Day 363
Our final day in Melbourne and time to give Polly a good
clean out and reclaim all the stuff we had stored with Kimberley whilst we were
in Tassie and try and fit it all back in the van. The roof was packed and
repacked and we finally managed to squeeze everything back inside, wondering
how we ever got it all in to start with. In the afternoon Kimberley cooked up a
lovely pot of Pumpkin soup and we sit around, watching the football (Aussie
rules again) and planning our onward journey.
A trip out in the evening to meet up with a couple of
Carmen’s friends from her days in London. Janel and Adrian live in Box Hill and
as luck would have it the bus from outside Kimberley’s house takes us all the
way there. After an hour on the bus we finally arrive and are welcomed into
their lovely house like old friends (I suppose Carmen is) and introduced to
their two lively children Henry and Joe. The kids are duly put to bed and we
sit down to a veritable feast (there’s nothing like home cooking) amid much
catching up and tales of our travels. The evening passes all too quickly and
before we know it it’s time to head home. Rather than brave the train journey
into the city and then back out again, Adrian offers to drive us back to our
Mentone and we are more than happy to accept and very grateful of the offer.
Goodbyes are said and half an hour later we are climbing into our warm bed for
the final time.
Day 364
Up nice and early and slightly nervous about getting back
into the van after two weeks of luxury living (Thanks again Tom, Kate and
Kimberley) and hoping Carmen’s ribs can handle clambering in and out of the van
again. We say our goodbyes to Kimberley before she heads off for work and make
ourselves ready for departure. Then we are off and head just a short drive out
of Melbourne to the Mornington Peninsular where we head to the southernmost tip
of the peninsular and Portsea for some lunch and a look around and afterwards
call in at the very well-to-do town of Sorrento (Melbournites favourite holiday
destination) before continuing back along the coast a bit to Rosebud and the
foreshore camping area. The man at the campsite seems more than happy to see us
and chats away for ages (and ages) before we tear ourselves away and set up in
a great spot overlooking Port Philip bay. Head out for a short stroll along the
narrow beach and look at the colourful beach huts before returning to the van
and reacquainting ourselves with how everything works (didn’t take long).
Day 365
Day 365 and usually this would mean a year had passed but
due to it being a leap year we have to wait until tomorrow so decide to pack up
and leave Rosebud and head across the peninsular in search of wineries (and to
start our anniversary celebrations). So we get Polly back into travel mode and
take the scenic route up to Arthurs seat where we admire the views back along
the peninsula and even get to have a sit in the famous seat (luckily Arthur
wasn’t about).
Drop down the other side and continue on to Shoreham and
another foreshore camp site but this one is completely deserted and we have to
call the owners mobile to get a hidden key and let ourselves in! Find a nice
little spot overlooking the beach again, set up for the night and jump straight
on the bikes in search of wineries.
It does seem to be all uphill and what with the rib injury
this makes for slow going and I try and egg Carmen on by telling her that at
least it will be easy on the way home. Luckily it’s not too far and we find
ourselves at Montalo vineyard and Olive grove and just in time as the weather
has taken a bit of a turn and starts to rain. We take our time tasting and
enjoy both the Pinot Noir (a speciality of the region) and the late picked
Riesling desert wine and in between showers seize our chance to continue on
just next door.
Tucks ridge is a small winery with an excellent selection
and again as the rain comes down we savour each wine and have a good chat with
the woman (Great museum release Pinot Noir).
Another short cycle ride away (uphill again) and we come to
our third and final stop of the day at Red Hill estate. The man is refreshingly
honest about the wines and again we enjoy the Pinot Noir and with fading light
we get back on the bikes and free wheel all the way home (avoiding the rain
this time).
Back at the campsite we call in to see Peter, the owner and
after a chat about our travels he will not accept any money and lets us stay
the night for free!
Day 366
After a night of wind and rain wake up to a sunny day and
our 1 year anniversary! Neither of us can believe we have been travelling for a
whole year and can recall with minute detail packing the van for the first time
and pulling away from Bourke Street, crossing the Harbour Bridge and starting
our short drive.
12 months mean it is time to have a KM’s update and with
only a couple of weeks to go we are nearing our final tally.
We take our time packing up and as I am reversing out of our
spot Polly rolls to a stop and sticks fast. I give it some revs but she won’t
budge and so jump out only to find that the back wheels are spinning in the
soft, wet mud and we are bogged!
Don't be a stick in the mud, get stuck in the mud!
Not for the first time on the trip I seem to remember saying
“Bugger”.
We use some bits of wood under the wheels to try and get
some traction but she just slips and slides and won’t move at all and the more
we try the more she sticks fast.
Nothing else to do (and slightly red faced) we call the RACV
and wait for their arrival which luckily doesn’t take too long and just as they
arrive so doesPeter. Between them we are towed first out of the mud and then back
onto the road (Happy anniversary!).
As we are leaving the campsite Peter tells us of a free camp
at Maitland beach a couple of hours away (and assures us that the ground is
hard there) and so we head along the coast, down a very good gravel road and
arrive late in the afternoon.
As we pull into the campsite we are immediately greeted by a
friendly fox who watches with interest as we set up and open a well-deserved (and
much needed) bottle of wine.
Take a short stroll along the rocky beach and look in a few
rock pools but it is cold and windy so return to the relative warmth of the van
and settle in for the night.
Day 367
Our first priority this morning is fuel so we leave Maitland
beach and head into the nearest town, Fish Creek. No petrol at Fish Creek and
so thinking we may be calling the RAC out twice in two days we head off towards
the next town (where we know there is petrol) Walkerville.
We make it no problem (whew) and decide that we will fill up one of the
emergency tanks after all (just to be on the safe side). A short drive away is
Foster and as we are driving in we notice that the local
rotary club were doing a sausage sizzle so we make our way over there and I end
up having two free snags (always happy to support the locals) and after a brief
stop in the tourist information we head down to Wilsons Promontory National
Park and the town of Tidal River.
The campsite here has over 450 sites and so we were both expecting
to be in caravanistan but as it turns out we were just about the only ones here
and so pick a spot in acres of space and are greeted by a flock of Crimson rosellas
as we are setting up.
It’s a nice afternoon and so we decide to go on a walk around the headland to squeaky beach, so called because the sand is made up of quartz and squeaks when you walk on it.
It’s a nice afternoon and so we decide to go on a walk around the headland to squeaky beach, so called because the sand is made up of quartz and squeaks when you walk on it.
It’s a nice walk, first crossing over the Tidal River and
then ascending up into the hills offering good views back to Norman beach. We
then continue through the undergrowth and descend down to Squeaky beach where
we decide to walk along the beach (squeaking as we went) to the giant boulders
at the Northern end for an explore.
Once we (I) are done exploring it’s time to turn around and
retrace our steps back to the deserted campsite, some dinner and bed.
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