Bonnie Doon

Bonnie Doon, which was immortalised in the film the Castle, 1999 ? --> lies on the main road from Melbourne/ Yea/ Yarck to Mansfield, Mt.Stirling and Mt.Buller. It has a petrol station, pub, fast food outlet, motel, camping ground and boating facilities (normally).

The main four wheel drive interest lies in the mountains to the east, although there are some four wheel drive tracks in the Strathbogies to the north. The area around the lake itself is largely national park and tightly controlled, although the VAFWDC has organised work weekends to help park authorities maintain mangament vehicle only (MVO) tracks since the late 1990s.

In most years, the northern finger of Lake Eildon extends to Bonnie Doon, at least in late winter and spring, before water is drawn down for irrigation purposes. The area has been in a drought through the late 1990s and 2000.

2000 winter: Lake Eildon was at its lowest for several years, the water well and truly having retreated from the Bonnie Doon bridge (right).
	It was necessary to follow the lake turn-off from Bonnie Doon south for several kilometers before the shrunken Lake Eildon came into sight (left).
Getting back to more usual levels, January 2001.

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