Day 8: Back to school! NOT!

On the way to Venus Baths.

Today is a day for rejoicing, for today is the day that we would have gone back to work. Hee hee.

While others were undoubtedly sitting in a staff meeting, we were taking in the wonders of nature. (Those smug smiles were back again.)

On the Balconies walk.

Indeed, walking was on the agenda again today and we visited a number of waterfalls: the Broken Falls, the Balconies, the Boroka lookout, the Reed lookout, the MacKenzie Falls (big downhill = big uphill = puff, puff, puff) and the Venus Baths. All in all another whole lot of kilometers covered on foot.

One section of MacKenzie Falls.

After a well earned siesta, we had a wild game of tennis and a cooling plunge in the pool.

Tomorrow is moving day again. One week done. 15 to go?

Day 7: Lots of walking!

Riiiiiiight! I get it! I think this is all part of Duncan's evil scheme to transform me into Xena, Warrior Princess...and I shall soon be presented with my little leather bikini. (Creates a fabulous 'visual', I know).

This morning started at 5.45am with the Grants stealing around the caravan and campsite in the early hours in preparation for an early walk. It was really quite cool, and the boys wanted to wear their jeans and a jumper to go walking up the mountain (definite 'noob' behaviour). Fortunately Duncan convinced them otherwise.

We started the great trek up to The Pinnacle via The Grand Canyon (the Grampian's version of it anyway) at around 7am. What should have set the alarm bells ringing was that we were 'down' and The Pinnacle was 'up', so consequently we had to walk up for 2.1km (yes, I was counting). With much huffing and puffing I quietly cursed all those delicious lamingtons, muffins, cookies, etc I put away last term. On the bright side I think I can safely say most of it melted away with the litres of persper-sweat that left my body along the way.

Yes, up is the way to go through the Grand Canyon.

It was worth the effort. The view from the top was breath-taking and there was a nice cool breeze too, which helped. By the time we headed down, there were a lot of sweaty tourists (German, English and Asian) heading up, and it was with a certain level of smugness that I said a cheery 'Hello, yes it is up all the way - lovely and cool at the top!'. Andrew was particularly proud that he made it up to the top (a 4.2km round trip).


Partaking of some fruit and reflecting on our fabulous efforts, we decided to take a drive and look at some waterfalls on the way 'home'. The Silverband Waterfall was represented by a few little trickly dots on the map, but turned out to be another 2km round trip, much to Andrew's horror. The dry creek bed was ominous, but Duncan pushed us on. We did indeed find a waterfall at the end - it being the only one I have ever seen that 'falls' but does not pool. The water simply vanishes at the base of the falls and that is that. (See picture.)

By midday the temperature had reached a toasty 36.8 and we couldn't decide whether in or out (the caravan) was cooler. The games room was pretty cool and I hung out there with the boys for a while, playing PS2 games. Andrew is convinced that I am addicted. A cool swim, a cool breeze, and all is much better now.

We will all sleep well tonight.

Day 6: Moving Day: from BP to HG

Hall's Gap, here we come!

Today was moving day. All went smoothly as we left the Bellarine Peninsula and headed for Hall's Gap. It was a four hour drive from go to woah, with a marked rise in temperature between caravan parks! (Three cheers for Sheila, who helped us skirt Ballarat and Ararat instead of having to navigate through the busy city areas.)

Hall's Gap is HOT at the moment. OK, not excessively hot, but 35 degrees seems pretty much up there, when you are coming from the low 20s. The air conditioner in the van got it's first go and has been a fantastic boon. Of course, we all went and wallowed in the pool later, which was just as effective.


The Park Gate Caravan Park has great facilities: two swimming pools, tennis courts, play ground, jumping pillow, games room, etc. Plenty to keep us occupied.

In the cooler evening we went for a quick drive into the town to check out the walks for tomorrow. We are going to get up early and walk up to the pinnacle via the Grand Canyon. (Sounds impressive, doesn't it?) We'll see how that goes. My feet are behaving at least.

Home.

Day 5: Museums, Garden and Bluff

Happy birthday Callum! Our baby is 13 today!

Well we thought that today would just be a bit of a look at the museums in Geelong, but we ended up walking around for 5 BLOODY HOURS! It's all good exercise, I know, but I had to mutiny at Barwon Heads Bluff when Duncan suggested walking to the cliffs for a look. My aching feet were sending me messages saying "Enough already" and who was I to argue?

The morning started off with our usual routine of leisurely breakfast and then the general iFamily scenario: Duncan checking stuff on his iPhone (news, weather, where to next, etc), me trying to achieve the next level in Peggle (on my iPhone), Callum and Andrew comparing notes in Cartoon Wars Gunner (on their iPod Touches). iTime is really quite peaceful...but very geeky looking so I am pleased no one can see us. (We do this behind closed doors.)

The Ford Discovery Centre was first on the agenda, with one of the guides honing in on the boys, who then became his personal project in terms of helping them with the (optional) quiz of stuff in the centre. Not really the sort of questions that will help you remember the important stuff, but nonetheless kept them occupied. They did get a badge and certificate at the end.

The National Wool Museum was next, providing valuable insight into the wool industry.
Did you know...

• that two rabbits left to their own devices in a paddock for three seasons can produce 62,000+ other rabbits, while two sheep can only produce a further 5-6 sheep in the same time? No, I didn't know that either...(the mind boggles)
• or that the most expensive bale of wool sold for over a million dollars here in Victoria? Amazing!

Our day was filled with these little gems of information. We also now know how socks are made and would be able to identify a sock making machine if ever confronted with one again. Andrew and Callum took turns making the longest fish net stocking you ever saw, but it was quite hypnotic so I understand why they didn't stop.

By this stage we were all eyeing the sheep/rabbit hides with ominous intent, so we headed off to the Botanic Gardens and had a lovely lunch picnic after pausing momentarily to check out the South African plants clustered together on route to the nearest bench.

We stocked up on supplies, as Halls Gap does not seem to have a Coles (gasp, horror). Tomorrow we leave this idyllic place for the mountains. Apparently quite a few hours drive away...better get those iThings charged and ready.

Day 4: Rail 'n Ride, Bellarine Peninsula

We made it!

This was a 17.1km bike ride from Drysdale to Queenscliff, following the railway line and meandering through the paddocks and along the coast line.

Andrew did particularly well to keep going all the way. After one km he decided that his legs were sore and he was not going to make it, but then decided his saddle needed raising. After the adjustments were made, he continued on well and chattered virtually non-stop all the way.

A picnic in the park at Queenscliff did much to revive us and we headed off up the hill to the Queenscliff Fort.

This fort was one of several built to protect Melbourne and Geelong during the Gold Rush days, when much of the gold was stored in these two cities. A sea attack was anticipated, but never happened. The fort also survived the World Wars, and therefore much of it is still intact.

We had an hour long tour here that was very informative. Andrew enjoyed the dress ups, and the museum has a comprehensive collection of army uniforms from various wars, weaponry and other relevant artifacts.





This is a 'disappearing gun'. Once it has fired, the barrel retracts and the gun descends for reloading. The enemy can no longer see the gun during this time, making it difficult for them to find a target. Apparently it takes 22 seconds for the process to occur.




Andrew took his turn driving the train on the return journey to Drysdale. We were all pretty 'finished' by then and were looking forward to a nice cup of tea...

Day 3: Adventure Park, Geelong

Well, if this is what we are going to have to put up with for the next three months, it is going to be tough. Sun, fresh air, water theme parks, fun, fun, fun...oh dear, how will we ever cope?

Today was totally dedicated to the Adventure Park in Geelong. While there are many water rides available, there were also other options, such as archery, karts and electric cars, and so on. Andrew and Callum particularly enjoyed the River Torrents, Water Racer, Rapid Rider and the Tunnel of Terror.

We are all marveling at the fact that this is day three of many more. We feel like we have been doing this for ages (not that we are sick of each other already or anything) and are getting into a routine. So far, Duncan has slow cooked some lovely corned beef for dinner and produced delicious rolls for lunch.

We did get rain last night (it was promised for most of this week), but it was rather perfunctory and not all that inspiring. There are level 4 water restrictions here at the moment, but this doesn't really affect us as we don't have a garden to water.

Tomorrow we are planning to do the Bellarine Rail 'n Ride experience, which will see us cycling along the railway to Queenscliff (about 16kms). I don't know if any of us will be able to sit down afterwards (none of us possess cushioned bike shorts), so this will be interesting.

Day 2: Australia Day

Happy Australia Day!

Today saw us meandering along the Geelong Waterfront and soaking up the atmosphere. The crowds grew thicker around lunch time as people were drawn out by the variety of food stalls, live music acts and the blue, sunny skies. Duncan and Andrew took lots of photos, and an unsuspecting fisherman suddenly discovered himself the centre of photographic attention when Andrew zoomed in on his catch.

A picnic on the beach was relaxing, while Andrew had his first go at bungee trampolining. Callum was drawn to the huge pretzels for sale. The rather large and impressive looking jellyfish in the water (of which there were several) didn't seem to perturb the locals, who frolicked happily around them. We can only assume that these are not the deadly variety.

A cooling swim in the park pool on our return finished off the day appropriately. Tonight we may get some rain - there are very ominous dark clouds closing in.

Day 1: Bellarine Caravan Park

After the rude 5am awakening on the Ferry, we had to make our way to Bellarine. Well, thank God for Sheila (our delightful Navman female Australian voice who tells us where to go). She saved us a great deal of stress and will probably save our marriage in the long run.

The Bellarine Big 4 Caravan Park is new, having only opened in November last year. It is very pleasant and the boys are particularly impressed with the range of facilities that cater to children. Amongst these are an indoor heated swimming pool, two jumping pillows, various climbing equipment, a complimentary cinema, a playhouse (for the little ones) and lots of games equipment. The amenities are also pretty good and I have had less need to be thankful for the caravan loo.

Our first day was spent mostly setting up and getting organised. Finding a decent supermarket and stocking up on the perishables that we couldn't bring with us. We had a little drive around in the process.

Bob and Audrey Partridge invited us over for a BBQ and it was pleasant to catch up with them again. They seem to have settled down really well and are enjoying their retirement, though they both say they are busier than ever. They are both planning to do volunteer work at schools that are disadvantaged this year.

We were all fairly 'finished' by the time we got home.

Ta-ta Tassie

Hardly believing that the start of the long awaited holiday was finally beginning, we headed off to Devonport to the Spirit carrying everything including the kitchen sink!
Apart from a long wait, all went without a hitch and we soon found ourselves enjoying the top deck, watching the sun go down over an ever-diminishing Tasmanian coast line.

Watching the boat turn in the river was quite something. Andrew was only a baby the last time we had a trip over on the Spirit, so this was all new to him.







Goodbye Tassie...don't know when we will be back again (later rather than sooner, we hope).

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St Helens Getaway

This is our first entry into the 'Grants' great Australian trip'. I am sure that Luke McCormack will feel better knowing that we did in fact do a part of the Tasmanian east coast (albeit a very small part). Although our trip doesn't start 'for real' until Sunday 24 January, this was a practice exercise and the first time we went off fully laden with bikes and all...

The Youds are regulars at Moulting Bay and their enthusiasm has rubbed off on us. The boys always have a very enjoyable time, especially as Rodney takes them out on the boat to fish and/or take turns on the biscuit...and we really get the chance to relax.

We could get used to this.

Here is a little slide show of our time there...