Time to get ready.......

The following Saturday we met Mum, Maree, Faye, Rem and Ethan for breakfast at Seed Cafe in Mordialloc to celebrate Bills birthday.  We had a lovely morning and when we left everyone we went off to the Caravan and Camping show to pick up some bits for our trip.  We came home with a Solar Panel to charge our batteries, an en suite tent for our portaloo and some smaller bits and pieces that we will need.  We are free camping for half of this trip so need to be self sufficient.  

We spent a quiet day at home on Sunday doing chores and only left the house to go 'Downstairs' for dinner.  Sunday night roasts are a winner and after a day at home just the thing.

The week sped by again and soon it was the next Saturday and while Bill had been researching the camp grounds at Gluepot he came across an exhibition of Wildlife paintings presented by the Wildlife Art Society of Australasia.  This was on now in East Melbourne so we decided to walk over and have a look.  It was a beautiful day and we stopped for lunch on the way at Southgate.
The city was very busy and with the Spring Racing Carnival now having replaced the footy we did see a couple of girls dressed to kill in race wear.  You will find more and more like this each Saturday until the carnival is over!  I must say they look so much nicer than the next group of people we came across.  This looked like a parade of sorts (no idea why) of boys and girls all dressed like zombies and corpses.  Apparently it is called a Zombie Shuffle though why these seemingly 'normal' young people want to look so awful is beyond me.  There were lots of photographers around so I guess it all meant something but give me the race crowd any day!

We found our destination and enjoyed the exhibition where we saw some beautiful paintings and bronze sculptures of lots of birds and animals.  My favorites were a beautiful painting of a group of magpies in puddles and an amazing hawk hovering under the trees.  Some people are just so talented!  The Victorian Artists Society Galleries is a lovely old building and there were three galleries inside so we had a peek in the others as well.  One with modern abstract art and the other with the more traditional still life and scenery pieces.  All very different and something to suit every taste I'm sure.   

Leaving the gallery we walked back into town, had a coffee at Lorca's before heading for home for the rest of the afternoon.  On the way back we found this interesting sculpture in the courtyard of the Sofitel on Collins St.  Not sure what 'flatman' is all about but I really liked him.

We did leave again for dinner that night at South Melbourne were we shared a pizza and yummy beetroot salad at the Blue Room before settling in at home to watch the latest Die Hard movie - yep Bruce Willis still has the moves - yippee kye aye, and I'll let you finish the sentence!

On Sunday we drove to Yarra Glen where we met Astrid and Hans for lunch at the lovely old pub in the middle of town.  We have not caught up since May and we had lots to talk about.  We shared a bottle of bubbly and enjoyed a few hours over a very tasty lunch.  

After lunch we drove the couple of kms away to the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie where we had coffee and cake for afternoon tea. This is a fairly new addition to Yarra Glen and judging by the number of cars in the car park a very popular one.  As always in the Yarra Valley the views were magnificent (even with the threatening clouds) and inside was a veritable chocoholics paradise.  I even came home with Choc Peppermint Tea!  Delicious!  

Saying farewell to Astrid and Hans we drove home to get ready for our last week at work before we hit the road next Saturday. Just the shopping and packing to do now and then we're off.   Can't wait to drive off into the sunset and see some wonderful new places but first we work.

until next time.........

The last weeks of September......

Driving back from Linton we decided that we would return in a fortnight's time, firstly hoping that we might see little Peregrine Falcons and secondly to escape the city on Grand Final weekend.  No free tickets this year so escape we could.

The weekend between we stayed at home to take care of the mundane housework etc and a trip to town saw us stopping for lunch at Mr Tulks, a favorite little cafe at the State Library.  As we were walking up the stairs I was surprised by this funny little fellow.  The Bunyip of Berkley's Creek was installed in October 2012 during children's week.  

During the next week we watched the city slowly turn purple as each day more and more people from the west arrived in town. Yes, the Fremantle Dockers, after 19 years in the AFL, were finally going to play in a Grand Final and It seemed like at least half of WA had made the trip across the country for the big day.

On Friday morning Sandra and Naomi had come to park their car at our place so they could meet their other colleagues to go and see the parade.  Having never been before I decided to join them and so one little Victorian joined eight West Australians and witnessed an amazing sight in the city.  As far as the eye could see the dominant color was purple outdoing the yellow and brown of Hawthorn by about 6 to 1 I would say.  That's not what the news said that night though!

Known as The Purple Haze the Fremantle fans were out in force and when the chant went up as the parade went by it was real goose bump material.  Not that I changed allegiance, I was cheering for Hawthorn no matter what but it was an amazing sight and another huge Melbourne event that I'm glad I've seen.

After the parade I said goodbye to the visitors and they went off to the airport to catch their plane home.  They had all been here for work and while no one was staying for the game they were thrilled to have been able to attend the parade.  I had some shopping to do for our weekend in Linton.  Bill was picking me up around 4.30 and we were hoping to make it before dark.

All went according to plan until we were about 20 mins out of town and then the freeway became a car park due to a huge accident somewhere near Deer Park.  It was almost dark by the time we started to flow again and by now the weather had started to turn again too.  The week had slowly been improving and Friday had been bright and sunny and 24 deg but the weekend forecast was for storms, damaging winds and very cold temps.  Tell me again why we were going camping!

Like clockwork about 20 mins out from our campsite it started to rain but ever the optimists we thought it might pass soon. Turning onto our last road and only 5 mins from our destination we came to a screeching halt.  A very large old cypress had fallen down right across the road making any further travel impossible.  So near and yet so far!  What to do now...

We turned around and headed back towards Ballarat and hoped our 'wonderful' GPS could find us another way in.  Rejecting its first two options as being a bit risky the third option looked OK and soon we were driving though the forest hoping we could come out the other side.  Obviously we did just that and about half an hour later were arriving at our little campsite once more. And it was still raining but these two intrepid campers just put on the wet weather gear and got to work quick smart.  It didn't rain for long so we didn't get too wet and not long after we were inside and dry.  

Once again it was 6 layers on the bed and this time the heater was on as it was freezing.  What happened to the beautiful spring day!  It rained overnight on and off but we stayed warm and dry though I can tell you the next morning was pretty chilly when I ventured outside.  We were told later in the day that it had dropped to 0.8 overnight.  Brrr!  

After spending the first couple of hours with the little yellow robins we left and drove around to see our falcon.  She seemed to be hunkered down in her nest and did not move so after watching for a while we left her in peace and went to 'town' for a coffee. Picking up a little Book on the history of Linton we wandered along the main street learning what the buildings had been.  We had a quick look in the little antique shop which had some interesting bits and pieces and then took a drive around town finding it was a little bigger than we thought.  There were 3 churches here but cant imagine there would enough people to fill any of them.  

We drove back to camp for lunch and as it was still raining  on and off we decided the best place might be the Pub to watch the Grand Final on tele.  A little different from the last two years.

An interesting afternoon to say the least.  This is a very tiny town and we were joined by about 15 locals, some more colorful than others, and watched the game with a drink or two and some nibbles put on by the locals.  I was happy as Hawthorn won though most of the others had been going for Fremantle.  I was rather glad I was not in town with all the very disappointed Freo fans.

Back at home we settled in for a quiet night with dinner, a glass of wine and the heater.  And this time with no clouds I the sky I think it might get even colder!

The next morning was bright, sunny and chilly but we still managed to find a sunny spot and sit back and enjoy the birds.  A large flock of beautiful Yellow tail black cockatoos came in to visit and Bill was able to play with them for some time before they left.  We had a walk through some other areas and a drive though another area a little further away before dropping by to check on the falcon once more.  Again she was hunkered down, obviously she doesn't like these cold mornings either, so with no evidence of baby falcons we said goodbye and went home for lunch.  

We packed up again soon after and headed back to the city this time taking a different route traveling through Bannockburn.  On a very open area of road with a small wet area on the side we were surprised by two beautiful Brolgas.  We stopped and watched them for a while and just as we were going to go they started to dance.  We have only seen these birds in the wild in the northern territory so were thrilled to see them here.

Not long after we were parking the camper in its yard again.  Next time we hook up it will be for our big adventure to the Flinders Ranges in three weeks time.  So now it was time to drive home for another week at work and to get ready for our big trip.

so until next time........

A chilly weekend in Linton....

We returned to work on Monday with Spring looking like it had arrived and the week ahead promised warm and sunny days. We decided that now would be a good time to get the camper out of mothballs and take a run up to the bird sanctuary at Linton and see what was happening there.  Keeping an eye on the weather each day things were going well until Fridays forecast suddenly went from fine and sunny to storms and overnight temps of about 4 degrees.  Not so sure about this little adventure now!

We left after work on Friday and though the day had been fine the closer we got to Linton the heavier the cloud got too.  About 30 mins away the rain started and we arrived soon after to set up in a light drizzle.  We managed alright without getting too damp and before long were warm and dry inside our little home for the weekend.  Bill did a great job for a wet dark night.

While dinner was cooking I got the bed sorted with about five layers of blankets, a quilt and flannette sheets.  While it was becoming very cold outside we were quiet comfy inside.  We did discover that our little gas heater did not work and though we managed without it that night we didn't fancy trying a long evening in the cold the next night.

The next morning was a little cold and damp but the clouds cleared and we had a pretty nice day to get out and about.  On previous visits we had covered most of the surrounding area so really intended to spend most of our time in the grounds of Clarkesdale this time.  We spent an hour or so just under the awning and were visited by some lovely little Yellow Robins, New Holland Honeyeaters, Golden Whistlers and a very cheeky little Rufus Whistler.   

Dragging ourselves away we jumped into the car and drove the short distance away to Devils Kitchen to see if we could find the Peregrine Falcon we had seen last year.  And as we drove in there it was perched high on a cliff just watching everything below. 

 We stayed for an hour or more and when it moved it went straight to a cleft in the cliff where it seemed to settle down on what looked like a nest.  We left then as it seemed like there would be no more activity for some time and coffee sounded like a good idea.  

We found a nice little cafe in the very small main street, enjoyed a pretty good coffee and vanilla slice before walking along a little bit to see the sculptures outside the Golden Plains Shire Offices.  The miner and his dog made for a good photo opportunity and the war memorial was very interesting as always in country towns.  So many young men sacrificed.

The next thing we had to do was find a camping store and get a new heater.  We drove back to the outskirts of Ballarat, bought our heater and then drove through nearby Enfield State Park were we stopped and had our picnic lunch before continuing through the forest.  Following the tracks we soon came across one leading up a hill and on the top we found a aircraft navigation beacon.  All fenced in but the views from here were quite lovely and the grass was a carpet of little white wildflowers. Very pretty.

Leaving the forest behind we decided to drive home past Devils Kitchen to see how our falcon was doing and again found her off the nest getting some sun at the other end of the valley.  She really is a beautiful bird.  While we watched she flew back to her nest and settled down again so we went home too.  

Our heater kept us warm for the night and not too long after dinner we were climbing under the rugs where we slept like logs until the birds woke us up the next morning.  A very chilly morning (1.8 we found out later) gave way to a bright sunny day and once again we just whiled away a couple of hours being entertained by the many different birds who did not seem in the least worried by this camper parked in their midst just like this cheeky little Spotted Pardelote who stayed and played in the sunshine for a good half hour or so. 

We drove back to Devils Kitchen to check out the falcon and again we were lucky enough to see her on and off the nest.  Back at Clarkesdale we wandered a little further afield before returning for some lunch and soon after it was time to pack up and return home for another week.   We had really enjoyed our stay with the birds and will be back again soon.  But for now there is washing to do

until next time......

A little closer to home.....

After our fabulous weekend in West Gippsland it was time to spend a week or so closer to home.  Bill had been away in Townsville for most of the week and he didn't come home until late on Saturday night.  He had been lucky enough to spend the day exploring and found a few little feathered friends to keep him amused until he caught his plane home.  

The next day we just spent at home with a walk up to South Melbourne for lunch at Panette's before settling in for a quiet afternoon and evening at home.

The following Saturday we walked into town so Bill could visit the barber as he thought he was looking a bit shaggy.  While he was being made beautiful again I went for a walk to Myer to pick up a few things from the final weeks of their sale.  

Crossing the road into Australia on Collins I found that the decorative balls of wool had all been replaced by some very colorful umbrellas in plant pots.  A wonderful and whimsical display reminding us of the fun and festive days ahead during Springtime in Melbourne - so the website says.  Walking home again after lunch at Lorca's we decided that a quiet night in was the way to go.

The next morning we packed a picnic lunch and set off to visit Coolart at Somers on the Mornington Peninsula.  We love coming down here to spend a few hours wandering around the fabulous woodlands of this lovely old homestead.  Of course the manicured gardens are nice too but it is a bit further afield where we find some lovely birds on most occasions and today didn't disappoint.  I must say the first bird I saw was the easiest to photograph as it is a bronze sculpture.

It wasn't long before Bill was snapping away at some lovely little feathered creatures and we  were able to lose a couple of hours quite easily.  It was as we came back to the gardens for our lunch that we came across this handsome fellow just watching the world go by from his vantage point high above the other trees.  The Black Shouldered Kite just sat there watching for ages and gave Bill lots of time for photo opportunities.

After lunch we headed out again this time taking the wetland track and spent some time in a couple of hides watching the water birds.  The second and largest hide looks over a lagoon where just in front of us were dozens of Ibis nests.  Most of the birds had chicks and together with another couple there we were fascinated by the antics of both the parent birds and the chicks.

Soon after it was time to say goodbye to our feathered friends and make our way back home.  The new Peninsula freeway has not long been open and this made the trip both ways much quicker - and all with no tolls - bonus!  

Once back at home we set about getting ready for another week.  Bill was traveling again and my job was to get ready for a camping trip to Linton the following weekend.  The weather seemed to have turned the corner after our very cold start to Spring and we were looking forward to seeing some sunshine at last.  But right now it's time to go

until  next time.........

Exploring West Gippsland......

So after our yummy breakfast on saturday we dragged ourselves away from Springbank's cosy kitchen and hit the road to explore another little corner of Victoria.

We drove through many tiny hamlets most of which we had never heard of but the countryside was lovely.  Rolling hills with mainly cattle, sheep and alpacas grazing peacefully.  Many of the fields have been given over to vines and we passed quite a few small wineries as we drove.  

Our first stop was at Jindivick and here we found a tiny little township with a cute cafe with pretty good vanilla slices - not that we needed them!  The amazing old General Store is a must see and you could lose hours fossicking in there.  Across the road was an interesting little gallery, B'Zarte, a cross between an antique shop and an art gallery.  It was worth a look but we left empty handed though.

We continued on driving through Neerim Junction before stopping to have a wander around Glen Nayook Reserve.  This is a delightful fern glen and a remnant of a mountain ash rainforest. The track follows the Tarago River to a fern gully where the river runs underground for 100 metres.  The recent rains made the track very slippery but it was a lovely walk through the towering mountain ash trees though the seat at the bottom was too wet to sit on so it was about turn and a walk back up the hill.

From there we continued to drive on towards Noojee stopping along the way at the Lions Club lookout for great views across to Mt Baw Baw and the Noojee Trout Farm in the valley below.  Back in the car it only took another 15 mins or so before we had arrived in Noojee's main street and we stopped here for a late lunch at The Red Parrot Cafe.  This was another very quirky country cafe and we spent a happy hour or so there enjoying some real country hospitality.

Lunch over we hopped back into the car again and drove the few minutes out of Noojee until we found the trestle bridge we had come to see.  Just west of the town is an historic trestle bridge which was originally built in 1919 as part of a railway used to freight timber out of the district.  Known only as no 7 as it was the seventh bridge on this route this huge bridge has been restored and is the highest example of its type in Victoria. It is also the only one of the bridges on that route left standing today.  A series of steps leads from the car park at the base of the bridge to the top where a walking and cycling trail has been constructed along the former railway line.  It spans 102 Meters and is 21 meters high with 19 sets of piles.

On the afternoon we were there there were a group of children on bikes having the time of their life riding around all the tracks.  Getting up the stairs proved hard work but they all did it pushing their bikes up in front of them.  It was so good to see kids out in the fresh air having fun and not one electronic gadget in sight.

We spent an hour or so here wandering up and across the old bridge and in general just enjoying the beautiful countryside.  The towering mountain ash forests around the bridge just added to the majesty of it all.  

Leaving Noojee we drove back to Springbank where we had a wander through the lovely garden before settling in by the fire for an hour or so before we headed off to have dinner at the Yarragon Hotel.  Our Lamb Shanks were delicious and left no room for anything else so we just settled on a coffee before we drove back for another excellent nights sleep.

We had to say goodbye to Kaye, Chris and Springbank the next morning to drive home through Yarra Junction.  Our first stop was at Nickleby at Darnum, the home of Nickelby Alpacas.  We saw a few of them in the paddocks and as usual they looked very cute.  The very cold weather had me reaching for my purse and I bought a pair of gloves and a lovely little loop scarf which has been a godsend over the past few freezing weekends in the bush.  

We stopped at Neerim South for lunch a little later on and then had a look at the Tarago Reservoir.  This was a little hard to find the way in and once we did we found what was once a lovely park but it did look like it was in need of some TLC.  Perhaps it had just become overgrown during winter time.  I hope so.  We walked down to find the water but could not get close as the whole area was fenced off.  A shame because there were beautiful views right along the banks of the park.  No point lingering here so we continued on again towards Noojee for our trip home.  

It was here that Bill decided not to follow our fabulously accurate (NOT) GPS or listen to me with the back up iPad maps and strike out on his own for a bit of bush bashing through the State Forest tracks.  All good fun for the first 30 mins or so but as the tracks got rougher, steeper and muddier I must admit I had visions of never seeing civilization again.  I was very pleased when we eventually found our way back out to the same road we had started on.  Looks like the GPS won this one!  It was a bit of fun though, just wish I had known where we were and I could have enjoyed it!

And there ended our adventure.  The rest of the trip home was on highways and freeways and with no further stops along the way we were soon back in the big smoke.  Once again we had enjoyed a fabulous weekend away exploring another little corner of Victoria.  We loved all of what we saw, even the forest tracks, and look forward to more visits to West Gippsland in the future.

So with another weekend over we headed back to work on Monday.  Bill was off to Cairns later that week and I had some stories to write.

Until next time........

West Gippsland charm.....

During the weekend after our trip to Perth we had a little taste of spring as the sun shone for a few days.  We decided that it was time to get the van out of storage and head out for a weekend somewhere in the great outdoors.  We were tossing up whether we would just do a quick run up to Linton and spend the weekend at the bird sanctuary or pop up to Daylesford instead.

As the weekend approached the winter weather returned with a vengeance  and the forecast for the both these places was for the possibility of snow and minus overnight temperatures.  I decided that while I might be crazy enough to camp in the rain, I was drawing the line at snow under canvas.  I know, where was my spirit of adventure!  And so with that idea out the window I turned my attention to wotif and discovered a delightful little B and B in Nilma North.

Springbank is just as beautiful as the website claims.  A charming and elegant homestead circa 1892, the Victorian style weatherboard house has seen many additions but still retains it character.  The two rooms in the main house are Evison and Batema, named after early pioneers.  While both sounded lovely we chose the Batema suite with its full en suite and separate sitting room and were thoroughly spoilt with an open fire, chocolates and port to stave off the winter chill after our day of exploring.  A separate cottage has been converted from the original 'cream room' of the dairy complex and this provides self contained accommodation.

We arrived late on Friday night after first stopping for dinner at the Darnum pub.  The steak was good, the pub very rustic and Bill enjoyed the huge open fire to warm up before we ventured back out into the cold cold night.  Nilma North was only 10 mins away and soon we we knocking on the door and meeting our hostess, Kaye.  She made us feel very welcome and left us to settle in but only after making us a coffee with a slice of delicious homemade cake.  Soon after we were climbing into the beautiful old iron bed where we slept like logs in the beautiful quiet country property.

The next morning we joined Springbanks other guests at breakfast and it was here that we were blown away not only by the beautiful views but by Kaye and Chris and their amazing breakfast.  Bed and Breakfast while usually quite yummy mostly offer a fairly predictable menu.  The website says breakfast is a treat and we can certainly tell you what a very special treat it is.  The jewel in the crown so to speak.  Prepared by Kaye and served by Chris we were treated to cereal, fresh fruit, yogurt and juice before being presented with Kaye's famous baked pears served with a caramel sauce.  They were delicious and well worth a visit just to try them!  And still there was toast and pastries to have with the coffee.  Not for me, I couldn't fit any more in.

We spent a very enjoyable hour or so over breakfast with Kaye, Chris and the other guests Julie and Ivan.  Normally we would not advertise who we met along the way but this counts as a free plug as Julie and Ivan own and operate Munns Lawn and grass seed.  Julie is the third generation to continue the business started by her Grandfather and they were here doing a training run across Gippsland.  As many of her clients are the same as Bills they found they knew a lot of people in common and breakfast was a very friendly and fun affair and I'm sure none of us will ever forget their parting words as they left a little later - 'sit your arse on Munns grass'.  

We too left soon after for a day of exploring.  Returning later that afternoon we spent an hour or so in our lovely little sitting room with the fire keeping us warm before driving just 15 mins away to the Yarragon Hotel were we had dinner on Saturday night.  Another country pub with lots of country atmosphere and a delicious though huge dinner.  We couldn't eat it all.  Chris had kept the fire burning while we were out and so we came home to a warm cozy corner and spent a lovely evening reviewing our days adventure before climbing into our comfy iron bed once again.

With no other guests for breakfast the next morning we were spoilt again this time with Kaye's crepes with blueberries.  These too were delicious and once again there was no room left for toast or pastries.  Again Kaye and Chris made us feel so welcome and it was almost two hours later when we thought we had better pack our bags and leave our wonderful hosts in peace.  We had enjoyed our stay so much and if anyone needs a special place to stay in West Gippsland you have found it right here at Springbank.

And so I'll leave it here and be back soon to tell you all about our adventures in the surrounding area soon.

Until then........