Groomsman

Monday, 31st May

Last day of autumn, and what a magnificent day, weatherwise. We woke to a cloudless sky, warm sunshine and a very gentle breeze, fortunately – there was a HEAP of laundry to do!

After doing all the household chores, we had a lovely walk around the neighbourhood; very easy walking as the place is flat!

We decided on a short drive to Merbein, having seen a lookout advertised in the tourist information booklet and found this without too much difficulty. Tourist signposting is a bit lacking, so we ended up parking some distance from the actual lookout and had a nice walk along the river clifftop. As we were half way to Wentworth, we opted to continue and have a look at the Darling River meeting the Murray River. The Darling was covered with a red weed and did look quite yucky!

We were looking at the floodlevels sign, high above the river, when we spotted Ian and Kerrie from Penguin drive past in their slide-on camper. A quick call on the two way and they returned for a chat. (Ian was Les’ groomsman at our wedding.) We knew they were heading to Queensland, leaving a few days after we sailed, but never expected to meet them at Wentworth.

It was at Wentworth that we came across the little grey Fergie – a statue dedicated to this brand of tractor for the role they played in saving the town from inundation in the 1956 floods. Cat wanted to take it home and we spent some time convincing him it was actually cemented to the plinth.

This afternoon we checked out the Apex Park Beach – a lovely sandy beach on the banks o the Murray. Cat quite enjoyed having a scratch in the sand and chasing the resident ducks! The caravan park at this beach also looked very nice, but we would be hesitant to stay there due to the large number of river red gums. The sign at the entrance warned that the gums could drop branches without warning, even on still days! Not really a good place to camp. There are many luxurious houseboats in the region, just waiting for well-off tourists to hire them. Must admit, it would be quite pleasant for a few days.

Tomorrow we are off to Renmark, South Australia, with the clocks going back half an hour.

Mildura

Sunday, 30th May

Some overnight drizzle cleared to a damp but clear morning as we packed up for the journey to Mildura. The birds at the St Arnaud Caravan Park for lovely this morning, with magpies, wattle birds, parrots, galahs and cockatoos all contributing to the dawn chorus.

The Sunraysia Highway was good as far as the width and surface were concerned, but there were patches that made me, and Cat, think of a bad crossing on the Spirit. The cattle and sheep country very quickly gave way to grain cropping as the land flattened out and the paddocks became BIG! Even the large 8 wheel tractors looked like “normal” tractors. We passed through Donald, pop. 1700, which probably contained more grain silos than houses – as did all the other small towns in the region. Some “towns” were nothing but grain silos and a railway siding.

We stopped at a small town with an historical marker (this was the first one on our side of the road that we could pull off into) that turned out to be a very modern war memorial. We were followed off the road by a local, who just seemed to want a chat and he was over the moon about the inch of rain that had fallen in the previous week – just right for the grain crops recently planted.

The sun disappeared behind some rather ominous clouds, which did turn to rain about Ouyen, our lunch stop. The rain had virtually stopped by the time we arrived at Mildura, driving past lots of vineyards on the way. Some vines were bare, but others were still magnificently coloured – yellow, burnt orange and the most gorgeous deep red!

The Big 4 Mildura Deakin Caravan Park is a tourist park, quite a few sites are occupied, and is rather pretty with the vast majority of trees being claret and golden ash. This does have a down side – lots of yellow and red leaves dropping rapidly. The amenities block is very clean but could probably do with a bit of refurbishment – the bright purple floor tiles are a bit of a giveaway as far as age is concerned!!!

We had decided to visit the Mungo National Park tomorrow, having already done the winery and paddle steamer things, but when we visited the Information Centre to get directions, were disappointed to be told that all roads to the national park were closed because of the rain. It will have to wait for another visit.

On the Way Again

Saturday, 29th May

Following our return to Tasmania on the 21st May, my mother’s passing on the 22nd and her funeral on the 27th May, this morning we once again said goodbye to the family before we flew from Hobart to Melbourne on the 9.15 am flight. We didn’t see much on the flight, not only because we weren’t sitting at a window seat, but because it was cloudy the whole way! Melbourne was very overcast when we arrived. The car parking people picked us up from the terminal and transported us to their office at Tullamarine where the Pajero was waiting for us. We considered $90 for 8 days ofsecure, undercover parking was very reasonable.

We decided to return to St Arnaud via the Calder Highway and Tomtom didn’t have any problems getting us on track. By the time we had reached the Macedon region, the weather had closed in, was very murky and wet. It rained almost all the way to St Arnaud.

A very lonely Cat was overjoyed to see us return and then promptly fell asleep again. The caravan had survived without any problems and the frozen food in the freezer was still solid. The caretaker was very kind and only charged us $2.75 for each night we left the van onsite – we were very happy with this as the power was still connected. St Arnaud has obviously had a great deal of rain during the last week as the ground is very squishy!

Tomorrow we hope to be in Mildura shortly after lunch.

Return Home

We flew home on Friday - the blog will be continued in a week or so.

St Arnaud

Thursday, 20th May 2010

Left Dingley, Melbourne, at 9.15 am this morning, hoping that the worst of the traffic would be off the roads by that time. We made good time until we left the Domain Tunnel and attached ourselves to the long queues not going anywhere waiting to cross the West Gate Bridge. It is hard to believe that closing one lane can bring the traffic to a crawl! Melbourne was rather overcast and very smoggy today – still no wind, which is good for towing. The lack of wind was not so good for the large wind farm just north of Ballarat - there was no power whatsoever being generatated into the power grid!

Once we were on the Western Freeway we made good time to Ballarat, although we bypassed that city, and turned off onto the Sunraysia Highway on our way to St Arnaud. Beautiful countryside along this road, very green pasture with lots of sheep and lovely black cows – a wonderful look against the green. We also passed olive groves and lots of vineyards – rumblings from Cat in the back seat when the vineyards appeared, but we didn’t stop!

We did stop for lunch in the middle of the main street of Avoca, a small town about 60 kms south of St Arnaud. St Arnaud is a largish town (pop. 2000+) and seems to be the commercial centre for this district. Lots of agricultural businesses on the edge of town and the usual amenities, including an IGA supermarket. The caravan park is quite adequate, with nice grassy sites and a very clean amenities block. Needless to say, at this time of the year we aren’t exactly crammed in.

19th May

Wednesday, 19 May 2010

Yesterday evening was spent visiting an aunty and uncle at Cranbourne, probably about an hour’s drive during peak hour traffic. A pleasant evening was marred by the discovery that I was only wearing one pearl earring, not two as is usual.

A rather cold night and morning, but at least the sun was shining again today, with the usual smog on the horizon. Joy oh joy, my aunty rang to say she had found my earring, so it was back to Cranbourne this morning, before the supermarket to stock up on fresh food.

My mother had her operation late yesterday but this morning her condition had deteriorated. She will be transferred back to the nursing home for care, but we have been advised that her time is very limited. After much thought and discussion, we have decided to leave Melbourne tomorrow morning and head in the direction of Mildura and take each day as it comes.

It hasn’t been the best of starts to our travels and Cat has been bored silly, as he isn’t all that keen on Aunty Pat’s west highlander dog!

Jayco Visit

Tuesday, 18th May

Early to bed last night in an effort to catch up on some sleep but unfortunately the phone rang shortly before 10.00 pm – my father’s sister had passed away in Launceston.

Another lovely autumn day, quite mild but still rather smoggy, just like yesterday.

This morning we headed to the Jayco factory for a prebooked tour. We spent nearly two hours being guided around the factory – such an immense site! There are currently 6 large buildings, each the size of the MCG, set on 50 acres of ground and they are about to duplicate it all on another 50 acres. We followed the production right through, including the sewing room where the upholstery, campervan tents and cushions are made. The chassis are constructed at another site and transported to the factory for the campervans/caravans to be assembled. They assemble a campervan in 15 ½ hours and one rolls off the assembly line every 30 minutes. Caravans take twice as long – one is completed every hour. We were very impressed with the quality controls in place, as well as the organisation. They even have a health centre (ie gym) for the staff with state of the art equipment, as well as a special room which is set up at an altitude of 3000 metres. This is used by their sponsored sports clubs after staff have finished for the day.

It really was a fascinating morning, but we weren’t allowed take any photos.

There has been no change in my mother’s condition, so our plans are to remain in Melbourne until probably at least Friday.

Day 1 Melbourne

Monday, 17th May

After a very smooth sailing, much to Cat’s relief, we docked shortly before 6.00 am and were one of the first vehicles off, just before 6.30 am. Very dark and very cold, but not much traffic heading in the same direction as us, fortunately. We were at Aunty Pat’s by 7.15 and quickly set up, as we were quite desperate for a cup of coffee!

A quiet day really (Cat spent the day catching up on lost sleep), with a wander around the local shopping centre this morning. Due to the situation with my mother, we are undecided at this stage whether we will be leaving Melbourne on Wednesday as planned.

It will be early to bed tonight.

Don't forget to read what happened on the 16th May!!!

Spirit

Sunday, 16th May

The time had come to hitch the car to the caravan and start our journey north. Cat had been packed for a number of days and after last year’s experience, had made sure he had a supply of Quells and ginger handy! It was very sad to leave behind three special people, as well as their parents, of course.

It was a glorious Tasmanian autumn day and the drive from Hobart to Devonport was just beautiful – the autumn colours were absolutely magnificent. We also encountered millions (literally!) of spider webs in the Campbell Town area, they were amazing! Cobwebs seemed to be attached from every blade of grass to the fences, forming bridges, cobwebs hung off trees, the cobwebs were so dense between the power lines they were like a mat, huge, long cobwebs floated out from the power lines right across the road and long, thick ropes of cobwebs were floating freely in the wind. The car was very quickly draped! It also brought to mind the question: how many spiders are actually living out there???

We stopped at Latrobe Hospital to visit Les’ mother, who was in good spirits, and also caught up with his sisters Dot, Margaret and brother-in-law Alan. We then had a half hour with Ted and Marie from Ulverstone before joining the long queue of caravans waiting to board the Spirit of Tasmania. By sheer coincidence, we ended up parked on the vehicle deck virtually next to friends who were also travelling. We joined Barry and Denise for a pre-dinner drink before we ate together, and were soon joined by Jos and her husband. As we were making our way back to our cabin afterwards, we met ANOTHER couple from Launceston that we knew!!! The whole day seemed to be catching up with others and socialising.

Unfortunately, this is when the day quickly went downhill. Even though we were well out to sea, I received a call from the Launceston General Hospital to say my mother was in emergency with a broken hip and would require surgery. Explained I was in the middle of Bass Strait heading to Melbourne and my sister was at that moment flying over Bass Strait heading to Launceston.

A rather sleepless night, not helped by the very uncomfortable bed.

Underbelly

Before we head off for the "Big Island" to the north of Tasmania, we were lucky enough to be treated to a tour of Hobart's Underbelly - namely, the Hobart Rivulet! This fascinating look at Hobart's history took us underground to follow the course of the Hobart Rivulet as it wound its way under the CBD. With the temperature at a chilly 9-10 degrees at street level, it was definitely a time to rug up, as well as being kitted out with hard hats and torches.

We entered the Rivulet beside the Hobart Private Hospital and proceeded underground from that there to a point underneath Harrington Street, being able to take in the street art (graffiti) which completely covers the heritage sandstone and bricks. Evidently, the Hobart Council are quite happy for this to happen underground, rather than on the surface buildings of the city.

The Rivulet, which was once Hobart's main water supply (yuck!!!), then an open sewer, is now a major storm water drain. We were even lucky enough to be able to walk (or waddle like penguins, rather) up a drain under Elizabeth Street and view convict-made bricks with their broad arrow markings. Someone, who can't be named to protect his identity, did lose his hard hat into the drain water when he didn't spot the low overhead pipe!

Apart from hearing some local wildlife (of the two legged variety) further up the pitch black dark tunnel, we didn't see any signs of life, apart from spider webs. The amazing thing was the stalegtites forming under the roadways as water seeped through the concrete!