The road to Tarras abounds with lakeside picnic spots. Turn left at the eastern end of the Deadman's Point Bridge and follow State highway 8 as it skirts the sparkling waters of Lake Dunstan. Magnificent views of farmland backdropped by the Pisa Range abound. Several new well-signposted picnic areas provide shady spots amongst the willows. Most have ample parking areas, picnic tables and seats, rubbish facilities and barbecue containers. In places the lake is shallow enough for the paddlers and there are some excellent swimming holes. The Lindis Crossing usually has shallow water for the small fry and the grassy banks and trees are sought after by campers and picnickers alike.
Watch out for the Rocky Point Pottery. Rocky Point was once the site of a hotel of that name and the pottery is set up in the old stables. It is open seven days and visitors are welcome. Close by is Bendigo Station, the property of Mr John Perriam. The old homestead at the rear of the more modern building has been restored and contains some interesting photographs and memorabilia of the district's early years. The old building is made available to charitable organisations for camps and depending on the suitability of the occasion it may be open for public viewing. Please enquire at the house. In 2004 Bendigo Station attracted worldwide attention with the discovery of Shrek the hermit sheep.
Nearby is the entrance to the Bendigo quartz mining site. This is managed as a Goldfields Park site although it is on private property and the public have free access. Turn right at Bendigo Loop Road (about 78km from Cromwell) and follow the flat section of the road for 3.5km. After studying the Information Kiosk at the bottom of the hill, turn right and up the steep grade for another 2.5km. It is a spectacular area with the crumbling remains of stone cottages amongst the scrub and briar. The Walk Cromwell brochure available from the Cromwell Information Centre pinpoints the various places of interest and it is advisable to remember that it is a potentially dangerous area. Abandoned shafts can be recognised by their adjacent spoil heaps or small clumps of vegetation such as briar.
It is hard to imagine that the area once supported three villages each with its own distinctive character. This was no easy goldfield and those who prospered did so throughsheer hard work. The Aurora Creek area reveals mines hewn from the solid rock high on the cliff faces and linked by narrow rock walled roads. One can only speculate on what the work must have been like during the rigours of winter.
As you travel along Bendigo Loop Road you will be amazed at the growth of vineyard plantings that have occurred recently. Further massive plantings are envisaged for this area, and some tasting/restaurant facilities will possibly follow in the future.
On to Tarras, baking in the summer sun. It is the last point to fill the tank before undertaking the trip north through the Lindis Pass. There is the Merino Shop which specialises in high quality products made from the wool of the district's famed merino flocks and an adjacent tearooms. Both are open seven days. There is a general store and a garage and a school, for Tarras is the service centre of a far flung farming district. It is a pleasant drive and the traveller is well rewarded by the views alone.