Taz goes on holiday - Anzac weekend

 We made a semi-last minute decision to head off on Thursday night instead of Friday morning (well I did anyway... And it feels kind of good to be a real man and make a decision of my own 😀). 

We picked Tyler up from soccer practice just after 6pm with the van firmly hitched on the back and set off on our great big adventure. The big trip this weekend was going to take us all the way to Nuriootpa- about a whole hour away. These short trips have become a bit of a favourite with us. Whilst I enjoy driving, I enjoy sitting around a caravan with a bourbon and coke a whole lot more. 

This was our first trip away with Taz, our little Spoodle, who is getting way too spoiled already in the 3 weeks we have had him. He had now passed the 12 week old mark, which is where I think we need to start ageing him in months, rather than weeks. He slept through the night last night, and I am sincerely hoping that is how it will be every night from now on, especially these next 4 nights when he will be less than 2 metres away from us all INSIDE the caravan. 

We got here about 7:30 and I was sitting down with a brew shortly after, with Taz comfortably curled up on my lap, also enjoying the glamping life. 

I have an annual leave day tomorrow and the weather is going to be around 20 degrees and sunny. Perfect weather to go to the wineries in this beautiful part of the Barossa Valley methinks. (Also perfect weather to sit around, eat some metwurst and cheeses and drink some wine. Tough choices ahead). 

As it was dark when we got here, I don't really know what this park has to offer although the kids were pretty chuffed with the playground they found earlier. Time to crash and dream about glamping life for the next 4 days. 

 

Easter Monday

After a rather cold night and even a semi decent sleep in, we had a slow start to the day. I cooked up some eggs and bacon for me and the kids whilst Tracy had another couple of hours sleep in, and then I went for an easy stroll into Naracoorte to get done supplies. Sitting around on the day that everyone else is packing up is always amusing, watching people's methodical packing to fill every last hole in their trailer or van ready for the trek back to reality. Stone stage I nearly got up to offer Rob some assistance when he was reversing the car up to his van, but I was saved at the final siren when Nicole realised she was about to get an earful if she wasn't standing at the towbar giving the loving left/right/keep coming/ STOOOPPPP/too far signals. 

We said our goodbyes to Rob, Nicole anc the Hardg kids and sat back down contemplating what was going to happen for the rest of the day. 

We had lunch then took the kids down to th mini golf at the front of the park, where they realised there was actually some skill required in getting a 30mm ball into a 100mm hole. After much arguing and a few amazingly lucky "hole-in-ones", the scores were added up and despite my efforts to rig the scores for an even finish, Tyler won by 4 hits..... But suddenly Dylan remembered he told me the wrong score at least twice meaning he actually won by 1 shot. Well done Dylan. 

The afternoon was spent much like the last few, with very little movement other than to get a new bottle of wine or refill  the cheese and meat platter. But even that slowed right down as we all realised that after 3 days of doing this, our bodies were telling us that enough was enough. 

Tomorrow is Tazday and we finally get our new Spoodle puppy. I think I am probably looking forward to that the most. Not sure why, but the reason doesn't matter. 

Didn't take a single photo today. Have been very self centred methinks. 

Easter Sunday - Chocolate for breakfast.

After a rather big night for some (surprisingly not me..), Easter Bunny turned up overnight. Dylan woke up at about 6am pretending he needed to go to the toilet, however I strongly suspect it was more to do with asking if he was allowed to start on his eggs for early breakfast. 

The camp had an egg hunt at 9:30 that seemed to attract well over 100 kids, but actually turned out ok as the owners took  all eggs found and distributed them fairly. 

We took off mid morning to the local playground for the kids and then to the Naracoorte Caves to recreate some photos from 2010. 

We got back to camp for lunch and despite the 20 degree overcast weather, I took the opportunity to go for a swim with the kids (it was my way of celebrating Easter I guess). 

The afternoon then quickly degenerated into a cheese and meat platter with a few too many bottles of wine. This is what glamping is all about. 

Easter Saturday - is that a holiday?

Today was a whole lot cooler - almost to the point of uncomfortably cold. The kids were full of energy, so someone made the stupid suggestion of doing a kids vs adult soccer game on the adjoining oval... So off we went. 4 kids who have spent their life playing soccer, vs 4 adults who have spent their life driving their kids to soccer and very rarely have run around a soccer pitch... If ever. 

We played close to 25 minutes of full on running and generally being hammered by these little sports superstars and it was only due tithe super human efforts of Rob in goals that saw us call half time at 0-0. After gasping in some much needed oxygen for the next 10 minutes, we stupidly agreed to start the next half. Nicole kindly agreed to go goalie for this half, which seemed like a good idea at the time. 

2 goals later by the boys and we were reassessing that decision. But we just called it quits instead. I felt like I had just exercised enough for the next few weeks and strolled back to the caravan for a well earned rest. 

After lunch, it got colder. And colder. We had the mandatory cheese and meats platter come out, with some wine, but I still couldn't get warm, so I did the only plausible thing I could do on a camping trip. I went to bed. 

3 hours later I emerged feeling much better to find the girls well and truly settled into about the 5th bottle of wine and an empty platter. The night was young... So young it was still afternoon. 

Time for me to join in. 

The kids were off to see Pan the movie at the camp movie screen which gave us another hour or two, then not long after they were in bed. 

We spent the night sitting around again recounting how awesome we were at soccer, drinking a few more wines and eating a huge mix of chocolate goodies. 

Easter bunny is coming overnight, so we need to keep enough sense about is to remember to hide the kids stash for the

morning. 

Naracoorte - Good Friday

It was cold this morning. *^%}€ cold. Although a quick check on the car thermometer said it was 11 degrees, so I am guessing we must have just been in a little pocket of freezing air in the van. We finally got up and cooked up a storm in the Weber for breakfast, before the kids took off to play while we cleaned up. 

10am arrived and the kids were ready for the huge public pool that was adjacent to the park. This pool would be about an acre in diameter, is fully chlorinated and starts with sand and ends up as 2m deep in the middle. And it is free!

We went back in the afternoon and I even ventured in, trying hard to not overflow the pool when I jumped in off the platforms in the middle. 

Upon returning to camp, finding the girls (Tracy, Nic and Livvy) well into their 3rd bottle of champagne, I decided to join in and have a drink or two myself. Between tending to the kids, cleaning up and just not doing much more, it was suddenly dinner time. The kids were off at the camp kitchen watching an outdoor movie  of "Oddball", I cooked up the kebabs and that was the day done. 

Getting cold again already, but nothing that a few more drinks can't help to disappear. 

Naracoorte - Easter 2016

It only seems like 2 months since we arrived back from our last caravan holiday ... It was actually exactly 2 months since returning from Tasmania and I have been so looking forward to getting away again. 

I was home at midday to pack the final few things in the van until the kids got home from school at 3:45. My thoughts of ambling along got a rude shock when I  was still packing when they got home. We finally set off only to be greeted with traffic stopped just up the road, and it took nearly 20 minutes to travel 1.5km. My temperature was rising by the second, the kids faces were buried in their iPads already, and Tracy was asleep. I am sure there is a reason I like going on caravan holidays. 

We got all the way to Tailem bend (about 65km) before the first child needed a toilet stop. I am sure Tracy was secretly glad also, but would never admit it. 

We managed to get to Keith to the kids favourite playground before the next toilet request and a quick leg stretch. And then set off for the final leg. Unfortunately this 100km section was completely roadworks ridden, meaning the speed limit was 80km/hr the whole way... Apparently.... Every car and truck roared past obviously very annoyed at me obeying the roadwork speed limits. Even though I would probably only be doing 85 if the works wasn't limiting me. 

Anyway, it was nearly 9pm when we did finally arrive, and then I had to enter the "let the wife direct while backing the van in" zone. Not sure whether it was because it was dark, or just because I was about to burst a kidney if I didn't get to the loo soon, but 4 attempts later I ended up just driving thru the site and stopping wherever it looked good. 

After setting up, we settled in with the Mardles and Hardy's having  a drink or 2 and talking sh%t, hoping for good weather for the rest of the weekend. 

Adelaide Shores - The calm after the storm

Waking up this morning to relatively calm weather and blue skies was a very welcome start to the day after yesterday's wind and sideways rain. The kids couldn't wait to get onto the jumping pillow and then into the pool. We all had breakfast and then off they went. When Tyler and his cousin Ned popped back for a drink an hour later, I took them down to the beach for a walk and to see what damage the pounding water and wind had done to the foreshore. The water was incredibly warm and if I had my bathers and there were a few less early morning walkers, I may have just about slipped my top off and rolled down the sand into the water. I reckon if I had though, the waves would have pretty well pushed me straight back onto the sand dunes and buried me into the sand head first to end up looking like a dis-used bike rack. 

The rest of the day was all about the kids and was spent swapping between the pool, jumping pillow and splash park. 

Finally it came out time to have some cheese and nibbles and a few well earned drinks with the kids playing a bit closer to camp. 

The sudden realisation that it was getting late made us jump up and start cooking tea, which was a huge BBQ spread across 3 cooks to serve 6 adults and 9 kids - 8 of them being 11 years or younger. After eating just about everything that was cooked and then somehow forcing in a cake, we sat back and contemplated the reason we were here .... Tracy's mum and dad have been married for 50 years. A remarkable effort and congratulations to them. 

Adelaide Shores Big 4

Tracy's parents have somehow defeated the odds and reached an amazing milestone of 50 years of Wedded Bliss. That's about the same as the sentence one would expect for a double homicide, but perhaps with a few more benefits. To help them celebrate, we all agreed late last year to go caravanning at Adelaide Shores Caravan Park. It was only 3 days since we returned from our 4 weeks away in Tassie, but that meant packing was actually easier because we didn't have to unpack from our previous adventures.

We left home at 2pm, fully aware that there was some foul weather heading in off Kangaroo Island, but carried on anyway. No sooner had we got out the car, the wind and rain started. Tracy and the kids bolted for her parents van, as they had arrived a couple of hours earlier and we're all settled in, while I laboured on through the storm making sure our temporary home was secured to the ground with no chance of taking off in the 60km/hr winds. 

We basically didn't move for the next 2 hours, other than to mop up the drips from the sideways rain that was penetrating the vents. We also changed our plans and decided that a BBQ wasn't the best choice of meal, given the conditions, so we booked in to the local hotel and went out for tea. 

We got back about 9:30 to find everything was still upright and before I could say "let's have a drink", everyone was in bed. I poured myself a mug of port in protest and stood outside admiring the crystal clear sky watching the stars getting blown away in this ferocious wind. 

It is supposed to calm down overnight - we are certainly hanging out for that. 

Victor Harbor - not as cool as you think

This morning was once again great weather, cloudy, coolish with a hint of warmth poking through the clouds. It was forecast to be hot and windy today, and judging by the current weather I was ready to bet a bottle of bourbon that it was a wrong prediction.
Luckily for me I am not a betting man... by lunch time it was stinking hot and blowing 40km/hr winds. The Mardles had decided today wasn't going to be pleasant enough for them, and took off early this morning to spend the day back in their air-conditioned house. The only disadvantage to this was that they couldn't stay and see their camper trailer annex being blown apart with tent poles smashing down into their gear every time a gust ripped through and turned their annex inside out. After the second time of trying to repair it, Rob and I dismantled the annex and poles and left it packed up so that it didn't end up on Granite Island by the end of the day.
And then the stay vs go discussions started.
Being the Easy-to-get-along-with and non-opinionated bloke that I am, I dug my heels in and said NO!!. We were booked in for another night and I didn't care that the forecast was for 25 degrees minimum overnight and that we didn't have power so therefore no cooling / fans. And besides, the wind was forecast to stop 3 hours ago, so it wont be long now before it actually does stop. We are staying, Goddammit.
Less than an hour later, I was in the middle of packing up the van despite the 36 degree temperature and gentle breeze that made it feel an extra 5 degrees hotter. I also wasn't speaking to anyone, nor were certain people speaking to me. I love camping.

At one stage I felt hotter than a rhino in the middle of the African desert ( and quite possibly looked about as appealing), so i stormed over to the pool and jumped in to cool down. About 10 minutes later I had cooled down (on the outside anyway) and managed to get out just before the Whale Watch Centre staff came to see if I was going to make it onto their list.
Not long after we were all packed up and in the car, soaking up the air conditioning and the journey home began.

The balmy night proved pretty difficult to sleep in, even with the ceiling fans roaring overhead. There was no way in this lifetime I was going to say that out loud though.

I had Tuesday booked off work on the assumption that I wasn't a fair-weather camper and would be still away, so I spent the day doing stuff around the house, spending more money at Bunnings on stuff, and just generally keeping busy doing stuff. By the end of the day I was stuffed.
Another Holiday done.... time to get ready for work tomorrow to pay for the last 4 days... (which should have been 5 days, but I am not starting that again!)

Victor Harbor - another day of nothing

'Twas a glorious morning when we stumbled out of the van at some ungodly hour this morning. Apparently the kids didn't understand that winding the clocks forward an hour for Daylight Savings meant it was still too early to get up.

Just trying to get Dylan to slow down enough to eat breakfast was an exercise in itself, because at 8:30 the jumping pillow was opened. And sure enough, at 8:27 he was gone. Which is one of the many reasons why we love our caravan holidays.... When the kids are so excited about being outside having fun, I have no intention of getting in their way. 

Tracy's long time friend Eva (who lives nearby in Victor) turned up just after 10:30 with her 3 kids and we all headed off to the pool. It was still only in the very low 20's and overcast, but it didn't worry the kids... For 1/2 an hour or so anyway. 

Soon they were back on the jumping pillow and I took off into Victor as it seems I ran out of alcohol yesterday...(a good 3/4 bottle just seemed to vanish...) and got some supplies that we were running short of. And yes, it was Woolworths that received my money... A now mandatory stop when on holidays it seems. 

When I got back, the champagne was already flowing, and I joined in with my newly purchased bottle of bourbon. It was probably a good half dozen empty bottles later when Kayla wanted some attention, so I took her and Gracie to the beach to cool down a bit. We took Banjo (the Hardy's 10 year old Labrador that is looking closer to 20) and spent a little while paddling and watching the girls and their enjoyment of jumping one foot waves. 

We waddled back (literally with Kayla complaining of having half the sand from the beach still in her bikinis) and Banjo stopping every two steps pretending to smell the ground when he was really stopping for a rest due to the cracking pace of 10 metres an hour we were walking. 

The kids did manage to find a funny moment of dressing Banjo in the floaty starfish, and like the good responsible adults we are, we cracked up laughing and took as many photos as we could before Banjo moved... Only to realise that moving after a 100m walk wasn't one of Banjo's immediate thoughts!

We got back to a huge plate of cheeses, biscuits and dips, and my fleeting thoughts of dieting took another 3 day reprieve as I got stuck into the Udder Delights Camembert. 

Before we knew it, the clock had ticked passed 5:30 and the kids were starting to  do the usual "I'm hungry" complaints, so I became a contender for father of the year by abandoning my bourbon and Coke, and the not so sober trio of girls,  and started cooking up tea for us all. We were having Yiros tonight, so I do need to give credit to Tracy who actually thought of that at 9am this morning and got the chicken out to defrost, rather than having me staring at the fridge complaining that we had nothing to eat. 

The weather is supposed to be 35 degrees & windy tomorrow with a low of 23 tonight. It is currently about 14 so someone has got it wrong again. 

We have just managed to devour about 4  family sized blocks of chocolate and another few bottles, so the temperature isn't the foremost issue right now... Rather it is the thought of needing to go to bed even tho it is just 9pm and then how many times we will have to get up and go to the loo. 

Either way, it is too cold, and there was a faint hint of a promise with an early bed time, so I am gone.... (The I remembered the "we are camping - bigger off" rule, 

Much warmer in bed anyway. 

Over and out. 

Victor Harbor - Grand Final day

Woke up this morning to the sound of the kids whispering to each other whil playing a game on their beds big it wasn't 6:15am, I would have thought it was cute... However my inner niceness helped me to appreciate that they were at least trying to be quiet so I rolled over and went back to sleep for an hour. 

When I did finally roll out of bed and give the suspension on the van a bit of a rest, I momentarily thought about going for a run, but then chose to cook a bacon and egg sandwich instead. 

We then set off with the Hardy's and Mardles for a walk around Granite Island, which quickly turned into Rob, Ned, Tyler and myself walking round the track , whilst the others took all the other kids back to check out the Clydesdale horses and surrounds. 

The boys took it upon themselves to climb every rock that they could find, with Ned tripping on top of the tallest rock and Rob screaming profanities in the hope that Ned will stop himself falling and look up to see and hear what is being said.... Yeah right...  Ned did manage to get down in one piece and promised not to fall over again.... Yeah right😜. 

The Northerly winds were blowing a good 30 knots at this stage, so we pushed on along the trail, stopping momentarily to check out a stumpy tailed lizard before heading back along the bridge and catching up with the girls...

I was suffering big time at this stage from hay fever, so promptly lay down and fell asleep. 

I woke up about 10 minutes before the Hawks took on West Coast in the grand Final and set up the TV, but then decided the environment was a little less stressful sitting at the pool with the Rob and the kids, leaving Nic and Tracy watching the footy, and with the breeze blowing across the water, was also a hell of a lot cooler. 

Dinner tonight was a shared curry, which was a fantastic way of trying different meals, until I ended up chewing on a chilli that was part of Nicole's offering and set my mouth on fire, Still... It was a great selection of curries and enjoyed by all. 

Tomorrow is going to be slightly cooler, but no wind - I interpret that as hotter

Victor Harbor - a good decision

After what turned out to be a fairly freezing evening, we all crashed after a few drinks and lots of chocolate and had a good nights sleep. Well..... I did and wouldn't really have any idea what anyone else slept like......  

Morning broke and it was still a little cool but quickly watmed up into a perfect shorts and singlet type of camping day. 

I shot into Victor to get some supplies, including the toothbrushes that at least 2 of us had forgotten to pack, then sat lazing in the sun pondering over my "That's Life" puzzle book whilst the others watched the kids at the pool for a while. Whilst I was there on my own, I started pondering over my erection skills and tried to figure out how to make it bigger and better... Cos that's what blokes do. It soon came to me that I needed to head back into Victor, and before I knew it, I had my hands on some poles that would do perfectly. 

Getting back to campsite, I started banging and securing until my poles were as tight as they could get, and finally had an extra 6 square metres of shade that would be perfect for filtering the afternoon sun. I had to actually add even more during late arvo as the sun got lower, but i was happy to keep extending my erection to satisfy everyone around me. 

We may have then got stuck into the drinks a little too hard too early, do I pulled out and took the kids to the pool so they could cool down whilst I followed the world in Facebook. 

Getting back to the caravan a little while later, I discovered Tracy and Liv had now seen their way thru 3 bottles of champers and I could tell I was on the cusp of either sending everyone away for 30 minutes ( OK , 2, but 30 sounds better....) or give up hope and have another drink myself. Seeing as it wasn't quite 4pm yet, I chose the latter and joined in with the merriment until Tea time arrived. We had a perfectly cooked BBQ for tea, thanks to my Weber skills, then set the kids loose again for an hour to expel the last of their energy. 

Early to bed for the kids, then out with the wine and more chocolate.... And more wine. 

A huge improvement on the temperature tonight.... Still in shorts and singlet at 10 pm.... But it is time to call it a day,

I love my camping - and drinking. Or should I have said I love my drinking - and camping. 

Victor Harbor - Cooler than Melrose apparently

So for the last 3 months we have been planning our October long weekend holiday to Melrose with Dylan getting more excited than a flock of circling eagles waiting for a rabbit to die on the track , and to actually climb to the top of Mt Remarkable past the plane wreck milestone of a few years ago. This winter has been long, cold and miserable so I was itching to go North where it was going to be warm and dry........ And then the plans got changed. The forecast was for 31-34 degrees for the 5 days, which now is described as too hot after enduring 13 degrees or less for the last 5 months, and the decision was made to go down South with a pool and/or beach.... Or in our case, both.

So Victor Harbor becomes the new Melrose.......

What I did like about it was the 1 hour drive from home, the 30 minutes setup and the ensuing "relax with a drink" moments that followed. 

The kids took off to an outdoor screening of Paddington, while we chatted to the Hardy's, listening to Rob's detailed account of his Jayco Swan and its 2 1/2 hour setup procedure, with Rob's love of their van diminishing quicker than his patience. 

Not long after, Olivia and Daniel turned up with Livvy immediately getting out and demanding a quick erection so she can sit down and have a wine.... And a drink. So Daniel diligently got it up as quick as he could, without making too much mess, and fulfilled Liv with her desire to have a deserved stiff drink. Their camper trailer really is a breeze to set up. 

We are back in the our van... And we love it. Ahhhhhh

Not too many people here yet... Nice and quiet. Suspect it is going to get rowdy over the weekend tho. 

Pt Augusta - day 3

This is it - today is the day we are going to catch some Kingfish.... So up we get at 4:20ish and get ready. If you could have spent the night listening to the noises coming out of 3 guys from both ends who had spent the night drinking and eating pizza and barbie food, you would understand that it was enough to make any zoo enclosure proud. I swear Michael was going to cough up the last weeks worth of breakfast a couple of times, but somehow he managed to keep it down for another day - not by choice tho I reckon.

We had a fog free morning so got out to the squid grounds relatively quickly and was still pitch black. My hands were colder than a bitter ex wife's heart, and it seems the squid thought so too and they stayed away. 

As the sun poked its head up above the mountain ranges however, the beautiful backdrop became second thoughts as the squid started jumping on our jigs and giving us that false sense of hope that this might just be the day we catch those sought after Kingfish. 

As we motored our way back to the Power Station, Peter got a call from his mate saying they were "busting up" in the shallows, so we hoofed it over and saws a great big school of our target fish rolling around on the surface. I immediately reached out for the camera while Pete jumped from one side of the boat to the other to get his new rod and popper to cast out amongst them. Apparently I can't video and drive a boat at the same time, according to the irritated tones flying out of Peters mouth as I am going left when I should be going right, and then going right when I should be going left. It turned out that the other 2 boats trying to get amongst the action had the same unlucky luck and the fish disappeared shortly after. We spent the next hour chasing them around the shallows, but as per the last 2 days they were nowhere to be found again. It was also at this stage I noticed The GoPro still recording the sky as I obviously forgot to turn it off... And I am seriously hoping I did actually press record earlier. I guess I will find out shortly. ... Later arrives and you guessed it..... I never pushed record initially, and then pushed record when I thought I was stopping it ...%^#}{!!!!!  We know we saw them so that is all that matters. 

It is beautiful weather again... So I am happy to sit in the sun and enjoy not being at work. 

(Picture was to be inserted here... If I had a picture to insert)

As they say.... a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.

Pt Augusta - Day 2 - Part 2

Fishing isn't meant to be easy (for catching them anyway..) The fish were not playing fair today so we headed South to a wreck about 10km down the gulf.

At least we were getting bites now, but the wind picked up and the tide was roaring out at about 30km/hr meaning it was almost impossible to get the bait to the bottom. Frustratingly we couldn't hook one so we changed hook sizes and presto... I landed out 1st fish. It took me nearly 5 minutes to get it up to the surface, only to discover it was a flathead about 8cm long!  We caught another 8 or so, ranging up to a maximu of about 15cm before deciding it just wasn't worth it. 

Today was one of the days when phrases like "A bad day fishing is better than any day at work" were thought of....... Or "This sucks- let's go get a beer". 

After cleaning up back at the cabin, I headed out to see Brenton Fabian who is now living up here and had a nice barbie and chat before heading back for an early night.... Ready for an early 4am start tomorrow. 

Pt Augusta - day 2

Yesterday was a long day. We dropped Michael off at the boat ramp just after lunch and saw some guys with a couple of good Kingy's, and immediately felt confident the afternoon was going to produce some good fish. Who was I kidding? Not a thing. 

This could only mean one thing.... Time to go in and have a drink. And a second thing... Sometimes fishing sucks.  

We went to the pub to drown our sorrows , have some dinner and go back to the cabin to plan tomorrow. The result was the Bridgy brothers falling asleep (separately..) within twenty minutes while I sat up and watched Harrison Ford in The Fugitive for the 5th time, and shopped for bits for my GoPro on EBay. 11:15pm and I am knackered. Off to bed. 

Tomorrow arrives with a lot less urgency and we headed out just on 6:30am. The fog was all around again, but not so thick and it produced some great photos. 

It took a while but we finally got some squid for bait and as I write this, have tried every method we can think of to find these elusive buggers they call Kingfish, but instead find myself sitting in the sun writing this blog. 

Luckily we bought out enough food to feed most of Ethiopia, so I don't have too many worries about sitting here enjoying the serenity of dead calm waters... And no fish. 

And besides... It's Monday, and I am not at work. 

Pt Augusta - Fishing

Not really a caravan holiday, but worthy of a blog regardless. Drove up late yesterday afternoon to meet Peter and his brother Michael at the Big 4 caravan park, where they were already spread out in the small cabin with more fishing gear than the local tackle store. 

I did arrive however to a feed of sausages and chicken garlic roll with a mountain of salads that had been whipped up by the local Woolies staff. 

First things first, I got the esky out of the car and cracked a cold bourbon and coke (It had been a 3+ hour drive here so I well and truly deserved one.... Or 2....... Or 3....)

After settling in, the YouTube videos started and we managed to check out the knot experts to see if they were as good as us in tying the good old FG knot.... About the same was the end conclusion. 

We set the alarm for 4am and lay down. Michaels snoring and sleep talking and oxygen sucking antics didn't help matters and I swear I was ready to call 000 half a dozen times as he gasped for air. 

Any way, 4;40 arrived and we woke up with a start. No-ones alarm went off, but somehow Michael woke anyway and we got moving. 

We got down to the boat ramp shorty after 5:20 and just to add to the morning's excitement, the fog limited visibility to about 20 metres. Considering it was still pitch black, there were boats moored all around us, wharfs, shallow waters and the occasional concrete beacon pole, it became a very slow yet exciting journey out. What became very apparent was that without navigation gear and GPS, the water is s very dangerous place to be in these conditions. At one stage when the GPS stopped working due to the slow speeds, we suddenly realised we had circled the same pole 3 times. 

We eventually got out in front of the power station and cheered at making it without running into the half a dozen poles that didn't have lights and skimmed past the side of the boat close enough to start me thinking its lucky I wasn't emptying my bladder over the side. 

We shot out to the shallows and caught a dozen squid for bait and then the day began. 

Come on Kingfish.... Where are you?

Milang - The Mardles Arrive

This morning, Tyler had been invited over to the Hardy's for the day and a sleep over, so i took off with him just after 8am to drop him off back in Mt Barker. The weather was terrible in comparison to the lake, with a cold wind blowing the Autumn leaves everywhere, and just feeling cold and miserable.
After dropping him off, I decided to go home and drop some extra bits off that were no longer needed, and make use of the amenities where I could sit and think in peace.
I then ambled back to Milang, to find the Mardles had just arrived. Daniel was proudly showing off another one of his erections, whilst Tracy and Liv looked after the kids at the playground.
It wasn't that long after when we all decided to crack open a bottle of wine, some nibbles and start to settle in for the afternoon..... and that is pretty much how it went on.
We boys and Kayla set up a game of cricket, and despite every child wanting to change the rules every time they got out, it was fun and allowed an hour of the afternoon to pass.
We invited the neighbouring campers over for a chat and to sit around the fire, as Kayla had become best friends with their 6 year old, and Dylan was keeping their 3 year old boy happily entertained.
We may have all drank a little bit too much as well as over indulged, but again, was a good night to just sit and be, and have a chin wag. Tomorrow we pack up, and back to reality

Milang - a day of nothing

After a late night for the kids, we were blessed with a sleep in till 7:30..... Despite all the dogs in the caravan park going off at every bit of movement. I broke all my rules and let the kids play their iPads for an hour or so whilst we drifted in and out of sleep, before succumbing and getting up for Brekkie. 

I cooked bacon and eggs for the kids and I, and then eventually we went for a walk into "town" to get some stuff and just have a look around. 

Before we knew it, it was lunch time and we headed back to the van. 

Dylan had been hassling me every 5 minutes to do some fishing, so I got out the shrimp pot and rods and finally headed down to the lake to satisfy his needs. After 3 minutes and no bites, Dylan's patience had run out (gee....: there's a surprise), and he took off with Tyler to be grow a ball around instead. 

I couldn't even get a shrimp into the net, never mind a carp that is supposed to be so prolific in the lake, but just standing out on the jetty with no-one bothering me and the peacefulness of the water shimmering in the afternoon sun was well worth it. - and the couple of cans of bourbon I had may have also helped. 

If it wasn't for the building need to relieve some pressure of the drinks, I may well have stayed there.... But I also needed a refill do something had to win!  Got a fire sorted for tonight. Time to relax in a chair. 

Milang - June long weekend

So it was only 10 days ago when we decided we would go somewhere close to home for the 3 day winter break. Milang was booked and the planning started.

As it turned out, all 3 kids have a school disco on Friday night that doesn't finish till 9pm. In my usual caring manner, I announced that I was going to go anyway and left mid afternoon for the huge 50km trip. Setting up isn't quite as straight forward when on your own I now know. Try getting a van level without getting out the car 10 times to check the bubble level on the A-Frame!

And then when unrolling the awning, I found it was full of rotting gum tree leaves and soaking wet. I swear I had cleaned it as I am pretty anal about keeping everything on the van clean, but it was wet and messy when packing up at Clare, so I can only assume that a brain fade happened and I forgot. 

Anyway, finally got set up, cleaned the awning and made all the beds, unpacked everything and sat down with a cold brew despite the fact it was only 10 degrees outdoors. 

Went back to pick everyone up from the kids school at 9pm and turned around to finally get back here just after 10. 

The kids are exhausted, but excited. I am excited, but exhausted. Tracy is too exhausted to be excited.