DAY 22 - BENALLA to TARRAWINGEE

We started today with an early morning walk around Benalla, admiring the birds in the botanic gardens, the reflections in the lake, and some of the murals for which the town is famous. 

Early morning at Lake Benalla
Birds at the Botanic Gardens,  Benalla
Murals, Benalla 
Reflections, Lake Benalla 
Before leaving town, we visited the Weary Dunlop memorial, and photographed a cockatoo in a tree. 
Weary Dunlop memorial
A cockatoo in a tree, Benalla
After breakfast we hit the road, heading for the Winton Wetlands, where we spent several hours reading the informative signboards, dodging kangaroos and spotting birds. There were lots of red kangaroos at the start of the track. 
Like this one
And these ones

And these ones
The path followed the old dam wall for several kilometres. It was a combined pedestrian/cyclist path, which we rode for 12 km without seeing any pedestrians or other cyclists.  The surface was firm, which made for easy riding. 
Riding the Discovery Trail, Winton Wetlands 
There was not a great amount of water in the Wetlands, but where there was water there were often water birds.  We came across a large flock of pelicans, which took flight at our approach. 
Pelicans, fleeing from scary touring cyclists
We also saw several other birds as we cycled on towards our morning tea stop. In fact, due to a rather large number of photo stops, it was afternoon before we had our morning tea. 
More birds, Winton Wetlands 
Supporting another local business - the Mokoan Hub and Café
On the way out of the Wetlands, we visited the Art Trail along the evocatively named Boggy Bridge Road. The road was very scenic with thousands of dead trees from the flooding of the countryside to form the artificial Lake Mokoan in 1971. 
Art Trail, Winton Wetlands 
Riding Boggy Bridge Road
Leaving the Wetlands behind, we cycled on to a lunch stop at Glenrowan, stopping only to photograph some interesting birds. 
An interesting bird, on the way to Glenrowan
More interesting birds
At Glenrowan we glanced briefly at some Ned Kellys, and enjoyed a picnic lunch in the park. 
Some Ned  Kellys, Glenrowan 
Picnic in the park, Glenrowan 
It was another 20 or so kilometres on to Milawa, which we had intended to cover without further stops. 
Except for the odd bird shot, of course
But we found a rail trail when we arrived in Oxley, that went all the way in to Milawa. It was very photogenic. 
Rail Trail into Milawa
We found some brown leaves on the ground, so we photographed them (to go with the red and yellow ones of the last couple of days).
Leaves on the ground
At this point, we decided that we had probably taken enough photos for the day, as we were keen to get to the cheese factory before it closed for the day. 
Come on - We want to get to the cheese factory before it closes
At Milawa, we supported several of the local businesses, including the Milawa Olive Shop and the makers of the local mead, before going on to the Milawa Cheese Company. Here we indulged in a cheese tasting, and bought some of the local produce.
Our last stop for the day. 
Then it was just a matter of navigating our way to our b&b for the night. 
Navigating our way . . . 
Tonight's b&b 
Day:  22
Distance: 79.56 km
Cycling time:  4 hrs 12 mins
Elevation gain: 961 metres
Cumulative Distance: 1102.88 km
Day 22 - Elevation profile 
Day 22 - Route

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