The Great Ocean Road Trip

Well, its time for a holiday. off to Melbourne then Torquay, Apollo Bay, Butterfly Farm Niranda and Portland then back to Melbourne. However along the way there is a few mishaps..... So first to Melbourne to visit Fran catch up with my cousin and his partner at Frans over dinner then a relaxing day involving some shopping and then its off to Torquay. We arrive Torquay and get to see the ocean for the first time in 8 or so months and the first time Ruby has seen the beach EVER!  As you can tell she loves it!

The only thing is that I booked us into a motel in Torquay in Hervey Bay Queensland! Go figure! Once we sorted that mess out we found a quiet little spot about 5 minutes out of town. Right lets try out the local fish and chips...... hmmmm ok but not great. Torquay is a nice little place and is the start of the Great Ocean Road however it just gets better after that. So off we head towards Apollo bay stopping at sights along the way and Lorne for lunch and to feed the ducks. Unfortunately its raining but we won't let that stop us. Lorne is beautiful and should have been our first stop but never mind. Waterfalls to see, beach and some shops, reminding me of a home town (Wangamata) but only smaller.

Above: Leilani and Ruby with the park that we fed the ducks in at Lorne and the beach at Lorne with the ol' VW. On we go to Apollo Bay. Stopping at Cape Patton lookout for the view, windy and cold but awesome.

Apollo bay by night. We get fish and chips again that night and are quietly reserved but find out they are delicious! the best so far.

We continue on the next day and Ruby seems a little under the weather. We stop at lighthouses and see koalas in the wild then onto the 12 Apostles.

Split Rock Lighthouse.

 Then we do the Otway fly over in the Otway national park, the walkway is 33m above ground and then the middle lookout tower is a further 43m above that. But only Leilani goes up there as I do not like heights, though someone has to look after Ruby huh! Then its off to the 12 apostles for the sights, I believe only six are left at the moment and created by the seas and winds eating away at the lime in the cliffs of southern Australia making these awesome spectacles.

 12 Apostles Left and next to that me at the "2 survivors cliffs" then below is Australia's Famous London Bridge where years ago part of it collapsed and fortunately the people involved were rescued. And below that is the Bay of Martyrs.

We stay at a place called Butterfly farm where Karen and John welcome us and Ruby is really getting worse, so panadol and neurofen for her with plenty of rest and Butterfly farm is just the ticket. We cancel Portland and stay for longer here as Butterfly farm is just an awesome place to stay and our Ruby can rest and recuperate. We travel to Wornambool to the emergency department on the Friday as no GP's around and get Ruby checked out (this being day 3 of her being unwell) and of course we get there and she perks up and makes us look a little silly. However we have a look around the town and then head back to the farm.
I would highly recommend anyone traveling through here to stop at this B&B as the hospitality is great and the cooked breaky is worth while.

We decided also to miss staying at Colac but stop on the way through to Melbourne for lunch but stopping at the beach one more time.

Leilani and Ruby checking out the birds at Colac in the park. We stay a night with Gavin and Tracy (Leilani's brother and sister in law and nephew jack and then its back home and back to work. t teh moment I am the Acting Nurse Unit Manager (ANUM) of the HDU at Wagga Base Hospital and enjoying the role. Its great to spend that family time with Leilani and my girl Ruby. I hope any others that get to travel that way get to enjoy the great ocean rd as much as us.

Ruby's 1st birthday

So a year has already rolled past, where has that time gone? Ruby's Oma and Godmother are here in Wagga to celebrate, Ruby's Uncle, Aunt and Cousin are here from Melbourne and Ruby's Godfather is on skype with his kids to celebrate with their own cake and candles with a song sung to Ruby. Thanks everyone for making her day so special.

Ruby wakes up from her morning sleep to Balloons all over the ceiling....

Checkin out those balloons, all 50 of them!

3 generations of Driessens From Left; Papa (me, Emil) Oma, (Mum, Augustina), Ruby (grandaughter, Birthday girl) and Leilani (Wife & Ruby's Mama)

Not forgetting Leilani's mum, (Ruby's nana) who was born on the same birth date as Ruby.

So the champayne is out (for the adults), the cake is set and ready and the candles and song are done.............. lets PARTY! well at least have a drink and food....
Stupid hats my wife made us wear... but hey all in the name of a 1st birthday aye Ruby!
But at least everyone wore one... below from left; Jack (Ruby's cousin), Ruby's Uncle Gavin, Ruby and Mama/ Leilani.

Ruby's #1.

And with this she gets her first driving lesson and she is having a ball... Then its out for lunch at Cottontails winery for lunch. Ruby, Leilani and Andrea enjoying the view.

Looking every bit the 1 year old!

Ruby and Jack having fun on the boat at the Wagga zoo. Ruby loves her cousin and Jack looked after Ruby really well. Then Ruby is playing with Uncle Gavin in the park. We hope you had a great day Ruby and many more to come... until next time...

New years day...Hi 2011

The year ended with working until 2130 hours and then home to Leilani and Ruby. Ruby oblivious to the new year was already asleep. So a couple of beers and a bit of TV we retired to bed without seeing the New Year in...We areeeeee getting old! Anyway the dawn of a new year broke with Ruby up early as always, but we had a plan, Tumbarumba's annual new years RODEO. So off we went for a drive about an hour and a half away with the chiller box plugged into the lighter and packed with goodies to the rodeo.

And what a day, though we left early ( about 1530 hours we had a great time, watching all the competitions, starting with the kids calf riding, then the barrel races and moving on to bigger and better things. These young ones really know how to ride. The cowboy below and this horse set off my camera with an energy I forgot I had with photography!

Not long after this the horse fell and rolled with the cowboy underneath he got up and hobbled away with one leg a bit worse for wear....

These fellas just kept on comin and the animals just kept on bounding them off!!!

I love this shot (above) for the fact that the animal and rider are caught in midair and it helps to show the atmosphere of the day. Below shows that you can be staunch and cool and still wear a pink shirt.... hahhahahhahahaaa

This guy was clawing to stay on the bull but at the end they all end up on the same spot...The ground! 

This guy is an Indian (as in from India) and has become a full on cowboy and from what I heard from him is real good at it...however he did end up on a fence clinging like spiderman!  I do take my hats off to these guys and gals as you have to have some balls to do this sport.
 
 
However I did end up going home with my own to cowgirls at the end of the day....below my wife Leilani and our little girl Ruby!

                                                                         YEEEEHAAAAAAA!!!

Well that's the update, I would love to add more photos of the 574 shots I took in just four hours, but what a day, Happy new years everyone and I hope its a good one for you all...Cheers

Merry Christmas

Just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year... I am We are looking forward to next year and the exciting adventures that it brings. We (Leilani Ruby and I) are going to do the great ocean road and catch up with friends and family in Melbourne, plus hopefully myself and some friends plan to fly to Perth and hire a camper and drive to Brisbane via the Nullabor up past Port Augusta and through Broken Hill and up to Brisbane crossing through four states of this big continent. Also hopefully while I am busy doing that Leilani is planning on going back to NZ for a holiday with Ruby of course. So all going well it should be great. Maybe during winter we might escape for a few days together somewhere up north but we shall see.

So have a Hongi (greeting or kiss in Maori) look up at the good things....

 
 
 
 
Make sure you get into the Christmas spirit (remembering what it is actually about), put on ya hat, but also putting your feet up and chillin in the heat (of the sunshine if you live down under or the heat of the heaters/fire place and hot dinners)......






But don't get caught with cream on ya face by doing something stupid this Christmas, Just enjoy with your family and friends.....and............................

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!
Cheers and egg nogs from the Driessens
 
 

Off to Griffith for a look...

Setting off to Darlington Point/Griffith......

Well I go on holiday for a week so Leilani Ruby and I head off to Darlington Point near Griffith to catch up with some family friends. We go on the Monday for two nights and arrives in the early evening. Dinner is ready and its great to be looking around and meeting up with Peter and Morella. On the way we cross a fruit zone and Leilani has brought fruit with her so she has to dump it...fruit flies are a big problem around here and since I don't like fruit then thats fine by me hehe.

On the Road heading towards Narrandera which is just over half way to Darlington point its harvest time, Bali, wheat malt and hay bails are being harvested.

We stop in Narrandera to feed Ruby, we love this cafe as its got great food and the best chocolate thick shake I have ever had. we feed Ruby and then we are off....

But not before stopping in at the info centre to check out what once was the worlds biggest guitar...its not now but its still pretty BIG! so after rocking out a couple of tunes we carry on..

There are plenty of sights to see on these huge long flat roads like blue skies and stuff burning..

 Well its harvesting season and Peter works for Morella's brothers who have 25000 hectares of land that they grow bali, wheat and citrus on. so we go for a look at the harvesting and i am fortunate enough to have a go in one of the harvesters, it drives slow as the bali has fallen over and the guy (Colin) who is driving tells me that they pick up snakes and the odd fox in these huge machines and apparently its not a pretty sight! To the left is a huge line of sprinklers for when the crops are first sewn.

Then we are looking in the mirrors whilst we are harvesting the crops.
 Harvesters work side by side, fortunately they are equipped with GPS and computer systems to stop from hitting each other and get exact straight lines.

 An old dilapidated windmill sits abandoned in a field.

While on the farm we manage a little rabbit shooting of which i get eight (not including the babies in the whom which is another twelve to add to the tally), which some get eaten and some go to the croc farm down the road.

 I took this shot of the splattered locusts on someones car and its not even many but the swarms are coming so I hope their harvests will be OK for the farmers and not get eaten but we did see quite a few.

Well that's it for now. we look forward to heading back again for another holiday and shoot etc. Thanks for your hospitality Peter and Morella much appreciated.