Monday 28th Nov – Friday 2nd Dec - "A Little Gem"

(Karens blog)

After exploring Echuca we headed to somewhere????  We looked at the map and thought perhaps a place near Wodonga could be good (weather wise anyway….) So we drove on.  I did a bit of research in all the brochures I had at my feet in the car still had no clue where to camp.  I was not feeling the best so when we drove into a little town called Rutherglen, about 200kms east of Echuca, I just wanted to stop.  We found the caravan park sign, followed it and came to “A Little Gem” – a cute little van park called “The Rutherglen Caravan & Tourist Park” right on a little lake in a quaint little town and we got a  lake front spot in the park.  Perfect!

Tuesday 29^th Nov – time to clean, sort and wash and enjoy some quiet time and what better place to do this then right on a lake.  The boys were kept busy in the playground right next to the van park so all our tasks were done quickly. 

Wednesday 30^th Nov – time to have a look around so we spent half the day exploring the town of Beechworth and its surrounds.  Beechworth has a famous bakery called “the Beechworth Bakery” so of course we had to try some of its specialities (right up Mark’s alley).  Then I had a chance to look in some of the speciality shops and best of all, we found “the Beechworth Lolly Shop”, a British looking shop that totally confused the boys as there was so much to choose from.  And it had the most beautiful Christmas window display.   So at the end of the day there was a shop for everyone.

Once again our timing was just right.  We got back to our camper to find out that there was “The Christmas Markets and Shopping night” happening in the town tonight so off we trotted to see what bargains we could find.  The shops – a whole of about 8 – had discounts on but more importantly some of the local producers were showcasing their best and we picked up the most sweetest cherries for just $8.00 a kg so we were in cherry heaven.

Thursday 1^st Dec – we decided to stay another day because we just loved it at Rutherglen.  Today, we ventured to another part of the country side where we stumbled upon some wineries – as this area apparently has some of the best so we found out, sampled some fine wines &  local cheeses at All Saints Winery, Cofields & Indigo Cheese Co, chocolates at Corowa Whisky & Chocolate Factory.  And then, much to the boys’ delight, we visited Gooramadda Olives farm which is usually closed on Thursday however the owners invited us in anyway.  Well, lucky our “Red Roo” (Mark’s ute) stands out because before we knew it the little shop was filled with other people so it was a great day for sales for the olive farm owners.  The boys just loved it –now they know that olives grow on trees and there are more varities than just stuffed green and kalmata black ones.  We sampled tapenades, dukas and real cold pressed olive oil made right on the farm.  So now our camper is slowing filling up with lots of little deli treats to enjoy when we get home.

Friday 2^nd Dec- We had to move on from our little slice of heaven and step up the pace a bit, so it was off to Canberra…..

(photos coming..)