For the 99.9% of Australians who have been waiting with great anticipation for the answer to that burning question, it’s YASSSS, there is so much serenity!
Sewn firmly into the fabric of Australian history, spawning a generation of one-liners that are now part of the Aussie vernacular, cult movie classic The Castle, put Bonnie Doon, in Victoria’s high country, on the map. A tiny township that straddles the Bonnie Doon Bridge, the main part perched along Lake Eildon and accessorised with massive power lines that dissect the lake, it still maintains vestiges of the 50’s when fibro shacks ruled.
We dropped in to the Bonnie Doon Hotel, and I had vague expectations of something retro that might pay homage to the epic film, perhaps some kitsch memsakes (new word alert: mashup of memories and keepsakes), like retro laminate steel-legged kitchen tables with orange vinyl chairs, or better yet, retro bar tables with vinyl swivel stools. But the vibe was woodsy winter, with a duo of massive taxidermized stag heads, including gigantor antlers, above a roaring fire place, with chunky, wooden bar tables that made me want to say Y’all!
Bonnie Doon isn’t the only drawcard to this glorious part of Victoria’s high country. Lake Eildon and Lake Eildon National Park are the main characters. Lake Eildon is 138km’s square and, when full, holds over 3 million megalitres. It has 515 kilometres of shoreline and stores six times as much water as Sydney Harbour at full supply level. Respect! The National Park, set in the northern foothills of the Central Highlands, has over 27,000 hectares you can get lost in!
We had previously researched (I know right, something new for us) and picked a hike that was a gentle meander around the edge of parts of Lake Eildon. We couldn’t find the trail head as the road to the camping ground had closure barriers (which is usually not a deterrent for us), but we did see the start of another trail nearby (warning Will Robinson!) and thought, why not?
It said Point Mibus 1.75km, but what it didn’t say was that it was perpendicularly up! It was a two-stick walk up, and an airlift out. Just past Point Mibus, when you thought it couldn’t possibly get worse, there was a hill the size of Mt. Erebus! It was curiously named the Estate Spur – a boujee name for a massive up and down, and it made me cuss!
That said, the views of Lake Eildon from up in the rarefied air of the spur were utterly breathtaking and well worth the pain. Who needs a drone (well, I do, really) when you have that panorama? We were the only people on the trail (for obvious reasons), so the serenity was palpable.
The down part was a steep, jagged, rocky path, and I had to keep slingshotting into the bush and dangling off trees to prevent a nasty descending trajectory spill! I can’t really talk about it as I’m still traumatized. Our hike ended up being extended by about 3km’s due to our uselessness and little Miss Google Maps being a smug mole.
We were so lucky and had the absolute privilege of staying at our friends weekender (shout out to Brett and Sue), perched high on the ridge on Skyline Road, 25 minutes from Alexandra. With majestic views of the ranges from the back deck, and Lake Eildon National Park out the front, you can take that straight to the pool room!
