this stunning image of lake eppalock by lincoln harrison was captured using a long exposure. the star trails are created as the earth rotates, giving the impression of stars moving across the sky.
It’s hard to imagine the beer belly but he is not lacking the inherent human desire to be around water. As poet William Yeats put it more eloquently, “I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore… I hear it in the heart’s deep core.” For Bendigonians who have gone without for the best part of a decade, a second post-drought summer of a brimming Lake Eppalock is still a novelty to lap up. At Eppalock, the porch coveted by Johnny Depp is likely to be a caravan annex. While there are a few shacks scattered around the shore, the dominant residence of choice is a caravan. There are four large foreshore caravan parks given over almost exclusively to long term sites. Only the Lakeshore Caravan Park near the spillway has a dedicated section for tourist vans. For a 12-monthly fee, the ‘annuals’ leave their vans on site from one year to the next. Shirley Murray who manages the Lake Eppalock Holiday Park says the normally unregistered vans only ever leave on the back of a truck. Mostly they are sold in-situ by word of mouth or on eBay. Their intransigence is evident from ever more rigid annexes, brick barbecues, obligatory overarching canopies — even picket fences. The caravan parks survived the drought with loyal predominantly Melbourne-based patrons retaining their weekend getaways to enjoying the bush settings and other attractions. The parks variously boast an off-road motorbike track, outdoor cinema, swimming pools, tennis courts and ample kids playgrounds. Aquatic action is nonetheless the parks’ raison d’etre for their largely boat-owning populations. Danielle Parsons, partner Mark Folwell and their three children recently acquired a van and boat at Moorabbee Lodge Caravan Park. It is part of their lifestyle move from Melbourne to take advantage of Bendigo’s more affordable housing and be nearer to the family friendly water playground.
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