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 27: Newcastle

I woke early and went for a walk along Blacksmiths Beach. The sky was quite dark and made the ocean a steely grey metallic colour, with the sun shining through the clouds on the horizon. There was a coal ship silhouetted in the rising sun and it was gorgeous. I considered going for a swim - the waves were pretty big, there was a lot of seaweed, and there was a layer of some sort of muck just beyond the break, so I decided to give it a miss. I walked up to the break wall and a little way out - the waves at times were crashing onto the wall so I didn't walk any further, just stood and admired the view for a while. On my way back to the house it started raining - not heavily, but enough to get fairly wet. It was refreshing though, not cold.

I had a quick chat to Tony while I got ready to go out, and at 10 we headed off. I drove via Eleebana to show the kids the house that my grandparents used to own - it's changed a little and I would have like to take photos but there was a lady glaring down at me from the top balcony so I did the very difficult multi-point turn to turn around at the end of the road (and I did use the driveway a little, which my grandparents didn't ever like people doing) and didn't linger there. I got a bit confused in Warners Bay, trying to figure out which road I needed to take to get me up to the bypass - I ended up on Warners Bay Rd and came out just before Charlestown which worked OK. Driving down into Merewether was exciting as always, so many familiar places and the view of the beach as I came down Scenic Dr is always amazing.

We met 2 of my uncles in the carpark at Dixon Park beach (easier to park there than at Merewether). It was warm and sunny by now, we took a while to all get sunscreen on and find our hats, then we were ready to walk down to Merewether Beach. I was surprised at how many people were there, walking, swimming, sunbathing, surfing or at the cafes, for the middle of a weekday. It was great to chat to my uncles about music and their recent travels and sport and Newcastle. We had gelato at the surf club and once we'd finished eating we walked down to the baths. The kids changed into their swimmers and went for a swim (Amelie was reluctant at first, I think the size and ocean water put her off a bit) and I took a heap of photos of one of my favourite places in Newcastle. The baths have recently been refurbished so many things were different, like the ramps into them and the walls and the seats around them. The lap markers were the same and the fences looked similar - it was fun to explore and just soak up the atmosphere. I sat and talked with my uncles and Amelie got out and lay in the sun for a while, the others swam to the far side of the baths and climbed out and explored the rock pools, finding a sea slug and some fish. The waves were big although not big enough to break over onto the rocks there - they were splashing against the edge and making quite an impressive spray.

The kids got out of the pool and went to play in the rock pools along the edge of the beach, and Amelie joined them. We sat in the shade and watched them and chatted some more. When the kids came back to get changed I realised I didn't want to leave without swimming in the baths myself, so I ran down and dived in and swam across and back. It felt fantastic, so refreshing, good to be swimming laps again, and great to be swimming in such a familiar place. I'm really glad I did a quick swim.

As we were about to leave a massive school group (from St Paul's, Booragul) arrived so we were happy to be on our way. We walked back to the cars and said goodbye to my uncles. From there I showed the kids the unit I lived in in Merewether, then drove in to Nobbys Beach, past lots of places that I pointed out to the kids. We drove around past Newcastle Beach and then through Cooks Hill, Hamilton South and Adamstown, then past the house I lived in when I was a baby, then back home to Blacksmiths.

We relaxed at the house for a while and I popped out to get some groceries so I could cook dinner. Once the girls were home from school I took Caitlin and her 13yo cousin out for coffee - we looked in Swansea first (and had to wait at the bridge to let a yacht go into the lake) but everything was closed, then tried Belmont and found nothing, so went to Belmont 16 footers - which is where we ended up going last time we were up here and I took the girls out. We ordered hot chocolates and chai, and a piece of chocolate mousse torte to share, and sat overlooking the lake and the sailboats while we ate and drank. The girls played cards (Spit) while we waited for our drinks to arrive and while we chatted after finishing them. It was a lovely afternoon out with 2 gorgeous young women.

Back home my BIL took all the kids down to the beach (he had the bus from school so could fit them all in) while I cooked spag bol. The kids came home happy and wet, changed their clothes and watched TV together. I dished up dinner and sat out the back chatted to my BIL. Liam joined us after a while and we saw possums coming down out of the trees - the kids fed them some fruit and enjoyed hanging out with them. They noticed one of the possums didn't have a tail and we discussed how that might have happened. The cousins went off to bed and I followed soon after and wrote and read for a while, and the kids came in to the tent as they were ready.

Brisbane Trip Day 17: Brisbane

We were all up by around 7am today (after our restful day yesterday). I'm surprised too that I am sleeping really well - that is quite unusual for me! We all got ready - the other kids to go to dancing, and we were going to visit a friend who I met when I lived in Canada. We've seen each other a few times since we both got back to Australia, but not since my wedding, 15 years ago!

We got to my friend's house at 9am and immediately felt welcome and comfortable. We had a cup of tea, ham and cheese croissants, and scrolls for breakfast. Delicious and very relaxed. My kids and her youngest went and had a swim in the back yard while we chatted as if we'd not had such a long break.  Her husband was in and out of the conversation, checking on the kids and watching the V8s. The kids came back inside and played some other games, jumped on the trampoline for a while and then they all played with her son's Mip robot, racing it around an obstacle course they set up with shoes and bags. It was a lot of fun. I had a wonderful morning and our 3 hours there passed so quickly.

They were going out at midday so we said goodbye and headed off. We drove up to Redcliffe to meet our host friends. It was about an hour from my Canada friend's house - I'd been given good directions by my host friend's husband, and I enjoyed driving around parts of Brisbane I hadn't seen in a while, or never seen at all. We drove over a very long bridge as we got close, that was pretty cool. At Redcliffe we drove around the carpark for the swimming area a few times until we found a spot, then went and met our friends.

There's a large manmade lagoon near the shore at Redcliffe, which is where we swam. The kids all swam around for a while and I cooled off then sat and chatted to my friend. The kids all played some games in the water and were in and out. My friend went to pick up one of her kids who was at a birthday party, and the rest of us went in the water again. The kids retrieved a hat from a drain at the edge of the pool - it was a huge team effort and they were very proud (and Amelie happy to have a new hat). They sat on each other's shoulders and wrestled, and worked on the flipping trick I taught my kids at SeaWorld Resort. The boys and Amelie went over to the park and I sat and chatted to the older girls for a while. Liam and one of his friends went to explore the rocks now that the tide had gone out, and the other boy took Amelie to the kids pool. When my friend came back the older girls cooked some sausages on the BBQ and the rest of us swam. The water was fairly warm but it was refreshing. There were clouds coming over (a possible storm was forecast) and one of the clouds was in the exact shape of the Starship Enterprise!

Once the sausages were ready we hopped out and ate them (the kids devoured them so quickly!) and the kids went back in the water. My friend and I sat and chatted until some of the kids were keen to leave. The 3 older girls wanted to stay - so I took the 3 boys and Amelie and my friend followed a bit later with the girls. It started raining as we were leaving, and we hit very heavy rain as we crossed the long bridge. There was a lot of lightning around as well. I drove pretty slowly because of the rain and low visibility. I was pleased that I pretty much knew my way back, I'm feeling more and more confident about my directions around Brisbane. I'd downloaded a heap of music on to my phone and was able to listen to that while I was driving, it was very enjoyable. The boys started the trip playing Terraria and Amelie was playing something else - gradually the car became quieter and Amelie told me that all the boys were asleep (it was 7pm). She drifted off herself not long before we arrived home - so it was a very quiet trip. They all woke as we stopped at the house, and came inside to watch tv. We watched Big Momma's House 2 and despite the naps everyone was still pretty tired. All the adults were in bed by 10.30 (or earlier) and the kids seemed to head to bed soon after that.

Brisbane Trip Day 9: Coffs Harbour -> Byron Bay

It rained for most of the night so everything was pretty soggy in the morning. The leak near Liam's bed didn't get too bad which was a relief. There were a few hours where it looked like it was going to clear up, the sky was a bit lighter and there was some time without any rain falling. I booked our accommodation at Sea World and then started packing, trying to get as much done as possible before the rain started again. The last hour at least we were packing up in steady rain, and all ended up soaked through to the skin. We packed in a different order to try to keep things as dry as possible and it worked much better than usual. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to tow the trailer out because the ground was very wet and sandy, but it was fine. We drove down to the carpark and headed to the shower block to change into dry clothes and retrieve our washing from the dryer.

Once we were dry we headed down for one more look at the beach - the sun was trying to come through and the water was shiny and beautiful, a nice ending to our time in Coffs.

I found it a bit difficult driving with the rain coming and going, so it was a slow drive north. I hadn't driven beyond Coffs Harbour before so it was all new. A lot of the Pacific Highway is dual carriageway now and they are working on lots more of it. We saw a pretty spectacular bridge in the process of being built - it is going to be high enough to replace the current bridge which lifts up to let boats through. There were cranes and diggers on pontoons in the middle of the river, it was pretty cool. As we drove we listened to 'The Colour of Magic' by Terry Pratchett - it took the kids a while to get into it, now everyone is enjoying it and I'm pleased to be sharing this series and world with them. I stopped once for a cup of tea and once to retie some straps on the trailer and the short breaks helped me stay alert.

We arrived in Bryon Bay around 4pm and I was astounded at the number of people around - lots and lots of pedestrians and the traffic was heavy. I dropped the kids off at the information centre and drove back out of the main street to the free parking for long vehicles which was a block from the main street. Lots of people parked here and walked back through across the old railway track. The kids played in the park and we used the toilets and I rang around the caravan parks in town to see how much it would cost us to stay - the costs varied between $50/n and $95/n. I'd been trying to get in contact with the local football club who let people camp at the football ground - I couldn't find out how much they charged for kids. We decided to drive out there and check it out and if too expensive we'd come back to the cheapest caravan park. The grounds looked green and inviting and they said it would be $30/night, and there were toilets and hot showers and only a 5 minute drive back into town - so we decided to stay here.

It had started raining again while we were in town (we sat under a big tree while I made my phone calls and it kept off some of the rain) and it had settled in by the time we arrived at the football ground. Liam and Amelie decided to stay in the car and play on their iPods, and Caitlin braved the weather with me to set up. It was windy by now as well which added a whole extra challenge. We got the tent up - we'd left the annex roof attached and the tarp over the tent, which made putting the tent up much harder, but setting the annex and covering the roof much easier. It still took us a while to get everything tied down and in an optimal position for avoiding leaks - and we were soaked right through again. The inside of the tent was pretty damp, there was water in several corners. We set the beds up closer to the centre than usual, and put blankets and mats on the floor so that we didn't spread the water around, and it felt pretty cozy. Luckily the weather was warm despite the rain, so it wasn't completely uncomfortable.

We boiled the kettle and had cup-a-soup and noodles for dinner. There were lots of backpackers staying there as well and we chatted to a few of them (and lent one group a saucepan) and headed to bed as soon as we could.

Brisbane Trip Day 8: Coffs Harbour

My cold was still hanging around but I was in a much better frame of mind today. We had a very quiet morning hanging around the campsite – I did some washing and optimistically hung it on the clothesline even though there was still a bit of rain around. AMelie played in the playground and once the kids had had breakfast they headed to the office to get equipment to play in the games room.  I stayed at the tent waiting for the auto electrician and tidying up a bit – our hectic set up when I was stressed meant that things were really messy. The auto electrician arrived and was able to fix the window easily – and explain another problem I’d been having with the window and gave me some tips on fixing it. I really appreciated this as the last time I had the window fixed the problem started and the guy didn’t want to know about it – this guy said that the problem should have been anticipated and fixed when I had my switch replaced.

Feeling very relieved that my window was now working, I joined the kids for a game of mini golf. They’d also played pool and table tennis and were hoping to play air hockey when the equipment was returned. We snacked on cold sausages and salad from the night before, then the kids had a swim while I sat at the pool edge and caught up a bit on my blog and email and started to search for accommodation options for the next parts of our trip. It was hot and humid again, with occasional rain showers.

Around 4pm we got out of the pool and headed up the coast for a look around. (Some of my washing was dry and I grabbed that off the line before I went). We went one headland north of our beach to Moonee Beach – apparently voted No 3 on the 101 Best Australian Beaches of 2017. We waded across the river – Amelie and I found a shallow crossing,  the others went a bit deeper and it was a little scary/exciting – there was a slight current and the sand was very soft, but at no point was it too deep or strong for us to handle. On the main beach we played in the edge of the surf – again, it was too rough to go out far, but there was a wide shallow area of knee deep waves and that was a lot of fun. What we could see of the beach was quite pretty, but the rain had set in again and combined with spray from the surf we couldn’t see very far along the beach, it was just mist. There were sea birds on the shore who were interesting to watch, and the water temperature was beautiful. It was great to be in the ocean, even if it was just at the edge. Eventually we wandered back through the river to the carpark – the current was stronger this time although we found an easier place to cross. We played on the sand for a while, investigating the little crab holes that appeared to all be in pairs. We wandered over the bridge that led out to the headland and saw lots of fish in the water, and the kids saw an eel.

We got back in the car and headed back to Coffs Harbour. It was weird - looking out from the car the day looked cold and miserable, but when we were outside the temperature was lovely - just a bit wet. We drove to Boambee Beach which looked beautiful but still too rough to swim, then out to the break wall on the southern side of the harbour and walked out a little way so we could see the waves breaking on the ocean side - they were big and were making awesome thumping sounds as they hit the wall. We were all still in our swimmers because we'd hoped to find another beach to swim at, but by this stage no one wanted to swim again so we got changed into dry clothes in the car. We sat and watched the harbour for a while - little waves on the rocks, fishing boats going out, birds flying around. I did a bit more research on accommodation options and discovered that Sea World Resort had a deal on, because their main pool is closed, which meant we could get accommodation at the resort, plus entry to all the theme parks, for less money than it would have cost us to get theme park tickets on their own! I decided to think about it for a bit and check the details again once we'd eaten.

We ordered fish and chips from Sea Salt Fish and Chips and drove around to pick them up. We'd wanted to sit near the jetty and eat them but it was raining pretty steadily by now - we found some covered picnic tables, not with a view to the jetty but in the vicinity, so sat there to eat. The food was delicious - fantastic chips and the seafood was great. Possibly the best fish and chips I've had.

Back at the caravan park we found that the rain had pooled in the roof of the annex again so I spent some time rejigging everything to prevent that happening overnight. The seam above Liam's bed also started leaking, which happens when the roof just gets too wet, so Caitlin and I put a tarp over the tent to try to cut down the amount of water coming in - it slowed to a slight trickle so we just put towels and a bucket underneath and hoped it didn't get worse.

Brisbane Trip Day 5: Crowdy Bay National Park

I woke up in the morning and discovered that our car fridge wasn’t working (I’d turned it off overnight and it would not turn back on) and the key remote for my car wasn’t working either. My feelings of apprehension all came back so I went for a walk to the beach, this time through the track just near our campsite rather than down the road, and I felt better straight away – seeing the ocean always calms me down.

Back at camp I made a cup of tea and set up the annex in case we had more rain (it was still quite grey). The kids gradually made their way out of the tent and we had a lovely relaxed morning around the campsite. The national park ranger came passed and I let him know I hadn’t paid yet – he gave me a payment slip and said I could pay anytime that day over at Diamond Head Campground. I asked about walking over and he said it would take about half an hour on the inland track, and gave me directions.

We decided we’d walk over and pay, maybe have a swim there if the surf was calmer, and walk back via the headland walk. We set off around 11.30 – it had been drizzling on and off but nothing heavy. The track started from the far end of our campground and wound through fairly dense bush. Not far into our walk we saw a dead snake – it gave us all a fright until we realised it was dead, then we were able to stop and have a good look at it – some birds had started to peck at it but it was mainly intact. I realised at this point that my camera battery was flat – I took a few photos using my phone but not as many as I normally would – I missed my camera a few times, although I also enjoyed walking without stopping to capture images. Amelie wasn’t keen on the walk so we were counting animal sightings to make it more interesting – we saw lots of birds, ants, a few butterflies – the dead snake was the most exciting. There were also several cool looking flowers – banksias, Christmas bells, and some white flowers and purple flowers – watching out for them made it more interesting as well.  We walked past (and had a look into) Kylie’s hut – an author called Kylie ?? used to live there and gave the area it’s name. It was very basic but I loved the idea of living there and wandering down to the beach whenever I fancied.

As we got close to Diamond Head we suddenly had a view of the ocean to the north, it was quite impressive. The last bit of the walk was down a track with low vegetation on each side, so we could see the view for most of the way. We arrived at the campground and paid our camping and National Park fees (it was $8 a day for NP fees, on top of camping fees. I was surprised, in most places I’ve only had to pay the NP fee once on entering, if we are staying more than one night).

By this stage it was raining so we went and used the flush toilets (kids were very excited) and sat under a shelter to have some lunch. I checked the radar and the rain looked like it wouldn’t last long, so we sat and played games for a while, trying to wait out the rain. After a while we decided to walk down to the beach and not worry about getting a little wet. We clambered over some more rocks and admired the view in one direction and the interesting rock formations to the south (including a gap in the rocks that looked like it might once have been a natural arch). The girls decided to try the water and it was warm – so they had a swim in the edge of the surf – it was shallow for a long way out to where the waves were breaking, so they just stayed knee deep and had a great time. Liam and I explored the rocks a bit more, watched the kangaroos, and sheltered under a tree when the rain felt heavier.

When the girls got out we figured we were all pretty wet anyway so we might as well start to walk back. As we got out into the open the rain became extremely heavy – we were quickly wet right through to the skin, and since we couldn’t get much wetter, we decided to keep going. Amelie just wrapped her towel around her and the other 2 kids had jackets. I was just in a t-shirt but didn’t feel too cold. The air temperature wasn’t too bad, the rain was a little chilly though. We trudged up the open track from the campground and then debated whether to try the headland track – Amelie would have preferred to go straight back the inland way, the others wanted to see the headlands. We went the longer way – the track led up and down between 3 headlands and there were some magnificent views of the oceans, headlands and off shore rocks. Amelie found it pretty hard going but she kept plodding along. The others walked ahead and seemed to really enjoy it. I tried to keep my hand on Amelie’s back or shoulder to keep her motivated and supported – she was cold and wet and miserable and I am so impressed that she walked the whole way.

Above Kylie’s beach we had a great view of the rocks we’d explored yesterday afternoon. Caitlin took the steep track down from there to the beach which was a much shorter way back to camp – the rest of us went back inland to Indian Head campground then back past Kylie’s hut and the snake. Caitlin was waiting for us when we arrived – and our annex roof was full of water as it had obviously poured here as well and I’d made no adjustments for rain. The kids went into the tent and changed into dry clothes and snuggled under blankets, while I sorted out the roof. I got all the water off and adjusted pole heights and added ropes etc until all the new water was running straight off the roof.

Once I was finally in dry clothes myself I made the hot chocolate I’d been promising the kids since we first got wet. I used milk, cream, coconut sugar and half a block of dark chocolate for a very rich, creamy hot chocolate that really warmed and filled us all up.  My feet were all white and wrinkly after being in wet shoes for so long – it took a while before all our skin started to feel normal again even though we warmed up pretty quickly. The kids played on their ipods and Caitlin chatted with friends on her phone and we had a very quiet time for the remainder of the day. I cooked some rice and we had that with kabana and cheese and everyone settled in to bed fairly quickly and easily.

Brisbane Trip Day 2: Yerrinbool -> Newcastle

It rained a bit overnight so everything was a bit damp when I woke up. It was a beautiful morning and I enjoyed a bit of time to myself outside. I started packing up then as the kids woke up we had fresh eggs for breakfast (and discovered most of the bread I’d bought with us was old so I’ll need to go shopping earlier than I’d expected). We packed up and played in the back yard a bit, then popped inside to have a cuppa and hot cross buns with our hosts.

We left just after 11 and drove through to Thornleigh to see a very good friend of mine. The traffic was a bit heavy, being Saturday morning in Sydney, but it wasn’t too stressful. We had a wonderful half an hour with my friend – always so wonderful to see her, even if it’s brief.

The next part of the drive was very enjoyable – driving from Sydney to Newcastle is so familiar and I love seeing all the things I know and remembering other trips. The kids were excited to see the Hawkesbury River and the bridges and remember our houseboat trip. We listened to the rest of ‘Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians’ which was a lot of fun.

We arrived at Tony’s brother’s house just after 3. I had a cup of tea and the kids played with their cousins – we had 6 pretty excited children in the house. Although being the only boy, Liam soon wandered out and sat and chatted with the adults. Tone’s brother helped me back the trailer in – down the driveway and through the garage, it was a bit tricky but with a bit of forward and back and trying again I got it into the backyard – I’d been nervous about it ever since we decided to stay here and felt great once I’d achieved it.

I took the kids down to the beach while P cooked dinner, then he met us down there. The surf was much bigger than what we’d been swimming in so far this summer – more like the ocean that I am used to, while the kids have mainly swum at Victorian beaches. Caitlin and Liam coped fine though, they were happy out in the deep, big waves with their cousins. I stayed close to the shore with Amelie and the little cousin, we jumped waves and ran away from them. P came down and he and the girls built a pool for the girls to sit in, I went out for a proper swim in the waves, it was great. Liam came in after a while and he and I competed to see who could stand still in the knee deep water for longest – it was fun and he was much better than I was.

We came home and the kids played some more while I set up the tent, then we ate a delicious chicken curry. Liam watched some Dr Who, the big girls did each other’s hair and then jumped on the trampoline, the younger girls played with their stuffed animals. I was extremely tired and headed to bed to read about 9pm – it was great to lie down and rest and not have to think about anything much at all.

Half-lap Day 110: Camperdown -> Home

There was heavy rain overnight and once again we were very grateful to be inside a house. We got up and had breakfast and chatted to our hosts, Millie had a shower and Caitlin made more videos on her iPad. Tony and his uncle had stayed up quite late the night before so Tone had a bit of a sleep in. It didn’t take us long to pack up as we’d brought even less inside this time than the night before – the only time consuming thing was the extremely steep driveway that we needed to walk down and up to get to the car and back (we’d left the car and trailer down on the street, there was no way we could go up the drive with the trailer on).

LiAM in particular was very keen to just get in the car and head home. We were on our way just after 10am, very excited to be on the very last leg of our trip. We drove through the beautiful and familiar countryside around Camperdown, with the stone walls and windmills and cattle and sheep. Driving through the little towns between there and Geelong we saw lots of tractor and harvester equipment. Mainly we noticed how often we came across a town – we’d become used to driving all day to get to the next town, and here they came up every 20 minutes or so.

We stopped near Geelong to get petrol and some hot chips from Red Rooster. The roadhouse was a bit a of a culture shock – the service station, McDonalds, Red Rooster and several other food outlets all shared the same building, and there were SO many people. We got our chips and were happy to be back in the car.

It was raining pretty hard for a lot of the way into and around Melbourne. There was more traffic than we had seen – well, since we’d left. One thing that stood out to us was the low number of caravans – we were used to seeing almost nothing but trucks and caravans, and here it was mainly cars and utes, we only saw 3 caravans between Geelong and the ring road.

Traffic was slow on the ring road, first because of lane merges, and then because of a very nasty looking accident near Sydney Rd. Eventually the traffic cleared and the last 45 minutes flowed easily. On our way we drove nearby several friend’s houses and gave them a wave as we went past.

One by one the kids recognised roads we were driving on and realised how close to home we were. Coming through Christmas Hills it was very exciting to see Yarra Glen spread out on the plain below – really felt like coming home. As we drove through Yarra Glen we noticed lots of houses had been built in the estate they were just starting when we left. It’s cool to live in such a beautiful place too – driving along the road to our house we could appreciate the beauty and not feel so much like we’d left all these fantastic places and now we were just at home – home is fantastic as well.

We arrived home just after 2pm and everyone felt happy and bit of disbelief – we’d made it! We were going to back the trailer in to the carport first so it was in position to unpack – then we saw Buckley and everyone tumbled out of the car to go and pat him. He was excited to see us and we were all so thrilled to see him. We let him come inside with us to check out the house – it looked so neat and familiar and strange and felt much bigger than I’d remembered. We hadn’t been home long when Winky came out to see us. The kids were so excited that she ran straight back in under my bed in fright – but did come out and gave us all a cuddle then hung around with us all afternoon, I think she was pleased to see us too. Later in the afternoon we saw our 3 remaining chickens and the kids reallocated ownership and names (they’ve grown since we left and we weren’t sure which chickens these were – they’ve got new identities now so it doesn’t matter). The mountains that are normally our view were obscured by cloud at first, then the clouds lifted through the afternoon and we could see Mt St Leonards and really felt at home.

We lit the fire, went through our mail, slowly brought things in out of the car and moved things around the house to make it habitable for the 5 of us (I’d put a lot of stuff in the kids’ room so that our house sitter had more space, so I moved some of that back out so that the kids could get to their beds). LiAM and Millie put the PlayStation on and played with their new Skylanders, Caitlin rang her friends to tell them she was home.

It was a lovely, relaxing afternoon and I resisted the urge to rush around trying to get everything unpacked and in place – there’s plenty of time for that and I am going to try very hard to stay relaxed as I have been on the trip. Tony went to get pizza for our Friday night dinner – a great way to celebrate arriving home. While he was out he visited some friends and met their new baby – the kids and I are keen to see her soon too (born while we were away).

Caitlin started working on a photo slideshow of the trip to take to Girl Guides this week, then on tidying up her room – we’ve all got a new perspective on space and belongings I think after living in the tent for so long. Tony watched the football and the others watched some TV, I pottered around and we all felt very happy and comfortable (even though it felt a little weird as well).