First big trip in our Snowy caravan Read more
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  • Day 14

    And just like that, we are home.

    April 15, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Left Red Cliffs caravan Park with the plan of heading in the direction of home.
    Not knowing if we would stop another night somewhere or get all the way home.
    We crossed the border and were stopped and checked at the quarantine check point for any fruit, of which we weren't carrying any.
    We headed to Barmera to check out Lake Bonnie - wow now we know why everyone talks about this place. It's beautiful, have put this on the list of places to go back to and stay for a few days. Had a bite to eat out of the caravan at the lakes edge.
    After a walk around the lake front we headed onto Waikerie.
    Amazing silo art on the way in.
    Another lovely riverfront town. Another walk along the river and through the very busy caravan park.
    Drove into Blanchetown where we stopped at Lock 1. Very interesting to see how the pelicans have worked out how the fish get through the lock and they can get an easy feed.
    Also saw the lock open for a house boat to move upstream.
    At this time it was mid afternoon and we decided that as we had shared the driving and had plenty of stops we would head for Gawler.
    Arrived at Laura and Dylan's house at 5pm and parked the van.
    Was a great 2 week trip. Can't wait to start planning the next!
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  • Day 13

    Winner, winner!

    April 14, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Easy day today, drove from Lake Boga to Red Cliffs and set up at the caravan Park.
    Walked into the town centre and found the shop where the Chapleys opened their original shop.
    An easy afternoon reading my book sitting in the sun while Rob played around with the caravan weight distribution hitch. Dinner at the Red Cliffs club, lovely club where they had an Easter raffle that we won first prize!!!Read more

  • Day 12

    Pioneer settlement Swan Hill

    April 13, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Left Kyabram and started slowly heading back towards Adelaide. Drove 2 hours till we came across Lake Boga, with a caravan Park right on the lake and only 10 minutes out of Swan Hill where we were hoping to stay.
    So we booked a site at Lake Boga and got right on the lake front. Beautiful spot.
    Headed into Swan Hill for the afternoon to explore the Pioneer settlement. It's an old colonial times village, really well done right on the Murray River.
    Headed back to our van for dinner on the lake and to watch the Sun set.
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  • Day 11

    It seem like everything in Vic is closed

    April 12, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Hit the road early to shift onto the Kyabram caravan Park. They charg extra if you arrive before 2pm! So we paid as we wanted to set up and head off to Euroa only to find out part way there after further Google searches that all the places we wanted to visit were not open today (even though it's school holidays here). So onto Benalla where it was quite the same, only half of what we wanted to see was open, some only showing closed signs once on the doors once we'd arrived. Very disappointed.
    Once again a walk around the Botanical gardens which didn't disappoint and were lovely.
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  • Day 10

    Viva Bendigo

    April 11, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    A visit to the Elvis exhibition in Bendigo today, interesting but not really worth the high entry fee.
    Lots of exibits from very early in his life, including a box of his crayons, his school library card, the family letterbox. Then dresses of some of the actress's that played opposite him in some movies. The car was cool, one he bought in Hawaii and then it became part of a movie he filmed there at the time. There were also alot of his clothes from when he enlisted to different movies he was in and both his and Pricilla's wedding outfits. Not as much about his music as I thought would have been there.

    Then a walk around the Bendigo Botanical gardens, again absolutely beautiful, with a small bird aviary inside housing several different breeds of birds. The gardens had both flowering beds and georgeous mature trees many of which were going through their autumn change. Huge magnolia trees with hundreds of buds on them about to bloom in the next few weeks and which will look stunning when they do.
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  • Day 9

    A day around Bendigo

    April 10, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    A morning under ground tour of Central Deborah Gold Mine started our day today.
    This was a very informative 45 minute tour taking us 61 metres below ground level and showing us through the old mine.
    Back at ground level we finished looking at the mine before hopping on the talking tram for a ride around the city. The tram stopped at several points of interest where we could get off and have a look around.
    We stopped off in the city centre where I went to the Chinese gardens ( while Rob shopped at JB hi-fi!).
    The gardens were smaller than I thought but still pretty.
    Back on the tram and onto Lake Wendouree where we hopped off and walked around the lake in the warm sunshine.
    Back on the tram for the return journey and commentary to end our afternoon.
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  • Day 8

    Bendigo -Marong Big 4 Holiday Park

    April 9, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Left Daylesford in overcast and slightly drizzly weather and headed to Bendigo.
    Stopped off at Gilford on the way to check out "The Big Tree" it has a circumference of over 12m and is over 500 years old. Certainly a very impressive looking tree. Through Castlemaine where we stopped off for a coffee and purchased some lovely food at the bakery for our dinner tonight.
    Onto Bendigo where we set up in the Marong holiday park a few KMs just out of Bendigo. We have been given a lovely big site at the back of the park under a nice shady tree. Very happy to be staying a few nights here.
    The weather fined up so back to Castlemaine to visit the Botanical gardens which were lovely to walk around.
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  • Day 7

    Another day in beautiful Daylesford

    April 8, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Daylesford was so unexpectedly relaxing and beautiful that we decided to stay another night.
    We went for another walk around Lake Daylesford this morning before heading to Trentham for lunch at an artisan bakery and then onto Trentham Falls which were lovely.
    We stopped at the Chocolate Mill at Mount Franklin on the way back to Daylesford in the afternoon for some sweet treats to take back to the caravan for later.
    Another walk heading off from the caravan Park, this time to see some of the mineral springs in the area got our step count up for the day.
    Seeing the trees turning their autumn colours in the area was just stunning.
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  • Day 6

    Ballarat to Daylesford

    April 7, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    A brisk 6km walk around Lake Wendouree this morning followed by a stroll through the beautiful Botanical gardens where the Begonia festival had just finished. The gardens were stunning.
    Then onto Daylesford holiday park for an overnight stay.
    After setting up and having some lunch we went for another lovely walk around Lake Daylesford, not quite as big a lake at only 2.4km around but just as lovely.
    Dinner at the Royal Daylesford Hotel and then back to se how Port Adelaide fares!
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  • Day 5

    Old Melbourne Gaol

    April 6, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Up early and caught the 7:45 train into Melbourne to go visit the Old Melbourne Gaol.
    Train service was fantastic and super fast arriving in Spencer St train station. Just a short stroll into Federation square where we stopped off to see the seven metres in diameter moon featuring detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface hanging on display. Interesting but not much information with it.
    Walked another km down the road until we came to the Old Melbourne Gaol where we spent the next few hours wandering through the cells and city watch house partly guided and partly self guided using an app.
    Lots of info on Ned Kelly's last days. Very interesting.
    Was disappointed in Melbourne itself. So much of Southbank was closed. Businesses had just shut up shop and looked like had walked away.
    Grand prix on this weekend, not advertised any where. A couple of F1 stalls on Southbank and so we looked it up and found out on Sunday.
    So much graffiti all over Melbourne, seemed dirty, Graffiti City - was not an inviting city.
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