Day 3 Tuesday 21/3/2023 Broken Creek, storms 25˚

I see it’s a nice morning as I drop the blind and come face to face with a sheep outside the window. We’ve already plugged the espresso in at the camp kitchen and we wander over there to make a coffee.

We girls sit about in the sun chatting while the boys, mainly Pete and Repeat put some awning tape on our lengthening awning tear. We take a drive into Benalla and pick up a new gas bottle hose. We’ve heard that there’s a new mural in Devenish, behind the pub. It’s worth the detour out there to see it. The existing silos have a war memorial theme and the new mural on the pub’s old stable features the steam train that once used this line.

Back at camp, rain threatens, and as we step inside the van a crack of thunder and an instantaneous lightning bolt has us dropping to the floor and expecting the roof to cave in. It continues to rain heavily for hours and cooking dinner for our Italian-themed dinner becomes quite a chore as we splash back and forth across the paddock in our gumboots and brollies checking on the lasagne in the van oven. ‘Repeat’ sweats over his meatballs like an anguished Masterchef contestant. The boys organise a barrow of wood from camp owner ‘Doc’ and JT, who seems to have earnt the nickname ‘One Match’ lights a roaring fire in the large stone fireplace. It’s a perfect backdrop to our table filled with pastas, salami, and home-grown olives. We wash it all down with too many cones of gelato while interrogating the young couple from the rooftop camper about their romance/relationship. Oldies can get away with asking those sorts of questions.

Accom: $20.00