Through out life we all encounter many different types of people but I guess traveling like we are has exposed us to so many more.
After leaving Merimula we spent a little more time in the Bega valley, my mums childhood home. We spent time with cousins, aunties and uncles whom the kids hardly knew or even met. We went to two country shows, Pambula and Candelo which opened my eyes to a whole world of horsemanship(????) as we were there watching my cousin Emma ride. Not being a horsey person I steered clear trying to encourage the kids to get closer while I hung back.
From here we thought we couldn't do a trip around Australia without visiting the capital, so off to Canberra we went. A whirlwind 2 days spent here with me sprouting any information I had surprisingly retained from my year six school excursion. Julia wasn't in the house, but we did manage to catch up with a an old school friend Bec who lives there with her family. We haven't spoken for years, i'm so bad like that, but we had a great afternoon.
Onto the town of Eden, famous for its history of whaling and the amazing relationship the killer whales had with the workers when hunting the bigger whales. We found the Killer Whale museum a cool retreat from yet another 40 degree day. We parked our bus at my uncles place while we waited for tyres etc and fixed up more things on the bus. Uncle Murray, the eldest in my mums family of 8 children, is a man of few words but who visibly lit up when the Martin kids hoped off the bus and into his heart.
We cruised down to Mallacoota, a fishing village most of the year which comes alive during holidays as it boasts the biggest caravan park in the Southern Hemisphere. Here we met our
caravanning neighbors Josie and Richie, Ken and Chick. With our bus parked facing the town oval we sat and watched the Australia Day cricket match, campers vs locals.
We ventured further south and pulled up at Marlo, beside the Snowy River, which proved to be a night of first. Sonny caught his very first fish, Simon consequently filleted his first fish and I attempted to cook it. We all sat by the fire and saw a seal cruise by. A memorable night.
The memorable night was followed by a memorable day where we visited the very impressive caves at Buchun. We decided on the fairy cave and took a tour down underground to the magical world of stalagmites and stalactites. The photos I took didn't really do them justice possibly due to the fact that Blaise would not be put down at anytime during the 45min tour. The older kids looked around in awe as we came through small openings into a huge cave. They all hung very close when the guide turned off all the lights. With the lights back on Ryder exclaimed with a very nervous giggle "I wasn't scared".
It was at Lakes Entrance where the kids started their first day of school and Ryder's first day of kindy. I won't deny that I was feeling a little apprehensive about teaching them, not so much for the fact that I lacked the ability but the fear that I wouldn't be able to meet all their needs while also keeping a 3 year old at bay. The first week of school produced tears everyday only from me. I guess it does take a while for everyone to adjust, I just wanted it to happen right away. It was on our last night here we met some of those memorable people. Whilst parked up on the lookout eating dinner a family arrived on their bikes. 3 hours later we still stood in the semi darkness chatting to Micah and Paula, while our kids played with their 3 boys Noah, Sonny and Ryder.
The kids have made friends at nearly every park we have stopped at and we have been to a few. It is so interesting watching the ways they each go about approaching new people. Sonny will just go and say 'Hi', Ryder at one place came and got his big bucket of animals and promptly went over to a group of kids and dropped it next to them stood back and waited for them to notice. Where as Dakoda waits for the boys to initiate and then she joins in.
We do miss our group back in Port Macquarie, but are loving the fresh new people we are meeting.
