As you can see it is a beautiful spot and great for fishing, yabbying and water skiing.

Everyone starting to arrive and plenty of boats in tow.

The bird life were very used to people and this Noisy Miner didn’t take long to find something to eat.

Bethany spent ages cruising round in the V8 speedboat having a great time helping the skiers. The faster the better as far as she was concerned.

After others had their turn she decided to give it a go. At least she had fun trying but didn’t manage to get up on the skis. I forgot the camera at the time so was reduced to using her phone camera lol. Of course she had it set on the lowest quality.

Half of the group rocked up the next morning ready for a lovely hot breakfast of bacon & eggs. The rest crawled out some time later looking very seedy and tired. I hope they pick the same spot for next year, it was a great time.

Thursday was worse in the weather department so off to the city again for a drive around Port Adelaide and hunt down some nice lunch. Friday we were due to have lunch with friends but unfortunately they were ill so we went for a drive down to Cape Jarvis where the ferry to Kangaroo Island comes in. It was a wild wind blowing and I wouldn’t have liked to be on the ferry even though the trip is reasonably short.

On the way back we drove in to Rapid Bay which was much more sheltered. It’s a beautiful spot and I can see why it’s a popular campground. Bethany satisfied her need to throw rocks into the sea.

The local wildlife were not fussed with tourists pulling up to take their photo. Miss eagle eye spotted these two kangaroos in a paddock.

Saturday was school holidays and the AFL grand final so the park was full and noisy. We decided a day at the zoo was a good idea as the weather was settling down. Bethany’s favourite animals, Pandas and meerkats, were on display. 3 hours saw us walking our feet off and having a lovely time seeing all the animals.

This cheeky fellow was on lookout duty.

It was a lovely break even if the weather was awful. Plenty more to see next time we drive over there. Next stop Houpton at the end of the month.

You can just see my lovely Clivia flowering away in the background. It thinks it is spring already.

The Corellas and Galahs decided to visit en masse. Do they ever make a racket and a mess digging up the grass. I’m glad it wasn’t my grass lol.

We finished the day with a sumptuous meal of Ocean Trout with fresh coleslaw, potato salad and crusty bread. It doesn’t get much better than this.

We headed down to Edenhope, about 2 hours from here, for the long weekend. Having never been there it was nice to explore somewhere different. On the way there we passed Mt Arapiles, a favourite with the rock climbers. We will have to do quite a bit of exploring around this mountain as it looks spectacular. Natimuk is only 10km from there and looks a lovely spot near the lake to base from. The lake started filling last year and is beautiful now.

Edenhope is a lovely quiet town and the caravan park is right beside Lake Wallace.  After a quick setup we set off to explore the town and take a drive out to Baileys Rocks. This outcrop of green granite rocks is only one of two in the world apparently? The other is in Canada. The boulders are huge and the area is quite eerie with no birds to hear. We spent quite a bit of time there exploring amongst the boulders. Bethany was in awe of the size of them and commented that some looked like huge marbles.

On Sunday we headed across the border into South Australia to visit the Naracoorte Caves. Hubby and I had been before but Bethany hadn’t. The first stop was the huge statue out the front and the obligatory photo with her arm in its mouth. Once inside she was in awe of the setup there. The thunder & lightning was very lifelike and the bush sounds combined with the dramatic lighting and moving creatures certainly set the atmosphere. We thoroughly enjoyed it all over again.

All in all a great weekend and we look forward to seeing more around the area.

He is now outside cooking them for a snack before dinner. We will leave the pots out overnight and I’ll get the job of cooking the next lot tomorrow.

Nearly the long weekend so we might head down to Edenhope and do a day trip to Naracoorte caves while we are there.

Next stop was Orange World on the NSW side of the river for the best homemade orange gelato ever. We took the gelato down to the Murray River to watch the paddle steamers and it was a lovely site with the river in full flow after the recent rains. The paddle steamer we saw was hosting a wedding, what a place for your special day. You couldn’t beat the scenery.

Lastly it was a stop at Big Lizzie. She is certainly a unique piece of machinery.

We will have to visit Mildura for a few days next time and take Bethany on a paddle steamer ride as well as the many other activities up there.

I think he was saying here it’s still just that bit too low. So a little work with the bobcat to take about 3 inches of gravel out and she’ll be fine. It’s surprising how tall these vans are with the aircon on top. Some shadecloth around the side and back and it should be well protected.

Saturday we drove down to Beaufort and walked around the town. We found the most beautiful Imperial Egg Gallery right in the main street. Gold coin donation was definitely worth it as the workmanship that went into these was incredibly.

After that we hit the wineries with a special visit to Bests Winery. They just happen to make White Port, one of Rusty’s favourites. He figured the 2 litre was better value.

Driving around Ararat we found the lookout at 530 metres high. It gave a great view of the Grampians which we visited the next day. Most of the drives and walks are still closed after the flood and landslides so we had to make do with a yummy icecream while looking around Halls Gap.

Next opportunity we will head north to Mildura or maybe Adelaide.

This is the road, well whats left of it to Rusty’s work. After going through it this morning we decided to come back in on the Donald road.

That road was nearly as bad with water over in places that are not normally covered. Even the SES in town needs their 4wd to get in and out of the shed.

The water was spraying high as we drove around and if we get any more rain it will have nowhere to go. Even the town’s creek is breaking the banks.

At least the forecast is for a dry weekend so we can get out and do some gardening. Won’t have to worry about watering it though.

This was his truck for the day, his favourite as she really has some grunt. He’s tipping off milling grain into the bunker here.

We have come to the conclusion that locusts are dumb or blind, we’re not sure which. Every day you hear them crashing into the house or the carport. The sparrows that live in our yard are going to need weight watchers the way they are going, fat is not the word for them. With the abundance of food around they are nesting again.

You can see the locusts flying here. Oh for a camera with a faster shutter speed.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year.