Another Wonderful Long Weekend Away ...

Hello Everyone,

We arrived home last night (Monday) after a wonderful 4 days away at our caravan at Bonnie Doon (for those of you who don't know where that is, it is in Central - Northern Victoria, which is in the South East of Australia).

The weather was fabulous, if a bit windy the past day and a half. The sun never stopped shining (except at night, of course !!), and it was not too hot.

We left home bright and early Friday morning, taking along a friend for Chicky. The traffic was light, and we made good time, arriving well before lunch. We unpacked, and settled down for a relaxation session !! Hubby's sister and her hubby and kids were coming up, too, so it would be a fun and kid-filled weekend !!

Friday was a lazy type day, with a lot of catching up with people, sitting and chatting, eating and drinking ... the perfect way to start a weekend !!

Saturday started off with the magical sunset I shared with you last post. The day became quite hot, and the kids spent most of it in and out of the pool !! Later in the afternoon, we did a bit of 4WDing in the lake (don't worry, there is no water, our cars didn't need to be submarines!!), and more eating and drinking. In the evening we visited friends in the caravan park, who were having a sort of house warming ... they had just finished building their cabin, and it was their first big weekend there.

Sunday we decided to go off on a drive into the high country, or at least into whatever area we were able to get into, as alot of it was still closed as a result of the bushfires during December and January.

We entered the high country via the Jamieson end of the Howqua Track (this was where we drove in briefly about 6 weeks ago, when we went exploring looking for where the fires had been ... I shared some photos back in late January), and followed the track through the fire ravaged mountains ... so terribly sad to see.

As much as it was so sad to see the burn out countryside, it was actually very interesting, as with there being no tree cover, we were able to see so much more. It is very beautiful countryside, very rugged ... it must have been so difficult for the fire-fighters. We could see many signs of the work that was done by the fire-fighters ... bulldozed trees (to create fire-breaks), bulldozed tracks, and generally just a lot of mess !! I imagine the Parks & Wildlife people will be through eventually to do a huge cleanup ... there were many trees down, although the majority of them had already been removed from the tracks.

What amazed me, was how much regeneration had already occurred. There were so many trees, which had started regrowing ... they almost looked fluffy, with the greenery coming straight from their trunks ... no branches, they had burnt and fallen off. Quite bizarre looking, really, but very beautiful. Nature is simply amazing, with it's capacity to survive such a catastrophe.

Many trees looked like they had just got undressed !! Their black bark had just peeled off, revealing a beautiful white or yellow or red trunk underneath ... quite undamaged !! Almost like it had on a suit of armour, and then removed it !!

The track got quite agressive in places, particularly in the area where I took the above photo. It was very steep ... we had the car in 4WD low range, first gear ... the gears were pulling up the car, rather than having to use the brakes. 4WD's are wonderful inventions !!

I was totally fascinated by the scenery ... as you've probably figured from past photos on this blog ... I love trees, any shape, any form !!

We stopped for a quick picnic lunch at an area which I think was called Fry's Flat. There was a lovely little creek / river down there (unfortunately there wasn't a heap of water, but it was still flowing !). It was incredibly picturesque. The lovely greenery of this area, surrounded by hills devastated by fire ... what an amazing contrast.

After lunch, we basically continued along the track, through Sheepyard Flat, and back out onto the highway near Merrijig, then continued back into Mansfield and on to Bonnie Doon, back to the caravan park.

It was a magical day, spent with fun people (hubby's sister and family). We had an absolute ball. I really wish every day could be such fun !! We ended our day with dinner, drinks and an early night !!

Monday (a public holiday here, for Labour Day) started off much cooler, and quite windy. We started off slowly, sleeping in. Slowly started packing, and doing a bit of housework (ok, caravan work !!), and headed off for home around 1.30pm. Traffic was heavy, heading into Yarra Glen, but nowhere near what it would probably be later in the afternoon. Arrived home, unpacked, bought pizza for tea, and that was about it.

So, all in all, a wonderful long weekend.

How was yours ???

I hope to stop by and visit you all today ... looking forward to catching up with what you all have been up to.

I am working Wednesday and Thursday, shopping and helping my elderly friend at the retirement village on Friday, and then it's the weekend again. Chicky is excited ... netball starts again on Saturday ... whoo-hoo !!

Enjoy your week, everyone.


Take care,