Set the alarm nice and early for quarter past seven, but it took until about 8.30 to actually start moving to leave the unit - was nice enough, but the shower was fairly dodgy - by moving to leave I mean to leave the unit, not just the bed LOL - got dressed, repacked, had showers etc. Then was on the Old Road, rather than the New, ie the road that slows down for the towns rather than bypasses it - what the rest of the world would call a highway LOL.
Found a town that hadn't survived the bypass, Hagley, it had even killed off the pub - an Aussie town withouth a pub for goodness sake OMG LOL. Then had brekkie in Westbury, the 24 hour bakery LOL - toasted ham and cheese croissant and a cappucino yum. Drove past the turn off to Liffey Falls, and on postcards it looks nice, but a bit of a hike up to it and back from the carpark - was busy enough, maybe next time...
Saw where V was born in Westbury, and also the Village Green - I thought it would have been a couple of nice cricket grounds shaded at the sides with 100 year old trees, but it was just a park with no rhyme nor reason where the trees were, very rural looking town though. Then quickly through Deloraine, as we were driving in V was saving to people coming the other way - turned out to be the husband of a niece, but still, in cities you don't wave to the first person you pass coming into town. And then at the service station, V knew the name of the person that served us LOL. Very Mount Thomas LOL.
Drove through town, the shopping street was longer than I expected, and detoured past her school. And then out to Mole Creek, via Chudleigh (where did they get these names?) with the Western Tiers looming in the background. Very scenic. The whole drive reminded me of the Wairarapa back home, and hills hills everywhere. Out to Mole Creek to a wildlife park, which, frankly, had seen better days. And was $14 to get in, very much a once every ten years or so trip. Nice scenic lookout though, and when the guided tour started was making its way to be worth the admission price.
The guide was really enthusiastic about the work he did, showing us the koalas, wombats and Tassie devils. Got to stroke the fur of a koala and devil and cradled the baby wombat - devil fur is as soft if not softer a cat's, and if they need to they could bite through the steel - reminds me of the Ginsu steak knife ads - can cut through steel pipe and still slice tomatoes with ease LOL.
Drove back to Deloraine, stopped into LH and DH's place - one of V's workmates - for a quick chat, and then to V's house. Which isn't so much a doer upper as a tearer downer and start againer, to tell the absolute truth. V's room and the living area is cosy enough, but as for the rest... reminded me a bit of H's house in Victoria (Canada) but even more so. Fine for a visit, but if I lived in Mount Thomas, I would rent LOL - V's dream is to rebuild from the bottom up, if/when she gets the money. But I stayed as diplomatic as I could and didn't upset V about the subject as far as I could tell.
Met her dog, a boisterous black lab that seems to have been fed too weel, and then into my black shirt and white tie for the wedding, which I thought looked good, and V said wasn't as bad as she thought it would, and why didn't I tell her that the shirt had white checked lines through it LOL.
Oh, met her brother G who lives with her - wasn't impressed though. The house would be fine for one person, but just a bit small for two - he had been drinking the previous four nights and was going for five, what with the wedding and all - he was talkative, but pushed the wrong buttons for me, white ties are for fairys, rugby is a poofters sport, and nod diplomatically and grit teeth.
Then off to the wedding, picking up E (another nephew's wife LOL) on the way. Stood outside a bit, and got about thirty names thrown at me in twenty minutes LOL.
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