Hello ....

Hey There,

Just letting you know I'm still alive, but still pretty busy, so haven't had the chance to get around to visit you all yet. I have been visiting here and there, but not everyone. Life is still keeping me away from blogging ... but I don't intend quitting ... I'm here for the long haul.

Work, as usual, is keeping me busy ... three days a week, and the remaining weekdays are generally full with various things, running around, cleaning, shopping, and all sorts of other things.

I have become a little bit obsessed with Facebook at the moment ... I have been playing a number of Scrabulous games (a form of Scrabble), which has been fun.

This Sunday is my mum's 60th birthday (although she really doesn't want to acknowledge that she is turning SIXTY ... OMG !!! We went out and bought her a lovely present today, and I have put together a great collage / poster thing for her, which should embarrass the heck out of her, or make her cry, or both !!! Hopefully she doesn't read this before her birthday, or she will know all about it !!! I will take a photo of it, and share it with you another time.

We have a long weekend coming up soon ... not this weekend, but the next. Our aim is to go camping, however the new tent we have bought, hasn't arrived yet, so we may be just heading up to Bonnie Doon, as usual. We decided to buy a new tent (as our old one has a gazillion pegs, and takes ages to set up, and we like to do short overnight stops, so taking a lot of time setting up is just a pain !!). We chose to buy a new tent in the interim, until our caravan sells, and we can get the money together to buy our Tvan (off road camper). We love camping and getting away, so it was either this, or not go !!

School holidays (2 weeks thereof) are coming up in mid-late March. We have a 10 day trip planned, a very busy 10 days, with a fair number of stops, and a lot of travelling. This is the sort of trip we love, and I just cannot wait. The camera is raring to go, and I can't wait to share some photos with you when we return.

Here is what we have planned ....

Day 1 ... Melbourne to Pink Lakes (in the Murray Sunset National Park, north western Victoria), set up camp (the only facilities here are toilets ... no other amenities), and explore
Day 2 ... Dismantle camp, explore the Murray Sunset National Park, then head to Rocket Lake (still within the park) for an overnight stop ... set up camp (facilities ... toilets only).
Day 3 ... Dismantle camp, head into Mildura (on the border of Victoria and NSW), then along the Sturt highway into South Australia, for our next stop in Renmark ... set up camp (full amenities ... a beautiful caravan park).
Day 4 ... Explore Renmark (and hopefully catch up with some friends who are houseboating on the Murray River, in the vicinity of Renmark). Overnight again in Renmark.
Day 5 ... Dismantle camp, head back into Victoria, then over the border in Mildura to NSW. Head up approx 90 km to Lake Mungo National Park. Set up camp (full amenities, I think), and explore.
Day 6 ... Explore Lake Mungo National Park. The last time we were here, in September 2006, it was mega-windy, so we were unable to stay, and the photos turned out a bit wierd, and we didn't catch the magnificent (so they say) sunsets and sunrises. Hopefully this time all will be perfect. Overnight at Lake Mungo again.
Day 7 ... Dismantle camp, head back to Mildura and Victoria, head down the highway a while, then turn into the Wyperfeld National Park. Explore, and set up camp at one of the camping areas therein (facilities ... toilets only)
Day 8 ... Head south, through the Wyperfeld National Park, through Dimboola, Horsham and down into The Grampians. Arrive at Halls Gap, set up camp (full ameneties ... a glorious caravan park). Explore (if there is enough hours left in the day !)
Day 9 ... Explore The Grampians. Overnight at Halls Gap again.
Day 10 ... Dismantle camp, explore a little more, then head home, back down to Melbourne, and the end of our trip ... sigh !!

All in all, when written down in this manner, it sounds like madness, too much driving, too many putting-ups of the tent ... all in all, too much !!! But .... we're gonna love it, it's what we love to do, and we just cannot wait. It is just the three of us going, so it will be some bonding time, too. I hope to take heaps and heaps of photos ... I will then put together another DVD of them all, putting them to music, with transitions, and stuff. It's great fun.

We haven't ever been to the Murray Sunset National Park, or Wyperfeld National Park. There are quite a few salt lakes therein, and apparently, some amazing scenery. We've also never been to the Grampians, so that should be fun, too. Totally different areas will be visited throughout the trip ... desert, Murray Riverland, desert, desert, lush rocky mountains. Cool !!!

So, that's what we will be getting up to.

I hope everyone has been well, and keeping busy, and out of mischief (or in mischief, if that's what you prefer !!).

I hope to get by and visit you all eventually (I'm sure I have said that numerous times now ... but it will happen, I promise).

Till we next catch up ....

Take care,