Klara loves the sea

Carol in Oz - The Great Ocean Road

We've had a lovely weekend staying in a beach house at Wye River.  Thanks Airbnb!

On Saturday morning we drove to Geelong waterfront where we had no success in getting a sandwich from a cafe to sit by the waterside.  We had Klara with us and this was her first little holiday.  She isn't used to lots of people, cars or noise as she's a country girl.  All the cafes or bars were sit down affairs and very busy.  In the end we drove on and grabbed a Subway!

We had some time on the beach when we arrived at Wye River.  It must be my favourite beach side location with a pretty little stretch of sandy beach, interesting rocky areas at each side and the river meandering across the sand to meet the sea.  Klara got her first taste of salt water and really wasn't at all sure about the little waves rolling in.  She kept trying to run away from them.  The water in the river was like bath water and before long she was happily splashing in the shallow waves too.

The beach house was high on the hills overlooking the beach.  It had a ridiculously steep driveway.  It was a typical beach house with just an open kitchen / dining / living room across the front and two bedrooms and a bathroom off that large room.  We were glad to have a balcony with a view down to the pub and general store.

Sunday we had a drive to Apollo Bay with a stop on the way at Kennett River.  It was sad to see so many trees stripped bare of leaves - eaten by koalas. We spotted one koala on the side of the road in an empty tree skeleton.  We parked the car and walked along the "sure fire koala spotting" road and encountered another that was on quite a low branch.  He was awake and looking at us.  I got the best koala shots I've ever taken!

We checked out a little farmers market at Apollo Bay and bought a takeaway coffee to drink sitting on the grass by the beach.  We walked with Klara along the narrow boardwalk leading onto the beach and as she passed she brushed against the leg of a female Asian tourist who was standing in the middle of the path.  Well, you'd think the girl had been branded with a hot iron!  She screeched her head off and almost tried to climb the fence beside the path.  Poor Klara had no idea what was going on and I'm not sure we did either.  We tried to apologize across her screams but Klara's continued presence meant there was no stopping her noise.  We just got out of there!!

After lunch back at the house we returned to the beach where Carol spent a good 3 hours basking in the sun reading a book and we paddled with Klara and sat by the beach to chat. That evening when I took Klara out I spotted a koala in a tree behind the house.  This morning there was one level with the balcony out the front.  It was lovely to see as we ate our breakfast.

As we drove away from Wye River, Klara whined on and on. She had been a great little traveller on the way there so it was a mystery as to what the problem was. When we turned inland and the water was out of sight the whining stopped.  I think she was saying she'd like another swim. 

We stopped at Winchelsea to look for a takeaway coffee on the way home.  We spotted a tiny cafe called Cafe La Hoot which appeared to be a little box of a room at the side of a house that was on a corner.  The location was great with a park, seating, barbeque and toilet facilities just across the road.  They had some rustic seating outside and a spot to sit and wait for coffees to be made.  We shared a delicious raspberry muffin and the coffee was really, really good.

House - ceilings and floors

Mick's made some great progress on the house.  We have ceilings and floors now!  There was a lot of work involved in those two things.  All the timber lining boards for the ceilings have been sprayed with undercoat.  The floor first needed to be framed up and insulated before the particleboard sheets could be laid.  We also have internal doors - lovely old solid timber doors that look like they have come from a factory office.  Mick bought them years ago for his collection of "I'll use this one day" items.  There were four doors and we have only four doors off the little hallway.  Perfect.

Now Mick's taken a week off work and is busy insulating and lining the internal walls.  We have Garry's son, Eamon, doing some work for us for a couple of days.  He's tackling Mick's most hated job - flat pack kitchen cabinets. 

Carol in Oz - Quilting day, bbq, Mt Dandenong

Saturday was my monthly quilting group. Carol doesn't really sew but said she would like to come along. She might not sew but she does talk, and with 70 wonen to talk to she managed just fine to amuse herself. Every time I looked up she was talking to someone else. The rest of our table had a giggle watching her make her way around the room.

When I took Klara out before bed that night the sky was alive with stars. Its only a day or two off from a new moon so with the sky being darker it really was magical. I went back in and got Carol and we stood there star gazing.

Everything feels crisp and fresh after a good thunderstorm we had Friday evening. The rain bucketed down. Carol found it amusing that we get excited over a good dose of rain and we all stood in the open doorway of the shed watching it. A summer storm is always so welcome. We had a smaller one Saturday late afternoon but the rain hasn't been enough to fill our water tanks. We are now starting to be careful with our water with the temperatures being up and the rain not coming often.

Sunday, my friend Vic came up with her new "fella" for a bbq lunch. That also meant a visitor for Klara - Patrina the guide dog puppy.  We had a lovely day with great weather.  The dogs wore themselves out and got absolutely filthy in mud.  Somehow, every time I see Vic we end up washing dogs or kitchen floors. Sunday it was the dogs again.

It was a bit sad saying goodbye to Patrina because we mightn't see her again.  She goes back to guide dogs soon and if she passes the training she will be off to a new life.  If she doesn't pass then we may just end up with a new family member!  She is a very gentle dog so it looks like she might succeed in her training though.

Today Carol and I had a drive to Melbourne and Mt Dandenong.  I took her to see each of the houses we'd lived in.  Then we continued on up Mt Dandenong to Olinda, admiring the views, trees and gardens along the way.  We had lunch at Pie in the Sky and brought a couple of their pies home for Mick's dinner.  It was a bit of a drizzly day but an enjoyable drive all the same.  We will go back again before Carol goes home to stay overnight on Mt Dandenong and do a couple of the touristy things.