Bendigo - June 2018

The view from our balcony at The Schaller was a little bleak this on this winters morning.

Some readers of my blog will probably know that I ride my mountain bike to and from work most days. Thankfully I have an off road path to use for 95% of the distance so I reckon the risks are manageable for the most part, although riding at 4:30am can still present it’s own challenges. It was while heading into work last Thursday that I had the biggest stack that I’ve ever had in all my years of riding. Doing around 40 kph around a gentle corner a dumped shopping trolley suddenly materialised out of the shadow cast by a bush. I almost managed to miss it…almost! Unfortunately it snagged my handlebar though and I was suddenly A I R B O R N E, after flying 4 or 5 metres touchdown was on my lower back, a spilt second later the back of my head hit the ground, awww…..fuuuck!

Two days after my crash, a bit of a cut on my nose and I'm still feeling pretty sick and sorry for myself.

Thank f*#k I had a helmet on...!

Thankfully I wasn’t knocked out, but I did have to crawl on all fours to find a pole to help pull myself to my feet. Checking my bike it appeared that it was still ridable, the front wheel had a bit of a kink in it but apart from that the bike had escaped largely unscathed. So I figured that the best thing to do was jump straight back on and ride the last few hundred metres to work where I could then assess my bodily damage there. Arriving at work a few minutes later it was while unlocking my office that I noticed the first issue, my face was covered in blood. Being a typical bloke I was more embarrassed that I’d stacked than I was of my injuries, so I quickly wiped the blood from my face before any of my night shift guys noticed it, noticing that the blood was coming from a small cut on the bridge of my nose which must of been caused by my riding glasses as my head hit the ground. Next up I had a bit of a closer look at my helmet, while removing a bit of grass and dirt I realised that I’d managed to split the back of my helmet open, thank god I use a helmet. After that I headed for the shower, my lower back was really giving me some grief by now and getting my cycling gear off was a real struggle. Jumping into the shower everything was stinging but it was after getting out that I started to realise how serious this stack was. I had very sharp pain in my back and while I’m never very supple I could barely bend my back even few degrees at the moment. With my lower back red raw and swelling by the minute I took an anti inflammatory (thanks Karen) and settled in for a very uncomfortable day at work.

The cut on my nose was annoying but this was the big problem.

After a stack like that most people would probably assume that all my weekend’s planned activities would be off, however with a room booked in Bendigo and with Sam wanting to check out a exhibition at the gallery up there, I figured that I may as well just try and battle through. So that’s how we found ourselves cruising up the foggy Calder Highway late on Friday night, checking into our accommodation at The Schaller just before 10pm. After dragging our gear up to our postage stamp sized room I cranked up the heater, swallowed a few pain killers and anti-inflammatories before gingerly crawling into bed.

The Schaller Hotel.

The Panadeine Forte more or less did the trick last night so, unlike the previous night, I managed to get a bit of sleep. After easing myself gingerly out of bed this morning Sam and I got our stuff together and headed out into a cold, foggy, early morning Bendigo in search of coffee. Having been here before we had a bit of ‘local knowledge’ when it came to finding somewhere decent for brekky, heading straight for Sim’R. If visiting town and wanting to have breakfast here it pays to get in fairly early as it’s only a pretty small café, the food and coffee here are worth the effort though, well in my limited experience.

My brekky at Sim'R was almost too pretty to tuck into....almost:)

Sam's wasn't bad either.

Suitably re-caffienated we headed up the Bendigo Art Gallery to check out the Marimekko exhibition. I think I’ve mentioned it before but this regional gallery is definitely worth a look if you find yourself in town, actually it’s worth a visit in it’s own right if you enjoy your art I think. With the morning quickly turning to afternoon we set off to explore Bendigo a bit, on today’s stroll we were largely using a set of old notes written by the doyen of Victorian bushwalking, Mt Tyrone Thomas. These old notes suggested utilising Bendigo’s Talking Tram to get to the Chinese Joss House at the north eastern end of town, but from our last visit I recalled that part of the ticket to ride the tram through town also included a tour of the old Central Deborah Mine as well as a tour of the Tram Depot. Now I’m sure both those attractions are worth checking out but by the time we’d done all that it would of left little time for walking, especially at the sloth like pace I was walking today, so we did the Feral thing and decided to walk the whole lot, including the tram section of the notes.

The gallery is home to a good collection of it's own art....

...as well as touring exhibitions like this one. The Marimekko Exhibition.

Thankfully Mr Thomas’ described route features the Bendigo Gallery so we walked out the front door of the art gallery an picked up the route immediately, and then strait away started up the only real hills on the walk as we followed Mackenzie Street up past the Anglican and Uniting Church towards the Central Deborah Mine poppet head, which was standing out like a beacon above the trees. Sam actually took a photo on her phone of me walking along here and I look even more beaten and broken than normal I reckon. Bendigo was largely built on gold from the 1850’s gold rush, the grand old buildings and wide promenades are our reminders of those wild and prosperous times. Central Deborah was the last of the big mines to close, only finishing up in 1954.

Leaving the gallery we were straight onto Mr Thomas' route....

....and straight up hill.

I was looking even more dishevelled than usual today I think.

The historic Bendigo Uniting Church.

Mackenzie Street, Terrace houses with the spire of Sacred Heart Cathedral towering above.

Central Deborah Mine poppet head.

Dropping down to the Calder Highway we turned away from the mine and started to follow the tram tracks back up through town. Within a few metres we were heading past the somewhat gothic Sacred Heart Catholic Cathedral again, this huge building is testament to the amount of money that must of been floating around this provincial city back in the day, the cathedral certainly wouldn’t be out of place in any of the worlds big cities I don’t think. Heading onwards we followed the highway through town, crossing the junction of View Street and the highway we also crossed over Bendigo Creek on what is reputably the widest bridge in the world (I’m thinking that might be another Feral Fact though). After checking out the local farmers market we continued on along what is now call Pall Mall, passing the historic post office before detouring into a little park to wander through the old fernery which is open to the public to walk through and check out.

Sacred Heart Cathedral.

I think I saw this guy on Ghostbusters.

The small Bendigo farmers market with the Bendigo Post Office behind.

The famous (relatively speaking, anyway) Talking Tram.

The small fernery is open to the publicans is worth a quick look.

Continuing our walk the next notable landmark was the historic (is there any other kind?) old St Killan’s Church, this old building is a little unusual in Bendigo as it’s built out of wood, the majority of the other fine old buildings in town are made from sandstone from my observations, this wooden church is said to be the largest wooden church in the world (another FF I’m thinking). Passing the old Tram Depot we continued on to Lake Weeroona, now I wouldn’t of thought that Lake Weeroona was one of our world class tourist attractions but perhaps I’m wrong as there was a group of Chinese girls draping themselves over the Lake Weeroona sign getting selfies. Yep, Torres del Paine, Lake Titicaca, the Grand Canyon and now Lake Weeroona…who’d of thought!

The old St Killans Church.

The world renowned Lake Weeroona!

Moving on away from the selfie sticks we zigged and zagged a bit as we faithfully followed the tram tracks through Bendigo’s suburban areas until we arrived at the Chinese Joss House, this place of worship was built in the 1870’s and is a small part of Bendigo’s Chinese Cultural history going all the way back to the gold rush days. Leaving the colourful Joss House behind we dropped down to Bendigo Creek and picked up the shared path heading along the creek out of town towards the botanical gardens, now back in more typical Australian bushland the bright colours had given way to the more typical greys and greens. Wandering up to the botanical gardens along the creek we passed what must be the lowest lookout in Australia buried in the creek side trees (now this is definitely a FF!). With my back screaming I didn't make the climb up this lookout today but with the platform well below tree level I’m thinking that I didn’t miss too much.

The Chinese Joss House.

Heading out of town along the Bendigo Creek Trail we were back in the normal greys and greens of the typical Australian bush.

The littlest lookout.

Arriving at the botanical gardens we stopped for a little while to have a drink and a bite to eat, the cold winters day giving the scene a bit of a melancholy look that was matched my mood as well. This was as far out of Bendigo as we are planning on walking today so after a bit of a rest we started heading back towards the CBD, almost immediately detouring to check out a recently opened section of gardens which I’m guessing will eventually become part of the main botanical gardens. These new gardens seem to feature a lot of more drought resistant plants and to be honest they held more interest for me than the botanical gardens which featured a lot of European flora that isn’t really suited to large sections of our arid continent. It looks like the council has poured a fair bit of money into this new garden and I’m thinking that by next summer, when the grass and plants are a little more established this will be a a very nice spot to come, check out and maybe have a picnic.

The Bendigo Botanical Gardens have a bit of a melancholy feeling in winter I'm thinking, at least the ducks looked happy.

Bendigo Botanical Gardens

With the clouds getting a little darker overhead and the occasional drop of rain hitting us, we set off back down the Bendigo Creek Trail with a little more urgency now. Retracing our steps back to Waratah Street we crossed the creek and continued on down the creek side path towards Lake Weeroona again, the creek now becoming a concrete or blue stone lined channel as it got closer the Bendigo CBD. Approaching the centre of town we reached the Chinese Garden & Museum and the feel of the walk changed again, with temples, sculptures and bamboo, it is quite a contrast to the bush lined creek north of town. It was getting quite late in the afternoon now though so we satisfied ourselves just walking through the precinct checking out the public art and didn’t venture into the museum for a closer look, with more time up our sleeve one day I’m sure we will get to check it out.

This new section of the gardens has just been opened to the public.

Heading back into town along Bendigo Creek we copped a few spots of rain.

Closer to the CBD Bendigo Creek is a concrete or blue stone lined channel.

Wandering back into town past Lake Weeroona again.

The Chinese Garden & Museum Precinct has some nice public art.

Leaving the Chinese Garden & Museum Precinct we entered the large Rosalind Park, the local population of Flying Foxes seemingly having taking a liking to the old Elm trees in the park here. After running the gauntlet below the Flying Foxes, we climbed up past the old Police Barracks to the lookout tower. Now unlike the earlier lookout tower we had passed on the north side of town beside the creek this tower was definitely worth the pain of climbing, although I felt every one of the 123 steps :) From the top of this tower you get a panoramic look over town and I could trace out the route of today’s walk for many kilometres, here’s a Feral tip though, the second highest landing is the best spot for photos as the top landing is fenced in with wire.

Flying Foxes seem to like the Elm trees in Rosalind Park.

Rosalind Park with the now bluestone lined Bendigo Creek on the left.

The Historic Police Barracks.

Now this lookout is worth climbing...all 123 steps!

The lookout was really the end of today’s stroll as we soon emerged onto View Street again beside the museum and completed the circuit. Our day wasn’t over though, instead of heading back to our room at The Schallar we wandered down into town again for an early dinner. I was thinking that once we got back to the room I wouldn’t be moving for awhile, and after dinner, a quick stop to pick up more pain killers and a nice hot shower that was indeed the case!

Looking out towards Sacred Heart Cathedral from the lookout.

The weak winters sun lighting up an AFL game at Queen Elizabeth Oval.

Bendigo is starting to get a bit of grungy street art.

The Dirt.
Ok, we walked around 20 kilometres and climbed 90 metres today on what I’d class as a medium grade walk. The walk as Mr Thomas describes it is only 9.6 kilometres though if you utilise the Talking Tram, it’ll be a long day though if you use the tram and have to visit both the museums on the route. The walk basically heads north out of town along the Bendigo Creek Valley and then returns using variant routes where possible, as Mr Thomas' notes are out of print I’m thinking that the local tourist information bureau would be able to help with some information. I got the notes out of a 1998 edition of Mr Thomas’ 60 Walks in Central Victoria’s Gold Fields and Spa Country. Like I mentioned earlier we stayed at The Schaller Hotel on this visit and since our last stay here it’s been taken over by the Quest chain so I was wondering how bland his old Art Series Hotel would be. Thankfully The Schaller is still a pretty warm and quirky place to stay though. There are a couple of things to keep in mind if you stay here though, the first being that every time I come here there isn’t enough off street parking for the number of guests and the second thing is, whilst the rooms are very funky some of them are also very small, although at the same time the price is pretty reasonable, so I suppose it evens itself out. For Brekky in Bendigo the Feral walker eats at Sim'R, but get in early because it fills up. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, if you are partial to checking out a bit of art then the Bendigo Art Gallery is definitely worth a visit, they host exhibitions as well as having a good collection of their own which they rotate through the gallery.

Relevant Posts.

Bendigo, 2015.

Moliagul, Moliagul Historic & Cultural Features Reserve, 2017.

Maldon, 2014.

Eight days after touchdown and the bruising is still looking quite spectacular.

I've got most of the movement back in my back though, so that's a good :)