11 March 2013

Road trip - the soundtrack to my life

On saturday my two neighbours and I set off on a day trip out into the country. We had no destination, only the dream of finding a river to swim in. We headed out towards Yea and made what felt like a million stops along the way.






My first time filling the car with petrol




Playing an old piano in the antiques store in St Andrews

We stopped at Yea bakery to buy our picnic of chicken roles, ice tea, vanilla slice and berry tart. We thought we would stop in Yea to swim but the river we found was shallow, muddy and uninviting so we made the decision to continue on out to Alexandra. 

We stopped at a lagoon to eat our lunch because our toasted rolls weren't going to make the further half hour trip. Daniella, who was on maps, led us to "Sheep Wash Lagoon", a huge body of water which seems beautiful at first... but after pulling up next to the splash marks left by the man who had just driven away, old beer bottles and scummy water it was clear the map had been decieving. For some reason we stayed and set up our picnic rug on thick leaf litter on the slope beside the water with the highway only 15 metres or so away. As we bit into our rolls the laughter struck us and we couldn't stop until we got home later that evening! We probably should have just kept going...  



Sheep wash lagoon minus the beer bottles.

When we finally came across the familiar wooden bridge that passed over the Goulburn our hearts sunk. The river was so high and full of fast moving currents that we knew we couldn't expect to swim there. We continued on down the road following Siri's strange directions until we found another river instead. 






This river was slow and languid, cool and completely inviting. We set up our picnic rug in the shade beside the wooden fence and ate the most delicious vanilla slice I had ever eaten. 





We then swam for a few hours on the boogie boards, playing catch and daring each other to touch the slimy, rocky bottom of the river. Another family and some fishermen joined us in the heat which after a while we decided was our cue to leave. 





 





Buying figs at a roadside honesty store





Guilty laughs after Tanya almost forgot that she'd left her wallet with $50 in it at the store!




Just before we started the long drive home we stopped at this little creek and decided to have afternoon tea. Whilst we were wading through the icy water something slimy bumped into my leg. Too shocked to scream my jaw dropped and I held my hand tight over my mouth. I thought it was a big fish or a snake but a few moments later a baby platypus surfaced! 



The black spur



Looking out over the lake





A perfect sunset for a perfect day.

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