A visit from home!

Our friends, Julie and Rasmus and their three kids came to meet us for the Labour Day Weekend.  Our eldest sons, Sam and Ben went to kinder then school together and we have become very good friends with the whole family. The kids were all missing their friends so it was lovely to have a weekend with the Fiedler family.

We arrived at Willow Park on Wednesday night and realised (to our disappointment) that the campground was limited to a 36 hour stay. We were very worried that we wouldn’t find somewhere to stay for the long weekend at such short notice. The next morning a very friendly man came around collecting information on all the campers. After a long chat to him we made a great deal! His job is to write down what type of vehicles camp at the Park, but he was hoping to go away for the weekend. So he asked Sam and Will to keep a record of all the visitors to the Park and in exchange, he would let us stay there for the weekend! The boys kept their word, made a big chart and filled it in every night before bed.

Late Friday night Julie, Rasmus and the kids arrived. It was wonderful to see them and the kids were all so excited. Once they were set up and the kids were in bed, we caught up over a few drinks.

The next day we walked into town and got ice creams. By the time we returned it was sunny and hot! So we spent the rest of the day sitting in the shade, watching the kids play in our homemade wading pools!

Sunday morning we went to the local market. We didn’t buy much but it was a nice market to look around. The market was surrounding a playground so the kids stayed there while Julie and I wandered.

It had once again warmed up and was hot and humid by the time we got home.  We decided to move the kids wading pools under the big willow tree and spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in its shade.

After a great meal at the local pub we had a campfire and toasted marshmallows.  It was a great way to end a fantastic weekend. The next morning we packed up and said a tearful goodbye. We were so glad that the Fiedler family could join us for the weekend. It was a very relaxing weekend which we all really enjoyed.

Next stop.... Paradise Beach!

A Hidden Pirate Cove!!

We regretfully left Inverloch (such a beautiful place) and headed further east along the coast. After an argument with Kate (the voice of our GPS) over the correct way to go – Kate, of course, won – we arrived at Yanakie.

Yanakie is the small town just before you enter Wilsons Promontory National Park. The Yanakie Rest Area is a small stop on the side of the road, with a playground, BBQ, toilets and tables. It is basically the carpark of the local town hall. We decided to stay there until we figured out whether we were going to camp at The Prom or if there was somewhere a bit quieter (and cheaper).

That afternoon I went for a drive while Dan worked in the caravan. We knew that staying in a National Park was going to be a bit costly so I went on a mission to find somewhere better. I drove towards a little place called Shallow Inlet. There was a small caravan park on the right but it didn’t look very inviting. A little further on and I entered a beautiful bush campground. My only concern was whether we would fit in. After a quick chat to the ranger, we decided that one of the first campsites was going to be perfect for us.

The next morning we packed up and moved to Shallow Inlet Campground. The campsites are all very private and separated by trees and bushes. There are little walkways to the beach all along the campground.

One evening we went for a walk around the campground and along the beach. The tide was out and the Inlet is very shallow so the water was a long way out. The boys were once again fascinated by the little red and blue crabs that buried themselves whenever we got close. We watched a beautiful sunset then headed back to the caravan before it got dark.

Back at camp we were greeted by a very unexpected guest trying to get into our rubbish bin. It was the first time the boys had seen a wombat in the wild and was a great surprise. 

We visited Tidal River and Squeaky Beach at Wilsons Promontory Nation Park.  We used to go there when I was a kid and it was interesting to see how much it had changed.  As we were driving along the road through the Prom I was telling Dan about all the wildlife we used to see. Then we drove past a big open area on the side of the road and it was covered in kangaroos. On the way home we saw Emus in the same place.

We had a lovely day at Squeaky Beach. The boys thought it was wonderful that the sand is so soft it really does squeak as you walk on it. It was a hot sunny day so we found a nice shaded spot to have a picnic lunch. It was really nice to watch the boys having so much fun playing in the rocks and river where I spent so much time when I was their age.

The beach at Walkerville South had been recommended to us. So one afternoon after the boys finished school, we went exploring. It was high tide so we had to go for a swim to see anything, but all along the edge of the bay was a maze of caves. I swam carrying Zac, Sam and Will clambered over the rocks and Dan found a track up on the cliffs. We found a small secluded beach (probably very exposed when the tide is out, but it was our private beach for the afternoon) and had a great afternoon pretending we had discovered a Hidden Pirate Cove!

We then took in a bit of the local history when we walked over the point to Walkerville North. There are big Limestone Kilns that are no longer in use that you can walk over and look down on. 

We have had a lovely time at Shallow Inlet but have to leave the campground because it is booked out for the long weekend. We have friends from home coming to meet up with us so we need to find somewhere to stay when they arrive.

Let’s hit the road again.....

Awesome Inverloch - by Will Ellis

Our next stop was the Inverloch RACV Resort. Our son Will turned 7 on the weekend and the stay at the Resort was my parent’s gift to him. We thought it would be a good idea to let Will tell you about Inverloch from his perspective:

“When we went to Inverloch we had lots of fun. Before we left we needed to get the caravan ready and it took a while but we had fun when we got there. We followed Grandad and Grandma on the way there and we talked to them on the CB radio. That was good fun.”

“We went there for my birthday present from Grandma and Grandad. There was a flying fox, a giant swimming pool and a spa. All of those were awesome. My favourite thing was the flying fox when Daddy and Grandad were there because they pushed me all the way back and I went zooming really fast!”

“We rode our bikes to town and it was hard work getting up the hill but I still made it. Sam had to push his bike. On the second time it was hard for me and I had to push it too. It was because the wind was pushing me backwards. I almost fell off my bike the second time.”

“On the beach we saw a hundred thousand crabs. When you get close to them they dig under the sand. They don’t have big nippers. They have 8 legs and two small nippers. They are blue and red.”

“There was lots of cool playgrounds in the caravan park and they even had a big jumping pillow. The jumping pillow was amazing, oh man it was amazing you should have gone on it.”

“My favourite place to eat dinner was in the camp kitchen because there was a cool TV. Inverloch was great fun but I am excited to see more cool things around Australia.” (by Will, age 7 and 5 days!)

A possum peed on Pa!!!

We pulled in back at Loch, and found someone had pinched our spot! It seems you do have to book here after all!!

Because we weren’t going to be plugged in to power this week, we needed to find a nice sunny spot (with enough room for a few visitors), so we parked on the other side of the oval next to the cricket nets.

It was a bit weird coming back to Loch. We have been gone for over two weeks now and we have still only travelled about 100kms from Melbourne.  At this rate we may have to go back home before we even leave the state!

The car was booked into the Mechanics for Tuesday and we weren’t sure how long they would need it. Dan’s Mum and Dad didn’t want us to be stuck out here without a car, so they (ever so kindly) dropped Dan’s old work car off for us to use whilst the car was being repaired. It also meant that they had to come back to pick it up, so it was organised that they come back and spend the weekend with us for Will’s birthday.

My Mum and Dad are very keen travellers and are planning on catching up with us throughout this trip, so on Tuesday they arrived to spend a couple of weeks with us. We had only been gone for two weeks and they already missed us - more likely they missed their Grandsons!!

This gave the boys the chance to show Grandma and Grandad around town. It also gave me and Mum some time to go window shopping through all the antique stores in Loch Village.

After the boys finished school on Wednesday, they wanted to take Grandma and Grandad to have a look at the Loch train station. We couldn’t believe our luck when we arrived at the station to find the train stopped there. The South Gippsland Tourist train only runs on Sundays and we had missed it last time we were here. It turned out that they were doing some works further down the line and had stopped at Loch to get some media photos taken. The train driver agreed to let Dad take Sam and Will on to Korumburra Station.

This worked out perfectly because we had to go back to Korumburra to pick up our car. So we dropped Dan off at the mechanics and Mum and I went to pick up Dad and the boys at the Station. They had a great time on the train. They got to ride in the guard’s carriage with the photographers and the workmen.

Thursday after Dan had finished work we all drove up to Mt Worth State Park. It was a beautiful drive with views looking over the whole of South Gippsland. After afternoon tea we went for a walk along The Giants Trail to see the old sawmill. It was a very pretty walk, but we got attacked by leeches (nothing like the scene in ‘Stand by me’, much to Dan’s relief).

We were later than expected so decided to get fish and chips and eat them in Korumburra Botanic Park. We got back to the caravan to find it surrounded by Cricketers training in the nets. I heard a car that sounded like my brothers and then remembered where I was..... only to look up and see him getting out of the car. Chris was heading down to Phillip Island for the weekend and decided to pay us a surprise visit. It was so good to see him and such a nice surprise.

The next morning Mum, Dad, Chris, the boys and I went for a walk along the railway line to Hilda’s Falls. We were told it was only about one kilometre up the track so I decided to take Zac in the baby backpack. It turns out it was about a 5km return trip and I found out just how heavy my not-so-little baby is!

 

According to Will, Saturday was the best birthday he has ever had! After pancakes for breakfast, it was present time. Shelley and Barry arrived mid morning bearing gifts for all the boys.

After an afternoon spent at Coal Creek we went to the Loch Pub for Will’s birthday dinner. Mum and I had called into the pub earlier in the week to book a table. We asked the owner if there was anywhere locally where we could buy a birthday cake. She said “not really, but I could make one for you. I do a great Victorian Sponge Cake.” When we arrived at the pub I was taken out the back with Syb (the owner) and she showed me the beautiful cake she had made for Will. It was covered in bright green icing (his favourite colour), had toy cars on the top, and had the letters “WILL IS 7” written around the edge in chocolate ..........yum!!

 

 

We waddled home from the pub and decided we needed to walk off our massive meals. So we went on a possum hunt, only to have Pa jump out of the bushes and scare not only us, but also all the possums away. The possums got their revenge later in the night, when one of them peed on Pa, much to the Boy’s amusement! (They are still giggling about it)

We said our goodbyes to Shelley and Barry and packed up ready to head to Inverloch in the morning. Mum and Dad have booked a couple of nights at the RACV Resort for Will’s birthday present.

We have all really enjoyed ‘both’ our stays at Loch but are keen to move on and see many more beautiful places. We have told the locals that we will call back in again on our way home.