Two Sams TravellingThis week we spent some time in Victoria, then surprised our friends and family with a visit back home to Launceston.
Day one
Today we had to leave Lake Boga and head in a different direction to what we had planned, as the flood waters were starting to rise and Echuca and Kerang were being evacuated. We decided to head back to The Grampians as there were some walks that we missed out on while we were there last week, and the Southern part wasn’t flooded. We left Lake Boga and started to head towards Donald when Google Maps tried to take us down a closed road. We kept going straight but we could see ahead that the road we were heading to was also closed. Someone alerted us to this on the UFH and told us to turn around and head towards another town where we could get through. We started doing the U Turn but as we were turning around, the side of the road gave way as it was so wet and we started to sink towards the ditch. The car was at a 45 degree angle and we tried a couple of times, but we weren’t able to get out of the thick mud. We popped our hazard lights on and someone in a cruiser drove past and stopped to help us out. With a snatch strap, we were able to get out and we were very thankful for his help. He advised that you could still get through on the closed road as long as you had a four wheel drive so we turned around again and drove back down the road. There was water on the road but we were able to get through without any issues. We had a chat with the police officer who was on the other side and he advised us to keep looking online for the Victorian road closures and go from there. We headed to Donald where we had some lunch and had a look at some of the trains on display, then had a look at the map as to where we could drive next. After going on a bit of a detour through country Victoria, we managed to get to Stawell then we headed from Dunkeld from there. Before checking into the caravan park we decided to go and do a short walk as we had some time left in the afternoon. We decided to do The Piccaninny (Bainggug) lookout walk as it was only 2.4km return and it was around 10 km from Dunkeld. The walk was short, but was still steep in parts and provided great views at the top. We also met at least 30 school kids going for a walk while we were on the way up so we knew the walk wasn’t going to be too strenuous. After the walk, we headed to the caravan park in Dunkeld and checked in, then went for a quick walk around the town before we settled in for the evening.
Day two
We were looking to do another bush walk before we headed off from Dunkeld, so we decided to tackle the Mt Sturgeon (Wurgarri) Walk. This walk was very similar to the Mount Abrupt (Mud-Dadjug) Walk that we did last week, but was a bit longer and didn’t seem as steep. It was quite a climb to get to the top though and was a bit of a leg burner, but the views at the top were incredible and made the climb worthwhile. This walk was just as good, if not better than the walk we did last week and we are glad we were able to go back and explore The Grampians more. There is still more for us to explore there so we will see if we can get back there before the end of our trip. After our walk, we headed to Dunkeld and had some lunch, then started to make our way to Ararat where we were going to stay for the night. We were able to get to Ararat without any issues, but you could see water everywhere in the paddocks along the way. Our first stop in Ararat was the One Tree Hill Lookout where we got a really nice view of the area, and it was nice to look back on where we just were in The Grampians. We then headed into the town centre and had a walk around, then went and had a look at the J-Ward building. There were no more tours for the day, so we decided to book one for tomorrow and headed towards the caravan park. You can tell when staying at a caravan park what ones are a chain and what ones are family owned. The caravan park in Ararat was family owned and had small touches that made your stay a little more enjoyable. From mentos on check in, to $2 espresso coffees and bath mats available in the shower, this caravan park was really nice and wasn’t too badly priced either. We didn’t do too much else for the rest of the day as we were a bit tired from our walk.
Day three
After enjoying a $2 coffee at the caravan park, we packed up and headed towards the J Ward building so we could do our tour. J Ward is Ararat’s Old Gaol and Lunatic Asylum and was open until 1991. Tours are provided by Friends of J Ward volunteers and for $17 per adult, they were really informative. We got a walkthrough tour of J Ward and got to hear heaps of stories about the inmates, staff and what life was like in J Ward. We got to see inside the cells, outside in the courtyard and also some of the older areas such as the old kitchen. The tour was a bit over an hour and a half and we finished off in the museum where we could read more about the history and also how the building was bought off the state government after it was closed as it was going to be knocked down. We really enjoyed the tour and it was definitely worth the money. After the tour ended, we went and made some lunch and then started to drive down to Ballarat as we were staying there for the night. Our first stop in Ballarat was the Cubby Haus Brewing where they had 12 beers on tap to try. We shared a paddle of five different beers and they were all very tasty, and at only $15 it was of good value. After the brewery, we stopped in at the supermarket then we parked the car and went for a walk into the CBD. The weather was nice and sunny so it was good to be able to go for a walk and see everything. We found a guitar shop to look at, then we walked back to the car and headed to the caravan park we were staying at. By then it was also dinner time, so we had some food and settled in for the evening.
Day four
We were heading into Melbourne this afternoon, but had some time in the morning so we spent it exploring Ballarat. Our first stop was Lake Wendouree where we went for a walk around part of the lake. It was quite a long walk, so we didn’t walk the whole way around but we were able to see some swans and cygnets along the way. There were heaps of people going for walks and runs as it was such a nice day. After that we had to get some items from Bunnings, Kmart and the supermarket, then we headed to the Ballarat Botanical Gardens to have a look. Turns out we were on the other side of the lake where we were a couple of hours ago, so it was nice to be able to have a look around this side. We walked through the Botanical Gardens for a bit, then it was time to head back and have some lunch. After lunch, we made our way to Caroline Springs where we were returning our rooftop tent as unfortunately it had a couple of issues and it didn’t quite suit our needs. We had very good customer service from the people we bought it from though and they took no time to act on our phone call and provide us with a solution. We wouldn’t hesitate to buy another product from them and we are hoping that the tent might suit our needs more after some of the issues have been fixed. After returning the tent and getting a full refund, we headed to the caravan park where we were staying for the night. This one was close to the airport as we had an early flight the next morning and we booked ourselves a cabin as we had nothing to sleep in! That afternoon we did some washing and got everything prepared for our trip home.
Day five, six and seven – Spending time with friends and family in Launceston!
It was an early start for us on Friday as we had a 6:10am flight, so we made sure we would be at the airport by 4:30am. We had booked value parking at the airport online a few days ago and managed to find a park pretty easily. After the shuttle bus drove off on us as we weren’t quite at the stop, we walked ten minutes to the terminal and checked in without any issues. After getting through security, we realised we left our masks in the car so Sam went back to get those, but we still had plenty of time to make our flight. Masks aren’t compulsory anymore but we still wanted to wear them so we didn’t pass any germs onto our family. The flight was uneventful and we got into Launceston a bit after 7am. The only people who knew we were flying in were our friends, Sammie’s Mum and Sam’s brother so we had some people to surprise. We managed to catch Sammie’s sister and family before they headed to work and school and surprised Sammie’s Dad soon after. It was so nice to see everyone again and see our cats (we have missed them a lot). That evening, we surprised Sam’s Mum and Dad at dinner time and invited his grandparents around as well. We spent the night catching up with everyone, then popped into our friends house to see them before heading to bed (it had been a long day). We didn’t do too much over the weekend other than spend time with our friends and family, but we had the best time and it was good to just sit and relax after the last few stressful weeks we have had.
Weekly stats
Number of KMs – 665
Number of states – 2
Number of campsites – 5
Number of items lost – 0
Number of items broken – 0
