Day 3 - Melbourne to Echuca (finally on the road)

OK lets get this show on the road! We packed up the car and were ready to roll only to be delayed by some out of town admirers. After sharing a few car enthusiast stories we checked out of our motel and rolled out of town.

The Calder Freeway was our easy route out of the city and in no time we were clear of the traffic and on our way north to Bendigo. We soon became accustomed to having the car's driver on the left hand side while the passenger was in the traffic.

The car handled the open road without a hitch. The gauges all showed normal readings except for the fuel gauge which showed a disturbing rate of depletion in fuel levels. Perhaps something to do with the 400 cu.in engine? We discovered a few rattles and squeaks but I think we all have a few of those at age 32!

The drive to Bendigo took us an hour and a half of easy driving and we arrived just in time for smoko. A quick stop off at Macca's for a coffee and break before heading through town to have a quick tour of the sights. The car coped well with the heavy traffic through town but we did try to avoid any areas where there was too much "stop-start" as there is no need to test our luck with engine temperatures.

We stopped by the Dragon Museum for a look about. This museum celebrates the Chinese members of the local Bendigo community dating back to 1850 when the gold fields were opened up. Its was a fantastic day for a drive - sunny but not too hot so we took the T-tops off the car to enjoy some fresh air.

Dragon Museum at Bendigo.

Soldiers Institute at Bendigo - photo taken out as we drove by with the roof off the car!

We pushed onto Echua which took another hour of driving. The traffic flowed easily which was good for a high risk travelling day.

In all we travelled 220km today and used half a tank of fuel. The cost of fuel at the bowser in Echuca was 12c/litre more expensive than the price in Melbourne yesterday so we were pleased to have left with a full tank this morning.

We are staying two nights in Echuca so we plan to spend Christmas Day relaxing locally with a picnic lunch.