Bright Victoria – Bright Pine Valley Caravan Park

This last ANZAC weekend we made the trek up to Bright, Vic – the High Country of Victoria. We picked the perfect time of year to visit this beautiful part of the country, and the weather was absolutely perfect.

The drive up from West of Melbourne to Bright was very pleasant. The green rolling hills passing you by mile on mile for pretty much the full 3.5 hours it took us to get there. The road is excellent and is a dual carriage way for 90% of the drive.

We stopped in Euroa for a break for the kids. Euroa is a lovely little town just off the main road (about 4km) and is a great spot to stop. There is a large playground on the way into town, which we stopped at to let the kids burn off some steam. Further up the road and right next to the main centre of town is a beautiful river and riverside park, perfect for picnicking. I didn’t try the coffee or the food here so can’t comment on it.

 

The Playground at Euroa

 

Once you hit Myrtleford (about 40 km from Bright) the scenery hits you. It’s a beautiful drive and you understand why there are so many cyclists around and why they are so well catered for. We will definitely be bringing our bikes next time we are up here (which won’t be long I can assure you).

 

The road between Myrtleford and Bright

 

We had picked Bright Pine Valley Caravan Park for our camp site for the weekend. The caravan park is pretty small and the individual sites are a squeeze. But there is plenty on offer. A good location, just 10 minutes walk from the centre of town, the park boasts a small,solar heated swimming pool, a jumping pillow, small playground, games room, camp kitchen area, en-suite camping sites, great shower/toilet facilities and some of the friendliest management we have come across while camping.

 

Bright Pine Valley Caravan Park

 

We had originally booked two camp sites next to each other, on of which was an en-suite site. One for us, and one for our friends who were also camping. It turned out that the booking was mixed up and the site next to ours had been taken by another camper. As the en-suite site had a decent amount of space (compared to the other sites) we decided to pitch both camper trailers (both Tambo Coopers) on the same site. We then used the other site for parking. It turned out really well. With the campers facing each other we had a great entertainment area between them and proceeded to have an excellent weekend.

 

The En-suite Camping site at Bright Pine Valley Caravan Park

 

The en-suite was exceptional. Very new and clean and tidy. And it even came with heating lamps to ensure a you didn’t freeze your nuts off on those cold winter mornings/evenings.

 

5 star accommodation for the kids

 

Bright Pine Valley Caravan Park

 

We were joined by our friends Viv & Russ and Clinton & Judy and all the kids for the weekend. Having friends around camp makes for a much richer experience in my opinion. Taking turns with main meals means that you are not on the go all the time and many hands make light work of all there is to do around camp. And there is always something that needs to be done; especially if you have small children.

Two evening meals included using the awesome spit braai that was a present from my cousin Cris. You can see it in the picture below. It’s fantastic for chicken. Lamb is not too bad, but I need to figure out how to time it better. I always seem to do lamb for a little longer than I should and it comes out a little dry.

 

All set for a great evening

 

Although Sunday was our last day a number of people had packed up an left the day before, giving us a little more breathing space around the park. Our neighbouring en-suite site campers upped sticks early on Sunday morning and gave us a perfect spot to set up for a most excellent cooked breakfast. There’s just something wonderful about eggs and bacon and a good cup of coffee to make camping experiences all the more enjoyable.

 

Sunday Morning breakfast

 

Walks and Colours

It seems that Bright has a lot to offer. So going there for a weekend trip is just not going to cut it.

There are endless walks along beautiful rivers and up mountain passes. Bike rides along single track, or rail track, fishing, wondering, 4×4’ing, or simply just sitting and enjoying the scenery.

The Oven’s river runs right through Bright and is the perfect spot for a walk, a ride, a picnic, or indeed a wedding; as we chanced upon on our walk up and down the river. The wedding ceremony had set up just a little further along (than in the picture below). It looked idyllic, and they had the weather to match.

 

Scenery along the Ovens River, Bright

 

There is a massive playground in the town right next to the ovens river and it’s a hit with the kids. Oh, at the Bright Brewery overlooks the playground as well, so there is always a cold bevvy on hand for thirsty parents.

We had dinner at the Brewery on the last evening off our stay and while the beers were good the service was very slow (50 mins for pizza) and the food, when it did arrive, was ‘Ok’. The staff would argue “It’s because we are so busy”, but that should be catered for (excuse the pun).

 

The Playground on the Ovens River, Bright

 

Bright is great for bikes

 

The playground kept the kids happy

 

Misty mornings in Bright, Vic

 

The Haylers out camping again

 

Bright, although quite a drive from Melbourne, was fantastic. Clean air, beautiful scenery, lovely people and happy campers. We will definitely be back, but this time I’m staying for a week.

Oh, and best coffee in town is at Cafe Velo. The service is slow, but the coffee is worth the wait, way better than what you get from the main street cafes.

 

Rhino Roof Rack

We bought a Rhino Roof Rack and Roof Box a few weeks ago, but didn’t get round to installing it right away and now I’m paying the price of this procrastination.

When I went to install it yesterday there were two tiny, but crucial, pieces of the assembly missing (the little nut in the centre of the assembly, see below). So I couldn’t install it and we are leaving in just 5 days time.

Houston, we have a problem…

Thankfully the people at Roof Rack City have agreed to express post the missing parts immediately. Fingers crossed they get here before Friday!

 

Wilson’s Prom, here we come!

Getting very excited now. Our Christmas trip to Wilson’s Prom is just a few days away, but we are still nowhere near ready. This is going to be a first for us. Camping for a week, over Christmas, on a beach. Happy days!!

Trailers not packed, presents are not wrapped, ham yet to be purchased….. This is going to be a busy week indeed.

 

Tambo Campers has closed its doors.

 

EDIT 2013-11-19:  I’ve received great news that Tambo Campers is now back up and running! I received this comment from Ian Peel :

Tambo Camper Trailers has Re-open it doors at factory 7/162 Rooks road Vermont can be contacted on 0422 262 544 kind regards the Tambo Team

Looking forward to seeing the new products that the Tambo Team will be offering: http://tambocampertrailers.com.au

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It seems we took one of the final deliveries for the Tambo Cooper, which was back in May this year. Tambo Campers has closed its doors for business. Tambo Campers was a small family run business in Melbourne, with a big heart and an amazing product line up.  Their camper trailers are very well known and highly regarded for their build quality and longevity.

From the Tambo Campers website:

It is with regret that we announce Tambo Campers have closed permanently.

With a key member of our team leaving for an interstate career change, combined with a persistent  back problems that could need an operation later this year, it became clear over the last couple of weeks that now is the time to stop –  medical advice can no longer be ignored.

We thanks all member of our family and colleagues that have been involved over the last decade or so in particular Bill, Bob, Jeff, Gary, Andy, Charlie, Zenon, Amanda, Keith, Emma, Bec, Georgia and Barb.

To all our customers we have enjoyed putting together your campers and customising them to suit a variety of your needs. We’ll miss the interaction and friendship.

Whilst they may have closed their doors, they have ensured that all current Tambo owners will still be able to upgrade/repair their campers by providing the details of the Fabricators they used. This is a testament to the gold standard of service that they have provided their customers in the past.

Jeff from Edgell Fabrication will be able to help out with following items:

• Toolboxes
• Tailgate Kitchens (although I am a Drifta convert, be sure to check out their kitchens too)
• Boat Racks
• Stone guards
• Annexe walls
• Travel Covers
• Even trailers….

Jeff can be contacted on 03 9837 5000

We wish Keith, Amanda and the rest of the team at Tambo Campers all the very best for the future.

 

Day Hike – You Yangs National Park

What? No Tambo Cooper camper trailer in tow? Too bloody right!

We needed a weekend or two to let the trailer have a break and to give us a chance to clean up around the house. It wasn’t an all-work-no-play weekend though as we decided that we would go for a hike in the You Yangs, which are practically on our doorstep just 25 minutes down the road.

You Yangs National Park

I used to frequent the You Yangs for the downhill Mountain biking that can be found in the Stockyards or in the Plantation. That was back in the summer months when I was getting off work early enough to get a decent ride in. These days however, I’m stuck at a desk until 5pm and by then the sun is well on it’s way to bed.

The one thing that I hadn’t experienced were all the walking trails around the park. And the are loads of them.

Here’s a link to a Vic Parks You Yangs PDF Map. You’ll be able to see the mountain biking trails and the walking trails. There are a good number to choose from and all are spectacular for a bit a scenery.

East West Circular Walk

We decided on the East-West Circular walk. It’s a 4.5 km, 2 hour hike around one of the peaks. As Parks Vic says:

Enjoy this gentle loop walk with some medium gradients, starting and finishing at the Turntable car park. Rewarding views of the You Yangs and the surrounding area can be seen.

We took the kids. We were prepared too. For once. The Mrs had the littlest member in a Baby Bjorn Baby Carrier and I had Backpack Child Carrier for the other sprog (just in case he got tired. Which he did about 400m into the walk. We had a blast. The hike was definitely a little challenging at times. There were some slippery bits (it had been raining on an off) and navigating the rocks with two little ones in tow is a bit nerve racking. Especially when the almost-4yr-old decides that he can run and jump all over the place…

We took a little picnic lunch and found a great open grassy area at pretty much the half-way mark. It was so great to get out and about in the bush again and get a bit of exercise – we needed it!

Here are some photos from the walk

Getting ready for the hike at Turntable Car Park

All togged up and ready to go!

The start of the East-West Walk

Scenery along the East-West Walk

 

Marysville Caravan Park

This last weekend we took a trip up to Marysville, Vic. We used this as a base to get up to the snowy slopes of Lake Mountain Alpine Resort, where they were having a Family fun day/weekend. We had been promising Ben that we would go up to the snow just as soon as there was any.

We stayed at the delightful Marysville Caravan Park, which is situated right in the heart of Marysville. Complete with the Steavenson River running right through the park, this camp ground had a lot to offer it’s few inhabitants. There are wonderfully new and well appointed ablution blocks with hot showers, a coin operated laundry with both washers and dryers, a kitchen area with microwave and stove, a giant jumping pillow (it seems these are everywhere these days and are the preference over the trampoline), a kids playground, ample sized camping spots, community fire pits next to the river, and very close proximity to the town centre (a 5 minute walk).

We had a late check-in after only being able to leave Melbourne at peak hour (5pm). It took us the better part of 3.5 hours for what should have been a 2 hour journey. Next time I’ll take a half day and we will be able to get to our destination, set up camp and get ourselves ready for the evening before 5pm.

Whilst we had a bit of an incident on the first night, all of our fellow campers were very friendly and we had a good chat with everyone there (just about). Most of the others were older (read: older than us) couples with their Jayco’s, some of which were travelling as a group. There were a couple of other families with kids, which meant that Ben had someone to play with. He’s such a confident little guy. Just walks right up to the older kids and asks “Hey, can you be my friend?” “Let’s play run and chase!”

Dealing with the cold

It was bloody freezing on Sunday/Monday mornings. Literally. But we pulled through the night in our little tent with the help of a ten blade oil heater; bought for $20 off of eBay. What a difference it made. It got down to –3 on Monday morning, and it showed. The heater had kept us toasty warm in the main tent and the canvas was nice and dry. However the annex roof was frosty both inside and out. We had some fun warming up the annex to try and dry out the roof & walls, but it was still a bit damp come time to pack away. So it was out with all the canvas once we got home.

Kids love camping, and they love to help

I know Ben loves going camping. He says so. Often. And he was very upset that we had to leave, but was great at helping pack up the trailer. Stella on the other hand can’t talk yet and so we assume that she is having fun. Although, the change to her moany attitude was pronounced as soon as she had had a warm bath (in a warm room) and was allowed to roam freely around the house once again – She was fairly restrained at the campsite due to the river being so close. As she gets older though she will have lots more fun and will be able to join in with Ben’s play.

 

The caravan site itself is in such a beautiful setting. In amongst the hills and the trees it is very picturesque. And when the sun shines it is difficult to leave, as we found out this last Monday (our last day there).

Will we go back? Most definitely. So all that remains is to set another date and pack up the camper trailer. Oh, and wait for a bit more snow!

 

Lake Mountain Alpine Resort

As I sit here in the shelter of our awesome Tambo Cooper camper trailer with a glass of Penfold’s Port (the second bottle in as many days, but not for the reason you might think), I reflect on a very busy, but fantastic day out to the not-so-very-snowy slopes of Lake Mountain Alpine Resort.

Family Fun Day/Weekend

This weekend is the opening of ski season here in Victoria and Lake Mountain Alpine Resort has put on a Family Fun Day to get things started. Now last week we had a great weather system push through a dump a few inches of snow up here, so we were hoping for a bit more in the run up to this weekend’s camping trip. However, the sunshine and warmer temperatures had pretty much done away with the snow by the time we got there. All was not completely lost as the resort had a few snow ice machines pumping out as much slippery stuff as possible in preparation for the hoards of families that would be making the trek up from Melbourne.

They resort had also put on a DJ, some live music, a bouncy Batman castle, Lenny The Possum, and some gorgeous sunshine (not sure how they managed that one). I’ve got say, from when we were here last time (September 2010) things have changed a little bit. For the better, obviously. There are now two big buildings; one to house the ski shop and hire centre, and one to house the restaurant. Both buildings are pretty big and cater for a large number of people. Both are very well appointed and have great amenities. 

 

We had decided to take our own lunch, snacks and a giant flask of steaming Milo. I’m glad we did too, as the food coming out of the kitchen did not look that appetising at all and the vast quantities of it being left uneaten didn’t do anything to change our point of view. It was pricey too. The coffee (the only thing I did actually buy) was, um, drinkable. At least the bouncy castle and the live music were entertaining for the kids.

Tobogganing Baby!

The little toboggan slope that could. It held out well for the day of relentless sliders that adorned its once white and sleek profile, but then slowly descended into a brown hilly mess that was pretty hard to get a good slide on. We, who were there nice an early, got a number of pristine slides in well before the masses arrived. Climbing up that bloody hill over and over again is enough exercise for one weekend I can tell you….

Ben was a little nervous at first but then was hurtling down the slopes by himself by the day’s end. He’s quite the little dude now. “I can do it myself daddy!”

Stella, of course, was just too cool for school. Or that’s what she thought anyhow. This child worries me…

We managed to drag to kids away from the entertainment at about 2pm. We had been out since 8am, so these two poppets were absolutely shattered. The kids were pretty tired too. We took bets on who would fall asleep the fastest and how long it would take. Stella lost. She fell asleep within 4 minutes. Ben followed 2 minutes after her. Lynette came in 3rd at 15 minutes. I had to forfeit the game. I was driving after all.

All in all we had a brilliant day and will definitely be back here for some more snowy fun. And when the kids are big enough we will hit the slopes of Mt Buller for some proper skiing.

 

Dude, Where’s my Milk?

And my beer, my port, my bacon, my tomato sauce and my iPhone cable?

So we wake up this morning and I roll out of bed to make the clan some tea. Please note this is not just some tea, this is Imfrikkinstarvingwherethehellsmytea kinda tea. I open up the fridge (eski to Australians) and stare into it for a good 15 seconds. Then I look around the kitchen area and the back of the trailer. Then I ask “Babe, where’d you put the milk?”, to which the answer came back “In the fridge” “Are you sure?” “Yes!” So I stare at the fridge again half expecting miracles to happen, half bemused. “It’s not there. And by the way, there’s no much else it here for that matter either”

Penny drops. Eventually (Hey, it was early and it was a disruptive night, I was tired). Someone bastard had decided to help themselves to a few goodies during the night while we slept not 3 feet away. And they must have been shopping too as a number of our neighbours in the caravan park also had a few things missing out of their fridges/eskis.

My guess is that a few “young people” (really what is this world coming to these days) had been out on the piss/weed, got the munchies and decided that a late night shopping trip through the camp site was just what they needed. The local Woolies was closed at that time anyhow. That’s the limit of my speculation.

I’m really in two minds about this whole incident. On one hand stealing is stealing, no matter what it is and it should not be tolerated. Which is why I guess the the local Sergeant took it very seriously and got statements from all the ‘victims’ as well as questioning a lot of the youth that was out and about at the time. It’s also not great press for the caravan park. If word gets out (yeah, I’m not help much am I?) then there could be a decline in the number of visitors to the camp site. And this town needs as much tourism as it can get – it is still rebuilding after the horrific fires of 2009.

On the other hand, it was a few items of food and drink. Nothing of value was touched and there was plenty around I can assure you. In fact, the iPhone cable that was taken was attached to an iPhone at the time – they left the phone. They even left me a couple of beers. No one was hurt (except for my daughter who had to wait nearly 30 mins for her tea). So it wasn’t really a big deal. I was more just shocked that I couldn’t have my tea ….

The one thing I find interesting is that this type of thing has never happened around here before, Or so I am told. I’ve been camping in many places, in many countries, and have never had anything go missing at all. Until now. I’m going to chalk this one up to experience and count my blessings that nothing of value was taken (insurance would never have paid out for that). Next time we shall be more careful of what we leave lying around.

To those who helped themselves; I hope the bacon was as good as I imagined it would be. Don’t try it again. I’m ready this time.

 

Gunbower Island, Victoria

Nestled in amongst the trees Gunbower Island provides a tranquil escape from the busyness of Melbourne’s CBD. Except when you are on a boy’s weekend….

Gunbower Island is located 220km north of Melbourne and stretches from Gunbower Victoria to Cohuna and Koondrook on the Murray River. Gunbower Island in known as Australia’s largest inland Island which spans over 50 km in length and an area of 22,000 hectares . The Island is home to a population of native animals such as Kangaroos, Emus, Goannas, Possums, Snakes and over 100 different species of birds.

Source: http://www.gunbowerisland.com/ 

We headed out on our Boys weekend camping trip early Friday afternoon to try and cover the ~270Km up to Gunbower before it got too late. A stop or two along the way and we eventually made it to our camping spot at about 9pm – not as early as anticipated. But we did have to contend with a flat tyre and a loss of mobile signal (which meant that we had no idea where the other half of the party were).

Pre-arrival adventures

We realised that we had gone too far down a road and decided to turn around and head back the way we had come. This meant going off the dirt track. In doing so, and being less cautious than we should have been, a stump deflated our rear right tyre in about 2 seconds flat. The quickest one I have ever seen. It then took us a while to find all the equipment we needed to change the tyre and actually change it. Once done however, we managed to find the rest of the party in about 5 minutes.

The Campsite

Our campsite was located several Kms from the town of Gunbower. A great spot right on the river’s edge that had plenty of room for the ten of us that inhabited it for the weekend.

The Fishing

Was not existent. Nearly everyone had a rod (or two) out in the water, but nothing was biting. We managed a couple of small carp later in the day, but no amount of cheese, white bait, steak, worms, grubs or bread could entice the fish. If anyone knows of better ways to catch, what appears to be, the elusive Murray Cod please let me know.

Time flies when you’re having fun. Apparently. The weekend was over before we knew it and we had to pack up and leave for the 3 – 4 hour journey back to Melbourne. The guys with Swags took all of about 10 minutes to get all of the things together and into their vehicles. We on the other hand took about 1.5 hours to get the tent and trailer packed away and ready to roll. We hit the road at about 12pm and got home by about 4pm.

While it may not have been the leisurely trip that I was expecting, it was certainly eventful and enjoyable. Next stop, Marysville!

 

Gunbower Gallery

The Hilton at Gunbower

Waterline on The Murray River

Gunbower Camp

Cooking up a storm

The Gums