I arrived in Ballarat from Canada in my very own tiny cozy cabin with bubble wrapped walls. Cousins Pam & Brian Hall were not home when I arrived so I sat on the doorstep and waited. The next door neighbour kindly gave me accommodation until they arrived home several days later.
I helped them pack their camper and we headed off to the Australasian Braund Reunion in Edithburg, South Australia. We spent the first night camping on the bank of the Murray River at Mannum, enjoying the sunshine and river views under the shady River Red Gum trees.
The next morning we drove to the Yorke Peninsular and down to Edithburg where we spent the next 4 days with Branch 4 cousins. I sang with Susie, photographed with Len, walked the cemeteries with Chris, played at the museum with Pam and had lots of lovely food and drinks with Beth and John.
After the reunion we travelled over to the Eyre Peninsular for 2 weeks camping around the peninsular with Pam and Brian and their friends Willy and Eddie. We saw lots of rugged coastlines, but with beautiful white sandy beaches. The many different birds and animals were a surprise, with emus, kangaroos and lizards everywhere.
To remind me of home, they took me fishing along the way, catching Australian Salmon, Australian Herring, Flathead, Wrasse and a Banjo Shark. They were delicious.
We visited several national parks driving along red dirt roads and hiked through bushland and gorges.
We had only returned to Ballarat for three days to restock the camper and headed up to the Goulburn River near Alexander for Easter. I camped on the river bank with Pam and Brian and their friends Kylie, Graeme and their children James and Laura. Lots more fishing for trout and playing with the kids. The Easter egg hunt was great fun and I had my fill of chocolate. We had a campfire and had toasted marshmallows, chocolate bananas and meals cooked on the fire.
Back in Ballarat we went on a bike ride around Lake Wendouree which was most enjoyable. Saw lots of black swans on the lake. I kept saying they were the wrong colour, but they insisted that all Australian swans are black. I also caught up with cousins Clare and Xavier. It was great to play with the train set with Xavier.
Packing again for my trip back to Devon for the Braund Reunion. Travelling in my cozy cabin again with Pam and Brian. Looking forward to catching up with all the cousins aft the reunion again.
