Raymond meets Mary

Following the last post we had a couple more days at Raymond Island. We went on a couple of bike rides, got eaten by more mosquitos and saw plenty more koalas and other wildlife. We enjoyed a sunset walk / bike ride which was as pretty as a postcard. 

On the way home we took a slight detour between Paynesville and Bairnsdale - along the silt jetties, which is a narrow strip of land that separates the lakes and the Mitchell River that winds it's way into the lake system. This is the river that goes through Bairnsdale. 

Then it was home just in time to get ready for Christmas Day and all that it brings... and then on Boxing Day we packed up the caravan and Ethan and Darrin set off on December 27th for the 200 km drive to Maryborough.

The first couple of days in Maryborough we rode bikes around town looking at the local landmarks - mostly grand old buildings from the gold rush days. The Post Office sits in the middle with the courthouse on its left and Town Hall on its right, all majestic in their white render. 

The train station is as grand as it can get for a relatively small country town. As Mark Twain said, it's a railway station with a town attached. 

Our caravan site at Maryborough Caravan Park was one of their best - near the lake. Over a small grassy knoll we got lake views, the perfect place for lake sunsets. 

From here is was a short walk or ride into town, via either the grand old grandstand in Princes Park or the Art Deco swimming pool - depending on whether one goes around the lake clockwise or anticlockwise.

Some other notable buildings in town were the old Bull and Mouth hotel and the former fire station. Personally I liked the fire station, it's my favourite in town. 

On the edge of town is the Bristol Hill miner's memorial tower - the tower has seen better days but the view is nice, with the train station tower standing out, as well as an old industrial chimney which is now part of the Kmart store! 

Finally for this post, the railway near us has goods trains a couple of times a day (or night) and it's the parking spot for one of the VLine passenger trains each night.

The next blog will be about some special visitors we had and also some of the other smaller towns in the area including Newstead, Talbot and Avoca. All a short distance from our base here in Maryborough.