Travelling Around Australia: April 2011

March 22^nd to April 10^th 2011

I thought I would post another blog to let everyone know what we have been up to since arriving back in Geelong on 22^nd March. We have been kept really busy and will be leaving for our big journey on 20^th April. This is a week later then we had intended. We will be starting in the Gippsland area and the High country of Victoria before we head up to the Central coast of NSW and then onto the Gold Coast by the end of May to again meet up with family and friends for the Geelong v Gold Coast match at Carrara. After that we can then relax and take our time as we travel up to Cape York.

It was really great to get home and catch up with the family. My sister Louy invited her family and my kids to a barbecue at her house on our first night to welcome us home It was a nice surprise and great to see everyone again. We attended the 40^th birthday of our sister-in-law Nene on Saturday night, it was a great party and we all had a fantastic time. On Monday we took my sister, Louy, on a camping trip to Lake Cairn Curran in central Victoria. Welshmans Reef Caravan Park on the Cairn Curran Reservoir is situated in the Goldfields area of Central Victoria near Maldon, Castlemaine and Newstead.

Greg’s brother Troy, his wife Janine and their kids Nicki and Ally also joined us for a few days. Lake Cairn Curran was empty of water up until about 8 months ago. Greg used to have a permanent caravan there years ago and in November 2009 when he took us for a drive there to show us his old stamping ground, there was not a drop of water in it. After a decade or more of extreme drought and hot temperatures they have now had record breaking floods and this beautiful reservoir is now brimming with water and can now be used for fishing, swimming and boating.

The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed our time fishing, kayaking, boating and yabbying and just having fun with a few drinks and great company. It was very relaxing. My brother Peter and his wife Lynette came and stayed for 2 nights over the weekend. It was really great to spend this time with our families and great that they could see how we are living and coping really well in our camper trailer.

We came home from Cairn Curran on Monday after 7 nights to help our nephew Shaun celebrate his 30^th birthday and then on Wednesday morning drove to Lismore in the Southwest of Victoria to stay at Lake Tooliorook for 3 nights. Greg’s mum, Jean lives in Lismore and although she didn’t want to camp with us she visited us every day at the lake which is only 6 km’s from her house. Again this was a great opportunity to spend some time with her before we head off. Greg’s sister Tracey and her husband Peter and daughter Courtney also visited for a barbecue on Friday night.

Lake Tooliorook is a popular lake for all water sports and fishing and is completely booked out for Easter. This lake was also bone dry up until November last year and is now full. 15,000 fish have been released into the lake and everyone was having a bit of luck catching some nice trout. Luckily there was only a few other campers sharing this beautiful spot with us for our 3 nights there. Dale from Sydney was great company and the life of the party and Robert and Cherie from Coffs Harbour gave us some valuable info on great camping spots in Queensland and NSW. The weather was perfect with temperatures in the mid to high 20’s for the 3 days we were there, which made kayaking and fishing very pleasant.

If you are ever touring Victoria, do yourself a favour and visit both Lake Cairn Currran and Lake Tooliorook as they are both in beautiful areas of our state with many things to offer and both have lovely camping spots for those who enjoy water sports or those who just want to relax. Our own backyard is so very beautiful.

We headed home on Saturday morning so that I could go to the footy at Skilled Stadium on Sunday. That was worth it as the Mighty Cats had a great 79 point victory over the hapless Port Power. GO CATS!

Okay so this will be my last blog for a few weeks. Next Tuesday 19^th April, I will be going to Melbourne to support my friend Wendy as she appears on Millionaire Hot Seat. I am returning a favour as she did the same for me earlier last year. Good Luck Wen! The following day we will be leaving Geelong for what will be quite a while. Please keep up with my blogs and don’t be afraid to leave a comment or two. Cheers till next time.