Melbourne (Sunday)

Well to be honest, this morning wasn't very productive. I slept in, and laid around on the couch. This afternoon, I went and met Ellie in the city. I thought she was catching the train into Flinders Street, but her train only went to Station street. Then they kicked her off the train onto a bus anyway. So she ended up catching a train to meet me anyway.
We had an hour so before we had to go to the airport, so I took her round to the Lindt Cafe. We got a mix off the menu to share, but of course we couldn't finish it, could we. If you haven't been, (or even if you have) I highly recomend it- Collins Street.
After I dropped Ellie off, I headed to Leanne's (otherwise know as Dori). Dori is one of my teammates from the Dandenong Rangers, and she was also part of the Gliders team who won silver in London.

Charlie dog

We have spent the evening catching up. She's made me feel suitably silly about burning my feet again. And I've had lots of cuddles from Charlie, her dog. Now watching Mrs Browns Boys for a giggle before bed...

Melboure (Saturday)

I was amazed last night, just how good it felt to be in Melbourne. I was so sick of Melbourne when I left, so happy to get away from the city, but driving into the city yesterday, it almost felt like home. It was so good to drive familiar roads, to not have to be constantly checking the map to see where I have to go. And I suddenly had a new appreciation for how pretty the city is at night..
Today Des and I went to Caulfield to the races. I though we had decided to go to Pakenham, so I was a bit confused when he started driving off into the suburbs. At least I had put on a nice top, or i would have been a bit under dressed. I had a great day, catching up with people I hadn't seen for a few months.
I did a talk last year to the first year apprentice jockeys about being an elite athlete, and looking after your body. One of the kids I spoke to then, Jake, was riding yesterday. It was good to know that he remembered me and my talk, and that I had made some kind of impact. Jake's a great kid. The first time I met him, I thought he was carrying his dad's gear- he only looks like he is twelve... I had to google him before I believed Des he was a rider!
Walter McShane is a trainer from Tassie who has had a couple of runners in Melbourne over the last few months. He had a runner in yesterday again, so it was good to see him again.
After the last race, Des introduced me to another couple of people on the way out, one of which was Peter The Trainer. After we left the races, I found out Peter The Trainer, was Peter Moody!! Blasted Des!! I had only been thinking half an our before that of all the people Des has introduced me too, Peter Moody wasn't one of them. Then when I did, I completely missed the opportunity to pick his brain!! Devastated!
Des introduced me to another trainer earlier in the day with the line, 'between him and Bart Cummings, they have won thirteen Melbourne Cups. (For those of you who missed that, Bart Cummings has won thirteen Melbourne Cups by himself). I did pick up on that one..
After the races we went to see friend of Des's, then we went and met up with Walter and some of his family at Zagame's, which was really good.
Again, I was impressed with how pretty the city is.....
Well, that's it for me today...

Bendigo- Melbourne

I had a great night catching up with Ellie and Adam, and even managed an almost early night. It was a bit miserable this morning, trying to rain. We packed up, since they were changing carvan parks, and headed down the road to their new 'home'. After a while I had to leave, so I said goodbye and hit the road again.
The road between Bendigo and Melbourne must have hundreds of thousands of dollars of fencing along the road. The idea is to stop the wildlife getting on the road, and in the way of traffic, saving lives and money, but it seems a bit extreme to me. I guess they do have much bigger roos to worry about here though. And apparently much more intelligent wildlife. They have signs everywhere saying 'help for wildlife call....' our roos down home can't read, much less use a phone!
I drove past Hanging Rock on the way down, as in Picnic At Hanging Rock. It does look rather impressive driving past! I didn't get any photos though, since I was almost past by the time I realised what it was.
Once I got back to Melbourne, I headed straight to Talbot, the rehab center, to go see Louise (Lauren's sister). She is in the rocess of trying to order her own wheelchair, so I went to see her so se could try my chair, and to have a chat about the options. She looked really good in my chair-tall and stable. And I felt very disabled in the truck of a chair she's currently using!
After catching up with Louise, I headed to one of my favourite cafes in Middle Park (St Kilda) to meet up with Ella. We got there just as Hot Honey was closing, so we grabbed a piece of their amazing raspberry and ricotta cake, and went down to the Victorian Wine center, which is also a great place to eat (and drink I guess).
Then it was time to head to Des's, where I'm staying for the next couple of days. We've been watching the swans slaughter the pies...
Time for bed before I pass out on the sofa...

Driving into Melbourne

Cavendish- Bendigo

Well I slept well-I didn't even hear the girls get up this morning! That may have had something to do with my early night becoming midnight. Pat got home about nine and the four of us sat up talking. As a result, it was after eight before I woke up today and Lauren and Pat had already left for work.
Once I left Lauren's, I headed north east towards Bendigo. I stopped off at Ararat to go look at the jail, but I had missed the our, and didn't have an hour to wait for the next one, so I grabbed some lunch and hit the road again.

Ararat Goal

 The country is very pretty out here, not very different to Sheffield. I passed acres and acres of canola crops- yellow as far as the eye could see. There were lots of lakes and waterways everywhere, with wet lands full of birds. I also drove through the Pyrenees Ranges.

Canola and the mountains

 The speed limit here is driving me mad! I'm having to be really careful not to speed. A week ago, I was able to drive 130km/h, so 100km/h feels really slow... The trucks suddenly seem really small down here too. I was driving past trucks with 3 or 4 trailers- none of these are bigger than two. I keep expecting them to keep going and they just stop!
I think the cats on the fence Sunday may have been foxes. The fence I saw today definitely had foxes on it. I haven't been able to confirm or reject my ideas as to why they were there yet though.

Foxes

I also found another novelty mailbox too...

Mailbox

I got to Bendigo a bit after lunch time. I have been back a couple of times since we came through in 2006, so I remember it pretty well. My favourite thing here then, was the dragon museum, which was really interesting. It freaked Ellie out a bit though...
We spent the afternoon talking and catching up, then Adam cooked us tea.
I'm going to give this 'early night' thing another go now...

Distance travelled: 300km
Time driving: 3.5hours
Total distance travelled: 12,000km

Hamilton-Cavendish

I tell you what I struggled getting out of bed today! We packed up and made it just in time for the start. I had made plans yesterday to stay with a friend tonight just north of Hamilton, so I could go to the burlesque show that was on tonight. Except when I went to book my ticket this morning, I realized the show is actually wednesday the 17th. Of October! Whoops! Guess I'm getting an early (ish) night.
This mornings program was pretty god. I missed Annes presentation this morning, after it started twenty minutes early- I have no idea why!
One of the ladies noticed I was freezing yesterday, so she found me a blanket. She brought it out again for me this morning.
Annes second presentation finished at 2.15 and Mum and her rushed off to catch their plane. I went back for the last few sessions, but I was so tired that I hardly tok any of it in. I had to have a sleep before I drove out to Lauren and Pats!
I met Lauren a few months ago after her sister Louise broke her back. Des put me in contact with her and I have been trying to help her whenever I can, through my own experiences.
After my nap, I headed north to Cavendish, where they live. Lauren has two gorgeous little girls, but they had had a bit of a long day, so they went to bed quite early. I answered the phone for Lauren while she was getting the girls ready for bed, and there was a tellymarketer on the other end. I told him I was the babysitter and they weren't home!
A little while later, the phone ranf again. Some guy was on the phone, asking for Pat. I told him he wasn't here and he asked if I was Pat's new wife. Something like that I said. Anyway, he asked to speak to Lauren. I asked who it was before I handed the phone over. Pat. I couldn't stop laughing! It was pretty funny....
Louise's husband Matt was working up this way today, so he is staying here tonight too. I haven't seen him for months, so it was a good chance to catch up, and to see how Louise is going before I go visit her this week. Lauren made roast lamb for tea- I hadn't realized how hungry I was! We all had a good chat about my trip. I think its good for Lauren and Matt. I'm an example of where Louise will be in a couple of years.
So much for the early night, but having a great time catching up witheveryone.

Hamilton (Tuesday)

Oh my goodness! What a long day! We woke up for breakfast made by Carol, then headed off to the conference for an 8.30 start. The program has been very full on, with most of the speakers being very entertaining. There were a couple of speakers I found very difficult to listen too. Two had very strong accents and a couple because they weren't very well presented.
I have actually found it much more relevant than I expected. There were several presentations on OH&S that I found quite helpful and relevant, for when I am starting my own business in a few years. It has reinforced the importance of work place safety for me. You would think I wouldn't need reminding, having been through what I have, but I know even at home I do things that aren't necessarily 'safe'. I tend to think I'm 'invincible' and sometimes put more faith in my horses than is probably safe.
The final session for the day was Dr Roberto di Lorenzo, who is the President & Health and Well being Futurist Europa Health Forecasting Group, Milan, Italy. He was a very engaging speaker, but I found it hard to work out what his talk was about. The only theme I could pick up on, was that laughter is good for you. He kept cracking jokes throughout his presentation. Then he presented his last slide- I am the corporate impostor. It turns out Dr Roberto di Lorenzo does not exist! He had me going until the end, Mum too. though I knew the story he told us about his wrestling career wasn't true. a) you cannot physically bite yourself on the left testicle, b) I have heard that joke before. It was a very entertaining talk though, even the fact that he had completely pulled the wool over our eyes was funny. And the fact that Mum had been taking notes the whole way through... 
After the afternoon sessions, we headed back to the house to get 'frocked up' for the evening dinner. The house is a beautiful old and big two story house. Carols mum used to live with them, and she couldn't climb the stairs, so they have one of those stair lifts. I have never used one before, and they are a little intimidating... Especially getting off the lift at the top of the stairs! I think it scares Mum more than me though, she set herself up between me and the stairs. So had I fallen, we would have both broken our necks! We survived though.

The dinner was a great evening, but I was tired before we even left, so I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I should have. Dr Roberto, whose real name is Homer (who does that to their child?) gave us a bit of a spiel on his history and his work before dinner. He also told us about some of the other conferences he has spoken at. Its a bit disturbing how many job offers his characters had got after he had revealed who he really was.
The dinner was at the Hamilton Club, who put on an amazing meal- fantastic lamb! The dining room was up a couple of stairs, so the cute waiter carried me up the stairs. They did have a 'ramp' but he offered, so I wasn't going to say no! I love my job hehe. Mum, Anne and I all ended up at completely different tables, but I had some great people on my table. They had a trivia night after the main course, based on the Farmer Health website. I was sitting by the fire after tea when Libby Price, off the ABC's country hour came and sat down and had a chat with me, which was pretty cool, and rather flattering. After that though, we headed home and eventually got to bed.
I am exhausted! 

Dartmore-Hamilton

Today has felt both long and short. This morning feels like days ago, but I don't really feel I have done anything! I took advantage of today's short drive and slept in this morning. Millog had already left for work so I had the place to myself. It turns out there is an awesome view from his house too, that I couldn't see last night.

When I left, I drove back into Dartmore to get a picture to show you the carvings that line the main street. It's a bit hard to see them all though.
It was only a short drive to Hamilton, less than an hour, but still very pretty. It reminded me of the Frankford Highway.
I arrived in Hamilton just before 12 and called Mum. She and Anne had only just left Melbourne, so I went and found some lunch.
Then I retreated to the car and played on the computer until the conference started. And then I was late. Whoops. I did miss the opening speech's though, but from the last few minutes I did hear, I didn't mind. The two speakers who spoke this afternoon were both quite entertaining, and the MC was pretty funny. She was telling us how the only time she lived on the land was when she brought 120 acres with her husband. Then after a few months he left her for another woman, so she moved back to the city!
Mum and Anne arrived half way into the second speaker. It turned out I'd been expecting a completely different Anne! That explains why she sounded so different on the phone...
After afternoon tea, they had a panel discussing a hypothetical scenario- an outbreak of an unknown disease in the sheep capital of Australia, Sheepville. It was a bit funny in some parts, with breaking news headlines running across the bottom of the projector screen. Some of the captions included 'Barbeques Galore expect a drop in profits next quarter' and 'Sam seeks mental health support due to lack of lamb' (or something along those lines).
There is a big photo competition included in the conference, so we went and saw them all in the gallery next door for cocktail hour. I have never seen so much art as I have the last few weeks! There were some really nice pictures there though.
After the cocktail hour, we all headed back to the B&B where we are staying. Peter and Carol are both lovely, and very helpful. They even have one of those stair lifts, so I didn't have to climb the stairs! Mum's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw my haul from Hahndorf.
It's so much colder down here- I'm almost ready to go back to Alice! But for now, I'm just going to go to bed instead. Night!