Where shall we go now......

We arrived home from Perth on Sunday night and after a good sleep it was time to pack another bag in readiness for our week on the road.   An early morning call from Graham advised us the camper would be ready to be picked up that afternoon so we had some time to relax in the morning.

A second call that morning was a pleasant surprise and we were glad that we weren't leaving early.  Marg's sister Alison and her husband John were visiting Melbourne for a week from Maffra and wondered if we would like to catch up one day.  After explaining that we were leaving that afternoon we decided that coffee later that morning would be a good idea.  We met them at The Left Bank beside the Yarra for coffee and then decided to stay on for lunch.  We all enjoyed catching up on each others news and travels since we met last time.  One of the highlights for us both was of course spending time on board Matilda with Marg and Peter.

Not long after lunch we were on our way, picked up the trailer and pointed the car to the East and began our week long adventure to see some more of this wonderful country we call home.  Our late start meant that we did not want to travel too far that first day and an hour and half later we stopped in Warrigul where we found a lovely little C'van Park and settled in for the night.  Here we were able to test the little alterations to the Camper and all was good.  We walked to the shops and found some supplies for the next couple of days and then cooked dinner before keeping ourselves amused with a video for the night.  This lovely park doubled as a Retirement Village though I really must stress we were there for the camping!  The recent heavy rains throughout Gippsland was still very evident with quite a few boggy sites but we stayed high and dry on the site we chose.

I'm not sure whether it was the excitement of the last week or just our very comfy bed in the trailer but we did not wake up until 8.00 am so had a slower start to the morning.  Not to worry we were on
holidays after all.  Once on the road we continued to drive stopping for coffee at Rosedale, lunch beside the Tambo River at Swan Reach and the Tourist Information centre at Lakes Entrance to decide where to go and finally called it a day at Orbost Tourist Park where we were only one of two campers there.  We were surprised to find our neighbor in the tent was an little old lady and her little dog.  The next morning she was up early and packed up the tent in no time.  Obviously a very experienced camper!

This is Snowy River country and the drive in takes you over the famous river as it winds it's way to the coast a few kms away at Marlo.  The little town had everything we needed including a wonderful country bakery that we were to visit a few times as we passed through the town.  The apricot pies were just the best!  

Leaving the next morning we climbed uphill towards Buchan where we were going to have a look at the well known Buchan Caves.  The drive up from Orbost was very scenic and on arrival at the Buchan Caves Reserve we were impressed with the wonderful campgrounds and just loved the old stone camp kitchen.  We did not stay this time but will definitely return another time.

The reserve is also a wildlife refuge so animal life is abundant and in the couple of hours we were there Bill was in his element with the birds that were flitting around.  But this time we were there to see the caves and did a tour of the Royal Cave.  These caves were discovered by Frederick Wilson and William Bonwick in 1915 and opened to the public in 1917.  I can't imagine how people ever used to get up here let alone tour the caves back then but they are beautiful limestone caves with some amazing formations inside.

Outside in the reserve there is a natural swimming pool and it was by following the stream from this pool that the caves were discovered.  The water is icy cold and an early September day was not the time to test it out.  A visit in summer might be the way to go!  There is a second cave called Fairy 
cave but we had places to go so we will do that another time.  We took the easy road down passing though the tiny township of Buchan before joining the highway at Nowa Nowa heading back to 
Orbost and the bakery to get some lunch before we began our journey on to Eden where we were going to base ourselves for the next few days.

One feature of our drive that day was the weather.  The forecast throughout Victoria was for severe storms with gale force winds.  Our drive from Nowa Nowa to Orbost had been very windy with lots 
of debris being flung from the trees and littering the roads.  Once we were over the border into NSW 
the winds seemed to ease for the afternoon but their forecast was just as dire as ours had been.  Still we carried on and hoped for the best.  

We arrived at the Eden Tourist Park around 4.00pm and set up camp beside a hedged bush hoping for a little protection if the promised winds came!  It wasn't too bad at this time but as the evening wore on the winds hit.  No rain just winds we were to find out the next day were 75kph.  We didn't venture too far afield that first afternoon just took a walk along the Lake Curalo which the park fronted, before taking a drive up to the town to get something to shop for more supplies.  We came home and spent the next few hours holding our breath each time the wind gusted and wondered whether or not we would lose our roof.  The canvas sides rattled, the trailer rocked and rolled like we have never seen before but I'm pleased to say everything held together very well and apart from almighty gust that woke us up at 3.00am we survived the night without incident.

The next morning the park showed signs of the storm that had passed with many branches down and bins blown over but all the vans, motorhomes and campers had all made it through safe and sound and the big wind was the major topic of conversation during the morning.  Two Cub campers erected the other side of our hedge both packed up and left that morning but perhaps they were going anyway - who knows.

So for now I'll leave it there and continue our story of the Sapphire Coast next time.

until then........