MARCH IN VICTORIA
6 MARCH
Finally managed to get to Sue’s place today. The weather has been cooler and although there are still fires burning in Victoria they are out in this area. As we approached Upwey, we passed an area right on the road that had been burnt, surprisingly nearby houses were OK – thank goodness.
We were welcomed by Sue and Gayle – it was great to see them again – the last time (actually the first time we met) was in 2002 or 2004 (brainfade agin!!). We were also welcomed by two of their three dogs. Lil, a beagle/Cavalier cross who looks more like a chestnut coloured Beagle – very little outward sign of the Cavalier though, apart from her sweet nature; and Max, a Jack Russell hooligan. Their third dog, Brin, has taken a real dislike to Lil, so the two of them have to take turns with being with the family. Brin is also a Jack Russell (I think – possibly crossed with sommat else) – she’s quite a sweetie, but also a little hooligan.
Having safely parked Betty G on their drive we settled down to a few days with our friends.
7 MARCH
Sue and Gayle took us to the Healesville Wildlife Centre in the Dandenongs today. A lovely drive through some spectacular scenery plus we saw some of the burnt out areas. The Centre itself was great, lots of animals and birds to see. They have a hospital there where they’re treating lots of animals that were injured in the bushfires – we could actually look into the treatment rooms. Back home for a meal and a relaxing evening chatting about all sorts of things including of course pyrography. I managed to pick up quite a few pointers even if there wasn’t really time for an proper pyro lesson. Even had a few possums come to call – there’s a sort of feeding station for them on the balcony.
8 MARCH
We were taken on a cache hunt today. Geocaching is something I heard about from Jane back in Hobart and I’d registered on the site, but not done anything about it. Sue found the co-ordinates of 4 locations in the area, and off we went. Unfortunately we didn’t find a thing, which was rather disappointing for all of us. Sue has been doing it for a while and found all sorts of little trinkets. I’ll look into it a bit later when I have enough spare time online. In the meantime, if anyone’s interested, here’s a link www.geocaching.com
Went out for a meal that evening and another encounter with the possums when we got home.
9 MARCH
Sue had a lot of work on, so we decided to take our leave and head on down to Phillip Island. It was really great to see the girls again – Sue certainly hasn’t lost her touch and her business is doing pretty good. She’s even started to do some painting – considering she’s completely self-taught they are excellent.
A fairly uneventful drive to Cowes, Phillip Island, although we stopped off for lunch just before San Remo. We placed our order and then proceeded to wait for 55 minutes before our food arrived – it was nothing fancy either. Jeff had an all-day brekkie and I had an omelete. People who arrived after us were being served before us, and we were about to get up and leave when the food arrived, thankfully with profuse apologies otherwise we might have suggested that they could do sommat else with their grub. I though they might have given us a discount considering, but they didn’t. Anyway we drove on across the bridge onto the Island and headed for Cowes. Found a nice campsite just behind the beach, and settled in. I had a swim in the pool and a paddle in the sea – luverly it was too.
10 MARCH
Had a stroll along the beach to the town centre and a wander around – quite a nice place, typically small-town Australia. Then back along the beach. Wot a life.
11 MARCH
Left Cowes this morning. We decided to fill up with diesel – that’s when the panic set in. Jeff couldn’t find his card wallet. We parked up across the road from the gas station and turned poor Betty inside out. I even phoned Sue to see if we’d somehow left it there – poor Gayle checked under our bed and under all the chairs, to no avail. Eventually found the flamin’ thing in the cupboard under the sink – of all places!!! Have no idea how it got there, but mebbe now we’ll try to make sure that we put things back in their proper places – hah! like that’s ever gonna happen.
Before we actually left the island we went to the Phillip Island Wildlife Park – lovely place. A bit basic but lots of animals around to feed and photograph. Very cheap too. They claimed to have the cheapest souvenirs around too. Not cheap and nasty – just inexpensive and a lot acually made in Oz not flippin’ China!
Stayed for a couple of nights in the San Remo Caravan Park just over the bridge on the mainland.