THURSDAY 29 MAY LAKES ENTRANCE TO MERIMBULA 320kms
We slept really well last night. The van bed remained so comfortable, even though it was now ten years old.
We made a leisurely departure in the morning. Drove back to the shopping centre, where we refuelled and I bought a few foodstuffs at Safeway, and a newspaper to read later.
Morning at Lakes Entrance
We had a very pleasant, untroubled drive through the forest and hill country of eastern Victoria and southern NSW, to Merimbula. John seemed to enjoy the driving. There was not a great deal of traffic and we didn’t even encounter any of the timber logging trucks that can make the driver a bit tense when they come up behind on the lengthy stretches where passing is not possible. There is a kind of Murphy’s Law about these vehicles. When they are in front of you, they are going too slowly. When they are behind you, they are going too fast!
The skies were mostly blue, with some weak sunshine – it was not all that warm.
We stopped at the village of Cann River to eat our lunch – again, I had packed sandwiches and filled our travel thermos with hot water for tea and coffee, before our departure this morning, so we did not contribute to the local coffers, this time.
Victoria/NSW border
I’d chosen the Big 4 Merimbula Beach Holiday Park for our one night stay here. It was a bit tricky to navigate there, though, through the main part of the town. An uphill start at a set of traffic lights was a challenge – the Defender was a great towing vehicle but not powerful off a standing uphill start with the van on the back! As usual, John had to use low range gears to get going. Then it was up and down sharp little hills to find the caravan park. Merimbula is too hilly! I guess that does give some great views, though.
The park cost $28 a night. It was situated on the end of Short Point, and we had superb views over the sea and the beach to the north. There was a rock ledge below our site, that the sea was crashing on to, so we had the wonderful sound of the sea as a backdrop.
The park was an extensive one, with clean and modern amenities and a wonderful lagoon style swimming pool complex. It would be a great holiday park for little kids. Given the year we had been having, my mind turned easily to ways to occupy young children!
Caravan Park pool
After setting up for a one night stay – unhitched – we drove back to the main part of town, hunting for a shop that might sell gear to adjust the van brakes. John had left his at home, and was not totally happy with the van brakes. What was new? He had no luck finding what he wanted, though.
Overall, it had been a pleasant day.
I couldn’t believe how tired I became, how early in the evening. The fresh, sea air was already impacting, and I was ready for bed by 8.30pm.
We spent much of the previous two days packing the van and Truck. With the crowded house, and all the earlier building and renovation works, the travel gear had been well moved around, and took some sorting out again. At least, this would only be a short trip, compared to our usual treks, so we did not need to take as much. But I packed more winter clothing than was our norm!
We were so looking forward to the break from home and a quiet change!
After breakfast, hitched up the van and parked the rig out on the road. John then lopped some overhanging branches from the neighbour’s trees – so the van parking area would be clear when we got home again.
We pulled away about 10.15am – pretty good, considering. It seemed a very long time since we’d last been out with the van!
Took the “back” route to Gippsland, through Wandin, Yellingbo, Cockatoo, to Pakenham – winding, but little traffic and easy enough. Also much prettier than the alternative of using the roads closer to Melbourne, through the outer suburbs.
We had a good run through the industrial Latrobe Valley, with its long time focus on coal mining and electricity generation. As always, the smokestacks of the power plants were in evidence from the highway.
Pulled off the road near Morwell and ate our pre-packed lunch. Then, continued on, through Sale with its several corners to be negotiated, Bairnsdale and on to Lakes Entrance.
It had been grey, misty and chilly when we left home, and the drive through the back of the Dandenongs to Pakenham showed mist lying in the bottoms of the valleys and shrouding the hilltops. But this had started to clear by the time we reached the Latrobe Valley, and it was quite pleasant for the rest of the day, with the sun appearing from behind light cloud, for much of the time.
The highway east paralleled the Great Dividing Range – a distant purple off to our left. It crossed some of the main rivers that flow down from those mountains – the Thompson as we approached Sale, the Avon at Stratford – no prizes for guessing that association! The bridge over the Mitchell River at Bairnsdale gave us a lovely view down the stream, with some small boats moored at points along the banks. Then there was the Tambo at the hamlet of Swan Reach.
The approach to Lakes Entrance is down quite a steep little hill. I have always loved the view that one gets of the town and the lake, as the road winds down to sea level.
The approach to Lakes Entrance (Google)
We booked into the Big 4 Waters Edge Caravan Park for the night. It cost $25.20, after discount. The park was quite adequate for our needs, with modern and clean amenities. It was not a very large park and had several annual sites with permanent structures on them. At this time of year, it was not very busy and we were able to use two sites to stay hitched up.
Best of all, the park was within walking distance to the shops, and just across the road from the waters of the lake inlet.
After the minimal set up for a one night stay, we walked to the main part of town, as far as the floating restaurant and fish sales boat, moored across from the shops. There, we bought a half dozen oysters – for John’s entree tonight – and some flathead tails. We have always found the seafood prices here quite reasonable, and of course the daily catch sold was totally fresh.
Our fish dinner was lovely. I fried some potato rounds, and just dredged the flathead with flour and pan fried it.
Over our many years of travel, we have experienced plenty of times when things did not work out as planned, but in the overall array of these, 2008 was an absolute doozy. The whole damned year didn’t happen as we thought it would…..
Towards the end of last year’s trip, we were mentally mapping out a three month jaunt to some of the loveliest coastal parts of WA, with a few side explorations thrown in. The Dampier Peninsula, north of Broome, specifically a stay at the laid back and scenic Middle Lagoon. Barn Hill and Eighty Mile Beach revisited. Some exploration of the area north of Kalgoorlie – or maybe even the deferred trip across the desert, from Newman to Alice Springs. Nice set of ideas, but……
Middle Lagoon – Dampier Peninsula, north of Broome
In late 2007, son with marital woes moved back home. With him came his 5 year old daughter and 18 month old son – not full time, else I wouldn’t still be sane enough to write this, but every second weekend, and a couple of nights in between.
As well, we still had M occupying one of the back bedrooms. Suddenly, our spacious home was not so spacious. Items like portacot, high chair, nappy container appeared…….and toys……lots of toys!
Son’s need for support, both when the children were here and in terms of general company at home, made an extended trip unwise, so we reluctantly cancelled our wonderful housesitters. They were easily able to find a replacement booking, and promised us five months or so next year. We had to be optimistic and think there would be a next year – in travel terms!
Almost as soon as we returned in 2007, and amid the demands of the new bowls season, John made a start on the projects that he’d been germinating whilst we travelled.
Pre-projects: old BBQ fireplace, steps behind it, and yucky pool beyond
The pizza oven was built and in conjunction with that, there was remodelling of part of the front garden, taking out the old sleeper wall that had formed one edge of the driveway, and also housed a massive European wasp nest. This was replaced with a wall of the same edging used in the renovation around the pool, with the creation also of a grassed ramp up onto the higher lawn level – allowing for easier movement of heavy tools to the back yard and John’s shed, and also for extra parking on that lawn. Suddenly, we had four resident vehicles…..
Ramp access for extra parking
The pool was, as we had expected, a major project. The thick, green water was deemed beyond remediation, by a pool company. A septic tank cleaner, with a large truck and a very long hose, emptied it. In the midst of Melbourne’s drought induced water restrictions, much negotiation ensued with the local water authority, to eventually be allowed to refill the pool. There were conservation trade offs required: we had to install a water tank, buy a solar blanket for pool, install water saving shower heads and toilet cisterns…..The latter items led to a full renovation of the main bathroom, and then our ensuite. What was that about “life” and “easy”?
Destroying the old bathroom….
As part of all these changes, we decided that the filter and pump installation for the pool needed to be moved, from right outside the bedroom of the now rented granny flat, to the other end of the pool. The pool predated both our purchase of the house in 1991, and the building of the flat for my father, after we moved in. Dad had a degree of industrial deafness and did not mind the noise from the pool operation nearby. But after his death we had the flat tenanted. No issue, whilst the pool was non-operational, but now…..Thus ensued digging up of some of the slate that surrounded the pool, to relay the plumbing. So, to make it uniform, the whole lot was re-done, and the garden walls on two sides stone edged – with the products we’d seen in Bendigo at the end of the 2007 trip.
Surrounds not yet finished, but pool ready for swimming again – after a decade as a duck pond!
John enjoyed building the pizza oven. He found the slate laying really hard work that taxed him to his 67 year old limits. But that didn’t stop him from doing much of the bathroom renovations himself!
The pool apparatus was so old and long unused that it all needed replacing – nice new salt chlorinator, and an automated control system that would make it simpler for house sitters to maintain the pool.
All this because M bought John a book on pizza ovens, in Tennant Creek, last year!
New pizza oven, steps to back yard, and slate surrounds….
After all this work, it would have been a bloody sight cheaper to go travelling in 2008. In fact, we could have left the van behind and stayed in upmarket accommodation and still come out ahead, financially.
M jetted off to the USA for a while, then found some other friends to join for an Australian trip, for a few months.
Winter set in with a vengeance – we were not used to these. In fact, we’d only experienced one Melbourne winter in the last decade!
John’s daughter and family returned to Canberra from her recent three year posting to Brussels, complete with his second grandson, born in 2005, while she was on post. The family had acquired – as so many Canberrans do – a weekender holiday house on the NSW south coast, at Durras.
By May, we were feeling a real need for a break away and a respite from “caring”. John wanted to see the Durras place, as well as the family. The south coast of NSW seemed – fractionally – more attractive than Canberra, with winter rapidly setting in. So, plans – albeit somewhat vague – were made, to meet up at the holiday house…..
This Adventurous Age 