2012 - Our last adventure

Well Christmas has come and gone for another year and before we knew it New Years Eve was upon us once again.  We had a lovely Christmas Day spent with Mum, Maree, Jarrod, Aaron, Amelia, Laurie,  Faye, Rem and Ethan at Maree's home in Bonbeach.   With a very civilised 22 deg we were able to enjoy a traditional Christmas Dinner without heat stress and all enjoyed a very relaxing day.  I hope that where ever you spent your Christmas Day you all enjoyed it as much as we did.  Of course we all ate too much but what would Christmas be without an over full tummy at some point in the day.

On Boxing Day we drove to Chum Creek for Astrid and Han's usual 'leftover lunch'.  This year neither Astrid or her neighbour Noel had 'done' Christmas so the leftovers were freshly cooked that day.  Delicious as always and thanks so much for allowing us to be your 'neighbours' for the day.  We had a great time as we always do and really enjoyed our afternoon in the best backyard in the world.

With Christmas falling mid week this year we had to return to work on Thursday and Friday, a little hard to do after two lovely days but a necessity if you are rostered on.  Still, only two day's before we rest again.

We had been hoping to get away for a long weekend over the New Year but while I had the Monday off Bill was not so lucky.  We decided that we would head out with the camper trailer for the weekend anyway and had chosen Euroa as our destination.  Just under 2 hours from Melbourne we left straight after work on Friday and were all set up by 8.30pm at Euroa Caravan Park on the banks of Seven Creeks.  

Euroa is a lovely town found about halfway between Melbourne and Albury.  It is in the foothills of  the Strathbogie Ranges so there is lots to explore nearby.  It was the 1850's Gold rush that first brought people to the area closely followed by bush rangers and of course the famous Ned Kelly trails lead you to the site of the National Bank which he held up in 1878.  Now it is a quiet little town with a busy main street and some lovely parks and gardens along the creek.

The caravan park was a pleasure to stay in separated in two halves by the creek flowing through the middle.  We stayed on the quieter bush side crossing the bridge to the lovely clean facilities.  Camped right beside the little creek we could have been anywhere in the bush but we still had power.  Who could ask for more.

On Saturday after a leisurely breakfast beside the creek we walked into town to have a look.  There are some lovely old houses here and a number of historic buildings in the main street as well as three beautiful old churches around the area.  The central park has a weir and a covered fish ladder and looks like a beautiful place for a picnic or bar-b-que for anyone traveling through here.  And we found a nice little cafe where the coffee was good followed by a country bakery where we bought a pie for that nights dinner.

We walked back to camp and packed some lunch and headed out in the car to explore a bit further.  Our first stop was to Polly McQuinns Weir, a small rapids below an area of wetlands.  From there we drove on a bit further  to find a spot for lunch beside a creek.  We ate there and had a walk around a newly made walk track following the flora and fauna signs along the way.

Back in the car we drove on to Strathbogie and up to Mt Wombat lookout where we enjoyed the view from the top.  From here you can see for miles on a clear day but today even with the mild weather it was very hazy from the top.   Driving back down we stopped in the tiny town of Stratbogie and had a cup of coffee in the general store where it boasted 'the best coffee in town'.  I'm thinking it was the ONLY coffee in town but we won't hold that against them.  It wasn't bad.  And in the middle of the main street was the 'Big Ram'  - a real highlight!

Next we went in search of the Gooram Falls which we found a few kms back along the road.  A little bit of a walk in to them they were more a series of large rapids with small falls rather than the long drops we have seen elsewhere.  Still they were lovely and we enjoyed the walk in and out.  From here we drove home for a restful afternoon beside the creek and a quiet night in.  And the pie was delicious!

With no rush to leave on Sunday we were able to have a walk along Seven Creeks again and enjoy a quiet morning and lunch before packing up the trailer and heading for home.  We drove home via another little hamlet, Ruffy, where we found an amazing little place called Rosehill.  Here was a beautiful lush garden and 2 rooms housing a collection of over 800 jugs collected by the lady of the house over her lifetime.  And still collecting I might add.  There were jugs of all shapes and sizes and together with her husbands collection of old tools and knick knacks it was an interesting place to stop.  The devonshire tea was pretty good too.

We drove home from here through Yarck, Yea and Tallarook before stowing the van and arriving home just before nightfall.  We had had a lovely restful weekend and enjoyed it so much we have booked in again for Australia Day to have another look around the area.

I spent Monday catching up on the washing, iron and cleaning while Bill went to work for the day.  That evening we walked up to South Melbourne and had dinner at the only restaurant that was open.  The Blue Room was packed and we got the last table outside and spent a couple of hours with a nice meal and a good glass or two of Red.  A nice way to say goodbye to 2012.

Two hours later we walked up to the gardens and watched the fireworks over Melbourne as 2012 was farewelled and 2013 began.  From where we stood we could see about 5 different sites of the 22 places where the fireworks were.  We had decided that we would stay away from the crowds this year and really enjoyed the lot we saw without the hassle of getting out of a huge crowd.  Does this mean we are getting old or maybe just wiser on the busiest night of the year.  Still we were home in 20 mins and in bed soon after.

2012 had been a wonderful year for us both with lots of adventures and thankfully no health problems. We have travelled throughout Australia, Victoria and Europe and enjoyed every moment of our adventures both on our own and with friends and family.  We spent some time with our kids and grandchildren and greatly enjoyed these times with Taegan and Gareth's wedding in September being one of the highlights.

For all of our friends that continue to read my ramblings on rhossietalk I hope that you all enjoyed your New Years celebrations and we wish you all the best in 2013.  Hope it is a wonderful year for you all and I'll keep you all posted with our travels and adventures during the coming year.

until next year........