Day 3 26/3/2011 - Euston - Lake Benanee

Day 3 26/3/2011

A very funny start to the day, Zac had gotten up to go fishing in the Murrumbidgee River and had planned to ride his bike, Pete and I were woken to Zac’s cries of “Mum, Dad someone let our bike tyres down!!” Pete and I in our sleep moaned about hoodlums and then thought to ourselves here we are in a camp site half way between Hay and Narranderra and our only company is two other vans with grey nomads – can’t really see them letting children’s bike tyres down and then it dawned on us – cat ‘o nine tail thistles….the kids had been rising with abandonment yesterday and yep they had managed to get burs in most of their tyres. Well we knew what we had to get when we got to Hay – inner tubes.

It was a lovely start to the day, cold but so fresh, kids off fishing, Zac happily catching and killing carp!!

When chatting to a couple of grey nomads they expressed surprise at our adventure with the kids and then advised me that I was a “grey nomad – in training” I might not be grey yet but they figured by the end of the trip it was highly unlikely that I would have a strand of brown hair left…..luckily I found this funny.  Pete picked up some good camping tips and they suggested a good camp spot near Euston (no idea where that was at the time) and they assured us that not only was the campsite free it also had flushing toilets….we were excited and determined to get there if only not to have to use a compost toilet for the night, so off we headed.

We called in at Hay Tourist information centre as we wanted to go to the Shear Museum, much to our delight we also learnt of a few other tourist attractions BUT the tourist information centre also had showers for $2 each you cannot comprehend my delight; I could get clean and wash my hair.  But first we headed off to the Old Hay Gaol Museum, we really enjoyed the tour but it was very sad remembering that the Gaol had also been a maternity hospital, and a girls home in the 1960’s to late 1970’s.  The Girls Home story is so sad and brought tears to my eyes, it was to Hay that they sent girls who were to naughty from the Parramatta Girls Home, some of the comments from young women who were in the home were gut wretching , when they talked about their experience and it was captured on the walls.

Heading back to the Tourist Information Centre we picked up supplies including the much needed inner tubes and headed into our warm showers.  Once we were all clean and tidy off we headed to the Shear Museum.

The Shear Museum was interesting and the kids had a great time pretending to be shearers!! Not a life style for me – to much hard work!!

Off to Euston we headed.  Day 3 and at last I got to drive!! Pete must have decided that the caravan’s death wobbles had abated enough to let me drive, either that or he was just really tired!!  The caravan towed well and we got to the campsite right on dinner time.  The kids were excited not only because there was a flushing dunny but also because the spot was right on Lake Benanee. A great spot for the night….thank you grey nomads, Penny and Alfred.