Wilson's Promontory and a visit to Melbourne - from 14 Jan 2018

On Sunday 14 January 2018 I made the relatively short journey from Sale to Leongatha, another pleasant country town and an access point for Wilson's Promontory, a rugged peninsula that separates the Bass Coast from the Gippsland area and lakes.  The Promontory is a favourite holiday destination for Victorians, and during the Xmas, New Year and January period, the huge camping area at Tidal Bay in the National Park is fully booked out and allocated to family groups on a ballot basis, a bit like peak season at Rottnest off the WA coast.

On Monday I drove down to the area via Fish Creek and Yanakie.  It was a bit of a gloomy day,  but cool, so I was happy.

The promontory has many large granite hills and outcrops, with a rugged coastline.  Not unlike some of the country around Albany in WA.

There are many bays, beaches and a number of offshore islands.

Norman Beach is wide with good surf and right next to the camping areas at Tidal River.  The river crosses the beach to the right of photo.
 

There are a whole series of camping areas around the Tidal River settlement and literally hundreds of families packed in, with kids on bikes everywhere.  Great for families but for PJ, not so much.....

 The track down to Squeaky Beach is a very scenic walk.

Squeaky beach is quite white sand and you can guess where the name came from ........ nice spot.







I enjoyed the day trip, walking around the area and my stay at the well run small caravan park at Leongatha.  Was very glad that I was not camping with the hordes at Tidal River.

Tuesday 16 January 2018

I made a reasonably early start and drove back to the Melbourne area, opting to stay for a few nights at Lilydale again, so I could get the Landcruiser serviced at the Toyota Dealer and catch up with a couple of old friends.

Geoff Geary & his wife Carmel live in Blackburn, a suburb about half the way into Melbourne CBD and on the rail line from Lilydale.  On Tuesday afternoon I drove to their place.  About 40 minutes through pretty heavy traffic.  They live in a quiet leafy street just back from the commercial area and rail line.  A great location for commuting to the City, which Geoff still does sometimes.  Geoff is another of the group I first met and worked with based in Invercargill in the late 1970s.  We had a long gossip session, plus a walk to a local coffee shop and an even longer walk back through bushland along creek beds in amongst the houses.  Lovely area.  We then went for an early meal to an excellent Vietnamese Restaurant in Box Hill, another Suburb or two away.  Very large Chinese population which has driven up property prices steeply.  There were a couple of very new very tall apartment buildings in the area and a new 32 story one in the early stages of construction.

The meal was great and I enjoyed catching up with Geoff again and meeting Carmel for the first time.

There we all are after dinner and a great coffee that Geoff made at home.











A big day for me.  Fortunately the drive back to the caravan park was fairly quiet, but still a three lane highway (Maroondah Highway of previous blogs) and some traffic compared to my country driving.  Was very glad it was not day time traffic.

Wednesday 17 January 2018.

I dropped the Landcruiser off at Yarra Valley Toyota and was given a ride to Lilydale Station.  I caught the Metro train which was a limited express and took about an hour to transport me to Flinders Street Station via the City Loop.  I had a bit of a wander around Federation Square and the Visitor Centre, followed by a long cup of coffee watching people coming and going around the Station vicinity.  The area was packed full of people, with the Australian Open on, School Holidays still running and normally busy Melbourne.   It was a hot, blue sky day.  Beautiful along the river side.

 I met Klaus around 12:30pm and he was hungry.  We walked back across the River to Southbank and found a nice Italian Restaurant to have some lunch and a long catch up gossip.  I first met Klaus in 2001 I think, on a Leeuwin voyage from Esperance to Albany.  Last time we caught up was around nine years ago when Eve and he were back in WA for a visit, and stayed with us for a few days at Folly Farm as well as some time spent near the beach in Scarborough.

I have updated the blog with this better photo of both of us during lunch taken by a very Italian sounding waitress.

A few rowers training on the Yarra on a beautiful hot day in Melbourne.








After lunch we decided we would take a tram to St Kilda Beach for a bit of a walk around and hopefully some cooler breeze.  Unfortunately  their was a bit of a problem with the trams for a while so we walked in the sunshine a bit further than we had planned.  On the way we had a look at and into the Shine of Remembrance.  Interesting building with good views from the upper level.  There was a volunteer on duty who gave a good background on the building and some of the history involved.

Eventually we made it to the beach with a couple of trams and walked a little more along the waterfront where it was a little cooler.  We continued the catch up over an iced coffee and shared a beer, before returning to the City so Klaus could see if he could attend a final session at the Tennis before leaving the next day for the Gold Coast.  Klaus is now living near Lake Konstanz in Germany, so it must be our turn to visit him next.  I hear it is a beautiful part of the world, close to the border with Switzerland.

I caught a train back to Lilydale and bus to the caravan park as it was too late to retrieve my vehicle.  I was tired and a little sun over exposed, despite using quite a lot of sunscreen and even wearing a hat for much of the day.

On Thursday morning, I caught a bus back towards town and picked up the Toyota from the local dealer.  No problems with the (90k km) service and a nice clean Cruiser to drive for a little while at least.  Did some shopping and then retreated to the caravan with the aircon running for the rest of another very hot day.  Finally caught up with the blog again.

I had considered going to the Dandenongs tomorrow, but the forecast is for an extreme 42 deg C for Melbourne with strong Northerly winds again.  So I will move on back towards Sale and come back another time to visit the Dandenong Ranges which are just to the South of Lilydale.

Plan for the next few days is maybe a visit to Dargo (North East of Sale), which is in the foothills of the Dargo High Plains and an entry point to the Victorian Alpine National Park.  It has been recommended to me by both Leonie & Bryan, as well as Ken Wheeler back in Gidgegannup.  By Saturday it is supposed to be cooler again......we hope.

Phillip Island, the Bass Coast and Sale - Jan 2018

 Friday 5 January 2018

Had a good drive down the Eastern side of the Bays towards Phillip Island.  A warm sunny day and as I started getting closer to the Island traffic started building with a good smattering of interesting hot rods, restored and not so restored vehicles from the 1950s and 60s.  There was a tailback of around 2 or 3 kilometres to the bridge across to the Island and the turn off to San Remo, which was unbelievably busy.  A bit of a shock after a pretty quiet last couple of weeks.

It turned out that on top of the normally busy "happy families" holiday season the Kustom Nats were on this coming weekend with a really large collection of many custom cars, vans, utes and you name it.  On Friday afternoon and evening many of the cars were on display along the San Remo Esplanade, along with band on the back of a "semi" outside the pub and about a squillion people.

Party time.

So many cars and people.

Plenty of beautiful rare old Falcons to be seen.

 The bridge from San Remo to Phillip Island.  A natural traffic jam any time it is busy.

 Some beautiful old vehicles in the caravan park where I stayed for a few nights.

 Not to mention some amazing Combi Vans.








 At San Remo, amongst many other cafes, shops, bakery and pub is a Fisherman's Coop right next to the jetty.  The Coop is well known for its good quality Fish & Chips.  That evening there  was a queue way out the door, followed by a 40 minute wait for your order when you eventually reached the counter.  Boom time...... 

Saturday 6 January 2018

The forecast was for a hot, scorching Northerly wind, which was exactly how it turned out.  I decided to visit Cowes, the main town on the Island.  It was yet another huge traffic jam and a very busy tourist town.  The town has an attractive Esplanade and jetty which was packed with people enjoying the hot beach weather.







The beach at Cowes.

The jetty was busy with kids diving and jumping off, over and over again.  Remember......








 I diverted on the way back to San Remo to have a look at the Grand Prix Track near the centre of the Island in amongst the farming country.

The GP track is set in beautiful countryside.








At the track is a visitors centre, which is certainly set up to milk tourists for all that they are worth.  There is a small history display that costs about $12 to view with the same charge to enter the garden from where you can get an uninterrupted view of the track.

Close by is a Go Kart track, where you can pay for time in a kart on the track.  I didn't find out what that cost, but you would have needed to be a die hard as it was so hot outside by mid afternoon.

One of the few free exhibits was a McLaren Mercedes race car in the main part of the the Visitor Centre.

In the evening there was a cool gusty change which was most welcome after an unpleasantly hot day.

On Sunday, I ventured back to the island to have a look at the North East corner where the famous Penguin Parade is located.

 The Nobbies is a a rugged point and coastline location with interesting succulents ground cover and nesting areas.  It is open during daylight hours and has a large discovery centre and extensive boardwalk with viewing platforms.  Parking is tight, but they had a Parks employee directing vehicles to available spots.  That was a great idea and much appreciated by PJ.

 

The Discovery Centre with Cate and Shop is large and appears to be quite new.

 There are active bird nests on the slopes all around the headland.

and as usual, Tourists Tourists everywhere......








Nearby is the famous Penguin Parade facility.  Another enterprise designed to maximise the Tourist dollar. 

There are acres of car and bus parks to accomodate the crowds each evening.

 The large commercial centre has extensive shopping, cafes, ticket centre and entrance to the evening view areas.





It is quiet and open for no charge during the daytime, but I can only imagine the crowding in the evening.  I talked to a man in the ticket office and he said that the coming evening was the first for two weeks that they had not been completely sold out.  I was surprised when he also told me that the current (modern facility) was to be replaced by an ever larger new centre later this year to cope with the demand.  He said the "old version" would then be bulldozed and returned to penguin nesting habitat.  Bigger than Ben Hur.....

On the way back to San Remo, I visited the Koala Conservation Centre.

Another large commercial operation with entry to more boardwalks and bush walk koala habitat.

Koala's were "thin on the ground"
but I did see two sleeping in the trees.

Also on the Island is the National Vietnam Veterans Museum.  I went to have a look and enjoyed some of the exhibits.

An old Bell Helicopter.  Growing up in the 1960's I still have vivid memories of the early American TV series "Whirlybirds" which featured these machines.

An old Caribou transport aircraft outside the Museum.

Many exhibits of equipment and memorabilia of individuals and units that served during the Vietnam War.





It was a good reminder of how lucky I had been.  During the Vietnam War, Australia supported the US as an active participant and introduced Conscription via a Birthday Lottery System.  My number came up, but I was able to have it deferred whilst I completed my time at University.  Fortunately, just at the time I was due to go into the Army, Gough Whitlam and his Labor Government was elected, and Conscription was stopped.  Coincidentally, SBS had recently been showing the American TV series "The Vietnam War" which did an excellent job showing the history along with the pointless American involvement which resulted in nearly 50,000 of their own dead, not to mention the Millions of Vietnamese, Laotians & Cambodians.  Enough........


Monday 8 January 2018

On the road to Sale, along the South Coast via Inverloch, Agnes and Yarram.  I was very much looking forward to visiting Bryan & Leonie Hughes, who I had last seen in Melbourne a couple of years ago, but first met whilst working offshore and living in Invercargill in New Zealand in the 1970s.

 















A few photos of Bryan & Leonie in the new kitchen.  Leonie is a happy girl with her extra ovens and new layout.  She does a lot of cooking and baking.

 












They have a very nice house, close to the main shopping area of Sale.  Easy walking access to most of what is a very pleasant country town.

One of Bryan's mates dropped him off a 1983 bottle of Blue Nun.  Not quite sure how that would be drinking these days.

I spent quite a bit of time with Bryan & Leonie and they were generous with their hospitality.  We had a number of outings, including a visit with Bryan to Esso's Longford Gas Plant & Heliport, an evening meal at the nearby Seaspray Surf Lifesaving Club and a visit to Metung, a picturesque coastal village past Bainsdale on the way to Lakes Entrance.  They spend quite a bit of their time helping daughter Bethanie with her 3 Grandchildren.
 





Leonie reading to Otis.  He was loving it.

I did a bit of walking around town on a number of mornings and also took a Heritage Cruise from the Port of Sale through the old man made canal as far as the heritage swing bridge.  From there, the river systems and lakes run all the way through to Lakes Entrance and were important as a trade route in the early days of the area.

 The EMV Rubeena was built in Balmain in 1912.  Alan Lewis bought her about 4 years ago, did a major refurbishment and has been operating the twice daily 1.1/2 hour cruises ever since.  Great value for $20 with water, a selection of fruit juices, potato chips and biscuits also included in the price.  The vessel has been powered by steam, petrol, diesel and electric batteries in her long life.  Has been in constant survey & use since she was built.  Quite amazing really.

 












Alan, the guide (age 76 years) was an ex City of Sale Engineer and local Councilor.  He was very knowledgeable about just about everything.  Quite a lot of wildllfe along the canal as well.  The small shiny metallic item on the right, attached to the drive belt and shaft in the above photo is the electric engine.  Tiny but very efficient for the vessel in calm waters.  Powered by 48V batteries that get plugged into a power cord whilst the vessel is moored.

The relatively unusual, central pivot swing bridge marks the turnaround point of the tour.  It was still in regular use until a few years ago.  It is now operated two or three times a week to keep it running and allow passage of any larger vessels from the docks in the town to the lakes system.

The old Sale Prison Wall and some of the buildings have been incorporated into the large new (& very secure) Police Station near the Port

The office buildings at the Port of Sale, which were once the home of a regional Esso Operation are now a CFA (Country Fire Authority) Headquarters and a new Art Gallery and Library complex.

There were a number of interesting sculptures, including these two in the inaugural "Imagine" exhibition.

 A great resource for a country town.

 On Friday evening 12 January 2018, we had planned a night out at Bryan & Leonie's local, the Criterion Hotel, a short walk from their place.  Leonie managed to discover that it was my Birthday, so it turned into a celebration.  Excellent meal, good wine, great company and the place was very busy on a Friday night.

On Saturday, I had a pretty quiet day and then joined the Hughes family at home for an early roast lamb dinner with Bess and her three kids.  A real treat whilst on the road and a lovely way to end a great visit.

On Sunday morning, I pulled up stumps and departed for Leongatha, on the way back towards Melbourne.  Of course, that is another story........

Yarra Valley and Yarra Ranges - Dec 2017 & Jan 2018

Wednesday 27 December

First an interesting issue with the cattle.  A tree branch had fallen across one of the lower fences, allowing cows & calves to step over into a bush bog at the bottom of the property.  Eventually I got a chainsaw started and restored the fence with minimum attention required.

Then the hard bit was getting half the herd back through a gate, while they were well spread out and the others wanted to joint them.  After many hill climbs, calf deep excursions into the bog, much help (not) from the dogs and a few choice words, they were finally all back in the paddock where they belonged.

I got my exercise quota this morning.....

After a good clean up I did a small local tour around Emerald, Cockatoo and Gembrook.  All very pretty, with Gembrook the end of the line for the Puffing Billy Steam Train that runs during the Winter months.

The station is surrounded by old shady oak trees.  Very pretty.








 





Gembrook Station.  End of the line for Puffing Billy.

The Independent Restaurant and Bar in Gembrook.  Highly recommended by Sandra Elliott and also Trip Adviser, but unfortunately closed over Christmas and New Year.






Had a great drive back to the farm through the back roads and Kurth Kiln Picnic Ground in the National Park.  Very spectacular countryside and I only got a little lost.

Tried to start the caravan air con as the day had become quite hot, but it was dead as a door nail.  Asked a few questions on Bushtracker and Facebook forums and despite the efforts of fellow owner Davo, was unable to fix the issue.  I was very lucky to find a (fairly nearby) agent for the Truma Aircon that was open during Xmas & New Year.  Not a caravan repair company of course as they were all closed.   The Commercial and Marine agent I found agreed to fit me in at their workshop in Rowville (Melbourne suburb) the next morning early before the techs went on the road for any callouts.

Thursday 28 December

I was apprehensive about the early drive with the van on hilly and then possibly very busy roads, but it turned out well.  Traffic was very light because of the holiday period and I was able to take it easy and arrive (very) early.  FridgeAir Pty Ltd was just great.  They diagnosed the problem, a fuse blown in the internal electronics module of the unit, replaced it quickly and efficiently and checked the unit performance which was all good.  I was most relieved and very happy to have a working aircon again after a 23 deg C minimum night.  

Occasionally when you have a problem you get lucky, unlike my previous fridge / freezer saga earlier this year...

Friday 29 December

Today I am back on track as it was quite a big touring day, with lots of photos.  I set out from Yellingbo along the Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road.  How is that for a name that just rolls off the tongue. 
 




Yellingbo Roadhouse Old

Yellingbo Roadhouse "new".








The settlement is tiny with only  few houses, a Telstra exchange and a closed down primary school.  Almost makes Gidgegannup look big.

A very pleasant country drive by the back road to Healesville, which is a pretty, shady town, but a focal point for the many tourists and visitors to the Yarra Valley.

Lots of old shady oaks with cafes and shops filling the main drag.  There are also a couple of large attractions; Innocent Bystander, Giant Steps and Beechworth Bakery on the edge of town.  More wineries just outside the township.




I had a pleasant walk around and a coffee at a cafe recommended by the lady in the caravan park at Lilydale.  Bit of a shame but it was pretty ordinary, which just goes to show how different our expectations may be.

Just outside Healesville, on the Maroondah Highway towards Marysville is the beautiful Maroondah Reservoir, which is part of Melbourne's water supply.

 Just stunning on a cloudy morning.

 

I continued my exploration through to Yarra Glen, with a visit to the nearby Yering Station Winery.

The old winery building dates from around 1859.

New Restaurant at Yering Station

Stunning new architecture in the new public buildings.

Impressive arches

Some interesting art works,

and a beautiful walk through the Elms.

The winery area was very busy, particularly the Cellar Door that was full of tourists.  Many International visitors and a range including some very expensive wines.

 Whilst I was visiting, a helicopter landed on the manicured lawns with a group arriving for lunch at the Restaurant.  Very upmarket.

Meantime PJ took a trip further North on the Melba Highway to Dixons Creek for some lunch.  Sandra Elliott and Trip Adviser, both recommended The Dixons Creek Bar and Restaurant for good value and good food.

I agree, food was excellent and by the time I left the restaurant was full of Friday lunch diners.

Saturday 30 December 2017

Today I decided to do a trip up into the Yarra Ranges.  It was an interesting outing & couple of days ago I spent about 1.1/2 hours writing it up and adding a series of photos, right through to the end of this chapter.  Then I had a quirk in blogger where it would not let me Preview this entry before publishing.  After a bit of troubleshooting, I eventually shut it down to see if that would fix the problem.  Despite saving the input many times, when I restarted I was missing 90 minutes of work.  I was so pissed off, it has taken quite a few days before I felt like I would do it all over again.......Bummer.

Here we go again.......

I set off North via Woori Yallock to the (Warburton) Highway and then East through Launching Place and Yarra Junction to Warburton.  It is a pretty town in a river valley and was busy on a Saturday morning with many visitors.  Lots of quirky shops and quite a few cafes and restaurants.  The bakery was doing a roaring trade and I can recommend the coffee and pasties.  PJ's good healthy diet continues.
 




Quite a cool and overcast morning in Warburton with many pretty old buildings along the main drag.

I can't say the modern Information Centre with water wheel captured my imagination, but it certainly attracted tourist attention.







Just near Warburton was the turn off up into the Ranges for the Donna Buang Rainforest and Mountain lookout.  It appeared that it was a busy weekend visiting spot as the traffic declined significantly as I continued to the North East through Warburton East and McMahons Creek.  Near Reefton and turned off to the East to have a look at the Upper Yarra Reservoir.  Another part of Melbourne's extensive water catchment and supply.

The reservoir was large and had plenty of water in storage, unlike the declining catchments around metropolitan Perth in Western Australia.

I continued the climb up into the Ranges on a narrow winding road, fortunately little traffic and only a few crazy motorcyclists and cyclists on a weekend outing.

The Ranges become increasingly more rugged heading North,

forming a Southern part of the Eastern Great Dividing Range.  The sign was not far from the turn off to Lake Mountain.






Closer to Maryville you can still see hillsides of dead or scorched trees remaining from the Black Saturday Bushfires of Feb 2009 which resulted in the death of 174 people in Victoria over a few days of Catastrophic fire conditions.

Significant regrowth has happened, but the dead trees are still clearly visible nine years after the event.

Marysville was busy with many visitors and yet again, the Bakery (which I believe was one of the few surviving buildings) was doing a good trade.





Surprisingly many of the shady old oak trees in town also survived the fires.

 




The main street was still quiet enough to allow a group of riders make their way through town.

 


Most of the town was rebuilt and today seems to be doing well as tourist destination, not too far from the Yarra Valley and Melbourne.  39 died in Maryville during the fires.






After a walk around, I started my return journey via the Maroondah Highway and Healesville back to the farm.  An easier, albeit busier road.

Sunday and Monday were quiet for me, although I think I did a trip or two into Lilydale and as far as Chirnside for some shopping errands.  On New Year's Eve I went to sleep on the bed and woke up in time to see the last of the Sydney Harbour fireworks being unleashed.  These days I would normally be in bed, well before midnight.

The cows & calves enjoyed their New Year and had a restful morning.

Tuesday 2 January 2018

My time in the Yarra Valley was running out so today I did quite a big touring day (well, afternoon at least). 

  




Coldstream Hills is a reasonably large producer of Pinot and other cooler climate wines.  I was expecting it to be very busy but was pleasantly surprised that I was the only one in the Cellar Door.




Joys of being a little off the beaten track in the Country, which thins out the tourist traffic rapidly.  I enjoyed tasting a number of their single vineyard Pinot Noirs.  

In contrast, Chandon (or Domain Chandon) is on the Maroondah Highway and was full on busy with international visitors attracted in swarms.

 The grounds and surrounds at Chandon are very impressive.  It is well set up for large numbers of visitors and has many facilities including a self guided winery tour.  The picture is of the original homestead, but there are many modern buildings including the Celllar Door, (expensive) Restaurant and function areas.



 




Inside the winery there are many large processing and storage stainless tanks as they are a big producer.







I didn't do any tasting as it was just too busy for me and was glad to move on to Healesville again.  On the Eastern edge of town is a complex that includes Giant Steps, Innocent Bystander and the Beechworth Bakery, also sharing access and parking.

Not sure where the name comes from, but it works for me.

 Giant Steps was recommended to me by John Jens, who is a wine critic and importer in Perth, and Partner with Kate Lamont in Lamonts Cottesloe.  The wines were excellent and new vintages often sell out quickly.  I enjoyed a tasting, then had an extremely good chocolate indulgence and coffee on the verandah during the (slightly quieter) time between lunch and dinner service.





The chocolate tart with raisins and Pedro Ximenez was an excellent treat.

I also bought a few bottles of wine and a heavy seeded sourdough loaf for later.



 

Innocent Bystander, next door is built on a similar theme to Giant Steps.  Both were created by Phil Sexton.  A brewer and winemaker of some note.







Sexton has a long history of successful enterprises including Matilda Bay Brewery, The Sail & Anchor Pub in Fremantle, Devils Lair Winery in Margaret River and the very successful Little Creatures and White Rabbit Breweries.  Little Creatures was an investment success for me as the shares performed very well and then the business was bought by the very large Lion Brewery for a large premium.  Still a shame from my perspective as large companies seldom retain the inventiveness of craft beers and I wish I still had the excellent income stream.

Just to finish off the day I returned to the other edge of Healesville for a visit to Four Pillars Gin Distillery, which had been recommended by Geoff and Sandra Elliott.

It was very busy, but from what they told me there is no quiet time for them.  I signed up for a $10 structured tasting experience, which was just wonderful.  Elton, pictured below left was full of enthusiasm, knowledge and fun.  We had a great time and he is worth his weight in gold to the business.  They add a number of unusual and some uniquely Australian ingredients to some of their gins, which include a "Bloody Shiraz Gin" that is way out of the ordinary and very popular.  By the way, you get your $10 back on any retail purchase, if you remember by then......
 

The large German made still is one of 3 on site with another on order.  Their sales are still growing rapidly and I hope the success continues for their niche product.




During the alcohol distillation process they use oranges, which the distillate passed through.  These are later made into an upmarket marmalade, which of course they also sell.  Waste not, want not.

It was a big day for PJ and I was just settling down after dinner in the caravan when Geoff (the property owner) arrived back from a big driving day from the Murray River near Robinvale.  We shared some Pinot Noir and gossip for a couple of hours before I eventually let him have some dinner and I was ready for bed.

On Wednesday morning I wished Jean a very Happy Birthday and pottered around for most of the day, while Geoff started preparing for another short fishing trip with the family planned for the coming Saturday.  After dark, he took me for a "spot lighting" trip of the farm to see what wildlife we could find.  Unfortunately it was a big full moon and as a result we only ran across a couple of wombats and a fox in the trees.  Often there are deer around as well, but I was happy.

Thursday 4 January 2018.

A big day for the Elliott family.  Sandra and the kids arrived and it was all hands on deck for cleaning up the Bushtracker and the Ski boat, then preparing Geoff's Dad's old boat for fishing, as well as moving the cattle for yarding and insemination on Friday.  I tried to get my act together, gave them some minor help and had my unsuccessful attempt at finishing this blog post (fingers crossed this time).

In the evening, we all went to the pub in nearby Ranges Hotel in Gembrook for a meal out.  It has been renovated recently and the food and company was great.

I most grateful to Geoff and Sandra for their hospitality and the pleasure of staying at their beautiful farm whilst they had a holiday.  Hopefully we will meet and an they are currently likely to be in WA for Wedding later in the year.

On Friday morning I packed up and drove South to San Remo, which is located right next to the bridge over to Phillip Island.  The day had a few surpises, but that will be in the next post.  Phew......finally an end.  Will it work this time?