Fitzroy Gardens - For The Kids

Model Tudor Village, a gift from England to Melbourne after the second world war for food parcels donated to England.

Ola Cohn's hand carved fairy tree.



Fun play equipment for the kids. this is a dragon slide.

Captain Cook's Cottage, Fitzroy Gardens

Here I am standing outside Captain Cook's Cottage. The last time I was here was in the late fifties. I was less than ten years of age then but the image of the cottage has remained stuck in my mind all that time. The outside of the cottage is just as I remember it but I don't think that I'd ventured inside at that time.

I was amazed to learn that Captain Cook stood six foot three inches in his socks. He would have been a giant in his day!
His height endeared him to the natives of Hawaii and was to lead to his inadvertent and untimely death.

Melbourne

Federation Square.

On Monday 12th April we took the train from Chelsea into Melbourne. For ten dollars sixty each, we could ride the train, bus and tram all day...which we did.
After our night of wind and rain at Wilson's Prom we decided to stay in a cabin in a caravan park just outside of Melbourne, as the rain and wind did not let up on Sunday night. Even our little cabin felt like it would lift off at times during the night.

Flinders Street Railway Station Melbourne

Comedy anyone?


The Shrine of Remembrance.

Wilson's Promontory

All day Saturday, the sky spat on us on and off so when we booked our camping spot we decided to book in for one night only.
After setting up camp at Tidal River we went for a walk along the river. All afternoon clouds hung low over the mountain peaks.
Gas barbecues were close by so we cooked our lamb chops, onions and pumpkin on the hot plate and chatted with other campers.
By the time we were in bed - the stars were shining and the temperature quite comfortable.
Then, some time before midnight, the heavens opened up, the rain was torrential. Little did I know that worse was to come!
I could cope with the rain but the gale force winds were another story.
We'd put up the annex and the awning and the wind almost blew them away. At three fifteen in the morning more tent pegs were hammered in and neither of us got back to sleep.
As soon as there was a lull in the rain and the wind, we had breakfast, packed up and had coffee at the cafe along with many other campers. Some had not faired as well as what we had....

Even after we'd left The Prom on Sunday, the rain continued to come down in torrents and the gusty wind continued.
The storm played chasing with us all the way to Dandenong.

Wilson's Promontory is a beautiful place but it's also on the edge of the world and prone to wild weather which changes without warning, as we found out. We will be back but cabin accommodation will have to be the go!
Next stop - Melbourne.

On the way to Wilson's Promontory

On the way to Wilson's Promontory did some shopping at Toora Lions Club Market, mainly fruit and veg. Headed up to Silcock's Hill Lookout and the Toora Wind Farm.
I just find wind farms to be very eerie.
As expected, it was quite windy while we were there, to me the noise made by the turbines sounds like aeroplanes that never arrive.
Another interesting place where we spent some time on the way was Fish Creek. We had morning tea at the Flying Cow Cafe which must be the only building in Fish Creek not adorned with some fishy icon, even the church had the fish symbol on its roof!
At a sleepy little town called Foster we topped up on supplies before heading for Wilson's Prom. By this stage the weather was drizzly.

Sale, Victoria

Black Swans on Lake Gutheridge, Sale Botanic Gardens. Stopped for a quick snack on the way through to Yarram and then Port Albert.

Den of Nargun

The Den of Nargun. 8th April 2010.

The Nargun is reputed to live here, a creature, half human half stone who deflected spears back to the thrower. The Nargun was feared because it took children away.

The walk down to the den was rocky, slippery and steep. As we went down into the area, it rained on and off and almost turned back at one stage. A brave family with a baby in a sling made it all the way to the den and on their return, the mother told us that the child cried uncontrollably when they were in the den. Could the baby sense the vibes of the place? Who knows. The Den of Nargun reminded me a bit of Mossman Gorge in North Queensland which has a similar story regarding women

Bairnsdale Victoria

This tree at Bairnsdale has had bark removed by local Aborigines with which they made a canoe. The tree continues to survive in a magnificent playground for children living in and visiting the area. There was even a flying fox. As it was school holidays, the grounds were teaming with children having heaps of fun.

Drove into Bairnsdale on Thursday 8th April. Once more found the ladies at the Tourist Information Centre very helpful. Had coffee and cake at the McDonald's Cafe (naughty) then visited the Catholic Church right next door to the Centre.

Below is the Bairnsdale Court House.

Bairnsdale is on the banks of the Mitchell River. Loved this town. The Catholic Church of St Mary's is adorned with hand painted murals...just astonishing to see.

Orbost - Victoria

(Arrived Wednesday 7th April).

Orbost Information Centre is housed in this old slab hut. Below are the town's resident geese which are housed at the information centre. The bottom photograph shows the old pump house at the butter factory by the Snowy River on which flood markers have been added over the decades.

Found Orbost to be a sleepy little country town with the odd cafe here and there. The ladies at the Info Centre were very helpful and friendly. We had lunch in town, I think it was at the Courtyard Cafe, opted for indoor seating as the flies were numerous! Had the most delicious freshly squeezed strawberry, pear and pineapple juice.

Honey In a Pot -Davidson Whaling Station

Davidson Whaling Station, Boyd Town.

Boydtown, Boyd's Tower NSW

Arrived Boydtown Tuesday, April 6th. This is the beautiful "town" outside which I got bitten by bull ants. This is now a "resort".

Sunrise over sea - Gilbert's Beach New South Wales.

On Wednesday, woke to a glorious sunrise and wallabies. Nice camping ground but minimal amenities. That is, no showers, pit toilets, no running water, but we were able to have a camp fire. Camp fires would become a luxury, at least until after the thirtieth of April, which is when the bushfire season ends in the western states.

Easter Weekend

Easter Saturday, we went down to the village to shop, never seen so many people in Sussex Inlet in the time we've been going there, (which is over thirty years now).

I picked up some good reading material for the trip from the book sale the Lions were holding. Ruth Park's autobiography amongst them. And guess what? We were rained out so off to the house where the girls were kept amused by making mini cup cakes.

Easter Sunday was relaxed. The older nieces organised an Easter Egg Hunt in the garden for the littlies which everybody thoroughly enjoyed, even the grandmas and great grandmas! Oh, and not to forget theOpas!! There was lots of squealing with each additional egg added to the Easter bag.

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That night it was off to the Inlet for a barbie with the kangaroos.

Our Holiday Home

This will be our home for the next six months! Here our roof top tent is set up without the annexe and the awning because the Easter Weekend was spent at Sussex Inlet in the front yard of a holiday house with extended family. Yes I know, cheating, but this served as a bit of a trial run too.
Our tent was christened with rain on the first two nights we were there and we stayed nice and dry. On Sunday, we managed to dry the tent out good and proper so we packed it away dry and that night slept on the lounge room floor inside the house on a foam rubber mattress.
I found the mattress in the tent to be comfortable...so much better than sleeping on camping self inflating mattresses on the ground, which we'd done on our last camping trip in 2008 to Newnes (New South Wales).
At this point in time, little did we realise that rainy nights would be a feature of our trip for at least the next eigtheen nights....

Officially One Week On The Road

Well it's been over a week since Honey & I left our beautiful home in the Blue Mountains of NSW.

We are missing our little grand daughter and daughter sooo much! We're also missing our son and his new girlfriend who has recently arrived from Ireland...we would have loved to have spent more time with them and to help them out as they search for a new place to live in Sydney.

Our journey so far has been uneventful, except for the two bull ant bites I received at Boyd Town. Luckily they were only little nips and remembering how I'd been bitten many years ago at Kioloa on the NSW South Coast and ended up spending my last few dollars on a doctor's appointment because I needed a tetanus shot, I immediately applied white vinegar and lavender oil to the bites. So far only have little itchy spots where the ant nibbled.

We spent last night at Agnes River Rest Area just outside Welshpool parked just metres from the South Gippsland Highway. One thing I've noticed so far about Victorian Roads is that they become very quite after about tenish...unlike The Great Western Highway which snakes along the spine of The Great Dividing Range that is the Blue Mountains. At home traffic drones all night long. So Honey and I both managed to get a peaceful night's sleep until the sound of the various bird life woke us around dawn.

There are no facilities at this rest area, no toilets, no showers, no water, just picnic tables and a barbeque, oh and great mobile phone reception, so we spent a few hours on the internet last night to pass away the time and also called home to catch up with family.

Earlier we had called in to Port Albert, a picturesque little town where we had fish and chips for tea (at around three in the afternoon!). We had originally planned to stay the night there in the Port Albert Parking Area which has a twenty four hour limit area designated for self contained vehicles. We would have woken to waterfront views but it was windy and would have had little privacy as we climbed out of our roof top tent! Also not sure if a roof top tent counts as a self contained vehicle. So we moved on.

As I write this, Honey is packing away the tent...we had a very quick breakfast this morning, him Cornflakes with soy milk and coffee made on the Trangia, and me a Kuranda macadamia hazelnut health bar with a cup of camomile tea. Later we will have a snow apple which we bought in Yarram yesterday afternoon...two dollars fifty a kilo would you believe. Six apples for one dollar thirty five!