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35 in the shade
Blackwood, Australia |
Blackwood, Australia
Blackwood Caravan Park in the middle of summer. That’s where you end up when you rob a bank with a screwdriver and are running away with $20 from the law. Or when you try to book in for a few days away during the January holidays. We thought we’d got a cancellation in Ocean Grove for a steal, but that was way too good to be true. So thanks for a friend’s spare caravan and a few empty caravan lots we headed up near Kyneton to the Blackwood Mineral Springs Caravan Park.
The first day was fine, besides a severe lack of things to do in the caravan park. However the night’s sleep was very rough. The caravan lurched dangerously when you rolled over in bed, the kids were covered in insect bites and a group of kids sat behind us near a dead fire talking into the wee hours.
The next day was a furnace. I mean the type of heat you usually feel opening the oven to check the roast. It was horrific. The air conditioning in the car was completely dead, and so where we after driving through Kyneton, Daylesford and Woodend. We had Monty the dog with us (poor bugger) and the ground was so hot he couldn’t walk on the towns we visited. This is definitely country to visit in the winter.
We did find some great cider in Daylesford, but we couldn’t do much else but straggle home. We all took one look at the caravan that had turned into a self-contained baked potato and wondered what to do next. Most other holiday makers were sitting out the front of their vans, picking their nails and looking gormlessly into space. It was that sort of day.
We straggled our way to a deep water hole (who was to know the trickling, muddy creek next to the park would have one?) and all the sweat and tears were washed away. But it refused to drop below 35 and we decided we’d had enough. A three day break turned into one.
Not a bad thing, actually, as it turns out the caravan park was closed the next day because of extreme fire conditions. Everyone out! But we’d already gone.
Next time we book in to Eden six months early. I couldn’t face another little Christmas break like this again.
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