Marcus Wilson’s Blog

The rain had stopped, everything was soaking wet…. but the mist and near full moon provided an eerie yet lovely site. I very quietly said to myself.. ‘wow’… then I heard a murmur from Kim’s swag… ‘what?’ she said. I informed her of the wonderful view. She unzipped her swag, took a look around, agreed with me, then went back to sleep. I visited a local tree and I too was soon snuggled up in my swag.

A few hours later I heard the noises of the bush… it was time to rise to a wonderful day in the Victorian High Country…but I am far from a morning person here’s the proof!!

I eventually stumbled out of the swag to a heavily overcast morning, with everything wet. Kim had been up for a while busily taking pictures with her new digital SLR camera. We had breakfast, exchanged Easter gifts and slowly packed up camp ready for our days adventures. My tooth was killing me, but I was excited!!

Todays drive was to take us to an area called The Poplars. This area is the highest public accessible camping area on the Murray River. On the way we experienced some awesomely steep parts of the track.

We continued along Davies Plain Track until we reached McCarthys Track, which we followed to The Poplars.

Along the way we witnessed magnificent views, awesome 4WD’ing, a few little water crossings and other Aussies out enjoying this most auspicious part of the country. Along the way we also collected some wood for that nights fire, this was stacked on the roof racks of the Zook. One  group we came along was from the Bendigo 4WD Club… all 13 of them. We waited for about 20 minutes for them all to pass… but who was in a hurry. Gave each driver a nod as they passed by, even had small conversations with some.

We soon arrived at the Poplars, and I must say I was a little disappointed. I was expecting another Davies Plains Hut type of area… but it wasn’t. It was over grown, over used and un-loved. But we were there and had to make camp. We did a quick lap to locate the toilet and see what was about, which wasn’t much.

There was a family having lunch at a spot with a very rugged picnic bench and table built in. They told us they were about to leave, so we waited a few moments while they packed up and then let ourselves into this little camping spot, a short stroll from the toilet.

We quickly set up camp and as it looked like it was going to be a clear night, we decided not to put up the tarp… which ended up not being a good idea.

It was late afternoon as Kim decided to take her camera for a walk. I decided it was time for an afternoon siesta… so I had a snooze.

Not long after Kim returned it was time to get the fire going. We then sat back and enjoyed a beer or two before dinner. After dinner we settled into our respective chairs in front of the fire while we enjoyed a lovely bottle of Tassie wine… while we listened to the dulcet tones of our fellow campers music, including the theme to The Greatest American Hero and Kenny Rogers, loud enough for the whole valley to hear…. classic stuff!!!  NOT!

Before long it was time to hit the sack. It was a lovely clear night, lots of stars and fresh air. Very good for the soul.

So as the temperature plummeted we dove into our swags, looking forward to the next day and what it may hold. I tried to kill the tooth ache pain I was suffering with pain killers…. but it was getting worse. The cold was not helping, and neither were the tablets. I did not get much sleep that night.