Terrific Trains, Dashing Dingoes and Lingering Lurgies

Melbourne. We made it on Monday afternoon. Kudos to the MOTH for driving that hulk of a campervan all the way into Melbourne. More Kudos to him for managing to get one day's free rental out of Britz (after some pressure on his part; they were not forthcoming in offering it).

Campervan space

The space we're staying in
Our first day in Melbourne was one of enforced rest (for me and the kids - I had a migraine and my intention of going to the Victoria Market for produce was foiled) while MOTH went off to file a police report for the missing money belt, get a NavMan and groceries. The kids spread out and enjoyed our two bedroom villa in Essendon; a contrast to their space in the campervan (note the photos showing them playing in the area that converted to the MOTH & my bed, and our new - proper- sleeping space).

Essendon space

 We've opted mainly for self-catering options on this journey, this makes meal times much cheaper, although if you are considering doing self-catering on a long international journey, start collecting salt and pepper sachets from cafes (sugar too if you need that) and soya sauce from the sushi cartons. I'm finding cooking without flavourings and fridge fixing (and my thermo-mix) somewhat challenging and it's quite difficult to purchase small amounts that will suffice for between one to three weeks. Jars of herbs and spices are not exactly ideal for transporting around the world in your luggage.

Self-contained accommodation also means no shared bathrooms, privacy, in some cases space to run around, and a chance to try out the suburbs. The downside is that hiring a car is necessary (and dragging car seats about), but with five of us, it generally works out cheaper than all taking public transport.

In Melbourne, we have wonderful friends that have kindly lent us their Toyota Yaris (another contrast to the campervan), which is fantastic. The MOTH has managed to get a botty-vomitty lurgy, which is not. The MOTH has convalesced all day in bed (dispelling any plans of a market visit again today), but before the bug really set in we managed two days of magic.

Terrific Trains

Master A drives a train at Trainworks

Trains are somewhat of a theme for us, spurred on by Master A's passion for all things rail. Trainworks (1.5 hours south of Sydney- mentioned in a previous post) was a world class museum of trains and well worth the visit on that campervan rumble down to Melbourne.




This Wednesday, we drove out of Melbourne to ride Puffing Billy - a steam engine with open air carriages and permission to dangle one's legs over the side. It takes about an hour to drive to Belgrave (Puffing Billy's departure station), and almost double that coming back in peak traffic - but the ride all the way to and from Gembrook was worth it, not to mention the dinner, another pair of friends whipped for us that night too :-)

Akira pretends we're going faster than 24km/ph

Dashing Dingoes
Wildlife and conservation also figure strongly in our family's travel activities. Featherdale in Sydney was great, but Healesville, about an hour out of Melbourne, is absolutely breath taking. Paying tribute to the Aborigine caretakers of the land, the santcuary is a blend of Aborigine creation stories, conservation messages and stunning Australian wildlife in a relaxed setting. The crowning highlight was the 'wildlife encounter' they offer.

At AU$12pp for a 10 minute encounter (children under 8 have to be supervised by a paying adult), the MOTH initially was a bit sceptical , when he booked for an echidna encounter. Ms Echidna was not co-operative in coming out to see us (mainly because the 31C heat we encountered on our arrival to Melbourne has dropped to about 20Cand she was cold ). We chose the dingo over a refund - all proceeds go to helping save the wildlife.

Originally named Tingo by the Aborigine (and misheard by the settlers...), these are beautiful cousins of the wolf. Our encounter allowed us to enter their enclosure with the ranger, touch and be photographed with the animals. At the same time we learnt a great deal about the plight of the dingo - it is anticipated that they will be extinct in ten to fifteen years due to in-breeding, and we heard many positive stories about them.

 Healesville will probably, most definitely, make our Top Ten.

Mother Musings -a list of random thoughts...
Things I'm glad I packed

The Mum who muses...

• Lavender oil - great for sore tums, disinfecting, relaxing baths
• imodeum (for obvious reasons)
• spare microfiber face cloths
• spare towels
• antibacterial wet wipes
• hand sanitizer
• cool-store lunch bag, extra zip lock bags and small plastic containers

Things I wish I had packed - but thankfully we can purchase

• Tea towels
• a few more pairs of socks
• scissors (I did pack some, but they've disappeared)
• salt, pepper and soya sauce sachets

Things we've lost so far

• Money belt
• MOTH's shower gel (at a camping ground)
• Master A and Miss K's pjs (one set)
• One of Master T's shoes (at Healesville - there's probably a wombat wearing it)
• scissors
• a piece of a magnetic puzzle which now renders it useless
• several coloured pencils

To date, children and sanity have not yet been lost (almost but not quite - sanity, not children).

Quiet day today. Visited local park, walked to shops, found Australian animal stickers and sensational patisserie. Nice just to wander around. Hoping the MOTH is mended tomorrow and that I can get to at least one market before we leave Australia on Monday!