest of the day. My new Guide to Free Campsites, showed quite a few options along the way and the first, Pigs Point Reserve turned out to be a real winner.
Even though the Jingellic clear-felling incident was less than 24 hours old, I took shade next to a giant Poplar tree, having thoroughly reassured myself that it’s girth was my best protection. Banged the keys for a couple of hours interspersed with a couple of cooling dips in the Mitta Mitta River. I imagine, being so close to town, that this little gem would look more like a growers market on weekends, especially with a boat ramp on site. However, as you can see, not on a Tuesday.
One of the nice things about this part of the world is an abundance of fresh water. Filling the plastics has become more of a simple pleasure and less a sub-plot of Mission Impossible – Tap Protocol. Pig’s Point is big, wide and flat, nothing like where I ended up later the next day.
I slipped back onto the road next morning with 165klms in front of me. The little villages of Tallandoon, Eskdale and Mitta Mitta loomed and then slipped behind me on an easy run along the foothills. Sure enough though, just past Mitta Mitta, the climb started. Not nearly as death defying as the climb down from Dead Horse Gap, more a considered ascent spread out over 80klms. But the curves -OMG! More twists and turns than Home and Away, only WAY more interesting. Views were limited but progress was steady and eventually I reached the snowline, deliniated by special poles, designed to show the boundaries of disaster either side of the road during and after snowfalls. I had scouted the Guide (oh, a pun…sorry) and the name Anglers Rest Campground caught my eye, not far from Omeo.
On arrival, it didn’t take long to think that Angler’s Perch was a better name. A finger of green sandwiched between the Cobungra River and the highway, barely 20 metres wide, bisected by a dirt track. Most of the limited available sites had been snavelled , but luckily there was an orphan still waiting patiently, otherwise it would have been tempting to push on. The plus was The Blue Duck Inn, just across the bridge. This is a very historic area and part of the gold rush of the 1800’s and the hotel has been around in several incarnations since then.
Originally known as the Anglers Rest Hotel and a way point for trout fishermen, it now boasts a motel and is a weekend special for the Omeo crowd. Local history is everywhere inside the Inn and I spent a good few minutes wandering from wall to wall. Of course, the Inn also benefits from a small but steady revenue stream from the nearby campground. If you happen to be passing through, internet is almost non-existent so, bring cash and book ahead.
Being all huddled on this narrow strip, conversations were struck up easily between the temporary lodgers, especially as what little internet available could only be pulled from the clouds by standing on ONE and only one of the picnic tables. A couple of scotches and a neighbour’s campfire later, stories were swapped, mainly about big bikes and trout fishing, neither which sadly, rivetted my attention. However, that bit of social capped off a good day and with no traffic overnight, a good night’s sleep.