I went to Blue Rock Lake spillway via Shady Creek, just so there was a bit more variety of roads travelled to get there.
It's a nice drive along Old Sale Road, with speeds varying 80 km to 100 km, dropping down to 60 around the townships. And had a variety of farming landscapes (along with some bush) and elevation changes.
The townships are interesting, lots with old oaks and other European-type trees, at the moment their leaves are turning autumnal, turning orange and yellow and starting to drop all around them.
Driving through it was still a nice enough day, the sun was shining, there was a decent breeze, but nothing to really worry about.
On my journey there it did answer one question which I found a little perplexing when looking at Google Maps to plan going out here, or around this area. The traffic layer always showed red/orange around the Brandy Creek-Old Sale Road intersection, which I couldn't fathom. But upon driving through the intersection I found that it's got a new large roundabout on it.
Then I remembered something from during the pandemic, during the lockdowns I was idly looking at Google Maps when we were all locked down, and it showed really busy roads around Melbourne. After mentioning it on social media I found out that it's based on averaged historical data so; 'it was busy a few months / year ago therefore it's busy now'. Same with this intersection it seems; showing orange / red but there was no one there. It appears it was a recent upgrade to the road, part of the Victorian Government's regional roads project.
I drove over to the other side of the spillway, there's a tower there. The reservoir itself was started in 1979 and finished in 1984, and the building is very blocky and 80s in its style. <More information>
There were some odd white posts on the bank above the spillway that I wasn't sure what they were.
I also went around to the Blue Rock Lake picnic area which is closer to Willow Grove, the town of the area.
The picnic area has two boating jetties to one side and then on the other side of the very large car park there are barbecues, a playground, plus a table tennis table. There were a few people there looking at the lake, and several vehicles from Victoria Fisheries.
I think I preferred the quiet desolation of the spillway to the picnic area.
