Bendigo, Victoria {Caravan Park}

A short drive and we arrived in Bendigo.

Our first stop was the vet clinic to get Lillie her next injection, really important to ensure she didn't pick up any nasties give we have a moving home.  So off the vet I went with Lillie while Justin and the kids explored the park right opposite {can anyone say fluke}.

All vet checked, we went to meet the rest of the family and had a lovely walk around Lake Weeroona.  What a lovely space so close to town, they even have a dog friendly café right on the edge of it.  After a coffee and some morning tea we loaded back into the car and headed to our next camping spot.

We picked Park Lane Holiday Park because it was a Top Tourist Park but also because they had something that my two would think of a treat {an indoor play centre}. It was a nice big park, which I imagine would be very full at certain times of the year but thankfully was lovely and quiet after the long weekend.  Set up happened quickly, we made ourselves some lunch and then decided to head back into town for a drive around.

Wednesday saw us spending the morning doing some schoolwork before heading in for a walk around town to get up close and personal with the old buildings.  There is HEAPS of old buildings that are still in an amazing condition, even better was the walk around Rosalind Park which is right in the centre of town {the only downside to that part was the smelly bats in one part of the park}.  Kaleb and I walked to the top of the observation tower which looked out over the city.

 

 

Thursday saw morning school work before the boys headed off to take a mine tour at Central Deborah Goldmine.  They had a great time in Australia's biggest 'tourist mine'.  Kyla and I headed to the park for a little while before going back to the caravan park while we waiting to pick them up again.

Friday arrived before we knew it and it was time to pack down and make our way to Albury/Wodonga.

Butts Reserve, Maldon, Victoria {Free Camping}

What a beautiful spot to hide out for the long weekend!

We had so much space, access to flushing toilets and water all for nothing.  Our cheapest stay in Victoria!

It didn't take us long to arrive at our spot {even with a few stops for the puppy} and it was nice to have a quiet afternoon around camp for us all to settle in.  A little relaxing, cheese eating and of course playing with Lillie was a perfect way to spend our afternoon.

 

 

After pancakes for breakfast we headed up the Mountain to have a look at the view before making our way into Maldon.  All I can say is we timed it well as everything in town was open and they even had an awesome little market for us to have a wander through.  Some fresh food purchases, twisty potatoes for the kids, checking out antique stores before we stopped for fresh scones & coffee.  It was a really nice way to spend the day, just slowly wandering around and taking in everything the town had to offer.

 

  

 

 

It really is a lovely little place, not too far from Melbourne and even closer to Bendigo. The following day we decided to go for a drive around the area to explore the surrounding region.  It reminds me a lot of Kalgoorlie in that there are heaps of old mine shafts in and around the town, hard to believe how big and busy the area was in the late 1800's, early 1900's.

More puppy play time before it we started packing up ready to leave the following morning.  

Just as the sun was setting behind the mountain we decided to take a quick drive up to take in the rest of the site and boy am I glad that we went.  What a fabulous way to spend our last night here.

  

Clare Valley {Caravan Park}

Our drive from Whylla took us along the coast for a short while, meaning we could stop in and take a quick look around Port Augusta, Port Pirie and a lovely town called Crystal Brook {Justin found 'the house' in this lovely little place}.

We eventually arrived in Clare at the Discovery Caravan Park just before 2pm.  It was great to be able to surprise our friends Dan & Ant by coming a few days early {actually Ant didn't even recognize us}.  Our original plan was to stay for two nights, giving us a full day to explore but after our first day out we decided we would need one more, so extended our stay to three nights.

Saturday morning we did a little school work, the kids had a play with some other children and we headed into Clare to have a look around at all of the historical buildings.  What a building main street they've got but disappointingly so the visitors centre didn't really share that much information {or provide that much more}.  Thankfully, through our research we got to take the kids the the history museum that was set up in the old goal.  Kaleb was pretty happy to explore around in there and also the grounds too!

 

   

  

After that we headed out to a little town called Mintaro.  It is what they refer to as a historical town and after our look around I can see why.  The history that they have and have maintained is amazing.  We had lunch at Riley's Winery which was in a quaint little building that was made in the early 1800 {as were many others within the town ship}.  Given how hot is was, we only walked a little before hopping the car to finish off the rest.
 

 

 

 

We all needed the swim when we headed back to the caravan park and we meet a lovely family from Gwaler who we spent the rest of the afternoon with.  The kids even hired one of those driving carts to share with their new friends. A love;y dinner with Dan & Ant before we went back to prepare for our exploring tomorrow.

Sunday we had a slow start to the day and after a little school we packed up and headed out to Burra. Yet another town in this region filled with history and thankfully for us the people are working hard to maintain it, they are proud of where they live.  We started at the visitors centre, where they gave us the map and key to take off on our Historical tour of Burra.

 

  

            

            

 

My most favourite part, well the stand out parts would be the cellars in the cider house and the 'homes' in the creek beds.  Hundreds of people lived in the creek beds, in make shift houses due to the shortage in housing in the area.  Sadly many died due to the poor living conditions they faced.