Slow down, relax and enjoy our country

Caravanning or camping, it does not matter. All that matters is getting out and about.

So you have a caravan, tent or a motorhome. Something that you can stay in while moving around the country.
So what was the prime reason  you decided to buy  it. ?
Was the sole purpose to race off and  do " the big lap"

Perhaps you bought it to live in. Maybe you owned a bush block and wanted something comfortable and up off the ground.

You know, 'cause we do have a few nasty spiders and snakes hanging around.!
Yeah, okay, I sound a bit "precious"  I know.
Snakes ,  especially frighten the hell out of me.!
When we were first married, way back in the early 1970's, we rented a farm house and we had a shovel at the back door and one at the outdoor toilet.
We had snakes in the chook yard.!
I did not collect the eggs after I saw that one !
And one day one of hubby's workmates thought it would be funny to send a little baby one home in his lunch box. The cat was very quick and grabbed  that one.

Hang on, where the hell am I. I have wandered off again.

Come on  "Lynnie "    keep up with the train of thought.!!

Now get back to the subject. !

What I am getting at, is that we all sat down with perhaps our other half or our family and had a discussion about, would we or wouldn't we buy a caravan.

But I am guessing that not every one buys one to do the big lap.
Me:  ( and hubby will follow on, well I'll follow hubby as he drives but he generally is happy with my choices;)    I want to see areas closer to home before venturing too far north or west.

New South Wales and South Australia are on my / our priority list.

But look how lucky are we  here in Victoria.

We have some fabulous countryside.

So many places steeped in history from gold rush days.
Have you been to the monument at Moliagul, standing near where the Welcome Stranger nugget was found ? I recently read the book and it was very interesting. I learnt so many things. Maybe I did not pay enough attention in history class at school !


But we all have interesting places and stories in our own backyard. I admit we quite often get fed up with our home town but sometimes we need to step back and put our tourist glasses on to see these areas another way.

Who lives in a tourist town.?

I would understand that these towns would get incredibly busy and very frustrating in tourist time. We often drive to Echuca and find the traffic snarls during summer amazing . Constant peak hour through the summer months. I guess beach side suburbs would be similar.

But we do have adventures to make in our own home states. Whichever state you live in.
You may hitch the van up, or throw the tent in and only travel an hour or so away. But quite often that hour can bring out such little gems.

Around every corner you can find a treasure.

You may be lucky enough to find a five star restaurant or a winery that has bottled a very nice tasting vino.
Even just sitting and talking to the locals can reward you with local information that has not made the tourist brochures.

Modern day life is busy, with families and work events taking away any spare time you had to just sit and relax. We no longer have time to "stop and smell the roses"

And this is where travelling comes in.

But we need to be careful that we are not just pulling up somewhere , having a quick nightly kip and then moving on early the next day. We all need to slow down and enjoy our country.

Life is not a race. And caravanning is not a race.

We do not need to be the first or quickest to get around our continent. Or the first to the next town.
But we need to see beyond the brochures.

We need to travel for ourselves in our own time frame. On our own terms.

It is important to have a great knowledge of our own areas as that knowledge may be useful for all those tourists who are heading your way.

So when you are not exploring new places,  just put those "tourist glasses" on and check out your own area

Happy and safe travelling everyone

www.bendigotourism.com
www.travelvictoria.com.au/bendigo/
www.facebook.com/ExploreBendigo/

Surprises on our trip home

How do you feel when your holiday comes to an end ?

Are you sad because it has ended or happy because you are heading home.

Today we headed home, and I wished we could have stayed longer. But either way I was not overly sad, or even deliriously happy.
Yes I always miss my two feline friends, but I have a wonderful cat loving angel who looks after them while we are away . She drops in and feeds and pats them, and makes sure she allows time to have the required relax on the recliner so the eldest cat can have a snooze on her lap. And then all is happy in the cat world , and she can then return to her home until she returns again and repeats the process.
But heading home is always a discussion about sites we visited, things that need replacing or refilling in the van , or that dreaded discussion about plans for the upcoming  work timetable.

There are many caravanners  out there who have sold their homes and are permanently travelling , but I often wonder if it is something that I would cope with. Due to changes in our family dynamics the memories that we have in our home of fun days still mean so much to me. But selling up is not a decision that is needed to be made or may never need to be made. I gather for those who have gone down this road, it would have involved many discussions held over many days.

Congratulations to those who have taken this step, and are living a free and easy lifestyle: no  council rates, or gardens to weed or lawns to mow.

But sorry, I wandered away from our trip home. Damn seniors brain !

Just outside our caravan park we came across a local market. And yes after driving maybe a few hundred metres, we had our first stop.
If this is any indication, then it is going to be a long trip home.
But fish from Arrow Fisheries from Portland and bread and very fattening donuts ( no I did not really need them, but shhh, don't tell )from Jane Dough were purchased and we continued on.
But next time I will check out the market timetable as I really could have spent more time perusing all products on offer.

                      www.janedough.com.au
            https://www.facebook.com/arrowfisheriesportland

We meandered through more small towns and areas that we had never visited before. It is pleasing to drive past a farm gate and see that now an old farm building contains a popular district coffee shop, with patrons cars lined up in what used to be a paddock. Well done to those farming families who have the guts to try something different. And these are just the type of places that we caravanners need as there is generally an easy place to park the van.
So many small towns in Western Victoria to come back to. Terang with it's very pretty golf course  ( I try and hit a ball but most times I am better off just throwing it ) and beautiful old stone churches. And yes, there is a caravan park in the town.
Camperdown is also on the  "must return  to "   list.

Some large lakes around the Camperdown area

Not all roads in these areas are what you would call 5 star. In fact some were down to 40 k's because, I am assuming , the state of them was pretty bad. But the eggs in the fridge stayed intact.
We did not have a problem finding a caravan parking spot near public toilets. Rokewood were clean toilets and easy parking. A bonus all round.

Rokewood

So on to Ballarat we headed. Enfield State Park was a mass of wild flowers covering the ground. So very colourful and pretty at this time of year.

But some times things appear as you are driving along that are so totally unexpected.

Driving down the hill ( that would be hubby driving , not me ) in the town of Creswick I did a double take . So after a few discussions on parking arrangements for the ute and caravan we disembarked and walked back up the hill.
To the local RSL hall.

Standing proud and tall were two fully kitted out quiet and friendly Standardbred horses . And sitting atop were two fully kitted out proud and friendly riders. All in World War 1 gear.
Proud members of the Creswick RSL Light Horse Troop. And ready to answer our questions

https://facebook.com/CreswickRSLLighthorse/
www.creswicksmeatonrsl.org.au




You see on October 31st 2017 it is the 100th anniversary of the charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade at Beersheba .
We gave the Creswick RSL Club our gold coin donation and entered the hall to be met by an array of informative historical war information. So much to read and so much to take in. I could not get my head around it all. Letters written home. Stories about the young man who enlisted and declared that he was 21. But he was only 16. He did not come home.
Do any of you have grandsons who are 16. Could you imagine them going to war. I couldn't !

If you get a chance you may find time to read up on this battle. And if you are lucky enough you may find that there is a re-enactment somewhere close to you. I believe Eddington in Victoria is doing one. Hope fully I can get there.





So we leave our holiday destination to head home , with only that thought in mind, and little unexpected surprises pop out from small towns along the journey. You need to stop as maybe it will not be there next time, if there is a next time.

We were so pleased that we stopped in Creswick as we were educated about another world  War 1 battle. And the RSL members were so friendly and welcoming. If you see donation tins around for the RSL's situated in small towns, drop a couple of coins in if you can ,as I imagine they are struggling to raise funds like so many other clubs. They do so much to help us " younger ones " learn about the difficulties and hardships faced by the heroes  ( and all those who went to war , any war ,were heroes )of war time.

I must say it was a sombre trip home after that.

But we did manage to buy some fresh potatoes from a road side stall

                                         Happy and safe travelling everyone

So glad we had the trolley jack.

We are all members of that wonderful caravanning and camping lifestyle. Some travel in luxurious caravans, complete with all the mod cons, yet others are content with a small tent and tin plates and cups.
But we all have the same agenda; to get out and travel our wonderful and vast country.

This time, we will be re-visiting Warrnambool. That windy town on the south west coast of Victoria. The town on the western edge of the Ship wreck coast. I will never get tired of looking in awe at  those majestic towers of limestone standing tall, and trying to remain strong against the raging ocean who's only intent it is, is to obliterate  them and send them crashing to the ocean floor.

We found this area quite close to Warrnambool

When we visited in 2016, we had a few mishaps and I believed that we were just that little bit smarter now in 2017.

Well the morning of departure soon showed that I was very wrong.
The noise that resonated over the hairdryer quickly alerted me to some kind of unwanted incident.
So I bolted out of the bathroom to see hubby surveying the rear of the van. No swear words had been uttered, yes the neighbours were safe from being educated, so all was good and hubby was calm. Just knicked the awning poles on the carport post as he was driving through.
I then really believed that perhaps Warrnambool should not have been our destination of choice.

But I decided "Don't be silly " so back inside I went and back to drying my hair.

Our journey to Warrnambool can have us take a variety of different ways, but generally we head across the state and through many small towns.

Traversing across central Victoria we drove through countryside proudly displaying lush green grass .First town was Carisbrook which is not far from home, but then over to Talbot and Lexton; A great little town with very clean toilets and easy parking for the ute and caravan. And a very friendly lady in the Post Office, come general store.
The roads are bordered by fences, constructed many years ago , of heavy looking basalt rocks, with rolling hills in the distance with a smattering of yellow daisies.  The twisted gums spread throughout the Waterloo State park are just like an early Australiana painting.  
A healthy lunch was purchased at Beaufort Bakery. Very well made salad sandwiches and a hot cup of coffee.
Again we did not have a problem finding somewhere to park the van.
The caravan park in Beaufort looks like a good central point to base yourself as there are so many small towns in this region that deserve more than just a drive through.

We booked an ensuite site at Discovery Parks Big 4 in Pertobe st Warrnambool.
Easy to find and near the lake and playground area, and not far from the beach, so plenty of ways to keep the kids entertained . The park itself has a pool if you are not keen on ocean swimming.
Nice sites with native bushes sectioning off each site. Our ensuite was of an older age  but clean and very serviceable. And yes, toilet paper was supplied.

And every visit to Warrnambool has to have a problem !

On winding down the stabiliser legs, a steel pin broke so there was no chance of said leg doing it's job. It was wound back up; by hand, and the trolley jack came out of the tool box. I must admit, I did panic and wonder how we were going to cope with three legs, but hubby had it covered.

So all set up and ready to go site seeing the next day.

We could not return to Warrnambool without going back to the Great Ocean Road. Many stops , and again many photos. And to the two lovely ladies who we met at Loch Ard Gorge; I do hope the photo turned out. It was a pleasure to help and chat whilst down at the waters edge, staring up in awe of such treacherous cliff faces. And looking at the steps that we have to climb to make our way to  return to the top

When we are travelling around as tourists it is wonderful to "pay it forward " and offer to take someone's photo for them as the good turn will come back.
One place that definitely was on our list for a visit this time was Timboon Distillery.
                     www.timboondistillery.com.au

To me whisky was always meant to be mixed with something else. But Maggie was there to educate us. And educate us she did. She had such a head full of knowledge,  and did not put us down due to our lack of whisky drinking etiquette.
Now I am not a whisky drinker. But to savour this was just a complete new experience. So we stayed for lunch and tried to make a decision on which products to purchase. Again Maggie helped  us. What a bonus she is to that business. She was informative and fun .  And she was able to chat with all the customers in such a friendly manner.  In fact all the staff were absolute  treasures.  Annie thoroughly enjoyed her job which showed in the way she carried out her duties. To all the other staff, sorry I did not get your names but you  all add such value to this fabulous tourist venue.
And a place that makes some damn fine Whisky.

Timboon is a great little town and is set nicely in the hills. We followed the signs to the historic trestle bridge and from there headed across to the Timboon Cheesery, which is set out on a farm . So we enjoyed tastings  of some different cheeses .

Beautiful gardens at Timboon cheesery

On our way back to Warrnambool we stopped at Cheeseworld in Alansford. There is a great display of historical machinery and implements, which are certainly worth a look. Many of the older generation, me and hubby included , will relate to using some of the appliances in our younger days.
More tastings and quite a few packets of cheese now stored in the fridge which will keep us going for many weeks.

We checked out Lake Pertobe and were very surprised by the surrounds and just the bits and pieces on offer. Plenty of equipment to keep the kids entertained and a great place for a  picnic or a relaxing walk , but if you are not so energetic then the seats are positioned so you can just watch the water birds or enjoy some sunshine.

But what better place to go for a walk than along the beach. Certainly a must when you are staying at a seaside town. And if you are lucky you may see a spectacular sunset or a stunning sunrise. I saw neither ! Too many clouds
The Warrnambool Botanic Gardens is also a place to visit. It is not overly big, but contains some magnificent trees, many with display plaques to share some information about them.
Choices for coffee or lunch seem endless. We had a very nice lunch at City Bowling Club bistro. Very nice sweet corn fritters and a tasty serve of lamb shanks were devoured. And yes we will revisit when we return
So our time at Warrnambool has come to an end.
Back on the road home tomorrow and back to work, with a list of little repairs to our little Roma van. But things wear out and minor accidents happen.
It is all part of life.
It is how you deal with it that is important.

Happy and safe travelling.

Trestle bridge at Timboon

Hopefully you will find time to visit the Tulip Display in Bendigo

www.visitbendigo.com.au

I have decided to just share my photos of the Tulip Display in Bendigo.
Lots of bright colours

Bargains to be had at Field days and Caravan and Camping shows.

We all love a bargain and are constantly looking for bits and pieces that perhaps may make our caravanning holidays a bit easier, or a little more comfortable.
And we can find bargains in a variety of shops. I love hunting out all those cheap "$2 " like shops as the little things in there can be quite surprising.

But I also like hunting around the caravan and camping shows, or  even the field  days , as then you get the benefit of knowledge thrown in with said bargain

The Elmore Field days is a great place to find a bargain and has been in existence since 1964.
They began along side the Campaspe River and I can remember roaming around this site in the early 1970's, with my then ( now hubby ) boyfriend.
The original site is now a popular free camping area and is not very far from the constantly improving Elmore Events centre.

http://www.elmorefielddays.com.au/about/our-history
www.elmorefielddays.com.au
www.visitbendigo.com.au

Elmore is a small town north of Bendigo , and is in our  regional area so a trip to the field days is always on our calendar. As much as for hunting for work information, as well as for recreational value.

The Field Days is not only about farming although farming equipment is on show everywhere, from the largest tractor to the smallest piece of hand held gardening utensils.

Many farmers enjoy visiting the Field Days to see displays of the newest models or to catch up with other farming families.
And they come from far and wide.

There is a landing strip for those who fly in

There are a variety of different exhibitors all vying for a sale. You can purchase a trip to the Top End or some new camping equipment so you can head off to your own destination.

I tried out some camping chairs but they still were not quite what I was after.

The equipment that was available at the Malandy Outdoor adventure store was many and varied. 

They had all sorts of useful items for caravanning  and

camping from collapsible  containers, and fridges  to swags and ropes. Even a battery operated fly repellent . And we we were pleased to be able to purchase a UHF CB radio for the ute. That certainly will make hubby's life a little bit safer when he is out of mobile range.

Now to get it installed.

                                                     www.malandy.com.au

Malandy outdoors had a variety of bits and pieces

I also grabbed a pack of very small "occy" straps. You never know when they will come in handy.

If you are interested  in craft activities then there is a wonderful display and a large amount of various creative indulgences to purchase.

A trip to the field days means  comfy shoes, and maybe a sunhat. There is a variety of food and drink on offer and you may even be lucky enough to snaffle a picnic table in the shade.

So Field days are worth visiting as you can pick up bits and pieces for your caravan holidays .

Perhaps if you are travelling through central Victoria in the beginning of October 2018 you may enjoy dropping in and seeing what is on offer.

Caravan and camping shows , and field days are held at various locations throughout our country, throughout the year so put one in your travel diary, you just may pick up a bargain. If not , you will see some very large tractors !

                                                  Happy and safe travelling