South Australia

Last Sunday we said goodbye to Warrnambool and, also, said goodbye to Victoria as we headed on to Mt Gambier. Our last few months have been very memorable in Victoria and we are grateful for the many things we did and the wonderful things we have seen and learnt, and the great times we have spent with family.

This week we have enjoyed Mt Gambier, especially the Blue Lake - it is very blue as you can see in the picture! And we all expended much effort climbing up to the Centenary Tower which sits atop the highest point that overlooks Mt Gambier city. It gave a wonderful view of the surrounding farmland and out to the coast, as well as the city itself and Valley Lake down below. We visited the Umpherstone Sink Hole where the ground has given way to the limestone caves underneath, causing a fall of about 25m where now one can walk down to enjoy the gardens below. It was a nice spot and popular in the summer when the gardens are in full bloom.

After Mt Gambier we drove on to Robe, a small town further around the coast (nice sunrise here!). A highlight was a SUPER playground we visited on the way to Robe, at Millicent. It must be one of the best we have come across and funding was contributed by Kimberley-Clark - the big paper manufacturer, which is just out of town. We saw HUGE piles of woodchips ready to be turned into tissues, toilet paper and paper towel, etc! The playground had lots fun things to do, and Sophia wondered if we were camping here! Unfortunately for everyone (including the big kid on the back of the car!) we had to move on.

We stayed at Robe for one night and now really understand why they call this the limestone coast. There is rugged rock and limestone everywhere, no wonder so many ships were lost to the depths offshore, even though they tried to rescue them - photo by the Obleisk, where they used to store rockets which they shot out to the wrecked ships so they could attach a rope and haul passengers to land. Robe was once a bustling port town where about 17,000 Chinese people came ashore during the height of the Gold Rush times (1850-1870), to make their way to the Victorian gold fields. Now it is small, a bit like Augusta.

We headed north from Robe to Kingston, and the Big Lobster - ordered in feet it arrived built in metres!! Also drove along the Coorong that day, remembering Storm Boy and his pelicans. Then got to Murray Bridge on the Murray River. It was less green that I thought it would be and it was quite hot the day we arrived. Although that changed the next day when the cool weather and rain came in! We thought it might be fun to hire a house boat, but found them too expensive and look forward to seeing more of the Murray River, later, in our travels with Dad and Mum and Jen and Nic and family, who will be here soon only 7 days, 10 hours, but who is counting anyway!! (And did I say we are REALLY looking forward to that!)

Warrnambool

Last Sunday we came along the Great Ocean road and enjoyed all the iconic sights which were very picturesque. We thought it was a windy day, but the locals said it really wasn't that windy considering what it could be! We stood firm in the gale as we viewed the Twelve Apostles, the London Bridge and the Arch!

We thought it was fantastic to see the waves crash upon the rocks as the ocean swell came in and out, slowly they wear away the limestone rocks as time goes on, and the cliffs really do put up with a hammering from the ocean! Their ability to stand firm in the midst of the storms reminds me of the grace that the Lord gives us to stand firm in the midst of our trials and difficulties on this earth. Thank goodness He is our ROCK, our fortress and our deliverer, He is our rock in whom we can take refuge. (Psalm 18:2) He also lifts us up and places our feet upon a rock, He gives us a firm place to stand and puts a new song in our mouth, Psalm 40:2. As our rock He will not change like the shifting sands and He will not fade or wear away like the limestone, His faithfulness endures forever and great is His love towards us, Ps 117.

After travelling the Great Ocean Road we headed on in to Warrnambool. Friends had suggested this was a nice place and we found out they were certainly right. Warrnambool sits on the coast but is edged around by rich farm land. It is a fast growing rural city and has all the facilities needed along with the feel of a country town. We have spent a week here, sitting out the rain, and then enjoying some days of sunshine and warm temperatures (up to 27) before it was back to the cold and showers today (15 degrees).

The caravan park we are staying at (thanks to a tip from another travelling family) is right opposite the best Adventure playground we have found. It has several different playgrounds and two super long Flying foxes, one for little kids and one for big kids, it is great (even I had a go on the big kids one!)

Some of the things we have done this week include;

We visited Fletcher Jones Gardens, which are stunning in the spring time and even Mum remembers visiting here many years ago. Unfortunately there is no factory here anymore (clothes made in China, much to Dad's disgust!!), only a FJ Clearance store, but we found the gardens to be the best part of this area by far.

A drive out to Tower Hill, a National Park set amongst some Volcanic craters which made for some nice steep walks! It was lovely to see the spring wildflowers out in full at the moment.

We went for a walk along the 5km boardwalk which borders the beach and enjoyed the sun and we went to the beach for a while as well.

Today we visited Hopkins Falls which had a heap of water flowing over it after all the rain that has been around in Victoria lately -we just wish we could bottle it and send it home to WA as they so need the rain at the moment!

We have felt very at home in Warrnambool, probably due to the lovely green paddocks that border the city, it reminds me of the North Midlands during winter, all lush and green, although it is probably a little more undulating than the flat farmland I came from. We must say the smaller towns and countryside are much more to our liking than the capital cities which are big and busy. Onwards west we go, to Mt Gambier tomorrow!

Ocean Grove

Last week we had a wonderful week in Ocean Grove we can see why Granny's family spent their summers down here on the Bellarine Peninsula!

Right after our trip into Geelong to the Ford Museum we enjoyed a super thunder/lightning show that gave us a huge puddle right at our doorstep! Thankfully it all drained away quite fast and we were all warm and dry in the caravan.

Last Thursday saw us take a drive to Queenscliff and we climbed the lookout tower to watch the Car Ferry come in - it comes in and leaves every hour to Sorrento. That was a grey cool day but it was a nice drive and we enjoyed lunch at the park and a visit to Point Lonsdale on the way home.

The next day the grey cool weather continued but we had got a tip from another family that the local Aquatic Centre was good, so we went down there and all enjoyed some swimming and playtime in the water.

On the weekend we went into Geelong to the markets and the kids enjoyed the little petting Zoo that was there. Then in the afternoon we visited some friends in Clifton Springs, on the north coast of the Peninsula. It was great to see Brian and Heather Ellis as we had seen Brian up in Queensland at the Family Camp and he is always a wealth of information regarding Character First and how we can use it in our family and to encourage others as well.

We drove on from their place to Portarlington and spotted Melbourne off in the distance across Port Philip Bay. The countryside around here is beautiful and it reminded us alot of Tasmania, lots of rolling green hills which roll right down to the coast, very picturesque we thought.

Sunday was the first warm and sunny day we have had all week - yay! We had our usual morning family church time together and then we enjoyed a walk along the boardwalk that runs along the inlet and the spring flowers were out in everyone's gardens which was very pretty. In the afternoon, the kids enjoyed the playground over the road from our van and we all enjoyed a quiet time to catch up on stuff.

It was nice to park in Ocean Grove for a week, it really is a lovely spot, Darren and I enjoyed walking the boardwalk in the mornings and although the park has some 400 sites there was only 6 or so vans in so it is very quiet. We also were looking forward to seeing our friends, the Holt's. They are making a move from WA to the East to be closer to family and it just so happens that we will be here when they arrive, so we are very glad to be able to catch up with them before we head off and as they start their new adventure in their old stomping ground of Geelong!

So on Monday we had our usual family devotion time - it has been wonderful to have the slower pace of life which affords us the extra time to spend reading God's Word together so we can learn and grow in wisdom and character. After this the kids did their school work, as usual, and we headed off to do some shopping, before returning for lunch and then to await our WA visitors!! It is always GREAT to see familiar friends and when we have been on the road for so long and don't have the face to face contact with those we know, it makes those we see even more special! Not only that, we rarely get the chance to entertain in our 15m square space, so this was rather exciting and novel for us!!

Well, after all this build up, it was really great to see Marcus, Caroline, Paul and Alex. We caught up on their news of things back home in WA and told them of our travels. We had a BBQ and then - as the day had been so warm, we took an evening walk down to the beach. There was barely a breath of wind and we all enjoyed kicking the footy and playing the "cross out the square" game, a Marcus specialty! Unfortunately I forgot my camera so you all miss out on a fabulous sunset shot (lucky for you Marcus!!) but the memory will remain ours as to the treasured time we had with our good friends - great conversation, good fellowship and fun games! It is good to know, even though distance separates us, faith and friendship are not limited by that (and blog updates are a real bonus too!)

Tuesday started out warm and we visited the local library - a favourite activity of ours - to enjoy reading some books, that was until the clouds came up and it was a scramble to get back to get the washing in before the skies unleashed another rain/thunder storm again! Darren and Jerome went to visit the Armstrong's, friends of Marcus, who had a fantastic train memorabilia collection and model railway. This is always a highlight for Jerome, he loves to see what others collect and talk with anyone about trains!

Well, after a week at Ocean Grove, it was time to move on and so on Wednesday we packed up and headed out on the Great Ocean Road, through Torquay and Lorne to Wye River. It was a lovely drive, although clouds and light misty rain somewhat obscured what could be a brilliant view. The road was windy and it was an experience to travel this famous stretch of Victorian coastline - and admire the men who, with pick and shovel, built this road from 1919 to 1932 - it is an icon of our great nation and I always love to see the sea stretching off to the horizon. I am reminded of the song we sung when I was young - "Wide, wide as the ocean, High as the heavens above, Deep, deep as the deepest sea, is my Saviour's Love..." How vast and unfathomable is the love of the Lord for His children and for all those who He created and how thankful I am for His mercy and grace extended to me.

Yesterday, we enjoyed a brief return to spring and made the most of it travelling to Apollo Bay where we enjoyed stunning views of the coastline and Bay area. It really is a majestic place with some very nice beaches. We even saw a koala crossing the road on the way back! With bad weather forecast we put up the annex and pegged everything down and today, it is back to the cold with rain, wind and multiple hail storms... we will not complain though, as Mum said, "You'll get plenty of the warm weather when you get home to WA, enjoy what you have now." And yes, we'll take that advice get all the winter woolies out and rug up for the next few days! Brrr

SPRING IN MELBOURNE

Jerome writes:

On Sunday the sun came out at last! We wanted to make the most of it, so we went to the beach in the suburb of Frankston, it reminded us a bit of Fremantle. Quite a few other Melbournians had the same idea, so it was busy, but we enjoyed the sunny weather and walking on the beach.

On Monday, we went for a drive up through the Dandenongs to the Tesslar Tulip festival. We stopped on the way at the Grants picnic ground, a place were you can feed the parrots and birds. We got out and put bird seed in our hands and stood still and the birds landed on us to eat the seed! This place was even more significant to us because when we came to Melbourne eight years ago, we came and fed the birds here as well, Joise was only 2 and I was 4 and I remember a bird landing on my head! We fed the sulphur crested cockatoo's and some lovely green and red parrots.

Then we drove on up to the the tulip festival, which it had a Dutch theme, of course. We walked through the fields of brightly coloured tulips and we loved seeing God's creativity to make so many different vibrantly coloured flowers. The property was bought by a couple who had immigrated from Holland in the 1940s. They planted tulips, which were very novel and interesting to the local Aussies back then. The property is now owned by their son. It was a great day.

We drove down to Geelong on Tuesday and we think we've found the biggest caravan park in Australia, with about 500 sites and an extra 300 overflow sites for the peak season - and funnily only about 10 sites are being used at the moment! Which means we have nearly exclusive use of the wonderful playground here!

Today we went to the Ford discovery centre and we learned about how they make Ford cars at their massive factory in Geelong. The company was started by Henry Ford, who designed his first automobile in 1896 called the Quadracycle. He then started the Ford motor company in the very early 1900s and he was known for starting the production line. Every car the company produced came in any colour you liked, as long as it was black! Today, the Ford factory produces one car every one minute and uses 70,000 tons of steel! We finished the afternoon by having lunch on the foreshore with our bollard friends and watched a storm roll in over the bay.

Birch's and Birch's in Gippsland region

It's been a while since we have blogged and we have certainly had such a great time with Darren's folks. Leaving Melbourne we travelled out to the Gippsland area and stayed near Morwell where Meg spent her growing up years. We travelled through some beautiful green hilly countryside (which reminded us alot of Tasmania) and found a super Bakery at Mirboo North and conveniently we were just in time for lunch! That was a lovely day as we enjoyed places Meg went to as a child. Mirboo North also had the biggest slide we have seen on our travels so far - unfortunately I forgot the camera that day, ahhh!

The next day we went for a drive to Tarra Bulga National Park, which was really COLD, but undeterred we went for a walk to the swinging bridge, dodging from tree fern to tree fern to avoid the rain! Then we had lunch in the shelter heating up some soup and enjoying the peacefulness of the forrest, especially when the sun came out briefly to warm us up a little.

At the end of the week we headed to Philip Island and it was a nice trip south and then along the coast on a grey cool day. The kids all like riding with Granny and Granny and Grandad have stayed. On Philip Island we stayed at the Amaze n Things Van park which had a maze, mini golf and a great playground on site. On the Saturday, we went down to Nobbies Point (the only free thing we could find!!) and learnt about whales, penguins, seals and the southern ocean, as well as bought a few memorabilia items in the gift store - the kids enjoyed spending a little money that Granny and Grandad had given them - and we took a walk along the boardwalk where the Silver Gulls were all nesting. We spotted lots of little chicks and that was a really interesting and enjoyable walk.

It was home in the afternoon to watch the football grand final where I made some sausage rolls and we made some mini pies too for lunch (we consumed a sum total of 90 pies and sausage rolls between us, all very mini ones of course! And that was lunch, afternoon tea and dinner!) And after all that there wasn't even a result to the final and they had to go back and play it all over again. The pie eating was worth it though, hee, hee.

Last Sunday was a sunny day on Philip Island, sun, something we hadn't seen for some time, so, after our morning church we drove to Rhyll, north east corner of the Island and went for a walk, made dandelion chains and enjoyed the weather outdoors. When we got back we went down to the puzzle shop and cafe and tried the outdoor puzzles in the playground, these kept us occupied for some time. Then we all finished our time together with Fish and Chips by the beach. We have been really thankful for the time we could have with Dad and Meg and, as we were feeling a bit homesick, it was just what we needed to keep us going for another few months!

Monday saw us say goodbye to Grandad and Granny and they headed back to Melbourne for a day trip to Ballarat and some more family time, and we headed to Dandenong where we have based ourselves for the last week. During this week we have been blessed to go to the IBLP seminar (Institute of Basic Life Principles). The children attended the CI (Children's Instititue), which was led by our friends, the McKennas, and they had a SUPER time learning songs, memory verses, stories and doing activities. Darren and I were refreshed and encouraged as we listened to the 32 hours of solid Bibilcal teaching on seven principles - Principles of Design, Ownership, Responsibility, Authority, Freedom, Suffering and Success. What a wonderful week it has been.