Laanecoorie Reservoir

Laanecoorie reservoir is formed by a weir on the Loddon River about 35 km South West of Bendigo. Its used to control flows in the Loddon River downstream of Cairn Curran and Tullaroop Reservoirs. Its full like most dams after very decent rains over the last year or two including recent flooding. Its not all that big but has a decent cement boat ramp. Fishing according to one local I spoke to is OK with Red Fin and Carp with the occasional Yellow Belly if your very lucky. Bests baits here is yabby or freshwater shrimp. I had a few casts with plastic lures but did not do any good. Below is the road on the way there and is typical of a minor road off the main highway in Victoria.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 @ ISO 400, 70mm f8, 1/250 sec

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iPhone 4 -

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 400, 11mm f16, 1/50 sec

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 400, 11mm f16, 1/80 sec

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Damage from the recent flooding.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 400, 11mm f16, 1/25 sec

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 400, 11mm f22, 1/50 sec

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 400, 11mm f22, 1/80 sec

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Torrumbarry Weir on the River Murray

Torrumbarry Weir is 40 Km West of Echuca on the River Murray. First built in 1924 and replaced in 1996 when the old one was found to be failing. Torrumbarry Weir diverts flows for irrigation into the Cohuna, Kerang and Swan Hill areas of Victoria. The Weir and its lock (Lock 26) is 1,638 km from the mouth of the River Murray, and 892 km from the source. It takes approximately 16 days for Murray flood flows originating from rainfall at the eastern end of the Murray-Darling Basin on the Great Dividing Range to reach Torrumbarry Weir. Major tributaries of the River Murray upstream of Torrumbarry Weir include the Kiewa, Ovens, Goulburn and Campaspe rivers.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f2.8, 1/320 sec

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The day visitors area at the weir

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f16, 1/20 sec

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The upstream view from the weir.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f2.8, 1/4000 sec

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f22, 1/40 sec

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Torrumbarry Weir gates

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f22, 1/60 sec

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Fish ladder

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f22, 1/80 sec

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Upstream looking down to the weir

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f22, 1/50 sec

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Learn What Bad Wine Smells Like To Stop Drinking Swill

Learn What Bad Wine Smells Like To Stop Drinking Swill

Red Gum Forest

Today I went fishing just off the Murray Valley Highway near Echuca Victoria, Australia to the township of Barmah. If you go down the Moira Lakes Road you get to the edge of a forest that makes up the largest river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) sanctuary in Australia. This is the Barmah Forest. The forest has 112 km of Murray River frontage and when it floods the water flows out into the forest and fills lake Barmah, Moira and others in Barmah National Park.

The Barmah Bridge.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f8, 1/320sec

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Some spuds and corn in the pizza oven the night before :-)

Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 200, 50mm f8, 1/13 sec

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The Murray River water levels down but still full to the brim after recent flooding. Many roads in the park are still closed.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 11mm f9, 1/100 sec

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Inquisitive Emu's follow me along the bank as I troll for Murray Cod

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 16mm f9, 1/60 sec

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An easy boat ramp in Broken Creek at Rices Bridge near the day visitors area.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 200, 16mm f8, 1/80 sec

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Ironbark Forests

An easy bark to recognise in the bush in Victoria is the ironbarks, they have rough bark that becomes hard, compacted and furrowed with age, however, the bark is actually soft and flaky so the iron characteristic may refer more to appearance and expectation rather than to fact. The indigenous people of the Djada Wurrung (Jaara Jaara people) have lived in the grey box and red ironbark forests of the area for thousands of years but the the gold diggers of the 1850s turned the country upside down in search of gold. You can find many traces of their activities around Bendigo in the form of mine shafts, mullock heaps, dams and water races. This human activity, together with timber cutting and clearing for agriculture, has resulted in only 17% of northern Victoria’s original box / ironbark forests remain today.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 400, 50mm f1.4, 1/60 sec

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 400, 11mm f5.6, 1/25 sec

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 400, 50mm f1.4, 1/400 sec

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 400, 11mm f5.6, 1/30 sec

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 400, 11mm f5.6, 1/15 sec

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 400, 11mm f5.6, 1/8 sec

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Autumn in Bendigo

I did not know that Myers Stores, Chiko Rolls, Leggo's sauces and Sunshine Harvesters all came from Bendigo! And apparently that's not all as the very first Australian produced lager was made by the Cohn family in Bendigo, (later the beer producing part of the company was purchased by Carlton & United Breweries), the Bushmaster all terrain vehicle ( currently in service with the Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Netherlands Army and British Army), Bendigo Pottery (see previouse post here), Four 'n' Twenty Pies, Bendigo Jams (which was taken over by Henry Jones IXL) and Fernwood Fitness Centres. (source: The Weekly Times rural newspaper) There you go?

Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 400, 50mm f8, 1/160 sec

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 400, 50mm f8, 1/40 sec

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 400, 50mm f1.4, 1/1600 sec

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 400, 50mm f1.4, 1/500 sec

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 400, 50mm f8, 1/60 sec

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 400, 50mm f1.4, 1/1000 sec

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 400, 16mm f8, 1/50 sec

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 400, 50mm f1.4, 1/2000 sec

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 400, 50mm f1.4, 1/1600 sec

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D @ ISO 400, 50mm f8, 1/60 sec

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Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16 f2.8 @ ISO 400, 11mm f8, 1/60 sec

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