Our New Mantra...

 Saturday 15th We were ready to go on a misty morning in Heathcote but our travelling companions Tom and Jan, were a little tardy so we got away about 7.30.  The trip to Bendigo and around the outskirts went smoothly until we came to the inevitable Road Closed sign near Eaglehawk. Fortunately there was a coffee van nearby so we had breakfast while we contemplated our options.  Tom and Jan were simply keen to get home whereas we were tourists and the next week in the Mallee country was not going to be good so eventually we decided to turn around and go with a new plan. Tom and Jan pushed on using various backroads as advised by local farmers and finally made it to Mildura after 10 hours on the road. We navigated our way around Melbourne, not an easy task, before pulling over for lunch and getting out the map. Options 1. MotoGp on at Phillip Island? 2. Stay in Warragul then continue up the coast. 3? First 2 options were no go...no availability at either place so we found a ...

 Tuesday 11th After waving farewell to the Smiths our first stop was just down the road in Benalla. The plan was to visit the I shop then coffee at the Art Gallery overlooking the river. That plan fell apart when the ishop was closed for renovations and the Gallery closes on Tuesdays! So It was a walk over the bridge to town where we found the temporary ishop which had a creatively decorated bicycle at the front door and a very helpful assistant, who pointed us to another coffee shop. We then spent an hour strolling around the wall murals, some of which I hadn't seen when I was here with June a few years ago. We then returned to the Botanic Gardens surrounding the Art Gallery where there is a very moving memorial to Weary Dunlop Shortly after leaving Benalla we realised that we had left our pillows behind so we aimed for Seymour to restock and found a pleasant park for our lunch.  After checking the weather forecast for the next few days we decided to forgo Ballarat and the Gr...

 Sunday 9th October It's hard to imagine that next time we see the family Arthur will be walking and about to have his first birthday. Roll on Christmas! We pulled into Gundagai for lunch not expecting to see too much open on a Sunday afternoon so we were pleasantly surprised to find several choices open and quite a few people about.  As we have found in many spots the water levels were very high with roads/bridges underwater. I think the tape and barriers were rather unnecessary! It was interesting to read that The original town was destroyed by flooding in the 1800s and was rebuilt on higher ground...a lesson for Lismore perhaps! Arriving back in Wangaratta, we collected the van (cost a whole$8 for 4 nights storage) and headed out to Glenrowan where Libby and Eric had taken up residence in their next housesit. There was plenty of room for our van outside and us inside the house.  It was a perfect afternoon and evening so we enjoyed another delicious home-cooked meal aro...

 Wednesday Last night I heard from my sister that she was in hospital with pneumonia, so Duncan has organised a doctor's appointment for me on Friday. As we left Wangarratta the rain began and became heavier as we headed north...and persisted for the next 4 days in ACT.  Jugiong had been recommended as a stopping point so we enjoyed a pleasant lunch there.  The next 4 days we spent catching up with the family,enjoying the interactions with Arthur. He thinks Popop is the greatest thing since sliced bread and the feeling is mutual. After my doctor's appointment on Friday we went along to Wiggle and Giggle at the local library. Such enthusiasm from the leaders considering most of the kids were more interested in each other but I guess something will stick. On Saturday morning Duncan and Bianca made the difficult decision to have their beloved cat, Chicken, put down. He had been losing weight rapidly and was losing all his strength so it was time. RIP Chicken. To avoid us all...

Saturday 1st October Michael decided to take an unorthodox route to Wangarratta so our first stop was the small town of Numurkah for his coffee hit. Like many of the small towns we have visited its main street is littered with empty shops but there are some interesting murals. Some of them were done by the artist who did the silo art at Tungama, Sobrane. From here we travelled on to our second stop of the day at Yarrawonga. I visited here several years ago on my road trip with June and knew that it would appeal to Michael.  The town is situated on the southern bank of the on Murray River but   the  main attraction is  Lake Mulwala , which was formed by the damming of the River. The lake is a popular location for activities such as boating, kayaking and fishing. Such a large expanse of water makes it feel as though you are on the coast. Once settled into our recently flooded van park in Wangaratta our friends Libby and Eric called around to see us. They have recently ...

 Tuesday 27 We farewelled Hay, leaving behind 2 sisters feeling increasingly unwell as I coughed more. Not Covid as a couple of negative RATS confirmed. The only point of interest on the trip was another amazing storm front which we fortunately skirted around. Once settled in Barham, another park on the Murray ( almost IN the Murray) we did a scout out of town. Even the caterpillars seem to be gathering above the waterline and the fisherman could only catch yabbies...which have to be returned to the water. Wednesday 28th Fortunately the water wasn't any closer to us this morning so we crossed the border for a walk along the Koondrook sculpture path. There are 18, soon to be 19 ,wooden  statues which depict the pioneer men and women of the district along with the iconic wildlife of the area. These works of art were carved out of local red gum by world renowned chainsaw carvers Kevin Guilders and Angela Polglaze. The path took us through the middle of Arbuthnot Sawmill where we ...

 Thursday 22nd September Today dawned a lot brighter and allowed us to appreciate our site beside Lake Wyangan just outside Griffith.  As it was the Public Holiday to honour the Queen there were no shops or attractions open so we took a drive to Leeton. My original plan for today was birdwatching in Lake Cargellico so I just transferred the idea to The Fivebough Wetlands outside Leeton. The wetlands are a RAMSAR site covering about 342 hectares. There are various ponds connected by pathways through the cumbungi with 4 birdhides. There are a sprinkling of sculptures including these brolga...and I did see real brolga as well but they were too far away for my camera. I would recommend a visit here for any of my birding friends but not in the summer! Our second night at the Lake was much more pleasant than the first. Friday 23 September We were pleasantly surprised to find that Griffith is a thriving busy town without the usual main street full of empty shops. I put this down to t...