On the Ferry

I wasn't going to write anything again this soon, but we are on a ferry for the next 9 hours, so it was either this or interact with Tracy, Nicole, Rob and the 6 kids.... so her I am writing....
We were told by the not-so-chatty reception guy at the caravan park to allow an hour to reach the ferry boarding area, due to some horrendous roadworks on the Westgate Bridge. According to the ticket info, boarding closes at 8:15, so we (ok, I...) decided we would need to get up at 6 and be in the car by 6:30. Rob and Nicole looked horrified at having to pack up their Jayco Swan in 30 minutes, but in true Gladiator fashion, they were willing to give it a go.
Morning came, and we got stuck into it. Sure enough, Rob finished first, allowing me to come second and we both sat back admiring what was a solid erection only 30 minutes earlier, and was now a neatly packed pair of caravans ready to leave.
Off we went, backtracking to get away from the city fringe and back onto the freeway, bracing for a long boring wait in huge jams of traffic.... or not...... Turns out the "road restrictions" was only 1 lane blocked out of 5, and speed reduced from 100km/hr to 60. It was at about this stage my anxiety and heart rate dropped to near normal levels, and turned into a tirade of %$@& tourism staff and their inability to actually smile and give accurate information all in the one day.
Getting off the freeway was a bit tricky, but Google maps had become our friendly navigator, and Tracy was a star in following the blue line without even once turning the iPad upside down as we turned right or left to get to the pier. I did get a bit nervous when the blue line took us off the main street and over a dozen speed humps between waterfront apartments, but in true Barry fashion, i gritted my teeth and didnt say a word until we popped out at the final roundabout and were in the line. Breathe....... Breathe.
Whilst the process for getting on was a bit slow, it was very thorough, methodical and flawless. We got our stuff out the car then made the dash to look for some seats where the kids could run amok without disturbing too many other passengers.
Tracy and Nicole put their best effort into child minding as noted in the picture below and the kids ended up walking round the boat looking for other parents to harass.
The ferry just passed through the mouth of Port Phillip Bay and the green faces started appearing out of nowhere... the super calm waters were no longer and the ferry was rocking and rolling all over the place... no more head down in the PC for me either...

Day 2 - to Melbourne

What a big journey 1st thing today. Left Grampians Edge at 9:20 and stopped again at 9:22. Apparently the Big Koala was right next door to our caravan park. Shows just how observant we are. We chose to just take photos and skip on the tourist spending stuff.... We know how to keep these country towns running.

We managed a near record breaking 100km before the toilet stop buzzer was pressed and called into a little town called Beaufort. It was literally a very quick pit stop with a bit of Dylan inquisitiveness asking if we were in the wrong toilet..... When I asked him why, he pointed to the pictures of women on the vending machine on the wall. I just laughed and ushered him out before he asked me for $2. 

Next stop was Melton- about 120km further on. Tracy's anxiety was settled here as we found a large open shopping complex with a Woolworths to get some bits for tea tonight. We then found a little park 5 minutes up the road where we had lunch and the kids had there mandatory playground session. 

I texted Nicole to see where they were (they only left home this morning), only to find they had just passed Ararat.... About an hour and a half behind us. Not bad considering we left 30 hours earlier. So I scrambled everyone together and bundled back into the car 'cos there is no way I could let them beat us to Melbourne after the handicap start we had. 

And win we did... By a good hour at least. The park is a typical Big 4 minus the jumping pillow and the pool was an instant winner with the kids. We have to leave by about 6:30 in the morning because although the trip is only 28km away, the freeway has 4 out of 5 lanes closed and we have been advised to allow an hour!!! 

Weather is beautiful at the moment. 25 degrees with a bit of wind. Perfect drinking weather actually. Just like it will be tonight. And tomorrow. And the rest of the holiday. 

Day 1 - To Grampians Edge

I fought against others in attempting a marathon 1 day drive directly to Melbourne, and as a result, we headed off 2 days earlier (Tracy's sister, Nicole, and family are travelling with us). We left at a respectable time of 9:30 this morning and after a quick tyre pressure adjustment on the van at the local servo, we were off.

We managed to get all the way to Keith without a toilet stop (trust me - this is a major achievement with the 3 kids and Tracy travelling). This is about 2 1/2 hours from home when towing, and is one of our favourite travelling stops. The kids love the rail car at the back of the park, and of course Dylan took great delight in scaring the bejeebers out of all the other parents by standing up on it and surfing along and somehow not coming off and breaking his neck. Which was lucky, cos I was continuing on this holiday with or without him!

We had some lunch, a drink and a quick walk, before setting off again with every intent to get to Grampians Edge caravan park by about 2:30........ Hah. As if. According to Google maps, we managed to get 125km further to Nhill before another toilet stop and playground break. I then chose to stop at Horsham for some more fuel so we didn't have to do it in the morning. 

Eventually we arrived at the park, which is a great bush setting with none of the modern conveniences other than a pool (that we told the kids was closed), but was one of those great country laid back places that makes travelling all worthwhile. On our walk around the park we found a decent sized lizard that I intending on getting onto the BBQ for breaky, but it turns out these little reptiles can run faster than my lightning fast grabs, and he scampered up the closest tree stump and glared at me with a smile that only a frill neck lizard can give. Next time maybe. 

There was no unhitching of the van tonight and Tracy had thought a little more than I had about tea tonight, and served up a dish of lasagne that was made a few days ago, and somehow got into the van defrosting ready for tonight. 

I knew there was more than one reason for bringing her and the kids along.....

Tomorrow we are off to Melbourne via Ballarat, where we have heard there is a mountain of roadworks to annoy all those travelling between the states. Who would have thought that our local governments would have chosen the busiest holiday periods to do major roadworks on the busiest tourist roads......(insert sarcasm here).

Counting down

Only 5 days to go... and the most exciting part about that fact is that after one more work day, I can wear shorts and trackie pants for the next month (Here's hoping Tassie weather allows shorts). I am not sure what Tracy puts in the washing machine with my clothes over the last 12 months, but it sure tightens up the waist bands on all my work clothes. My belt was bought originally to hold my pants up and keep my amazing fashion sense displayed to the world, whereas now it appears to be safety item designed to stop a a metal button bursting off my jeans at 80Km/h and permanently blinding the poor sole standing in front of me.
But it is a new year soon... and that means a New Years resolution. And guess what it is going to be this year.... diet? slow down drinking? more exercise?. sort of all 3. I just want to be still breathing by January 1, 2017. And i think the only way to achieve that is to look at the 3 previously mentioned ideas and at least try each for some part of the year.

The trip to Melbourne and on the Ferry is all sorted now..... I know where to go, how to get there, and who to call when I get lost. I know what to take on the Ferry and more importantly what NOT to take on the Ferry (apparently the wife and kids don't actually fall into the latter category..... despite how many times I googled trying to find a different answer ).

Mole Creek - you are only 1 week away. Hurry up will ya

Planning stage

Planning is perhaps not the right word here. It is 7 days until Christmas and I am working for 5 of those days. And the next  4 of those days are going to be 41 degrees...... Ouch. 

The caravan is still packed up from our October trip and I can see that the only time I am going to have is Christmas Eve....and I can't imagine my motivation to do that is going to be too high. 

Anyway, I do know that on the 27th we are heading to somewhere near Ballarat and then onto Melbourne ready for the ferry trip on the 29th. 

1st night's stay off the mainland is in Devonport in a drive through site (we only get there about 7pm) and then we are booked into a place called Mole Creek until the 2nd January. After that, all we know is that we are circumnavigating Tassie in an anticlockwise fashion. 

Can't wait.