Loy Yang Power Station – Traralgon Victoria – Australia

In my recent travels to Victoria I visited the Loy Yang power station. This power station consists of two sections named as “Loy Yang A” and “Loy Yang B” which was built in 1980s, both these plans are coal fired thermal power stations. Taken together these generate 4300 MW of power which is about 30% of Victoria’s current power needs and is the largest power station in Australia (when taken together). AGL owns and operates Loy Yang A and the adjacent coal mine.

There are no tours to look inside the power station but there is a picnic area where you can see the plants from a distance.

			Score out of 5
1	Parking Availability		4
2	Wheelchair Access	Easy	5
3	Accessibility	Easily accessible within about 3 minutes walk from carpark.	4
4	Facilities	No covered sitting areas. Toilets – No Barbecue – Yes	2
5	Scenery		2

 

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Harben Vale Cherry Farm – Balhannah South Australia

If you like Cherries like me, another orchard you should visit is Harben Vale Cherries in Balhannah SA 5242. Located on Altmanns road, this orchard is about 100 hectares and produce Beef cattle, Potatoes and Cherries. This is a family owned farm which was with Altmann’s family for some 160 years.

They have started growing Cherries for about 10 to 12 years now and has a very open rural outlook rather than the steeper more traditional areas around Lenswood. You will find ample free parking in the property. This orchard has about 8 main Cherry varieties grown in 3 Hectares. Picking is easy since the trees are well trained and you can easily pick Cherries without using ladders.

Cherry season is a short 2 month period normally from December to January each year. Produce might even finish before the end of the season depending of the number of people visiting farms, So always call or check their web site before visiting. Current farm managers, Wayne and Julie Altman are very friendly people and they would be happy to help if you contact them.

When visiting, it is better to wear shoes in which you can easily walk on grass. Since it will be summer, hats are also recommended. Buckets will be provided to all visitor groups to pick Cherries into so you do not want to take anything for collecting what you pick. At the time I visited, they did not charge any admission fee and one kilo of Cherries were sold for $ 5. These prices can always change so I recommend you to check with the owners before picking since whatever you pick, you should buy. Since these Cherries are fresh you can keep them for few weeks without any problems, if you freeze you may even be able to keep them for few months. But I like to consume them within 2 – 3 weeks from picking.

Address : Altmanns Road, Balhannah 5242.
Phone : 04 3900 1962
EMail : wjaltman@adam.com.au
Web : http://harbenvale.com/

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Naracoorte Caves – Naracoorte South Australia

If you are a cave lover, there are many places Australia has to offer. Out of them one of the best is Naracoorte caves in South Australia. Inside the caves you will be able to see lime stones which took about 200 million years to form.

Stalactites – Are the ones hanging from above. Because they form from water dripping from above they tend to get points on them.

 

Stalagmites – Are formed on floor and start growing up with time.

Columns – Are formed by one stalactite and stalagmite connecting after so many years.

 

It is good idea to plan and visit the caves bit early since you need time to have a look into the caves. They normally close at 5PM and the last tour starts around 4PM.

There is a visitor information centre in the Wonambi Fossil Centre so you can find out the interesting places in Naracoorte Caves National Park. Wet cave is a free attraction. When you purchase a ticket for a tour to visit Alexandra cave you will get free admittance to the Fossil enter and the miniature man made zoo.

Pram accessibility is not there when visiting caves, also you need to take care of your young children because they might need lot of assistance from you when inside the caves. Also supervise your children frequently since some of the Stalactites and Stalagmites are fragile and if they break one then thy may be destroying millions of years of natures’ work.

Car parking is free and plenty of sitting areas are there. Toilet facilities are there also is a restaurant so you can buy food if you need.

Address : Naracoorte Caves National Park, PO Box 134, Naracoorte SA 5271.

Phone : (+61 8) 8762 2340

EMail : naracoortecaves@sa.gov.au

Web : http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/naracoorte/Home

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