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.

  

Whyalla {Caravan Park}

To say I was surprised by Whyalla would be an understatement.  It was much MUCH bigger than I expected, the town I mean and unsurprisingly it was filled with some beautiful old buildings {the high school looked amazing}.

We headed to the Discovery Park as it was right on the water front, I found it over priced {even with our Top Tourist discount} given the time of year but we still paid it. It did give us a great spot to watch the sunset, so that was nice.

 

 After setting up and going what felt like 100 loads of washing we jumped into the car to have a look around town.  The visitors centre had a museum attached, but sadly it had odd operating times and we missed out.  Instead we headed out to Point Lowly Lighthouse, which was beautiful.

  

 

The kids had a play on the park when we got back, even a nerf war around the camp kitchen which I used to make dinner {the wind down on the foreshore was too much for my poor little kitchen}.  After dinner we enjoyed a wander on the beach, taking in the sunset.

 

 

Tomorrow we head to Clare, a few days early to surprise our friends.


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Jurien Bay {Caravan Park}

After a trip into Hill Springs and an overnight stop at Wooramel, we headed away from Carnarvon and made the trip further south.  

We could easily have made it to Perth but we decided we would take the coast and have a night in Jurien Bay instead.  It was lovely to stretch our legs, watch the sunset while eating fish & chips on the coast.  A perfect night, perfect start to our next adventure.

 

I couldn't help but take a picture of this sign, was a first for one of these.  This was south of Jurien on the Indian Ocean Drive.

Lyndon Station {Working}

Where do I start with this visit?

Alright so as usual Justin worked hard, repairing a verandah, patching 100 year old walls, adding amazing benches to the cottage and too many other things to list.

  

 We had a very full on few weeks, between school and play the time flew by.

There was painting and dodge ball, motorbike and horse riding, full moons and chickens. 

Kaleb and Kyla enjoyed being invited to the SoTA camp {at Wooramel}.  It was great to see them join in the activities with all of the children that they know at the school, along with all of those that they don’t.  It was a real learning experience, for both of them in many ways.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The biggest thing to happen this trip however would have to be cutting off my dreadlocks.  From long hot and heavy locks to short hair is a real change that I see lasting for a fair while.

 

Lyndon Station {Working}

We stopped at Towera to help with the busy bee for Winning Bush Gymkarnon our way.  It was lovely to catch up with those that we had yet to see since we arrived in the area, even if I did get covered in red dust while doing so.

Next stop was Lyndon and to say that the kids were excited was an understatement.  We pulled in, the smalls disappeared and we set about setting up in our normal spot.  Cath & Sean had some friends stopping in for a visit so we rushed around, packed a picnic and headed to the lake for a picnic.

This was a spot we hadn't been on Lyndon before and to say that it was amazing is an understatement.  It was breathtaking and I can't wait to head back for yet another sunset, hopefully seeing it a little earlier this time.

 

 

 

 

 

A fire, singing, exploring, running around, chatting and some food made for a perfect evening.  With tired children we all packed up cars and headed home.  J made breakfast for us all in the morning, pancakes and we had a relaxing morning hanging out with everyone.  Em & I made up a massive number of sandwiches and it was off for another picnic.

Another day, another picnic and another new location.  We headed to a dam, which had wetlands surrounding it.  It was a beautiful spot to explore, lay down a picnic blanket, read a book and let the children get covered from head to toe in MUD!

 

 

 

I got so many wonderful pictures over the last two days, it was really hard to cull them down and the cute adorable Saphie managed to shine in front of the camera.  Darn that small person is cute.

Sunday passed and it was time to head back to school for our last week of term.  Finalising everything, finishing what was left and waiting till Friday arrived before we take a much needed two weeks off.

 

 

With Winning just around the corner it was time to start getting the Lyndon small people ready for their events.  Kaleb was in heaven as Sean had recently brought a '50' motorbike. So we had afternoons of bike riding and horse riding, perfect for making all the children tired.  They really did have a wonderful time.

 

 

 

All of this was happening while J was working through his list of jobs and also finding time to source a motorbike for Kaleb.  After all this time I finally lost out and we, through much begging and calling in of favours we got a bike picked up from one place, delivered to two others before coming up on a ute to the station.  We even managed to get a helmet!

 

How could I forget Lyndon had a new addition of an adorable puppy dog and a handful of calves up in the yard.  Everywhere you look new life, beautiful.

 

Mad preparations for the children's party at Winning followed for the next few days and I don't even remember picking up my camera. Before we knew it, Friday had arrived again and it was time to pack down for our weekend of excitement.

Winning here we come!