Christmas 2019 Trip: Lakes Entrance -> Mystery Bay

I had another rough night's sleep - and when I tried to get out of bed in the middle of the night, getting down and up the ladder was a bit tricky due to the sore, tight muscles in my lower legs, from walking on the soft sand during the day. Amelie and I were up early and took Luna for a walk. This time we turned left out of the caravan park, away from town, and walked along the edge of the lake as far the path stayed near the water. We saw a tree shaped like a pineapple - Liam had seen one on the day we came into town, we hadn't seen one yet and it was pretty cool. Luna liked to walk on top of the low wall next to the path, so she and Amelie did most of their walking up there.

Back at camp we had breakfast in the kitchen area and chatted a bit to the park managers. We packed up as quickly as we could, and Caitlin walked into town to buy a shirt that she'd seen the day before. We were ready to hitch up before 10am which is very rare for us. Daryl (the park manager) helped us hitch and Caitlin arrived back just before we were about to leave. We were out of the park around 10.20, dropped Caitlin back into town because the shop she'd gone to wasn't open when she went, grabbed a few supplies from Aldi then met Caitlin at the shop (and I bought a wrap to wear over my swimmers, or when hiking, which I was pretty excited about) and were out of town by 10.50.

I had been a bit concerned that if the wind changed in the wrong direction the fires near Nowa Nowa (a little north east of Lakes Entrance) could impact the road out of town. The fire didn't move significantly overnight though, so the road was clear and we didn't see much sign of the fires except for smoke - although the skies were pretty clear where we were. The drive through the rest of Victoria was beautiful - some green river plains, lots of rivers with a fair bit of water in them, some lush forests as we went over hills/mountains, glimpses of the old rail line on some cool trestle bridges.

We passed into NSW which is always exciting, and drove on to Eden. The views of the bay as we came in were pretty impressive. I directed us through town to the lookout at the end of the peninsula. We'd known it was a hot day but getting out of the car was a bit of a shock - 34 degrees with a hot wind. We walked out to the lookout and could see a large part of Twofold bay and lots of the mountains around. It was the wrong season for whale watching, but still a very enjoyable view. I wandered around the fence line a bit to look down into a little rocky cove that I always like to see when I'm in Eden. The wind coming off the water there was much cooler. We sat at a picnic table in the shade and had wraps for lunch - the heat was fairly intense but not quite as bad in the shade. After lunch we walked around a bit more and Tony found a path to the side of the cove which gave quite a good view (although it was at the top of a cliff with no fence so I was a little scared...)

We kept driving north, through Bega and back around to the coast. I love driving through the hills around that part of Australia - although it looked so dry and parched, not green like I've seen it in the past. We headed for a bush camp at Mystery Bay, a little north of Bermagui. When we arrived the kids and Luna headed down to the beach, while Tony and I found a place to set up camp. We decided not to camp in the area closest to the beach, it seemed quite crowded, and instead found a place a couple of hundred metres walk from the beach - we could see the sand from our spot, and it was a bit more secluded and set amongst lovely tall gum trees (different to what we're used to - there were no leaves or branches down low, just tall bare trunks and lots of leaves higher up). There were plenty of other campers around but it didn't feel crowded. We had a quick walk around on the beach, which had great rocks to climb on and explore at the northern end, and sheltered water to swim in due to rocks off shore. It was so gorgeous and I immediately fell in love with the place and never wanted to leave. We set the tent up then headed down to the beach again for a swim. The water was pretty cold, but the waves very gentle and it was deep enough to swim around a bit at times. 

We had pasta carbonara for dinner, then took Luna down to the beach for another walk. She loved being near the water and exploring the rocks, chasing crabs, playing with other dogs etc. We didn't let her off lead because she was likely to run, but she still had a great time. Back to the tent and it was getting dark so we settled in to go to bed.

Christmas Trip 2019: Lakes Entrance

I slept quite badly (quite common for first night in the tent) and got up early to take Luna for a walk. The sun was probably just up and there was also a thick layer of smoke around the entire horizon. We walked down to the footbridge and over onto the beach and watched the red, smoke affected sun rise a bit higher, and played in the edge of the waves a bit. Back at the caravan park Amelie was awake so we had some breakfast and hung out in the bbq area. I started chatting to another mum who had been travelling with her husband and 3 young girls, and we shared stories about her trip and our travel experiences. Amelie played with the girls, and when Caitlin got up she played with the baby. Over the next couple of hours as we all gradually ate breakfast and relaxed, and the other family packed up their tent, Caitlin took care of the baby which they were extremely grateful for. 

The day was warming up and was forecast to be mid-30s, so we decided to for our walk mid-morning rather than waiting. We'd heard that there were often dolphins and seals at the actual entrance to the lakes (that gives the town it's name) so we sunscreened up and headed off. Once over the footbridge we turned to the right and walked along a sandy trail that snaked up and down the long piece of land between the lake and ocean. There were lots of birds and the occasional skink. The path was sandy and the air was pretty warm so some bits were hard going, especially up hills, but the view of the lake and plenty of shade helped it stay enjoyable. Tony and Amelie and I veered off at one point to see some historical buildings - they were being renovated and not really worth the trek up and down over a sand dune. We debated whether to try to meet up with the main track by walking along the lake shore, but worried that we'd miss the others if they came back looking for us, so went back up and over the hill. After 5 minutes or so we caught up with the others, waiting for us where the main path joined back up to the shore - a couple of hundred metres from where we had just been, so we definitely went the long way!

The path cut back inland and up a steep board walk to a large flagpole, which used to be used to signal water conditions to incoming ships. From there we walked down to the edge of the entrance channel, had a bit of a look at the old buildings there, and watched the fast flowing water for a while. Caitlin and Liam saw a dolphin as soon as they arrived at the water, it was gone by the time the rest of us arrived. Amelie and I found a boardwalk leading back towards the lake, Caitlin found one heading towards the ocean and could see seals just across the channel. We all went and joined her and watched the seals playing in the choppy water near the opposite headland, and then watched one that swam back and forth in front of us for a while. There were also a couple of dolphin pairs that we saw swimming through the channel. 

The entrance kept us entertained for a while, and we had a bit of a snack, then decided to walk back along the beach (it was 2.5km each way) and take advantage of the coastal breeze and being able to have our feet in the water. It would have been hot going back along the path, but on the beach side it was quite pleasant. The kids jumped off the edge of the sand dunes for a while then we started back. Walking on the beach sand was surprisingly difficult, even the wet sand was quite soft so we sank into it with each step - hard work on the calves and shins and achilles tendons. Along the way the kids found a small shark that had been beached and was trying to get back into the water. Liam kept Luna away and Caitlin ran back to tell me - I found a long stick that had broken off the sand dune foliage, and was able to gradually push him back into water that was deep enough for him to swim away. 

Once we reached the main beach, we all went for a swim in the ocean. Tony had a quick dip then walked back home with Luna, the rest of us swam for a bit longer. Amelie did really well in the waves that were a bit rougher than she's used to and the rest of us really loved being in the ocean again. We played for a while in the small puddles of water made by the waves on the flatter sand, then walked back over to the lake. Caitlin and I rinsed off in the lake although the sandy bottom was a bit slimy, covered in swan poo. As we headed back over the footbridge we saw there was a cleaner area we could have swum in - maybe next time.

Back to camp and we all had a shower in our little ensuite and relaxed for a while. The kids and I played cards (Kaboom) and Tony had a nap then read his book. Later in the afternoon Caitlin and I walked into town to go to an op shop - I needed a shirt with sleeves that I could wear over my swimmers, and Caitlin needed a new bikini top. We walked a long way and found the op shop closed early when we arrived. We popped into Target instead and I got a shirt, and then some food for dinner from Woolworths. The others met us back at the playground near the footbridge, we played for a while then went and got some ice cream. We sat outside the shop and enjoyed our ice cream then wandered back to camp.

Tony cooked sausages on the bbq for an early dinner. We were all pretty tired after our long walk. Caitlin took Luna for another walk along the lake edge, and we all had an earlyish night.

Christmas 2019 Trip: Home -> Lakes Entrance

After a busy morning at home packing the car (I'd finished the trailer packing the night before)  and making sure the house was ok to leave, we were on the road around 12.45pm. Pretty impressive since we hadn't really done any preparation until the day before and we were also out half of that day. Luna was very excited to be coming with us - although it will take a bit of time for us to adjust to having her as I had to pack the car really differently. She was happily set up between the girls and can see out the front window and get lots of pats.

We drove through the hills down towards Pakenham, stopping at a rest stop (near Gumbuyah World) to retie the shovel which had worked it's way loose from the side of the trailer. I was feeling very excited and relaxed (a nice combination) - great to finally be on the road and loving being somewhere new even if it was just a roadside rest stop. Luna had a bit of a walk and then we kept going, this time listening to Superpowereds rather than music.

We'd looked at some free camping options close to Lakes Entrance - the one we liked was almost another hour past the town, and didn't have toilets, so we decided to stay in a caravan park in town instead. I found a basic park with good rates and booked in as we drove.

Everyone was excited as we started to glimpse the ocean, and even more so when we had a good view of the entrance to the lakes as we drove down the hill. Tony and I stopped here for lunch on our honeymoon 17 years ago, otherwise none of us have ever been here.

At the caravan park the guy helped us get the trailer in the best position - he opened gates behind our site so that we could drive through without having to reverse. All the sites have their own ensuite shower and toilet which is a nice touch. As Tony and I set up the kids took Luna for a walk down to the beach. Set up was quick and fairly easy, although when we put the annex up I realised I'd left a bunch of the poles at home (some of them were damaged at our last camp when the annex got hit by a big wind gust and I'd put them aside to fix them and then forgotten about them). I was missing a couple of poles that I needed but I managed to make do with what I had.

Once set up we went and joined the kids - a lovely walk along one arm of the lake then across the footbridge to the ocean beach. There were lots of swans in the lake. Luna was a bit scared of the waves but happy to sit on the sand and watch the kids play. Caitlin buried her paws in the sand which confused her at first then she figured she could just stand up and get out of the sand. Tony went and ordered fish and chips and the kids built tunnels and dug holes and did handstands, then we joined him back near the lake to eat. We watched the sunset over the lake and Tony walked back to the beach to watch it set over the ocean. We had a bit of a play on the exercise equipment near the lake then wandered back to the tent, set up the beds and went to bed as soon as we could.

Brisbane Trip Day 35 - 38: Bimbi Park -> Home

The wind was strong on the first night - I was surprised that it didn't scare me, I usually am uncomfortable with wind. It was loud though and at times I was awake listening to it and hoping that everyone's tents were safe. (All the homeschoolers were fine - one hire vehicle that some backpackers were staying in ended up with a large branch on it, but no one was injured).

The heavy wind continued for all of the next day, then eased overnight which was a relief to everyone - it had most of the adults feeling a bit jittery and exhausted, although it didn't slow the kids down.

I was pretty tired after our 5 weeks away and was happy to sit at our tent up the back of the camping area and chat to whoever wanted to come to see me. I spent much of the first couple of days talking with our friend who was camped with us, and with others who came up to see us. It was great to sit and relax and not have to think too much.

The kids were very happy off with their friends. Caitlin and the rest of the teens wandered around the camp, played games, went for walks, sat in the lounge area of the camp kitchen, took lots of photos of themselves and each other, played on the swing, and forged stronger friendships. Liam and his friends chatted a lot about fantasy games and stories, played tag games, explored the camp grounds, and occasionally played on their DSs. Amelie played mainly with a couple of girls camped near us, they played with pokemon, did roadworks on the path in front of the other girls' tent, played mini golf and ran around a lot.

Various people had fires at night which were great to sit around and chat (for the adults) and the kids came back and forth with marshmallows. The boys played games with torches of an evening. Amelie was quite tired each night and ready to go to bed reasonably early.

On the 3rd day our campsite friend packed up and headed home - his son (Liam's friend) stayed in his tent next to us for the rest of the camp. One of Caitlin's friend's dads also went home, and the friend moved into our tent. Another of Caitlin's friends had his swag next to our tent (his dad had stayed the first night), so we had quite a tribe of extras with us.

Each of the kids and their friends spent time hanging out at our campsite, as well as at other campsites and in the kitchen. At one point all the teens and most of Liam's friends were at our tent, and someone started massaging someone's shoulders, which quickly turned into a massage chain - I had a great massage from Caitlin's friend.

On the 3rd evening I walked up to the top of the nearby hill, it was great to see the view from there and watch the sun head towards the horizon. There were glimpses of the ocean, and views of the forest in all directions. I was also able to get enough mobile reception to catch up on messages that had been sent while I'd been at camp - although this brought me back to the real world a bit and reminded me that our trip was nearly over which felt a little less relaxing than camp.

The next day I went for a longer walk by myself to the lighthouse. The walk itself was along a wide path, mainly through open fields, and occasionally through the forest. It was a sunny afternoon and quite a pleasant walk, although longer than I'd expected. I stopped to look at a tiny graveyard my friend had told me about, with the graves of adults and children from lighthouse families who had died while stationed there. The view of the ocean from near the lighthouse was quite beautiful. On the way back I ran into Caitlin and her friends doing the same walk as me. When they came back they spent time up on the top of the hill watching the sunset and taking gorgeous photos.

I spent several hours each afternoon sitting at my tent chatting to friends and drinking cups of tea. The weather was sunny and warm and it was a very pleasant way to spend the time.

On the last night the wind picked up a bit again and it started raining. I got up and sorted out the potential for leaks. Packing up in the morning was tricky with the wind and rain coming on and off. The kids hung out with their friends and I chipped away and the packing up, and we were ready to go around the middle of the day. I was taking home two of the other kids so we had to pack the car and the trailer differently, it was pretty crowded but we got everything and everyone in. Throughout the morning we said goodbye to people as they headed off and we said bye to the last few families before we went as well.

We drove home via the Great Ocean Road which was beautiful, although very slow because of the frequent roadworks. Coming through the countryside before Geelong someone indicated to me that there was something wrong with my trailer - I stopped and checked and one of the straps across the back had come loose and was dragging on the ground. I tied it back together with cable ties and secured the carpet and trailer again.

We had a fairly easy trip around Melbourne, and we stopped at Bundoora to drop Caitlin's friend off with family. The rest of us kept going and arrived home in the evening. Very exciting to see Tony again after so long, and to see the dogs and cat.

Brisbane Trip Day 34: Melbourne -> Bimbi Park

We all slept pretty well and were up in the morning to play with the kids and chat to my sister before getting ready to move on. I thought about unhitching and going to Aldi, then decided we'd just shop on the way. We left around 10.30 and headed through Melbourne, aiming for Colac. I noticed petrol was quite cheap but the service stations I saw were small and were going to be tricky to navigate with the trailer, so I decided to get top up after getting out of Melbourne.

We listened to Percy Jackson again and had a good run through Melbourne and out past Geelong. On the road to Colac we encountered roadworks and it became a very long trip along what is usually an easy, straight road. Eventually we arrived in Colac and stocked up on the groceries we would need for homeschool camp. While I was in the carpark I received a few phone calls and messages about Luna - she had been wandering overnight and had ended up with our neighbour, and another friend was looking for her to take her back to her place for a couple of days. I sorted that out as best I could, then went to get petrol, which was not cheap at all.

Heading out of Colac I was feeling a bit flustered as it was much later than I had hoped at this stage, and I followed a sign to The Great Ocean Road rather than following my GPS. I had planned to drive through Lavers Hill as this was the least windy road. We had been driving for a while, along a road that was pretty good, when I realised I had cut back across to the Skeynes Creek Road, which is the one I most wanted to avoid because of several hairpin bends and a steep descent to the ocean. By this stage it was too late to go back the other way so I decided to keep going and just take it easy. The wind was also quite strong and there were lots of small branches on the roads, which made driving a little more taxing.

The descent took a while (I took it slow) but it was manageable, and the tight turns were ok. I felt pretty good once I'd got to the bottom. There were great ocean views from time to time as we came down, and then we drove alongside the ocean for a while as we approached and left Apollo Bay. I was pretty tired by now and found the last little bit of the drive up to Cape Otway quite difficult. I drove fairly slow which was occasionally stressful when there were people behind me. As we drove down the Cape Otway road we came to more roadworks. While we were stopped, the lady with the Stop sign came along and pointed out some koalas to everybody, so most people got out of their cars to have a look. Back in the car we finally made it to Bimbi Park around 4pm.

I went to check in, and helped a friend negotiate the correct rate for her site (it defaulted to the base rate being for 2 adults, then added both children on to that price, rather than including the first child in the base rate). Caitlin wandered straight down to find her friends, and as I drove past the camp kitchen, Liam and Amelie jumped out to see friends as well. I drove down the back and found where I was camping with another friend, and he helped me get set up. Other friends were around as well and it was great to finally be there and get ready to relax for several days.

Once set up we wandered back to the kitchen for a quick meeting about the camp (mainly just asking us to be respectful of a visiting school group when they were praying), and saw a few more friends, then back to camp to finish getting organised - cook some dinner, have a cup of tea, chat with people as they wandered by. The kids were back and forth, playing with their friends and coming back to check in or eat every now and then. It was still very very windy which made things slightly less peaceful. I decided not to put my annex up until the wind died down, I did not want to spend all night worrying about it flying away. I chatted to my campsite friend until Amelie was ready for bed and then we went inside the tent, I read for a little while and then we tried to sleep and not get blown away.

Brisbane Trip Day 33: Wodonga -> Melbourne

I woke a bit after 7 and went down the street to get milk and a few other supplies, and to fill up our gas bottle before we go bush. When I got back Amelie was just waking up. The others were up soon afterwards and we had breakfast and started to get organised. Pack up went fairly quickly and well, until I tried to get the pegs out of the hard ground - some were tricky, and some were so stuck that I didn't know if I'd be able to do it at all. Eventually I managed to wriggle them free and could finish putting the tent away. We paid for our site when the caretaker came around, and I was pleasantly surprised that it was only $10, not $20, because we hadn't used any power. Racehorses were training on the track and on the grass near us, so the kids went and watched them for a while.

We set off a bit before 11 and listened to Percy Jackson again. The trip down the Hume Freeway was easy and fairly quick at first. I stopped for petrol and to check the air in my tyres, then we continued on. As the Freeway came down past Broadford and got closer to Melbourne, the wind was blowing sideways across the road and the driving became a bit more difficult and a bit slower.

We made it to my sister's place a bit after 2.30, and there was room in front of her house and driveway and a bit of next door's driveway for me to pull up with the trailer. We had to wait for a few minutes while the construction workers had a forklift on the road, then we were able to pull in. Amelie's best friend and her family met us at my sister's, and she went to the Museum with them. The rest of us spent the afternoon inside at my sister's, playing with the baby and the 4yo and catching up on each other's news. Liam is a big hit with his cousin so he was very busy playing cars and doing puzzles. Caitlin was more than happy to play with the baby.

Amelie came back in the evening, very happy to have spent time with her friend. We had pasta for dinner and then the little kids went to bed, my kids watched some videos and played on their iPads. I chatted more with my sister - I was so incredibly tired, any plans I'd had of getting things more organised for camp just didn't happen. We had a fairly early night, Caitlin slept on the couch, Amelie and I in the bed in the spare room and Liam on our foam mattress on the spare room floor.

Brisbane Trip Day 32: Bathurst -> Wodonga

Caitlin brought Amelie in to me in the middle of the night, Amelie had been a bit bothered by the dark I think. Sleeping with her in a single bed was a little bit uncomfortable.

I was up around 7 and saw the beautiful sunrise over the hills and trees, looking through the gorgeous big window they have in their dining area. I had a bit more of a chat to my friend as she got ready for work, then got the kids up and gave them breakfast, said goodbye to her kids, put our stuff in the car and hitched up the trailer. My friend had given Caitlin some horse blankets that she no longer needed, so I also reorganised the trailer a little to fit them in.

We set off sometime after 9 and drove through Bathurst and on towards Cowra. The countryside on our drive today was beautiful - very dry and dusty, lots of hills, some rocks, trees scattered around. It was all interesting. We stopped at a rest stop between Cowra and Young so that I could get a cup of tea, we all used the toilet and had an early lunch, and I adjusted some straps on the trailer (the bikes were wiggling loose a bit). A friend from home rang while we were stopped so it was a good chance to have a chat to her.

As we drove we listened to Percy Jackson and Greek Gods - which was a entertaining and amusing telling of Greek mythology - we all learnt lots and it's sparked many discussions already. Driving through Young I remembered stopping there once for a coffee with Tony - lots of memories on this road as well. We stopped in Junee (at a park that I remember stopping at before, but it was in a different place than I recalled - I thought it was near the railway station, but it was before we crossed the railway line) because a friend wanted to talk to me about homeschool camp - he was concerned about the bush fires around Camperdown and wanted to work out a plan for whether we would still go or not. We decided we'd keep an eye on weather and fire conditions and if the fire danger was low then we would go to camp as planned. The kids played in the playground while I talked and it was a lovely relaxing stop. There were a few freight trains going past which also added some interest.

We continued on to Wodonga and stopped at the Showground. I rang the number on the sign and the guy said to set up and he'd come and collect payment in the morning. They only allow 8 campers per night and I think we were the 8th. The spot that was left had a bus parked very close to the side where I would need to put my trailer, and I didn't want to encroach on the leisure space of the motorhome on the other side. So I reversed in very close to the bus, I don't think I could have been that accurate at the start of the trip. I also went a bit further back than the bus was, so we could both still walk around our vehicles.

I set up the tent, Caitlin helped with the tricky bits then went to sit on the grass to talk to her friends on the phone. The others played on their iPods for a while. Once we were all set up, Liam, Amelie and I went to Bunnings to get some lanolin spray to use on the tent zip (I wanted it before we got to camp in case it was cold and wet, because the zip sticks even more then, and I wouldn't be able to go shopping once I was at camp) and some other things (contact spray, WD40, and oil for the bike chains). We found these all in the one place which made it easy. There was a KFC in the Bunnings carpark, and I was very tired after a 6 hour drive and not much sleep the night before, so I bought a family pack for dinner, and Amelie bought all the kids frozen drinks.

Back at the tent we sat on the picnic rug (on the slope because I hadn't left us much flat space behind the tent - I figured for a quick stop without the stove we could manage) and ate our KFC which was delicious and just about the right amount of food for us. Afterwards Caitlin sat in the car for a little while and talked to friends again, the rest of us went to bed - I was ready for sleep by 9,30, the first time I'd been in bed before 11.30 in almost a week!