A (Late) Birthday Dinner

 Lisa's birthday dinner got a little tangled in the end of year events and the Christmas holiday period.  Amends were made last night as we visited Fedeles.  

The meals were OK but none of us felt the urge to rush back.

Annual Reunion

We last met up as a youth group in late 1967.  In more recent times we have been having annual reunions.  The good part is that there are still a reasonable number of attendees and there is still plenty of good conversation and laughter.  More confronting is the evident deterioration and health problems that some are facing.

Claire's Birthday Lunch

 Finding an appropriate venue for any event is always a concern so I was very pleased to take up Adam's suggestion of Rob Dolan Winery for Claire's birthday lunch.  It is not far away and was the perfect location on the day with perfect warm, clear weather.

The "light" lunch was bigger than both of us but was a great way to spend a relaxed afternoon.

Claire's Birthday

 The family dinner for Claire's birthday is next week so it was great to catch up with Brett, Adam and Lisa this morning for a mini celebration.

Travelers Lunch

 Our little travel group is showing definite signs of age but we are still maintaining our three monthly lunches. On this occasion we were at Fong's Chinese in Bentleigh where we were served by a cheerful and slightly weird proprietor who gave us a great meal.

We then headed do David's place in Moorabbin for the post meal conference and analysis of world events over the past three months and, more importantly, where we next go for lunch!

The Girls Are In Town

 On Tuesday, Claire met up with her cousins for one of their irregular/regular conferences to debate the state of the world.  Valerie came in by train from Moe and Glenda came down from Cohuna by bus.  They all enjoy the semi-regular catchup.

Fast and Furious

 Sophie and her team were up against a team that were higher on the ladder but that didn't deter them.  It was a real tussle from start to finish with the scores running neck and neck. They only lost by a single point but the opposition certainly knew they were there!

Valentine’s Day

 Flowers are a little ephemeral for Mark so instead of red roses, he got Lisa a red car for Valentine's Day.

It's the same colour as the twin cab. There is a definite family preference for red in the household!

Mitchell Enters the Workforce

 Mitchell started work with BAE Systems last week.  We were very keen to hear how he got on with the new routine in his life and he called in on Saturday to keep us up to date.  The only downside is that it is difficult to access his workplace by public transport so it looks like he will be driving to work.  With two grandchildren in the permanent workforce, we are starting to feel old!

Normal Services Resume

 School is back, sport has started for the year and we are getting back into routines.  We watched Cooper and Jack both win their games on Saturday.

Kate's Birthday Celebration

 Our trip on the Murray resulted in a delay to our family celebration of Kate's birthday however things were put to right last night. It was great to catch up with the whole family after our time away.  As the family grows, accommodating everyone is going to be the future challenge.

Heading Home

 We headed home via Bendigo because we had an invitation to visit Brenton and Sol Russell.  We called in on the Pink Lake near Dimboola and were pleased to see that on this occasion the Lake was actually pink.

We met Brenton at his practice in Bendigo.  He has set up his rooms in a beautiful old house in Sternberg Street just a little way down from Claire's grandfather's childhood home in the same street.

Then we went to his house set in about seven acres of bush about 10 minutes drive away.

The dam on the property has never been dry and appears to collect from all the surrounding properties.  The old house is in wonderful condition and even has an old range although they no longer use it.  Sol's scones are legendary and we can attest to that.

Our Final Day

 We had berthed overnight at Mannum and being Australia Day, the local Lions Club was setting up on the river for a concert and early breakfast.  This was too much for Terry.  He just had to have a second full breakfast of bacon and eggs, sausage and tomato.

We took a coach tour to a local apricot farm to hear of the trials and tribulations of a primary producer in the area.  However this one had diversified into other products and was producing confectionery, beauty products, honey etc.  He was also moving into the tourism area and had a huge collection of vintage and american muscle cars.

This is a very rare earl Audi with a two stroke engine.

Back on board we traveled to Murray Bridge and disembarkation.

We had a short run to our accommodation for the evening at the Coonalpyn Hotel.  An experience firmly embedded in our memory.

The last time I had stayed in accommodation like this was when I was five years old and stayed in a country guest house with my parents.  Despite the many shortcomings, like power cords draped across the floor, blocked sink and collapsing shower rails - the bed was very comfortable and clean.

Aboriginal History

 Heading south we came to an area of high cliffs some of which showed significant erosion and undercutting.

Some of this area had been set aside and protected because of its significance as an aboriginal historic site.

A most erudite and articulate local guide showed us over the site and described how the land was used by different groups and described the rock hieroglyphs were used as documents by the local aboriginal population.  This was one of the best presentations we had heard.

The hieroglyphs provided information on the local food sources, vegetation types, distances (in days walk) to other resources etc.  The image of the dolphin (above) reflects back to a time when the river was open to the sea and dolphins would swim up and get stranded so becoming a valuable food source.

At our final Captains Dinner we said farewell to the six staff members who had looked after us so well on the journey downriver.

Big Bend

 Heading south there were many reminders on the riverbank of the problems the river flooding.

We visited the small settlement of Swan Reach that had a small population, a small motor museum and a number of houses that had spent some time underwater as a result of floods.

We visited one of many almond farms in the area and learned that the Australian industry is growing so fast it is approaching the production volumes of California.

We moored at "Big Bend" overnight.  This is the location of the tallest cliffs along the Murray.

A local entertainer came on board and sang with one of the chefs.

The boat's lights produced an interesting glow on the cliffs at night.