Two-part Packing

Nick's work hours changed while we were away in Yowah. His previous shift-work roster always had short (and often longer) blocks of free time.  Those breaks were much appreciated - and could be used as they occurred or to augment annual leave.  Given those work changes, some of the packing for this trip was my responsibility.  That's not to say I don't usually pack anything, I do - Nick looks after the larger items and I organise food, cooking gear, bedding, clothes and much other "stuff" - then Nick stows everything in Elmer (and the trailer).

Our Innamincka and Charleville trips were our first using Elmer only for camping.  We did OK and those experiences stood us in good stead when preparing for our latest adventure.  Nick packed the roof on Wednesday, after work.  Some camping mats, our stretchers, 4WD mats, chairs and table went up there - along with a bag of sleeping bags. 

Although we used a tarp for one our earliest trips, it developed "Priscilla" (Queen of the Desert) tendencies en route and we've since opted to use large garbage bags for weather-proofing roof items! Usually the bags are wrapped around the outside but I'd bought smaller bags in error, so adapted the method.  I overlapped two bags (end for end) to cover our 4WD mats, before slipping them inside their regular covers. Nick liked the adaption and did our stretchers the same way.

By the time Nick went to bed on Wednesday, all the roof items were packed and securely tied.  He'd put an Engel fridge in the back as well as sorting all the lights, extension cords and similar items.  My mission on Thursday morning was to finish packing, pick-up a few last-minute groceries and then collect Nick from work at 2:00pm.  (I calculated I'd have to depart home at around 12:30pm, so got up at 5:30am, when Nick was leaving for work).

These photos show my packing effort in varying states of progress. The large red suitcase held clothes (and towels) for Nick and I. Vaughan's clothes, bedding and towel were in the smaller red case. Erin used a small overnight bag for her belongings. Bedding for her (and us) was in the pink spotted bag. On these shorter trips, we use the red picnic case for all meals. You can see the beverage case in the top photo collage, packed near the door for easy access. There were two plastic boxes of food-stuff, one thermal cooker (carrying afternoon tea) and a filled thermos.

As Keegan didn't travel with us, I was able to use the back seat for some overflow gear.  We'd been told we should bring a rake and I remembered that at the last minute, so slipped it across the rear foot-well - much to Vaughan's disgust! 

There be treasure!

The timing of our Bendigo visit was due to the Bendigo Gem Club's weekend exhibition.  Nick was given a free ticket - and though adult admission was already cheap (only $5 each), we were appreciative of the extra discount!

Children received free entry, as well as some time in the junior fossicking area.  While there, Vaughan collected 48 polished stones of varying sizes and was well-pleased with his treasure!  His favourite is a piece of tigereye, which he intends to make into a pendant.  One of the stall holders gave Vaughan a length of leather thonging to use for hanging the stone.  Vaughan is under instruction to wear the finished piece to the next show, proving that he did carry out his promise of drilling the stone (under supervision and using a mask, due to the asbestos content).

Discounted entry aside the exhibition provided wonderful (cheap) entertainment.  We paid $10 for entry, bought a $1 (non-winning) raffle ticket and spent $5 on rocks!  The four of us were happily engrossed for more than two hours - great value for our $16!

Vaughan and I stayed at one stand, admiring how black obsidian is translucent when held over a torch.  Fascinating stuff!  He carefully selected one $3 piece to bring home but we were given an bonus stone when I told the man how much fun we'd had looking! 

The Mineral Society of Victoria had a display where we could view small mineral samples (housed in open cases, smaller than a matchbox) under microscope.  Wow!  I dragged Nick over to show him and he said that our local lapidary club had plans of buying a microscope (with camera function).  I'm looking forward to that! 

There were many displays.  Another favourite was watching enamel beads being made.  Vaughan was referred to as a hard task-master (!) but was asked to select coloured beads for several creations.  He was later given one of the beads that had been crafted under his supervision!

We've been to a few gem shows over the years.  This was our first Victorian event but all have been great-value fun for all the family.  If you spot one in your local area, it would be well worth a visit! The Victorian Gem Clubs Association has a list of upcoming events, as does the NSW Gem & Lapidary Council.  I expect the other states have similar associations.

Yapping about lapidary!

Our first camping adventures started in January 2009. A lot has happened since then.

Not least is the fact that we moved house five times.

Despite our best culling efforts, we still cart a lot of stuff from house to house (or state to state in the case of our most recent relocation). 

Since 2011, after making our first two trips to Yowah, that "stuff" has included lots of rock boxes!

As you can imagine that rock tally increased even further - after our most recent ten week stay in Yowah, earlier this year!

Not long after returning home, we joined a lapidary club. Nick attends more often than the rest of us but we're all enjoying learning new skills. 

As well as faceting and "cabbing" there is opportunity to make various styles of jewellery, as well as stained glass and/or dichroic glass items.

Nick has started working with opal, so our rocks are finally being used!  Hooray!  He's been doing some really good work - and of course, there's still plenty of stock to practise on!

On-the-go in Ben-di-go!

Nick, Vaughan and I did a day-trip to Bendigo last year. It was our first visit and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I'm not sure why I didn't write of it back then, possibly because we didn't actually do a lot. In contrast, we did heaps on Sunday when we were on-the-go in Ben-di-go!

Tulips are one of Erin's favourite flowers and she was very excited to see so many in the lovely Rosalind Park.

(Hmm, on checking that link it seems there is a self-guided Discovery Walk we could have done. Oh well, next time)! 

There were so many beautiful red-rumped parrots around.  They nest in the trees along the road in front of the conservatory (where we had parked our car) and we listened to their happy chatter as we ate our morning tea. (You can hear a sound file of them on the link).

Once the thermos and beverage case were stowed again, we wandered through the larger park, where there were many more parrots on the grass and a colony of flying foxes in some of the trees.

The park is situated on what was the former goldfield and in 1931 a poppet head (a huge structure that originally stood over a mine shaft of the Garden Gully United Mine) was shifted to the site for use as a lookout.

From a distance I thought I could be very brave and climb the tower. Hah!

In reality I only reached the first landing, though stayed there longer than Vaughan!

Erin surprised herself by almost climbing all the way.

Given our usual wimpishness, we relied on Nick to take photos from the very top level!

Thought bubbles!

In January 2009, when Nick and I bought our first tents, I had little experience of that style of camping. I actually had far more knowledge of caravanning (both as a child and later, young mother).

I'd also lived at various times in places with limited facilities, so felt I could cope with camping (which was the limit of our budget at the time).  Luckily I was right!

I've previously written of the large van my family lived in. When I was around 7 or 8, my parents sold their holiday cottage accommodation business on the NSW South Coast and bought an F100 and 25-foot Viscount Supreme caravan.  We were set for a round-Australia adventure! (First stop was Yowah where we stayed for a long time, arranging the sale of the shack and mining lease).

Scroll forward to 1994 or thereabouts.  My then-husband and I bought a bargain fibreglass bubble caravan and set about renovating it to better suit our needs.  Vintage vans were not so popular back then.  Our main criteria had been cheap and light-weight, rather than "vintage". 

The Sunliner van we purchased had an interesting history.  It's previous owner had been a missionary and travelled to remote Aboriginal communities.  He intended to create a window in the side of the van, so as to perform puppet shows as part of his preaching!  We never met him but did marvel at the many secret nooks in the cupboards!

I enjoyed choosing a colour scheme, then crafting new curtains, custom bedding and other items for the caravan.  I had the most fun creating a "room" for my older daughter at one end of the van.  Soon after her sister was born, we all set off on a three-month extended holiday through the Northern Territory.

That van was around half the length of the larger one I'd lived in as a child.  The fabulous fish "room" was at the rear.  The front dining area was converted to a permanent double bed - and my baby daughter slept in a bassinette on the floor!  I cooked outside, using a 2-ring gas burner stove.  We dined alfresco, utilising an oval plastic table (that rested on top of the front bed while in transit). 

Fortunately we travelled during the dry season as I don't remember any gazebo or other cover.  Generally we stacked as much stuff as we could outside the van when it was stationary.  Whenever we set up at camp, it was like opening Mary Poppins' carpet bag!

What has prompted this ramble down memory lane?  I've been thinking I'd like a caravan.  Nothing super-flash.  Definitely small.  Probably "vintage" due to (at this stage non-existent) budget! 

Why do I want one?  Since returning from Yowah, Nick's work hours have changed.  He no longer works shift-work, which means he is home every weekend - and it may be possible to use that time for short trips.  We're also pondering a set-up that would enable us to camp throughout the year, regardless of colder temperatures. 

All just thoughts at this stage but I'm enjoying looking at what is available and what renovations others have done.  There are some very clever people out there!

Rad(ius) Birthday!

I do like a birthday outing - and I've had some wonderful excursions in the semi-recent past. Several were enjoyed at various lookouts in the Watagan Forest and in 2012 we ventured about 200km from home to Burning Mountain - with a stop-in at Paradise for afternoon tea!

Last year I was heavily lurgi-ed so the day was spent with a big box of tissues and a blanket.  It was memorable, though not in a good way!

I was a bit stumped for destinations this year.  Somewhere new has a lot of scope given we've only been Victorian residents for a little over 18 months. 

After a fair bit of pondering, I found this online gadget, which creates a circular area around a point on a map.

I used my age to give the radius from home and then selected a starting point more or less on the perimeter.

Some more research revealed a "Wombat Forest Drive" map document that took in my desired destination and a few others as well.  We didn't follow the route exactly. Our first stop was Trentham, to pick up beautiful sourdough bread from the RedBeard Bakery.  From there we back-tracked out of town to Trentham Falls for our picnic lunch and some geocaching.

It was considerably warmer as we wandered around the valley below the falls.  There were lots of huge gums, mossy logs and little birds flitting about the scrub.  Erin and Vaughan spotted a swamp wallaby too.

From the falls, we made our way over to Lyonville Mineral Springs to sample some birthday bubbles.  Hah!  Mineral water straight from the ground tastes nothing like the bottled stuff - sadly!

We didn't stay long at the springs, though noted the picnic area for a longer stop on another occasion.  It was quite pretty with a little creek flowing nearby.  The Garden of St Erth was our next destination.  We are not members of The Diggers Club so didn't tour the garden but rather enjoyed looking at all the many plants for sale.

Our last stop was the Nolan Creek picnic area for afternoon tea and birthday cake(s).  Such a beautiful little spot - we'll be back for sure to explore further and praps tackle the bushwalk in the link.

Although the picnic area was in the Wombat Forest, I didn't hold much hope of seeing any wombats and said as much to Nick when we were heading home - just as one jumped onto the road in front of us! I was too startled to take his/her photo but there was much excitement! I leapt out of the car to get a better look, closely followed by Vaughan. Not surprisingly, our running caused the wombat to run faster!

We headed home under an almost full moon, well pleased with all we had seen and done. The day ended with a fireside finale feast - three picnics in one day has to be a record!

Funny story: as we drove along one of the country roads I spotted a sign advertising Dutch Cream Poffertjes - and although it seemed unlikely, I kept a hopeful eye out for special birthday pancakes. On the return trip, Nick took great delight in reading the Dutch Cream Potatoes sign!

Keep it simple, Stew!

I often use my thermal cookers to make soup - and usually the large volume being cooked means there isn't enough room to use the smaller pot for a separate item.

Today I made a simple beef stew - and remained very mindful of wanting to cook potatoes to serve with it.  Even so there was only just enough space, about 7.5cm, for the top pot - so it was a bit gravied on it's base, when lifted out!  (As thermal cookers work on retained heat, being full to capacity - and thoroughly heated - provides the best energy-bank).

I don't use a recipe for stew, so the ingredients vary according to what is in the fridge and cupboard!  On this occasion I used:-

1 large onion, chopped
1kg gravy beef, cut into chunks
3 medium carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 packet French onion soup powder
1 tin tomatoes, diced
1 tin brown lentils
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen beans
2 cups beef stock (approx.)
1/2 cup red wine (approx.)
1/2 cup dried red lentils

Mixed herbs, salt and pepper to taste

I browned the onion and meat in a little olive oil, then added the other ingredients - in no particular order!  There is no loss of liquid during thermal cooking so I include brown lentils break down to thicken the gravy.  The mixture still looked a bit wet, so I also used some red lentils for extra thickening.  (Dried mushrooms and vegetables are good for the same reason but generally I only have them if camping).

I left the mixture to come to the boil while I prepared the potatoes.  Again, I filled the (smaller) pot as full as I could - and brought the potatoes to the boil.  All up the larger pot probably simmered for at least 30-40 minutes while I was organising the potatoes (and other missions).  The smaller pot simmered for a much shorter time. 

Both pots were put into the outer thermal pot and locked down till dinner-time.  Our stew was thick and steamy hot when we ate it, around 6-8 hours later.  (There was plenty left to freeze as two further family-meal portions for later occasions).