23 September 2026 – Winton Wetlands to Longwood – 99 kms
Yorta Yorta and Taungurung Country
The frogs are quiet. So are the crickets. And everything else. It is a peaceful, quiet and cold morning there in my saturated tent on a gentle rise among the wetlands.
Still, I’m up at 6am and away at 7am with wet feet from carrying my bike, and then my gear on a second trip, through the dew-laden grass back to the road. Kangaroos, whole mobs of them, bound away in long Qantas-logo leaps over the open ground under a crystal clear blue sky.
My plan is to head down Nelson Road to connect to Murray Road into Benalla. But Nelson Road is cut by a creek that is at least a half a metre deep. Nup. Nothing I can do to cross that easily.
So we are sent on a 10 kilometre detour through the wetlands site.
This involves some fiddly gate locks, some hike-a-bike where the creek has washed over a bridge and left the surface quite chunky, and lots of pedalling on rough gravel. The only exception to the rough surface is an old road that now has a bike path width seal on it. Everything else is annoying, loose chunk that makes me glad I’m not on the touring bike.
I haven’t ridden through this part of the wetlands before, so that makes it a bit interesting, as does looking at all of the bush and tree growth from the past 16 years. But really, I could have done without this extra tour this morning.
By the time I get to Benalla, I’m dragging. I thought it was going to be just 12-15 kms into town, so I did not eat before leaving. And I did not eat enough yesterday. So I’m low on energy when I finally make it to Woolies.
Then I overdo it on food consumption trying to get some nutrients into me. I eat too much banana, mandarin, peanut butter, crackers and other snacks. I drink too much water. And my poor “paralysed” stomach doesn’t know what to do. All that food and liquid just sits there uncomfortably. Very uncomfortably. I know better. But I did it anyway. Suck it up, Em.
We continue on. The road to Badaginnie, the original Hume Highway route, is surprisingly busy, particularly for the four-square block town that finally appears. Maybe people get off the freeway here and use the back road into Benalla? I don’t know, but there is not much there to explain the traffic amount.
The little village does have a general store with post office and public toilets at the hall.
After this, we don’t really see anyone as we lumber along the backroads with no energy and a stomach that does not push through its contents in a timely manner. None of those nutrients from my feast in Benalla have yet made it to points in my body that matter. So we suffer our way along through gorgeous open woodland and tree-lined roads.
We’re still pushing into a headwind, but it’s not as strong today. The flies are less obnoxious, too. It is a really nice day to be on a bike, particularly if you have not self-inflicted a glut of food on a stomach that can’t handle it.
We work our way east and south toward Violet Town, suffering and feeling crap. The day drags on and on and on. The only people I see is a couple out working on a fence and then two cars on the C-road from Dookie.
I stop at the park in Violet Town and just sit on a bench there for awhile. I finally feel a bit better, as if that food has finally moved on and been digested enough to be useful.
I delay my departure a bit longer by having a look at the train crash memorial on the main road.
The backroads to Euroa from Violet Town are new to me, as I’ve always ridden up into the Strathbogies from Violet Town and never direct to Euroa. The road starts out sealed with a fair bit of traffic. Once this all turns off for the freeway at another exit, and the road becomes tiny and not too maintained, I just pedal along by myself with the freeway in sight to the east.
Further down, at another freeway exit, the frontage road becomes sealed again. I’m not sure how long that will last, but a roadie goes by while I’m looking at the map on my phone, so I figure it must go through if he’s going that way.
We climb above the rest area on the road and then parallel the freeway right on into town. That was easier than I thought it might be, and the kays went by much more quickly than the bit between Benalla and Violet Town. Finally, that food has gone places it needs to go.
I stop for a short break in Euroa and to get some crackers for my peanut butter. I finished up the half-used pack I started with from Jindera.
The back way to Longwood takes us out past several big chicken sheds for the Kinross egg company and then past a stinky compost company that takes all the chicken shit, I assume. The sealed road takes us past a long hill off to our left, then we head down tree-lined gravel roads in great condition on a left-right-left-right zig zag toward the little town.
The road rides fast as the sun sinks lower to the horizon and it finally feels like we are making decent progress. Nothing like the last 10 kms of a 100 km day finally feeling decent.
I’ve ridden through Longwood before on my way up into the Strathbogies. However, I’ve never stopped. They offer donation camping at the oval here. Luckily, you can camp wherever you like (almost) on the huge recreation reserve, and I can go way off and camp on the old 9-hole golf course far away from the 15 or 20 caravans clustered near the toilets.
The mozzies, ants and flies are around. So after the tent dries out, I set it up and retreat from the insect’s stingers, suckers and stickiness.
Off in the distance to the south, there is either a kennel or a property with many dogs. They bark and howl and carry on in great numbers now and then. This then sets off the dogs in the caravans. There is also a property somewhere to the north that has 3-4 dogs that give it a go on occasion, as well.
Luckily, it is all far away enough not to be too annoying, but it makes me laugh at how you could do your ‘tree change’ to a nice small village in the bush and then have to put up with tons of noisy dogs and neighbours with trail bikes. Sometimes, it is quieter in the suburbs than rural areas!
