https://www.facebook.com/242877499828608/

Making trax with Max, Albion Park Rail (2024)

25/04/2020

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

03/04/2020

I haven’t posted for a while because if I am honest, I really didn’t know what to say but I thought I better in order to let everyone know we are home safe & sound. 🏡

We always planned to be home at the end of March for our eldest sons wedding, then set off again to tackle the cape so to say the timing was perfect is an understatement.....although the circumstances were far from. 🦠 Obviously everyone knows what’s happening currently therefore it is safe to say there is no where else we would rather be. 🏠

We have been home for 2 weeks now and although a little fuzzy on the details and logistics (I’m sure we aren’t the only ones) we plan to catch our breaths, let the dust settle and get on with life, as best we can in this crazy crazy world.... Both of us are now looking for work (which let’s be honest isn’t going to be easy, but it is what it is) and we will “bunker down” for a while until the world gets back on track. 🌏

As these times would have it our son and his beautiful fiancé have had to unfortunately postpone their wedding which was a shame........let the countdown to the wedding of the year begin all over again..... 📆

I am extremely thankful we aren’t still traveling, I would be so anxious if we were so I applaud those who still are.......as best they can. ⛺️ A wonderful traveling family I know run a FB group (Full Time Travellers Australia) which I would highly recommend if your struggling to find your way. They have a list of open caravan parks, a heap of people offering space on their properties, and have people from head offices of the bigger parks helping them to find spots and good deals including massive discounted weekly rates for travellers during this time. 👍🏻

Not the end we had hoped for but if circumstances hadn’t brought our trip forward an entire year like they did we would have literally just hit the road when all this happened which would have been even more devastating........so as they say, everything happens for a reason. 👌🏻

I will be keeping the Making trax with Max page active for now and will update everyone as to our plans, once we ourselves know but until then stay home, stay safe and be kind....❤️💙🧡💚💜💛🖤🤍

NOTE: If spending 13 months living in a caravan traveling this wonderful country of ours has taught me anything it was to live in a small space with Rod and Max so if I am honest I feel more equipped to tackle isolation then most...... so see you when we can with bushy brows, some pretty serious re-growth and in need of a drink. 🥂

Love you all ✌🏻

10/03/2020

After wrapping up our time on the Great Ocean Road we were all exhausted so we took our fast paced traveling down a notch this past week which (for anyone who saw the post about our budget would agree), wasn’t a bad thing. 😬 In saying that we still managed some sightseeing as we explored Port Philip Bay from Ocean Grove right around & down the other side of the Mornington Peninsula to Sorrento. 🏞

While on the Peninsula I stopped in at my old stomping ground (where I used to work in Frankston) and saw some of my old favs. For the first time in a LONG time I actually started to miss work....now, that’s a scary thought!! 📚 - Rest assured that feeling did not last long..... 🤪

After finishing our time on the Peninsula we moved to a camp just outside Phillip Island called Powlett River, we LOVED it here. 😍 Heaps of space, the beach, sand hills, the river, peace & quiet, & the list goes on - this place was us to a tee. 👌🏻We used here as a base to explore Phillip Island as we found everything there was booked solid when we tried to find a site. 🏕

While on this trip we go by the rule “when in Rome”. Basically, if we find out something is happening where we are currently camped no matter what it is, we have to go & give it a whirl. This rule has seen us do things we wouldn’t normally do but have really enjoyed including ;

🍻 The Beer can regatta in Darwin
🚤 The dingy derby in Renmark
🏜 The Finke desert race
🐪 The Uluru camel cup
💦 The National Barefoot Waterskiing championships in Mulwala
🏆 The ride on lawn mower championships in Moorngag
And the list goes on.....

Then we hit “when in Rome” gold. 🥇 We realised our stay on Phillip Island coincided with the Superbike World Championship 🏍 (that explains why most places were booked solid 🤣). You can’t be on Phillip Island & not go to the bikes so off we went, well after all............”when in Rome” as our saying goes.

It was one of the best days we have had on this trip! 👍🏻 The weather was perfect, the beers were flowing & it was just one of “those” days. 👌🏻 I’m not going to lie, our slower paced traveling earlier this week may have saved us some money but this one day blew the budget back out again, in saying that I wouldn’t change it for the world. 🌏 Sitting next to us (unbeknown to us at the time) was one of nicest guys you have ever met, he loved Max & I am pretty sure the feeling was mutual. He hooked us up with Yamaha gear & as we talked we realised we were sitting next to the General Manager of Yamaha Racing NZ. 🇳🇿 Allan Petrie - you made Maxs’ day & we cannot thank you enough 🙏🏻 - you’re a bloody champ mate!! 🏆 Hopefully we come to NZ one day and we will shout you a beer as thanks 🍻

After our magical time at Phillip Island & Powlett River we headed up the coast towards the NSW boarder. 🛣 We decided to skip Wilson’s Prom (on this trip) for 2 reasons;

1 - VIC was turning the weather on with rain, rain & more rain predicted ☔️

2 - I have always wanted to go to the most southern point of mainland Australia, which coincidentally is in Wilson’s Prom. It is a mere 26k return trip by foot therefore we have decided to do that down the line when Max can walk that distance himself - stuff carrying him that distance - he is a growing boy (it’s like carrying 2 bags of spuds & I am going to struggle doing the 26ks as it is let alone carry that!!) ⚓️

So off to Sale then onto Lakes Entrance we went...... the weather followed us but in these parts you can’t complain about poor weather. 🤫 Rain is very much needed after the fires they had recently (although I did find myself complaining once or twice & had to pull my head in) 🤭

Whilst in Lakes Entrance I located a 4WD track that looked like fun so I packed us a lunch, threw Rod the keys & told him we were going for a drive. 🚘 Located in the Snowy River National Park, the iconic McKillops Bridge is one of the most spectacular bridges in the world. It’s a significant engineering feat at the time, built between 1931-36, the deck is 255 metres long & stands high above the snowy river below. 🏞

The road over the bridge & the track leading to it are said to be the most “hazardous & dangerous roads to drive on in the country” - I left that TINY detail off when I told Rod what we were doing today..... 😳 It ended up being a great day but I probably should have given Rod a heads up before setting off - the recent rain had made it extra slippery as well, whoops!! 🙊🙈🙉

On the way back we called into Bullant brewery, another brewery, another tasting paddle........ 🍺 I thought Rod deserved it after driving one of the most “hazardous & dangerous roads in the country” without any warning whatsoever......🐜

This week will see us head up the beautiful south coast of NSW. 🏖 We will “empty esky” our way up the coast, anyone who saw our budget post last week knows we like a drink or two & are good for it.....🍻

Until next week, we are off Making trax with Max 👣

03/03/2020

Alright, it’s time we address the F word............ FINANCES!! 💰

At my last job I was nicknamed “spreadsheet Shelley” and that’s one skill I have not lost while on the road. 🙋🏼‍♀️ So here is a sobering, warts and all assessment of our spending after being on the road for 1 full year.........🧾

🥪 GROCERIES - $8,997.93 / year or $173.03 / week
We clearly like our food but I will say this.....during our trip we have had to constantly be on the ball and stock-pile certain items in certain cities. If we ran out of nappies or other key items in a smaller town we would be paying double the price (at least)!! 😡 The thing is living in a van you don’t have room to store 20 boxes of nappies when you see them on sale..... although we did try.

Thats just an example, don’t even get me started on fresh fruit and veggies in some places & the ridiculous prices we saw - it made healthy eating really hard at times!! 🥦

⛽️ FUEL - $12,111.01 / year or $232.90 / week
The most we paid for a tank of diesel was $2.15 C/L at Ayres Rock resort. The least we paid was $1.42 C/L in Adelaide - at the airport ✈️

🚘 DISTANCE - We traveled a total of 44,875 KM’s. 20,681 KM’s of that was with the van in tow - I have uploaded two photos to show the difference in our trip with / without van. Please stare and admire it for a very long time as it actually took me ages to do, for no real purpose. 🤣

💤 - ACCOMODATION - $10,199.48 / year or $196.14 / week
We spent 365 nights away - and are still on the road. 🛣 The most we paid for a site with water / power hookup was $59.97 / night at El Questro, in The Kimberley. The least we paid for a site with water / power hookup was $21.43 / night at Fishers Rest, Darwin (it’s little wonder we stayed there for a month). We could have free camped much more during our lap but we strategically chased the sun therefore we wanted the power hookup to run the air con, especially when Max was still having a day sleep as this made everyone’s life easier.....

📆 - We have been gone a total of 52weeks. In that time we have set the van up 99 times. ⛺️ When we first set off we were “those people” setting up the van providing the entertainment to everyone else at the van park. A set up involved cursing and at least once Rod yelling “if you can’t see me in the mirrors I can’t see you!!” I am now happy to report we have it down to a fine art and could park the van on a 5cent piece - it just took us 99 practice runs. 🎯

🍺- ALCOHOL - $5,214.22 / year or $100.27 / week
Don’t you dare judge us, we are traveling Australia with a 2 year old 🤣

This seems a lot but....... (hear me out) in WA it was pretty common to go to the bar with a $20 note and order a glass of wine and a beer and get little (if any) change... Anyone that follows our page also knows Rod can’t say no to a tasting paddle 🤪

🥂 NOTE: A big week at Monkey Mia with another traveling family contributed to this blow out. Bad influences, we were easily lead astray......!! 🥴- No need to mention names, you know who you are!!

🎡 - ATTRACTIONS / ENTERTAINMENT - $2,214.51 year or $42.58 / week
Luckily for us, most places don’t charge for Max & a lot of sightseeing that interests us are free - we don’t really go for the gimmicky tourist attractions if I’m honest - although we have fallen for a few (Sovereign Hill I’m looking at you, $117.00 for 2 adults to walk in the gate is ludicrous)..... in saying that we still went. 🤪

🧰 - REPAIRS & SERVICING - $2,932.61 / year or $56.39 / week
Our van was brand spanking new when we set off therefore we had to get log book servicing done whilst traveling so $1,166.50 of this includes scheduled servicing of the van.

Rod also serviced the car 3 times on the road and replaced the serpentine belt - so the gear required for that is included here, mind you Rod doing it himself saved us a bucket load.

🍔- TAKEAWAY / DINNER OUT - $5,723.83 / year or $110.07 / week
What can I say, we are suckers for a good pub meal & a good cup of coffee ☕️

🏥- HEALTH - $4,373.35 / year or $84.10/ week
Although our private health cover covered the majority of Rods hip operation in December most of this was our out of pocket associated with that - apart from his ability to tow (and as above ability to park the van on a 5c piece) he is almost too expensive to keep around - JOKING! 🩺

👛 - CLOTHING / PERSONAL ITEMS - $1,497 / year or $28.79 / week
This included clothes for Max (he is a growing boy), each of us also went through multiple pairs of flip flops, a couple of pedicures for me and a hair cut each 💇‍♀️

🛍 - GIFTS - $2,394.29 / year or $46.04 / week
Although on the road we tried to not miss anyone’s birthday (sorry if we did) - we have also brought some special things on the road which we are going to gift when we get home. 🎁

🧺 MISC / BEAUTIFICATION - $4,128.46 or $79.39 / week
This includes a pretty wide range of things but the majority is caravan modifications. 🛠 We spent a lot when we first left on our trip which fell into this category as we quickly realised what worked for the van and what didn’t. Now that we have the van set up exactly how we want it we don’t spend much towards this now. NOTE: The only thing we haven’t invested in which we would in the future for the van (especially if we head to TAS) is a diesel heater. 🔥 It also includes little things like: laundry fees (as we have no washing machine in the van), gas bottle re-fills, chemicals for the loo, car washing fees ect.....ect....

🥁🥁🥁 DRUM ROLL PLEASE........ 🥁🥁🥁

TOTAL for the 12 months is - $59,786.81 for the year or $1,149.74 / week

Now that’s a lot of money, I don’t deny that but we worked hard - saved like crazy and we always said we are doing this once so do it / spend it / experience it now as we don’t know if we will ever be back here and to us, the trip has been priceless. ❤️❤️❤️

Until next week, we are off Making trax with Max 👣

25/02/2020

This week we celebrated 1 year on the road 🎉 (surprisingly we haven’t killed each other in that time but let’s be honest it has been close on a number of occasions!!) 🤬 It’s been a big week this week as we zig zagged our way across the SA - VIC boarder & back again. 🛣

First stop after leaving the Grampians was the Murtoa Stick Shed. 🌾

In 1939, a good wheat crop & a heavily reduced export trade due to World War II led to grain stockpiling & a shortage of storage facilities. A potentially large 1941-2 Victorian wheat crop was looming so it became critical that a solution was found, therefore the Murtoa storage facility was built. 🧱

The shed was approx 265 metres long, 60 metres wide, 19 metres high at the hip & held 3.5 million bushels or about 92,500 tonnes of wheat. 🌾

When I told Rod we were off to see a “stick shed” he was impressed 🤥 but this place was pretty incredible - it was constructed in only 4 months, a real display of persistence & determination...... that was hard to fathom considering we waited nearly 3 years to get to turn key when we built our last house. 🏡

After visiting the stick shed we did another Silo Art Trail (much to Rods delight), we checked out the Rupanyup, Sheep Hills & Nullawil silos - Sheep Hills being our favourite. 👍🏻

When we left home on this lap of ours we followed the Murray River therefore we missed a couple of key places located towards the coast which we needed to see this time around so next stop was Mt Gambier, SA. ❤️ I loved Mt Gambier!! ❤️

💦 The Blue Lake - Situated in an extinct volcanic crater the lake changes colour dramatically from grey to vivid blue over a few days in November each year. Then after summer, usually in late March, it gradually fades until the grey winter appearance is resumed.

🌋 Mount Schank - Known as Australia’s youngest volcano it last erupted over 4,500 years ago. We took the 1038 steps (yep, 1038) to the rim of this dormant volcano. Max being a fiercely independent nearly 3yr old did this hike himself - we used to be able to carry him in a backpack when we first left but now he insists on walking himself, which is great............ although time consuming 🙄

🍇 Coonawarra - One of Australia’s internationally recognised wine regions & with over 24 cellar doors we had our work cut out for us - we did good! 🍷

🏝 Port McDonnell - Named the “Southern Rock Lobster Capital of Australia” it is known for its famous fishing industry. 🦞 It is also South Australia’s most southernmost point

🌱 Umpherston Sinkhole - Also known as ‘The Sunken Garden’ it was once a cave but when the top of the chamber collapsed the garden was created. 🌿Now the topsoil down on the floor forms the perfect environment for the sunken garden.

💧 Little Blue Lake
🌿 Cave Garden

And the list goes on....... 📋 For the first time in a while I found myself googling house prices, I loved it here!! 😍 After wrapping up our time in Mt Gambier we came back into VIC to tackle the great ocean road. 🚙

🛣 The Great Ocean Road is a National Heritage listed 243 km stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of VIC. Built by returned soldiers between 1919 & 1932 it is dedicated to soldiers killed during World War I & is the world's largest war memorial.

Amazingly, we have been told it is the quietest it has been in a decade because of the slump in international tourists & you could see local businesses were feeling it. We weren’t complaining though as we have visited the Great Ocean Road before & remember it being insanely busy, this time around it was deserted (which suited us just fine) 👌🏻

We explored:

⛰ 12 Apostles - These rock stacks are formed by the combination of the waves & winds from the southern ocean battering the coast. 🌊 There are currently 7 rock stacks that comprise the 12 Apostles & they say that although it may not happen for 100 years, or perhaps double that, the natural processes that shaped the towering limestone rock stacks will one day also cause them to disappear.....

On the Great Ocean Road we also visited / explored;

🍓 Berry world
💦 Triplet falls
🥃 Timboon Railway Shed Distillery
💦 Hopetoun falls
🍦 Timboon fine ice cream
🍫 Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery
💦 Beauchamp falls
🌲 California Redwoods
🍺 Otway Brewing
🏄🏼‍♀️ Bells Beach

As I said, it has been a big week!! 💤 This week we will head down the Mornington Peninsula at a somewhat slower pace I think - we are all starting to feel it & need a second to catch our breaths.

Until next week, we are off Making trax with Max, albeit a little slower then this week perhaps 👣

17/02/2020

** Fortnight ending 15th February 2020 **

We started the fortnight at home, patiently waiting for a call to say our van had been fixed. ⏰ Told it should take a couple of weeks (but expecting the worst) we settled in back at home and caught up (once again) with our nearest & dearest. 🥂

Then we got the call we had been waiting for.....our van was ready to roll!! 🧰 For the 3rd time in as many weeks we made the 800km trek down the Hume Highway to Melbourne to collect our van ready to continue on with the trip, albeit without a cracked roof!! 🗺

Feeling a little behind the 8 ball (with time lost due to repairs) & therefore a need to get a crack on we have managed to check some pretty special places / sights off our bucket list since getting back on the road. 🚙 We have been setting quite the pace 🏃🏼‍♀️

Our first stop after picking up the van was Bonnie Doon...........”How’s the serenity?”.......👌🏻

Bonnie Doon is a small town on the edge of Lake Eildon & is a well-known holiday destination but if anything Bonnie Doon is probably most famous as the holiday location for the movie “The Castle”. 🏰 While here we enjoyed the serenity, took some photos that will go straight to the pool room but mostly, it was the vibe of it........🎥

From here we ticked Craig’s Hutt off Shells bucket list and it did not disappoint! I have wanted to go here since I was a kid and it was everything I expected and more. I actually got out of the car and lost my breath (I may have even squealed) ❤️💙💚 I would love to one day go back while it’s snowing but the 4WD trip up was hairy enough without snow let alone throwing in an icy road.... ❄️

If anyone is in the area I would highly suggest a visit to this iconic homestead👌🏻👌🏻

From Bonnie Doon we made our way to Bendigo - There is no better way to see the sights of Bendigo than aboard the refurbished Vintage Talking Tram. 🚃 This hop-on, hop-off tour stops throughout Bendigo giving you a history lesson as you go. 📰Max certainly wasn’t interested in the history but did enjoy the tram... I on the other hand did enjoy the history, one fact that blew my mind was that over 700,000kg of gold was yielded from Bendigo between 1851-1954 which would be worth about $39 billion today, Cha-Ching!! 💰💰💰

On our way out of Bendigo we visited the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion which is a sacred Buddhist monument & is home to many holy objects. Foremost is the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace which is the largest Buddha carved from gem quality jade in the world. 🌍 The Jade Buddha toured the world for 9 years and over 10 million people have seen it but he has now come to his final home inside The Great Stupa. Buddhists say that viewing the stupa will help purify the mind.....🤔 NOTE: Anyone visiting the stupa the day we did I apologise that your peace and calm was interrupted but there was a scissor lift doing work inside which blew Maxs’ mind & he wanted everyone to see it....🤯

After purifying our minds our next stop was, Ballarat. 🗺 You can’t go to Ballarat and not visit Sovereign Hill so off we went. Sovereign Hill is an outdoor museum & re-creates Ballarat’s first 10 years after the discovery of gold in 1851 when thousands of international adventurers rushed to the Australian goldfields in search of fortune. 🔍

It’s just like stepping back in time - from the hustle and bustle of Main Street where costumed ladies and gents parade their new-found wealth, to the excitement of the Red Hill Gully Diggings where you can pan for real gold and it’s yours to keep which we did - we just didn’t find any!! 🙅🏼‍♀️ It’s here that I remembered I have a real fear of people in period costume so I was freaked out most of the day & would nervous giggle anytime someone would speak to me, I must remember this for next time!! 🥴

Next place we checked off our bucket list were the Grampians!! ⛰ We based ourselves in Halls Gap and tackled:

⛰ The Pinnacle - although warned to not attempt this with Max we nailed it 🏅
🔭 Reed Lookout
🌲 The Balconies
🧗🏼 Boroka Lookout
💧 Dam walk (Lake Bellfield)
💦 MacKenzie Falls

After 3 days of exploring we were all exhausted, but as I said at the start we have limited time and the caravan repair set us back slightly so we have to keep moving.

Next week will see us dip our toes back into South Australia and check off some of those places we missed the first time round, Mt Gambier I am looking at you!! 🗺

Until next week, we are off Making trax with Max 👣

08/02/2020

** Week ending 1st February 2020 **

We started the week by wrapping up our time in Glenrowan & what can I say, there was no better place for us to celebrate Australia Day 2020. 🇦🇺

In the morning we ventured out to Brown Brothers Winery which was absolutely breathtaking. ❤️ As anyone that has followed our travels would know we have visited our fair share of wineries & / or breweries but this one was hands down the best.🥂 Not only are you able to try anything & everything your heart desires but they have the most stunning area for you to sit & enjoy the day. ☀️ Even Max enjoyed it with a kids playground. 🎠 - We will be back 🥂

After our blissful morning here we headed back into Glenrowan & had lunch at the Glenrowan Hotel where Rod enjoyed a Kelly Gang Lager - does it get anymore Aussie then that? 🍻 Australia Day for us always involves a trip to the beach so being in Glenrowan was different but at the same time, was absolute perfection. 👌🏻

Monday morning we got up bright eyed & bushy tailed & headed towards Melbourne. We had to head straight into Melbourne instead of taking our time as we typically do as we discovered a crack right across the roof of the caravan (not structural but cosmetic) which needed repairing. 🛠 Hearing we were heading their way on our travels the Crusader factory wanted to get their hands on the van & get it fixed.

We dropped the van off on Tuesday morning, all of a sudden feeling very homeless.... Lucky for us we have the most beautiful friends who opened their home up to us, where we camped for the rest of the week. 🏡 9 years we have known these guys & although we don’t see them very often every time we do we have an absolute blast and we pick up exactly where we left off. Friends like that are hard to find, we know we are blessed to have them - thanks Cass & Jon 😇

During our time in Melbourne we:

Visited Australia’s first immersive, ‘trick-art’ gallery - Artvo! 🖼 Stepping into a world of optical illusions, the larger than life murals allow you to come face to face with wild animals, scale rocky crevasses & surf the ultimate pipelines. When we first arrived Max was not a fan at all but after a while he got involved & loved it (I think we had more fun then him) 📸

Victoria’s State Library 📚 The makeshift armour worn by Ned Kelly is on display here, therefore after our time in Glenrowan this was a must. After the gang was killed & Ned captured, the police officers involved in the capture wanted to keep parts of the suits as souvenirs. Various pieces of the suits were separated, some making their way into private ownership but after years of research to determine which pieces belonged to which gang member, Ned Kelly's complete armour is now in the Library's collection.

As part of the exhibit (next to Neds Kelly’s armour) is The Ashes urn. Made of terracotta & about 15 cm (6 inches) tall it is reputed to contain the ashes of a burnt cricket bail, amazingly there is said to be a connection between Ned Kelly & one of the world’s most celebrated sporting trophies 🤯

In Shelleys terms (and please note this story was a LOT longer when we were told it at the Library) but in a nut shell..... a lady name Janet Clarke nursed her uncle to health when he was shot by Ned Kelly at the Glenrowan siege & he stayed at her home to recuperate. When he left, he gave her the Kelly armour as a gift. It is rumoured that Clarke was the person who handed the perfume bottle allegedly containing the ashes of the original burnt bail to the captain of the English cricket team - hence the connection. 🏏 - Rod was a doubter but said it made a good story all the same (I’m a believer)

3 days in to our stay we got the call we were dreading (but if we are honest, probably expecting)....Crusader needed the van for 2 weeks to complete the roof repairs. 😬 Look, we are disappointed about it but in saying that we cannot fault Crusader or their staff at all. They have been absolutely amazing & have bent over backwards to help us, we just got unlucky....

Over a boozy lunch we weighed up the options.

🏡 Stay at Cass and Jon’s, this would have been my idea of heaven (and they offered a million times for us too) but we really didn’t have a time frame as we were advised it may be longer then the guesstimated 2 weeks & were assuming the worst so we couldn’t possibly do that.....could we 🤔

🎾 Book accomodation in Melb and explore the city and surrounds for a couple of weeks while the van is repaired (there is so much to do in and around Melb that this seemed like a smart option) BUT...... with the Australian Open on currently we priced a couple of places and unless I wanted to sell a kidney this wasn’t an option (and I like my kidneys)

🚘 Back track a cool 800 odd k’s and sit out the repairs at home.

So we did it...... 2 weeks to the day after pulling out the driveway we rocked up back at home (just as my mum rubbed the last of Max’s grubby prints off her furniture) - & we invaded again. 🏡

We will sit out our time & await the call saying our van is fixed. ⏰

Until next week, we aren’t off Making trax with Max - we are instead sitting by the phone like a teenage girl sweating on a prom date 👣

02/02/2020

** Week ending 25th January 2020 **

And just like that....... we are back on the road!! 🛣

Going home for Christmas wasn’t always our plan but it is what it is and we certainly packed a lot into our 5 weeks home:-

🩺 Rod got his hip operation done. Although not the replacement we planned Dr said the reconstruction went really well. He isn’t running marathons (lets be honest I think we are both past that stage in our lives) but he is feeling much better and in a lot less pain!!

🧰 We serviced the caravan and car. We also took the opportunity to completely empty the caravan and re-pack it - the amount of stuff we carted around Oz and hadn’t used boggled the mind so we left it behind. (Watch, this trip I will actually need my 15kg slow cooker and be annoyed that I offloaded it)

✈️ Our big kids came down from QLD. We have missed these guys daily so seeing them was just what the Dr had ordered. ❤️❤️❤️

🏖 Shelleys sister and her family relocated to Perth. We therefore squeezed in multiple sleep overs with our nieces and got to see them off - good luck guys, exciting times ahead (I did stop crying eventually) ☹️

Throw in Christmas / New Years / Shelleys birthday and catching up with all our family and friends and you’ve got yourself a very busy 5 weeks. NOTE: Thanks to my Mum and Step Dad for letting us invade - bet it’s nice and quiet now we have cleared out. 🤪

We set off on Friday (with a much lighter van) with no real idea where we were headed, we just knew we were headed towards VIC. 🗺 With the recent fires we were just playing it by ear as our original plan of following the coast down to the VIC high country went right out the window...... there are still plenty more places to see though and we hope to call into some of those badly effected towns on the way back in March to show our support, once they have been given an opportunity to recover slightly. 🔥

Our first night back on the road we pulled into a beaut little free camp in Gundagai, it was a perfect stop for our first night as we found our feet (it’s funny how quickly you forget things) for example although free camping and without power I went to use the microwave at least 5 times. 🤪

While in Gundagai we went to the Dog on a tucker box (poor Max was so confused as he generally thought the dog was real) but first we grabbed some breakfast by way of pies and sausage rolls........(there goes the diet) from Gundagai bakery. 🥧

The Gundagai Bakery is believed to be the “oldest working bakery in Australia”. 🇦🇺 Not taking anything away from the Gundagai bakery but I feel every little town bakery claims to be the oldest and gets us every time! I feel we have basically lapped Australia by way of consuming pies and sausage rolls and have began ranking them. 🥇 NOTE: Rod still thinks that the pies and sausage rolls from Albion Park cake shop are the best to date, which is 5 minutes down the road from us at home, therefore I am wondering if we really needed to set off on our trip in the first place!! 🤔

After Gundagai we moved to Albury / Bright then onto Glenrowan - all of which were beautiful (albeit dry) in their own right.

Glenrowan was a quiet little stop-over and coach staging point between Benalla and Wangaratta until the events of June, 1880, blazed its name and that of Ned Kelly across the world. 🌎

Ned Kelly (for anyone living in a cave) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police murderer. One of the last bushrangers, and by far the most famous, he is best known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout with the police which occurred right here in Glenrowan therefore, while here we immersed ourselves in everything Ned Kelly.

While in Glenrowan we also did the silo trail, we visited:

Devenish

Winton Wetlands - a tribute to 3 local volunteer firefighters ❤️

Tungamah

St James - the silos depict a mural of Sir George Coles, the founder of Coles supermarket who was a local to the township

Goorambat

While in Goorambat we also visited “Sophia” which is a mural painted to depict the female aspect of the Holy Spirit. She is said to be wise, nurturing, comforting, inspirational and ever present - Max certainly liked her.

We wrapped up our time here by attending Moorngag mower mania which was the ride on lawn mower racing championships......when in Rome as they say. 🤷🏼‍♀️ It actually made for a great afternoon out and Max thought it was brilliant. 👌🏻

Next week will see us head further south and down towards Melbourne ⬇️

Until next week, we are off Making trax with Max 👣

Making trax with Max

25/04/2020

03/04/2020

10/03/2020

03/03/2020

25/02/2020

17/02/2020

08/02/2020

02/02/2020

Address

Website

Alerts

Videos

Shortcuts

Share

Category

You may also like