Crikey! It makes you want to belt out a rendition of Waltzing Matilda! Northern and central Victoria has received its fair share of rain this summer, so the billabongs, lakes, rivers and wetlands are flowing and the birds are singing. We've had the opportunity to camp along some of these lovely billabongs and waterways over the past few months. Banjo Paterson would be proud.
Boort
Inland Victoria is dotted with lots of lakes and wetland systems, so you're never far from water. Just 100km north-west of Bendigo is the town of Boort, which is aptly named the 'Northern Oasis'. Boort is an Aboriginal word meaning “smoke from the hill”. The Dja Dja Wurrung people used Bald Hill in Boort to send smoke signals to communicate with others. It’s a beautiful. lush wetland in the middle of fairly dry country, so it was very surprising - an oasis indeed.
We spent most of our time wandering around the lake system watching the huge variety of wetland and woodland birds going about their business. It was lovely to see some pelicans soaring around in the sky above the lake. The town is well set-up for bird and nature enthusiasts, with a 3km lake-side walking track and board-walk winding its way through the wetland area.
Loddon Valley
The Loddon River is a major inland river system in Victoria that empties into the Murray River basin. Boort forms part of this river valley water system. There are lots of camping spots on the Loddon River where you can set up camp along the river bank, marvel at the majestic river red gums and enjoy watching the river life go by. We recently found a beautiful spot to camp at Newbridge. Some gourmet cheeses, a good red wine and a camp-fire. What can be better than that?
Recreation
The rivers and lakes also provide lots of opportunity for recreation such as fishing, kayaking, swimming and boating. We found a lovely swimming hole in the Loddon River at Bridgewater. On the other side of the bridge, the river is perfect for boating and the water-skiing enthusiasts have been having a lot of fun.
Birds galore
Wherever there is water, there are birds. It's magical to sit by a billabong and watch the various birds come and go. We've seen lots of different varieties over the past few camping trips. Some special mentions include the black-shouldered kite, long-billed corella, diamond fire tail finch, rainbow bee-eater, forest kingfisher and great crested grebe.
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