Jack the Basketballer

Jack has joined a team and is now playing weekly games of Basketball.  He had been sick this week so we were wondering how it would go.  He really pushed himself and it seemed to work as they won 26 to 2.

Photos Updated

In Granny's Gallery, Mitchell, Ebony and Holly's photos were getting very old.  An updade was long overdue and yesterday was the day.  Granny is happy again!

Basketball - Pat

Pat's team were up against an opposition that looked stronger.  The early disparity in the scores was pegged back late in the game so the boys only lost by 1 point.

Basketball - James

James' team met a smaller but determined Ivanhoe team this week.  The teams were evenly matched but our boys came out on top at the end winning by 5 points.  interestingly, James scored 5 points during the game.

James demonstrating the gentle art of "Don"t Argue".

James gave away a couple of fouls but he drew a few too, and in this case it resulted in a point.

It's All Greek ....

Sunday night dinner from a Greek Take Away. Yum.  The kids seemed to enjoy it and it will be noted that there were plenty of Wait Staff to cater for their every need!

Basketball

Having been away for a while, today was the first opportunity for us to see Patrick and James playing in their new teams for this season.
Pat seems to have landed in a strong team - again - and he has developed again since we last saw him play.  His confidence has grown and he was working harder for the ball.  His team had an easy win.

This week, James' team encountered a team of monsters.  The age group is Years 11 & 12 and I think it would be a fair bet that the opposition was all 12.  For James it was a real workout.  He is good to watch when he gets his "determined" face on and it was on a lot during this game.

 Although they did not win, the boys pulled off a respectable score in a game that was looking fairly bleak in the first 15 minutes.

Grandparents' Day at Kinder

Cooper invited us along to see his Kinder today.  Needless to say there was plenty of action in the playground.  The drum in the "Bali House" was a bit of a favourite.

Then there was all the climbing action.

Wagga Wagga

As part of the Shakedown Trip with Graeme and Rhondda we decided to go to Wagga Wagga from Jerilderie.  The trip took us across some magnificent country that is currently in prime condition as a result of the recent good weather and rain.  The little country towns in NSW are really well kept and worth a visit.  We had lunch at Urana - no, we had not heard of it either.  The Post Office featured a magnificent rose garden.

and the public buildings were in excellent condition.  The locals have a real pride in their towns.

then it was on to Wagga Wagga.  We checked out the banks of the Murrumbidgie,

and went to visit Charles Sturt University.  They run a viticulture course there and do wine tastings and sales.

Wagga was a real surprise.  It is huge.  We did not plan sufficient time there so we will return.

Passing of an Era

It has been with us a long time but when the time came for a new van, Graeme and Rhondda decided to take over the Slingshot.  We went with them on their "shakedown" trip to learn about the van and set it up for future travel.

We set out for Jerilderie in NSW.  While we had heard about it we had never been there so we set up there for the evening.

Jerilderie is where Ned Kelly "stuck up" the bank and after he had done his business, shouted the bar at the local hotel.  The hotel is looking a little the worse for wear these days (as is Ned!)

The Post Office is being restored for the tourists.

Spring has Sprung

The morning walks are getting more interesting these days as it is becoming warmer, the mornings brighter and the days longer.

There is new growth everywhere.

and with some industrial strength weather patterns, you never know what you will see in the parks.  I hope some of the trees survive!

Craig and Michelle's Wedding

Over the weekend we attended Craig and Michelle's wedding in Williamstown with the reception in the Park Hyatt Hotel where we stayed overnight. It was a fantastic, joyous event, meticulously organised and presented.

Broken Hill

We spent a day having a look around Broken Hill and surrounds.  It is a town embedded in a bleak landscape with road kill and scavenging birds being one of the features of the drive in. 

 

The town is full of old houses from an era past.  Many have corrugated iron walls and seem to be out of the 19th Century.

The backdrop to the whole town is the huge mullock heap of tailings pulled out of the mine.  We had a look at one of the old towers and went to the Visitor Centre on top of the mullock heap.

Back near Silverton we saw the Mundi Mundi Lookout over the huge flat plane where locals assured us you could see the curvature of the earth! (You couldn't)

Then it was back to the Silverton Hotel for a drink.

In the evening we went back to the Mundi Mundi Lookout to see the sunset (which was beautiful as promised).  We shared the location with a film crew who were setting up for some scenes in an upcoming movie.

The next couple of days will be occupied getting back to Melbourne as fast as we can.  It is a price you have to pay for some magical scenery in this country.

Menindee

From Broken Hill it is only about 120km to the historic town of Menindee on the Darling River.

It was at this town, and in fact, from this pub, that Burke and Wills assembled their ill fated expedition to cross the centre of Australia.

They stayed in the pub before setting off.  How they had the courage to set out across such a barren landscape is beyond me.  Of course, most of them died including the imported camel driver and most of the camels.  Even though they were starving they were so arrogant that they refused to eat the camel meat.

Lisa had a look at the camel driver's grave. It was a long day after which it was back to the camp for drinks.

Silverton

Instead of staying in Broken Hill we went out to Silverton.  This is the site of the original discovery of silver in the area that lead to the opening of the Broken Hill Mines.  Silverton has seen better days and is now a shadow of it's former glory.  No wonder they filmed Mad Max here.

It is a desolate location but the boys always find things to do.  From the park, the walk to "town" took us across a dry creek.

We had a look at the old gaol and the historic displays it contained.

The Mad Max Museum is in keeping with the ramshackle nature of the film.

There is very little left of what was once a very large town.

The Council Chambers are closed through lack of interest but the pub is doing a roaring trade. More of that later.