ANDREW'S 30th

Andrews 30^th Birthday Party went off as only Andrew would have planned.  Lovely Venus, spectacular food, great conversation and lovely people.

Andrew and Tom

Andrew's brother James

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walked into mine."
quote (Humphrey Bogart - Casablance)

Lyn and I and our friend at the wine bar

Andrew with Mum and Dad

On our walk Saturday morning Stuart honed in on a cake shop

Yes - that one

 

We got to Laverton and left our van at the caravan park there and travelled into Melbourne by train on Saturday morning meeting up with Peter and Sandy at their hotel room.  Enjoyed a few tram rides around Melbourne and saw some of the sights.

We got to the restaurant in time for dinner and the dishes just kept coming.  After that we went to a nice wine bar for a few hours but by 10.30 us oldies were ready for bed.  That is when the evening went pear shaped.

We got to Russell Street Station with no rail person in sight to tell us where to go and found a police officer who showed us which platform to go to for our train.  Found that and heard the announcement that the train to Laverton would arrive in about 35 minutes.  5 minutes out another announcement that that train had been cancelled.  Others waiting for the same train suggested we go with them and catch another train part of the way and then we could share a cab.  Time line 11.30pm

We followed our good Samaritans and eventually got on the other train which thankfully was going to Laverton to our relief.  Arrival at Laverton – time line about 12.45am. 

Small rail station, away from anywhere, cold, tired, sore footed we rang for a cab – 4 times in fact to be told it would arrive shortly.  Yes one did and yes we eventually got into bed – time line 3.00am.......

Sunday we caught the train back into Melbourne to book into the same hotel this time for 3 days, had a lovely time with Peter and Sandy before they left to go back to Canberra where we will join them again for Christmas.

Andrew had booked us on the Melbourne Restaurant Tram for Dinner that night and we enjoyed a 4 course spectacular dinner while riding round Melbourne in an old tram with drinks all inclusive from champagne on arrival through to cognac or liquors at the end.

Back at Laverton we met up with John and Jenny again.  They stayed with us for 3 days and on the Saturday we went to the largest market I have ever been to with thousands of stalls inside and out.  Said good bye to the Varadys Sunday and we left about Wednesday to head east for a few weeks along the Mornington Peninsular and then north towards Canberra , detouring over to Koo-wee-rup and take a trip over to Phillip Island – next time.

At the moment we are at a council caravan park on Mornington about 50 mtrs from Port Phillip Bay.

INTO VICTORIA

Leaving Parkes behind knowing we would be back in a couple of months for the Elvis festival, we made our way to Darlington point where we camped right on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River.

Along the road we saw hundreds of very mature cactus fully laden with fruit.  What happened to the Cactoblastus Moth and why isn't he doing his job

Our rig on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River

Note the yabbie pot in place under the white float (just as well I didn't have the pan on ready

 

Not a sound could be heard well into the night except a few lonely birds and the yabbies scurrying away from our pot that we put in.  Still, it was great sitting out under the trees watching the river flow past at quite a reasonable pace winding its way into the mighty Murray and eventually out to sea.

Our next stop was West Wylong where we met up with John and Jenny Varady from Mackay for a quick cuppa, a catch up and then on our way again hoping to catch up further south before Christmas.

After getting a really great Port in the Territory called F(&a;?G GOOD PORT we tracked down where it was made and went to the winery to get more - which we did.  This was at Yarren Wines at Yenda.

Our little camp site in amongst the other vans and mainly tents at Maldon

Our next major event was the Maldon Folk Festival (are you keeping up Shel, Pat will be onto you again). Maldon is a very small old country town between Ballarat and Bendigo where a lot of very alternative people get together every year for their music festival.  Not really our thing but we can now cross it off the list (not that it was on it). We walked up the street following someone in a lovely A line skirt, blouse and shoulder bag - along with bare feet and a beard!!!  Another was dressed as Robin Hood, another in a full kilt regalier.  We went to a bush and old time dance there though which was a lot of fun.

We also did a market there which topped up the coffers a little bit.  We went up the street next day to sit outside a lovely old pub and watched and listened to about 21 people play Irish music with flutes, accordions, violins, a harp and a Bodhran (Irish Drum)
We left Maldon for Ballarat where we stayed for about 5 days and boy was it cold (about 6') we spent one day at Sovereign Hill which is a replica of the early Gold Rush Days and it was very interesting.

The local butcher 1850's style got the meat in and got rid of it quickly to those who could pay for it before it went off with the offal being fought over by the town dogs and those who couldn't afford to buy good mutton 



Digging for gold in the replica boom town






In the gold smelting room a worker poured a 1kg bar of solid gold worth $250,000.00

 

which cooled solid very quidkly but was still glowing red and hot enough to ignite a wooden stick but after dropping in water cooled to touch by hand in  seconds

This was very quickly put into the safe before anyone could get their hands onto it

The British soldiers marching through the village keeping the peace

The town even had a bowling allly.  Stuart tried his had at bowling 1850's style where the bowl is held so and rolled down a slightly curved ally to the pins at the other end.

 

 

Ballarat is a very old city with buildings dating back to about 1853 - less than 80 years after the landing of the First Fleet in 1788.



An example of some of the old buildings right through Ballarat

This beautiful old church was built in 1840

 

but the church was actually established in 1847

We spied this beautiful rose bush growing through the roof of a house in the little old town of Buninyong

I am pretty sure this is a Warratah flower but couldn't find someone to verify it and I haven't seen one up close before.

At the Botanical Gardens in Ballarat is the home of Adam Lindsay Gordon, poet who lived in the area.  Who had a sad life and ended up committing suicide before all of his work was published

The cottage now houses craft items made by people in the community for sale

More of the beautiful churches in the Ballarat area

Just out of Ballarat is a castle called Kryal Castle which is a replica of a medieval castle complete with drawbridge and moat

It is currently under renovation and so we couldn't go in but could see medieval knights etc inside the doorway

 

From Ballarat we made our way closer to Melbourne to Werribee where we stayed for 2 nights on the shore of Port Phillip Bay at a caravan Park.  We went to the open range zoo there but I was a bit disappointed with the lack of animals we could see and was exhausted by the time we got back.

 

 

Love the Meekats, there were 5 and they were full of antics always with 1 on guard duty though

 

 

 

We are surrounded by large market gardens with rows and rows of leaf vegetables like lettuce, cabbage cauli's etc. with big semi's loading it all up by the huge box full early in the mornings to head to the market.

We went another 30 odd kilometres into Melbourne where we are staying at a park at Laverton and once again I fly home for the boarders Christmas Party getting back on Friday night in time for Andrew's 30th birthday Party which we will hear about next time.

MY BIRTHDAY

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The line is growing so we must be seeing something of this great country!!

In Parkes on the 30th and as it was my birthday we went out for dinner with Stuart's cousin Colin and his lovely wife Robyn and went up to the place where Aunty Elsie now calls home, an aged persons home.  She is looking very frail but her mind is still as good as ever.  She turned 98 recently and I hope - can't see that I will have her soundness of mind and wit at that age.

BRETT'S 40th

Well yet another trip back home for a few meetings and then back to Ipswich where we took a quick trip to Warwick to pick up the other vehicle and back to get ready for Brett's 40th.

Instead of a full pig on a spit he decided to go with 2 legs still on a spit and Vegies and salad.

About 30 people were there to help him celebrate and the kids had a great time. 

Bretts Photo Board

Looks good enough to eat

Just because I am going to make a speech doesn't mean they have to time me

Brett with Mia and Eithen

Eithen engrosed in Grandma's speach

Mum and Tracy

Mia and Dad

Andrew, Tom and me

Obviously Dad didn't teach Andrew not to poke tongues

No explanation needed

Eithen in his sports chair

After a few drinks, it is a bit hard to know where to place your feet

After bad behavour he is sent to the enclosure to light the fire

Over the few days Stuart had our camp cooker lit and the kids did toasted marshmallows til they all had major sugar fixes and grandma was sick of sitting in front of the fire.

  Unfortunately large fires over towards Brisbane caused a lot of smoke haze and the spectacular mountain views were not as nice as usual.

We left Ipswich for Toowoomba on Tuesday morning to catch up with expats from Mackay the Thessmans and Phill Daley who is stationed in Warwick.

We had just collectively put $2 each on keno and won $1.50

I now know why I don't bet on Keno!!

Phil had a bet on the pikies and ended up a little better??

 

Doug and Kaye also make the yearly pilgrimage to Toowoomba in October and plans will be made for the same time next year.

With Victoria beckoning us we left Toowoomba Sunday morning and after a free camp near Narrabri we stopped for smoko about 10 am.  A little van pulled up near us and the driver and his partner were on their way home from a country music festival where he plays a gum leaf and recites his own poetry, so we were entertained with an impromptu poem or two and then he played happy birthday to me for today on a gum leaf. The entertainer was Gary Lowe who turned out to be very talented and had appeared on Red Faces, Australia's got Talent and a few other shows.