Monday, 18 August 2025
This morning, we re-packed the truck and set the SatNav for Sharp’s Bakery in Birchip, on a mission to buy some of their award-winning vanilla slices. But, first we had to stop at the BP Servo on the way out of town to top up the tank. Tcht, it WAS a BP Servo BUT Bernie could only buy standard diesel for his beloved truck. Looks like there will be no Ultimate Diesel until we are back in Melbourne.
Negotiating traffic doing the school run and the commute to work, Syri then delivered us straight into roadworks on Morpung Avenue. Fortunately, the delay was not too long and we were onto the Calder Highway (A79) heading south.
On the outskirts of Red Cliffs, the welcome sign told us that the town is the home of Big Lizzie. Ooh, we love a BIG THING, what’s Big Lizzie? A quick Google search presented me with an ad for Big Lizzie Pizza & Takeaway. Surely, that isn’t worthy of being acknowledged on the town’s welcome sign? Ha, there she is, in a park beside the main drag through town. So big you cannot miss her.
Now over 100 years old, Big Lizzie is a HUGE vehicle constructed by Frank Bottrill in 1915/16 to replace the camel trains that carried wool and other heavy loads through the sandy terrain of inland Australia. This beast of a vehicle was fabricated in Richmond, Melbourne and it took years to drive it overland to commence its first job clearing scrub for the irrigation area at Red Cliffs in 1920, which was to provide 700 soldier settlement blocks for veterans of WWI. It had to overcome restrictions preventing it from driving on hard surface roads, modifications and repairs needed enroute and floods. The prime mover and one of the two trailers have held pride of place in Barclay Square since 1971 as a memorial to Red Cliffs’ pioneering heritage.
On the road to Ouyen we saw men and machines hard at work replacing the sleepers on the railway line between Ouyen and Mildura. Because I am so curious, I Googled this to discover that this work is part of Victoria’s Big Build and the replacement of important infrastructure will improve freight services to and from the Murray Basin. Of course, the project is running over time and over budget. Apparently, though, a resumption of passenger services between Melbourne and Mildura (Jeffed in 1993) remains unlikely.
Nearing Ouyen we also saw a HUGE GrainCorp receiving depot and our second GIGANTIC solar farm. Hectares and hectares of solar panels. We also noted a transmission line that approached the highway from the west and left the line of the highway to the east BUT did not have any line over the highway. We assumed that that means, that all of those hectares of solar panels on prime wheat growing land do not currently deliver solar power to the grid???
Arriving in Ouyen about 10.00am we stopped for a leg stretch and comfort break before resuming our quest to buy vanilla slices in Birchip for morning tea. This necessitated a turn onto the Sunraysia Highway (B220) … and continue straight on for 56 kilometres … said Syri. We drove past the site of the Mallee Machinery Field Days. The event must have been held recently because it looked like some exhibitors still had gear on the site. Writing this on Tuesday the 19th, I couldn’t help but Google to discover that the field days were held on the 6th and 7th of August.
We stopped briefly at the silo art in Lascelles, despite the fact that we have viewed these silos before. In sepia tones, this artwork by Rone was completed in 2017 and features local couple Geoff and Merrilyn Horman, because they epitomize the enduring spirit of the community hailing from a lineage spanning four generations in the area.
We veered left to continue on the Sunraysia Highway, spotting a hint of yellow canola just coming into flower, in occasional paddocks dotted amongst the green wheat fields. Reaching Woomelang – Tidy Town for 1995 – we stretched out legs again, taking photographs of the town’s old station building, the mobile silo art and a picturesque old shearing shed. The silo art in Woomelang has been executed on mini silo/field bins and celebrates endangered species of the Mallee. We photographed Chuck Mayfield’s rendition of a western Whipbird and the lined earless lizard by Goodie.
As we drove along the Sunraysia Highway we were seeing signs: TURBINES MEANS MINES and NO MINES NO LINES NO TURBINES. Curiosity piqued, once again I Googled the slogans to find out more. The gist of it is that mining and energy projects are being proposed to explore/use/exploit? this prime agricultural land to extract minerals from sand mining and/or install hectares and hectares of green energy infrastructure (solar and wind) to meet net zero targets. Needless to say its all very contentious and causing division within the community.
Finally, we arrived in Birchip and pulled up in front of Sharp’s Bakery salivating for our late morning tea vanilla slice fix. If it’s not ice cream, a good vanilla slice is also high on our agenda!! We first enjoyed a Sharp’s Bakery vanilla slice a couple of years ago when were on our way through, heading for the Nullarbor Plain and, ultimately, Western Australia. They were so good we decided that our diversion onto the Sunraysia Highway to travel through Birchip was worth it.
We purchased two to eat for morning tea and another three to enjoy with Kerry at home tonight. Yum, totally worth it! Figuring that we should have a proper lunch at some stage of our journey, we also purchased two salad rolls to go. Writing this account now, it transpires that it was announced on Saturday – yes, just two days ago – that Sharp’s Bakery has taken home the Great Australian Vanilla Slice trophy for the eighth time this year. We may have been lucky to be able to buy our snot blocks yesterday with the owner, Brad Sharp, being quoted as saying that dozens of travellers on their way to the Mundi Mundi Music Festival at Broken Hill have been stopping in on their way to sample Australia’s best vanilla slice.
We left Birchip on the C268 Birchip-Wycheproof Road before making our way back onto the Calder Highway the other side of Wycheproof. More fields of canola, just beginning to flower, and some sheep in the paddocks beside the highway. We passed through Charlton, before stopping in Wedderburn to eat our healthy salad rolls. Back on the road for the final push to home, we passed through Inglewood and Bridgewater … which is also famous for its vanilla slice but, having sampled both, they’re better in Birchip!
Turning onto the Calder Alternative Highway to travel around Bendigo, we soon found ourselves merging onto the M79 dual carriageway Calder Freeway. Yay, we are close to home now. Unfortunately, our arrival on the outskirts of the city coincided with afternoon peak hour traffic. Despite the heavy traffic (it was much worse outbound) we made good time along the freeway to exit at Bell Street. Finally, FINALLY, we stopped at the BP Servo on Bell Street and Bernie filled the truck with Ultimate Diesel. Despite being fed a diet of standard diesel the truck has not missed a beat during our road trip to the Flinders Ranges.
We pulled into the driveway just before a quarter past four with 3,508.3 kilometres added to the truck’s odometer … and A LOT of red dust. Despite the rinse it was given in Mildura, Bernie is going to be finding red dust in every nook and cranny for several more washes.
Seven weeks until our next adventure, a circumnavigation of the South Island of New Zealand, which will conclude with … the 2025 Trans Tasman Bolivia Challenge with our card playing buddies, Robin and Sandra. Can’t wait, we need to bring that trophy back home. Fingers crossed.
Steps: 7,405 (5.18kms)
