Flat Rock - No Snakes!

Wednesday Nov 26 – Flat Rock

Flat Rock

This morning was quite cold.  I had a hard time getting out of bed.  We had a beautiful thick wool blanket on our bed and no I did not want to cut it up for hooking as I was far too cold!

We drove the local one-way gorge drive of 4 km – again a single lane on a twisty steep road! The rocks were fantastic, well worth the drive.

We next went to Flat rock. This location we learned about from a shop owner in Bendigo.  She had listed a few places for us to stop as we headed to the nation’s capital of Canberra. Our instructions included a diagram and what tree we were to turn and stop at! Somehow we made it.

Once there, we stop and climb up a somewhat derelict path.  I was particularly nervous about snakes!  At the top, I saw what I thought was a fox running past.  We were amazed at the view on top of the Flat Rock.  What a large flat rock in the middle of the country side. Well worth the stop and no snakes!

Back in town we find the Beechworth Emporium and after a good look around at the Auzzie made items we purchase a few. We stop at the candy shop and enjoy the amazing displays, but did not purchse any sweets. On the next street we find the Divine Linen store, another great local store.

On the road, our next stop is the Woolshed Falls…this was also mentioned by the lady at the Whole Foods Store.   

The sign at the falls indicates this area was at the turn of the century a location where they mined gold.  Today it is a tourist attraction. We do find near the facilities, a sign that says no entry do to exposed mining shafts in the area.  The remnants are still being felt even after all these years.

We carry on the road and make our next stop at Tarcutta to check out another wool shop.

Not far up the road we pass the Tarcutta Textile Company and stop in.  We have a very nice visit with the owners who learn of our trip, and I show them my rug hooking, and teach them how. Before I know it, I am in the back of the factory and into the working warehouse to see all the textiles, patterns and woolen goods. What fun.  They throw out all their pure wool scraps!!! Rug hookers – check them out!  They then provide me with a big bag of woolen scraps that I can take home. What fun!

We purchase a few of their Aussie products before heading on to Canberra.

The countryside changes from mountains to rolling hills, much like NZ.  It is very dry and everything is in need of water.  We loved the rolling landscape.

By chance we met this couple from Western Australia when we were looking for accommodation. The local “I” was closed, so we were looking at the map when they arrived, quite lost.  We managed to help them find their hotel, so we went there to and ended up in a lovely brick motel-efficiency unit at the local Yowani Country Club.  I even managed to get a discount.

We had dinner in their dining room and called it a night and ended up sitting with this same couple. We gave them our large bag of fresh pecans and the nut cracker, this cannot be brought into Canada. They are moving from Perth in Western Australia to Wonga Wonga in New South Wales to live near their friends.

This had been a long day on the road.

Tomorrow we are going to see the city of Canberra.