Daylesford

Autumn is a creeping in. Not that you can tell here in Australia. The days are still mainly sunny and the temperatures are between 20C and 30C. I still need to put on sunscreen when I go outside. And the eucalyptus trees are as green as ever. However in the evening there is a definite chill in the air and the nights are starting to draw in. It gets dark about 7.30pm and at the end of this month the clocks will be going back, just like they do in October in the UK.

By the end of last week we all had cabin-fever here in our house in Essendon - we had to get out before we went completely mad! So we took a last minute trip up to Larry and Ange's caravan in Daylesford. This was our first little holiday completely by ourselves and we knew it might be the last chance to stay with Isla in the caravan before it got too cold.

Daylesford is a small town in the west of Victoria, about an hour and a half drive from Melbourne, or about 45mins drive north from Ballarat. It is situated in among rolling hills, fields and forest that remind me of parts of the lowlands of Scotland. It is another town that began life in the 19th century during the Gold Rush. It was then popular at the turn of the century for its mineral spas and resorts, but nowadays it is more famous as a centre for alternative lifestyles - there are health spas, crystal healing, aromatherapy, yoga, reflexology and acupuncture available along side all kinds of other stuff. It has become a very desirable place to live - there are expensive restaurants and shops and hotels. A lot of old hippies and artists made the place their home in the last 30 years but even they are being priced out of the market now.

One of the nicest features in Daylesford is the lake. It is very well maintained with a walking track around the side of it, and only a few cafe's and hotels overlooking it. It is surrounded by a mix of deciduous and eucalyptus trees. The whole of Daylesford is in fact surrounded by beautiful forest. Amongst the natural bush trees the early Victorian settlers planted a lot of big deciduous trees and they are spread throughout the town. In the Autumn the colours are stunning and we will need to go back once the leaves have really started to turn.
There is potentially a lot of wildlife to see here too - the area is known to have koalas, wombats and possums and there are many more birds to see than there is in Melbourne. There are big flocks of white cockatoos that screech in the trees above as they start to roost for the evening. There are magpies and kookaburras and eastern rosellas and many more obviously (I will need to learn) though most of them are hard to spot through the thick bush.

Lake Daylesford and the Boathouse Cafe

Daylesford Main Street

Our weekend there was of course very quiet and revolved around taking care of Isla. Thank you very much to Larry and Ange for letting us borrow their caravan. It was perfectly comfortable. We had chicken and salad for tea the first night and then fish and chips the second night (I know how fascinated you all are by our dinner plans). On  Friday we all walked down to the lake and then on Saturday Julia took a walk through town by herself while I pushed Isla round the caravan site in the pram. The weather was lovely though you definitely feel it colder up there than you do here in Melbourne and I had my fleece on when the sun wasn't shining. At night it was crisp and clear. And the stars! During an emergency midnight trip to the toilet block I happened to glance up. The sky was full of stars. More stars than I have seen in a very long time what with living in the city and all. And the stars are all a bit back to front down here in the Southern Hemisphere. There were some constellations I recognized and some I didn't. You could even see the milky way.

the caravan

On the Sunday Larry and Ange came up to the caravan and we all had lunch together before heading back to the big smoke. And now we are back life continues on as normal. I have provisionally accepted a job offer working full-time in the Suburbs of Preston and Moonee Ponds and will start in April.
Where has this year gone? Aye - the nights are fair draw'n in. After two summers in a row we are actually looking forward to some Autumnal and Winter weather though I don't suppose there is much chance of snow.
I can't believe there is no Halloween here in Autumn (it is in the spring). I may have to get Isla dressed up as a Goblin and take her from door to door Guising just to get my Autumnal kicks.

the caravan park

Julia made pasta!