December 26 - 28

On the way back to Rye after Christmas we called in to see the sand sculptures at Frankston. The theme was "under the sea". The sculptures are amazing:








Note the detail of the rivets on the submarine (above) and the buildings (below)








Back at Rye Brian and Cheryl decided to take us to a place called the Gorge. The last part is a climb over a fairly steep sand dune. Brian helped Cheryl to the top by pulling her




I scrambled to the top by crawling.
However the views were worth the trouble.








The next part of our journey sees us meeting up with fellow kiwis and taking a scenic route from Melbourne to Adelaide.

Merry Christmas

So the next thing to get fixed on the vehicle was the ABS. The folk at Shepparton had decided that the computer needed replacing, so it was a bit of a relief when the Pakenham auto electrician said that the front left sensor was at fault. (we thought that Shepparton had ruled that out). So once again we made a trip from Rye to Pakenham, had breakfast in a local cafe and waited for the phone call to say all was repaired. After a two hour breakfast we picked up our repaired vehicle and decided to head back to Rye down the East coast of the peninsular instead of the regular route.
Lunch stop was at Flinders. We found a quiet cafe down a side street.....and found that they were in the Guiness Book of Records for the largest custard square a.k.a. Vanilla Slice, so of course Brandt just had to have a piece.








No he didn't finish it, we had to get a doggy bag.

Next stop was at Cape Schank.
Got out of the car and went for a "small" walk


When told "we needn't go all the way down" I agreed to go partway.


But seemed to get lured further and further down


I did not go ALL the way down, but nearly (I decided that the last flight of steps was one flight too many).
While waiting for Brandt to come back up I noticed this warning





The rock to the left of the cliff is known as "pulpit rock"
So began what I thought would be an agonizing return to the top. I (and Brandt too) was amazed at how easily I walked back up. I've decided that it was a result of climbing in and out of the caravan many times a day!

In Shepparton there is a shop called "Cheap as Chips" that is where we bought our Christmas decorations and solar lights. The lights come on of their own accord when the natural light fades.
The tinsel came in at least five meter lengths





One day we decided to be tourists and went to the Boneo Maze and Wetlands








They also had an area that contained what we found to be difficult puzzles


Does this sum it up?


Not to be beaten, Cheryl took photos of this puzzle plus a photo of the solution (at last check, she is still working on it).

Next stop was a place called Arthurs Seat, where we had coffee. This is a great lookout over towards Melbourne city (apparently on a nice clear day the city skyline is visible from here).



We came to Melbourne to house sit for four days. We drove up the West coast of the peninsular, stopping for lunch at Brighton.





I was taken by the variation in colour between sea and sky.


We return to Rye on Boxing Day.

So this is wishing my "followers" and my readers a very blessed Christmas and a wonderful new year.

On to Melbourne

After three weeks at Greens Lake (the longest time we have spent in one place) we moved on. The ABS light still showing but $480 spent and the diagnosis not complete. Not far down the road ALL the lights came on. After careful thought, it was decided that we continue to the caravan park in Bendigo where we could put the battery on the charger overnight and then limp in to Melbourne. Brandt decided to make excellent use of the Anderson plug. He connected all four batteries and we set off. It was a lovely sunny day, which meant that the solar panels on top of the van were putting current into the batteries that were helping to keep us going so we were "solar powered" (good thinking!) The result was that we got to Berwick on the far side of Melbourne with no problems. However I did notice that the e-tag for the toll roads beeped more often than I would have liked. On the other hand it was a much easier passage across Melbourne than we had when we were here in 1990!
First thing Monday morning we took the car to a garage recommended by our friend and fellow grey nomad, Brian. The diagnosis was that the alternator installed in June was damaged beyond repair. We are all left wondering why.


So now we are at Rye on the Mornington Peninsular and will be here until after Christmas.
We are staying with Brian and Cheryl. It was a tight squeeze but we got the van in





Went for a walk along beach number 16 last night.





Here is a collage Cheryl made from photos she took yesterday.