Cape Paterson Day 3

The kids all woke up early today – well it was not really all that early – it was around seven am but it seemed much earlier as it was still so dark.
After breakfast we decided to head off towards Phillip Island today. After a quick stop at the chemist to get some medication for Gemma who was a very grumpy little girl (gotta love teething!) we continued our drive.
First stop was the Penguin Parade complex. Paid a nominal fee to be allowed to wander around their information galleries, down to the nigh time parade observation deck and their exhaustive gift shop with just about every penguin related item you could ever possibly not wish to own.
The kids enjoyed watching a cute little penguin through its observation hole in the gallery. Gemma was convinced it would hurt her and once assured it would not hurt her she was then convinced it therefore must want her to cuddle it!!
Grabbed a quick snack for lunch and continued towards The Nobbies. It has been fairly recently re-furbished and has an equally exhaustive gift shop with the main focus being the Australian Fur Seals. Entry here was free so in we went! Kids had a lovely time playing on their indoor playground and we enjoyed a coffee overlooking The Nobbies and the floor to ceiling glass windows.
Went for a walk along the boardwalk and saw a family of penguins hiding under the boardwalk. There were a couple of young ones there too as they still had their grey – brown down feathers. Walked back up the boardwalk towards the blowhole, however as the ocean was relatively calm we did not really get to see it “blow”. Did also see two groups of penguins peering out of thier burrows at the people walking up the boardwalk peering at them!!
Began driving back towards the van and all three kiddywinks fell asleep so we kept driving up the coast towards Inverloch to have a look at some of the many signposted beaches along that stretch of road. Eagles Nest, Twin Reefs etc…. We did stop at one called The Caves where there were dinosaur bones found many years ago. As the tide was out we were able to go walking, climbing and splashing through some rockpools and towards the Caves. Darrin and Zac managed to get into one of the caves while Jeanette, Ethan and Gemma went looking in rockpools. As the tide started coming in we hiked back up to the car and headed home for a BBQ dinner, bath and bed.

Cape Paterson

Yesterday, Saturday 27th March we drove down to Cape Paterson. We left around 11:30am after Zac's swimming lesson and some early lunch. It was an easy drive and we were soon set up at the Cape Paterson Foreshore Caravan Park - site 19, under the pine trees with coastal views through the scrub. The playground is nearby and the kids can play with us supervising from the van - so that's what they did while we set ourselves up.

Following this and a cuppa, we walked down to the beach - the kids loved running down the sand dunes and then exploring along the beach. Gemma enjoyed playing with a bunch of seaweed, Ethan found a couple of very large cuttlefish washed up. Zac got sad when he got wet.

Dinner consisted of a hearty casserole pre arranged by Mummy and just reheated. The kids scoffed it down with little hesitation. They had baths and then an early night - all in bed by 8:15. Ethan didn't fall asleep straight away and was able to come outside and meet the two possums that were just outside our door - it looked like a mother and child. Daz and Jet watched some telly and chilled out after the possum viewing.

Today, Sunday 28th, we had crumpets for breakfast and then drove into Wonthaggi where we visited Coles. On the way back towards Cape Paterson we called in at the 'State Coal Mine' - a old mine that operated between about 1915 and 1968 digging black coal out of the ground which was predominently used for steam trains. It is now set up as a visitor's centre with several old buildings, heaps of information and plenty of rusty old machinery. There was supposedly over 3000 km's of tunnels around the area! Yes, over 3000! Much is now filled in or full of water. It is possible to join a tour underground to see part of the old operations. This tour was not suitable for Ethan and Gemma, so I promised Zac we'd return for this another time.

A volunteer, Jack - whose own parents and grandparents worked in the mines here (his grandmother was the first midwife in Wonthaggi) gave us a tour of the buildings above ground. We also met 'Cobber' - the Welsh Pony. These ponies were used in the mines and hauled the coal out in little trolleys on railway lines. They must have been very strong ponies! Unlike the welsh mines, these ponies were allowed to come back above ground when off duty. The Welsh ones often went blind due to living their entire lives underground. In fact the Wonthaggi ponies were very well looked after - in fact better than the humans as they took longer to train for their work, making them more valuable!

We returned to the caravan and had lunch outside under the pine trees. It was a warmish day although cloudy. After lunch and a bit of a play, the two youngest ones had a nap. Zac and Daz returned to the mines to do the underground tour. We donned green helmets - Zac's a bit too bid even set at its smallest size. We were then led down a steepish entrance way and under the surrounding paddocks. It was interesting hearing of life for the miner's and their ponies and seeing how they used to work. Most of the tunnelling and mining was done by hand so it would have been hard work. Zac got some coal to take home as a souvenir. After about an hour we walked back out of the mine - a reasonably strenuous walk. In a few months there will be a dedicated tramway that raises and lowers visitors in - all operated by cable winch. They have just installed a 1930's winch to haul it all, and work needs to be done on the tunnel to make the new tram to fit.

Zac and Daz drove back to Cape Paterson and joined the others down on the beach near the surf lifesavers club. All the kids had a ball playing in the sand and paddling in the water. It was still quite warm and overcast - a band of rain is forecast for later in the evening.

We gave the kids a warm bath before dinner. We then enjoyed shepherds pie and blue jelly.

Journey home

We left Mildura on Thursday morning before it got too hot... the plan was to break the trip home into 2 stages so there was no real rush. Not a lot to see on the journey... our lunch stop was down some dirt road near some deserted looking grain silos at Mittyack between Ouyen and Sea Lake. We played some frisbee and kicked a ball around in the dry, cracked dirt in order to allow the kids to burn off some energy. It had turned more muggy than hot, with rain in the distance.

Continuing on we arrived in Charlton mid afternoon, just over half way between Mildura and home. We decided to stay there the night - in a unique 'caravan park' that is a series of 8 ensuite sites behind the main street of town known as 'Traveller's Rest'. We paid for the night and got a key from the East Charlton Hotel around the corner - this unlocked the power box and ensuite. It was like a home bathroom - quite luxurious after 34 days of caravan park amenities blocks!

The kids played in the playground, part of the 'Traveller's Rest'. The Avoca River runs through Charlton, and actually has some water in it at the moment. On the banks is one of the Commonwealth Games fish... the broadbill swordfish of Kenya. I wonder what happened to the rest? I know there's one at the Ringwood Aquatic Centre.

We went for a walk up and down the mainstreet of town which was not all that exciting. We all enjoyed showers in our ensuite after this. At dinner time we went to the East Charlton Hotel... it's a bit of a tradition to go out for dinner on the last night of a holiday for us. The kids looked great all cleaned up and dressed up with some gel in the hair.

The night at the 'Traveller's Rest' was interesting... it was a warm night and we were the only ones there, so we felt a little vulnerable! Some local drunks staggered noisely by at some ungodly hour but paid no notice of us fortunately.

An easy pack up Friday morning as we did not unhook the car and we were on our way after another play in the playground. Jeanette dropped off the ensuite key at the corner butcher... who just so happened to have won awards for his sausages. So she got some to take home to cook tonight.

Refuelled... (gas)... we've only gone through one tank of petrol on this trip! The car is giving us around 270 -290 km's for a tank of gas with the van on the back... pretty good return as we don't get more than 350 km's when not towing.

Had a quick playground stop in Marong, with some icy poles from the caravan freezer as it was another warm, muggy day. The Calder Hwy is impressive now once you get south of Bendigo so we made good time. Pulled off at Kyneton as there's a nice Apex Park near the northern entry to town. It also has a playground... we've lost count how many playgrounds we've road tested on this trip! The park also has the original Kyneton Mineral Spring, under an old rotunda. The kids loved pumping the water which is meant to be very good for you... had a taste, and it was revolting! The 'Kyneton Springs' flavoured drinks we got in Berri were much nicer!

After lunch and another play, we left on the last leg towards home. Sitting at some traffic lights, just 2 km's from home, Zac asked... 'Where are we going for the next holiday?'

It was nice pulling into the driveway. The kids were excited too, and enjoyed seeing their rooms, all the toys they'd missed and soon had toys out and everywhere. Daz unhooked and spun the van around... unpacking can wait. Jet got some essentials from the supermarket and we enjoyed the award winning Charlton sausages cooked on the BBQ. They were very nice too! Just before bed Ethan put together a quite insightful sentence (very good for a 2 year old... and it summed up all our sentiments I think). 'I enjoyed the holidays, but I missed my home'.

So where to next? We've got a few days at Cape Paterson just before Easter and we're planning our 3rd annual winter trip to Merimbula.

We hope you've enjoyed following our journey. We've had a great time. The kids really impressed us with how well they took to caravanning for 35 days. We covered over 3500 km's in that time and packed a lot in. They've obviously learnt heaps... Zac still reminds us what stalegmites and tites are... there's nothing like getting out there and experiencing things!

Day 32 Mildura

Kids slept in till 8.45 this morning......it is going to be hard work getting them back into the normal swing of things when we get home. Ate breakfast about 45 minutes later - what a lazy morning. This morning it was off to Orange World.. We rang them to find out when their tour group times were and the first one for the day and the most practical one for us was beginning in about 40 minutes so we really had to get moving. It was only 8 minutes down the road but we still only made the 10.30am tour with a few minutes to spare.



Our tour with "Uncle Brian" commenced with him singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to the kids and then singing a song he had written all about Mildura to the adults. Uncle Brian is a bit of a bush poet / musician as he accompanied himself with the guitar. Orange World still has that quirky/fun/family feel to it that it did five years ago.

We all hopped into his orange tractor with orange trailers for a trip around the orchard. There are ten thousand fruit trees on the property and only 4 people pick the fruit. Impressive! They have a range of oranges, mandarins, avocados and a few demonstration trees such as Shaddocks (the world's largest orange from China - good for marmalade but not much else), a few limes, a bizarre looking fruit called Budda's hand and a few more lemon varieties.

It was interesting to note that the reason apparently that many people buy the Californian Navel Oranges is that they maintain their nice orange colour and do not go greenish like some Australian Navel Oranges do. The reason the Aussie ones go a bit greenish is to protect themselves from the sun but they are still sweeter and juicer than the American ones. As the majority of the market buyers want nice nice looking oranges they settle for the imports, which is pretty lame, and it is forcing many farmers off the land.

At the end of the tour they showed us the grading machine they use and gave a demonstration of an easy orange peeler. We have one of these from a previous visit and it works quite well.

Back inside we found orange gelati to try - Ethan and Gemma were fond of the taste of Jeanette's!!! (As usual! - they are really seagulls in disguise crying "some", "some" whenever food appears)

Home for lunch and naps - only Gemma managed to have a nap - the boys were just wriggling in their beds. Headed up to the pool for a swim where the wheels fell off Ethan's little red wagon and he came back to the van and had a little nap with Darrin. Jeanette stayed with Zac and Gemma at the pool where they had a lovely time floating about.

Dinner and back to the pool again. Back to the van again where they polished off 1/4 watermelon between them in no time at all. Showers, clean up the van and bed.

In an effort to try and get out of the van park before 10am we have already packed up some of the inside stuff and Darrin had already hooked up the car. Will see how it all goes and what time the kids wake up!!!!

Day 31 Mildura

After Berri we had nothing planned other than to arrive at home in the next few days. Decided last night to head for Mildura and take the little people to Orange World (The Big Orange in Berri was closed down and had been for quite some time) Darrin and Jeanette had been to Orange World on The BIG TRIP - 2004 and enjoyed it. So it is off there again for us.

After packing up the van we set off. Kiddies travelled reasonably well for the first hour and a half and then went nuts for the last twenty minutes but there really was no place safe to stop on the side of the road. A few rest stops but with big trucks whizzing past every few seconds it was not the place to let kids out. We pushed on to Mildura and stopped at Lock 11 for a picnic lunch and got to watch the Lockmaster send three houseboats on their way and the PS Melbourne on a tour. Ethan and Zac thought this was really interesting. Gemma thought it was her civic duty to round up all ducks in sight.
Arrived in New South Wales to stay in the park we had visited before at Gol Gol. Set up camp and just spent the rest of the afternoon hanging about camp. Zac and Ethan had a lovely time driving trucks in the sandy dirt and just doing their own thing. Ethan enjoyed some chill time on the bed driving his toy cars around.

Gemma and Darrin went for a walk to check out the grapevines next door.
Visited the pool in the afternoon for a quick dip - it was rather fresh but they loved it.
Back to the van for a dinner of left overs, a play in the park, showers and bed. This park is rather noisy at night compared to other parks as people catch up after a day of speed boating on the river.

Day 30 - Berri

A much better nights sleep for all last night! Headed off to Renmark this morning - a nice little town located right on the banks of the Murray River. Went for a walk along the paved area running from the visitor information centre to the top end of town. Was great just to be able to walk along and enjoy the view.

Through the visitor information doors you can access PS Industry and have a wander around her. So the kids enjoyed looking at the paddlesteamer - some of the fun areas like the steering wheel were out of bounds but it was good just to look about. The 'Industry' only runs once a month to get her old steam boiler going!

Back into town to grab some bread rolls to go with our picnic lunch at the Monash Adventure Park. A great kids playground with some different things for them to try their skills out on.

Zac very impressively and with Darrin's help walked the tightrope - about 15 m. Very proud of him!!! :-)

Ethan climbed the tall crooked tower (with Darrin's help) and waved to us from his perch at the top.

Gemma just had a blast running around and trying out all the slides multiple times.

Home for nap time (Ethan just did hand stands in his bed for an hour!!!????) and when they awoke we set off to the Berri Direct Factory - we thought that maybe this would have been a little more like the SPC factory in Shepperton and had some items at very good prices, however much of it was equal to supermarket prices so we found a few little things to try and left it at that.

Back at the van park you can hire two seater bikes for 30 minutes - we had seen them on our first day here and the kids asked if we could have a go. As they were not too expensive we hired one for thirty minutes and took turns in taking each of the kids for a ride around the park. Lots of fun but hard work too.

Dinner done and we got some packing up done ready to move on tomorrow. Then off for a walk along the banks of the Murray at sunset.......our last night in South Australia.

Day 29 Berri

The kids all slept well last night despite the wind and our very noisy and inconsiderate neighbours carrying on till well after midnight. Gem woke up for Mummy cuddles later in the night and slept the rest of the night in our bed holding Mummy's hand.

Was still quite windy this morning as we set off for Loxton Historical Village. It is rather like a small Sovereign Hill styled village but is not gold rush based but set in the farming late 1800's to early 1900's. We all enjoyed looking around and for a while had the whole place to ourselves. Even when others arrived we never bumped into them.

The kids started out playing on some old toys - tricycles, old styled see-saws and an odd sort of peddle driven roundabout. Ethan and Gemma especially like the old trikes.

Then it was a wander through the main street with a barber's, bakery, printers (see pic of boys trying on their printers hats), fire station, church, mechanic, police station, lockup, general store etc.... There was quite a few bits and pieces of old machinery around including an old steam train which was set on track that used to run through the area including the old train station and ticket office.

Darrin, Zac and Gemma tried out the old "time out" stocks and lock up cell. Gemma thought it was funny where as Zac was not so impressed.

On the way home we stopped off at Lock 4 to show the kids the Lock system but unfortunately there was no boats needing to pass though. Ethan and Gemma fell asleep on the way back so we put them straight to bed and the rest of us had lunch and then naps.

Once all were up and fed we just hung about the campsite and visited the park. Dinner, bike riding, showers, milos and bed.