5th Lap - The Mosaics of a pink lake

 

THE FIFTH LAP

The Mosaics of a pink lake

Previous:  Digging the Gold Digging Past (iii)

Photo Album:  The Mosaics of a pink lake

After learning a fair bit more than expected of the history of the gold rush town of Bendigo and its Chinese heritage, it comes the time to throw a stick into the air.  On the ground, it pointed at the northwest direction....so that was that.

We headed out on a cold sunny morning, just about 10-15 Kms later, we saw the brown road sign..."The Great Stupa". What is that ?!  My curiosity went overtime!  I have only seen stupas in Nepal, a large Buddhist temple common on the Himalayas.  Is there a pocket of Nepalese or Tibetan settlement?

We decided to be nosy, invited by the brown road sign, which are for tourist attractions.  However, it was too early, the gates were closed.  So we parked up, and approached a group gathering around the coffee shop, thinking that they are Nepalese, Tibetans or northern Indians.  No, they are everyday Australians with typical Australian accents.  They whole place is devoted to preserving Mahanyana Buddhism traditions, and offers a retreat to teach and practice.  Mahanhyana Buddhism is todays most practiced amongst the different branches of Buddhism.

We were invited to walk around the retreat, with accommodations and a monastery for meditations and studies.  These are set in an Australian bush setting, adorned with Buddhist ornaments and statutes. The entire environment is imbued with of peace and tranquility, but there is also a hint of commercialism.

The Great Stupa area opened a little later, we walked over to marvel at this super structure, it is much bigger than the ones I have seen in Nepal, my only experience with them.  This is 50m high, ranked the largest stupa in the Western World.  Have a look at The Great Stupas of the World here.

A long roll of Mani Cylinders ( Rolling Prayer Drums ) that are ubiquitous in the Himalayas, are along the base of the Great Stupa.

The inside, although opens to the public, was still under constructions, and would house a number of holy relics when finished.

Without further ado, we commenced the long drive to Sea Lake, our next destination, which is still a good 180 Kms to go.  The weather was perfect, and we had a good run to Sea Lake with just a brief pause for lunch in a roadside rest stop. We reached the small township of Sea Lake just after 3 p.m,

It was sunny, but with strong wind.  We quickly headed for the nearby Lake Tyrrell.

About 15 Kms later with a missed turn, just before sunset, we found the "First Viewing Platform" of Lake Tyrrell, the largest salt lake of Victoria, and it is pink.

As can be seen from the ripples on the water surface, the wind was quite strong.  I had to be extra careful with running the drone, Fortunately, I was down wind from the lake.

After an overnight rest at the nearby Sea Lake rest area, We were very much encouraged by the crispy sunrise from the frosty window, cold at just 4 °C but a sunny day promised.

  

I took Sandi into off-road mode for the first time on this trip, and went on to the narrow lake side track, and started exploring.  The track was quite boggy at sections, and required careful maneuvering, bearing in mind that, Sandi was heavy and alone, even with mud terrain tyres.

Soon one of the drones was aloft...and there were so much colours to pick from.

The weather forecast for tomorrow was cloudy at best, so we decided to hang about for the whole day, and let the drone roam in the relatively calm conditions,

This would be the time to take out the Starlink dish, to activate our mobile subscription for the first time in a remote location.  After a little bit of fiddling, I finally found the steps to reach the server, and had it activated, after diminishing the bank account a little!  The internet speed was at an impressive 200 Mbps.

And of course, more aerial photos, and videos.

The next morning, we drove past the salt mining area on the western side of the lake, quite an industrialised operation, but certainly looks a smaller than the one we saw on the mid Western Australian coast.

The weather was starting to drizzle and cloudy, so we decided to leave, and headed south in the general direction of Mt Gambier, South Australia.

After leaving the mud tracks, I surveyed the general conditions of the underside of Sandi for any issues of concerns.  A minor one was discovered, all the combination locks on the sides of the gerrycan holders were covered with mud.

Whilst it wouldn't be a major concern, but nonetheless could be a big time waster when comes to having to unlock them in urgent situations when the MaxTraxs are required.

So there is a need to protect them somehow from muds and debris. So I got some glad wraps out and rubber bands to wrap around them after cleaning them carefully with clean water.  Would it work or even last ?!

.....read more

Gremlins:  The once/twice a day "Eng Sys" limp mode issue continues to happen after a long day of high speed run.

Next: On the way to the VIC / SA border

Previous:  Digging the Gold Digging Past (iii)