Days 244 to 246 - This is the end.....

Hi Folks,

As these are my last 3 days, I thought I'd just put it all into one blog entry. As my trip has been getting closer to ending, it's been harder to write these things.

So on Friday, I headed to Venus Bay, to catch up with some old and very good friends. We'd hired a house right near the sea, to kick back and relax. My good friend Drew also brought a boat down, to do a bit of fishing. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great on Friday, so we fished off the river, and the beach.

But on Saturday, the weather was fantastic, so we took the little tinnie out into the little inlet there, and had a ball. We caught plenty of fish, including some big trevally, as well as plenty of flathead, salmon, a snapper and a big king george. It was great day out, and the only thing that stopped us was when the weather kicked up. Little tinnie boats and windy days just don't mix.

Sunday was bit the same, although I just fished from the beach whilst the other boys took the boat out.

So, I'm now home. It's a strange feeling, I know I've been back a few times during the trip, but this is now the end of the trip.

I'd just like to thank all the people that have keep me sane whilst away, by calling, emailing, smsing or even coming up and seeing me. It's been a great trip, and I've been to some wonderful places.

I hope you've enjoyed your readings, as this is my last entry. I hope to catch up with you all soon.
Bye

Day 243 - And on to Wilsons Promotory

Hi everyone. Well, I woke up at 5:30 this morning, it's funny how the sound of rain, and the fullness of bladder will wake you up when you're camping. Luckily it didn't rain for long, and I could get out of my tent.

Unfortunately, I didn't have as much luck as yesterday. There was no fish to be found today. So, after packing up, I went for a bath in the river. I reckon the water was about 5 degrees, if that, a nice way to get rid of your hangover I think.

Now, I stopped in Heyfield for breaky. A thing to note: their bakery there is fantastic. Yummo.

From there I drove to Wilson's Prom, for a few walks. I stopped at Tidal River first, for some lunch, at which I got attacked by Rosellas. Quite funny, I even fed them chicken!!

The main reason I came here was to climb Mt Oberon, and that's what I did. A 3.5km hike, all uphill, but a reasonably simple, but steep walk. At the top, you can see pretty much the whole of the prom, very nice.

After that, I went down to walk along the tidal river, and then played on squeaky beach (no squeaks for me), before heading back to my hotel. Cade, I'm staying in Foster, just for something different.

Birdie num-num

From the top of Mt Oberon

Day 242 - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Hi Folks, well, for me, today included lots of things. I initially left Omeo, and came back down to almost sea level. In doing so, the temperature was a lot more comfortable.

I stopped in at Bairnsdale to pick up some supplies (beer and ice), and then continued on. My next stop was Heyfield, where I stopped in at the local pub for lunch. And doh, they weren't serving.

Anyway, I ramble. From there I was heading up to one of my favourite camping spots, Cheynes Bridge, on the McAlister River. Now, I haven't been there for about 5 years now, due to a number of elements, mainly floods and bush-fires, but I figured it was time.

When I got there, I was in for a surprise. Firstly, the area is much clearer than what it used to be. They have tables and chairs permanently there now, as well as pit-fires cemented in. So Lance, we don't need Tanya there to help us "OK" the fireplace anymore. They have different toilets now too, I guess the old ones got washed away. Unfortunately, they're still pit toilets.

The next thing to note is that I was the only person there. But the fires were still blowing smoke, so a few groups must have left earlier that day.

So, I checked out the water, and it was pretty high, and running pretty fast, so I went for a drive to find some slow water, but after an hour I came back. I headed to that location just above the bridge, but had no success at all there.

Therefore, I headed back to the tent, turned on the radio, and listened to the cricket for a few hours (and drank a few too). In between innings, I headed down to the local "beach" to do some twilight fishing (ala Cade), and put 2 rods on. I'd only just got both rods in when I started to get bits. Not long after, I reeled in my first trout of this holiday. It'd swallowed the hook, and while dealing with that, my other rod went off. So I reeled that one in as well, this time a big carp. Over the next 75 minutes, I caught 5 trout and 1 carp, the rods continually going off. Unfortunately, 3 of the trout fully swallowed the hooks, and probably didn't make it.

I was so happy with the day's fishing, that I didn't even get to upset when Australia lost the cricket.

So, what's the good, bad and ugly. Good - catching 6 fish. Bad - yes, it rained, but not to bad. Ugly - well, I did have to go for a swim didn't eye, and I couldn't find my bathers.....

McAlister River - the corner

Rainbow trout

Day 241 - Driving around the Alpine region

Hi folks, as you can see, we're back with the photos today. Not sure what happened yesterday, photos went missing again.

So, to fill in one of the final days, I decided to do a big round trip around the alpine region. This required me to drive about 220km, all in the mountains. So plenty of ups and downs, and I think my brakes are probably worn down a bit more now.

I started the day by driving up to Dinner Plain. What a lovely little town, that's not really a town. Whilst there, I decided to do a walk, to the Carmichael Falls. Even though I didn't get into the falls themselves, I still managed to get my feet pretty wet, thanks to all the rain of the past few days.

From there I headed up to Mt Hotham. IT's funny going to these places and there not being much snow, even though I did get to see some. The trip down the other side of Hotham was exciting, lots of going down hills. On the way down, I stopped to take a look/photo of Mt Buffalo, about 50km away. Oh, and there's some crazy people out there. On my way down Hotham, I passed about 10 people riding their push-bikes up hill.

I headed in to Bright for lunch, and also to make a bet on the Melbourne Cup. How did everyone else go? I managed to put $5 each way on the winner, so I doubled my money. Very happy there.

From there I drove to Mt Bogong, via Mt Beauty. And from there I headed to Falls Creek. I didn't know there was a big dam on top. Not tempted for a swim though, it was about 5 degrees up there. I also did another walk, going to see Wallace Hut. An old hut in the middle of no-where, used by people who get lost during the winter months I guess.

So I headed back from there, and ended up at Anglers Rest for a bit of fishing. Once again, the water was going crazy, so I didn't last long there.

So, 4.5 days to go. Tears are starting to happen......

Carmichael Falls

Mt Hotham snow

Wallace Hut

Day 240 - Not long to go now

Hi folks, sorry about today, there's no photos. It just wasn't the day for them. I'll explain why.

I left Lakes Entrance, and headed up to Omeo. The weather wasn't any good, it was raining all day. Has anyone been to Omeo. There's not much here.

I spent the good part of an hour trying to get bait, I ended up digging a hole in the ground for worms. I got some advise of a spot to go to, but when I got there, the river was really flowing. Damn getting too much rain. So no fishing was done.

So, not much of a day. Hopefully tomorrow is a bigger day. Lots of driving in the mountains, plus a few walks as well.