Monday, February 22

Nhill


We stopped at Stratford on Saturday, a small town outside Sale. If you stop there and want a take-away for dinner, you have to buy it before 4:00pm because that's when the shops shut!.
Sunday was spent on the drive through Melbourne to minimise the traffic, and we stopped at Beaufort next to the lake, or what was left of it. Last week we were in floods, this week we are in drought. Monday morning we set off not sure how far we would get, when the wind got up so we stopped at Nhill. The wind is still strong and is blowing the TV antenna about so we lose the station. Vic weather, if you don't like it, wait half an hour.
The picture shows the cottage of poet John Shaw Nelson that was restored by the Rotary Club of Nhill.

Friday, February 19

Snowy Mountain Trail


Still at Orbost after the locals persuaded us to do the Snowy Mountain Trail. The views were magnificent, the road terrifying. For about 11 km past the McKillop Bridge over the Snowy River, the road is barely wide enough for the Navara. On one side is a vertical cliff face going straight up, and on the other is a vertical cliff face going straight down. Sorry I did not get a picture, but you would not have got my hands off the steering wheel with a crowbar. Kathy was muttering "Oh God" at regular intervals, and hiding under the dash, so no photo's from her either. There were "passing bays" that might allow two goats to pass, but cars were expected to pass there. Fortunately the only vehicle coming the other way was at a wide section so no worries.
We intend to move on to Traralgon tomorrow, then drive through Melbourne on Sunday to minimise the traffic.

Wednesday, February 17

Orbost

The rain stopped on Tuesday and we dried out as much as we could so we could start the long trip back home. It was a bit sad to leave our friends in Eden, but we have to return home. It will take us at least a week because we are still in holiday mode and we want to see the Victorian South East. We tried to see it last year but it caught fire and we had to turn back.
The pic shows the Snowy River near its mouth at a place known as the Slips. There are the remains of a slipway used in ship building, so maybe that's how it got it's name. Lovely park at Orbost, thick grass and lots of room, so we might stay an extra day.

Monday, February 15

Eden in the rain


The rain started just after we got here and has continued almost constantly. There is a religious looking chap up the road building a big boat while his wife is rounding up pairs of animals. The walk to the boardwalk where we walk Tiffany is under water as the lake is now 10 metres closer than it used to be.
Fortunately where we are drains quite well so the surface water does not get very deep and the floor of the annex stays dry. The poor devils in tents are saturated and many have had to go home to get dry.
Tiffany has been great in the van. She likes to look out of the window, so she spends a lot of time just lying on her mat on the bed watching the world go by, and giving it the occasional hurry up bark. Her first season has made her a bit sooky, perhaps just as well considering the weather, as she likes to sit quietly close to us.
Forecast is for the rain to ease up on Tuesday, and we plan to move on down the coast on Wednesday, hopefully with a dry kit.

Thursday, February 11

Eden


The trip down the coast was fun with the van on the back. There was a realy tight steep turn coming out of Tethra that got the heart rate up, and the narrow roads and bridges meant you had to be careful with oncoming traffic, but it was worth it for the views of the hills and coastline.
We are at the Garden of Eden park, the picture shows the boardwalk just outside the caravan park where we walk Tiffany. The photo was taken late in the evening using a long exposure. The fish were jumping, not sure if they were catching flys or trying to get away from the cormorants, because there were plenty of both.
Quiet day today being tourists. The shows start on Friday for three days, when we hope Tiffany will get another 18 points. Can not go in the trial as she is in season.

Monday, February 8

Holiday time at last


The weekend was hectic, with Shows, Trials, Floods, Annex falling down and having to drink with the rest of the people in the park at 4:00pm every day.
The pic shows the view from the dog exercise area outside the Zane Grey caravan park. Click on it to see a bigger version. Zane Grey wrote a lot of his poems looking at that view.
There were violent thunder storms with lots of rain on Thursday and Friday, putting the trial area under water. Kids were surfing across the rings. No trial Friday night. The rain and storms also shook the annex loose so that the anti-flap strips came off, the side walls of the annex fell down and the awning filled up with water. It took two of us to empty the roof so that we could put the annex back together.
The Saturday and Sunday trials went well, after the rings were re-arranged to avoid the surface water and bogs, and both of us got sunburnt. Tiffany maintained her unbeaten record in the show ring with two Best of Breed awards bringing her total points to 66.
We have a few days of doing nothing. We will move on to Eden on Wednesday to set up for a week there and three more shows for Tiffy next week end.

Wednesday, February 3

Bermagui


We are at Bermagui on the NSW south coast just a bit north of Bega.
The pic shows the van set up for the night at Darling Point which is a loverly spot just across the Hay Plain heading towardsWagga Wagga.
We were in Queenbeyan one night as the van needed its 1000k service, but the Jayco agent there could not do it until March, and the mobile repairer could not do it for a week. We will book the van in somwhere in Victoria on the way home to get the service done.
The drive to Bermegui was interesting, especially down the Clyde Mountain. Kathy said "Look at the views" and I said " I am too busy watching the road twisting and turning down a 1 in 3 slope"
Met up with friends here, and went fishing on a charter boat. Rough seas, so I had a chunder in the old Pacific sea, caught a flathead and a rass fish and two others that were thrown back, and all for $100.