Wednesday 25 April 2007

Playing Tourist

Last week, my parents came to stay for a visit. It was great to see them and spend some family time together here for a change instead of me going to Sydney for the usual Christmas thing. I think they had a nice, relaxing time too... I hope.

They drove down from Sydney with their dog, Tess. My dog, Venus loved having a friend (cousin?) to play with. The dogs both loved their ball chase on the beach at Venus Bay.

We did a few touristy things, went fishing at the rock wall on the Tarwin River and on the inlet at Inverloch. The weather was very nice the whole time and the afternoon at Inverloch was especially nice, standing in the cool water in the sun feeding the fish with our bait. We didn't actually catch anything, not even a cold.

The Penguin Parade at Phillip Island was a pleasant surprise too. I was expecting a distant glimpse of a few birds on the beach, and that's what it was at the start, then the little penguins came marching up the hill in between the viewing stands and you could get a real up close and personal look at these cute little creatures. The visitor centre was interesting too. I was amazed at the number of people there, given that it wasn't a particularly warm night and it wasn't in a holiday period. The "Great Wall of China" was an amusing distraction when a busload of tourists thought they should all stand up at the same time and block the view of everyone behind them until they got the hint from the "Sit Down!", "Oi!" calls from behind. The only thing I thought was absolutely stupid about the Penguin Parage was the ban on photography. I'm assuming it is to stop people using a flash and blinding/scaring the penguins, but I don't see how taking a non-flash photo or making a video without a flash would upset the penguins any more than having thousands of people lined up on their beach would be. Just another example of over-zealous regulation I guess. I suspect it's more a case of protecting the revenue from the postcard and "buy a photo" business they run from the visitor centre.

We also had a short day-trip down to Cape Liptrap to see the view from the lighthouse. Unfortunately, we went in the morning when it was a bit cloudy, so the view to The Prom wasn't as good as it can be. Still nice though. Coming back to Venus Bay via Walkerville and Fish Creek for fish and chips made for a nice, relaxing day out.

The week they were here went by all too fast, but now they've been here, they may make the 1,000km+ trip again.

Friday 20 April 2007

Chainsaw Dilema

Now that it's getting cold at night, thoughts turn to cutting firewood.

After spending the good part of a week agonising what to do about a loose chain on the chainsaw, wondering... do I need to spend the $90 to get 2 new chains airfreighted from Sydney, like the place I bought it from on eBay said I needed to do, or buying the 2 cheaper ones on eBay for $50 plus $10 postage, I decided to take it to the chainsaw shop in Wonthaggi to ask them what to do.

The young guy behind the counter grabbed it out of my hands and took it out the back to emerge a few moments later, chain tightened thanks to a few links removed. The cost? A whole $3! Now I know.

I'd read all the DIY forums, all saying things like turn the adjusting screw.... even though it was already fully extended, get a new chain, make sure the bar is tilited upwards... none of them suggested removing a few links from the chain.

So, if you ever have the same problem, don't wait around or look for a complicated or expensive answer, take it to a chainsaw repair place and get them to do it.

FYI, the one in Wonthaggi is John McCalls Mowers at 7 Murray St.

Saturday 14 April 2007

Venus Bay Sunset

The haze yesterday made for a pretty amazing sunset taken from the front verandah in Venus Bay with different exposure settings.





Saturday 7 April 2007

Venus Bay Easter Festival

As part of the Venus Bay Easter Festival, there will be an outdoor market run in conjunction with the Mind, Body & Spirit Festival at the Venus Bay Community Centre at 27 Canterbury Rd, Venus Bay on Easter Sunday, 8th April. It will run from 9am to 5pm.

Wednesday 4 April 2007

Aerial Photos of Venus Bay and nearby towns

Foons Photographics has some amazing aerial photos of Venus Bay, Andersons Inlet, Cape Patterson, Inverloch, Wonthaggi, Wilsons Prom, Dalyston and Kilcunda.

The latest are all taken on a blue-sky day in September 2006.

http://www.foons.com.au/aerial/aerial.htm

Tarwin Lower Market - Mon 9th April

The Tarwin Lower Market will be held on the morning of Monday 9th of April for the Easter holidays. Most of the stalls are in River Drive just next to the hall.

Sunday 1 April 2007

Venus Bay Real Estate Agents

The Venus Bay Real Estate agents handle sales and rentals in Venus Bay, Tarwin Lower and as far away as Walkerville.

Here is a list of the three local agents who can find you a place to buy or rent as well as having long lists of holiday accomodation rentals.

Alex Scott
03 5663 7111

PBE Real Estate
03 5663 7771

Realestate.com.au