Lilydale (near Melbourne) - 22nd September

See photo - Our set up at Brad and Annie's house.

Cousin Brad, Annie, Cody (8) and Braedan (5) were awaiting our arrival in Lilydale at lunch time. The boys hadn't met before, so they were very excited, the first thing they all did was hit the trampoline. We also got to meet Brad's sister Tina who was down for the weekend to see the family and catch up with friends. The last time we had all caught up was around 18 years ago!

See photo - Riley, Braedan, Aiden and Cody at dinner.

That evening we all headed out for dinner at a great Indian restaurant, here we got to meet some of Annie's friends whom Tina had also come down to see. It was a great night with plenty of good food and company, the boys had a blast with there new friends! Knowing we had a big day tomorrow watching Brad ride his recently modified bike for a street meeting at the Broadford Track we headed back home for an early night.



See photo - Brad flying down the straight.



See photo - Checking out the bikes with Brad.

The next morning took us north west and along the way we where very lucky to see three working steam tractors driving along the road, with Chris swearing at the camera, he still managed to get one photo (you had to be there) and a little video! The track was around 120km away so we finally arrived around lunchtime much to the boys delight! We got to see Brad for a couple of sessions, the best thing about the day was each skill level had an appointed rider to circulate and show groups what speeds, lines and breaking markers to look for during the lap. Brad laps got better and he felt much smoother by the end of the day. By 4pm we decided to call it a day and headed back to Lilydale for dinner and bed!

See photo - Aiden, Braedan and Riley sat for ages with
the hens falling asleep on them.

See photo - The new Scooby Monster Truck, first appearance.

Saturday was Royal Easter Show day, and the boys were up early and inside with Codey and Braedan getting warmed up for the show, we all left and arrived by 930am, we hit the rides (little ones) with the boys and then onto the Animal Pavilion until lunch. We headed to the main arena for the opening ceremony and then it was the Monster Truck and the Stunt Bikes. The boys loved both, the Monster Truck was Scooby Doo and he proceeded to perform several jumps over piles of tyres, then it was the stung riders performing everything including back flips........... the boys loved it! We headed off to the wood chopping then onto the bigger rides and the show bag pavilion to round the day off! The boys were terrific considering we did not stop all day. We considered staying for the fireworks but the temperature dropped quickly and by 4pm we were all stuffed, so it was off home for dinner and bed!

See photo - Swimming at the pools .. been a while for
our lads.

Sunday we headed out for swimming early in the morning and here we all said our goodbyes to Tina who was heading back to Sydney. Tina made sure she spoilt all the boys before she left!! Chris and Brad took her to the airport and then picked up some chips on the way home for lunch for 'Chip sandwitches' that's a new one for us. We had a quite afternoon, made volcanoes and took the boys down to the park for a ride, kick, play before dinner and bed.

See photo - Finally caught up with the boys
to get a photo.



See photo - Bell's favourite .. Platypus.

Monday we headed out to the Zoo for the day, Brad and Annie had to attend work so it was just us and the 4 boys, we only managed to lose them 2 or 3 times each! We headed into the city by train and then across to the Zoo, we had a blast seeing most of the enclosures and the feeding shows, the boys got to see Meercats, Ring tail Lemurs, Lions, Tigers, Elephants, and there favourites........ Orangutan up close! In true Somers style Braeden yelled out " Hey Riley, i just saw an Orangutan's penis! " yes it is hard to miss the Somers Boys! We returned to the city via the tram (where Cody managed a sleep ) and then it was on the train and back to Lilydale.



See photo - Brad, Annie, Tine, Chris, Aiden, Bell
Braedan, Codey, Riley.

It was really good to meet Annie and the Boys, they have the same parenting ideals as we do and Codey and Braedan are fantastic boys and really good fun.  The four of them got on like a house on fire ( thankfully there wasn't! ) the entire time, Annie is great fun and very down to earth, we all had a great time and it was shame we a weren't able to spend more time but with work commitments and our ever shrinking itinerary we had to get a move on south!

The Monday evening we said our goodbyes to Annie and the Boys (Brad started work at 645am ) then Tuesday morning packed up the van and headed for Geelong to visit Kelly, Owen and the Girls.

Here is Lilydale Team Somers for your Youtube viewing pleasure!

Cross to Victoria and the Pennisula - 15th September

We headed out back via Cooma, continuing our way through the Great Dividing range at 1100m and then down thru Platypus country "Bombala" towards Lakes Entrance.
The platypus has featured on Australian coins since 1966, at last count their were 900 million platypus circulating Oz on 20-cent coins designed by Stuart Devlin. Unfortunately no platypus sightings today but we enjoyed the landscape, cattle and sheep farms with lots of lambs even though the countryside looked very dry for winter. We continued on and crossed the boarder into Victoria!

See photo -  As we came out of the thick forest..
Amazing regrowth after fire.

As we made our way south through the State Forrest, after 1 1/2 hours of extremely bumpy roads from the local log trucks we needed to stop for a rest. Along the way we were going to stop overnight just outside of Orbost (Snowy River Country), however the location was near the local river and farms proving to be a little too smelly, not to mention the mosquito's! So we decided to press on to Lakes Entrance and see what caravan sites were on offer.

Most the ones on the waterfront wanted $60 per nite and it wasn't even holiday season, nor was the weather great, so we looked one street back and found a great place ( 5 star ) for $35 per nite (see our itinerary page for details), we parked up and got sorted for washing and the usual stuff. The owner dropped by for a chat and let us know what was good around town while the boys grabbed there bikes and were off for the afternoon, we managed to get some chores finished and had a quiet arvo by the play park.

See photo - So much biking to do at Lakes Entrance
when do you stop.

Next morning we were off down town for a ride / walk to check the place out, we stopped and watched the fishing boats offloading their catch before heading for the skate park and back to the van for lunch. After lunch we took the boys down the park for a play on the swings then it was back and showered to go out to the local for dinner, Aiden managed to run into the neighbours caravan bumper and break his reflector! so it was down to Repco for a new one....... Aiden then had to go and see the man to explain what he had done - all by himself!

See photo - Bugger .. a long way to drive to not
make the most Southerly point!



See photo - Emus at Wilsons Promontory.

Next morning it was off to Wilsons Promontory (most Southerly point of Australia), the roads were not kind at all ... and have been getting worse since we left Canberra, but that's what you get for building them on clay with minimal road base! We arrived to find that half the park was closed since the storms earlier in the year!!!!!! Bell and Riley managed to go for a short walk and they all got to see Emus and Kangaroos quiet close, even some very cute looking Christmas type beetles which Riley just loved. It has lots of walking tracks and we could have stayed longer, but we had lunch and hit the road for Phillip Island, by now it was Saturday and the touring cars were on the Island for the weekend. After 400km of  winding, bumpy roads later, we arrived at the island and our van park in Cowles on the north coast.



See photo - All the white dots are birds, Nobbys Point
Phillip Island.

See photo - As the boys walked off, the little
fella popped out his head!

We got setup and then hit the road to visit the Seabird colony on Nobbies Point, we saw lots of birds (Silver Gull, or as we call them Sea Gulls!) giving each other piggybacks much to Riley and Aidens entertainment. Riley now knows that this is how birds make eggs........and that's it! As we walked we even got to see a penguin in it's nest, the sound of the birds around was incredible. We booked our seats for the Penguin Parade which started at around 6.30pm, so in the mean time we explored the visitors centre and found people paying $5 for a live camera view of the seals on 'Seal Island'. The rest of the display was very interesting for young and old, and well worth the look.

See photo - The family with the penguins .. Do you believe it!

The Penguin Parade is split into 2 stations, one is a general viewing area on the beach, while the other is along the route where they come up into the dunes to their nests, along the way you can witness their behaviour from courting to competing for a mate's attention including the usual territorial disputes. We paid the extra for viewing along the route as their are less people and you get a better view of the " birds in action", we all loved it, we even got to see a lightning display which Riley could not stop talking about. Officially you could not take photos, but we managed to get a little video of the amazing sounds they all were making, unfortunately it was way to dark to get any stealth photos!!

See photo - Bells favourite car.

Next morning it was off to the V8 Supercars at Phillip Island, once inside there was heaps to do for grownups and also the kids, they had an entire 'Cars' area with Mack the truck activities and bouncy castle! Did you know that motor racing started at Phillip Island in 1928! However there is more to it than that, for all you race car fans you will find this link an interesting read. There was also displays by local car clubs and an entire events pavilion for sellers and modifiers, here we saw some new Mustangs, Comaros, and 2 replica cars from the Transformers movie....... very well done. We managed to find ourselves a place to view the start from. It was full of action after one of the drives had a stalled start which apparently was a pretty rare event, later there were even some geese that decided to go across the track. They had a great shuttle service, which stopped at 5 places around the track so we made the most of it. By 4pm we decided to call it a day (race was still going ) it was the longest race next to Bathurst apparently, and head home with two tired little boys.



See photo - V8 Supercars all lined up on the grid before the start of the race.

Monday we decided to stay another couple of nights and slow down..., we hit the beach with the boys and had a BBQ lunch ( it was 27 degrees ) and then have a drive across the island to the local surf beach " Smiths". We found a place with caves carved into the rock outcrop on the beach "Forest Caves', as the surf was huge it provided a great opportunity to view it up close....... water temp was only 14 degrees! that's Bass Strait for you. The boys enjoyed dodging  the spray from the breaking waves and watching the surge inside the caves, we made our way back along the beach to the viewing area along the dunes and sat overlooking the surfers in the distance............. the only thing missing was a nice cold beer!

See photo - Forest Caves - Riley, Chris and Aiden taking in the view from all directions.

Tuesday was our last day so we decided to do some grocery shopping and plan our trip to Kirth Kiln in the mountains outside Lilydale, we called the ranger and he was more than happy for us to call in whenever we wanted, take note ** Victoria has abolished ALL national parks entry fees** all states should follow suit, National parks must be available to all, not only those who can afford the entry fees!.



See photo - The Kiln

See photo - Dinner by the fire.

What a lovely break from the busy lifestyle of suburbia (much needed). It was an interesting drive on about 20km of dirt road, with the occasional .."watch out for that...### hole". As we pulled in there was no-one around. Perfect .. so we parked up after a tight turn in the bay (the wheels just skidded over the gravel) and Riley spied the fire pit. So off we went collecting kindling and wood. .We headed out for a walk after Riley had ridden his bike into a puddle and got his shoes covered in mud, which he was not happy about. The walk took us to see the Kiln which was used to make charcoal for gas powered vehicles during the war. We went by the river where we think we saw a platypus, but the boys were chatting loudly as usually and we could not get close enough.


See photo - Walking through the forest at Kirth Kiln.

On our return back to camp we lit the fire and of course did the marshmallow thing. After the boys went to bed us big people stayed up and listened to the tranquillity of the fire crackling and the animals in the Forest, with the back half of our bodies freezing and the front toasty warm by the lovely fire. Perfect .... and best of all no wind at all, just lovely clear skies that we could see from the gap in the canopy.



See photo - Riley's first Panorama photo he has taken.

The next morning we awoke to the tranquillity only a national forest could provide........ then the boys awoke! the weather was good and the sky's clear, we grabbed the cooker and had pancakes for brekkie outside while the boys rode their bikes around the camp. We were arriving at Brad n Annie's at around lunch time so we packed the van and went for a quick bush walk to see what was around, we found a little Centipede then made our way back to the van for the trip across to Lilydale.

So here is our latest Piggy Backing, Waddling, High Octane YouTube video!



See image - This part of our trip from the Snowy Mountains to just outside of Melbourne.

Snowy Mountains - 12th September

Weather for Jindabyne & Perisher Valley

Monday -1 / -5, Tuesday 5 / -5



See photo - 'Mum look it's snow' Riley yells from
the back seat.

We decided to have a late start for our departure from Canberra on a lovely Spring day (10 Degrees C with no wind), so after the morning rush hour we headed across the back of the city for the War Memorial, past the Airport and onto the to the Monaro Highway south to Jindabyne and the snow. Across another boarder we go.... We saw lots of 'Wombat' signs, and unfortunately we saw a lot of them .. on the side of the road.. it would have been nice to see a live one! Along the way we passed thru Cooma for some supplies at the local Aldi and into the local Ski shop for gloves......... yes you guessed it, for use in the snow! Who would of thought. Apparently two weeks ago it was looking terrible. It was a lovely scenic drive through the Great Dividing Range, very dry (because of the frost), and an interesting stop at the Snowy hydro information centre.

Of course travelling Australia we had to look up a little more about the Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands. It is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the 3rd longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km (2,175 mi) from Dauan Island off the north eastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through NSW, then into VIC and turning west, before finally fading into the central plain at the Grampians western VIC.

Chris was now eating his words now " there wont be any snow left, don't worry bout ya snow gear!" anyhow we were in, out ..... and off for Jindabyne to our new caravan park. We slowly made our way up the range when we round the next corner and Riley yells "there's snow!" he always manages to spot things first! There it was....... the caps of the Snowy Mountains!



See photo - In thee shop, can't wait .. must ride!

The boys were getting anxious....... it was almost to fever pitch!, so we headed on into the Discovery Holiday Park on the far side of town, by the lake and setup for our stay. Half an hour later we were in the hire shop next door getting fitted out and we decided to hit Perisher that afternoon for a test run (no snow at Thredbo). Kosciusko National Park entry permits only allow you in for 24hrs from the time of purchase, so we got a 2 day pass ( $56 ) which would last us until 3.30pm on Wednesday arvo.




See photo - First experience of snow.

We arrived at Perisher to find the car park almost full, Chris headed to the information office to find where the Toboggan Hill and Kids play area was while Bell got the kids kitted out. We headed up to the Toboggan hill and the snow was perfect, the boys took to it like little ducklings to ice! Aiden was a little more cautious and preferred Dad to be on the back for the first few runs. After that he was off, Riley on the other hand was a bit of a Toboggan hog and had to be reminded that we only had 2 toboggans and he needed to share...... with Dad mainly!




See photo - Our first very cold sunrise -4 degrees at Lake Jindabyne.

See photo - Oh .. the family with a new member.

See photo - Of course we had to do snow angles.

We finally called it a day at 5pm and headed back to the caravan park in Jindabyne for dinner and an early night, next day we were up the mountain at 8.30am and the first ones on the toboggan hill, with freshly prepared slopes it was nice and fast......... the boys loved it! We played there for most of the day, made a great snowman and by 3pm we decided to jump on the snow tubes. They haul you up the mountain in a tube and then you slide down in purpose made runs, the girl at the lift gave us double the rides as she reckoned the boys were having too much fun, also it was her last day.....cheers! Riley had the tube to himself and Chris n Bell had to share with Aiden........ which he was pleased with!


See photo - Sunset .. Magic.

We headed back to the caravan park and decided to have a bath, by the way, the caravan park had under floor heating, spa pool, sauna, bath tubs and recreation room with a central log fire...... so much for roughing it! Needless to say the boys were out like a light, that was until we heard an almighty thud at 8pm, Riley had fallen out of bed and was still asleep, almost. Bell managed to cuddle him back to sleep in our bed and then Dad put him back into his bunk, in the morning he didn't remember a thing!




See photo - Riley and Dad, blasting down the hill.

See photo - Dad and Aiden, flying over bumps!



For our final day we hit the mountain again just after 9am, the snow wasn't as good but it was still OK, we had a few hours of toboggan and then playing in the snow with Aiden's "sand pits" (his plastic toy trucks) and some very elaborate tunnels and caves in the snow, it was great. By 11 we were soaking wet and cold so we hit the complex for morning tea and a coffee, the boys got a Lamington and a Jam Doughnut and we grabbed a coffee, Bell got the biggest hot chocolate we had ever seen! It was outside for some more play then back for lunch and off for the afternoon session. Well by the time we got back to the slopes they had been invaded by school kids........... hundreds of them! So if you cant beat them you gotta join them and we got in the thick of it, there were kids slipping, flying, flipping and sliding down the slopes............... in all directions, the teachers were going berserk ....... ahhh it was great to watch!

See photo - Riley testing his limits...

See photo - Aiden going for the tummy bump.



See photo - Snow tubes - Bell & Aiden.

We finally managed to get the boys off the hill carrying huge snowballs, which they planned to drop in the nearby stream, Riley got his in the water without a hitch, Aiden on the other hand almost ended up in the water if it wasn't for Mums lightening reflexes stopping him from falling off the walkway (it was a gust of wind)! We got back, dropped off our gear and relaxed while the boys hit the play park for the next 2 hours........ where do they get the energy!.

Thursday we awoke to Aiden singing "play that funky music white boy" over 'n over 'n over again!!!!!, so it was time to stuff some food in his mouth and quieten him down....... while drinking coffee! We packed up the van while, yes, the kids played in the play park, and then headed for Cooma and Lakes Entrance for the next part of our trip......

Here is our Snowy youtube video

ACT: Canberra - 8th September

Weather for Canberra ACT

-3°C | °F Sat Sun Mon Tue Partly Cloudy Wind: N at 0 km/h Humidity: 91% 14° 1° 13° -1° 16° -1° 17° 1°

See photo -  Temp at 7am '0'!!

We had an interesting start to our Canberra adventure, firstly as you can see above this will be our coldest period yet! We headed down the Federal Highway stopping at Lake George to view more than 80 wind turbines, the weather was cool and windy as we arrived at our camp site for the next 3 days. Getting a camp site was another small drama, we arrived at the EPIC showground only to see the site had an old van already there, we rang the manager and found the site hadn't been paid for and we could have it. Well a couple of hours later a young bloke arrived and asked what we were doing there, long story short we shared the site and made some new friends along the way! The park was full to the brim with several events booked for the Showgrounds, but it's the best van site in the city! It made for some interesting nights with the power as everyone had their heaters, lights and TV's going.........so....... when someone went to boil a kettle it tripped the power. In the end our friends across the way, more West Aussies, Tony, Tenille, and their little Taylissa, who is 4 years old, held the key for the fuse box to reset the power as needed.

See photo - Riley, Taylissa & Aiden.

Now if anyone would have ever said you can clone a boy, and then turn him into a girl i wouldn't have believed you. But this was incredible, they met 'n clicked instantly, then they were off ..... into everything! She was blue eyed and blond hair, exactly the same height as Aiden and they ran around holding hands for the next hour or so....... Riley was not happy!!!!

Our stay here was pretty interesting watching the manger .try to juggle caravan spaces and tell the local polish family to stop driving like maniac's. On the second morning even the Federal Police paid the park a visit, it seemed there was a little incident overnight which required 6 cars and a forensic team...... eeek!  All aside we truly did enjoy our stay .....at the least theirs was free entertainment :)


We thought it best we find out why Canberra was selected for the location of the nation's capital. It all happened in 1908 when it was a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne. It's unusual among Australian cities, being entirely planned from scratch, following an international contest for the design, a blueprint by the Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffen and Marrion Mahoney Griffen was selected and construction commenced in 1913. Now understanding Canberra's history we headed out to the nearest shopping centre for some groceries, along the way we both had a strange feeling about Canberra which neither could put our finger on, then it dawned........... it was like a huge government building, well built but with no heritage or heart.

See photo - Australia's first built car.

See photo - Black Mountain - Telstra Tower.

The following morning it was freezing, their was a light cover of frost on everything in sight and after morning school it was off sightseeing. First stop was the Telstra tower, well almost everything in the city is free to explore......but, who do you think would charge to view our capital.......... dead right "Bastards Incorporated" Telstra, so we clicked off some happy snaps and headed to the National Museum for the morning, this place is a must and first stop on any one's itinerary. One of the many things we learned was that after the First World War the WA government sought to repay wartime services - and increase the state's population - by settling returned servicemen on small farms at Carnamah. Lots were allocated to 40 men and their families. The boys favourite place there was K-Space, this great computer program that lets you create a spaceship or house for the future. You have 3 minutes, then you get to see it in a 3D movie with other friends who have made them also. You have your photo taken so you can identify your spaceship or house. Very cool.

See photo - Watching Titan empty coins!

Following this we headed for the Royal Australian Mint where we watched coins being minted, the boy's favourite part of the day was watching TITAN ( the largest robot in the facility) perform for them. The boys then went downstairs and stamped there very own  $1 coins!, we all had an ice cream before heading for Parliament House to checkout where all our tax dollars are invested!



See photo - Parliament House.

Parliament house is an amazing site and cost $1.1 billion in 1988, so go there and see where your money went. It also includes Australia's biggest lawn at 50,000sqm...... great for cricket if it were flat!. We parked underneath and headed for the water feature and entrance to view the Aussie flag which is the size of a Double Decker bus flying from an 81 mt flag pole! We made our way inside thru security and headed for the 700 year old Magna Carta (one of 4 in existence and the foundation of modern democratic society) and the roof top lawn for some fantastic views of Canberra and the War Memorial. A little known fact is that fossils are in the marble stairs located in the foyer, if you ever go see if you can find the little white shrimp / prawn in one of these steps.

See photo - Moon Rock at the Canberra
Deep Space Tracking Complex.

See photo - Riley, Aiden & Bell.
As close as we could get...

Saturday we headed for the Canberra Deep Space Tracking Complex which was about 40 minutes out of the city (Tidbinbilla). We drove, and drove, and drove until suddenly it was there in the distance. As we approached the complex it suddenly become obvious how big this structure actually was! It comprises of 3 main dishes at 2 x 34mt and 1 x 70mt. The primary roles of the antennas can be broken into four key areas; Telemetry, Tracking, Control and Monitoring everything from Data to assisting NASA with Spacecraft Command. We viewed some rare space equipment including cameras, space suits, re-entry procedures used in the Saturn project and last but not least a MOON ROCK!!!!!, which is currently on display. It was brilliant and well worth the trip ..... could have stayed longer and watched all the videos ......

After some morning tea we headed back to Canberra to visit the National War Memorial. We arrived and decided to brief the boys on the significance of this Memorial, they had some understanding and behaved as best as to be expected for two little boys. We visited the Grave of the unnamed soldier and then headed inside to view the museum. Well..... we could have spent two days inside, it was staggering how much memorabilia they have on display, there was a setting to describe almost every wartime scenario recorded in Australia's history. It is something that we will need to revisit at a later date when the boys are older to appreciate. Very well put together and a credit to ACT.



See photo - National War Memorial - side view showing the Church shaped dome.

See photo - Glass Factory.

Sunday we headed out with Bell at the wheel, it seemed that our Perth neighbour was flying solo as Tenille had taken their little girl Taylissa home to visit Nan & Pop for a few weeks. So Tony and Chris decided to have a few quiet drinks ............ till 2am, of course, with the expected outcome and a lot of panadol! In the morning we headed to the Old Canberra Bus Depot markets for some breakfast and a look 'round, Riley found a little present for Mrs Rao his teacher and we grabbed a coffee then headed for the Canberra Glass Works next door. The Glass Works have a viewing area where we could watch the local artists manufacture and blow glass pieces, it was great to see and we could have stayed all day ( it was warm ! ) but the boys and Bell were headed for Questacon, a children's scientific hands on museum located in the heart of the city. Chris went to the National Art Gallery and then had a sleep in the car.........., he ended up flying his kite and getting some goodies for the boys in the Questacon shop ( full of great big kids stuff! ) The boys loved it, especially the live lightening display. Bell went on the drop slide (what a buzz) and the boys just played with all the gadget's, their favourite being where plastic eggs falls down through a maze of metal runs and drops. Was very impressive. Bell and the boys were finished by 4pm and it was time to head back to the van and get ready for the trip to Jindabyne and Perisher the next day! We could have stayed a few more days just like everywhere else .. but ....

 So here is our youtube of the Nations Capital!

See photo - At Questacon - spent 25 min with egg contraption!!