Still in the East

It’s cold here. Whew. And girls are really growing up. One is doing music fairly seriously and the other dances. Good kids but parenting can be hard sometimes. I’m going actually do some serious blogging for Miss A as she enters her teen years. So see you in another blog!

We've been here a year!!!

Oh my. We just checked the blog dates. We have been here a year now. Celebrating 2 things tonight at Harry Limes restaurant. One is a belated wedding anniversary. And the other is our arrival in Ballarat.  We arrived on this date last year. What a journey it's been. Love it here. Even the cold. Gerry looks breathtakingly beautiful...catch myself stealing glances at her..still hard to believe she chose me ....

Sunday 14/4 on the Great Ocean Road

After a good night's rest at Port Campbell we explored the rugged coastline again. London bridge, the grotto, Loch Ard Gorge, Thunder gorge...awesome sights, breathtaking scenery, amazing show of the power of the ocean as it slams itself against the limestone cliffs. Mutton bird island was amazing too ..for the baby birds, left by their parents alone after they reach 1kg in weight (about 1month after they hatch) - take to the skies on their own without parents helping or being around even...and start flying 30,000km to Siberia via Japan! using their instincts...

The journey east continues..the Great Ocean Road

We started on the 247km Australian listed heritage Great ocean road at torquay and ended it in Peterborough - via Anglesey, Lorne, Apollo bay, cape oatway national park, port Campbell ...was a breathtaking drive. Through rainforest, beside sheer cliff faces and facing the bass strait and the southern ocean. We stayed overnight port Campbell. Some of the highlights on the first day include the 12 apostles

Fri 12th..first "work day" in ballarat

Day of chores and errands - first off to the school uniform shop to buy Aranntee's school uniforms. The blazer costs $180/-....brand new. Others we buy pre-loved. Then off to the book shop to get the school books. Then off to send by express mail the signed original documents to the conveyancers. Took best part of the day till 4pm to settle all that. Then we decided to leave ballarat itself to explore the Great Ocean Road..in the south of Victoria - reputedly the largest war memorial every built, in this case, in memory of the fallen soldiers who fought and died in the First World War of 1914-1918. Supposed to be a very scenic drive too. We ended up in Torquay. A small 5 room hotel. Watched surfers brave the cold evening winds surfing in autumn. Dinner at a Chinese take-away. Girls seem more fascinated by fascinated by the parrots, lorikeets, crows, magpies, wrens and rabbits in the hotel compound

We arrive in Ballarat

Pushing off from the Naracoorte caves around lunch time, we crossed the SA-VIC border and immediately the speed limit got reduced to 100kmh - with reminders that cameras are used all over Victorian roads to enforce speed limits! We passed by the majestic and rugged Grampian Hills - part of Grampians national park, through the towns of Horsham and Ararat..before arriving in ballarat at about 445pm. Hooray! We made it! Just a quick admin errand - had to pop by Hayden Real Estate to pick up documents from our conveyancers for the purchase of our intended home in magpie.
We stayed at the Ballarat Colonial motor in that night. Ahhhhhhhh..thank the heavens we arrived safely. 3300km in 7days, 6 nights. Mandurah, WA to Ballarat, Victoria.

Naracoorte - the "Limestone Coast"

Driving from Adelaide, we arrived at SA's border town of Naracoorte at 930pm. Late start the next day and (Thursday 11/4) saw us arriving at Naracoorte world heritage caves. We were not prepared for the amazing experience here too. Apparently millions of years ago, Naracoorte was the coast..with the seas lashing onto its soft limestone hills. The result, the world heritage listed Naracoorte caves. We only went into the Wet caves (there was Bat Cave, Queen's Cave etc) and we experienced the interpretive centre. Amazing amazing stuff. The giant marsupial lion, the giant marsupial kangaroo, giant marsupial Tasmanian devil, giant Goanna - some 6m long and weighing 2.5tons!