Day 23 - 26 - Inverleigh

Sunday 23 February

Inverleigh. What a lovely spot! Inverleigh is a town about 30 minutes west of Geelong, and the campsite we were based in is a series of clearings along a dirt track which runs along the Leigh River. It was really the perfect spot! We had decent weather, capacity for a fire, and a perennial stream nearby that was deep enough to jump into from rope swings or overhanging tree branches, or paddle along with a canoe.

This morning we had worked out that Geelong meeting was about 30 minutes away from our free camp so gathered all our bits and pieces together and got ready and set off with just enough time. On the way Greg had a feeling he knew someone that went to Geelong but couldn't quite remember who it might have been. We were running very close to time but just made it, and when we entered the hall we saw Jonathan Thomas and his family, which confirmed his suspicion!

There was also a few couples that we knew from about 20 years ago so that was lovely to see them again after all this time and catch up on what they've been doing.

Once we left the meeting it was time to do the food shopping to fill up on supplies for the next week. (Thankfully we have a bigger fridge in this caravan. With our other caravan we could only fit a maximum of about 4 days worth of food in there and then we had no extra room for fitting in drinks to cool them down at all.)


Once back in Inverleigh we had lunch and relaxed just a little before noticing some PA announcements coming from somewhere. It sounded like a school sports day a kilometre or so away. We had actually heard the same thing the previous day and wondered what it was so tried to listen for where it was coming from and worked out that it was coming from over the river where we were. Then Bek spotted some horses so we thought maybe it was some sort of a horse competition, so we checked online and found indeed there were some horse trials on at a neighbouring farm that weekend. So we finished up lunch and headed for the farm, where heaps of horse floats and jumps and other eating vans were set up.

We pulled up and then wondered if we were actually meant to be there. So I asked a nearby lady if we were allowed in to watch and she said of course and told us the various events that were on and where. Unfortunately we arrived quite late in the afternoon so they were actually coming to the end of there 2 days of events.


First we watched some of the horses jumping over a series of about 10 jumps and then they would go off and the next one would enter and do the same. There was a caravan in one corner of the jump section but we didn't see anyone inside it but presumably they must have been the judge of how well the horses jumped and how well dressed and groomed the horse was.

After a while the jumping finished and we heard an announcement that the cross country was now finished and well done to the winner etc.. So we had missed out on watching the cross country jumping but we were still impressed with the horse jumping we did see.

Bek wanted to be able to get up close to some of the horses and pat them so we wandered over to a nearby horse float where some ladies were with their horses and asked if they minded us patting their horse. They were more than happy to oblige and we chatted for about an hour or so about all sorts of horse things.

It was quite a warm day so by the time we had finished chatting we found a nearby icecream van and ordered one each to help us cool down. We then jumped back in the car and headed back to our campsite.

Our campsite in Inverleigh

The kids headed off for a swim and a canoe to cool off while we had a cuppa and a chill. During this time I spotted a lady that had turned up to camp nearby with her horse and dogs, but decided to not tell Bek straightaway so that she enjoyed swimming a bit longer. But inevitably Bek spotted her and wanted to go over and pat the horse so we said she could so long as the other lady didn't mind. Well she said she didn't mind and Bek was more than happy to keep her horse company while she set up her camp.

Matt hard at work making Blackberry and Strawberry Jam

After a while I discovered that the blackberries and strawberries we had collected from a few days ago were starting to leak a bit in the fridge as they were so fresh. So it was now time to make them into jam. This time it was going to be a much bigger batch and we added in some of the leftover strawberries also. Greg and Matt enjoyed making up this brew and also we made up our own lemon cordial.

After which we all had dinner, readings and then made our way to bed.

Monday 24 February

Last night we were kept awake a little by the nearby lady trying to describe to someone how to get to where she was camping. This continued on for about 1/2 hr fairly close to our caravan and then finally the car arrived. We were hoping that all would then be quiet but then the owner of the car that had arrived must have received a phone call and was chatting for hours walking up and down the nearby track until about 4am. So another fairly disturbed night.

Today was a little cooler so it was a good day to get some more school and business work done. This took up until lunch time, after which the kids wanted to do some more canoeing and continue on part of the smugglers game from way back at Kennett river.

We were visited a few times during the course of the day by the neighbours dogs which were rather cute. One was a very energetic Jack Russell (Charlie) and the other was a some sort of cattle dog (Toby). So we led them back over to their camp and chatted for a while, mostly about horse stuff and the lady's business she had making horse treats. Her name was Ashleigh and she was staying there with a workmate Dhruv (from Nepal). She also said Bek was more than welcome to have a horse ride if she wanted, which Bek was ecstatic about naturally!

All dressed up and ready to go out!

We had been invited to go to dinner at the Thomas's so the horse ride needed to wait but we headed off about 5:30 to arrive in Geelong about 6pm.

Once we arrived Micah the oldest of the children was in the middle of making chocolate self-saucing pudding. Yummy. So the kids all joined him and chatted while he was making that. Then they all raced outside to investigate and then a huge downpour of rain came and next then we knew they were all back inside. :) By this time it was time for dinner.



We enjoyed a traditional Indonesian meal called Soto Ayam which is bean noodles, rice, a whole boiled egg and a bit of chicken and chicken broth poured over the top. Then you add as much chilli as you can handle.

After this we enjoyed Micah's choc pudding with ice-cream and did a reading from 2Kings 5 and discussed the story of the noble in the city during a siege who doubted Elisha's prophecy about food becoming abundant the next day. It was good to see how God can always bring His word to pass, no matter how unlikely it may appear to human eyes.

We had a lovely evening of fellowship and discussion, but by this time it was time to head back to camp!

Tuesday 25 February

Last night was thankfully a lot quieter so we had a good sleep. Greg and I went for a run,(well I walked for part of the way while Greg went on) and we had a slow morning and managed to plow through a bit of school work.

Bek was naturally all of a twitter about her upcoming horse ride, which came around soon enough! Ashleigh offered for Bek to brush and groom the horse ready for the the saddle to go on. I asked why this was necessary - she explained that it's like us, that if we have a stone in our shoe it would rub until our skin was raw, so it's the same with the horse - if there is grit and dirt on its skin and you put the saddle on and ride, it will make the horse very sore and uncomfortable.


Bek was the first to have a ride and then the boys each had a ride. During the boys horse ride,  little Ashleigh's Jack Russell wanted to get up on the horse also so it had a ride with Matt and Jude. Then I and Greg had a ride too. I found it a little scary as it's so high up and you don't have anything really to hold onto. But it was another experience all the same.

Ashleigh and Dhruv then left and we had the campsite and nearby area all to ourselves.

The afternoon had warmed up quite a lot by now and so we all enjoyed a dip in the river and swing on the local rope swing. Towards the evening it had cooled down so the boys put together a little fire.

 Wednesday 26 February

Greg, Matt and I went for a run / walk this morning which was nice. Today was another quietish day getting some more school and business work done. Once they had all got to where we had asked them in their school work the kids did some more canoeing and swimming.
Greg and I had quite a bit of discussion about what we could possibly do for the boys birthday experience. It's a rather belated birthday experience but we have had a busy few months since October last year! :( (We've decided in the last couple of years to do experiences rather than just stuff that may or may not get used).

We knew they both liked go-karts so looked into what might be available in Ballarat as we were heading up that way to go to Sovereign Hill. I found a place online that had a 3pm slot for the following day available which was perfect, so we booked that in and told them the good news!

The amenities were getting quite full so we needed to find somewhere that we could empty and refill as soon as possible and the nearest place was Winchelsea which was about a 15min drive. So we all set off for the drive. From here our the aim was to pack up as much as possible and head off towards Ballarat tomorrow.

-- Mim