March.. WHOOOA now this has been one huge month so here goes.
We arrived at Sue’s Auntie Jan & Uncle Andrews property north of Melbourne near the Macedon Ranges - unhooked, connected the power lead and setup as a base to explore Melbourne and Victorian regions. We headed into the city for a look around and explore the Victoria markets, the laneways and take the kids for a rattle around on a tram for the afternoon. Back at the van in the afternoon to be treated by one rather large wind and rain storm which had Jeff the Jayco shaking from side to side with all of us bunkered down inside. Fast and furious storm with no leaks and no dramas. The next day we explored the property and the kids helped out Uncle Andrew cut and and move all the trees that blew down and took out a few fences. Then back to the school books for the next few days. With a good amount of schooling done we were of to Sovereign Hill for the day in Ballarat. We took the gold pass option which gave us 3 days access, all the mine tours as well as entry to the Gold Museum. The kids, big and small were captivated by the way of life in the gold rush days and how hard it was compared to todays lifestyle. We panned for Gold and on Jarred’s first pan he struck gold, “we are Millionaires” he exclaimed to all, however we are going to need a million more specs of gold before the bank account hits 7 figures. We headed into Ballarat for dinner and retuned to Sovereign Hill for the nighttime Light and Sound show depicting the Eureka Stockade. What an amazing show that kept us all entertained for hours until 10:30pm when it finished and we had another hour drive back to base.
Next day we rose eventually to another glorious day and we had a mission - Get Luke a swag !! another part of Luke’s birthday presents and the swag was from Grandma and Granda.
The following day saw us head back into Melbourne to meet up with great friends Simon and Ang for lunch and dinner and an more of an explore.
With the swag sorted (Luke slept out for the night and loved it) we borrowed a tent, packed the car and headed for the Victorian High country to explore the famous huts. On the way I pointed out a sign to Luke to which he then excitedly announced “ We’re going to BONNYDOON” Luke recently watched the “Castle”. Don’t blink I exclaimed as we drove through Bonnydoon. Being the long weekend in Victoria everyone was returning as we were arriving, this worked out well as we had the whole high country to ourselves and all the firewood left over to burn and keep warm. We camped up near the creek for the night and settled in for a chilly night. Up early for breaky then off to find “Craigs Hut” made famous from the “Man from Snowy River” Movie ( which we also watched the day before heading up ) Ryan was thrilled as he could recall a lot of the scenery from the movie and when we finally reached Craigs Hut it was as stunning as it was in the movie. Cooked lunch at the hut and headed for lower ground as it was going to be windy and cold at 1600m above sea level. We found a camp ground all to ourselves with lots of firewood left and setup - the boys decided the creek look great for a swim !! water temps would have been mid teens and they soon changed to a shade of blue. Another great fire and sleep out under the stars followed by some more challenging 4wd tracks back to Jeff at base.
A few quiet days of school and rest then what seemed like the worlds longest birthday, Luke and I ( Blake ) headed off to the Formula 1 race in Melbourne. Luke was in heaven, over 50 Ferraris, Lamborghini’s, Porsches and every other type of car on display. We watched classic Touring cars, V8 Supercars, Porsche Carrerra Cup and of course the F1 cars race all day. If that wasn't enough power and speed for Luke we also watched the Roulettes perform their acrobatics and the F18 doing its flyover. A big day and a bigger smile from Luke completed all his birthday presents, we headed home for a good nights sleep. Next day was a quiet one with a quick drive up to the Macedon Ranges past Hanging Rock and a bit of shopping.
With all we needed done in Melbourne we hooked up and headed back to Ballarat so Jarred could search for the other 999,999 specs of Gold to be come a millionaire. We camped at a wonderful free camp just on the edge of town for a couple of days then off to the Grampians we go !!! Sue and I have been wanting to see the Grampians since beginning the trip. thanks to wikicamps we settled into Plantation Campgrounds, a stunning free camp at the base of the Grampians only 6km from Halls Gap. We checked into the “where are you Wednesday “ on the Travelling Australia with kids Facebook page only to find out another family ( The Smiths ) were next door to us and another (The Leeds) only down the road !! as quick message between everyone and suddenly we get 6 adults and 10 kids around the fire telling stories of adventures and future plans as we all do our lap of OZ.
Next day we hiked with a 10km hike planned up and over the Grampians. At the 3.6 km mark which was mainly all up hill we stopped and poor Ryan was spent ! I headed back with all the boys and Sue powered on to complete the hike. With promise of ice cream at the bottom of the hike Ryan found his 2nd wind. We reached the ice cream in less than 45minutes, Sue was at least another 2 hours and when she returned she too was spent and said it would have been hard going for al the boys. Back to camp for a catch up with the Smiths and a very good nights sleep for all. With sore weary muscles we headed into Horsham for a well needed swim at the aquatic centre with the Smith Family. Located conveniently next to a laundromat we all had a good clean. All up we spent 6 days at Halls Gap exploring as well as a library trip to Ararat to get some WIFI and schooling done.
Next day we packed up and made for Lake Albacutya near the small township of Rainbow. We were again all by ourselves as we setup and what we declared was an eery and strange place, dry, dead trees and almost no wildlife. We headed for a drive on advice from the indigenous rangers into and across the lake. It was fine and dry and hadn't been full since 1975. Back to camp for the night and some schooling. Sue an I consulted the hema map and decided to do a 4wd track not far from camp for a couple of hours. We found the sand track called MILMED track and headed west through Wyperfeld National Park toward Big Desert National Park. A few hours into the track that never seemed to have an end we all we were doing was getting closer and closer to South Australia !! Hmmmm didn't look that far on the map ! Opps 5 hrs later we finally were on our way back to camp and pulled into the town of Rainbow at the pub, they had cold beer and great food for 5 weary and thirsty people. With not much else to do we packed up early and made our way towards Mildura to find a camp on the river to settle down into for the easter period. I am going to leave March here as we have a lot from the mighty Murray river to speak about which also runs into April Stay tuned for April which will see us in places from the Murray River to Peterborough, Finders Ranges and desert country.
We arrived at Sue’s Auntie Jan & Uncle Andrews property north of Melbourne near the Macedon Ranges - unhooked, connected the power lead and setup as a base to explore Melbourne and Victorian regions. We headed into the city for a look around and explore the Victoria markets, the laneways and take the kids for a rattle around on a tram for the afternoon. Back at the van in the afternoon to be treated by one rather large wind and rain storm which had Jeff the Jayco shaking from side to side with all of us bunkered down inside. Fast and furious storm with no leaks and no dramas. The next day we explored the property and the kids helped out Uncle Andrew cut and and move all the trees that blew down and took out a few fences. Then back to the school books for the next few days. With a good amount of schooling done we were of to Sovereign Hill for the day in Ballarat. We took the gold pass option which gave us 3 days access, all the mine tours as well as entry to the Gold Museum. The kids, big and small were captivated by the way of life in the gold rush days and how hard it was compared to todays lifestyle. We panned for Gold and on Jarred’s first pan he struck gold, “we are Millionaires” he exclaimed to all, however we are going to need a million more specs of gold before the bank account hits 7 figures. We headed into Ballarat for dinner and retuned to Sovereign Hill for the nighttime Light and Sound show depicting the Eureka Stockade. What an amazing show that kept us all entertained for hours until 10:30pm when it finished and we had another hour drive back to base.
Next day we rose eventually to another glorious day and we had a mission - Get Luke a swag !! another part of Luke’s birthday presents and the swag was from Grandma and Granda.
The following day saw us head back into Melbourne to meet up with great friends Simon and Ang for lunch and dinner and an more of an explore.
With the swag sorted (Luke slept out for the night and loved it) we borrowed a tent, packed the car and headed for the Victorian High country to explore the famous huts. On the way I pointed out a sign to Luke to which he then excitedly announced “ We’re going to BONNYDOON” Luke recently watched the “Castle”. Don’t blink I exclaimed as we drove through Bonnydoon. Being the long weekend in Victoria everyone was returning as we were arriving, this worked out well as we had the whole high country to ourselves and all the firewood left over to burn and keep warm. We camped up near the creek for the night and settled in for a chilly night. Up early for breaky then off to find “Craigs Hut” made famous from the “Man from Snowy River” Movie ( which we also watched the day before heading up ) Ryan was thrilled as he could recall a lot of the scenery from the movie and when we finally reached Craigs Hut it was as stunning as it was in the movie. Cooked lunch at the hut and headed for lower ground as it was going to be windy and cold at 1600m above sea level. We found a camp ground all to ourselves with lots of firewood left and setup - the boys decided the creek look great for a swim !! water temps would have been mid teens and they soon changed to a shade of blue. Another great fire and sleep out under the stars followed by some more challenging 4wd tracks back to Jeff at base.
A few quiet days of school and rest then what seemed like the worlds longest birthday, Luke and I ( Blake ) headed off to the Formula 1 race in Melbourne. Luke was in heaven, over 50 Ferraris, Lamborghini’s, Porsches and every other type of car on display. We watched classic Touring cars, V8 Supercars, Porsche Carrerra Cup and of course the F1 cars race all day. If that wasn't enough power and speed for Luke we also watched the Roulettes perform their acrobatics and the F18 doing its flyover. A big day and a bigger smile from Luke completed all his birthday presents, we headed home for a good nights sleep. Next day was a quiet one with a quick drive up to the Macedon Ranges past Hanging Rock and a bit of shopping.
With all we needed done in Melbourne we hooked up and headed back to Ballarat so Jarred could search for the other 999,999 specs of Gold to be come a millionaire. We camped at a wonderful free camp just on the edge of town for a couple of days then off to the Grampians we go !!! Sue and I have been wanting to see the Grampians since beginning the trip. thanks to wikicamps we settled into Plantation Campgrounds, a stunning free camp at the base of the Grampians only 6km from Halls Gap. We checked into the “where are you Wednesday “ on the Travelling Australia with kids Facebook page only to find out another family ( The Smiths ) were next door to us and another (The Leeds) only down the road !! as quick message between everyone and suddenly we get 6 adults and 10 kids around the fire telling stories of adventures and future plans as we all do our lap of OZ.
Next day we hiked with a 10km hike planned up and over the Grampians. At the 3.6 km mark which was mainly all up hill we stopped and poor Ryan was spent ! I headed back with all the boys and Sue powered on to complete the hike. With promise of ice cream at the bottom of the hike Ryan found his 2nd wind. We reached the ice cream in less than 45minutes, Sue was at least another 2 hours and when she returned she too was spent and said it would have been hard going for al the boys. Back to camp for a catch up with the Smiths and a very good nights sleep for all. With sore weary muscles we headed into Horsham for a well needed swim at the aquatic centre with the Smith Family. Located conveniently next to a laundromat we all had a good clean. All up we spent 6 days at Halls Gap exploring as well as a library trip to Ararat to get some WIFI and schooling done.
Next day we packed up and made for Lake Albacutya near the small township of Rainbow. We were again all by ourselves as we setup and what we declared was an eery and strange place, dry, dead trees and almost no wildlife. We headed for a drive on advice from the indigenous rangers into and across the lake. It was fine and dry and hadn't been full since 1975. Back to camp for the night and some schooling. Sue an I consulted the hema map and decided to do a 4wd track not far from camp for a couple of hours. We found the sand track called MILMED track and headed west through Wyperfeld National Park toward Big Desert National Park. A few hours into the track that never seemed to have an end we all we were doing was getting closer and closer to South Australia !! Hmmmm didn't look that far on the map ! Opps 5 hrs later we finally were on our way back to camp and pulled into the town of Rainbow at the pub, they had cold beer and great food for 5 weary and thirsty people. With not much else to do we packed up early and made our way towards Mildura to find a camp on the river to settle down into for the easter period. I am going to leave March here as we have a lot from the mighty Murray river to speak about which also runs into April Stay tuned for April which will see us in places from the Murray River to Peterborough, Finders Ranges and desert country.