When we
left Melbourne, we called into Duncan’s old workplace for one last session of ‘Show and Tell’. It was lovely to catch up with
people we hadn’t seen in a long time and somehow we
perfectly timed it at lunchtime! That was a complete fluke, because it took us
an hour longer to leave than anticipated. Dunc had made some improvements to
Bertha’s electronics and she did not like
them one little bit! We had a flat battery on the leveling system which meant
we couldn’t take the leveling legs/rams up so
we couldn’t leave. Poor Dunc was utterly
confused, as his improvements meant Bertha was getting “better than she needs” (something to do with current. Or
voltage. Or something – that stuff is utterly confusing!!) and he tried all
sorts of solutions. In the end I suggested he return it to the old way and off
she went! Weird. And one unhappy Dunc…
Anyway
eventually we bid a VERY fond farewell to our friends at Hedgend Maze (have you
been there yet?) and trundled off up the highway to Tullamarine and then to
Bendigo.
We spent the night free camping in a great resting space just outside
Bendigo (Happy Jacks) and the next day stopped past Bendigo Pottery. It was
GREAT! We got to see a potter making dinner plates on the wheel and had a
wander around the place – its massive. They have all sorts of ceramics and
lovely artworks on display. And some beautiful old kilns too. Best of all, we
got do some hands-on stuff. I have always found centering a real challenge on
the wheel, but here the guy does that for you – bonus! The kids and I had a
ball and we ended up with some lovely little pots that will be glazed and sent
home. The potter helped the kids to add some textural decorations and they will
all be glazed in the same colours so we will have a cute little professional
matching set made by Lexie and Angus.
After
Bendigo, we headed towards Mildura, but took a left turn to see the Pink Lakes.
We stayed overnight at ‘free’ camp in Underbool, which is free if you eat at the pub. Well twist my
arm…
After watching the most amazing
sunset, we were up early to head out to the Pink Lakes and hopefully watch the
guy from the pub shearing his sheep. Sadly a swap in their shearing plans meant
we didn’t quite meet up with the shearing,
but we sure did get to see some GORGEOUS pink lakes! The high salinity means
that the only thing that survives is an algae which is very high in
beta-carotene. It makes for breath-taking views! And the children got to walk
on a salt lake for the first time. It’s a weird feeling. I remember it from
Lake Eyre when I was younger. It looks like you’re walking on water, but it feels like crunchy snow.
There were
LOTS of little bush flies, but this was the first time we had encountered them
and our fly nets were back on Bertha. This made for some grumpy children and
some VERY entertaining walking from Lexie as she swatted those flies away. She
may not enjoy this year as much as we had hoped…
Then it was
back to the bus and on the road to Mildura. It was very flat and straight –
quite a contrast to Tasmania. As usual, on a long boring drive, I fell asleep.
Dunc was happy to be cruising with a healthy Bertha at a good speed so we got
to Mildura with plenty of time to walk the caravan park and get Bertha in so
the kids could swim in a pool again. We specifically chose a Big 4 for the
jumping pillow and pool in the hope there might be kids for them to play with.
That was a bit of a mistake, as there was another park on the river with the
same facilities and LOTS of motorhome busses. I think we should have gone
there! Lesson learnt – check ALL entries on Wikicamps before booking.
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