I know it is Monday already but yes, we are home.  Left Lakes Entrance last Thursday morning and had a nice quiet drive to Traralgon.  When we arrived at the Park Lane Caravan Park it was not your normal type of caravan park.  It was quite a large park with all drive through sites but you did not have a site allocated to you.  You just drove around and chose any empty site.  It was a very clean and tidy site with a great kids playground area.  There was also a ropes type adventure course, but sadly, it was not open when we were there.  Went for a bit of a drive into the township and checked out the shopping centre.  Met up with 2 of my kids and one of the grandkids at the shopping centre before back to the park for a quiet night.

Got up on Friday morning and felt like a change had come over me during the night.  Yes, you guessed it, I turned 60 overnight.  Will have to convert the van now to cater for my walking frame.  What a great morning it was.  Windy and raining.  How great.  Anyway, when the bones were sufficiently recovered, we headed off to check out Lake Narracan and the quaint little caravan park overlooking the lake.  I had seen it many years ago and had very fond memories of the area.  In keeping with a lot of our memories, not all is as you remember.  Apart from the fact that it didn't even exist on the Garmin, it took us ages to even find it.  Even a sign on one of the posts directing us towards the park took us to a dead end.  Should have felt the omen then.  Would be great if you towed a van down that road.   

When we finally arrived we went in to check out the Caravan Park and what a mistake that was.  It was just like a scene out of all of those horror movies of years ago.  The only sites in the park were taken up by about 20 old and decrepit permanent units, accompanied by the customary trashed car beside.  The entire park had a real dead feel about it.  The only person we actually caught sight of was working in the front office/café/kitchen/mortuary.  Was too scared to go in and check out the amenities block, as pathetic as it looked.  Walking around you could almost feel the eyes peering out through the cobweb covered windows.  I am sure if you looked closer you could see the torn and ragged curtains part, as the occupants checked out the unwelcome strangers walking around their closed domain.  Lets get out of here never to return. 

Off to the shopping centre in beautiful Traralgon for a much needed coffee.  Had a bit of shopping to do as we were having a bbq that night with my kids and grandkids visiting us at the park for my birthday.  Got the meat and a beautiful bottle of wine and back to the park.  The only disappointing thing was that on the park info there was a section in relation to visitors.  All visitors had to pay a fee of $5 each just in case they had to use any of the park facilities.  I think this is a bit rich really as even the bbq's at the park required money to operate them.  Cant worry about that though as the bbq was good and catching up with all of the kids and grandkids was good.

Early to bed Friday night though as it had been a tough day.  Life is pretty tough now that I have gone over the top of that pinnacle.  During the night it felt like the temperature dropped by about 20 degrees.  I'm sure I didn't feel the cold when I was only 59.  Every time I rolled over you almost had to break the ice off the pillow.  It was bloody freezing.  Got up the next morning and the neighbour told us it got down to 4C.  Definitely the coldest it has been in the van for us so far.  Lucky for us it was time to pack up and head back to beautiful one day, perfect the next, Cranbourne North.  That's all for now.   

Here it is Wednesday already and tomorrow we will be off and heading to Traralgon to stop for a couple of days.  Yesterday we put the bikes into the back of the car and headed off to Paynesville which is just out of Brainsdale.  Paynesville is a lovely little fishing village, just the sort that you would see on that Escape to the Country show on t.v.  Could pick it up and transport it to the English seaside and it would fit in perfectly.  There were just so many boats in the marina down here, lots more than at Lakes Entrance.  Once again though, pretty boring if you don't fish.  There were plenty of signs pointing to the town centre but the ones pointing to the Raymond Island Ferry just sent us around in circles.  We eventually found it and parked the jeep and took the bikes across.  It is probably the only thing I have seen during our short travels that has been free.  $11 for cars but free for pedestrians and cyclists.  We took the trip across the treacherous waters in our stride, with Deb standing at the front of the ferry as if she was on the Titanic.  Very brave of her as the trip across the turbulent waters took us all of about 2 minutes.

Once on the island it was off to do a bit of exploring.  Deb put on her wildlife locating glasses and was just on fire when it came to picking out the koalas in the trees.  I think she got up to about 14 or 15 by the end of the ride.  I think I found about 3 or 4 but obviously I was more intent on  checking out the terrain, looking for other types of crawlies.  Her safety was much more important that finding koalas in the trees.  Also, being the tour photographer, I have other more pressing duties to keep track of.  Got some great shots of some koalas, the ones I found of course, and also of some birdlife.  We are becoming your modern day version of David Attenborough and wife.  Also checked out the local real estate and the houses on the island are reasonably priced.  Just not sure how you would go crossing every day on the ferry.  Maybe there are special rates for local residents.  The after hours call out fee for the ferry was $222.

 

It was now time to make the harrowing crossing back across on the ferry.  I am sure the waves were now up to 10cm but we toughed it out.  Coming back across we saw heaps of jellyfish at the side of the boat.  I attempted to get a photo of them in the water.  If you look hard enough you can see them.  They were about 20cm round and looked pretty awesome.  I am sure they were of the killer variety as they swarmed all around the sides of the boat but we remained calm.

We then drove around in circles trying to get out of the town.  No sign posts point towards Brainsdale, which I suppose is a good thing.  Anyway we eventually found our way and headed on back to beautiful Lakes Entrance.  I still had the 'devil' awning down from my recent calamities, which was a good thing as it rained over night.  The rain didn't deter the birds though.  I think about 6am this morning every bird in Lakes Entrance met up at the tree just outside our van for a squawking competition.  I think the mongrel kookaburras won, with their mocking laugh, closely followed by the most annoying thousand bird chorus of noisy little chirping vermin.

Aside from our early morning wake up call at least today the sun was shining and we just bummed around Lakes.  Probably caused by our lack of sleep.  Went for a ride this morning to the café and Deb spent part of the day cooking up some wonderful concoction in the Ecopot.  Just a relaxing day for our last day here.  Should be in bed by 6. 

 
     

The journey continues with us heading off on the Saturday morning (14/3/15) bound for Lakes Entrance.  When we left beautiful downtown Cranbourne it was without a hitch.  I have finally worked out that the van tows so much better with the hand brake off.  Took a while.  Along the trip we have seen a nice looking free camp spot that we will stop in on the next trip.  Just near Stratford.  Looks like you would have to get in early though as there were plenty of other campers there.  As we got closer to Sale it was time for a coffee break and rest for the body.  It was about midday as we drove into the town and it looked a lot busier than usual.   Being Mr Confident I made a turn near Maccas and drove straight into the main shopping centre and actually drove through the narrow, busy shopping strip. Worked out it was local election day and I was driving past a polling booth.  Of course I got one of those 'what were you thinking' looks from Deb but all was under control.  Managed to escape from the bedlam and parked nearby for a well deserved rest and walk around to check the sights. (ie coffee shops)  After the regulation coffee it was on to Lakes Entrance.  The park we are staying in is fairly small with challenging sites to park in.  Thankfully I think we had the only drive thru site in the place.  After setting up it was time to relax for the rest of the day.  Yeah sure. 

As the night wore on the wind picked up and of course that bloody awning started rattling and took on the appearance as if it was going to break free from the van.  As usual, instead of folding up the awning when we can see what we are doing, I would much rather do it when it is a matter of urgency.  You know the situation, by now it is late at night, windy and dark and as usual, all did not go as planned.  At one stage Deb is 1 step in front of me (normal some would say) in the fold up procedure and her end resembles nothing like my end.  The bloody devil awning was refusing to roll up until both ends were the same.  With a bit of force all went according to plan until it was found that the cord must be rolled up within the awning to enable it to roll out next time.  Not happening here.  The cord is wrapped around my end like a bloody anaconda and refusing to let go.  At least it is secure and I'll worry about it tomorrow.

Come the Sunday I could not attempt the awning renovation at least until after coffee.  We had a stroll town the street and checked out all of the natives.  It is such a lovely town.  Got back and borrowed a ladder and made the awning as it should be.  It was straight out of the work care handbook, Deb pulling the end with the cord and me up on a ladder attempting to force the middle of the awning out of its place.  Amazingly enough it worked.  We then folded it up and opened it out again a couple of times to make sure all was well.  Obviously I am doing something wrong here.  I have even got a couple of guide ropes now to further secure the awning and hopefully that works.  I am a total failure at anything to do with boy scouting so my guide ropes constantly come loose but at least it appears more secure.

We even got the bikes out in the afternoon and went for a ride around the town.  At least it is fairly flat riding so was easy on the back.  Had to work up an appetite as Deb has made a curry dish in the ecopot so we will eat well for the next couple of nights.  I know it is amazing but we actually slept with the awning down on Sunday night and the van was still in the same spot in the morning.  I have bought longer tent pegs for the guide ropes and hopefully our problems are over.  Yeah sure.  Spent the Monday just doing tourist things, went to Metung and checked out the sights.  What a beautiful little coastal town it is.  Even the real estate prices are reasonable but there would be nothing to do there.  If you weren't a fisherman you would be bored witless.  Deb spent some time this afternoon writing her book while I checked out the latest arrivals at the park.  It is good to watch others parking and you realise that it is obviously a practised art to become really good at it.  Hopefully that will be me in the future.  That is all for now.  Haven't done any photos as yet. 

Quick wasn't I.  Couldn't overload you with just one blog entry.  We are now onto the 3rd day at Inverloch and all is not as bright and sunny as the days prior.  On the Wednesday we took a bit of a day trip to Leongatha.  Don't think I can say anything more about Leongatha.  Was glad to get back to Inverloch.  Been checking out all of the real estate agents down here and they are not very consumer friendly.  The prices are a bit over the top.  Not really a lot in our price range.  Did check out a couple of little shacks in our price range between 1.5 and 2 million.  Back to the van to start up the bbq as Debs parents are coming over tonight for dinner.  Took them to our own private courtyard complete with bbq, childs playground, and the odd native rat strolling around in the undergrowth.  One of them, probably as large as a tiger (maybe a slight exaggeration), ran over my foot but of course I didn't flinch, I was cooking the bbq after all.  After they departed we then retired to the comfort of our caravan for a quiet night in watching tv.  Of course all could not go as planned as the remnants of Cyclone Tracey hit the caravan park just after midnight.  Lying in bed you could almost feel the awning being ripped from the side of the van.  It was either going to destroy the awning or else pick the van up and put us into some type of swirling vortex and deliver us into the Land of Oz with Dorothy.  At 12.30am the decision was made that the awning had to be put down.  Out I strolled dressing in my finest Rivers boxers, wonderfully complemented by my black slippers and grey hoodie.  The ensemble was completed by my trusty headlight.  (Just waiting for an offer from Vogue actually).  As it is not a one person job in a cyclone, Deb toughed it out in her A La Target' lilac coloured full length chenille nightgown.  A touching sight it was.  Anyway we eventually got the mongrel awning down and crawled back to bed with the cyclone still howling.  Not much sleep was had that night as the wind was, in all seriousness, extremely strong.  Can only get better on Thursday we thought but alas, Thursday was a pretty average day.  Strong winds, showers and next to no sun.  We decided we would walk up to the restaurant for a coffee and then would hit the gym area.  Anyway we were walking along the path towards our coffee hit when Deb jumped back and screamed that there was a snake.  I am really a bit concerned here as she didn't pull me back away from this huge snake, she just let me stroll straight past it in my coffee dehydration state of mind.  Anyway I strolled back and saw this huge monster snake.  Depending on my state of exaggeration it was anything between 18inches and 6ft.  I have attached a photo for your perusal but I must warn you, I did manage to doctor the image.  Not really sure how I did it so you will just have to believe me.  I have also attached the real life image so you can make up your own mind about how huge it was.  It did look like a brown snake though so even though it was only 18" long I was still totally stressed and needed coffee.  After our stressful morning it was spent in the gym on the treadmill and in the sauna for me, (yes I know, I need it) and then in the pool and the spa.  Definitely the lifestyles of the rich and famous.  Then spent the evening relaxing before that mongrel cyclone returned with a vengeance that night.  I am sure it was stronger that night and it was actually buffeting the van.  It poured rain all night as well.  Very little sleep was had again.  Up next morning and it is time to hitch up the van, but that is done during breaks in the weather.  Aside from some small issues, besides that huge snake, we had a great time.  That's all for now and will speak to you all next week. 

Huge isn't it.  

If you knew where to look you would see it.  Just huge.  

Inlet at Inverloch.  Tide is out.  

   

hi to all.  Time to update you on our latest trip in bazzasdreamland.  This week we have been in Inverloch.  We spent the last 4 days at the RACV resort and the caravan park there is just fantastic.  The sites are all huge and everything is just so clean.  The toilets and showers are kept so clean you could almost have a picnic in there.  Our first day was spent checking out the facilities and it is just so impressive.  There are bbq areas spread all around the entire site with walkways, kids playgrounds (and adults), swimming pool, gym, sauna and restaurants.  As can be seen from the photos, Deb could not resist a spin on the flying fox and the jumping pillow.  Bit of a relaxing 1st day but the next day Deb suggested we go for a walk along the beach.  How romantic I thought, being our wedding anniversary, but alas, I think Deb just thought I needed the exercise.  I should have known there was an ulterior motive as we seemed to walk forever.  At one stage we walked into a bit of a slipway where the tide was coming in.  Great, we have water on three sides of us.  A quick U turn which involved more walking in the soft sand, which for your information, is twice as hard as walking on good solid footpath.  I am on the verge of collapse when I see a vision in the distance, we had finally made it to the town.  A walk of over 4klms, which, by the way, included 3.5klms of quicksand.  After having coffee put into me through an intravenous drip the horrible realisation came that we would have to walk back the same distance.  I know, toughen up princess.  On the way back we saw a fisherman that had obviously found a great fishing spot and he wasn't leaving it no matter what.  I couldn't resist taking his photo.  We eventually made it back, walking along the path, and I fell into the Jeep for a well earned rest.  It was then back to the caravan for a 3 hour nanna nap.  (just kidding).  After resting we were off to the restaurant, on weary legs of course, where we encountered an echidna just strolling along our path.  Just a great place.  We then had a lovely candlelit dinner, complete with a troupe of violinists tossing red rose petals on the ground in front of us.  Oh sorry, I was just dreaming.  The candle was battery powered, no roses and no violinists.  Surely I get brownie points for thinking that.  Anyway back at the van about 10pm and Deb is sitting outside having a smoke when she calls out to me with a sound of trepidation in her voice.  Of course I race out just like a knight in shining armour and there is a fox just at the rear of the car.  Showing extreme bravery I chase it away, rescuing the maiden in the meantime.  What a legend.  I will sign off today and upload some photos before I start another entry for the next 2 days.  By4now.