Day 25 - Packed up and took the van back to Melbourne.  Hated having to leave it there in the street but couldn't do anything else.  We headed out and took a different route out of Melbourne through some of the hills but at least there wasn't as much traffic.  We headed back to Leongatha to get some more of our things from Dave and Chris's and then kept going heading for Lakes Entrance.  Pa had been driving for hours today so we got as far as Sale and decided to stay there for the night.  We booked a cabin at a park on the way into town so spent a quiet night there.

Pa in Gun Turret

Australian Tank

Centurion Bridgelayer

Day 24 - Woke to the usual noises you get in most caravan parks first thing in the morning.  You get the early birds heading on to their next destination or the neighbours who get up and start talking to anybody at the top of their lungs as if everybody should already be awake.  Anyway we enjoyed the warmth and comfort of our cosy bed for a few minutes longer before we decided to make a start for the day.  Lovely warm shower first up and then coffee and porridge. ( Good start for cholesterol watchers).   We decided rather than head back to Leongatha when we drop the van off to Vanguard tomorrow we should go further and do some more adventuring before we have to come back to Melbourne for the van.  We think we would like to check Lakes Entrance out again and hopefully the weather will be fine this time.  Pa checked out the accommodation at the Entrance on line but we finally decided to just wing it and see what we can get when we get there. We wanted to check out one of the other wineries this morning so we headed out to  Fowles Winery about 20 klms out of town.  Sounded good in the brochure we got from the Information Bureau and that was where the wine we had with our Chinese on Friday night came from.  Got there but there wasn't much to see or do so we had a lovely capuccino instead (strange going to a winery and having a coffee).  We took a scenic drive home through Avenel where there are lovely old buildings and some very impressive properties.  Obviously it is a big equine area if the Equine Studs and the horses are anything to go by. We  headed back to Puckapunyal Army Base Tank Museum on the other side of town where we spent about 3 hours looking at lots of army artifacts and lots of old tanks and personnel carriers etc.  It cost us $6 each for admission (that was for seniors - I ask you, do we look like seniors) but the admission was well worth it.  We left there and headed back to the van for a bite to eat.  Not too much because it was about 3pm and we were going over to the Pub across the road for tea. We stopped to talk to the Park Manager on our way in and he confirmed our original thoughts about what was in his coke can - Scotch!!!  He told us that's what he had.  We sure do meet lots of colourful characters. Anyway we killed a couple of hours on the Internet looking at our house plans and then headed over for tea.  Thought I would be good and ordered a scotch fillet steak with veges and Pa ordered grilled Chicken Breast with prawns and scallops and seafood sauce and chips - Naughty, Naughty.  Found out after I ordered that the steak was a 600g fillet.  Way more than I could eat.  Anyway did the best I could and ended up doing a Grandma and taking a doggy bag.  Pa enjoyed his chicken and of course the chips which he is not getting too many of those these days.  Headed back home and watched a bit of telly had showers and hit the sack.  Another cool night.

In the Cellar at Tahbilk Winery

Pa having a little sip - or two!!!

Day 23 - Still at Hillcrest Caravan Park, Seymour.  Woke to a light shower but that quickly moved off and the day turned into a fine one.  A little cool at first but soon warmed up a bit.  A lot better than yesterday thank goodness.  We hopped up and had a coffee and Pa cooked our toast on the little butane stove we carry in the car.  This is just like camping but in our caravan.  Our resident Park Manager, who I might add is friendly but a little strange, likes walking around with a never ending coke in his hand.  (We did wonder what little extras he might have in the coke). Pa pulled the tail-light off the back of the van to try and dry it out so it didn't keep shorting the electric brakes out.  He did that and we headed out to do some shopping and call in to the information centre to see what we could do in the area.  We decided that the wine we had with tea last night was so nice we should have a look at some of the local wineries.  We took the shopping back to the van and had some lunch and drove out to the Tahbilk Winery (tabilk tabilk-aboriginal meaning place of many waterholes) probably about 30 klms out of town.  Countryside is lovely here too but a lot flatter than what we have been experiencing since about Day 3. There are lots of really nice homes on land around here with lots of nice little racks of lamb walking around.   The winery was lovely with old cottages and gardens and heaps of old machinery and equipment they would have used when the winery first opened in 1860.  We had a look around the cottages and machinery and then went to the cellar door.  The place just smelt of fermented grapes but I guess you get that  when the place is so old and is sitting on top of a cellar.  They had a great display of the history of the winery.  The Purbrick family who currently owns it has owned it since 1925 and now have 5 generations working there and have won many awards for their wines.  We had a look down in the cellar where all the vats are.  It is amazing how they would have built these places with no machinery like we have today.  There was just row after row of huge vats.  Got a couple of great photos of Pa and I looking like we are swigging straight from the vat.(Had to wait a few times for the traffic down there to thin out so we could take the photo without people thinking we were mad.)  When we finished down there we went for a walk on their Eco track which was really just around a lagoon and over an old bridge but it was lovely just walking along the quiet track and getting a bit of exercise.  Drove back to the van and had happy hour.

Day 22 - Off to Melbourne today to take the van into Vanguard.  We have taken everything out of it so we had it weighed in Leongatha before we left.  It was still overweight.  Took us a few hours to get through to Epping to where it had to go.  It was just the worst weather.  It was raining on and off and freezing cold with strong winds.  Not the sort of day to be towing a big van through Melbourne with all that traffic and straight into a head wind..  Pa did a great job but with me navigating and him driving we were both pretty stressed by the time we got there.  We ended up spending a couple of hours there talking to Johnny deciding what had to be done.  In the end we don't think he will even weigh the van, he knows just by looking at it that it is overweight for the suspension.  He organised for a new suspension to be delivered next Wednesday so didn't need the van till at least Monday.  We thought rather than go all the way back through that traffic and back to Leongatha we would head north to Seymour and have a look around up there.  We are so glad we did.  Seymour is a nice little town and the caravan park isn't too bad.  At least we got a drive-through site.  The park needed a little bit of TLC but was right in town.  After we settled in, we walked over to the Chinese Restaurant that we had noticed driving into town, and had tea there.  It was really nice.  It's been ages since we've had Chinese and we had a bottle of the local wine and enjoyed.  

Inverloch Beach

Rocks at Inverloch

Two of the Caves

Pa in Cave

Graham's Outlook

Enjoying Dinner 

Day 12 - Day 21 -  Have just summarised these days as we didn't get up to too much on some of the days.  I went to water aerobics in Leongatha with Chris for a few sessions which I really enjoyed.  Great workouts which I badly needed.  We also went to Inverloch  and Cape Paterson on Day 13.  That was really good.  Inverloch is lovely with a nice white sandy beach and is on a bit of an inlet.  We stopped off at The Caves which are caves in a sandstone cliff.  We had to walk over rocks to get to them but the rocks were really smooth.  The caves were great.  The water was icy.  Had to walk through some water to get into the caves.  Called into Wonthaggi for lunch and then home to Leongatha.  We went out to Graham's place (Pam's partner) for tea that night.  It was a lovely night so we ate tea out on his deck which overlooks lots of valleys and hills.  We had a beautiful meal of roast lamb, potato balls and steamed veges (yummy) and lots of wine -champagne,  red, white, port and cognac.  Graham just kept filling our glasses.  Pa couldn't even remember getting out of the car when we got home or going to bed, that's how many times Graham refilled his glass.  They were very nice hosts so the whole evening was lovely.  It was like sitting at a Winery somewhere enjoying a meal.

We had to get two new tyres on the cruiser another day.  Something Pa wanted to do before we left home but ran out of time.

Also went to the Heavy Horse and Machinery Show just outside of Nyora.  That was really interesting with lots of old machinery, tractors and Clydesdale horses.  Had a great day there.

Went out to Aunty Freda's for tea with Dave and Chris, Val and Ray and Pam and Graham.  Had a lovely night with a very nice meal.  Aunty Freda is almost blind now but still has a very sharp mind.  She enjoys talking to Pa about some of the things that happened in the old days.

Day 11 - Went to Caravan and Camping Show in Melbourne with Dave and Chris.  Took a couple of hours to get to Melbourne.  Show is really big compared to Brisbane.  Spent the day walking around there checking out vans and accessories.  Pa bought an Inverter for the van so we can charge the laptop batteries when we are free camping or just travelling along.  I bought a small rotary clothes line so I have a bit more room to hang the washing out.  We ended up staying until closing time so we must have had a good day.  Got heaps of brochures on places in SA, NT and WA that we could visit.  Back to Leongatha, tea and bed.

Day 10 - Back down to hall for breakfast and face a bit of ribbing for going to bed so early last night.  Pa spoke to a cousin who had a photo of him when he was 11 years old and  in the Army Cadets at school. Grandma had sent it to her mother and she had kept it.  The cousin we were talking to had made up an album with some of the family history in.  Went back to van to check house plans Garry was emailing to us.  Talked to him and then went back down to hall for lunch, tea and cleanup.  Family reunion over.  Back to van and crashed again.  Big weekend, BIG week before.