October 24, 2015
Day 4: Hamilton to Macarthur
Distance:39km
Average 15.6km/h
Weather: Clear, cool, light southerly headwind.
After eating our usual breakfast and talking to other guests the owners of Boomers Guest House said they were very used to cyclist staying with them, as they put up riders participating in the biannual Murray to Moyne (Echuca to Port Fairy) Ride, so after fond farewells and inspecting their chickens and vegetable garden we were off again. We rode through town up the hill to find the two churches and their spires which stood opposite each other on corner blocks, looking out over the city; the Anglican Church of Australia and Presbyterian Church Of Victoria, among others were located around Grey Street. One last visit in town was reserved for the Hamilton Art Gallery on Brown Street opposite Coles Supermarket. The gallery was very modern and held around 8,000 works of art unfortunately we could only make a fleeting visit on this occasion.
Cycling through Hamilton we passed many interesting buildings and parks etc and would have liked to stay longer in this friendly regional centre, soon we were passing the Hamilton Saleyards and knew that we had reached the outskirts of town and the open road once more.
Leaving town behind we travelled along the A200 - Henty Highway for a short distance before turning south and crossing the railway line along the C184 - Hamilton - Port Fairy Road. As the kilometres passed by we crossed the Muddy Creek, and rode parallel to Lyne Creek for some distance. Some 20 kilometres later we came to Byaduk North and Byaduk Caves Road which leads to Mount Napier the youngest volcano in Victoria and the highest volcanic point in the Western District Plains, surrounded by Mount Napier State Park and the Byaduk Caves. The park contains many eruption and lava flow features that are remnants from the last stages of volcanic activity believed to have occurred less than 10,000 year ago. Some lava flows reach as far as the sea between Port Fairy and Portland.
Crossing Scott Creek the road still seemed to go slightly uphill and the paddock walls were now built of round dark coloured scoria volcanic rock, crossing Weerangourt Creek the road kept winding out before us with very few passing vehicles, but one anomaly became clear an empty roadway would eventually be filled with two cars both passing us going in opposite directions at exactly the same time. We stopped for a break at a rest spot and parked our bike next to a tree, where we joined a man sitting in a garden chair drinking a cup of tea in front of his camper van, overlooking a volcanic lava flow viewing area. Some introductions were made and we were both given cups of tea and the three of us proceeded to read the information boards about the volcano and its effect on the surrounding area. Our host was on his way to the Warrnambool Show to represent Mission Aviation Fellowship, he was a retired pilot and could tell people about the valuable work of this organisation around the world.
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This break provided us with the energy to make the rest of the days cycling into Macarthur where we were to spend the night at the Farmers Inn Bed & Breakfast and Tea Rooms. Parking the bike we piled into the tea rooms and were met with a seen from another time, a huge room with high pressed metal ceilings, tables covered in colourful tablecloths, and a wooden counter surrounded with wonderful things to eat or items to buy and keep or give away as gifts.
Tea for two and a huge slice of carrot cake was ordered, we enjoyed drinking our tea out of floral china cups/saucers, accompanied by a china teapot and milk jug, with a silver tea strainer.: we felt that we were being made a fuss of.
Then we were shown to our bedroom/en suite which had a red/white theme, a four poster bed and all mod cons. A tour of the premises followed, and we realised that we were staying in a living museum, the present building only dating from the early 1900s, as the previous building had burnt down.
A short stroll along the main street through the memorial rose garden brought us to the Macarthur Pub and Restaurant where we ate dinner, a stroll along the other side of the street brought us home again. We passed many interesting buildings and read their information boards, before entering the b&b we noticed the daisy bushes growing along the front of the building were spotted with pieces of sheep's wool which looked like snow.
Today's ride: 39 km (24 miles)
Total: 208 km (129 miles)
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