As a Queenslander it was a surprise to discover Winton in Victoria when I naturally think about it in Western Queensland. And these two Wintons couldn’t be more different.

Winton, Queensland is out west, notoriously hot and dry. There is a lagoon but you couldn’t describe it as a wetland.

Winton, Victoria on the other hand is a renowned aWetland area not far from Benalla in the north east of the state. It is the largest wetlands restoration program in the Southern Hemisphere. There are 200,000 dead trees dotting the landscape as a result of past decisions regarding the wetlands. At the end of this post there are some links to further info.

Although the wetlands is an important ecological project I was there with Dave, my fellow Solo and travelling buddy, to view the art installations throughout the area. The first one was at The Hub where information- and coffee – was available!

A few kilometres along the road we turned onto Boggy Bridge Road and drove into the wetlands. This barge full of cows was at the entry as a reminder of cattle grazing in the area and how they were ferried to higher ground and sweeter feed.

A little further along we drove through an avenue of painted trees …

There’s Dave off in the distance saying “ Eat My Dust!” but I kept a good distance behind and managed to create enough of my own to fill the motorhome 😫

At a t-junction Dave missed the water tank spectacularly painted by one of my favourite silo artists, Guido van Helten. Well, he’ll have to wait for me because I’m not missing this opportunity!

We made camp for the night in one of the designated campsites with the surround sound of screeching cockatoos and melodic magpies.

A little bit of history…

For information about the background to the wetlands, the establishment of Lake Mokoan and its subsequent draining Click here