Pt 2 - Day 47 - Great Ocean Road - Walks to Falls/ Apollo Bay

We want to make the most of the fine weather as we are aware it is going to be short lived.  We hear about the Otway zip line and tree top walk, the zip line is a 2.5 hour tour of the top of the forest hanging from a rope, basically like a flying fox but for much longer.  I had myself all psyched to do it until we found out the price.  It was going to cost $450, which is about what it cost us for a day on the Great Barrier Reef including breakfast and lunch, we just couldn't justify this expense so we decide to do some walk trails instead.  Firstly Triplet Falls,  what a beautiful walk through the bush.  All the paths are easy going and some have man made sections with railing, nothing like Karijini or El Questro walks.  The outside temp in the car is 16C so it is not exactly your average summer's day, however, perfect weather for walking.

Next we head to Beachamp Falls, a bit of a more challenging walk,  downhill all the way and very steep, fine on the way in!!!!..... a bit of a struggle on the way out. Shannae says "My legs feel like jelly Mum, and I know yours do because I can see them wobbling!!!!".......nice!!!!  Don't you just love them!!  What a beautiful spot!!

Cody - at one with nature!!!

Just as we get in the car and drive out it starts to rain again.  A very windy road back to Apollo Bay where we do a little bit of shopping, another winery and head back to our camp.  The rain stops just long enough for the kids to go and have a play. 

We meet a lovely couple from Norway with two boys that the kids just love.  Before long another couple from Beligum arrive with two little girls, they can't speak english at all, but somehow the kids seem to communicate okay with one another.  We build another fire and meet half the people in the park.  That is the beauty of small parks.  It is amazing how in the bigger parks you can be completely surrounded by people and not meet anyone, yet in the smaller ones, everyone talks to each other.  I think it helps that no one has internet access or tv reception out here!!! 

The mud we now endure after the rain goes all through the van and into everything!!!  At some point you just have to say ..."Too bad.....we'll deal with it at the next spot"  Unfortunately it is not much fun when it rains and you are on black sand.  But despite this, we want to stay here longer, as there is still so much to see, but all decisions hinge on the preciptation, we'll see what tonight brings!!!

Pt 2 - Day 46 - Great Ocean Road - Otway National Park

This morning the rain stopped before we got up so we were able to pack up without getting wet.  We are a bit reluctant to move on as we love this spot.  The location of our van in the park is awesome and we just love the small town of Ocean Grove and proximity to the beach.  The only thing we don't like about this park is for the very first time, we have come across showers that have timers on them.  The first night we were here, Shannae came back from the shower saying that her shower went off and she had to wait ages for it to come back on again.  When I went in I read the big sign that said showers will go off after 5 min as they are water wise.....a bit of a joke when it never stops bloody raining!!!

Anyway, we are excited about seeing the Great Ocean Road.  The sun is trying to peer through the clouds and we are glad the roads aren't wet as they soon become pretty treacherous.  Wow, but what an amazing drive.  The scenery along this road is absolutely beautiful.  There were a few bits I didn't see though, as the sheer drop down the side of the hill around a corner were just a bit much for me to endure and I had my face buried in my hands, hoping Glen was watching the road and not the scenery!!!!  We passed through many small towns that I would loved to have perused but we are headed for Apollo Bay.

We arrive in Apollo Bay, a beautiful seaside town, and head for the information centre.  We are looking for a free camp, however, after the drive and talking to the lady in the tourist centre, it soon becomes apparent that there is no way we are going to get the "big girl" into a free camp in this neck of the woods!!!  So we find Bimbi Caravan park right in the middle of the Otway National Park. This caravan park is just great, right in the middle of the bush, the guy tells us to try to get a powered site not under a big tree, well this is a bit hard as the place is full of massive gum trees, all of which house a couple of koalas each.  What a treat, to see koalas in the wild.  I can't believe that I am 41 and have not seen a koala in the wild before. 
This big guy, pictured above, decides he has had enough of his tree, so he climbs down, sits for a while and lets us all take photos of him, then climbs up another tree, where he makes himself comfortable, curling up in a ball in the fork of the tree and going back to sleep.

This park is just great, it is fairly small and there are no manicured lawns, just black sand but it is so nice being in the bush, almost like free camping but with showers and power.  So when we discovered we couldn't free camp I said to the kids, well at least we'll be in a caravan park and "no 5min showers".  They thought this was great until we arrived and discovered our nice eco-friendly ablution block has coin operated showers which cost $1 for 3 minutes, very amusing, the kids weren't impressed. I told them we would give them the one dollar for their shower, but if they wanted a longer one they had to use their own pocket money.  Well, this was met with moans and groans and they all opted for the 3 minute shower.  "That's not a shower that's a splash" reports Tori after returning from her shower the first night.  And Shannae reckons by the time she got her water temp right, the water cut out!!!! 
This evening we build a fire which we are allowed to have in the drum, and we enjoy the fine, however, very cold weather, cooking marshmallows.

Pt 2 - Day 45 - Bellarine

It is supposed to be 27C today with a chance of showers.  Well, we wake up to overcast drizzling weather and decide it is not going to be a boogie boarding day today and think a look around the peninsula is in order.  We do a loop up to Drysdale and surrounding towns.  Lots of little wineries and cattle farms, but too early for wine tasting before lunch. All the little places along this side of the peninsula have a hazy view of Melbourne across the bay through the drizzle.  I imagine it would be a beautiful view on a clear day.  We then head down to Queenscliff where you can catch the ferry across to the Mornington Peninsula.  We had thought about doing this just for a look, but for $200 we decided there was still enough for us to see on this side of the bay!!!!

The "chance of showers" becomes heavy drizzle for the whole day and I doubt the temperature reaches 21C, by lunch time we are in and out of the car pretty quick to have a look at things as we are all freezing as we didn't dress for the weather today.  By 1pm we decide it is time to eat.  We head back to a lovely little winery called Jack Rabbit.  On a sunny day you would sit out on the deck over looking the water to Melbourne. The bay is home to a number of mussel farms and we watch the trawlers checking on the nets.  It continues to drizzle outside but we are all very impressed with a lovely meal, something a bit different to our average cafe or bistro meal.  There are no kids meals on this menu, but we find something that they will like and thoroughly enjoy our dishes, and a nice glass of "Jack Rabbit" to go with it.  We decide this is Glen's belated birthday meal!!!

After this we call into a couple of other little places on the way home.  Firstly an Olive Farm where the children are very taken with a little dog, a Pug x Labrador.  We have a chat to the lady there and make an olive oil purchase.  Then we call into another little winery/B and B/art gallery.  The house you see below is actually the cellar door and we all thought it was just awesome.  The rest of the "art" work around the property was the same, most unusal.  We could have looked around this property all day!!!
 

On the way home we have a quick look down the main drag of Barwen Heads, some nice little shops but lots of places closed on a Monday.  Then back to our van a simple dinner and to start packing to move on tomorrow.  The rain eases a little until about 10pm when it buckets down again!!!  We are so looking forward to packing up the wet annexe in the morning......not......Tori enjoys her last night of solitude in her annexe bedroom tonight for a while!!!!

Pt 2 - Day 44 - RAAF Museum

This morning we awoke to another glorious day.  The sun is shining, it is going to be warm, but we are so glad to have some beach weather as it is so accessible here.  Today Glen is heading back to Point Cook where there is a RAAF museum and they just happen to be having a their annual exhibition on today.  Perfect timing as we are in reach of it. 

So before Glen leaves I decide that it is time we got the kids some new boards.  I zoom down the street while I still have the car.  It is Sunday morning and the main street is abuzz with people having Sunday coffees and bacon and eggs.  To my surprise, two out of the 4 surf shops are open for business.  I make a deal with the local surfshop owner who is very keen to sell me three boards and gives me an awesome price in the process, and I head back to the van bearing gifts. I am greeted with much excited when Cody realises what I have in the car and I receive the "mother of the year" award for my efforts!!!!  The kids are stoked as they just love boogie boarding so we are set for the day.

Glen heads off to the RAAF, very excited but it is warming up quickly.  He is just in his element here.  There are so many old war planes on display and between 1 and 4pm they include an aerobatics display.  He comes home full of excitement about all that he has seen and shares all the photos he has taken.  His Dad would have just loved it also.  Sitting outside the van in the afternoon we actually see a couple of planes fly over, obviously heading home for the day.

 

The kids and I have a great day at the beach.  It is a really good beach as it just has steady waves rolling in.  It is quite shallow for a long way out but the kids are still able to catch some great rides on their new boards.  They have a blast.  We head home for a late lunch and chill in the van out of the heat.

The sunny day soon turns overcast and by 6:30pm we are sheltered in the annexe listening to the thunder and having to yell at each other across the table in order to be heard over the rain!!!!!  So much for our nice weather!!!!  It continues for most of the night and our beautiful grassed oasis is transformed into a slush pit!!! We pull out the tracksuit pants and jumpers yet again!!!!

Pt 2 - Melton and Ocean Grove - Day 43

Tori and I are up at a sparrow's this morning.  She has a scholarship exam to sit in a place called Melton which is about 90km from here.  This is the main reason we have hung around the area for a few days,  that, and we didn't want to go on the Great Ocean Road on the weekend, as everyone says it is chaos.  Anyway, the exam she is sitting is for St Mary's, it is produced by ACER and is the test used by all schools giving out scholarships.  The whole country sits it on the same day and the same time, so I managed to find one that I thought we might be close to.  I had know idea how long the drive would take, back up through Geelong, as it turned out we arrived with plenty of time.  Tori was really nervous, more about not knowing anyone, than the exam I think!!!  but she was fine and very quickly met some new people.  All the parents were ushered out the door so I had to kill a couple of hours at the local shopping centre, oh the serenity!!!!

In the meantime, back at the van, Shannae, Cody and Glen had a very nice sleep in.  They then headed for the beach which was in walking distance, just as well, as they don't have a car.  The beach is a great little surfing beach.  Every man, woman and child is down there, each with there own board.  We intentionally left the kids boards at home as two are up for renewal, plus we had a number of flights to catch, so we thought we could just get them over here if there was a need.

Anyway, by the time Tori and I get home it is nearly 3pm and reaches a maximum of 41C.  We are totally in shock.  We have barely experienced temperatures over 25 for the last 6 weeks, so we all wilt in the van for the remainder of the afternoon.  Daylight savings doesn't help.  At 7pm we venture out and play cricket with our aspiring "Michael Clarke" who is busting to get rid of some of his energy!!  It is a short couple of innings!!!  We don't start the barbi up until 8pm tonight, we are thoroughly enjoying being back in our caravaning routine and it is nice to stay in the one spot for a few days in a row.

Pt 2 - Ocean Grove - Day 42

Today the sun is shining again.  We are just loving this warm weather.  The forecast is for 34C today but I don't think it quite reached that.  We had planned to move to Barwon Heads this morning, at the recommendation of a bloke we met in Sydney, but the caravan park there is full for the weekend, so we head over the river to the next town which is Ocean Grove.  The River Caravan Park is just enormous, but all they have left for us is a choice of two "emergency" bays, they have set aside just for "big Bertha's" like us who drop in unexpectedly.  The park is about 600m long and we are right at the back entrance, but it is a perfect spot.  A huge grassed area we have all to ourselves.  Immediately, Tori asks, "Can we put the annexe up??"  This was always the plan on this half of the trip, if we stayed for three or more days we might be able to put up the annexe and she can sleep out there on the fold out bed.  Now the awning is fixed it is a possibility, but first the awning must go up.......yay!!!!....  the awning works, we sit and eat lunch under it.  It has been so long.

Then the usual routine, I wash and go and do the grocery shopping, we have no food after Tassie so it is a big shop.   When I return, Glen and Tori have discovered that the new awning doesn't have the required holes to put the annexe up..........bugger!!!!!  However, Glen has been talking about a cordless drill for some time now and so this gives him the perfect excuse, so off he trots to find the local hardware store.  By 6pm we have the annexe up and Tori has created herself a bedroom at one end of the annexe, complete with a sheet for a partition!!  So, it is a happy camp tonight!!!  A barbi by the van and we watch the sun set over the river which is about 4 metres from our annexe.

 

Pt 2 - Day 41 - Back to the mainland

We don't catch the plane until 1:30pm this afternoon and we are only 35 km from the airport.  We decide against doing any sightseeing before catching the plane as it will be way too rushed, so we just enjoy the space of our lovely "home away from home", check emails, do a bit of the blog etc.  We arrive at the airport by 12 keeping in mind we have to return the car.  Not exactly "happiness" to see our friendly car hire man who we picked the car up from originally, who was going to send us off in the rain with a ute, but we happily took our refund, happily gave them back the keys, smiled nicely, as we were totally over it!!!!  and vowed never to hire a car again.......well, as least not in the near future anyway!!!!

What bored kids do at the airport!!

Our plane was delayed half an hour which made for very bored kids, however, we survived the waiting....just, then hopped on our Qantaslink flight, courtesy of Jetstar, which had no entertainment whatsoever, not even a place to plug in head phones, and, to the children's disgust, no in-flight service!!!  You had to buy everything off the menu, which we weren't about to do.  Thank goodness it was only an hour flight!!!

We catch a taxi to pick up the caravan which is ready and waiting for us with a brand new awning.  We are so excited about this, as it has been so long since it was broken.  The repairers were very cooperative and helpful which made our life so much easier.

We then managed to get to the outskirts of Melbourne, just before 5pm to pick up our second lot of mail that Marie had sent over.  Bills, bill and more bills, but also a Farm Weekly which Glen was very happy about.  We then headed to South Werribee where we found a caravan park for the night.  We are all very glad to be back in our van and be able to get into our normal routine again, I think Tori was even secretly happy!!

Pt 2 - Day 40 - Port Arthur

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GLEN!!!

Today it is Glen's birthday.  The kids bound into our bed with their gifts and much excitement.  We have a nice relaxing breaky before heading off to have a look at Port Arthur which is about 70km away.  Van Demon's land was founded in 1803 and not long after this, Port Arthur became the first penal (sp?) colony in Australia.  We first looked at a gallery where we were each given a prisoner to follow their story. Tori's, for example, was a 13 year old boy, who had been sent to Australia for seven years for stealing a hankerchief.  We followed his story from his conviction to where he worked in the prison and so on.  Essentially, all the men, women and children who got convicted and sent to Australia, ended up there for life, as they couldn't afford the 28pounds that it cost to catch a boat back.

What a beautiful spot it is at Port Arthur.  If you didn't know it's history you wouldn't realise it was once a prison as there are no fences to keep the prisoners in.  Being almost completely surrounded by water, no one could ever escape, as the small part of land that joined it to Tasmania was constantly manned by soldiers. We did a walking tour around some of the 100 acre property then went on the boat tour where they showed us the boys island, as they were kept seperate from the adults and further educated.

It was also a very eiry feeling being in a place where the masacre of 35 people occurred, now almost 16 years ago.  They have a lovely memorial to remember the people where the cafe once stood.  Very sad.

We had no idea that there was going to be such extensive tours at Port Arthur and the visitor'ss centre such so comprehensive , so our nice lunch that we had planned to have for Glen's birthday, was replaced with fish and chips in "Doo - town" as that was about all we could find serving lunch by 3pm.  Oh well, you just never know what to expect when you plan to do the tourist thing sometimes

Anyway, we came home for drinks overlooking the bay and finished off the last of our food before catching the plane tomorrow.  We had an ice-cream cake and sang happy birthday, including 43 claps and one for luck etc etc then we all watched a movie together.  A very late night as the sun doesn't go down until 8:30pm, but we have a late start in the morning so it was all good.

Pt 2 - Day 39 Primrose Sands

The sun is shining again!!!!  I think the forecast is about 20C today, not warm, but at least the weather is fine. This morning we enjoy another nice "brunch" at the hotel before we leave.  Reluctant to leave this place as it is so nice and there is so much more to see, but we need to get back down south closer to the airport.  We all climb into our new Pajero, very exciting.  The very back seat doesn't split in half like the Prado but we put Cody back there with some luggage and put the girls on the middle seat with luggage between them!!!  The 200km drive south is just blissful.  Just the sound of a DS in the background, Shannae reading and Tori gazing at the scenery giving us a running commentary of the animals she sees.  Not one argument or one terse word yelled into the back to control the chaos that unfolds as Glen tries to negotiate the hairpin corners and unpredictable terrain.  The Midland Hwy is a nice, straight "normal" highway, and we are lucky enough to have this for about 150km when we have to turn off to head to Sorell.  What a lovely change, I almost dose off in the passenger seat, it is so peaceful!!!!

We are very disappointed that we are now going to miss the east coast.  From all reports this is the nicest part of Tassie, and in hind sight we should have gone up the east coast first, however, we live and learn and this is added to our list of things to come back and do at a later date!!

We have hired a house for the last two nights, located somewhere between the airport and Port Arthur.  Not too many options in the way of hotels, but "Stayz" has a lot of holiday homes for cheaper than a 2 bedroom apartment.  So we arrive in Primrose Sands.  A very picturesque drive to the coast.  The house is someone's holiday home with magnificent views of Norfolk Bay, 3 bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, and a children's rumpus room and laundry down stairs.  Just perfect, as we are due to do some washing.

The kids are very excited and immediately start arguing over who is going to get the bedroom all to themselves, as two will still have to share.  And within about 5 mins of arriving Cody manages to lock the toilet door from the inside, then walk out and shut the door, now no one is able to get in!!!  Fortunately there is also a toilet downstairs, however, the next hour and a half is spent trying to get the door unlocked.  The caretaker arrives to give us a hand, Glen already has the door knob completely dismantled.  They eventually push the knob on the other side all the way through until it lands on the floor and only then are we able to unlock it!!!!!  What a drama!!

So this afternoon we go for a walk down to the beach.  Certainly not swimming weather, but great to get out for some exercise and the kids love exploring the rocks and collecting shells.  When we get home the kids park themselve in front of their big screen downstairs and Glen and I enjoy the view from the balcony and an uninterupted conversation and make plans for tomorrow, Glen's birthday!!!

Pt 2 - Day 38 - Beaconfield and Seahorse Aquarium

 HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY JACKIE!!!!

This morning the sun was shining.  With a forecast of 25C we were very excited to get out our shorts and t-shirts and just wait to feel the warmth for a change.  It was also great to just have breakfast and get in the car to explore, rather than pack our bags and move on again!!!  We still don't have the spare tyre replaced as we haven't found a tyre place with the right tyre yet, but we decide to push on with our plans and continue to make phone calls along the way, otherwise too much of our time here is being wasted.

Today we headed for Beaconsfield, about 22km north of where we were staying.  A beautiful drive up along the Tamar River.  Tasmania is such a picturesque place, I imagine this is what England or Scotland would look like.  The Beaconsfield Mine and Heritage Centre was right in the middle of the town, which we were amazed to see, and the mine that buried Todd and Brandt 6 years ago, is still in operation, which ajoins the information centre.  The museum has obviously been in existence for some time, now with the addition of the rescue operation of these two men, is was just a fantastic exhibit.  It cost us only $30 for the whole family and it was a very informative museum/information centre. The best thing about it is that the children where encouraged to interact with the exhibits throughout the whole building, unlike most museums like this, where we spend most of our time saying "don't touch"!!!

After this we headed up the road a little further to Beauty Point where we were to have a look at the Seahorse Aquarium.  This was just fantastic.  We are a bit "over" aquariums and zoos but we wanted to see this and we are glad we did.  Seahorses are very interesting creatures.  We found out that the male puffs out his belly as much as he can to attract the female, the fatter the belly the more attractive.  Tori pipes up and says "Dad, you should be a seahorse!!!", the others on the tour thought this was most amusing!!!

Pregnant male seahorses.

In the meantime, Glen has been able to get hold of a car hire employee who actually has a brain and who not only understands our situation, but is actually able to do something about it.  He tells us to bring our car straight down to the Launceston branch and he will give us a new car and reimburse us for the additional cost we have incurred by not getting the car we paid for.  Thank goodness for him!!!
So Glen drops the kids and I off at our accommodation and we are able to enjoy some of the facilities at the resort.  We hire a paddle boat and feed the numerous animals here.  Then Glen gets home in time for a game of mini golf on the "best mini-golf course" we have seen so far.  And  not only has he got us a different car, he has got the Pajero we ordered in the first place......yay!!!!

Pt 2 - Day 37 - Cradle Mountain - Tamar valley

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIE!!!

This morning Glen and I just had to go out and enjoy one of the "walks" through the forest.  We chose the shortest one as we were a bit concerned about the children, however, the two little ones were fast asleep and didn't even know we were gone.  What a beautiful place it is up in the moutainous country. Ferns and moss grow everywhere, it is like a fairy's garden.  Everything dripped with moisture but we weren't too conerned about getting wet.  When we got back to the cabin we packed everyhing up ready to move on again.  Once again trying to see as much as we can in the time we have.  But first, we must fuel our withering bodies and provide them with further sustenance for a hard day of sight seeing ahead. And what better way to do this than to enjoy a buffet breaky by a log fire.  Tassie was always going to be a bit of a break from the caravan routines.  A bit more space and an opportunity to do things we don't normally do.  So breakfast was most enjoyable and it was also to be our lunch for the day, so we got our monies worth!!!

We drive further into the national park with everything crossed that we don't get another flat.  We stop at the visitor's centre where we purchase a national parks pass and catch a free shuttle to Dove Lake where we are able to do more walks and view Cradle Mountain.  Well, the rain continues to drizzle and we certainly aren't prepared for any major hikes.  We take the shorter walks which are only about 400 and 600m around the lake.  However, the fog is like pea soup.  We can barely see the water in the lake let alone the beautiful mountain we are told that stands 1530m on the other side of the lake.  We take the locals word for it and head back down to the visitors centre and our car.  What a shame once again the damn weather is not cooperating.  Glen and I add this to our list of places to come back to when the kids are off on their own.

Next we are headed to a place called Tamar Valley, which is just north of Launceston.  There are no direct routes in this place and the roads are as windy as anything, so we have underestimated the time it is going to take to get from A-B in this state.  We have a quick drive through Devonport and are relieved to see a little bit of flatter farming country on the other side.  It is short lived but we enjoy it for the time being.  We start to to reassess our plans to go down the east coast after Tamar Valley.  We have two nights booked here but we planned to stay in two different places for the last two nights on the east coast. But now we are here, we have worked out we are are going to end up spending most of our time in the car due to the time it takes to drive on these roads, which, with the three bears lined up together across the back, is not going to be much fun for anyone in the tiny enclosure of the car!!!!

The car hire saga continues.  On closer inspection, Glen realised that not only do we have a very bald spare on our car, but also two very bald front tyres that should be replaced before we add another 800km to our journey.  Well, many phone calls and wasted time later, getting a replacement for the spare, let alone replacing them all, is proving to be a major drama!!! 

Our accommodation this evening and for tomorrow night as well is in a little swiss village.  We all just love it.  Beautiful grounds for the kids to run around.  Lots of duck, rabbit and swans and heaps of things to keep the children entertained, plus a normal sized kitchen and bathroom.  Just awesome!!

Pt 2 - Day 36 - Raspberry Farm / Lemonthyme Lodge

This morning we awoke to yet more rain.  A very drab old morning.  We just hoped the weather was going to clear as we headed north.  We were looking forward to getting out of the city and seeing some of the country side.  Our accommodation tonight was on the edge of the Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park.  We decided to get off the beaten track and rather than go on the main highway, we would take the road less travelling and head up Lake Highway.  The rain stopped and started most of the way.  The weather was bitterly cold so there weren't many stops to get out and enjoy the scenery.  The roads are very windy and steep so the 250km we have to do today takes twice as long as it would at home.

All our stomachs were thinking about our main stop for lunch, the Raspberry Farm.  Tasmania is a great place for nice food.  The soil is so rich, there are berry farms, cheese factories, chocolate factories and heaps of wineries.  So for lunch the kids have pancakes with ice-cream and raspberry sauce, made on the premises.  We drink raspberry, hot chocolate and raspberry lemonade and I buy some raspberry jam for our travels.  Just delicious!!!  With everyone very satisfied we move on to the Ashgrove cheese shop for some tasting and to make a few small purchases!!!  Thank goodness for tracksuit pants, that's all I can say!!!

We drive through a small town called Sheffield where someone is walking a llama down the street.  Sheffield boasts 40 murals on the walls of all their buildings.  We view a few from the car and I would love to have had a walk around the streets as it is a relatively small town, but once again the rain prevents that idea from happening. We buy some suuplies for tea so we aren't forced to eat at the expensive lodge restaurant tonight and we head for our log cabin in the woods.

The road meanders deeper and deeper into the forest.  Lots of hairpin corners and amazing views down the side of the road.  We then come to the turn off where we have 8km of gravel to reach our resort. Doesn't sound like far does it???  Well it was one of the longest 8km of my life.  I just thank goodness for the fog/cloud so I couldn't see the bottom of the drops that went down the side of the road which was only one lane wide.  Needless to say I was very pleased when we arrived until I got out to a large hissing noise.  Our back tyre was flat as......and getter flatter by the minute, if that was possible!!!!
 
Anyway, Glen quickly had that sorted, however, we weren't too happy about not having a spare up here.  Our log cabin was just beautiful.  Even though it was raining it was so nice to be in the middle of the dense forest with nothing but the possums and kookaburras.  We should have done one of the many walks that were advertised but with the drizzling rain there was nothing to do but enjoy a nice wine by the fire and enjoy the cabin.  Cody made parachutes to launch from the balconly and we eat soup for tea.  It really does feel like winter here!!!