Summer 2021 in Warrnambool

 It was back to Shipwreck Bay for our annual week over the summer break

3rd  - 10th January 2021
Section 19, site 49
$63 per night 

This year was different, all previous bookings were cancelled around June this year due to Covid and it was announced that limited sites would be filled and you could opt to go into a ballot system for a site drawn at random for 1 week only. We choose to go into the ballot and were lucky enough to get a site and to get our original site, as the weeks were set we had to change our dates from the 2nd-9th Jan to the 3rd-10th Jan which didn't really matter to us. Granny & Pa who usually camp next to us got site 11 in the same section as us so they weren't that far away.

The park was so quite not having very many sites filled and didn't have the same vibe that summer usually has but at the same time it was also good being quieter to get the kids to sleep and not being so busy with them riding their bikes around and running around.

Monday was terrible weather so after searching around for some indoor activities we came across and special for bowling 1 game for $7 so we tried our hand at 10 pin bowling

After bowling I went and got a massage for a sore back and took the pram with me in the car...

Tuesday weather was a little bit better but still very cold and windy, the boys played golf and Granny and I took the kids and Jayden down to the skate park for a scoot

On Wednesday our friends from Port Fairy came into Warrnambool for a visit, we had a few drinks, played cricket and caught up for the afternoon and finally got a little bit of sunshine

That night we went to the carnival where the kids got to choose 2 rides each and some fairy floss

Then Thursday the weather started to warm up. We went for a walk from the caravan park to the Breakwater and got a coffee and walked our on the pier

Back past the skate park again and around to Lake Pertobe Playground

Stingray Bay & Neptunes Necklace

Friday we went to Stingray Bay which is down near the breakwater, it is at the mouth of the Merri River and is a sheltered cove which was great for the kids to play in the water

There is a walk that begins here and leads to Thunder Point, we did Part of the walk and stopped to explore Neptunes Necklace, which is a marine sanctuary with little rock pools and caves.

Aunty Madi, Umcle Bruce, Aleiyah and Oliver came down for a night on Friday night 

and Saturday (our last day) was finally a proper beach day & Nash's first time at the beach!

 

and just like that another Warrnambool summer holiday is over!
 

November 2020 - Warburton

 27th November - 1st December 2020

$240 for 4 nights
2 adults, 1 child (children under 5 free)
Site C5

Only a 75km scenic drive from the heart of Melbourne, it offers a variety of accommodation options, with acres of camp grounds, caravan sites and self-contained cabins, BBQ facilities, as well as a new children’s playground and water-play park. All within a unique setting beside the flowing waters of the Yarra River, nestled in amongst spectacular Australian bush surrounds.

This was Nash's first trip in the Caravan, he was quite grumpy while we were away & it was a little bit stressful with lots of crying but was still a nice getaway

On the day we arrived the weather was quite hot so we set up

and headed to the water park & Play ground which is council ran but right next door to the Caravan Park

next day we headed to LaLa Falls

The walk to the waterfall was a little bit steep but not too difficult and very pretty

3.2 km return - 1-1.5 hours

The track follows beside the gurgling Four Mile Creek, snaking its way under a thick, lush forest canopy over a vibrant understory of ferns, musk daisy bush, blanket-leaf and bootlace bush. The trail traverses the creek over several cute stone bridges to the soundtrack of bubbling water and birdsong. With luck you might even sight a lyrebird, one of the most treasured creatures in the Yarra State Forest. The Falls themselves are serene and are best visited after a rainfall when the flow down the rocky slabs is high

baby baths in the bucket!

The next day was a rainy day and had to spend most of the day in the morning. 

There were short burst when the rain cleared up in the afternoon and we could go for a short walk along the river and Mason had a bike ride

The sun was back the next day and we went into town to have a look. 

We went for a walk around the river which was absolutely beautiful

We started our walk at the swing bridge and walked around to the Bramich Footbridge, around the oval where there was a playground and back into town.

Over the swing bridge there was a few hidden fairy houses in the trees which the kids enjoyed looking for 

Once back in town we went to the visitors centre & the water wheel & the Great steps of Warburton.

Unfortunately the visitors centre which is more than a Visitor Information Centre, it is home to the gorgeous Handmade shop, a hub for local wine, an Art Gallery and eco Indoor Forest was still closed due to covid

'The Waterwheel' is a central and iconic landmark of Warburton, where it operates at the site of The Waterwheel Visitor Infomation Centre on the main street. This Waterwheel is a replica based on the original McVeigh's Waterwheel.

This unfortunately too was not operating 

'The Great Steps' represents a vision for Warburton to be known as beautiful, artful and edible. It connects vital aspects of community life – the Rail Trail, skate park, community gardens, Visitor Information Centre and the village green

Interesting Facts About ‘The Great Steps of Warburton’

• The mosaic spans over 26 steps, each more than 5 metres in width
• More than 20,000 tiles have bee used, and the design covers almost 20 square metres 
• The project took more than a month to complete
• A secret ‘inspiring’ message is hidden to be ‘discovered’ in the design
• More than 300 community members contributed to the mosaic including local primary, secondary and VCAL students, groups from U3A, local traders, councillors and members of the public
• The mosaic is permanent and will provide inspiration and an aesthetic to Warburton for generations to come

We got some lunch from the bakery and ate it on the river bank and had a splash in the water