Adelaide Family Trip Day 17 - (Spirits, Rocks and Brass)

The first leg of our journey today saw us travel to Timboon. Timboon is a small dairy and timber town but the purpose of our visit was to visit the Timboon Railway Shed Distillery. The food here is great, you can purchase local  produce (cheeses, preserves, sauces and the famous Timboon Fine Ice Cream and you can sample the produce of the distillery - their whiskey, schnapps, vodka or limoncello. There is a local connection with this business as a local Kinglake business identity assisted with the construction of the distillery.

Ever since visiting Hobart last year, and enjoying a sip or two of whiskey at the Lark Distillery, I have been attracted to the idea of maybe constructing a distillery in Kinglake (or at the very least, drinking more whiskey!). I had a good chat with Tim, the owner of the Timboon distillery about how you go about setting one up. If you ever see a distillery set up in the Kinglake Ranges, remember it was my idea first. (By the way, the Timboon Distillery is up for sale. If you are interested, click here for further details).

Having stocked up on spirits we continued on our way to look at interesting sights along the Great Ocean Road. First stop was Loch Ard Gorge. For those unfamiliar with the story of the Loch Ard, see my previous posts, or read here.  The rock formations are interesting to see, if only for their historical significance.

The next and final stop in rock viewing was at the Twelve Apostles. Happy Snap time ...

Our final destination this afternoon is to our friends John and Helen at Skenes Creek, where we will stay for the next couple of nights.  John was my music teacher at High School, as well as being conductor at Box Hill City Band for a number of years whilst I was there. John was a brilliant Tuba player in his time, and has taught a large number of prominent Melbourne brass musicians over the last 25 years. Now retired, it is good to catch up with John and Helen and see how the family is going, as well as enjoy a glass (or few) of beer, wine, port, etc etc.

With John's extensive knowledge of music and all things brass it will be a certainty that we will hear new recordings of brass playing whilst staying here.

Tonight we listened to Vienna Horns, and their first, self titled CD. A brilliant horn sound from this ensemble, the recordings include a number of pieces from composer such as Mahler, Copeland and Schumann, as well as music from Titanic. I must admit I enjoyed this piece to be the best:


Thank you all for your birthday wishes.  Good Night all.

Adelaide Family Trip Day 16 - (Quiet Day)

Not much happened today. Nick has a cold, the weather is not great and everyone just wanted a quiet day.

Had brunch in Port Fairy.

Had tea in Port Fairy.

Skenes Creek tomorrow.

Adelaide Family Trip Day 15 - (Passenger Transport - in 3 Movements)

1. Mazda Tribute
The Mt Gambier leg of our trip has not turned out to be what I had hoped for. Pretty much all of the second day was spent trying to work out:

• what went wrong with the car
• who would fix it and 
• when it would be fixed

 Today sees us patiently waiting for the mechanics to weave their magic and get us back on the road again. As last night was our final night at the motel, we have transferred all of our luggage to the undercover swimming pool area and wait.

A big thank you to OGR. They couldn't guarantee that the work would be completed before the end of the day, but at 1:00pm, I get a phone call letting me know that the car is ready to be picked up. $1,100 later, and the car is all packed, ready to drive back into Victoria.

2. The Bondi Express
I don't know. It all looked good on the website. Something novel for the kids as we get to the end of our trip. And admittedly we had difficulty in getting accommodation around Warrnambool due to the horse race meet on this week (5th May is a public holiday around here).

A couple of things to note. Codrington Gardens is a fair distance from Warrnambool. It's a fair distance from anywhere (phone and wireless internet reception are not good here). There's also a lot of these things around:

Yes apart from our accommodation, Codrington Wind Farm (One of the biggest wind farms in the state) is the only other thing of interest in the area. We have heard and read various articles about issues relating to these. I must admit, we can't hear them, and given the desolate coast line they aren't exactly ruining a pretty landscape.

Anyway, back to Gardens, and out accommodation on the Bondi Express. The idea was sound, and the photos on the website were all professionally taken, probably a fair while ago. The hosts are nice people (no complaints there), I just think there is something lacking here.

It may be that the train is furnished in much the same way as your grandparents furnish their house. I was going to provide some of my photos, but their website I think shows the interior much better. All perfectly  appealing to a different age group than a family with two young kids (I guess the magazine in the lounge titled Fit and Fifty was a hint). If you look carefully at the photo of the upper deck lounge room, you'll see a bottle of port, provided as part of the service. I had a taste of the port and cannot guarantee either's its age or drinkability.

It may be that the kitchenette is missing some basic items, such as glasses, and most cutlery and crockery (though you can make a cup of coffee or tea. No milk, though)

It may be that the bathroom requires significant work (though to their credit, they have had the plumber out 4 times to fix the plumbing to the toilet). The monogrammed towels are thick and luxurious and a nice touch. The bathroom also has one of the most unique signs I have seen in all my years of travelling:

It may be that there are 4 or 5 dud light globes that need replacing, as well as the television set.

Look, it has potential, it just needs some money spent on it to bring it up to scratch.

3. The Loch Ard
Tonight we drove the Flagstaff Hill in Warrnambool for a dinner and show. The dinner was at Pippies by the Bay (not too bad).

I must admit I enjoyed the show. The sound and laser show is all based on the final trip aboard the Loch Ard, sailing from England to Melbourne, with it coming to grief somewhere near Port Campbell. The show utilises the village at Flagstaff Hill as a backdrop, and tells the story of three people on board the Loch Ard, the two survivors of that trip (Thomas Pearce and Eva Carmichael) and Captain Gibbs. The show itself went for about 20 - 30 minutes, but I thought it was well worth it. The boys were probably looking for more action, somehow (a ship sinks. The End. Sort of like the Titanic). If you find yourself in or around Warrnambool for a few days I suggest taking the time to visit Flagstaff Hill, and if possible see their Sound and Laser Show.