Well this may well be the strangest place we have camped. It had great reviews for when the Pub was opened. But as we had turned up on a night/day it was closed, and that is all that is here in Tatong, it felt a little strange.
The publican has tried to bring the place to life and into the fold of the Ned Kelly trail by painting a water tank and providing a few signs on the local history but otherwise the place was eerily quiet and deserted.
Free Camping at the Tatong Tavern
It was getting very late and had been a long drive from Daylesford with a stop in Papa’s hometown of Kyneton for lunch. We just needed somewhere to pull up for the night before starting our own tour of the Kelly Trail.
On the Ned Kelly Trail
Ned Kelly is Australias one and only outlaw and it turns out the Glover side of the family is related to Harry Power another well known bush ranger who is believed to have taken Ned under his wing and taught him the trick of the trade.
High Five for the Pub’s Cat
It was a quiet, peaceful night, with some interesting insect encounters and a cat for Georgia, so we can’t complain.
Ken and I have visited Daylesford before but this time it was really exciting for Ken and I to catch up with some friends from Perth who have relocated here and exciting for the kids as they are expecting a visit from the Easter Bunny.
The Autumn colours of Daylesford
In our usual style we haven’t booked anywhere and with it being the Easter long weekend we’ve taken a gamble and its paid off. Daylesford Holiday Park were friendly, fantastic and squeezed us in. No sites left but a funny little patch called Bills spot had us in a top location with power and water to boot. Happy Days.
Nadia and Leonie
An added bonus we discover that the park is running Easter activities for children all weekend and their is a free egg hunt in the botanical gardens on the Saturday. Lots of fun for the kids but the edge is taken of as the girls can’t really eat any of it. We are holding out hope that the E Bunny knows and delivers something suitable.
With the park full of kids the girls were bound to make some friends and they did. In the afternoon Nadia and her daughter Alwyne popped down to the caravan park to say hi and check out our set up. The girls all had a play and Alwyne stayed on while Nadia went home to get prepared to have us over for dinner.
It was a lovely meal and just so wonderful being in Nadia’s company. She did a great job hosting us all while Lee was out of town for work and with the girls discovering a shared love for baking it was long before they had concocted a plan to make desert. In seemed like a fun idea at the time but soon there were too many cooks in the kitchen and flour, sugar, chocolate and marshmallows everywhere. Then end result was delicious, well done girls but crickey, I’m not sure that marshmallow pan will ever be the same again.
The Girls fantastic Cakes!
The next day was Good Friday and I had a go a making gluten-free HCB’s. They smelt amazing and warm out the oven were pretty nice, but to be honest they looked better than they tasted. Very dense but a nice flavour.
The outcome may have been better if i’d had the required yeast! I was certain I had some but it was nowhere to be found. Ken made a dash to the shops but all were closed except Bakers Delight. So being a clever bunny he went in an acquired some of what they use. I’d never seen yeast like this and didn’t know how to use it (in a moist block) so in the end it was more miss that a hit.
Charlotte and I had a quick catch up with Nadia and Alwyne again at The Amazing Mill Market. Daylesford is well known for its markets and this place is certainly amazing! Nadia has a couple of stalls here and we needing to do a few hours work. So the girls hang out and I pottered. Not for long though. Lulu woke from her sleep and we were homeward bound.
The Amazing ‘Parker’s Mini Circus’ – Good Clean Fun!
Saturday we joined in the fun of the Easter egg hunt in the botanical gardens. It was fun for sure and the gardens where beautiful. Daylesford is known for it’s autumn colours and with the morning light filtering through the vast array of trees it’s a lovely place to be. It was certainly a little hard to collect all those eggs and not get to eat them but I had a stash of eggs they could eat so that helped.
At Dalesford Botanical Gardens
From there we ended up having a wonder day with Nadia, Lee and Alwyne. We were just really happy to hang out together and do whatever was on the cards. Turns out a market and lunch in neighbouring town Creswick then on for a wonder and explore around Lambley Gardens and Nursery. All very pleasant and plenty to keep the kids entertained, not that they needed much. They were getting on like a house one fire. Charlotte and Alwyne in particular. It was a real pleasure getting the chance to catch up and spend a bit more time together, very relaxed and easy. Just the way we all like it.
Easter Sunday was pretty low key. E Bunny did indeed visit and it was a chocolate feast for breakfast. We then explored some of the local markets and a great coeliac friendly Asian cafe for lunch the afternoon was very relaxed with Charlotte going for a sleepover at Nadia’s.
We had a quiet evening with Georgia which we all enjoyed. There isn’t much of a chance to get one on one time and when Lulu fell asleep the 3 of us played some cards, read books and enjoyed the peace and calm.
Charlotte was dropped off just as we were getting ready to depart, a final farewell and we were on our way north to explore Kelly country, Ned Kelly that is. But before we get there we’d be passing through Papa’s hometown of Kyneton. We had to stop and visit the old house and check out the town. It also made a good lunch stop before gettin got the road again.
