A New Adventure

Hi -It's been a  Long Time !

So very much has happened!

Of course we finally got home from our last adventure and settled down to work and planning for our next adventure.......

A couple of little ones were accomplished but we have now embarked on our first big trip through Australia.  

Still with the camper Trailer but with a new Vehicle and a NEW BLOG.


lookingaroundoz.blogspot.com.au 


So if you would like to come along for the ride check it out:

We'll see you there!

CITY AND BEYOND

Soon after hitting the outskirts of the city  we found the Melbourne city tunnel -  pretty impressive and a lot longer than I expected.

Being in and around Melbourne was so we could catch up with family and friends and spend a few days without so much travelling. We went for a drive to Mornington where my parents used to live and were reminded of the pretty little harbour there.

And if you've been with this BLOG since the start you will remember my fascination with beach huts - so I had to include some of the Australian variety....

There were also some new additions to the family that we met............Meet Princess,  out having some sun with James......

We watched her have a meal, of a dead rat - truly fascinating!!!!

There was another unusual animal on one of our visits.....Zeus......what a character!!

After we had caught up with everyone we decided to head along the coast.  The day we left was blowing a gale and raining heavily.We were not looking forward to putting the camper up in it.  But salvation came in the form of a kind brother with a little house on Phillip Island and we were able to take shelter there for a little while.
I had actually been there before but had no memory of it. I do have photos of my very first steps on the sand at Cowes many many many years ago!

We spent a bit of time exploring the island and came across heaps of little burrows with the baby penguines patiently awaiting the nightly arrival of Mum and Dad to bring them a feed.  Tried to get some pics but the best we could get  was a little rear end poking out of the opening.......

Birdlife is quite prevalent on the island and it also has a large colony of breeding seagulls.  We came across this little family of Cape Barren Geese as we drove around.

I was actually surprised that the island is still reasonably unaffected by progress, and there are lots of beautiful views.

There were quite a few animals on the island as well -  lots of rabbits,  and also lots of Kangaroos - this little black wallaby tried to hide from us but I  was too quick for him....

We put our time on the Island  to good use - Checking out the Op Shops, Markets,and the fishing spots, as well as a little bit of relaxation back at the house in the form of ...........

Yeah - Jig Saw puzzles!!  It was one of the most relaxing times we have had since we flew out to the UK so many months ago, and it really gave us the opportunity to recharge ourselves...thanks Bro!
Then it was back to the city......

and over the Yarra river........the colour never appears to improve!!! Although it reminded me of the Danube which was pretty much the same muddy brown in a lot of places.

And we do have some pretty impressive looking bridges here....

We eventually made it up to Shepparton where we were catching up with an old mate and the town was gearing up for Christmas....

While we were here, Dave got the opportunity to go fishing for Murray Cod..............

Not a bad effort - but would you believe it was undersize!!!  Back in the water to grow for another day........

After Shepparton we headed North and came to Lake Boga.   What a surprise to find a museum there dedicated to the Flying Boat!!!

It was a secret RAAF repair depot during WW2.  Truly fascinating and a credit to the people who keep it running as not sure how many tourists would make their way there.   

So if you are ever in the Lake Boga region,  do yourself a favour - it's totally worth the effort and it will help keep a bit of our history alive for others to see.

ON TO THE CITY

Here we are again checking out the churches.   They really are  pretty special and must have been a mission to build in some areas, but are so far proving to withstand the passing of time and remain inspiring.

We continue to find some beautiful spots to stop for lunch.  This was our lunchtime view in Peterborough.

My fascination with signs continues and I just have to share some of the more unusual ones.  Not sure if everyone will get the message but it will make them think....

And Dave continues to try and photograph interesting stuff wherever we go .  Unfortunately there was nothing interesting around so - - - - - How about a self portrait!!

All along the Great Ocean Road there are interesting places to stop, with unusual rock formations, great views, wildflowers, memorials etc.  We seemed to be stopping a lot. Sometimes though it was a bit of a mission to get to that special spot.....

But it was always worth the effort.

But it wasn't all sunshine and warmth.....This was out of the ordinary though!!!

 Most times the views and the weather were both spectacular

And they just get better!  How glad am I that the times of paying for developing photos is gone. Otherwise we would be robbing a bank to pay for all the photos we've taken........

We found so many great free campsites along the way and met a heap of lovely people. There were also other individuals that seemed to want to get to know us......

Maybe it was the good company or perhaps the offer of a few tasty crumbs!!

This was one such campsite at Johanna Beach.  Lovely rolling green lawns to camp on and they are constructing long drop toilets.  But we were not without as they had a bank of portaloos there for everyone to use. All we had to do was provide our own shower which is the reason for the little green tent.  Add a black bag of water that has warmed in the sun and a 12volt shower pump and there is nothing better............welllllllll  it was pretty good at the time!!!

 

And the nights were not too bad either - who needs television, Air Conditioning,  walls and a roof when you can have this!!!

But ever onward - and this whole experience can't go on forever.  We are headed towards family and friends - to catch up with after a long time and spend a while together  which will be great ...........................so we are city bound  - CITY???? -The question is.........

CIVILIZATION  OR SUFFOCATION!

SOUTH TO THE COAST AND CIVILIZATION

As we continued on Southwards we were still surprised with the least likely things!  This cloud formation for instance......Looks like something is brewing!!!!!

And even though we were in a lot more fertile part of the country, it is still quite apparent that water is still a precious commodity.  this town had the right idea for their median strips and used a surface that required no watering, except for the odd tree that is!

As we had travelled through the bush, I had noticed on many occasions small round orangy or yellowy balls on the side of the road.  The first time I saw them I thought it might be part of a trucks load that had fallen off.  But then this was happening way too often for it to be that.  Eventually Dave just pulled up after I commented yet again that I had seen "those funny little balls again."   I flew out of the car and went and got one.  It turned out they are 'paddy melons'   Not good for anything much - sour to taste - Shame, as they appear to be able to grow where nothing much else does.

We knew we were nearing the coast when we came across this structure - but in the middle of the a town with no sea in view???

As we were travelling alongside the coast the road wound through miles and miles of pine plantations.....they seemed to go on forever..........

Although the idea behind this trip is to discover parts of Australia that we have never seen, there are a few places that we will pass through that we have seen before.  This place was visited 37 years ago on our honeymoon.   I think it was cold then too!!!    The Blue Lake in Mount Gambier.

We continue to admire the old buildings.  Even though our 'old' buildings are no where near as old as those we saw in Europe - they are none the less fascinating and inspiring.  And unique to our History.

We stopped to check out a free camp site at the base of Mt Schank. We decided not to camp there but I thought that the walking trail looked interesting.

So why not give it a go..

a nice looking little walk up to look at the crater that is Mt Schank.

Finally got to the top of the crater after what seemed an age.....

This is the inside of the crater - a bit hard to capture the feeling of the place

The views were pretty spectacular outside the crater as well........

Then it was back down the 339 steps to the bottom of the hill.........Guess we needed the excercise!!!

Half way now and we can see the car way way down there!!!

After we eventually climbed back to the car, we headed for Pt McDonnell

and a nice little campground just beside the beach

As we traveled along the coast there were just so many places to stop and Dave was getting quite a workout as our official photographer.  But even that can get tiring and I found him having a little rest.

We were enjoying almost everything about our country and our trip........everything except for the wind and the flies!!!!

But at least now there is a use for the wind which has been harnessed......

Now all that needs to be done is...................

Find a use for FLIES!!!!!!!

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM??