The alarm was set for 6:00am as we knew that our drive today was around the 400k mark and that included skirting the outer suburbs of Melbourne.
We left the caravan park just before 8:00am and had an uneventful run until about 15k’s from our turn onto one of the Melbourne ring roads. A traffic app on the iPhone informed us that there was an accident ahead and after about 15 minutes of very slow travel, we passed a couple of cars on the side of the road. They had been involved in a head to tail crash. There was hardly any damage to the vehicle, there was no need to towing, there were no police in attendance, but the traffic was a mess.
By the time we had turned onto the ring road, we were driving in light rain. The rain continued for about the next 30 minutes of our trip and stopped when we were well onto the Ballarat road.
We stopped for morning tea at a McDonalds Café and continued through to Ballarat where we decided to take a different route than what was being suggested by our GPS.
Following the signs to Hamilton, we travelled on a road that ran alongside lush farming areas including fields of canola. In front of us, we watched as The Grampians came into view and then passed to our north. Attempting to find a spot to stop for lunch, we managed to leave the highway and we travelled for about 12k’s before we finally returned to the highway. Within 100 meters of turning onto the highway, we found a spot for lunch. “He” flew the drone and managed to capture a couple of pictures of The Grampians and a farm with a small canola crop.
We arrived at our destination at 2:00pm and renewed friendships with members of our caravan club.
Later in the day we joined our friends for happy hour and then headed to a restaurant in a local motel where we enjoyed our evening meal. With the temperature dropping, we were happy to get to bed early and enjoy the warmth of our bed.