Day 2 Monday 16/10/2023 Maffra, 8 – 15 rain very windy with sunny patches every 15 mins

We’re woken at 6:00am by the van shuddering in the wind. We should have been protected by the ‘Toothless’ van which is very close but no, the wind is gusting and the awning has become a mainsail and it’s endeavouring to relocate itself on the roof. In our hurry I realise that I’m missing my pants and scurry back inside, we don’t want things getting any uglier. One awning arm is too high in the air to manhandle, I hang on to the pull strap and hope like hell that I don’t do a Mary Poppins over the roof. Meanwhile Woody asks a neighbour for a longer ladder. The rain is icy cold and we’re soaked to the skin. Woody, Toothless, and the ladder guy put their backs into it and get the awning under control and stowed away but we have broken a pin on the awning foot, where it meets the van. Apart from that we are amazed that our well-patched awning didn’t tear. Where’s Missus Toothless in all this drama you might ask, she’s tucked up in bed listening to it all! Woody’s teeth are chattering with the cold, he plunges under a hot shower while I crank the electric blanket to its hottest setting and we sleep for a couple of hours. Phew, we dodged a bullet with that one!

After breakfast, we drive into Sale (not Sail) in the new Toothless ‘Cruiser to try and get a replacement part for the awning but we’re out of luck. Toothless reckons his awning foot has been broken for years and cable ties do the job. We can’t argue with that. After all our motto is ‘You can go right around Australia with cable ties and gaffer tape’. Trying to get the hang of the new GPS we are treated to a pretty good look around the suburbs of Sale and pick up a bottle of wine for Ladder Guy.

The weather is changing every 15 minutes. Rain, shine, rain, shine can get depressing so after lunch we decide to see if any of our caravan club members have arrived in Heyfield. But, no they’re sensible enough to have stayed home. Not being all that familiar with Glenmaggie Weir we head up that way to see how high the water is. It’s only about 9kms north of Heyfield. The water is close to the road in places and an odd pinkish brown with silt. Glenmaggie is an unusual spot. Being popular with fishermen and water sports, the caravan parks are fully occupied by permanent structures currently being too close to the water for comfort. There are a few large blocks of land with large holiday shacks on them and plenty of parking for boats and caravans, summer must be wild up here. Down the road, we find a large wooden hall and over the bridge on the high side of the lake, permanent residents have built some lovely homes on a spit of land giving good lake views.

We take the Tinamba Road back to Maffra and as you do when you’re on the road, we wonder about the breeds of cows. You see, in Gippsland, there are a lot of dairy cows, mostly Friesian and a few Jersey herds. By a lot, I mean an awful lot*. The grass here is just so lush with regular rainfall and many rivers running down from the high country.

Trying not to use the GPS we tour Maffra and as with the town of Sale it too appears to be growing with many homes on spacious blocks.

We have Happy Hour in the golf club camp kitchen out of the wind and cook T-bone steaks on the BBQ. The wind is still cold and strong. TV reception too is still poorly, so we settle in for the night with a Dawn French DVD. Gee, I wonder why my shoulder is aching?

*Gippsland 1.9 dairy cows to the hectare (https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/) as opposed to Western Qld, 1 beast per 10 hectares (www.beefcentral.com)

Accom: $30.00