Electrifying Art: TOCA's Anzac Weekend Silo Tour

Hi TOCA Members and friends!

Ordinarily, we'd avoid cruises on long weekends but we thought we'd take the chance for the last weekend of April, soon after the longish Easter break, and before the forthcoming Lang Lang test track experience, now rescheduled for late May (registration and payment will open shortly in early April - we'll keep it under $250!)

Leg 1: Our cruise - family and dog friendly - will start north west of Melbourne at the Spotted Owl Café   (https://www.thespottedowl.com.au) in Sunbury on O'Shannassy Street where we'll meet for breakfast around 830am (easy parking). There's a Tesla Destination Charger at Sunbury Square Shopping Centre not far away, as well as 8 Chargefox 22kW (0.35c/kWh) on nearby Evans Street, for you to top up during breakfast.

Around 9:15am we'll gather for our initial briefing, then depart on our first leg about 9:30am, heading westward initially to then drive north through the charming township of Macedon, about 20 minutes away, taking in the open fields, magnificent gardens and Macedon Ranges views—gentle and green.

Our cruise takes us through some winding climbs before heading towards Hanging Rock (we won't be stopping for a picnic) and not far from the infamous Anti-Gravity Hill, before heading for our first stop in Lancefield, via a

route that takes in rolling hills, farmland, tree-lined stretches and the township of Romsey. This is the cruise's longest leg at about 55", but perhaps the most scenic and "driveworthy". Our stay in Lancefield  (30-45 minutes) will include the township's monthly renowned Farmer's Market. Expect a bustling market with 85+ stalls—fresh produce, meats, wines, breads, and more, under a canopy of trees. We might have the chance of experiencing live music, coffee, and a great community vibe. (There's a single Evie charger on High Street which we'll use as our briefing spot before departing on Leg 2.)

Leg 2: We take our leave and head on our next leg using quiet backroads with vineyards, eucalyptus, and glimpses of Heathcote-Graytown National Park—peak rural Victoria - and travel through Nulla Vale, Emu Flat and Toobaroc

(48km), stopping for a snack and coffee in Heathcote at Gaffney's Bakery, famous for its pies, pastries and vanilla slices. If you're not in the mood for food (maybe you sampled a few things in Lancefield), that's fine - they'll be another chance when we get to Rochester. (There's a single Evie charger ($) at the Heathcote Visitor Centre in High St. - check PlugShare for availability). 

Leg 3: We depart Heathcote heading to the Colbinabbin Art Installation about 35 minutes away. We initially travel along the Northern Highway (B75) through Ladys Pass, before heading north-east along the Heathcote-Rochester Rd, with its farmland and silos, through Cornella, probably arriving at the art installation between 12-1230pm. We'll spend twenty minutes here in Colbo (as it's referred to by locals) so you can take lots of photos! These silos are the most magnificent I've seen in person, recently painted by Tim Bowtell.

Leg 4: We leave our first silo art installation making our way to the second at the famous township of Rochester, about 39 kms (32 minutes) away, taking in the flat plains and irrigation channels, past nearby vineyards as well as the Runnymede State Forrest, entering the town of Elmore via the Northern and Midland Highways—classic rural vibes. More photo opps. at the silos on Ramsay Street (Hello, Possum!), then we'll head to the Shamrock Hotel for a snack, drink or lunch for some, arriving between 1:00 and 1:30pm. Rochester has done it hard during recent floods so TOCA is happy to support this historical township and its population.

This completes our cruise of about 180kms. All dining venues on our cruise have both inside and outside spaces to sit, and vegetarian and vegan options.

Leg 5 options:

From Rochester, it's your choice where to next. The nearest Tesla 125 kW Superchargers are in Kennington, Bendigo about 43km to the southwest along the Midland Highway (A300). It might be a nice spot to head for an early dinner before the two hour drive back to Melbourne. And some nearby wineries might have some tastings during the long weekend.

The next nearest fast chargers for the trip home to Melbourne are in Nagambie (Chargefox 350kW); Euroa (250kW Tesla; 350kW Chargefox) and Avenel (Evie 350kW) on the Hume Highway. There's also the Kilmore Tesla Supercharger site (3x250kW chargers), reached via Heathcote and Pyalong on the Northern Highway (B75). It's likely most will need one recharging session (either during or after) depending on your start and finishing points on the day.

Alternatively, if you want more silo art and missed the TOCA silo art cruise in 2023, you can head north east about 90km to the start of the equally magnificent North East Silo Art Trail, beginning in Gooroombat, before heading south along the trail towards Benalla. Use the chargers along the Hume Highway (listed above) for your return to Melbourne.

We'll be sure to update you as more information about events is published by the various townships we intend to visit. Hopefully, they'll be some pleasant surprises in store for us.

So that's our day's plan - things can change as we get closer to April 26, and of course early in the week starting April 21, I'll be posting registrants the usual final turn by turn spreadsheets of directions and places to watch out for. If you wish, you can see the entire cruise from above, in 19 minutes:

Visit: https://youtu.be/SpNY2ZJD1u4?si=Rv3MbCyuP9zyu6E1

If you have any questions, or something of interest the cruise group might like to know about (a slight detour perhaps) please make contact with me (les@lesposen.com)