6/1/14 – Day 31 – Aire River Camp Ground -> Jimmy Creek Camp Ground, Grampians National Park

We wake to the now familiar whistling of 30knot winds and the tap tap tap of the rain on the van. Ok that’s it we have had enough! Beaches, rain and freezing cold wind just don’t go together. We were planning on moving to Johanna beach today (which was supposed to be amazing) but with the weather looking to remain like this for 2 – 3 days we are packing up and heading to the Grampians. Hopefully they are far enough inland that the wind will weaken and the clouds will run out of rain. 

We leave camp by 9, and about ½ an hour up the road we pass a small shearing shed on the side of the road that looks to be in operation. We round the bend and find a place for the “IzzyGator” (that’s the new name for the truck and caravan that I just made up – kind of goes as the Gator is named after the Investigator, Mathew Flinders ship) and walk back. A couple of years ago we were driving near the Abercrombie Caves NSW and I saw virtually the same thing, a small shearing shed in operation, but I didn’t stop because we were in too much of a hurry, and on numerous occasions I think about that opportunity and have wished that we had stopped. Well we were in no hurry this time. After sussing out the two dogs we wondered into the shed only to be greeted by a recently slaughter and halved sheep carcass hanging in the door way! Even better I thought I have been telling the boys about this as well; two for the price of one!

It was only a small shed, with three stands, and the shearers were on smoko. I asked if it was OK if we hung around and they were more than happy for us to do so. We walked al through the pens and the boys felt the wool, saw the baler and all kinds of other interesting things. Twenty minutes later the shed sprung into action as the boys watched with intent as the shearers man handled these sheep, that now look massive, around whilst effortlessly clipping their nice warm coat from them. They were intrigued as the rouse about threw the fleece onto the table and loved the greasy feeling that they got from touching the wool. In the end I have to give them a countdown of sheep to be sheared as I think they could have been there all day watching and the next hour in the truck was solid questions about sheep and farming.

We drove for the next 3 hours or so that got us to a great campsite inside the Grampians, set up, got some fire wood and had a relaxing afternoon with the boys having a great time having skid competitions and playing cricket with the kids from the campsite next door. 

As the sky darkened the clouds were beginning to make way for some blue sky and the wind was down to a bearable 10 – 15knots. Hopefully it will be that way tomorrow!