Yanakie – Wilsons Promontory

We slogged through Melbourne’s eastern suburbs in an attempt to replace the holey boots Sam screwed to a tree in Melrose. No luck on that front. We did however manage a decent restock shop, including a gas refill at BCF, guaranteed cheapest in Australia don’t-cha-know! As the traffic mercifully dwindled to something we were more used to, we drove towards Wilsons Promontory. Famous for being the most southerly point on the Australian mainland. Because the weather forecast was lashings of Victoria’s best, with tops in the mid teens, cloudy, windy and with a high chance of rain, we wisely opted for a powered caravan site. We chose a caravan park at Yanakie, which is on the edge of Wilsons Promontory (known locally as ‘The Prom’). Curiously, the Yanakie caravan park was almost half the price of the National Park, which swayed our decision given our six night stay here.

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The view from Bishops Peak.

With the wind-a-blowin’, we drove into the NP on our first day to climb Bishops Peak before the rain set in. This provided expansive views over the magnificent coast. The actual southerly most point in Australia (ignoring that island to the south) is a 30 km return walk from the closest car park. Had the weather been kinder, I might have attempted this as a day trip. Not to worry.

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Views and adventures at Bishops Peak and why James seems to get tired bush walking.

We easily filled in the days with the boys playing on the local beach building their usual extensive monster truck cities, fishing (unsuccessfully) at a local tidal river inlet, and further visits down towards ‘The Prom’ to visit Whiskey Bay, Picnic Bay and Squeaky Beach.

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James and the monster truck city at Duck Point, Yanakie.

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K – reliving the 70’s beach holiday.

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It was at Squeaky Beach that we ran into Brett and Kim and their boys Will and Brodie. We first met them in the Warrumbungles 14 long months ago. We were both doing ‘shakedown’ trips as preparation for our respective ‘Big Laps’. We’ve just clicked over day 328 and 34,000 km. They were on day 4 of their own 7 month adventure. It is indeed a small small world.

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Sam and James enjoying Bass Straight’s best with new travellers Will and Brodie.

At least the last two days were sunny, warm and still. I even managed to brave Bass Straight with a swim and surf! On our final day we climbed from Tidal Inlet up to Pillar Point lookout with our friends before joining them for dinner and a pat of the local resident wombat.

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Views from Pillar Point.

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This was a rare occasion where we were driving back to our campsite well after dark and on the way home in the car we played a game counting the prolific numbers of wombats and wallabies on the side of the road. Our first of many sightings happened on our first drive into the NP. I absolutely insisted that the little furry speed hump was a koala bear as it waddled purposefully across the road. Granted that I may have been mistaken, all further sightings then became known as wombears or koalabats.

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Pacific Gull at Duck Point!

K – I was awoken at dawn on at least three mornings by the most incredible bird song of the trip.  The dawn chorus must have contained over a dozen different bird types.  It was truly beautiful to listen to.  Curiously most of the birds seemed to fly away after an hour or so after dawn so the daytime chorus wasn’t at all as interesting.

Melbourne – Macleod

We have returned . . . (no, not back home, just to Melbourne)

DSC_6606Team JKSJ with Christopher and Adrienne Ellis.

This marks our first point of return in 10 months. We pulled into the lane behind Julian’s Aunt and Uncles village and set up camp again. At least it was a bit warmer on the coast compared to the goldfields with the temp climbing into the low twenties for our four night stay. We were greeted with a beautiful lasagna for dinner and it was wonderful to catch up again. Our first day was spent mostly doing jobs and homework but the boys were treated to a visit just up the road to The Australian Archaeology Institute where their great Aunt and Uncle volunteer each week. Treasures and fascinating technology were displayed proudly, though Sam was most interested in the library cataloguing.

Saturday proved much busier with a drive to Carlton to wander along Lygon St. We all ogled at the amazing array of cakes, pastries, gelato and other goodies at Brunetti Café and then indulged in a few snacky snacks ourselves. Yum!

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We spent that afternoon at the Melbourne Museum which turned out to be one of the best we’ve visited on our trip. It had a great layout and lots of interesting exhibits which the boys thoroughly enjoyed.

DSC_6525_fixedDSC_6534Rounding out our year of dinosaur experiences.

DSC_6538DSC_6529Yup enjoyed the 3D volcano film but walking in real lava tubes is cooler!

On the way back to the car we all tried a made in-house ice cream from Brunetti’s. The Amareni (cherry flavoured) love heart was delicious.

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On Sunday it was off to St Kilda on the train and tram joined by Christopher and Adrienne. We all walked out to the end of St Kilda Pier enjoying ice creams and rock wall exploring.

DSC_6566DSC_6560Down on the rocks a Rakali (native bush rat) and a penguin were spotted.

On the way across to Ackland St, where Julian caught up with an old work colleague,  the kids and I checked out Luna Park. Being the cruel parent I am I declined to spend $11 per ride per child and advised them they could spend their own money if they wanted a go. Unsurprisingly they also declined, so we all just looked before grabbing some lunch. Yum – sushi for the first time since Broome.  We then entertained ourselves watching a very acrobatic street performer and gazing (followed by grazing) at more cake shops.

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DSC_6558More trams and we were soon back in the city centre. With thoughts of checking out the newly revealed Myer Christmas lights we strolled down Bourke St.  I’m guessing Sunday afternoon is probably peak time given the queue went for over 3 blocks! Monday morning would’ve have been a better option.  So instead of waiting 2-3 hours we cut back to the train station through the many lane ways Melbourne is famous for.  They sure do know how to do shopping and food here!  So many interesting shops and cafes along the way before the sedate trip home on the train.

We spent another wonderful evening enjoying Christopher and Adrienne’s hospitality before heading south towards Wilsons Promontory on Monday morning.  Our GPS took us through many suburbs of Melbourne before we finally broke free of the city, at least we feel we have really seen Melbourne this time!

Creswick

A short hop landed us at a free camp in Slaty Creek Nature Reserve a mere 15km from Ballarat near the picturesque town of Creswick. Since replacing the solar panel we’ve increased our camp site locational diligence, which was exacerbated by the signs threatening that ‘limbs may fall at any time, even without wind’ (K – read –  now we’re careful not to park under trees).

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The area was next to a pretty and almost dry creek, surrounded by magnificent gums. Kris noticed they were pretty much all the same height and diameter, suggesting a similar age. Put two and two together and it’s easy to picture this place in the 1850’s with thousands of miners searching for gold. Every tree would no doubt have been cut down for housing, for fires, for mine heads and for shoring up pits and tunnels. There was plentiful evidence of the gold rush era here. Literally every 5 to 10 metres were the remains of old mine pits and piles of spoil, now melted into the landscape.

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We stayed three nights here and had a few interesting visitors, including an older woman Chris, with her two donkeys (Archimedes and Marbles). She’d left her husband at home to walk alone along The Goldfields Track. Previous donkey expeditions included from Canberra to Brisbane. We also had several tradies who were in town to erect mobile phone towers. If they free camp, they get to keep their travel allowance. This, it transpired, was converted into liquid form until late that night. A night it turned out, that there were very high winds, meaning a total fire ban on two of the three nights. At least Forestry and Parks had the good sense and diligence to come around each morning to advise the fire ban status.

On our last day, Kris suggested we visit Creswick wool mill. Another educational adventure. The mill was founded in 1947 by Polish immigrant Paul Ryzowy. He saw a market and started from scratch. Sadly, this is the last mill operating in Australia and has stayed ahead of the influx of cheap Chinese imports by diversifying into Alpaca wool as well as Merino, possum, Angora and camel. We learned all about spinning yarn (as if I need help), as well as the complicated process of making and finishing blankets. This is a labour intensive process and it seems not much has changed since the industrial revolution. Whilst Kris engaged in some retail therapy, the boys busied themselves feeding alpacas, goats and camels. Kris said her favourite was the very soft possum yarn.

P1080367A previously world record holding “longest picnic rug” at the Creswick Mill.P1080369Camel yarn anyone??

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IMG_3500K – We broke camp and headed off to Melbourne calling in at the quaint town of Daylesford.  The winds had brought a cold change in and after braving the chilly morning streets we treated ourselves to hot chocolates and coffees at a rustic café.  A bit further down the road there was the Diggers Club exhibition garden at St Erth (a gardening collective and seed supplier specializing in heritage fruit, veggies and flowers).  Their gardens were lovely, even in the sleet which fell for 10 mins! After a very yummy veggie filled lunch at their home-grown café it was back in the car, with heater running, for the last little leg to Melbourne and our first freeway since Perth.

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Ballarat

Continuing our theme of relentless education, we left the Grampians for the big smoke. In our case, Ballarat and the major draw card, Sovereign Hill and the gold rush era. We stopped along the way at Ararat to visit the Gum San Museum. A tribute to the many thousands of Chinese workers who left everything in China for the supposed riches of the goldfields in Victoria. Some made their fortune, but many died either en-route or toiling under unimaginably harsh conditions on the goldfields. Whilst not part of the Eureka Rebellion, they had their own clashes with European workers and police because of the xenophobia of the day and especially when special levies were applied only to the ‘Celestials’ as they were known. Curiously, history may judge it to have elements of a fairness, primarily as they intended to ship almost all their gold back home to China, and in a modern context, one can imagine the taxes and duties applied today if that occurred.

P1080331P1080326The boys enjoyed dressing up in traditional costumes at the Gum San Museum.IMG_3498James amping it up on the ubiquitous Big 4 jumping pillow.

Once in Ballarat we chose a rather posh ‘Big 4′ caravan park within walking distance to Sovereign Hill. This was an advantage given we managed three visits there. Apart from the initial sticker price shock ($293 before a minor discount), we found Sovereign Hill excellent and once inside, you can see where the money goes. Not only do they operate a pair of 104 year old boilers which power the considerable number of steam powered apparatus around the site, but also teams of Clydesdale horses and a plethora of period costumed staff, only some of whom volunteer.

P1080332Feeling the weight of real gold after watching a live gold ingot pour.

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IMG_3495P1080337One of the many streets at Sovereign Hill.P1080352James enjoyed the old fashioned nine pin bowls.

Our ticket also included the ‘Blood on the Southern Cross’ night time light and sound show. This was fantastic (K – but freezing!!), and recreates the events leading up to the infamous Eureka Rebellion of 1854. The entire show is a clever mix of carefully timed computer controlled lighting, fires, simulated gunfire and directional sound sources which give the illusion of a much larger stage as the story unfolds. As it is, the event is held in three areas, one of which has been purpose built and is well away from the rest of Sovereign Hill. Just one actor, who plays Eureka activist turned politician, Peter Lalor, brings up the finale to the show. This finishes the show on a more human touch, making you forget the rest of the show is run by a computer!

P1080356No not dressed for the snow, just rugged up to cope with Victoria’s version of a summer’s night – 5 degrees! After planning for a year of “summer” we were forced to wear pretty much every piece of warm clothing we had!

Luckily the stiff ticket price includes two days entry as well as entry into the adjacent gold museum. We used both days to see each and every attraction, including having some fun panning for the gold flecks that they’ve thrown into the artificial stream for the last 43 years (we were told they add 3 gm to the stream each day). Apparently up to 50% of the tourists who visit are from China, which we’re told is a result of the heavy marketing in China, and according to one staff member, perhaps their lust for gold.

P1080357P1080355Striking gold.

The gold museum had replicas of some of the larger nuggets found around the place, as well as an exhibition on the history of cycling. I was amazed to discover for instance, that two young ladies decided on a whim to ride to Queensland for the winter and ended up cycling around Australia for three years in the 1940’s. And I thought I was adventurous riding 270 km to Ulladulla in 1987!

K – As well as Sovereign Hill the boys and I managed to have a walk around central Ballarat and check out their Art Gallery.  James was keen after spotting an abstract painting in one of the tourist brochures and wanted to check out in the flesh.

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Halls Gap – The Grampians

Just 15 km on the other side of Mildura was ‘Big Lizzie’, a giant steam engine that had cleared a lot of the land in the area for agriculture early last century.  Julian had visited this as a kid and was keen to show the boys.  It was certainly a monster, complete with rolling flat footed ‘dreadnaught’ wheels. It weighs 45 tonnes, had a top speed of only 3km/hr and a turning circle of 60m.

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It was during the longish, 350km drive to Halls Gap that we finally finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  We started this series on the Nullarbor and carefully paced it to last us through many a dull stretch of highway. But as they say, all good things must come to an end.  While we have all really enjoyed listening to the books, Julian and I are glad that the constant requests to listen to “HP”, which are usually accompanied by louder and louder humming of “Harry Potter in 99 seconds” until we put it on will finally stop.

We took a quick detour into Horsham to top up our supplies and visit our first Aldi since Warrnambool – did you know all you eastern residents that Aldi hasn’t made it past Vic yet? – I am very happy to be eating their $8 panettone again! We mistakenly took the scenic route into Halls Gap across a windy, windy mountain road and arrived at Halls Gap Caravan Park in time to meet friends Adam, Lisa and Isla arriving (from such posts as Mt Gambier). They had driven up for the night to meet up with us and we enjoyed a relaxed evening BBQ. The boys had a blast with our site just a stones throw from the local playground and the whole place was a hive of tourist activity including many families.

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The next morning we all did a short walk to Venus Pools before they headed off after lunch. It was lovely to catch up again and delightful to see how much Isla had grown. Now 13 months old she’s a bundle of cuteness and Sam was very taken with her! With guests departed it was time for Julian to tackle the big job of installing the new solar panel. Luckily it had been waiting at reception on our arrival and thankfully the caravan park was able to lend Julian the ladders we needed to access the roof of Alice. A few careful hours later and wahlah! Hey presto – new solar panel installed and working.

On Sunday we tackled The Pinnacle from Halls Gap. A solid 10.5km loop walk up to a spectacular rocky outcrop on the edge of the range. It was a long climb up but the views were amazing. It really hit home that we are back in civilization again. There was a constant stream of tourists at the lookout of all shapes and sizes, I guess we are only 3 hours from Melbourne now and the Grampians are justifiably popular.

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We moved the next morning to a free camp just 10km out of town just on the edge of the NP and filled in the next 3 days with more walks and drives as well as abseiling and a trip to the Halls Gap Zoo.

P1080275Plantation Campground, just north of Halls Gap, home for four nights.

DSC_6367Team Ellis tackle the 15m high beginner abseiling course.

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DSC_6375At the Balconies lookout later in the afternoon and another cairn garden on the way!

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DSC_6390The next day we tackled McKenzie Falls and Fish Falls.

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DSC_6426_fixedWe all enjoyed cooling off in the McKenzie River downstream from Fish Falls.

DSC_6481Finally on our last day we hit the zoo and splashed out on a Meerkat encounter.

DSC_6466DSC_6441P1080321A shame that our only sighting of a Cassowary during our trip was at a zoo.

Whilst we now feel like we’re out of the bush and back into relative civilisation and we agreed that the Grampians could easily be somewhere much closer to home, we loved the walks and the magnificent vistas. This area was another ‘bucket list’ stop for us, and lived up to our expectations. Abseiling and the zoo were a nice added bonus too! A beautiful spot to spend a week.