Travelling is my dream

52. Exmouth

2012-06-07T09:14:00.000+10:00

WOW! Loved it here. Certainly not the van park but the fishing and people.

We headed out day one for a scout around. The winds were quite strong so fishing in the tinny was off the cards. We checked out the boat ramp and we found a spot where some locals were fishing off the rock edges and watched them for a while. They got nothing and neither did we. We only had a quick go though as too hard with the waves.

We returned to camp and left the boys behind and Rod and I went for a fish off the beach next to the boat ramp. Rod caught a 140-150cm long shovelnose shark. It was quite funny watching Rod side step along the beach while trying to land the shark. I ran to get the gaff but it was not required. We grabbed the tail and dragged it in with the waves. I think, well I know, I was more excited than Rod that he caught something.

We had no idea where to bleed it, so we rolled it over and I cut its throat. Got the spot right first go. Now you could imagine Rod throwing the shark on the top of the car to take back to the van park. On return we were all grinning, well I know I was, showing the boys we caught a shark!

Of course Mitchell wanted to go for a fish now so we went off the rocks but caught nothing. The night came and we had showers, watched a little tv and went to bed.

As the weather was still blowing we took the opportunity to go for a drive to Cape Range National Park; specifically Turquoise Bay.

We poked into many of the camp spots along the way and saw the views. Some camps were better than others but really they were all along the water and nice.

At Turquoise Bay we walked out along the beach and saw a shark in the water. We walked up the beach to where the bay and Drift Bay met and saw many fish and the water’s edge just drop off. Then we saw another shark. There was not a hope in hell we were going swimming, even though it was too cold for us anyway.

Now although Ningaloo Reef (where we were) is very famous, and it looked pretty, I think Whitsundays is better. Perhaps because it was windy, I don’t know.

By afternoon the winds had calmed down so we put the tinny in and headed out for a fish. We got a few and didn’t know what they were so threw them back. We deemed this day “Catch and Release” day.

We moved spot and caught a few more and I landed an 80cm sucker fish. Who catches a sucker fish? Anyway, it put up a good fight and it was exciting.

We were just about to move when I got a shark on my line. We moved spot and I got hit another 3 times before I got hit by a very big shark. It ran and then came to the top of the water when we saw it was about 2-2.5m long. It snapped my line. My adrenalin was pumping but the kids were a tad scared. I was alternating lines between mine and Mitchell’s while he tackled up the other.

We trolled in for mackerel but nothing. When we returned to the boat ramp Fisheries were there. So we asked him many questions. Lucky we didn’t have anything to show him.

We had dinner and watched a movie and were all in bed after a big day fishing and in the sun.

Monday – stupid me took advice from many people to try and get money from Centrelink. Mitchell and I drove into town to get reception and waited for Centrelinke to call. Well that proved to be a waste of time. After talking to the rude person on the other end of the phone, I was still none the wiser if I am eligible for anything. Waste of time, it just made me angry.

We returned to camp and made up some rigs and headed out again. It was rougher than the day before. We saw a kayaker jigging for squid so Mitchell threw his jig in and caught a squid first go – it inked all over Rod. Very funny moment, the boys and I laughed.

We returned with nothing but had a fun time. The boys and I went down to the filleting table, as we did regularly, to check out what people had caught. This one man caught this massive mackerel. Mitchell got a photo with it and this man, later known as Mick, gave us some fillets.

The next day the winds weren’t so bad so we ventured out early and Rod thought it would be a good idea to head out far. Not so good. The winds blew up, the swell was huge and I was shit scared. It was choppy and after I put my foot down and said we were going back in, we were all wet. He had the shits but I was wet and scared. No thank you.

So we returned to the van park and had a shower.

After lunch we headed out again but only to the first lead. Rod had the shits because we weren’t going out far and didn’t fish.Mitchell had a squid jig and I wasn’t getting anything so used Rhys’ rod. Mitchell decided to use my rod and got smashed. He caught a 43cm Black Spotted Tusk Fish, locally known as a bluebone. Mitchell also got a blue lined emporer, while I only got what I thought was a leatherjacket, which I gave to the neighbour.

While I was filleting Mitchell’s Tusk Fish, these guys turned up and were amazed that he caught one and also amazed that we caught it at the first lead. They told us they are a 5 star eating fish. Mitchell was quite chuffed by that.

That night we cooked up a feast – squid, mackerel and chips, done in panko crumbs. Divine!

We headed out again in the morning without Rhys. The motor on the boat was playing up so we decided to stay in close. I think I was still traumatized from the day before anyway, so fishing close suited me.

We returned with a couple of fish and I went down to fillet them. While I was there Mick, the guy who gave us the mackerel, came over for a chat. I was telling him how Mitchell really wanted to go out on a charter boat. Anyway, he said he would take him out; obviously I had to go too.

So excited as we were we went over in the afternoon to confirm that we would love to go out fishing with them. So it was organised for the next day.

Mitchell went over in the morning to see what time they were going and it was decided 8am. Mick owns a 7.2m Olympian boat. Very nice and big, so I wouldn’t be scared. I was a bit paranoid either Mitchell or I would get sick as it was a tad rough out past the reef, but luckily we were fine.

We trolled on the way out and Mitchell was geared up with his rod pouch ready for when the first mackerel line went off. He was quite nervous but Mick and Neil were so good with him. On the journey out we saw lots of jelly fish, turtle and two minkey whales. Then, the line went off. Mitchell pulled in his first 83cm mackerel. He did such a great job and was very lucky as the mackerel didn’t run and cooperated the whole way. He was quite smitten with himself and photos were all round.

Next minute the other rod went off but Mitchell declined the offer to pull it in. Luckily, as this one fought. It was well over 1m long and ran like anything. I also think Mitchell’s arm was still sore from the first one to attempt to pull in another. Neil gaffed it and got it into the boat. Mitchell was going to get a photo with it and went to hold it and it slipped and left all yucky stuff down his leg. Oh and he did jump up on the seat really quickly. Good move.

We got to our fishing spot and started bottom bouncing. These guys use electric reels. Amazing. A new meaning to the lazy man’s fish. Neil showed Mitchell how to use them and he caught a honeycomb cod. He gave up after a while as his arms were killing him and I had a quick go. I didn’t catch anything but felt bad for Mick as he hadn’t had a fish yet, so passed the rod over to him.

Between Neil, Mick and John they caught a selection of fish.

We returned to the boat ramp but along the way Mick was showing Mitchell the line to follow on the GPS. Next minute Mitchell was driving the boat into shore for a good 10 mins. He was so chuffed. At one point we nearly lost Neil over the back. Quite funny. John accelerated while Neil was washing the bait board and nearly went over the back. It didn’t help that it was quite rough either.

We returned to Rod waiting for us on the boat ramp. He missed me. Mitchell was smiling from ear to ear and didn’t stop talking about his trip. It was such a highlight.

We came back and went to the filleting table and watched the boys fillet their fish and Mitchell had a go at filleting his. He did a pretty good job too. I tried to give Mick some money for taking us out but he wouldn’t have it.

Needless to say we went to bed early that night and I had panda eyes.

The Friday morning we decided to go out early, again without Rhys. We were very low on squid so I asked Mitchell to catch one for bait. That he did and as I was netting it it inked ALL over everything, including me and my eye, jumper and shirt. Yes, the laughs were on me this time.

We got a couple of stripies and cods and both Rod and I got smashed by sharks. Rod lost all his line as the shark ran all his line out, before it snapped. It was a big shark. He lost about 125m of 50 pound line. We burllied up and had a school of gar fish around but didn’t catch any. We returned and I filleted the fish and we had a bite to eat before heading off.

We thought we would do a bit of sightseeing and drove around to Exmouth to look at the gorges. It was pretty amazing but the boys didn’t think it was anything that great. WE also stopped and looked at the shipwreck, which was quite good and even better because it was low tide, you could see more.

We grabbed a carton of beer for Mick and scored some hats from the tackle shop. So when we came back to the van park we took it over and gave the beer and hats to Mick to say thanks.

My birthday – What a great day.

We started by going fishing, I even made Rhys come. We went out to the 3^rd lead, which was our favourite spot. We burl eyed up and were getting smashed, and then along came the sharks!

I got a 2-3m one on my line before it breached. Mitchell was the only one who actually saw the shark, I just saw the after splash! Luckily it snapped my line before I cut it. Rod caught a blue bone, which initially we thought was the shark, but it sat there. So he waited it out and finally got it moving and got it in the boat just before the 2-3m shark got it. Very close. There were sharks smashing us and coming very close to the boat. We lost more tackle that day than any other and I think the kids were a tad scared too. It didn’t help that Mick and Neil told Mitchell shark stories about sharks chewing the esky and thrashing around in the boat.

We moved into the first lead and parked up. The burley attracted all these gar fish so the boys put on small hooks and had a ball catching gar fish. They got 26 in total. It was so nice to see them work as a team an encourage each other in catching them. I got a spangled emperor and in total we got 6 fish that day, plus all the gar. WE returned just after 12 after a great finish to the week.

We got back and Rod started cleaning the boat and gear while I filleted the fish. Mitchell had a go at filleting gar and we bagged up the rest to giveaway, as we had no room in our freezer. Mitchell waited for Mick to return to give him the gar.

The boys made spam sandwiches for lunch and we potted for the afternoon. New neighbours turned up with a massive boat they use for marlin fishing. We chatted with them while they set up and we packed up.

We went over to Mick’s to have a beer and I decided to have a few kahluas. It was such a nice night but had to be interrupted to cook dinner. I burnt myself cooking the mackerel and squid and chips. I returned to Mick’s and this guy Jimmy wrapped my arm in toilet paper. It was a great night and a great end to my birthday.

We woke the next morning and didn’t quite get the early start we hoped for. After packing up and saying good bye to everyone, we left about 9.30am.

PHOTOS: Exmouth
VIDEO: Mitchell landing his mackerel

51. Perth to Exmouth

2012-06-07T08:52:00.002+10:00

We managed quite well to get through the city and out the northern side of Perth. We found a very cheap petrol station, $1.44/ltr, so decided to top up.

Cruising on we made few stops and stopped at The Pinnacles for a look. The Pinnacles is a place where sandstone has created termite looking mounds in the middle of nowhere, quite amazing. Some were very high. While we were there I took a photo of an old lady and then she took a photo of us as a family; however she mustn’t have actually pushed the button. There was no photo. Quite funny though. Along the drive were some amazing sand dunes, beautiful water yet the landscape was still desert looking trees, not overly pretty.

We pushed onto Cervantes and watched about three cray boats coming in, loading and unloading crays. There wasn’t much else in Cervantes so we left and drove on.

We pulled up at Jurien Bay and had a fish off the jetty while we watched the sun go down. Very pretty. Mitchell was catching bait fish on this small rig and I was using the live bait to catch bigger fish. I caught two but threw one back and gave the other away. Nothing to exciting. We left just after dark and was going to stay at a free camp called Sandy Cape Recreational Park however heard the roads were very corrugated so we didn’t go in. Instead we pulled up at Sandy Cape Lookout Carpark. Not a bad little spot however as we were there illegally we left at the crack of dawn.

We drove all the way to Dongara where we stopped and had breakfast on the beach front. I did throw a line off the beach but there was nothing. Bacon and eggs for breakfast was yummy though.

We got to Geraldton by mid-morning and thought this would be a good place to “stock up” with food and supplies before being ripped off the further we got north. So after leaving Woolies and spending $400, then walking over the road to IGA and buying meat for $90, and then fuel for $160, we were well and truly over budget but full of food!

We drove down the waterfront and tried to find places to put all the food we had bought, knowing it would be difficult. We put some away and left the rest for later that night. We had a bite to eat and went to visit Jim, Bev, Jim and Christine, before leaving Geraldton with Kalbarri insight.

We arrived at Kalbarri just before 6pm. It had been a very big day.

The van park at Kalbarri was along the river and we had nice views. The next day we made the most of the beautiful weather and headed out to sightsee. We drove along the corrugated road to Natures Window. The gorge was spectacular. We got some great pics. We walked out to Natures Window and took some photos of us sitting in the window.

From here we drove south along the coast and popped our head into the many viewpoints along the coast. We watched some people fish off the rock edge but they weren’t getting much at all.

We came back into town and saw Jim and Jim and co on the waterfront so stopped and said a quick hello, but they were continuing on. Rod and I went for a walk through some of the shops and IGAs looking for bargains, but there weren’t any. I did buy some line and a white bucket with a lid – to do the washing by hand. Save some money.

We came back to camp and I went for a walk to the river for a look but wasn’t keen for a fish. There was no one there and it didn’t look that great.

Leaving Kalbarri we drove as far as we could towards Exmouth, with our new washing machine strapped to the drawbar. We got to a property called “Gladstone” where they offer cheap camping. It was meant to be $11/night but the toilets weren’t working so we asked for half price and he ended up giving it to us for free, as we were only staying a night anyway. Besides the roads in were terrible!

So here we were parked up on the side of the water, away from others. We hung our washing It was beautiful except for the flies. We had fun making fly traps and I had a game of monopoly with the boys. I lost again. Just before dark we went for a walk to the jetty and threw a line. Hits straight away. Mitchell caught one small fish and then Rhys caught a fish – an estuary cod! We returned and filleted the fish.

Early the next morning we went for another fish but the water was too low. We chatted with these fellas we met the night before and they gave us two mullets. I returned to camp to fillet all the fish we had and bag it up. We left and headed north.

We stopped at Carnarvon and bought snorkles and goggles and grabbed just a couple of groceries. We drove on and stopped at a roadside free camp, hung out our clothes, played monopoly, had showers and made fish burgers with our fish fillets. They were quite yummy.

Thinking we were ahead of schedule we thought we would stay in Coral Bay a couple of nights so we headed for there. Thank goodness it was only 12km off the main road because we drove in and out within a half hour. Coral Bay was made up of two roads. One with two van parks on it and the other lead to the boat ramp. Yep, sure the water looked nice but that was it. Nothing I would rave about.

So we rang ahead to Yardie Homestead to see if we could get in early and could so we drove onto Exmouth. We got there and filled up with fuel, grabbed some milk and bread, filled up with water and headed out to Yardie Homestead.

PHOTOS: Perth to Exmouth and inbetween

50. Fremantle and Perth

2012-06-07T08:46:00.000+10:00

Deciding to make some ground we dropped our gnome off at Gnomesville and drove along the coast road through Mandurah to Fremantle, stopping only at Preston Beach for another round of pikelets.

Arrived at Fremantle Village Caravan Park and set up. Puddy is now in hiding…again.

Our friends, Ash and Jacinta, also checked in right behind us. We went for a walk around the park and ended up going down to the camp kitchen with everyone for a chat.

Friday we got up early and got organised ready for a trip to the city. We caught the bus to the train station and then the train in. Rod was most excited by the train ride as it passed along all the shipping docks and there were thousands of cars and CATS waiting on the docks. An amazing sight. Lots of big ships and tugs all over.

We got to the city and had no idea where to go, so we followed the crowd. Grabbed some food from Woolies for morning tea, sat in the mall having a snack and watching the people go by. Only for a brief moment.

Deciding to find the Perth Mint we headed off, only to remember the reason for coming into the city – to get our mail. So we detoured to find the post office and then headed off again. Thinking it might be a fun idea to catch the free bus circuit, we boarded the red cat to embark on our hour long trip. The kids were well and truly over it by the time we got there. Then to find out the mint was nothing like the one in Canberra, it was a place they made collectors coins. Grr. So we left.

Walked back to town and grabbed some lunch and headed off to Kings Park. There we got some great views of the city and the water, the boys wrestled on the green grass and we headed off again for the bus stop back to town. Grabbing some groceries before we boarded the train back to Fremantle.

Why do we have to still do reality stuff when on holidays???

Made our way over to north east Perth to pick up brake parts. Found it very easy, good city to manoeuvre around. Returned to the BCF we saw to look, again, at rods for Mitchell. Oh what a hassle getting in and out of the place. We went from there to buy oil and then Tackle World. Finally we worked out that Mitchell’s rod is actually quite good and we just bought, well he is paying, bought some braid. I got some for mine too.

With half the day shot and we still hadn’t managed to do the bus and walk around Fremantle we returned to the van, ate and went again; pushing ourselves as we were tired. Rhys cracked a narna so we left him with the van and took Mitchell downtown.

We walked along Fremantle main strip up and back, saw the markets and shared a double scoop gelato for $6.10. Yes, I know that is a lot of money and it broke my heart to spend it, but man it was divine! Snickers and Mango…yummy.

We opted to pay for the bus ride home and got back to the van. In the time it took me to get from the front gate to our van, ‘cause of talking, Rod had driven to the bottle shop and returned and had started lining up the rods.

I struggled to cook dinner, but it was yummy, mango chicken and fried rice. The boys went off for the afternoon and played with Adelle, Juliet and Livinia and made donuts.

PHOTOS: Fremantle and Perth

49. Donnybrook and Bunbury

2012-06-07T08:44:00.001+10:00

Broke a record today! Travelled 18kms…

So Rod suggested we drive to Bunbury via Donnybrook, so we did. As we were driving into town Rhys calls out “OMG, look at that!” We all looked left to see the most colourful, hugest playground ever. So I said to Rod we have to stop and have a look and play.

At the park we were chatting to other travellers with kids, discussing places we have stayed and they mentioned that the people where they stayed (400m from the playground) had stayed at Parry Beach too, one of the places we mentioned. So I asked if they had kids. Yep, 3 girls. Well it turned out to be people we knew. So we sent the boys over to get the girls for a play and chatted. We ended up deciding to stay there two nights.

We didn’t waste all our day venturing into Burbury for the afternoon, just to grab some groceries and sus out what was around to see. We tried for a fish at a recommended spot but there was nothing. We also came across some very big houses. Nice town.

We returned and chilled out and chatted for the afternoon/night. The night became very cold so used our heater in the van again – heaven!

We got up and headed for Bunbury. Had a quick look at some caravans and then went to BCF. Mitchell has money but is a little confused at which sort of 2^nd rod he wants to buy.

We then went up the lookout tower in town for a 360° view of the town. Drove to the beach where the dolphins come in, no dolphins at that time, then drove over the road to the mangrove boardwalk. The boys whinged the whole time. The walk was ok. Just through mangroves and there were 2 shipwrecks there. A lady told us about Gnomesville, which I had read about but forgot about.

We went down the foreshore, had a bite to eat on the grass while overlooking the very flat ocean with many big ships sitting out on it. Nice outlook.

We headed off to Big W and Woolies and then off to Gnomesville on the way home.

Gnomesville is a place at Wellington Mill where thousands of gnomes now live. A tradition started after a local farmer and the community took the council or government to court for trying to reclaim so of the farmer’s land. The farmer won and all of a sudden these gnomes started appearing on the land in protest. People come from all over, bring a gnome along, write on it and leave it with the collection. We did it too (the next day). There are thousands and it is such a sight.

Returning to camp we had dinner cooked already in the crock pot. I have been giving it a hiding since having power and love coming home from a big day and not having to cook dinner.

Another cool night with the heater on and a nice snooze for me J

PHOTOS: Donnybrook and Bunbury

48. Parry Beach, Augusta and Margaret River

2012-05-20T11:40:00.000+10:00

We packed up and left in the morning and got only as far as Denmark. There we found a power point in a park, park with power (PWP), so pulled along side, plugged in the van battery to charge and I sat on the laptop doing stuff and charging it. We saw a few people we knew and had a chat. I went for a walk around town and we left.

We didn’t get too far. We ended up at Parry Beach. This was recommended to us by a few people; really we were following the crowd. We got there and for $10/nite we got flushing toilets, warm showers, fantastic views; a great spot.

We set up to find Amanda and Martin there already and Paul and Louise pulled in behind us. Chat, chat, chat.

Mitchell and I went for a fish and Mitchell caught one sand whiting, which we kept for bait.

That night we had a lovely campfire with visitors, very nice. While sitting around the fire a young guy came by who had just caught a big salmon off the beach. That was me, I was keen to fish. Everyone left as the rain started to come in and I went to the toilet. ON my return I saw a fox, right at the back of our van. I was nervous and excited all at one.

So, the next morning Mitchell and I went down the front for a fish again to stock up on sand whiting for bait. We then went over to “Back Beach”, where the young fella caught the salmon. I got a BIG SALMON on my line for about 10 seconds and it snapped my line. At the time and probably for the next day, I was cranky. Really cranky. All I wanted to do was go back and fish. You could see the fish swimming in the waves. We returned that afternoon but nothing.

That night we had another campfire and were joined by Amanda, Paul and Louise. Very nice. This WA time is really throwing us around though. We went off to bed at 10pm (QLD TIME), while everyone was just getting started I bet.

The next morning I woke up early again (QLD time). The sun wasn’t up again. So I waited for the sun to rise and Mitchell and I went off again to Back Beach to catch that salmon that got away.

Funny story. I thought I had a snag and then weed, as when I reeled my line in it was heavy. Anyway, I spotted a shark and Mitchell and I were watching it for a bit and then we called over this other guy fishing to have a look too.

Mitchell and I decided to reel our lines in, in the direction of the shark to try and catch it. Unbeknown to me, I had already hooked it. The fella fishing next to us came over and tried to help me land it. We got it all the way to the edge of the water and the line snapped. I was still grinning from ear to ear. I was very excited, cranky I lost it, but excited.

After chatting to the guy about the shark he reassured me it would be nearly impossible to land the shark. It was a wobbygong shark, just over a meter long. Apparently they are the only shark you cannot hold by the tail as they can bend around and bite you. He was standing in the water trying to get it on the sand. Anyway, we tried our best. So now I can say at least I have finally hooked two big fish from the beach. I have never done that before. Although I still have thoughts on filling the freezer with shark!

I promised Rod I would only fish for one hour, so I returned to camp after an hour and a half. My story blurred his vision of time and he had packed everything up ready to go. Well… a couple hours later we left. LOL. We got chatting to Ash and Jacinta, who have 3 girls. He is a mad keen fisherman too, who caught a couple of sharks in the tinny. He gave us a couple big fillets of fresh shark to take with us.

We did leave, didn’t get too far and stopped for lunch at Walpole. The markets were just finishing however I was able to pick up some vegetables. We continued on to Pemberton and stayed at a free camp.

This was the day we were on Discover Downunder. We didn’t have reception so missed out on seeing it ourselves, but got all the feedback. We cooked up salt and pepper squid, fresh caught shark and chippies – sensational!

In the morning we left at the crack of dawn and went and saw Glouster Tree. Glouster Tree was once used as a fire tower. Standing 60+meters high I was keen to climb the rungs to the top to the tower, but wasn’t brave enough. The weather was closing in and the rain started to fall. We drove and drove all the way to Augusta.

We stopped at Augusta to have breakfast – bacon and eggs for Mothers’ Day. The weather was crappy the whole way. Reluctantly Rod drove out to the water’s edge where the lighthouse was. For $45 you could go into the compound and up the lighthouse. We passed. On the way back we found this most beautiful swimming spot, called “Granny’s Pool”. We also found a lovely park and a couple of jetties, but we didn’t fish.

We left Augusta after grabbing a couple of groceries and headed for Margaret River. WA does not have many free camps so as a treat opted to stay at Big Valley Campground; a sheep station 12kms out of Margaret River. The outlook was absolutely beautiful, the facilities lovely and much cheaper than the van parks.

So we pulled up and set up and chilled out for the afternoon doing the washing, updating my budget and Rod checking the brakes.

At 5pm the boys got to go over and feed the little lamb a bottle of milk. Very cute. A nice hot shower and stirfry for dinner, a movie and we went to sleep.

In the morning we packed up, made pikelets, had showers and left. Rod’s mate Splat told us of a spot called Hamelin Bay where they feed stingrays. So we headed off there. Unfortunately it was a little windy and the wrong time of year. Although I did see a couple I wasn’t prepared to go in the water and feed them.

Rod checked the brakes and bearings again and I went for a walk along the water to the lookout. We ate our very yummy pikelets and left.

Well, we did have a map highlighting all the tourist attractions in the area that we/I wanted to see, however Rod used it to wipe grease on – so we were winging it! Not good. Out of everything we found two places: The Shell Museum and Margaret River Cheese Factory.

Only I went into the Shell Museum. OMG. There were shells literally everywhere. The colours in them almost seemed fake but truly a pretty sight. We then went taste testing at the cheese factory and bought a couple.

We plotted along and found a free camp just east of Capel, parked up for the night, lit the fire and went to bed.

PHOTOS: Parry Beach, Augusta and Margaret River

VIDEO: Shell Museum

VIDEO: Lamb feeding

47. Albany

2012-05-14T10:56:00.000+10:00

So while at the caravan park I put the heater on – all night – first time ever. It was so nice not to freeze or feel the cold air. Slept like a baby.

The next day we woke up and headed out to Whaling World. Wow! Not knowing that it was actually an old whaling station or what to expect it was definitely value for money. Thoroughly enjoyed it, except the dam weather. It was freezing! We did the tour and looked at some of the exhibits. The tour of Whaling World gave us a great insight into whaling in the 70s and why and how it was all done. The Whaling Station is in its original condition, clearly maintained as a museum. With the rain increasing, the waves smashing on the rocks and the blizzard like winds, we asked if we could return (for free) the next day or when the weather was better. Sure, not a problem.

We went into town and grabbed a few groceries and then went and had a free shower before heading to our new camp at Cosy Corner East. The forecast was for 100km winds, which we were dreading. We parked up, while it drizzled, and had a look around. It was right on the beach and although the weather was terrible and you couldn’t go down the beach, the sounds of the waves smashing were lovely. We were lucky to be in such a sheltered spot we didn’t even feel the wind that night.

We went to bed and watched a movie.

The next day we tried again to finish Whaling World. The weather was slightly better with rain breaks every 5 minutes and the winds slightly less ferocious. We finished seeing what we wanted to and left. We looked at the Salmon Holes and it rained. We tried looking at the Blowholes, got 200m along the tracked and turned back, because of the rain and then tried the Natural Bridge and Gap. Seeing these two places was actually quite spectacular in such rough and windy weather; a little scary too walking along the rocks. The waves were getting pounded into the rocks and splashing up onto the carpark and of course us! Anyway a few quick photos and we were back in the car.

We returned to the Blowholes to give it another go after a couple told us they were really good. We managed to get there and back (1600m return) just as it began to rain again. Verdict – they were crap. Nothing like the ones we had previously seen at Kiama or Tassy. You really didn’t get an aerial view of the water coming in just a little splash and a woosh noise. Oh well, the exercise and 78 steps did me well.

We then went into town again and had a nice shower and return to camp. The skies had cleared a little.

We woke to a beautiful sunny morning so off we went. Our first stop was the hospital, to get Rhys’ itch on his eyebrows looked at. While I waited there Rod and Mitchell went and did the washing. It felt like such a waste being inside on such a beautiful day. But after 2 hours we were off.

We headed for Emu Beach, which was just gorgeous. It reminded me a little of The Whitsundays with the gorgeous coloured water and islands. There were a few trawlers that went through the channel while we were fishing, which was quite a pleasant sight.

We saw a man catch a snapper off the beach/rocks, so decided we should have a fish ourselves. Not that I needed much convincing to go fishing. A few bites but we caught nothing.

We left as the clouds started coming across, had a hot shower, grabbed some hot chippies and headed back to camp. The weather there was much better and social chit chat began. There ended up being Louise and Paul, Kym and James (with two boys) and Martin and Amanda (with two boys) all standing around chatting. It was so lovely seeing all the boys play soccer and to find such a big group of people, in the one spot, with kids.

PHOTOS: Albany

46. Esperance to Albany

2012-05-07T10:19:00.000+10:00

The next day we ran into the people who we met in Streaky, the other people who got no sleep from the young people partying all night. We went to town and got Rhys shoes and went to the chemist to get Rhys’ itch looked at and cream. I also too the computer in to get looked at. We returned and go the van and as we were pulling out Jim was parked out the front.

We got gas, cleaned the van (desperately needing it) and booked the van in for Friday to get serviced.

We headed for Cape Le Grande National Park. Google it. It was amazing. We had to stay at Lucky Beach Campground as Cape Le Grande Beach was full. When the sun was shining the water and sand were spectacular. We went for a drive and poked our heads into some of the bays throughout the NP. Very, very pretty. There were many islands off the coastline too. That day the wind was quite strong and then at night the clouds came over and it drizzled.

The next morning we took the opportunity, before the winds picked up, to climb Frenchman’s Peak. It was quite steep and 224m high. I made it. The sign did say allow 2 hours but we were up it in 25mins, even though I stopped frequently.

The views from the top were amazing. Initially we came to a semi amphitheatre like section, which we thought was the top. I walked to the other side to take photos and realised there was more. So we hiked to the very peak contending with the wind. By now the winds had picked up a lot. At times I would tell the boys to crouch down on their bums so the wind wouldn’t blow them over. There were also parts of the peak that were hollow, on a large scale, which you looked through from above. Really amazing.

On the way down the wind often caught my foot and blew it across, almost ankle tapping myself. Not good. We did it and it was amazing.

We came back and had a snack and then headed up the beach in the car for a fish and a play on the dunes.

The sand dunes were no good for boggy boarding down so while I fished the boys decided to swim. The water was, surprisingly, not that cold. The wind was though. The boys had a ball while I sat on the waterline, on the camp chair, fishing. Really nice. Would have been better if I had of caught some fish.

We returned back to camp, had lunch and a cuppa and Rod and I headed off to the rocks to have a fish. No fish. There was too much weed around. It was pretty much all along the coastline.

I had a go at making Leonie’s fudge while Rod slept – it worked out ok. The closest I have even gotten to making fudge but very sugary. I will work on it.

That night we cooked up crab (that I caught at Streaky), oysters (from Tassie) and squid (from somewhere). While I was down cooking up the crab the boys decided to make Rod into a porcupine while he slept, pegging pegs all over him. That night we lied in bed and watched Remember the Titans and fell asleep.

The morning we packed up – we are still getting use to WA time. We are eating at 6.30-7.00, and are asleep by 9.30; remember that is 2 hrs ahead of QLD time. So while we are in bed the neighbours are cooking dinner.

We took the van in to get serviced and the bearings changed. We got Rhys shoes and some groceries. Rod also got beer with three free lures this time. He always scores. We grabbed some hot chippies and went down the esplanade to eat, even though it was drizzling. We then walked out on Tanker Jetty and saw the resident seal, Sammy! He was such a poser and so very cute. There were these girls feeding him squid and fish and he clung to the pylons with his flippers looking up with his big eyes.

From there we went to visit Jim, Jim, Bev and Christine for a cuppa and chat. Rod picked up the van and we left Esperance quite late in the afternoon with the rain falling. We stayed at Munglinup Rest Stop, which was quite nice. Had a warm shower, made dinner and went to bed.

We woke up in the morning and had showers again. We went back 4km and headed along the dirt road poking our heads in to all the camp grounds along the way – Munglingup Beach, Starvation Boat Harbour and Mason Bay. We ended up at Cape Richie and the van was all muddy again.

I went for a fish off the rocks. I got a few bites but nothing much.

We bought a wheelbarrow of firewood and made a fire. I whipped up a damper and we put the roast in the fire. A simple dinner as we didn’t have many veges. We watched I Am Sam, which went for a long time, and ended up going to bed at 11.30pm (QLD time).

Rod discovered the caravan tyre had a big bubble so we drove back to Wellstead in the morning to change it and I noticed they had showers. So while he changed the tyre we all had showers and pushed on to Albany.

We were told about a particular van park so found it first up and pulled up. The weather was not great. Overcast and bitterly cold winds. We just hung out in the van – the boys on their ipod and laptops, Rod pottering and watching tv and me, well I caught up on all my photos and blogs which I haven’t done since Peterborough! Grr.

PHOTOS: Esperance to Albany

45. Ceduna and Nullarbor Plains

2012-05-06T22:33:00.000+10:00

We pulled into Ceduna and found another fully automated toilet. I am thinking that they have these to deter the “locals” from camping in the toilets. Ceduna was the first town in a very long time that reminded me of living up north. Locals hanging around on the corners dressed in their best. Needless to say I was not sold on Ceduna even though it was quite pretty.

We had a bite to eat and started chatting to these other people who pulled up behind us. Meet Jim, Jim, Christine and Bev!

So we travelled with them and camped the first night at Nundroo, only 30km or so from the Aboriginal mission. The boys collected firewood and we sat around the fire. Knowing I had to get rid of my fruit and veg before crossing the border I made a massive pot of pumpkin soup to share with everyone and Christine (the other one) made damper. Together it was yummy.

The next morning Rod did an oil change and I cut up the 3kgs of potatoes and put them in the thermal cooker and we headed off again. We had showers at the famous “Nullabor Roadhouse” and went to the Top of the Bight viewing platform. Unfortunately we were too early for whales but the views were amazing. It was even better that the man on the front counter stuffed up and we got in for free!

Rod and I stopped at a couple more lookouts along the way. The first lookout was just beautiful. The cliffs and the water were amazing. We even returned to the car and made the kids come back out for a look.

The next lookout Rod did another good deed and climbed on top of a man’s caravan and re-sticky taped his hatch closed. It had come off due to deterioration. I chatted with a couple sitting there and swapped some recipes on the thermal cooker.

We decided to pull up short of the SA/WA border to eat some more of our food. I made another pot of pumpkin soup and we cooked up some of our Tasmanian Trout. We were lucky enough to find Jim, Jim, Bev and Chris again. This time we were perched on the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight – an amazing view, the water just there and the winds hurling through. We rocked all night long.

We said our goodbyes and left in the morning. We didn’t get far until we stopped at the “border control” and next minute Jim and Christine pulled in behind us. We got rid of the rest of our fruit, after the boys had just eaten an apple and a huge bunch of grapes within ½ hr.We met up again just down the road at Eucla and went down to the old telegraph building for a look.

We drove most of the day – nothing to report. We saw one dingo.

We found a free camp with a large shelter that we pulled up and under, thinking it was going to rain. We decided to give it ½ hr before moving on if nobody stopped to stay the night. Just as the time had lapsed Jim, Jim, Bev and Christine pulled up. It was so funny.

The V8 trucks were going by and I was trying to convince one to pull over and give us free tickets or merchandise. No such luck.

The boys went and collected firewood and we set up under the shelter, out of the wind. There were no communal feeds for dinner but I attempted to make pumpkin scones in my thermal cooker and Bev made a lovely date and walnut cake; which we enjoyed later that night. We had a much better sleep that night.

We really did say goodbye again, knowing we would see everyone in Esperance in a couple of days. We headed off to Norseman thinking it was going to offer grocery shops, water, showers and cheap fuel. Well we got free showers but that was it. They wanted money to dump the potty, money to get water, which I heard was crappy and the IGA was known to be very expensive. Anyway, cranky we left and headed for Esperance and Rod even let me drive for a couple hundred kms while he had a nap.

On our way to Norseman we did another good deed and pulled over a compass van whose pop top was popped, while driving. We ran into them in Norseman and it turns out it was the man I met at Streaky Bay in the laundry – we go way back. LOL.

We arrived in Esperance and stayed at the Esperance Waterfront Van Park. Ordinary, very ordinary and aged. It did the job and the highlight was the $2 washing machines and $1 dryers. We did all the washing and drying that night.

PHOTOS: Ceduna and Nullarbor Plains

44. Coffin Bay to Streaky Bay

2012-05-06T22:16:00.001+10:00

We left Louth Bay and headed off. We stopped in at Coffin Bay, near the boat ramp of course, and watched many oyster boats come in. All but one was empty. We had a look at Venus Bay but the weather put a damper on things. It was drizzly and cold; however we did throw a line at Venus Bay off the jetty. Nothing.

We ended up staying at Farm Beach. I took Mitchell for a walk down the beach and chatted to a few people who had just come in from fishing. They caught 42 squid and were cleaning them all up. Another guy caught a few too. We then witnessed a man getting bogged while trying to get his car and boat back up from the beach, not good. He tried to help but weren’t much use. Eventually he got himself out.

Later that night I went down for a fish off the beach – no luck. I am not a good beach fisherman and it doesn’t help when you don’t have a proper surf rod and the copious amount of seaweed that was around. I did leave it too late too and it got dark, very quickly. Note to self – take light when fishing at night!

The next morning we stopped at Elliston at a lovely park for bacon and eggs. After that we did some sightseeing at Murphy’s Haystacks. Murphy’s Haystacks are a random group of rocks on a private property, which have been there for many years.

We continued on a dirt road, sometimes rough and arrived at Point Labatt, the only seal colony on the mainland. We did see this on a DVD and they recommended you had binoculars, which we didn’t have. However, it was amazing. There were so many seals and little ones swimming and playing in the pools of water. It was well worth the drive off the main road. I might add the boys loved it too.

We left there and got to the caravan park at Streaky Bay late in the afternoon. We scored a great spot with ocean views and right near the toilets and games room. They boys discovered straight way that the racing game was faulty and you could play for free, so they were happy for the next two days.

I had a chat to a few people about the fishing around here and went for a drive, alone, to check out one of the beach launching areas. I was very scared but so proud of myself that I drove on sand. I drove very fast that I knocked both side caravan mirrors but didn’t care, I didn’t want to get stuck.

I returned on dark and went for a fish down the wharf by myself. I caught a couple shitty fish and a legal size crab, which I managed somehow to get up on the wharf. It was an amazing sunset and night and really picturesque watching the sun set and all the lights around the bay from the end of the wharf.

A late night for me as I was doing blog stuff but gave up because the computer was going too slow. The next morning the computer wouldn’t start – which is why my blog and photos have not been posted for a long time L

The next day Rod took the boys down the front to search for razor fish while I waited 1 ½ hrs in the laundry to do 4 loads of washing. Rod cooked them up and we ate them. Absolutely beautiful, just like scallops.

After Rod and I went for a walk downtown; I could live in Streaky!

I took both the boys down the wharf fishing and got the shits real quickly. Rhys was bored after 5 minutes and the winds blew up and it became quite cold, so we returned to camp.

That night I took Mitchell back down and we only caught little fish. Rod and my sleep was interrupted by young people camping behind us when they returned drunk at around midnight, making enough noise to wake the dead. I went over and ever so politely told them to shut up and be more considerate; they didn’t care.

So we (everyone within a 2km vicinity) spent the next 4 hours listening to them sing, play the guitar, talk, laugh and have sex. Not impressed let me tell you. Man was I cranky the next morning. So I went over and banged on their door and repeated said “Good morning, are you awake?” no answer.

We left Streaky.

PHOTOS: Coffin Bay to Streaky Bay

43. Adelaide to Port Lincoln

2012-05-06T22:03:00.001+10:00

We decided to stay at Adelaide Foreshore Caravan Park – a Big 4. It was massive and there was lots there for the kids to do; except the cost was going to be $54! So knowing how big it was we decided to sneak the kids in and not pay. It was school holidays so I thought they could just blend in – along with the cat!

Well guess what – they put us on the site right beside the dam reception. Stress me out. We got away with it but my paranoia certainly reached a high.

The kids went off as we caught up on things back in the van and quickly ducked over to Harbour Town for some groceries.

Berice and Kevin returned from the city with their two friends Rose and Bazza. We all sat around getting acquainted and nibbling on crackers and cheese. The kids were not to be seen until after dark – they were exhausted. A lovely roast for dinner and we were set.

The next morning was a rush, but we were on a mission!

We headed for the chiro for all the boys – Rod says the chiro was the best he had ever been too. We then took the stupid dam aerial to the manufacturer, Happy Wanderers, to get fixed. A quick glimpse of Glenelg and we were back to the van park before check out.

We then returned, grabbed the van and went back to Harbour Town so I could buy some bras at the Berlei / Bonds outlet.

We left there and manoeuvred our way through the city with Nuriootpa in sight. We had one stop at Hungry Jacks (regrettably) and headed off.

We arrived at Angela and Arthur’s house, collected the mail and sat around chatting and having cuppas. We then went for a walk around the town looking at the first caravan ever built, which is on display in front of the Top Tourist Park in Nuriootpa. We returned and I put the washing on and had a tour of the gardens, sampled some of their home made olives and sundried tomatoes, which were mighty fine. The night ended with a lovely roast and homemade quince, chocolate and almond dessert.

We packed up and left fairly early, unsure of how far we would get but knowing we had to move along.

We headed across country in a NW direction. Every 15-30km was a three house town which resembled shandy towns. Very run down and unkempt houses, not pretty.

We hit Port Pirie on the coast about lunch time and stopped for a quick bite and look around. There wasn’t much there and the weather was unpleasant.

We pushed on and went into Port Germein, home of Australia’s longest wooden jetty, 1.2km long. So we grabbed our rods and went for a stroll out to the end, and of course a fish! Nothing to report there but we did enjoy watching people from the Yorke Peninsula try and catch crabs and watched dolphins swim around.

We drove back a few kms to a free camp on the side of the road where there were a few others parked up, and stayed the night. We chose the spot right next to the covered shelter and set our burner up on it. Made a divine steak and potato bake for dinner.

The next morning we packed up and headed towards Port Augusta. Quite a bit town but being the weekend everything was pretty much closed. We went down to the boat ramp, found this most unusual toilet, and had breakfast. Now, the toilet. A silver box from the outside which was all electronic. Push button to open the door. Push button to lock. Sensor to apply cream, water and then hot air to dry your hands. Automatically washes itself and if you take longer than 10mins it will unlock the door automatically! Oh and music played once the door was in lock mode. Needless to say, Rod and the boys had fun playing with the toilet.

We left Port Augusta and tried for Point Lowly, a recommended spot to put our boat in, however there were so many people there we kept moving.

A brief stop in Whyalla, which sent Rod mad and made him very cranky. We couldn’t find Woolworths and we couldn’t get into a servo with the van. Finally down a back street we found Woolworths. And guess what, after we left we found another bigger shopping centre, with another Woolies…grrr. Three servos later we left Whyalla heading for Port Gibbon.

We arrived at Port Gibbon, thinking Kevin and Berice were there, but they weren’t. Anyway, we parked up the night, went down the waterfront and saw some more dolphins and had a good old chat with Di & Ashley. That night Di came over to visit and I tried to cook bread and butter pudding with my thermal cooker. It was ok.

We left fairly early in the morning and headed for Louth Bay, where we were meeting Kevin, Berice, Rose and Bazza. We arrived and set up, checked out the wharf and the fishing. The rest of the party arrived. We were hesitant to get the boat down as the weather wasn’t the best.

We went for a fish that afternoon but there were no bites. Mitchell caught one squid that night.

The next morning we put the boat in, a story in itself with the beach launch and low tide. But fear not, no crocs here so it was all good. The boys picked me up from the wharf and we went fishing. We didn’t go too far from the wharf as the winds were up and I was a tad scared after all the “big shark” stories locals had told us about.

Not a bite, not even one.

We pulled the boat out and packed it. We went for a drive into Port Lincoln to do washing and have a look around and perhaps find a shower – no luck. Not a bad little town.

We returned to camp and went for a fish off the jetty. I thought Kevin and Baz were down there already but they got side tracked chatting. Well they missed me catching the first squid for the arvo. It was just a laugh all afternoon as I ended up catching two squids, Rod two and Allan (the guy camped beside us) one. So with 5 in total we returned to camp laughing.

Mitchell had the shits as we didn’t come and get him so he stormed off down the wharf to catch squid.

On dark I went to get him and he had caught one. We met Clint, an oyster owner/farmer from Streaky Bay way, who was using tommy ruffs to lure squid in. There were schools of squid, like I have never seen before, and well Mitchell was just throwing his jig in and pulling in squid! He got 5 in total. We returned to camp, Mitchell showed his catch to Kevin and Barry, who laughed and we cleaned up and had dinner.

The next day I cleaned up all the squid – 12 in total and we packed up.

PHOTOS: Adelaide to Port Lincoln

42. Warrnambool to Adelaide

2012-05-06T21:51:00.001+10:00

Well a lot of distance covered and not a great deal to report.

We left Peterborough and headed for Warrnambool for some much needed stock – food! Peterborough and Port Campbell had little to offer and what they did they sure had a price tag on it!

Warnambool was a big town. We stopped at Ray’s Outdoor to see if they had these thermal cookers that we had been chasing. $120 later and we blew budget already. Fuel was another$155 and adding groceries were $115 more. Lucky I average out by the month.

We pulled up at a big park “Lake Pertrobe” and the boys were off while I read about the new thermal cooker. First meal in the pot – apricot chicken and spud. At the park there was a massive flying fox, swings, waterfalls, these cool boats and plenty more. Needless to say the kids were amused.

We left Warnambool not really seeing too much else, nothing really grabbed us.

We got only 30km down the road for a cheap stop at Killarney Beach - $20/night. We didn’t even go for a fish we were too tired.

Heading off in the morning we stopped at Port Fairy, only about 15km down the road. A cute little town. There was a 3km walk around one of the adjoining islands – Griffiths Island. We walked out to the lighthouse and back while the kids, mostly Rhys, whinged all the way.

We headed inland and there was really a lot of nothing in between.

We got to Dartmoor and had lunch and thought we would go to the next free camp however we never found it, crossing into SA. So we returned the 30km to Dartmoor and pulled up camp for a bit. The boys went and kicked their footy while I chilled out, chatted to people and got dinner happening. Second night of thermal cooker and we had sausage dish – prepared by Rodney. Although I had to use up all the potatoes before crossing the border, so I cooked them all up in preparation to make potato salad!

We left Dartmoor and crossed over to South Australia! Yay.

We got into Mt Gambier and stopped at Ulpherston Gardens. A sink hole which was converted in the 1800s to a lovely garden. It was beautiful and free!

We moved onto look at Blue Lake – we were lucky enough to see the amazing colours before it turns grey for winter. We inquired about doing an Aquafier tour but he wasn’t overly convincing so we gave it a miss. We ended up at the Information Centre where we paid $5 to go through and see the Discovery Centre. I am sure it was good but I was put off by how much “indigenous” shit was in it. Seriously, when I went to school there was no talk about them at all and now you hear nothing about white man. And did you know the “indigenous” people survived the last iceage?

We pushed on, knowing we had to start making some ground, briefly stopped at Beachport for a quick look and camped on the side of the road 14km south of Robe.

In the morning we packed up and headed for Robe thinking we might have breaky there – we didn’t. It was rather fresh and windy. We continued onto Kingston SE and I cooked up a feast of bacon and eggs. As we finished cleaning and had packed up ready to go we thought we’d look at the jetty. Bad mistake (on Rod’s behalf). We found fresh squid ink which gave us the fishing itch to have a go at catching squid! So we returned to the car and got our fishing gear and went fishing.

Mitchell threw his line and caught a squid straight up. Threw it again and caught another squid, straight up! Assy shit. I caught a King George Whiting – the first for the family! This all happened within the first half hour so we were pretty keen to stay. I also caught a couple under sized fish and lost one big squid. The only problem was just convincing Rod to stay.

So Mitchell and I fished a little longer while Rod and Rhys went and did the washing. Time flies when you are having fun. We threw the towel in and I went for a drive around town with Rod while the kids stayed in the van. We had convinced Rod to stay a night J

We returned fishing at 5.30 and stuck it out until after dark – Mitchell caught another squid, the rest of us nothing. The sunset over the water was spectacular.

Keen as mustard I got up and went out early for a fish -7am, Mitchell joined me and Rhys, well he bought me out a coffee. Such a good kid. A light cool breeze and not much was chewing. I lost a couple of squid and caught a 34cm gurnard (I thought it was a rock cod but who knows).

I filleted and cleaned the squid while Rod packed up the van and we were off. Lucky we stopped just down the road to fill up with fuel because we forgot to lock the van door. Oops.

We made good ground that day, nothing too great to see on the drive. Quite boring. We got to Langhorne to a free camp, drove an extra 16km to Milang for great $1 showers and returned to set up. Met some people from Perth, exchanged free camp information and went to bed. First time we slept in ages with windows open. Was so nice.

We left there in the morning, after doing the chatting rounds and headed for Adelaide to catch up with Berice and Kevin (people we met in Tassie).

PHOTOS: Warrnambool to Adelaide

41. AFL, Melbourne to Peterborough

2012-04-14T07:51:00.001+10:00

So again we were super organised. I guess you can’t sleep in when you are illegally camped along ritzy Melbourne foreshore! We woke up and had breakfast and rugged up ready for the city.

We couldn’t park too close to the tram stop so ended up about 1km away, walked to the tram stop and caught a tram to the city. A little drizzly and cold but not too bad.

We headed straight for Target and Big W to find Rod a new pair of volleys; today was THE DAY! With success we found a pair in his size and buried the old ones in the closest bin. Rod even took a photo first. So with his new, bright white shoes we headed off to our favourite lolly shop!

The lolly shop was closed, so were the markets. So we headed off to DFO and ended up at the new Harbourside, which didn’t impress me so we headed off to DFO. At least it was inside. Nothing exciting there. The kids got Subway. Rod and I saved ourselves for China Town to get something yummy for lunch there. I wasn’t about to waste my money on something normal.

So we found a restaurant and ordered the lunch specials for about $8.00 each. They were great meals and so were the big bowl of complimentary prawn crackers we devoured.

It was time for us then to head over to the MCG ready to watch our first live AFL game, Hawks vs Cats. With thanks to Tamara we got fantastic tickets right on the halfway line, thankfully undercover. Just as the game started it drizzled. And can I say it is true. Melbourne experiences all the seasons in a day, in our case, every 5 dam minutes. One minute it was sunny and we were blocking the sun with our hands. Then the clouds would come over, a cool breeze, a drizzle of rain and then the sun. This happened every 5 minutes, the whole game. Anyway, there were 69200 people there and the stadium was huge. I think Rod was the most excited of us all. We did leave after the 3^rd quarter, just to beat the crowds and the dark and the cold.

A quick trip back on the tram to Port Melbourne and we headed off in the rain and dark for a free camp near Geelong.

We pulled into the BP and made some dinner and went straight to bed.

The next day we woke up and headed off exploring.

While we only explored Geelong foreshore, it was quite pretty. There were all these old bollards which a lady had transformed into different people, who represented people of historical significance to the town. We did a walk along some of the waterfront and read about each one while the kids played on the playground. I was also keen to see the historical wooden carousal which is housed along the esplanade. There was also a swimming enclosure and kid’s pool. Really very pretty, but too cold for us. Photos will show you the views.

We left Geelong and headed clockwise around the Bellarine Peninsula. We passed through Portarlington, cute but not a great deal there. Next was Indented Head where we saw the house from Grand Designs. The boys and I watched the show one day and it just happened to be that house. We got pics of course. We then went through Queenscliffe, looked at the waterfront, walked up the 360° tower and reminisced about the nothing that we remember from 13 years ago.

We continued on to Barwon Heads, which is apparently where “Sea Change” is filmed; a show on ABC that we had never heard of. We headed to Torquay and continued on to show the boys Bells Beach. There was a surfing tournament on and grandstands etc were all set up, but no surfers in sight. But still exciting.

We kept moving to Anglesea as the day was getting late. Nowhere there to free camp so at the next town, Aireys Inlet, we stopped at the information centre to ask. Nope, there was nothing until near Lorne. So we cooked dinner there and continued on, in the dark. Not a good move.

We drove up a vey big hill to find this free camp, overshot the turn off, found somewhere to turn around; a one lane dirt track, not good. Turned around and returned to the free camp turn off, turned in, and found out it was closed. So reversed out of yet another one lane, dirt track, with a van on back and went back down the hill 12km. Needless to say Rod was very cranky and I was tired. We pulled up illegally on the waterfront at Lorne and had a plan in place to cop the fine and give the poor copper a serve! Victoria does not have many free camps.

We got up super early and left before we got caught!

We returned to Aireys Inlet, so I could see what I missed the previous night in the dark, thanks Rod! We spotted the “Pole House” which is just a house that is built on one very big pole. We returned to Lorne and kept driving through to Apollo Bay.

At Apollo Bay we had nice hot showers and filled up with water. We parked down town, got gas and walked downtown, while the kids played on the playground. We also go a few supplies.

We left Apollo Bay and found a nice spot on the side of a hill, with gorgeous views of the valley and had lunch. We continued on to Aire River East, free camp and set up.

The boys went for a fish with Rod while I had a little snooze and prepared dinner. We had a lovely early dinner and people turned up with two boys similar ages to ours, so they all played soccer until after dark. Both our kids went to bed early that night buggered.

In the morning we got up and had breakfast and headed off, without the van, to Cape Otway Lighthouse. Not far from our camp, while driving along, Mitchell spotted a koala. So we stopped and took some photos and watched him for a bit. Closer to the lighthouse there were heaps of koalas, so we stopped and took more photos, impressed by how many there were in the trees. So then we played spot the koala in the trees as we drove. I thought it would be cool to show the boys inside a working lighthouse, but not for $46.50/family. We did a short walk, saw the views and returned to camp, packed up and headed off.

We managed to do Gibson’s Steps and the 12 Apostles that day.

Gibson’s steps were apparently named after a man who owned the property adjacent to the beach. He loved fishing and couldn’t go due to the sheer cliff drop offs. So slowly he carved steps into the cliffs to get to the beach to fish. The original steps have since eroded and the Parks have put in official steps. You really don’t get a concept of how high and straight the cliffs are until you are standing at the bottom of them.

We continued on to the 12 Apostles. Since our last visit, 13 years ago, they have put a massive information centre in and a big boardwalk. It is all very nice and I am sure the helicopter flights that run from there are raking it in at $95/10ms!

Deciding to come back the next day, without the van, we headed off to Peterborough.By name dropping (that I knew the crew from Discover Down Under) I got a good rate and kids free at the Top Tourist Park! Very nice and clean, things for the kids to do and a river front site!

The kids went while we did the duties: washing clothes, setting up and charging everything up. They even had an over so I took the opportunity to make chocolate muffins – oh how I miss home baked goodies! Rod and I went for a walk down the road. I can’t really say downtown, because there is no town here. We sat and had crackers and cheese and Rod had his quota of 2 beers. The boys even got to watch a movie at night.

The morning sunrise was spectacular with all the colours and pelicans in the foreground. Unfortunately I was too lazy to go to the car and get the camera to take a photo.

We had breakfast and headed off to do all the things we missed the day before. We did have a brief stop at Port Campbell to sus out the fishing on the jetty and a monument up on the hill. Very pretty little town.

Starting back at the Loch Ard Gorge we did a couple of the walks there, Broken Head, Thunder Caves and The Gorge. Great views from most of these spots. We then did the Arch, London Bridge and finished with my favourite The Grotto.

While most of the others resembled rock formations in the water with parts eroded away, the Grotto was still attached to the land and you could walk down to it and look through the eroded hole to a little water pool and out to sea. Quite spectacular. Friends of ours said the water was right up high when they were there, which would have been great to see.

With the boys over walking and all sightseeing complete we headed up to Timboon Cheese Factory. Well the signage was dismal so we ended up taking a longer, scenic route. Finally got there and tried some cheese. Way to expensive so we left; which I am sure the lady was mad about.

We returned to camp where we again utilised the oven and put on a roast beef, lasgna and vegetables. The boys ventured out to the river and waded in the water with another boy. While that was cooking we had crackers and cheese with the new neighbours, Wendy and John, who are also from Brisbane. Along the foreshore of the van park there were 4 of us, all Queenslanders! Dinner was very, very yummy. The colours in the sky at sunset were gorgeous. We ate early and headed back to Port Campbell for a fish, hoping to get some squid.

There were many people there and no one was catching anything really. So we didnt’ stay long, returned to camp and had warm showers and a muffin for dessert. The night was cold but not as cold as the previous night. We slept well and so did the boys.

PHOTOS: AFL, Melbourne to Peterborough

40. Devonport, Latrobe, Devonport

2012-04-13T07:01:00.002+10:00

We left Ulvertsone in the morning and headed to Devonport to collect our mail. We got the mail and as it was a sunny day we decided to head for Ashgrove Cheese Factory, again, to get another round of ice creams and cheese! With our vouchers of course.

On the way back to Devonport we thought we would have a look at Latrobe and try and track down a fellow we met in Mallacoota, Ron. The only thing we knew was that his name was Ron, he lived at Latrobe and his wife worked at the Information Centre. Small town, this couldn’t be hard. And it wasn’t. We walked in and asked the fellow if he knew a lady who worked here with a husband called Ron. Yep, I’ll show you where he lives! So he did.

We turned up at Ron’s house as he and his brother Nipper were heading out to mow. So he suggested we all go back to the Information Centre for a cuppa, so we did. Mitchell went trout fishing in the river while we chatted and had cuppas.

During the course of the afternoon we met his wife, Nolene, who was actually the manager of the Information Centre. We also learnt that Ron was heavily involved with the Platypus Reserve “Warrawee Park” and has basically built and revegetated the river and area to increase the Platypus population over the past 20 years. He has also won an Australian Landcare award! He withheld all of this from us when we met him, very humble.

He offered for us to stay at Warrawee Park, which is only open to the public through the day. The gates get locked every night and opened every morning. We took him up on the offer as it was a magical place to stay. The kids tried their hands again at trout fishing as they were jumping everywhere! Ron also took us on his Platypus tour where we saw cute little platypuses swimming in the ponds.

We returned to have bacon and egg burgers and another early night with a bright moon rising through the trees. I also got to throw my scraps out to the possums who quickly came along to eat them.

The next moring we hung around the park while Rod mowed the lawn. This helped Ron out a little (not much) but gave Rod a fix. The kids got adventurous and crossed the river in their clothes, to try and get to the other side to fish. However, they left it too late as we were just about to head off. Ron’s brother Nipper, who is also heavily involved in Warrawee Park, invited us to go trout fishing– which we did!

So after lunch we headed off to a private dam trout fishing. They were not on the chew as much as previous times visited but in all there were 6 caught. I caught one. Quite different to saltwater fishing let me tell you.

We returned to camp close to dark with $6 worth of chips, stoked the fire and cooked two trout. We had trout and chips for dinner. Rod actually liked it, which I didn’t think he would. Anyway, the weather was coming in so off to bed we went.

The rains started and so did the wind. Rod was getting grey hairs thinking we were going to get flooded in, however I was keen to sleep!

Ron came around the next morning, we had a chat and headed off towards Devonport; but not without stopping at the Cherry Shed first. Totally overpriced so we left.

Oh I also finished my book – finally! First novel ever.

Back in Devonport we dropped the kids off to mini golf (voucher again) and went to do the washing. We returned to get the kids and headed off and got pizza for lunch, a nice treat. After that we did some much needed groceries and then parked up down the esplanade so the kids could play and we hung out the clothes to get them dry. There was amazing moon rise that eveniing.

We cooked up dinner and went back to where the ferry leaves from and parked there the night. We had to throw some of our clothes through the dryer just to finish them all off.

Easter day was quite unconventional; we only remembered a half hour after we woke up. There was no chocolate exchanging as we still have chocolates from the Cadbury Factory, but we did take another block of chocolate on the boat - it was Easter!

We left and drove 30m to line up for the car ferry back to the mainland.

We spent $100 and upgraded to a cabin. This was based on the notion that there were very rough seas and having a cabin would be a good option. Also the fact we could lie down, sleep, have showers and chill out, helped in our decision making.

I did a little work on the computer, Rod read the book, the one I finished, he also went and watched a movie with the kids. The kids sat on the top bunks playing on their laptops. I felt a tad queasy and ended up watching The Cup with Mitchell in the afternoon. The boat was running a little late as there were not one, but two cruise ships leaving Melbourne Port as we were coming into it. Quite a nice sight however getting on the dark side to get a real good look.

We arrived in Port and drove around the corner and parked up along the waterfront for the night.

PHOTOS: Devonport, Latrobe, Devonport

39. Penguin, Wings Wildlife Park, Ulverstone

2012-04-12T20:36:00.000+10:00

The next day we headed off towards Burnie. We stopped at Penguin to see all the penguins. Not real ones anyway. Cute little town. Once we got to Burnie Rod went back to this 2^nd hand mag wheels shop for a look, he was impressed.

We continued on and headed for Wings Wildlife Park, to finally see devils. We were pushing to get there by 1.00 for the devil feeding – we made it. Let me tell you not impressed by the lady on the counter in respect to our voucher, however, I won the battle.

We wandered around and looked at the variety of animals they had there, quite different to a normal zoo. There were trout, which splashed everywhere when they were fed, these cute monkies, very tiny, mice, devils, birds, owls, chooks, emus, roos, buffalo, donkeys, deers, rats, ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs and plenty more.

Two highlights for me were the feeding of the devils. They were so cute. They gave them a kangaroo tail and because devils can’t see through the day they all fought over it, one would run around and the other two would chase the scent. Quite amusing.

The second highlight was watching the monkeys. Oh I love them. But to add to the story there was this little baby, a boy, gripping on his mother’s front giving her a big bear hug. Next minute he lets his left leg flog, realises there is something between his legs and starts playing with it. It was hilarious.

We left the Wildlife Park and headed back to Ulverstone. We found the free camp there, again magical spot. We were parked right on the river, right next to a massive park for the kids and 500m walk to the centre of town. The kids went off and played all afternoon and Rod and I walked down town. At night Mitchell had a go at fishing in the river as the tide came in, with no luck.

PHOTOS: Penguin, Wings Wildlife Park & Ulverstone

39. Penguin, Wings Wildlife Park, Ulverstone

2012-04-12T20:21:00.001+10:00

PHOTOS: Penguin, Wings Wildlife Park & Ulverstone

38. Burnie, Wynyard, Stanley, Dismal Swamp & Rocky Cape

2012-04-12T20:18:00.001+10:00

We stopped in at Waratah and had breakfast. We saw a waterfall in town and read about the old battery. We also saw a water tunnel in the middle of nowhere.

Moving on we got to Burnie and went to the information centre to find where the free showers were. We took the 1km walk along the boardwalk to town and showered and then had a quick look around. Realising there was not much to do in the town we left and headed west.

The next town we got to was Wynyard. We were told about the old Fords in the information centre so we stopped there for a look. We paid the $17 and went through to see many, very nicely, restored Fords with polished brass bits. Most of the cars are owned by a man who lives in town. He really has done a wonderful job.

We got a couple of kms down the track and detoured again to see a Historic Lighthouse. Closed for painting.

Continuing on we missed the Peggs Beach camp spot and ended up at Black River camp spot. Thinking for $13 for no facilities we were better off back at Rocky Cape Tavern we returned there and set up.

The boys cooked tacos, I put on the washing and we met some people and sat around the fire for a bit. It wasn’t as cold here as it has been previous nights, which was nice.

The next morning we were super organised – no more day light savings time to contend with. We were fed and packed and headed off to “The Nut”. We arrived at 8.30am and it didn’t open until 9.30am. Not wanting the winds to pick up and we miss out we decided to hang around Stanley, which we rather took too, and kill time.

We found ourselves down at the water’s edge on the docks. I spotted a few fish and thought I could throw my line in; not having any tackle with us but bait and our rods. I threw close to the wharf and Rod was having a go at me telling me I wasn’t going to catch anything there, so I threw it out further. After about 5 minutes I threw it right in close, where I initially wanted to, and caught a fish! A wrasse I think. A couple more casts and I caught 3 in total. The 2^nd fish, another wrasse, was a very good fighter and would have been worth keeping, but we didn’t have a knife to cut his throat or gut it. Oh well. Oh and once I caught the first fish the boys had a go with no luck.

We got up to “The Nut” just after 9.30am. The Nut is a rock formation on the edge of the water. Geologists think it is from a volcano, I think. There is a chairlift that goes up the edge and you can walk around the top, which we did. We saw lots of pademelons (wallabies for us) and birds. There were also some fantastic 360° views.

We left there and headed for Dismal Swamp. This place was recommended to us by many and we were lucky enough to have a voucher for it, making it a little bit cheaper.

Dismal Swamp is basically a land mass that has sunk and self drains; apparently it is still sinking. There were timber boardwalks which weaved their way through the trees with many different paths to take. Not sounding so great. Well, the reason we went is because there is also a 110m slide that takes you down to the swamp, which goes at approx 27km/hr. Quite deceiving until you hit the 2^nd corner! It was lots of fun but not worth the hefty cost of $50/family for 2 slides each. We paid $40/family, although the lady was debating the voucher.

We left there and returned to our camp at Rocky Cape. We cooked roast pig for dinner and let me tell you it was one of the best meals I have had in ages. After dinner I took Mitchell fishing; well we didn’t end up fishing. I think we were given a bum steer on the jetty and squid fishing, but we did see a lot of nocturnal animals which we bought Rhys back to see also. Lots of possums and wallabies. The possums here are so placid and don’t mind you having a close up look at them.

PHOTOS: Burnie, Wynyard, Stanley, Dismal Swamp & Rocky Cape

38. Burnie, Wynyard, Stanley, Dismal Swamp & Rocky Cape

2012-04-12T20:18:00.000+10:00

We stopped in at Waratah and had breakfast. We saw a waterfall in town and read about the old battery. We also saw a water tunnel in the middle of nowhere.

We got a couple of kms down the track and detoured again to see a Historic Lighthouse. Closed for painting.

Continuing on we missed the Peggs Beach camp spot and ended up at Black River camp spot. Thinking for $13 for no facilities we were better off back at Rocky Cape Tavern we returned there and set up.

The boys cooked tacos, I put on the washing and we met some people and sat around the fire for a bit. It wasn’t as cold here as it has been previous nights, which was nice.

We left there and headed for Dismal Swamp. This place was recommended to us by many and we were lucky enough to have a voucher for it, making it a little bit cheaper.

PHOTOS: Burnie, Wynyard, Stanley, Dismal Swamp & Rocky Cape

38. Burnie, Wynyard, Stanley, Dismal Swamp & Rocky Cape

2012-04-10T17:37:00.000+10:00

We stopped in at Waratah and had breakfast. We saw a waterfall in town and read about the old battery. We also saw a water tunnel in the middle of nowhere.

We got a couple of kms down the track and detoured again to see a Historic Lighthouse. Closed for painting.

Continuing on we missed the Peggs Beach camp spot and ended up at Black River camp spot. Thinking for $13 for no facilities we were better off back at Rocky Cape Tavern we returned there and set up.

The boys cooked tacos, I put on the washing and we met some people and sat around the fire for a bit. It wasn’t as cold here as it has been previous nights, which was nice.

We left there and headed for Dismal Swamp. This place was recommended to us by many and we were lucky enough to have a voucher for it, making it a little bit cheaper.

PHOTOS: Burnie, Wynyard, Stanley, Dismal Swamp & Rocky Cape

VIDEOS:

Sliding at Dismal Swamp

37. Sheffield and Cradle Mountain

2012-04-08T17:53:00.002+10:00

We packed up and left early only getting 2km down the road to Sheffield. We had a wonder through town looking at the many murals people had painted. Very talented. There is a mural park where every year people come and paint on a designated wall. These were currently all white as the competition was to start in a week. So the old ones had been sold or auctioned off already, to make way for the new ones.

We had a little look at a shop which was selling jackets and vests very cheaply so Rod and I bought one each for $20 each – bargain!

We left Sheffield and got to Cradle Mountain, over some very steep, windy roads and crossing over a gorge. Very pretty countryside and we wished we had seen it with some snow on it.

We arrived at Cradle Mountain and got our free ticket to catch the bus up to Dove Lake. There were three bright white patches of something on the tops of the mountains still, which I was convinced was snow – I was right!

We arrived at Dove Lake and did two short walks. One was to the boat shed and the other the glacier. Both had gorgeous outlooks across the lake and towards Cradle Mountain. We were lucky the clouds weren’t too low and you could see all of Cradle Mountain and Marion’s Peak, with minimal cloud cover. We could even see people on top of Marion’s Peak. Very cold.

We returned to the Information Centre toying with the idea of doing the Devils tour but decided it was too much money. We left and decided to look for the “local’s place” which was given to us by the bus driver. It was just 3km from Cradle Mountain called Lake Lea.

It was beautiful. Other than 2 other people there trout fishing, who left after an hour, we were the only ones there. It was very pretty. Mitchell tried to trout fish with no success. I left some sausages out for the animals, hoping to see a Tasmanian Devil, but no luck.

We were in bed very early after a nice warm curry. I could hear something running around outside but each time I got out of my very warm bed I saw nothing, so I gave up.

During the night the winds picked up, as they do in Tassie, and I didn’t get much sleep as I was cold. I checked the sausages in the morning and they were all gone....

We left Lake Lea and decided we didn’t have enough time to get to Strahan and Queenstown so headed north to Burnie.

PHOTOS: Sheffield and Cradle Mountain

36. Launceston and Railton

2012-04-03T20:30:00.002+10:00

This morning was a moment we said our official goodbyes to the Hawkins Family (including Jayne). We headed back towards Launceston via the eastern side of the Tamar River. It wasn’t quite as scenic as the western side, but still a nice drive and decent road.

We got to Launceston and decided that the free Tiger Bus was the way to go, to see everything. So we parked the van at Coles/Kmart and walked the block to the bus stop. The bus stop just happened to be at a nice big park which allowed the boys to have a play on the playground

After the time came when the bus was meant to come I decided to call the information centre to see if it ran on a weekend – you guessed it – no it didn’t.

So we gave up that idea and walked to the National Car Museum. Rod found a shirt he liked, but it was white and he didn’t want a white shirt, so he didn’t buy it. We didn’t go inside either as we figured we had seen enough of cars by now.

We wondered onto the next tourist attraction, Boag’s Brewery, to discover it doesn’t open on weekends. Man this town is backward. So we returned to the Car Museum, didn’t buy anything and didn’t go in but had one more quick look around.

We left and walked back to our car at Kmart and went and bought a couple of things – groceries mainly.

We left Launceston a little disappointed by the whole tourist attraction thing, but liked the town more than Hobart. A lot prettier, nicer old buildings and more appeal.

We headed off towards Deloraine, called in to the free camp and left a sign on the Hawkins van – but we continued on.

Upon stopping at the Deloraine Information, for the toilet, we worked out there was a cross country road to Cradle Mountain, so we decided on that.

We passed through Railton and saw all the topiary, hedges cut into animal shapes. It was very impressive.

We continued on to Sheffield where we just made it before the free showers closed. We all had nice hot showers and went and set up camp. It was quite a cool night.

Photos: Launceston and Railton

35. Launceston, Beaconsfield and Batman Bridge

2012-04-03T20:13:00.002+10:00

In the morning Rod & I decided to be organised and get some things done: groceries, camp shop etc. So off we headed and decided to get the tyres rotated on the car, which meant our shopping trip was cut short and we were rushed to get the car to the tyre place by 10.30am (Mickey Mouse time)!

We did it. Rod stayed with the van and kids and packed up and I took the car and while it was getting done walked to Woolies and got groceries, oh and had a cappuccino from the free machine! (It wasn’t much chop)

We all left and thought we were heading for Beaconsfield however I was a little sus given we were in back streets. Karen (Shane & Jayne’s navman) was taking us to Cataract Gorge, which we were going to have a look at anyway. So we went to Cataract Gorge and had a look. It was very lovely. We didn’t feel the urge to do the walk around nor pay the money to do the chairlift. The kids however did enjoy the “inclinator”; a lift that goes up and down on an angle!

We left there and headed up the very scenic road which follows the Tamar River up towards Beaconsfield.

We went through the very iconic Beaconsfield Mine Museum. It was very informative and had other things in there like apple packing and tools of the trade; information on Batman Bridge and its construction and other old telephones. The good thing was there were two things that kept the kids interested. One – a find a hunt of animals around the museum and two – a lot of interactive sections for kids to have a play with, including telephones.

We bought some meat from the butcher’s and headed to Beauty Point, which was okay. Nothing to rave about.

We headed back to have a look at Batman Bridge and discovered that it was not a day use area but a free camp. So we set ourselves up and started up a campfire. It was great. We also saw a possum.

We were all off to bed.

For those of you who get coldsores, I sympathize with you. They are horrible, counting number 2 in the past month. Me and wind do not go well. Anyway update - the patches work really well.

Photos: Launceston, Beaconsfield and Batman Bridge

34. Pub in the Paddock & Legerwood

2012-04-03T20:04:00.002+10:00

We were very organised and packed up early from Bay of Fires and headed towards Scottsdale, thinking we might stay at Lilydale. Anyway 20km down the road, first stop, Pub in the Paddock!

A random pub in the paddock and to celebrate Shane and Rod had a beer and the kids and Bianca paid $1 to feed the pigs beer! It was so cute. Mumma pig also had 3 piglets which were very cute too; they didn’t drink beer.

We sat in the pub and read the many things on the wall from sayings to newspaper clippings of people in the area. There were also many pictures of bike riders who have visited the pub including Mick Doohan. There was also a cheese factory just 1km down the road so we had to stop there too.

At the cheese factory they were making cheese which you could view through the window. The cows were getting milked by robots, which was pretty interesting to watch and of course the free cheese tasting; we only bought 2 types.

We left there and headed for Legerwood – a town where there are tree stumps (very big ones) which have been cut down and carved into memorial pieces reflecting people who lived there who died in the war. Truly amazing and very special for the locals. We ended up having lunch here in the park.

We left there and drove through Scottsdale, which looked pretty nice and headed for Lilydale free camp; recommended by people as being quite nice. It wasn’t much chop!

We drove on and thought we would just stay in Launceston; we could only find one caravan park in town so that is where we stayed. Treasure Island Caravan Park. It wasn’t too bad. The facilities were nice, the sites were level, there was water and power however again, not a great deal for the kids. But Mitchell, Rhys and Tiffany seemed to entertain themselves returning to the vans on dark to have showers and help with dinner.

Dinner: baked potatoes with sour cream and filling – very nice! We even got tv reception so we sat and ate and watched a bit of tv.

Photos: Pub in the Paddock
Video: Rhys feeding the pig beer (not sure link will work for this)

33. St Helens and Bay of Fires

2012-04-03T17:31:00.005+10:00

We woke up early and I rang mum for her birthday – I had to use Rod’s phone as this was the first place Optus was out of action. We still didn’t get away until 10-ish and we met up with Shane & Jayne again in town.

We stopped at IGA and got a few supplies and poked around town for a quick look and headed out towards the Bay of Fires. Rumours were out that Parks & Wildlife were going to burn off so not to stay at Cosy Corner North, but we had to. It was the best of the all the free camps and the specific spot we got was amazing.

We set up by lunch time and the kids (Mitchell, Rhys & Tiffany) went off and played and made a massive sand fortress on the beach. We also collected firewood as there just happen to be a fire pit right next to our site. We went for a walk along the rocks and saw many starfish, little fish and these black squishy things. The water looks so nice.

That night we had a combined dinner of pepper steak, sausages and salads all around the campfire, which was nice. While sitting around the campfire we came up with many stories to tell the ranger when he came the next morning as to why we cannot evacuate. These included: we have sighted a spotted quoll, which are endangered; there were German tourists out in the bush walking somewhere; or lastly, Shane was going to come out naked and tie himself to a tree. Also, while we were sitting around the fire I could feel my lip burning, the early warning signs of yet another cold sore. NOT HAPPY!

We saw a spotted quoll and a bunny, while the other crew experienced possums on their roof through the night.

The next morning we woke up hoping that we would not have to pack up and leave our gorgeous spot. Along came the Ranger man and he broke the good news that the winds were going to change and they were not going to burn; we could stay!

So with that Rod and I unpacked the boat and decided to head out for a fish. We only took Mitchell as Rhys didn’t want to come and he was happy staying back playing with Tiffany on the beach. So off we headed. We didn’t get out there until 10:30am, but that was ok.

The water was pretty good, a little swell and a little cool but good.

We had the MOST AMAZING EXPERIENCE! While we were fishing a dolphin was swimming around, it kept popping up and came within 2 meters of the boat. Next minute Mitchell spotted a seal. Not quite as close as the dolphin but close enough you could see it swimming and flipping its tail in the water. We moved on a bit further and fished some more. Next minute we saw another dolphin. All I wanted to do was go in and get Rhys, however the waves were breaking right near the beach and it was difficult to pull up and get him; however we thought we’d try.

So we motored fast heading for the beach where we were camping and next minute there were dolphins bow riding with us. There were at least 8 on my side and I was unsure how many were on Mitchell’s side as I was too excited videoing and watching the dolphins out my side. They were jumping out of the water and splashing us, they were putting on an amazing show. You just felt like reaching over and touching them. This lasted for a good 5 minutes. It was a once in a life time experience with nature, truly an experience that I hope Mitchell never forgets.

Moving along, we caught 3 fingermark perch, small but we kept them and it made a nice snack for dinner.

When we returned Jayne, Bianca and I went into town to grab a few things and me, well I bought coleslaw stuff (the patches and tablets). Yep, I got yet another coldsore L Not happy.

We returned to camp and cooked up a couple dozen oysters. Some we were Kilpatrick and others we did a way Shane had done previously, with sour cream and chilli sauce. They were actually quite nice. We cooked up the 3 perch, on the fire, and added a vindaloo and fried rice to the mix. We all sat and ate dinner around the campfire.

We spotted the most fattest possum ever and a few more of his friends. The spotted quoll was also out and about. However, another early night for us all.

The next day Rod & I woke up fairly early and got organised to go out on the water before the winds blew up. We were out there by 8:00am, again Rhys stayed behind.

We tried to find the spot we had fished in the previous day which had lots of fish there. We thought we found it ok, caught a fish there. Anyway, decided to go over towards the rocks and fish. The fish finder was beeping like anything. That day there were no seal or dolphin sightings, but we did catch 8 fish; 4 wrasse, 2 flathead (returned one), 1 leather jacket, and 1 fingermark perch.

Today’s fishing experience was occurred once we returned to the jetty. There were 2 guys diving for sea erchants. They had a tinny full of them and he explained how they catch them, how much he gets for them and what part they (the Chinese) eat. He even threw one up on the docks, cracked it open, washed it and let me try one. Texture of an oyster and similar taste, however looks like orange muck! Not too bad though.

We returned just after lunch with our catch and was beginning to feel a little cool and the rain (well drizzle) we coming over. So we headed into town to have nice hot showers (for free) and grab a couple of items from the grocery shop.

On the way back to camp we decided to drive all the way to the end of the road, which our camp site was on, heading towards The Gardens. Lovely scenic drive and a straight stretch of road; which is very rare in Tassie!

Dinner: The idea of making pizza pockets and cook them on the fire was diminishing fast with the drizzle so we put them on the webber – they turned out sensationally. Thanks to the boys for making the dough and cutting up all the goodies to go on them. We ate them inside the van, rather than in front of the fire, as it was drizzling L I love campfires.

The kids got to see only one possum that night and we were all in bed early again – Rod even earlier as his back was killing him.

Photos: St Helens and Bay of Fires
Video: Dolphin Experience

32. Freycinet & Bicheno

2012-04-03T07:16:00.001+10:00

I woke and potted around the van while Rod took the batteries over to the wharfs to charge. I cooked up some bacon and eggs and went for a nice hot shower. It was still cool but not as cold as yesterday.

We met up with Shane & Jayne again, and the girls and headed for Freycinet NP. We pulled into Friendly’s Beach and had a look around, decided to head up towards the paid camp spot but they were booked out. The lady at the information told us about another free camp at River and Rocks Rd – so we left and headed for it.

We set up and eyed off the camp fire pit...went for a quick walk along the beach front, if you called it that. Mitchell, Rhys and Tiffany played some games and then ran around playing, was very nice to see. We all collected firewood and settled around the fire a cuppa and chat. Very nice. Oh camp fires how I have missed you.

The next day we woke up, had breakfast, packed up and headed for Wineglass Bay Lookout; a 1 ½ hour walk. The day was perfect. Clear blue skies, little wind, magic. I even got to wear a shirt and shorts – no jumpers!

We completed the walk, including a good stop at the top in just 65 minutes; however at some point going up I did think I was going to die. LOL. Yes Leonie, there were lots of stairs. Probably not as many as doing the 11km walk but enough.

Along the walk there were many nice outlooks towards Coles Bay, some amazing rock formations including very big rocks balancing somehow and some birds. The lookout was spectacular. As the sun was out and shining the water looked electric blue and very calm and very inviting for the boat! The kids (Mitchell, Rhys and Tiffany) basically ran up and down the whole bloody walk. When we returned to the carpark we found the three of them patting a wallaby.

We headed for Bicheno and stopped in the park for lunch. We drove around the esplanade seeing the Golch (a rock in the water) and the Blowhole. We left and headed north not really knowing where we might camp; however we needed to charge up so unfortunately we had to pay for a caravan park! I am sure Shane & Jayne had a magical free camp along the waterfront.

We ended up at St. Helens Hillcrest Van Park, one written in my notes as recommended. It was very ordinary if you ask me. But all we wanted was a good hot shower and power and we were off the next day.

Rod potted around outside doing car maintenance and I read some more of my book and made dinner.

PHOTOS: Freycinet & Bicheno

31. Triabunna

2012-04-03T07:12:00.001+10:00

Hoping for snow this morning we woke up to not to bad weather. After about ½ hr it changed. OMG we were rugged up to the nines including our beanies. Was so cold. The wind was just cutting through us. (I was currently sitting in a t-shirt, jumper and big jumper, beanie, jeans, shoes and socks and my hands are frozen.)

We went back to Sorell and did a load of washing and cleaned the van. We also grabbed some more groceries and headed off towards Triabunna.

Driving along we were all looking for a park with a power point, so we could charge our battery and continue free camping. Jokingly I said, “Yep, we need to find a park, with a playground, toilets, power points, near water”. We got to a town called Orford and found just that! Bonus. The only thing missing was a nice hot shower.

So we parked up and the boys played on the playground, made pikelets, Puddy basked in the sun, we hung our washing out and plugged into power! There we settled for a good few hours.

We left and drove to Triabunna and found the free camp behind the pub, parked at the back, out of the wind. Rod and I went for a quick walk down the main street and returned freezing.

I made a big pot of pumpkin soup, it was lovely. However with the cold we were in bed about 5pm just to keep warm. This would have to have been the COLDEST DAY EVER! Not nice.

PHOTO: Triabunna