Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud

was what we found when we joined our friends Astrid, Bianca & Hans at their campsite at Lake Eildon last weekend. The forecast was for showers so we decided that they would probably have passed over by the time we arrived. What actually happened was the rain got heavier the closer to the campsite we got. We had visited them at the campsite 2 years ago in very hot & dry conditions so it was good to see the Lake & surrounding areas getting some rain.

During the afternoon the rain stopped for a while and we all donned wet weather gear, gorgeous green ponchos, and together with our trusty big blue & white 'Hills' umbrellas we went for for a walk along the shores of the Lake where 2 years ago kids were jumping out of trees into the water. Now the same trees are many metres away from the waterline. The other point of interest we walked to was the site of an old homestead that had been underwater since the area was first flooded to be used as a damn in the early 1950's. When it first came out of the water sometime during the 80's it was preserved complete but now after all these years it is only part of the 2 chimneys that are still standing. You can see all the foundations and layout of the house and the paths and outbuildings as it stands now. It is very hard to imagine that the whole area was once covered in water when at the moment it is only at approx 24% capacity. The 67 mm of rain rec'd over the weekend was much needed but only a drop in the 'lake' compared to what is needed. The kangaroos sheltering under the trees watched us with amusement as we walked back to the campsite in the rain.

While Bianca and the gentlemen were cooking the bar-b-que the rain set in for real and dinner was eaten under the awning with mud running freely. Still we had great fun and left late at night for a drive back to our 'dry' motel room in Alexander. It continued to rain all night and for the first time in many years I was woken up by rain on the roof.

A week at home and the Australia Day weekend was a very different story. Three beautiful days of sunshine and mild weather was just perfect for the many activities around town. On Monday we went and watched one of the more unusual of them when the Great Duck Race was held on the Yarra. It is held to raise funds for Surf Lifesaving and rubber ducks are sold for $5 each and then raced 200 metres down the Yarra. There were 11,000 ducks drifting along on the current and the lucky winner was plucked out of the water by the Mayor.

So with the long weekend over it was time to get ready for work once again and plan for the next weekend's activities.
Until then...............