Mozzeenet

On the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, we travelled to Lakes Entrance with some friends for a couple of days.  Lakes Entrance is in Gippsland on the Victorian coast, heading towards the NSW border.

As expected, traffic on the Friday night of a long weekend was crawling out of Melbourne but we stopped for a bite to eat and pushed on to arrive at our accommodation around 10.30pm which wasn’t as bad as we thought it might be.

The Saturday was bleak and very cold and I wasn’t thinking much of Lakes Entrance at that point and wondering if it really was going to be a “long” weekend.  They had a Hot Rod car display on so the main street was closed off with hundreds of old cars parked along the side.  Can’t say I was overly enthusiastic but there were a couple of interesting antique vehicles to admire.  I like some of the 60s and 70s ones with “interesting” colours (aka purple, bottle green) and some with painted designs on the doors and bonnet.

Our dinner at the Central Hotel in Lakes Entrance that night was a disaster.  The man taking our order was very rude to Andrew about his request for a modified meal due to allergies and when I got my schnitzel and took a bite, I realised it was burnt underneath so they had just served it with the good side up hoping I wouldn’t notice!  Another meal of seafood stirfry was not served with rice, just a bowl of seafood with a soupy sauce!  I wouldn’t recommend it.  On the other hand, the bowling club the next night was fantastic - definitely the better pick.

I enjoyed Sunday better with a trip to Buchan Caves, about 40 mins away.  We did a 45 minute walk through the Royal Cave.  The limestone formations including stalactites and stalacmites were beautiful.  I was a little nervous because I do get claustrophobic but after the inital walk down into the cave and a few minutes of beating heart and slight light-headedness I adjusted and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

On the way back we also visited Lake Tyers and took a short walk on the 90 mile beach which was great.  I’m a big fan of a deserted beach with the waves crashing in and a lone fisherman on the shoreline. It always reminds me of childhood growing up in Port Kembla beside the sea. There were lots of shells in the sand too.

We stayed in a cabin at a caravan park which was adequate for the four of us, a good kitchen and large bathroom.  The bed was hard and the pillows lumpy so we ended up with slightly sore necks.  We are too used to our pillow-top bed and osteopathic pillows!

As we departed Lakes Entrance on Monday, I finally got a glimpse of why Lakes Entrance would be appealing in Summer.  The sun was out and driving up the hill we had a beautiful view of the water dotted with a number of islands and boats.  We hadn’t seen these views when we arrived because it was dark.

Struggling  to think of what to give Andrew for Christmas, a friend suggested an “experience” from one of the online gift sites. I had a look and decided he would really enjoy a scenic helicopter ride over Melbourne.  Every time Andrew sees a helicopter, fire-engine, ambulance or police car he is mesmerised and it’s no use trying to carry on a conversation with him at that point.  Typical boy!

So one Saturday morning towards the end of March we headed out to Essendon airport and along with another couple of guys, Andrew had his 15 minute ride over Melbourne.  I happily stayed back in the terminal and watched as the blades started up and they flew off and when they landed again.  It’s pretty amazing how they can just lift up into the air and hover in the one spot.

Some interesting shots were of the Fitzroy and Treasury Gardens which are in the shape of the Union Jack, not something you realise from the ground and testament to our British allegiances!

The view over the Yarra including Southbank and the Eureka tower is spectacular.  You can also see a photo of the new soccer stadium being built which is now virtually complete, just in time for the World Cup in South Africa.  It should be an exciting couple of weeks of soccer with a few tired people at work after watching the games.  Ian will be attending a few parties also when Australia plays Ghana!

Preparations are definitely under way here for celebrations. They have moved the city viewing venue to Birrarung Marr which is a large park area on the north side of the Yarra instead of Federation Square where it was located last time.

I wish I could maintain that holiday feeling of relaxation after the holiday.  It’s funny how your mind just clicks into another mode.

We had a wonderful week away, camping for 3 nights at Cape Otway with Nick, Zaida and Marta then 2 nights by ourselves at Apollo Bay on the Great Ocean Road.

The week started in Melbourne gathering all our camping gear, grocery shopping and experiencing a huge hail storm the day before we left which did not bode well for sleeping in tents.

Sunday morning was raining so we were already a bit muddy setting off - the possums had pooed in the driveway overnight so my hikers were well and truly (re)christened getting into the car.  Nick, Zaida and Marta had camping gear packed all around them in the back seat so it was an interesting exercise every time we wanted to get out.

We took a leisurely drive down the coast stopping for devonshire tea and other goodies at Aireys Inlet lighthouse and then lunch at Lorne.  Playing some word games initiated by Nick and Marta made the time pass quickly.

We saw the first 3 of about 25 koalas in the wild driving into Cape Otway. That area has an abundance of them and by the end of the trip, it was a commonplace occurrence to see one cuddled up in a tree.

Andrew and I have stayed at Bimbi Park before so we knew it had a good kitchen and facilities. We were offered 2 camp sites to choose from and after some perusing, we selected the bush camp because, being a long weekend, the other area was jam packed.  It was amazing the difference on the Monday though when everyone cleared out.

Setting up the tents was “interesting”.  We left it a little late, not anticipating a couple of hitches… It was at this point that Nick realised his tent was not with us. We were puzzled, wondering if it had been left on our driveway, but Nick felt sure he had seen Andrew pack it into the car the previous night. Read more »