A Sandy Holiday With Friends

On Friday the 9th of March, at around 5am (we had left home at 4am) seven four wheel drive vehicles (containing 7 couples and one child) met between Werribee and Geelong for the long drive to Robe in South Australia, where we planned on spending the entire weekend sand & beach driving, before heading home again on Monday. We had great expectations for the weekend, as we had briefly sampled the delights of Robe and sand driving last year, on our way home from another trip to South Australia with our wonderful friends, Jack and Melinda.

We travelled for a total of around 8 hours, including wee and food stops, before arriving at the lovely caravan park in Robe, which we would call home for the weekend, just after lunch (Melbourne time).

We set ourselves up in our accommodation (we chose to take our camper trailer, as did Dave & Janine, and all the others shared 2 large cabins.)

Just for reference, the couples were ... Baron & Connie (that's us !), Jack & Melinda, Dave & Janine, Keith & Lyndel, Mark & Lizzie & Tory, Michael & Sue, and Terry & Di.

We went for a wander through town, stopping at the Information Centre, the Bakery for bread, and the girls visiting various other shops (including a wonderful patchwork shop ... Nothing caught my eye, so I actually came out empty handed !). I think the boys visited the pub, among other places !!!








After lunch, some of us decided to go for a quick drive out onto the sand ... Sort of a practice run, I suppose !!!

Neko was keen ...




We drove a short way out of town, into the Little Dip Conservation Park, and decided to visit a part of the beach that we had visited last year. Turns out that the beaches and dunes are constantly changing, and this spot, which wasn't too bad last year, had actually become quite difficult for some of the cars !!




Dave and Janine managed to get themselves quite bogged !! This was a lesson for us all, and from then on, we all let down our tyres quite a lot, so that this would not occur too often !!








The beaches are beautiful and rugged around this area ... Absolutely stunning.




After this excitement, we drove for a short while, then returned to camp, where we were having a group cook up for dinner, with everyone having brought along something to share !! First though, drinks and nibbles !!




It was a reasonably early night for all ... It had been a very long day !!

The next morning, we awoke bright and early, as is our norm when camping. It had been a mild night, thank goodness. There was a gorgeous sunrise over the salt lake beside the caravan park. Photo time !!!




We left camp around 9am, and headed down to Beachport, so we could spend the day driving the beaches and dunes back to Robe. By road, this is only a distance of 45km ... But by beach and dune, this was quite a bit more !!
It's quite surprising, some parts of the beach are quiet and peaceful, but others are like being in the middle of the city ... Cars everywhere ... It was quite entertaining !!




We all had orange flags on long poles on our cars, to make it easier to see us when on the dunes.
















The weather was amazing, the sights were amazing ... Well, the whole day was amazing !!

We drove lots, only a couple of boggings occurred, nothing serious !!!

One beach near Nora Creina is a nudist beach ... Some of us knew this, but we were all still quite surprised when, as we were driving along the beach, minding our own business, a couple of quite elderly gentlemen were walking very close to the path we were all taking ... they were very naked (just wearing hats on their heads, and presumably lots of sunscreen!), and didn't seem to mind stopping for chats with the cars coming by !! Lizzie promptly covered Tory's young eyes, so she wouldn't be scarred for life at the sight of these wrinkly naked men !!! Very amusing !!!

We found some beautiful spots, and of course, made many stops for photos.








We found a great big open sand dune area ... Time for a play !!




(No, those donut tracks in the sand weren't from our car ... Not a good thing to do with low tyre pressures, as it is very easy to peel the tyre from the rim !)




On with the drive ...




















We stopped for lunch at a lovely dune area ... I had pre-heated hot dogs in my Thermal Pot before leaking camp this morning, others brought along the bread and rolls. I love my thermal cooker, it is so very handy !!!




After lunch, more driving !!

We found some amazing dunes, which of course, the guys had to try and climb. Michael made it the highest, getting his front wheels onto the lip of the hill. Our old Nissan didn't do too badly, either !












More driving ... We were having an awesome day !! This is what we came for, and this is exactly what we were doing ... Life is amazing, this is such a gorgeous part of the world !!












This bit of beach was quite challenging for a couple of the cars .. Boggings ensued, with the men going for a jog back to those bogged to help get them moving again !! Whilst waiting on the beach, the traffic arrived ... There must have been about 30 cars waiting, once our cars were through (it is important to let one car go at a time, because it is very easy to lose control of the steering in thick sand, and sometimes the car seems to have a mind of its own !)

We found a very dead stingray on the beach ... Poor thing, looked like it had been tortured :(




Once off this beach, we did a bit more driving, before heading back to the main road, and camp ... It was getting late !!
















We returned to camp, intending to go to the pub, or have pizza, or something ... We were all so tired, we just threw together whatever, and had another reasonably early night.

Next morning, we went and did a bit of exploring around Robe.

We got a group photo at the Old Gaol Ruins ...




Then headed to the Obelisk, and beautiful cliff formations.
















Neko wanted to drive, but the Nissan was a bit big for him ...




We thought this was a better option ...




We got back into the cars, with the intention of heading to Kingston for some more exploring ... Some of the group had had enough of the sand at this stage, although we hadn't !! As it turned out, 4 of the cars headed to Kingston, whilst 3 of us headed back toward Robe to enter the beach at Long Beach for some more sand driving ... After all, that's why we drove all that way !!

The beach was beautiful, but the day was a bit windy. We found a lovely spot for lunch, and later on another for drinks !!

It was interesting to see speed limit signs on a beach !!








As usual, I love signs, and found this one interesting ... Although it didn't stop the guys from parking on the cliff edge anyway !!
































That evening, we headed back out to the Obelisk for some sunset photos ... I took far too many, but that's the magic of digital cameras !!












We headed into town for dinner, ending up in a yummy pizza restaurant. Then back to camp, to rest, ready for the big drive home on Monday.

It was a fantastic weekend, thank you to everyone who shared it with us. I would quite happily go back to Robe anytime, and do it all over again ... There is something so special about the coastline near Robe ... In fact, this whole country is amazing, and we are very lucky to have the ability and machinery to enjoy it all !!

Thanks for reading, hope I haven't rambled on for too long.

Ta ta for now ...

Connie xxx

Location:Robe, South Australia

Just Checking In !!!

Hi Everyone !!!

Once again, it's been far too long between posts. Yes, I'm slack, and no, I have no excuses !!

So, what have I been doing since my last post ...

Hmmm, let me check my diary !!!

Ok, on the 14th of February, my Hubby and myself took ourselves to Bonnie Doon, to stay overnight with my cousins, and to attend a brilliant concert at the Bonnie Doon Hotel. James Reyne & Vanessa Amorosi, the first two acts, were amazing, loved them, loved them, loved them ... But then came INXS, who were simply fantastic ... They have a new lead singer, who is very cute, and does a brilliant job (no Michael Hutchence, mind you, but Michael would be pleased with his efforts !). We had a wonderful night, followed by more fun and drinks with my cousins and friends ... A great weekend.

A couple of weeks later, it was the Australia Day long weekend. We headed to Lake Eildon, to an area known as The Pines. We were with a bunch of people, some of who we spent last Easter together with at the same place, and some others who we got to know over the weekend. The weather was great, very warm, and we had a wonderful four day weekend.

On the 4th February we joined over 400 other cars, on a "Black Saturday Remembrance Cruise", where we drove from Lilydale, through Yarra Glen, Toolangi and across to Healesville, where there was a car show ... Many of the participants were in vintage and classic cars (we were in our trusty Nissan Patrol !!) The event was organized to raise money for the Healesville area CFA, and in remembrance of those who were lost in the Black Saturday bush fires a couple of years ago. It was a wonderful afternoon, which I think raised quite a lot of money. I felt honored to be a part of it, and hope to join again next year.

The patchwork classes I attend started again, once the school year resumed at the beginning of February. I attend two different classes ... One weekly, during the day on Thursdays, and another, fortnightly, Thursday evenings. They are very enjoyable, and we are doing very different projects in each class.

I also attend a weekly Creative Writing class ... This is keeping my mind active, and is very enjoyable. I have put together a couple of interesting stories and poems so far !!

I have also been very busy with my job as Casual School Crossing Supervisor ... I have had crossings on most days, some mornings, some afternoons, some both !! I am enjoying it very much, and hope continue with it for the rest of the year.

I spent a whole weekend, and then some, reformatting my laptop computer ... It had been doing some strange things, which I thought a total clean out would solve !! The strange things did go away, and I had what felt like a new computer ... For a week ... Then it totally crapped itself and will now no longer turn on. I googled the problem, and it seems it is most likely a buggered motherboard. I will eventually get a new laptop, not worth spending the money to get the old one fixed. For now, I am making do with my iPad ... It's fun, I can do most things, however I hugely miss my computer. Plus, all my photos are on an external drive, so I currently cannot access them, hence this post being picture-less !!

The other day, Elisabeth and I went to explore some of the parks and playgrounds around Knox ... We had fun, took some lovely photos ... Will share them with you another time, though !!!

Well, that's about it, apart from all the normal stuff which most people do.

Hope you are all well and happy.

Take care, until next time ...

Connie

It's an Amineko Party

Hi Everyone ...

Yesterday (Saturday) I joined a group of women, two of whom I have known via blogging and Facebook for five or so years, but have never actually met face to face.  One of these lovely ladies, Susan (along with her beautiful daughter Renata) has regular get togethers, which she calls UFO days (or occasionally Stitch & Bitch days !), where the attendees bring whatever stitching / knitting / crocheting / whatever project they happen to be working on, along with a plate of something to share for lunch.  Susan has been inviting me to join this group for quite a few months, but various circumstances have stopped me from being able to attend.  This month, I decided that nothing would stop me from attending !!

So, after dropping Elisabeth off at work in the morning, I filled my car up with petrol, and off I went with my Google Maps instructions on how to get there.  It took around 2 hours, there was a bit of traffic, but eventually I got there, just before 11am.

There were around 8 or 9 women there, as the day progressed, and the room was full of crafting and chatting.  We had a lovely lunch, there was a great variety, and lots of it.  I had made some mini quiches, which everyone seemed to like, as they were all eaten.

Susan has a family of Amineko cats (and a dog) which she has crocheted, so I took my Amineko cat, Neko, along for a visit ... he loved meeting Susan's critters, and it seemed they had lots of fun catching up.

Here is a photo of the 4 of them ... My Neko is the one on the left !!

Here is a photo of Susan, Renata and myself (hmmm, you'd think I would've smiled a little bit, wouldn't you !?!?!  I've never liked myself in photos, and in this one I am all shiny ... oh well ... Susan and Renata look great !!)

As the afternoon progressed, the sky started to darken, and as the majority of us had travelled from Melbourne (the gathering was just outside of Castlemaine), people started heading home so as not to get caught in the forecast storm.  I left around 4pm, and had an easy drive home, arriving just as the rain started spitting.

I had a great day meeting these lovely two ladies, along with all the other ladies that were there.  I am really bad with names, so unfortunately I cannot remember most of their names ... I hope they forgive me when next we meet, if I don't know them by name !!!

I just want to say a big thank you to Susan and Renata for inviting me, and for opening their home on a regular basis like this.  I look forward to joining the group again, as it was a wonderful day.

Happy crafting, everyone ...

Take care,

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

Hello Everyone !!

Hope you had an enjoyable slide into the New Year ... it's incredible to think it is already 2012 ... it seems like only yesterday that we were welcoming (or dreading !?!?!) the new Millennium ... and now it is 12 years later ... wow, how time flies !!!

We have been enjoying holidays since December 23rd (that was Baron's last day of work for the year), although Elisabeth hasn't been fortunate enough to have a holiday break this Summer ... she hasn't been working long enough yet !! 

We celebrated Christmas Eve with my parents, and had a wonderful time, as always, eating, talking, exchanging presents, drinking, and just enjoying each other's company.

Christmas Day was fairly quiet for Baron and I ... Elisabeth spent most of the day with her (now ex) boyfriend and family, but came home with a good friend for dinner outside by the spa ... it was a lovely evening, with lovely weather (and a few too many mozzies, unfortunately !!).

We had a quiet Boxing Day at home, then Baron and I headed off the next morning to join friends on the Murray River, near Barooga, for a few days (poor Elisabeth had work, so she stayed home !).  We had fun, enjoyed the company of lovely people, but I felt bad about leaving Elisabeth home alone.  We arrived back home on the 30th December.

New Year's Eve, as soon as Elisabeth finished work around 5pm, the three of us headed off to Bonnie Doon, to celebrate New Years with all of our friends at Peppin Point.  We had a great time, partied hard, and (unfortunately) felt a bit seedy for New Year's Day (particularly Baron, who slept through half the day !!!).

This photo is the whole gang, just after midnight, posing for a (very drunken) group shot ...

We went out in our friend's boat in the afternoon on New Years Day, for a while, had a swim, and enjoyed the great weather ... it was quite hot up there !! 

My beautiful daughter sitting in the front of the boat ...

Going under the Bonnie Doon bridges ...

Looking toward the bridge on Dry Creek Road, Bonnie Doon ...

We came home yesterday (Monday), before the day got too hot, and have had the airconditioning on almost non stop ever since (only turning it off briefly, as it iced up overnight ... must've got humid overnight!). 

I picked up Bambi this morning, from the boarding cattery ... the silly cat has been meowing not stop, wanting cuddles and attention, going in, and out, and in, and out ... OMG, wish I had a revolving door, or a cat flap, for her !!!

It seems weird being home already ... we are usually away for a full two weeks ! Baron doesn't go back to work till the 9th January.  We plan on doing a lot of nothing between now and then ... maybe go for a drive or two, and do some stuff around the house (maybe !!). 

I hope your holidays are going well, and the weather, wherever you are, is being kind.  Enjoy your time with family and friends.

Until next time ...

Take care,