Eildon: Victoria's Middle Earth

Time visited: March 2024

Time spent: Four days

Day 1: 26 March 2024

DebrajDa met me at Eltham station at around 11:00 am. The drive to Lake Eildon via Maroondah Highway was about 115 km, passing through basically three stages - the forested stretch through Black Spur Drive, the long farmland stretch up to Thronton through Taggerty and finally the local stretch to Eildon via Back Eildon Road. Overall, it was a beautiful, sunny drive., but the forest stretch in particular, with its towering trees, sunlight filtering through the gaps, and the cool, earthy air, was truly mesmerising.

We arrived at BIG4 Breeze Holiday Park at around 1:00 pm. Located almost midway between Thornton and Eildon, the Holiday Park is bordered by Back-Eildon Road to the north and the Goulburn River to the south. It offers a variety of accommodation options, including cabins, bunkhouses, and powered and unpowered camping sites, at reasonable rates. We booked a powered site for three nights for $135. Due to its strategic location and affordability, it attracts a diverse range of vacationers, from school kids on fishing trips to families on weekend getaways, and campers and caravanners seeking budget-friendly adventure. It's advisable to book early to secure a prime spot. Unfortunately, as we weren’t quick enough, we got a site further from the riverbank and closer to the entrance.

After setting up the tent and getting our bearings, we drove off to look for fresh supplies for dinner and, more importantly, the Visitor's Information Centre. I often find that printed local maps and literature from information centres help to form an overview of the surrounding areas and identify the nearby points of interest. Coupled with the map apps, Tripadvisor, and AllTrails, they provide a very efficient toolkit to identify, assess, and plan hikes and walks. The Visitor's Centre and supplies were easily found at Eildon Shopping Centre, the heart of Eildon town. Eildon Grocer is a moderate-sized supermarket that meets all your reasonable needs for fresh veggies, fruit, staples, ready-to-eats, and alcohol - though not the fancy stuff.

It was already dusk when we returned to the campsite. To finish off the beautiful afternoon, we set up our small camping table and two chairs by the riverbank. The sun had grown soft, casting a golden glow. The campers at the riverbank sites hadn’t all arrived yet, so it was quiet enough to hear the river water prancing around the stones and boulders. Gazing down at the ripples, it felt as if we had been transported to Middle Earth - on the banks of the Baranduin in the Shire, sipping Gaffer's Home Brew. I almost started to look around for the smokes from Gandalf’s pipe when DebrajDa reminded me that we still had to cook our dinner before we could call it a day.

So, back to reality, and off to our tent. I think our first dinner was the best meal we had on the entire trip. We made 'khichuri' - the traditional Bengali porridge with rice and lentils. It made me nostalgic. As a child, whenever we came home from a family trip, khichuri was always the ‘welcome home’ dinner.

Day 2: 27 March 2024

We woke up around 7:00 in the morning. Emerging from the warm cocoon of the sleeping bag, that day I realised how snap-frozen peas feel during the process. The BoM app wasn’t kidding - the temperature was hovering around zero degrees and boy was it windy! Our campsite, being on the last lane beside the bordering fence, took the full brunt of the gusts. Something had to be done!

Since the showering facilities were just opposite our campsite, we thought it best to head there first, hoping that a hot shower might help thaw our frozen limbs and kickstart our day. The facility had one family restroom and three personal unisex shower and toilet cubicles, each blessed with, thank heavens, heating lamps. Feeling somewhat revived after the shower, we made our way to the community's open kitchen to prepare our breakfast. The kitchen was conveniently equipped with three grill pans, a toaster, a microwave, a refrigerator, and some common kitchen equipment and utensils. The grills were reasonably clean and maintained, making the preparation of a simple toast and fried egg breakfast quite hassle-free. With breakfast done, it was finally time to set off on our expedition.

Our plan was to park near Eildon Grocer and then walk all the way to a local favourite - the Fogg’s Lookout, a viewpoint on Mt. Pinniger with breathtaking views of the Goulburn River and Lake Eildon. Despite having access to the excellent roads that conveniently take your car to the very spot, we wanted to walk the whole way because, one, the sky was clear and impossibly blue, two, the roads hardly saw a car pass by, three, we were eager to explore the trails parallel to the road, and four, of course, this was the Shire! How could we not walk?!

Around 11:00 am, after crossing the Goulburn River on our way out of Eildon town, we found ourselves on Jerusalem Creek Road. By then, the sun was really out and it had grown a bit hot too. But it was bearable with some protection. We carried light backpacks and had fashioned nice little walking sticks out of tree branches - mine resembling a shorter version of Gandalf’s staff. We maintained a steady comfortable pace chatting about our school days back in Kolkata, India. The walk was everything we had hoped for - until it wasn’t. As always, my inability to resist romanticising the act of exploring got the better of me.

A little past the point where Jerusalem Creek Road tees off from Embankment Road, a narrow dirt road takes off the main road and veers into the forest on the right. I looked it up on Google Maps; this was the “Honeymoon Trail” – a little detour that seemed to be an innocent, quiet trail, maybe a bit on the wider side, gently meandering through the trees and rejoining the main road just a little uphill. It took some convincing and a few irrational points about adventure and making good memories, but finally, DebrajDa gave in - we were taking the detour.

“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread” – nothing could have been more apt in this case. As it turned out, what I had read as the Honeymoon “Trail” was actually the Honeymoon “Track” - a dirt track with steep and gruelling up-hills, mainly for 4x4s. Moreover, the map was not accurately detailed. Narrow trails branched off and, after a point, every time we crossed one, we wondered if it could be ours. At one point - I have no idea after how many such steep climbs - the going became too excruciating. We were almost out of drinking water, out of breath, and definitely out of options. We decided that if we couldn’t find our exit by the end of the next uphill stretch, we would retrace our steps and, since that would exhaust almost all of our will to keep going, we would wait at the road to hitch a ride back or at least manage to get a bottle of water.

Crossing that stretch was the hardest of all, but from the top, at last, we saw a narrow downhill trail taking off to the left. I can’t put my finger on how exactly I felt - whether it was joy or relief or hope. All I remember after that point was that we were almost running back to Jerusalem Creek Road, where a sign showed directions to some resort that had drinking water, just two kilometres downhill!

The resort was called Jerusalem Creek Marina & Holiday Park. We bought our lunch of two chicken sandwiches and the long-awaited bottles of water. It was a nice resort overlooking the marina, and we could see several boats tied to the jetty.

Replenished and energised, we set off for Fogg’s Lookout, reaching there around 3:00 pm. The fruits of our toil made the whole ordeal more than worthwhile. The 360-degree unobstructed view of the river, the rolling valley, and the lake with sailboats were truly breathtaking. The peace and tranquillity of the spot seemed to wash away all our fatigue. We felt as fresh as the air and ready to take on another adventure.

Although our journey back to Eildon town was relatively easy (mostly downhill) and rather uneventful, this walking trip still ranks as one of the most memorable hikes I’ve ever done. Although all we expected at the outset was just a slightly long walk, we covered about 26 kilometres in roughly six hours, walked through rugged terrain, forests, and hills, got lost, lost all hope, and felt really sick and utterly helpless - yet we reached our destination safely,

Day 3: 28 March 2024

We woke up to the same early morning chills as the day before, but this time there was fog - a soft veil shrouding everything around us. A good night’s sleep had made us much more relaxed and ready to explore! But we also wanted to be gentle on our legs. We planned our day accordingly: a short hike before lunch, followed by a road trip to a nearby waterfall and the Eildon Dam afterwards.

Our first destination was the Rubicon Falls Dam. It’s a small dam on the Rubicon River, just uphill from Rubicon Falls. We parked our car at the nearest campsite, Rubicon Boy’s Campground. The hike began around 12:15 pm from Rubicon Power Station, along the Rubicon River Road, which continued uphill as a narrow dirt road. It seemed that the road might have been motorable all the way to the dam, but it had since become a hiking route, perhaps for safety concerns. At the start of the trail, just outside the power station, stood a beautiful decommissioned Pelton Turbine - a relic of history.

The trail was relatively easy, with gentle rises and reasonably long flats for breathers. The path followed the Rubicon River, and the soothing sound of flowing water accompanied us the entire way, mingling with the rhythmic crunch of our footsteps and the occasional birdsong. We were back in the Shire! We crossed the Rubicon Falls on our right at around 1:00 pm and in another 15 minutes, we reached the dam. I must admit, the destination alone may not have been worth the journey, but for those who seek the experience as a whole—the forest hike, the serenity, the calm—it was worth every single moment.

We paused at the dam for a short snack break, refuelling before taking a slow, leisurely walk back. We really wanted to extend our time among the trees, savouring every moment and finally arrived back at the power station around 2:30 pm. The entire hike from Rubicon Boys Campground was about 9 km.

Later, we made our way to Eildon Dam. First conceived in early 1950, the construction of the present enlarged dam was completed in 1956. The reservoir formed by the dam was named Lake Eildon, and the nearby township, built to house workers, became the town of Eildon. Beyond supplying irrigation water to Victoria's northern plains, the dam also houses a hydroelectric power station with an installed capacity of 135 MW. The lookout near the dam offered a fantastic view of the lake and the spillway, and the road across the dam itself was perfect for a stroll - Lake Eildon on one side, the spillways on the other.

By the time we returned to the campsite, it had got nearly dark, and the cold had set in. Yet, we couldn’t leave without saying our final goodbyes to the river. So, after dinner, we took a late evening stroll around the resort, making our way to the riverbank. We spotted a few wild rabbits darting about in the darkness before we finally retired for the night. 

Day 4: 29 March 2024

The last day at camp is almost always tinged with sadness. As we cooked our breakfast in the camp kitchen, we noticed a coffee truck parked near the resort's front entry. Unfortunately by the time they began serving, we had nearly finished our breakfast, so we didn't get a chance to try anything from it. It took us almost two hours to take down the tent and organise everything inside the car, even though we had tried to do some 'organising' the night before. I suppose it had more to do with our energy and motivation levels than our organising skills.

We finally set off around 11:00 am. The journey back was largely the same and uneventful, except for our lunch stop at Beechworth Bakery in Healesville. The Healesville branch of the iconic bakery, which originated in Beechworth, is very popular not only because of the brand but also due to its strategic location. The variety of pies was truly impressive, with mouth-watering regular, gluten-free, gourmet, and vegan options, along with their iconic Ned Kelly pies. We enjoyed our lunch with chicken and steak pies paired with coffee, and even packed a few to take home. For takeaway, they also offered frozen pies with baking instructions handwritten on the bag.

We reached my home a little after 2:00 pm, and DebrajDa still had to drive another 40 minutes to reach his. Overall, the trip was a success. It was everything I had hoped for - nice weather throughout, wonderful places to explore, and memorable trails and hikes. It may not be an epic adventure, and let’s face it, not even a legendary hike in any measure, but as my first camping trip in Australia, it’ll always be a cherished milestone. I will forever be grateful to DebrajDa for taking me along and most importantly, for not leaving me stranded at the Honeymoon Track after I pulled those stunts!

About the Author

Born in Kolkata, where chaos and culture dance together in perfect harmony, Udayan decided in 2023 that Melbourne needed a bit more spice. By day, he crunches numbers; by night, he’s a one-person band, juggling between the flute and the guitar – though not literally, thankfully. When not turning data into insights or making music that his wife politely tolerates, he’s in the kitchen proving that engineers can indeed cook without turning it into a mathematical formula. A travel enthusiast who believes the best way to explore a new place is to get monumentally lost at least once, he turned his engineering consulting career into an excuse to see the world, one PowerPoint presentation at a time.