Went to meet a Scottish Terrier breeder, as we are getting a puppy in February so met the Mum and Dad. Mum due in two days. Met some other puppies whilst there.

We then had a week of catching up with friends. Played golf with a school friend Connie at Mornington Golf Club where she is the ladies captain. Fantastic views of Melbourne across the Bay.

Simon had a day as a diesel train driver, he drove the train from Moroduc to Mornington and back then shunted and attached the passenger cars. Our friends Sam and Nat joined me as passengers. Had a lovely lunch to celebrate.

We then moved to Warrandyte north east of Melbourne so that we could catch up with family Pat and Robert.

Stopped off in Blackwood to see Di and Fraser friends from Corinda. Love it here it is so peacefuland I have never been anywhere so dark at night. one of the days we had thick fog all day long and you could barely make out the kangaroos.

Had to make sure we had no fruit and vegetables onboard as we headed to Mildura this is a no fruit fly zone. Camped on the Murray River and could watch the riverboats going past including a paddle boat. 

Mildura is a great town with excellent restaurants and lots of roof top bars. It hit 39C when we were there but the next day it dropped to 20C.

Before arriving in Geelong we stopped off at Scotchmans Hill vineyard for a wine tasting. Absolutely gorgeous setting and some great wines according to Simon. I was the nominated driver, surprise, surprise!

Geelong is a great town I really liked it.  There is a lovely waterfront with swimming areas, big wide streets, a botanical garden and a very funky library and art gallery and an amusing bollard walk which goes from one side of the bay to the other and each bollard is painted with some person  or a group of people to do with Geelong’s history. A fun way to explore.

We sailed on the Spirit of Tasmania from here. I was a bit nervous about having a rough crossing but it was lovely and calm so I slept straight through to the wake up call. It was a very nice ship.

This was a train trip for Simon’s birthday. It’s a restaurant train so you have a five course meal whilst travelling along very very slowly from Drysdale to Queenscliff. We had bicycles passing us. There is another great rail trail now on my to do list.

The food was great, even the vegan dishes for me. They have lots of local Bellarine wines to choose from so Simon was happy. It takes 3 hours return trip. A very lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

We drove from Warrnambool to the Twelve Apostles. A great day driving along a spectacular coastline, it was quiet until we got to Loch Ard Gorge and the Twelve Apostles and then it was mayhem. Coach after coach of visitors.

Lovely town walked out to the front along the river to Griffiths Island. The sea was roaring, very rough and the wind was fierce. Had to shelter in a lovely pub called ‘The Stump’ which was very Cornish looking. Lots of these little country towns in Victoria remind me of Cornwall.

Went to the Warrnambool Hot Springs. These were very much a luxurious experience compared to the hot springs we did out in western Queensland. They have multiple pools aromatherapy, mood lighting and some with waterfalls. Each one is a different temperature and there is a very cold plunge pool. It was really good. I even managed the cold plunge pool twice.  Would definitely do this again.  They even had a machine to dry your swimwear!

Stopped for the night on Lake Bolac right on the water. It was cold, raining and windy but this place is big on waterskiing so would be great in the summer.