Exploring the Wimmera and Mallee Regions of north-west Victoria!

Melbourne > Horsham > Hopetoun > Sea Lake, July 2023

Having upgraded my car to an SUV, which meant I now had room to pack both my camping equipment and Taylor, it was time for our first camping road trip!! But where to go?

After a short google I found the Silo Art Trail in north-western Victoria, which sounded perfect for our first camping road trip. I’d not heard of it prior to my google, however the Silo Art Trail is a 700km trail of murals that have been painted on grain silos throughout the north-western Wimmera and Mallee areas of Victoria. The murals have been painted by various artists and depict scenes of daily life or key personalities from the local towns where the silos are located, and are key tourist drawcards for the local areas.

Depending on your timeframe and desired driving distance per day, the trail can essentially be completed as quickly or as slowly as you like. I decided to take a week in total, completing the trail over 4 days, as well as having a rest day along the way and taking a day to travel to and from my home in Melbourne’s east to the start of the trail.

The first leg of our trip was driving from our home to Horsham, an approximately 320km drive. As this was Taylor’s first time camping and I wasn’t quite sure how she would go, I decided that we would have the first and last nights in a dog-friendly cabin and we’d camp for the 4 nights in between along the trail. My thinking here was two-fold: firstly, it meant that Taylor would only have 4 nights in the tent, which I thought was enough for her first time, and secondly, it meant that if it all went pear-shaped and she really didn’t settle in the tent, at least I would be able to have a decent sleep on the last night when we got back into Horsham before the long drive home the next day!

Our first stop was at the Horsham Riverside Caravan Park. While dogs are allowed in the camping and caravan areas of the park, there are also a limited number of dog-friendly cabins which we stayed in for $90 for the night. The park is part of the G’Day group of parks, so if you’re a G’Day member you’ll be able to stay for a slightly cheaper rate. The park is located right on the banks of the beautiful Wimmera River which has a walking trail that runs alongside it. Once I’d unpacked the car (and got the lovely managers to let us back into our cabin after I’d let the door shut behind me and accidentally locked myself out…oops!) the first stop was a short walk along the river for Taylor to stretch her legs and have a toilet break before we settled in for the night. We didn’t go far, however the trail was well-lit and the local possums made for some excitement!

That night Taylor had a little bite, but overall wasn’t too keen on her dinner. I’ve noticed this is par for the course on our first night away somewhere new, so I wasn’t too concerned. Given it was winter, the night got chilly quickly so a ‘houndtee’, coat and blanket were needed to keep Taylor warm. She was fairly good throughout the night, however being the first night away she did wander over to my bed a couple of times just looking for a pat and some reassurance that I was there, after which she settled down again and went back to sleep.

The following morning after Taylor ate her breakfast (yay!), we explored some more along the walking trail by the river. We walked approx. 2kms, however you could definitely go further if you have a dog with higher energy needs! A 30-minute walk is plenty to tire Taylor out enough at the start of the day. There is also a fairly large nature play park along the trail, right near the park, if you have 2-legged kids that also need to use up some energy before heading off the for the day!

After packing up the car again and checking out, our first stop on the trail was the Murtoa Stick Shed, approx. 30 minutes outside of Horsham. The Stick Shed was one of a number of emergency grain stores that were built during WW2, in order to preserve the grain that was not able to be exported at the time due to the war. As there was also a steel shortage at the time, the shed had to be built from wood, with all of the ‘sticks’ coming from local Victorian timber. It’s an incredible feat of engineering and was very interesting to see. Having worked in the fertiliser industry for many years, I personally found it quite interesting to see how the bays and overhead conveyor systems developed back then are so similar to the more modern storage sheds that are in use today! There was a minor entrance fee, and the Stick Shed is dog friendly. Taylor had a great time sniffing around, on lead, and also enjoyed pats with the guide. At the time of writing this blog, if you google The Stick Shed it says it is permanently closed. However, the website is still functioning and lists current open hours, so if you’re in the area and especially if you’re doing the Silo Art Trail, I would recommend dropping by to see it if it is open.

After the Stick Shed, we set off to find the first silo on our route, Rupanyup Silo (1 Gibson Street, Rupanyup), which depicts two local school children. With this being the first silo we’d seen, as it was quite old and faded I must admit I was underwhelmed and hoped they would improve as we worked our way along the trail. However, it was still impressive for an artwork of this size, of course!

The next silo, Sheep Hills Silo (445 Sheep Hills-Minyip Rd, Sheep Hills), did not disappoint! This artwork depicts the area’s Indigenous culture and was impressive in its size and detail. We had a short break here, where Taylor stretched her legs and I had some lunch. A roaming cat in a neighbouring property provided some excitement for Taylor before we got underway again!

We had two more silos on our route for the day before our first stop – Brim Silo (1991 Henty Highway, Brim) and Rosebery Silo (Henty Highway, Rosebery). The Brim mural was the first silo artwork to appear in Victoria, and was the inspiration for the establishment of the Silo Art Trail. The Rosebery silo intends to depict the grit, tenacity and character of farmers in the region, with the younger female symbolising strength and the future, while the horseman and horse depict their mutual love, trust and connection.

Ten minutes up the road from the Rosebery Silo was our first stop on route – the Lake Lascelles camping area in Hopetoun. Lake Lascelles is a large lake that has powered and unpowered areas which operate on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. There is also the award-winning Mallee Bush Retreat on one side of the lake, which is paid accommodation. Both areas are clearly marked on a map as you make your way into the lake. The free camping area has some communal facilities such as gazebos, BBQs and bathrooms. I found an unpowered spot that was near the communal facilities so that I didn’t have to walk too far in the dark, or leave Taylor for too long, when I needed to use them.

At this point in the trip, I think it was a stretch to say that Taylor was enjoying it so far…when we got out of the car and she saw the tent, it was like she had an ‘omg’ moment! However, some peanut butter on a LickiMat helped to calm her (if you don’t know what a LickiMat is, I have linked their website below – they’re one of my go-tos for managing your dog’s anxiety while travelling!). Unfortunately, once again, she wasn’t very keen on her dinner.

The lake was a very peaceful spot, with a stunning sunset! Being winter, and as we were near the water, the chill set in fairly quickly so layers were a must for both me and Taylor. With her long lead attached to her harness and secured to the roof of my car, Taylor was able to wander about our little area, moving between her bed in the tent and her mat outside on the tarpaulin as she pleased. She walked into the tent 3 times of her own accord before we settled down for the night, so I was taking that as a good sign. However, as you can see from the photo below, if I wasn’t careful she’d take my pillow!!

Taylor was absolutely amazing that night, settling quickly in the tent and remaining settled overnight. Although the “feels like” temperature was minus 4 degrees Celsius when we woke up, we were both toasty warm inside the tent. Taylor was so toasty, in fact, that she wouldn’t leave her bed, so was treated to breakfast in bed!

Leaving Hopetoun around 10am, our first stop on day 3 was the Patchewollock Silo (Baring Road, Patchewollock). Patchewollock is a very small country town with no reception – which was a little shock to my very urban system! – but thankfully I could rely on my car’s built-in GPS rather than my phone to then navigate to Lascelles Silo (Lascelles Silo Road, Lascelles). However, as the area is very rural with few roads, I would say the risk of getting lost or taking a wrong turn between silos is minimal.

A common scene when travelling through country areas of Australia is pulling over to make way for oversized loads on small country roads, usually large mining and farming equipment that is making its way to a work site. Thankfully when I saw the pilot car warning me of an oversized load coming as we made our way to the Lascelles Silo, I had plenty of room to pull over. The silo in the background of this photo, which is not part of the Silo Art Trail, shows just how prevalent silos are in the rural Australian landscape.

The Lascelles Silo (Lascelles Silo Road, Lascelles) was one on my favourite silos. The silo depicts a local farming couple who are part of a family that has lived and farmed in the area for four generations. The detail in their faces was exquisite, and I spent some time here admiring the artwork. Unfortunately, the angle of the sun meant I couldn’t get as clear a picture of the wife’s face – so you will just have to go for a visit and see it for yourself 😉

Our last silo for the day was the Sea Lake Silo (33 Railway Avenue, Sea Lake) before we stopped for the night. The Sea Lake silo was impressive in both its size and brightness of the artwork, and was easily spotted on our way into the town!

Our home-away-from-home that night was the Sea Lake Travellers Rest. It wasn’t too busy, with 4 caravans and one other tent set up when we arrived, and I found us a spot in a corner where we had enough space to set up without encroaching on any of the others. However, as we drove in I noticed that there were four Staffy-looking dogs chained to one of the caravans in the park, and they were very reactive to us when drove in, charging forward and barking at us. Sadly, it turns out they were a family of rescues (mum and her 3 babies) which had previously been badly mistreated. While the owners had done the right thing in keeping them secured, this meant that positioning of the tent was important as I wanted to ensure Taylor felt safe, while also not giving the dogs a reason to constantly react to us. I kept Taylor in the car while I was setting up the tent (as she would have been in full view of the dogs, otherwise) and I set up the tent so that the door faced away from the dogs and their caravan. This meant the tent essentially acted as a buffer and Taylor and I could sit out the front of our tent and be out of view of the dogs, which prevented them from barking and trying to race over to her. This arrangement worked well for the time that we were there, and we had no issues.

As soon as we were set up, the friendly manager came over and went through the dog rules with me (mainly, that Taylor needed to always be on a lead, which is a standard rule at camping and caravan sites). There is a great big oval at the front of the site which apparently is also used as accommodation sites in the busier months, however for us it was a great location to stretch the legs once we got there, and again the following morning before we set off on the next leg of our trip. We’d arrived mid-afternoon so once Taylor had settled with another LickiMat with peanut butter and we’d been for a short walk around the oval, she had a snooze in the tent while I read my book.

After Taylor had eaten her dinner and settled back down in the tent, I sat outside on my lonesome and cooked my dinner. While the chickpea curry was delicious, it was about at this point that I started to question my sanity of tent camping in the middle of Victoria’s winter when I was looking around at all the other caravans with their heaters on, and realised I was the only person still outside! While it was indeed a freezing night (as the frost on the tent the next morning would attest), I had come prepared, and Taylor was toasty warm wrapped up in a houndtee, 2 coats, 3 blankets and a snood.

The Traveller’s Rest was only $10 per night for me for the unpowered site and an extra $5 per night for Taylor, which I put in an envelope with my car registration details and left in a designated payment box near the toilet block (some parks use number plate recognition systems so that campers can’t try and avoid payment when it’s based on an honesty system). It had clean facilities and a good camp kitchen where I cleaned my dishes after dinner that night. While the kitchen wasn’t too far away from our tent, I took Taylor with me and tied her up outside – she could see me through the window, so she knew where I was, and her little face looking through the window provided some entertainment for another couple who were in the kitchen eating their dinner!

After a short toilet walk and a look for Peter Rabbit (Taylor had noticed rabbits nearby earlier that afternoon, which are a big trigger for her!) we settled in for our second night of camping where Taylor, once again, tried to steal my bed. I remember this night quite fondly as Taylor actually would not budge from my bed, and so I had to lift her heard up and try and squeeze into my sleeping bag underneath her. She wasn’t at all fazed at being disturbed, and as she didn’t move, this meant we started the night having a big cuddle, which, given she sleeps separately at home and also isn’t allowed on my couch (I know, I know…I’m a strict dog mum!) it meant that the cuddle was a special moment…and I loved it.

Part #2 of our Silo Art Trail adventure, where we travel from Sea Lake to Dimboola, out towards the border with South Australia, and back to Horsham as we visit a total of 13 silos along the Silo Art Trail, can be found here: Silo Art Trail, Victoria (Pt. 2) – A girl and her greyhound

Links (current as of 20 September 2024):

1. Silo Art Trail (includes details on all silos such as the artists, the inspiration for the artwork and the address for each): Home | Silo Art Trail
2. Horsham Riverside Caravan Park: Home Page – Horsham Riverside Caravan Park
3. Murtoa Stick Shed: Home – The Stick Shed
4. Lake Lascelles camping area: Lake Lascelles – Hopetoun Victoria
5. LickiMats: LickiMat Slow Feeder, Enrichment Treat Dispenser for Dogs & Cats – LickiMat Australia
6. Sea Lake Travellers Rest: Sea Lake Travellers Rest – All You MUST Know Before You Go (2024) (tripadvisor.com.au)