Shelter from the storm

With a warm day forecast, we packed lightly, as we headed to the station for the 10:15 train to Stratford. We allowed plenty of time, which as fortunate, as it turned out both our Myki cards were on our old phones and couldn’t be transferred. We set up new cards and were relieved when the machine finally read them.

The train was almost empty and there was plenty of space for our bikes.  The conductor asked to see our tickets and let us know that myki travel stopped as Traralgon and we should have purchased a paper ticket.  We explained that we had no idea, as there was no signage to advise that you could only tap on for travel towards Melbourne.

He was understanding and obligingly calculated the cost of the fare to Stratford and deducted it as travel to Drouin, an equivalent cost. Ticketing resolved, we were able to enjoy the rest of the 50-minute trip.

We didn’t linger in Stratford, having visited previously, and were soon in the countryside passing fields of cows as we headed towards the cycle trail.  En-route we cycled through a copse of trees that were incredibly noisy.  Turned out they were inhabited by grey-headed flying foxes, described as mega bats, and the largest of Australia’s four types of fruit bat. They are listed as a threatened species but seemed to have found a safe haven given the number of them hanging in the trees. 

We passed the remains of an old trestle bridge which contained an interesting artwork, whilst the next trestle bridge had been partly refurbished 

The path was certainly living up to its name as we could see for miles across the Gippsland plains. We stopped at Maffra for another excellent coffee at the Beet Baristas and decided to buy some bread rolls from the nearby bakery for lunch as the Heyfield cafes would be closed by the time we arrived.

It turned out to be a wise decision and we found a shaded table near the skate park which was full of kids who we thought should have been in school.

It was a warm afternoon and the sky remained a brilliant blue as we made our way towards Cowwarr and enjoyed a brief stop on a seat under a bicycle montage.  

The sky was looking ominous as we made our way towards Toongabbie some 8kms away. A quick look at the BOM weather site showed a storm warning and it was approaching quickly. We raced as fast as we could to find shelter.  Fortunately there was a small picnic shelter on the edge of the village, enough for us and our bikes. We had enough time for a cookie and a cup of tea before the rain started.  It was soon a deluge and we put on our ponchos to try and stay dry, the shelter providing only minimal protection given the strong winds. 

Some 20 minutes later the rain eased and we decided to take the road to Glengarry in the hope of a faster and less damp ride. It was surprising how quickly everything dried and we could soon remove our ponchos.  There were some big trucks on the road but they gave us plenty of space. 

We made very good time to Glengarry with its station now a cute café. We returned to the rail trail which had drained surprisingly well and were relieved to finally arrive home, a little dirty, but dry.

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