Day 9 - Holidays

Day 9 - We saw the most amazing sights today. We went to the Umpherston Sinkhole - it's where the roof of a limestone cave has caved in. Then we drove around The Blue Lake - the lake changes colours throughout the seasons and we were lucky enough to see it at the Summer / turquoise stage. We also saw the Cave Gardens (another sinkhole) right in the middle of town. We crossed the border back into VIC near Nelson. We started driving along The Great Ocean road - we did a lot of bush walking to see all the different rock formations - Bay of Islands, bay of Martyrs, London Bridge, The Arch. We set up camp at Port Campbell.

Day 7 & 8 - Holidays

Day 7 - We took the train into Adleaide, then jumped onto a tram and went out to Glenelg. We had fish & chips on the beach and dipped our toes in the Southern Ocean. It was actually quiet pleasant, but not warm enough for me to have a swim! LOL We took the tram back to Adelaide, then got on the free City Loop bus and checked out all the buildings and the city. We went back around on the City Loop and hopped on and off at various stops to take pics and walk around. We had a look inside the casino before jumping back on the train back out to Elizabeth.

Day 8 - We travelled 30 mins into the Adelaide Hills to Gumeracha to see the giant Rocking Horse. Then travelled along the Younghusband Peninsula. We stopped at various beach towns along the way - lots of lovely beaches, we saw a boat unloading lobsters and huge octopus. Saw the giant Rock Lobster at Kingston. We went to the Tantanoola Caves just outside of Mt Gambier - unbelievable! We also did the cliff top walk- amazing views. We have set up camp at Mt Gambier.

Day 5 & 6 - Holidays

Day 5 - We went to the historical J-Ward Gaol for the Criminally Insane at Ararat. It was really interesting and slightly creepy! LOL We the drove through the beautiful Grampians up to the Boroka Lookout. Then onto Stawell to the Big Koala. We camped at Dimboola.

Day 6 - We saw the Pink Lakes outside of Dimboola - pretty amazing! We crossed the SA border near Bordertown. We stopped and had lunch by the Murray River at Tailem Bend. Then we drove to the Adeliade Hills where we wandered around the German village Hahndorf looking at all the old buildings and various shops. Then over to Melba's chocolate factory to see them making chocolates and some taste testing :o) We also went next door to the cheese factory for some taste testing - I tried cheese made with goat's milk - delicious! We are staying with a friend at Elizabeth just outside of Adelaide for a few days.

Day 3 & 4 - Holidays

Day 3 - We went to see the bush ranger Ben Hall's grave site at Forbes. We wanted to see the underground tunnels that the banks used to move gold to stop thefts, but unfortunately the Albion Hotel had burnt down in February. From there we went to Neranderra where we saw a Tiger Moth plane and the Royal Doulton porcelain fountain. Next was Jerilderie to see all the Ned Kelly sites and the giant windmill "Steel Wings". It's interesting to see all the paddocks with huge bales of hay. We crossed the the Murray river and the border into VIC - which was very exciting for me as I have never been into VIC! We set up camp on the river at Echuca - there was a big ski festival on so we sat by the river and watched all the boats & skiers.

Day 4 - Walked around High Street at Echuca and looked at all the historical buildings and sites. We visited lolly, chocolate and fudge shops - yummy! Due to Melbourne Cup day some of the shops and river cruises where closed - we nearly decided to go to Albury on our way back so we could go on the paddle steamers, but found a boat that was doing cruises - woo hoo! We went for an hour long cruise up the Murray River on the P.S. Emmy-Lou. We went to Bendigo and got on a Talking Tram ride that took us around the city pointing out historical buildings and sites - fantastic! We got off at one of the stops and walked for a few blocks- taking pics of the buildings. The paddle steamer ride and tram were two of the main things I wanted to do on our trip - so doing them both on the same day was fantastic! We set up camp at Avoca. We had gone from hot days of 38 degrees to a cold night of 9 degrees, which was a shock to the system! LOL We warmed up by the fireplace in the camp kitchen. We were so busy sightseeing, that we didn't get time to place a bet or hear / see the race - so didn't find out who won the Melbourne Cup till that night.

Day 1 & 2 - Holidays

Day 1 - We were up and on the road by 4am. That was hard to drag myself out of bed that early - I'm not a morning person, so I pretty much slept the for first 400km!! LOL We saw the Gunsynd statue at Goondiwindi, then crossed the NSW border. We stopped at various towns along the way, but wanted to get a decent head start into the travelling so we drove until we sent up camp at Coonabarabran. The camper trailer and gear was very quick to set up.

Day 2 - We drove to Dubbo and went to the Old Dubbo Gaol - it was great! You do a self-guided tour and they have a hilarious show as well. We spent the afternoon driving / walking around Taronga Western Plains Zoo. Then we drove to Peak Hill and saw an open cut gold mine, then onto Parkes to see the giant radio telescopes. We stayed at Forbes that night.

Swaps and a LO

My Scrap The Girls vintage swap arrived last week - how amazing are these embellishments?!?!



Last Sunday was Simply Crafty - I got organised, packed specific papers, but got was too busy socialising with everyone to get some serious scrapping done like I had planned! LOL Cathie brought Mitchell in to meet everyone. I can't believe how much he has changed since I saw him a couple of weeks ago!! He is smiling and making little noises now - sooo adorable!

These are some of the embellishments from this month's summer / beach themed swap.



My swap - I misted the tag with paint, then stamped and heat embossed the swirl. The surboards are stamped onto white c/stock and I stampted the word "paradise" with Stazon ink. Then I just tied some string to finish it off.



While I was there I scrapped this LO for Inspired Blueprints sketch #31. I am loving all the sketches on this blog!!

Holidays

Things have been so hectic lately that it hasn't really sunk in that we head off on our holidays this weekend!! How crazy is that?!?! LOL We are nearly all packed and ready to go. Mum has sorted the camper trailer and gear - we'll be camping in style!

I'll be taking the laptop with us, so I will be able to keep everyone up to date about where we have been and what we have seen / done. We brought a video camera for our wedding anniversary this year - so I might even upload some footage from our holidays too.

Not only am I getting excited about the holidays, I'm super excited about going to the Adam Brand concert Friday night - woo hoo!