I woke up early on the day we were about to
leave, worrying about everything we still had to do, so I figured I might as
well get up and get started. I checked a few things that were really bothering
me (will the fridge fit in the space I’ve left for it in the car – yes!, do I
know where Caitlin’s special blanket is – yes! (although that night I
discovered that I’d forgotten to bring LiAM’s special blanket which was a
disappointing and at first he said he wasn’t using any other blanket so he’d
just have to get used to the cold… He did use something else though so he did
stay warm). Once I felt better about those 2 things the work load didn’t seem
too onerous anymore, I felt quite prepared.
So we spent the morning fitting the last
few (well, many) things into the car and trailer, and tidying up everything
that we were leaving behind, making the house nice for our house sitter. My Dad
called in to drop off something we’d left with him, it was lovely to briefly
see someone we cared about before we headed off.
The kids were very excited, even LiAM who
had been dubious about going even up to the day before. We gave him his
birthday present a bit early as we figured he’d want to use it on the trip – a
new Camera (a blue Nikon Coolpix S33) and he was thrilled and then even more
excited about the trip.
After lunch and when things seemed to be
nearing readiness, the kids got in the car, ready to go. It probably took us
another hour from there to get everything on top of the trailer and tied down,
and then get the trailer hooked up – with both the car heavy the towball was
lower than usual so it took a bit more work to get the trailer on – and then
getting all our trailer lights working – the connection is a bit funny so it
takes a lot of jiggling to get it just right. The car was also packed so full –
there were lots of things that we packed at the last minute that will end up
being in tubs or in the trailer, but for the first day ended up in the car.
Everyone was very accepting of the squished conditions, I was very impressed.
We also managed to do it all with fairly little stress – I had a little panic
attack not long before we left but managed to calm down without getting
sarcastic and cranky like I often do when packing, and only a few minor
tensions came up, it was one of our smoothest packing experiences yet.
Finally we left home at 2.45 – a little
later than we’d hoped but still with enough time to get somewhere before dark.
We stopped in Yarra Glen to get petrol, check the tyre pressure, and return the
last of our library books – I also popped in to a local shop to get some mossie
spray that they sell – she didn’t have any (wrong time of year) but had the
tester jar of some buzz off cream that they also sell, and she gave it to me
for free!
So then we were really off on our trip.
Originally we’d hoped to make it to Ararat on our first night, but it would
have been dark by the time we arrived so we looked for something a little
closer and found a free camping site, Slaty Creek, just out of Creswick, near
Ballarat. At first we’d also talked about staying in a caravan park on the
first night just so that it felt familiar, but by now we felt comfortable and
adventurous so decided to try our first attempt at free camping.
We were a bit uncertain as to where on the
road the campsite was but eventually we found some other caravans and found an
empty site and a spot we could set up camp.
As we started to set up we heard birds calling – they sounded like black
cockatoos – and suddenly a flock of at least 50 yellow-tailed black cockies
flew overhead. It was incredible! I’ve never seen more than 6 at once before, I
couldn’t believe there were so many.
It was almost 6 once we got the trailer in
place, and it took us 38 minutes to get the tent up and secured, mainly in the
semi-dark. In the meantime the kids were gathering wood and starting a fire in
the fire pit – it was pretty cold so a fire was quite welcome. Gathering wood meant they got to explore the
area around the campsite, it’s an old goldmining area, we’re on the edge of a
(currently dry) creek, with lots of fairly tall gums and hills interspersed
with little valleys and lots of rocks. A
great place to wander in the bush and they’re looking forward to doing more
when it’s light.
We had a basic dinner (mashed potato, sweet
potato and pumpkin with fried kabana) and set up the beds while Tony was
cooking. Millie ate and went straight to sleep, the rest of us stood around the
fire for a while (Caitlin found a cool rock to sit on) and chatted and played
with our head torches, and then headed to bed. Everyone had a really lovely
night and it was a great way to start our trip. I had moments when my anxiety
started to point out that I have to repack a lot of stuff in the morning and
it’s going to be a tricky job – then I figured I’m enjoying myself now and I’m
not going to let worry about a future job spoil the present. It probably won’t
even be that bad when I get started. Hope I can continue that thinking
throughout the trip.
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