Halls Gap

We got to Halls Gap mid afternoon and went on a quick tour of the area.The pic shows Halls Gap from the look out, the small size does not do it justice, the view is breathtaking.
Lots of wild life, birds, kangaroos, and an echidna.
The caravan park owners gave us a bag of wild bird seed, so this morning Kathy had cockies and corellas all round her feet and trying to get on her chair to get the seeds off her.
It is school holidays in Vic, so the van parks are full of people. We will head for home today.

Last of the Melbourne Royal

The last day was today. The Agility Games competition is three different games of Snooker, Gamblers and Strategic Pairs, originally intended to be training aids but have developed into stand alone competitions. There was some good passes with a few hard luck stories. Started at 9:00am - finished at 4:30pm.
We pick up the van from Ballarat on Monday and start heading back. We should be in Halls Gap for a couple of days.

Back to Melbourne

Yesterday was another quiet day wandering around the Ballarat area.

We went to Clunes, the Tangled Maze,(Kathy won a Snake for getting all the answers) and a walk round the lake and Botanical gardens at Ballarat. Not a lot of water in Lake Wendourie.

We left the caravan in storage at Ballarat and have moved back in to the RACV Club in Bourke St. The Grand Final parade is on just up the street and round the corner, so the roads were blocked, the traffic terrifying and the Tom Tom navigator was losing the GPS signal because of the tall buildings. Quite an interesting ride!

Daylesford

We went for a drive yesterday, Kryal Castle looked too much of a tourist trap. The pic shows the lake at Daylesford, a beautiful place for a walk. Lots to see, going back today to see the parts we missed yesterday.

Sovereign Hill

You can not go to Ballarat without visiting Sovereign Hill. We found gold, not enough to cover the cost of entry, or even the cost of the little bottle to keep it in, but we found gold.
The night show tells the story of the Eureka Stockade, with an audio presentation and flashing lights over the Sovereign Hill site. Very cold at night this time of the year. Today we plan to see the castle.

Ballarat

Ballarat in the rain and wind is not the best place to be. We did get out for a while to see the Eureka Stockade. Pic shows Kathy in the old coach in the information area.
Today the weather looks better so we will head to Soverign Hill

Ballarat

The first stint at the Royal is over. The Agility and Jumping was a big day, starting at 8:45 am and finishing at 6:30 pm. There was rain, wind, and periods of sunshine. Huge crowds most of the day. The conditions affected many of the dogs with several running in to the crowd for a free pat. However you could see why the top level is called Masters because when they came in they made it look easy. The masters’ dogs ran the course at maximum speed with the handlers controlling from up to 15 metres away, and the top dogs being 10 + seconds under the course time.

We are in Ballarat for a few days, back in the caravan. Also in the caravan park is a group of Model T club members who are driving round Australia fundraising for the Flying Doctor. They have been away for 6 months and have just got to get to Sydney to finish the loop. The Model T Ford shown was completely restored by the owner apart from some specialist body work. It is a 2.8 litres, 3.8 inch bore, 4 inch stroke engine that has peak revs at 1600. Touring speed is about 65 kph, dropping to 35 on hills. They are towing a camper trailer. 8 T's started out, three are still going.

The Melbourne Royal 2

Another busy day with the lady dogs. No passes in UDX or UD today even though there were some very good dogs competing. There was an animal pavilion next to the ring which had pigs squealing, lambs playing and calves mooing, there was also a food stall next to the ring with wonderful smells coming from it, and lots of background noise and activity. Not surprising the the dogs had a hard time doing the high level work. The CCD, Novice and Open classes all had passes,but the conditions also affected their performance.
Tomorrow is Agility Day. They want us there at 6:30 am to set up the ring. This could be a big test for us.

The Melbourne Royal 1

A very busy day starting at 8:am at the show grounds. No passes in UDX or UD for the dogs,but CCD Novice and Open classes had some good results.
Kathy had a quiet day round the show, being accosted by a rescue greyhound that nearly came home with us, but she fought off the desire.
Tomorrow is the lady dogs turn.

Melbourne

Last night we were in Bordertown, because we left after lunch as usual. We parked the van at Ballerat, ready for a few days as a tourist, and moved on the the RACV club in Bourke St Melbourne. Tomorrow Keith starts judging the Obedience, Agility and Jumping at the Melbourne Royal. It will be a full on load for three days, then a few days off before returning to judge the Games trials on the last day of the Royal.

Mildura

Very quick trip to Mildura for the trials. Saturday night had one dog gain it's final pass for an Obedience Champion (OC), with a score of 185 in Utility. The dog likes the evening, because on Sunday morning, although it passed, it did not get enough points for the OC. Pic shows a pelican on the river by the lock at Mildura.

We start out for Melbourne on Tuesday, for the Royal Show.