Halfway Round

Thursday, 4 December 2014

Milla - Marshmellow Milla

We went crazy with marshmellows!

We just couldn't wait to roast marshmellows.

Especially the big ones.

Harvey- Tour de Bright

We woke up feeling energetic and thought we'd do a bike ride. We rode 22 km of the rail trail from Bright.

The rail trail is an old train line that has been made into a bike track. It goes all the way from Bright from Wangaratta.

We wanted to make it to the old train station but we stopped 3 km short. On the way back we went quicker. About half way back we stopped at the Rail Trail Cafe.

My sisters and I got icy poles. My mum and dad had an iced coffee. They shared them with us.

We also saw a garage with 4 old fashioned cars.

There are a lot of cyclists in town. They were practising for a time trial tomorrow. They had special wind tunnel helmets that suck in the wind and shoot it out the back like a propeller. I tried racing them but I was no match for those cyclists.

One person had a stack in the first 200m. Guess who it was?

Maisie-Thunder and Lightning

My heart was beating fast as the first bit of lightning struck. The big flash was followed by the sound of thunder like a deep growl of a giant. I shuffled further down into my sleeping bag and pulled it up to my chin. "Mum," I whispered anxiously. My voice was followed by a silence... then BANG! Another flash and rumble. I shivered as I heard another BANG! "Mum," I said again a little louder. This time mum replied "Yes, don't worry, the storm is nearly gone." Meanwhile, rain was pouring down heavily making a constant deafening noise. I thought of sunshine and flowers and warm sand. My thoughts were interrupted with another flash and rumble. This time it was very loud and I imagined the big grey cloud where this horrible storm had come from, sitting right over the top of our tent. As if mum could read my mind she said " Come in my bed" and I quickly got snuggled in between mum and dad.

I only now realised that Harvey had been lying awake for the whole time and had followed me in to snuggle with mum and dad as well. I was half lying on my side and half cuddling close to mum. It was an overly uncomfortable position to be in, four people on an air mattress. Suddenly I heard a mysterious voice outside the tent. Rain was still pouring down and it was hard to hear the voice but I heard it say "Gretta, Gretta are you awake?"

" Yes I am," Mum replied quickly.

"I have a key, for you, for a cabin" the voice replied. At this stage I thought I knew who it was but I was still not too sure. I became slightly calmer until...BANG! Lightning and thunder stuck yet again. I snuggled closer to dad when mum reached out of the tent to grab the key.

"Use it if you have to."

"Thank you", said Mum.

And the voice was gone.

I could hear the thunder getting further away but I still couldn't get back to sleep.

"I'll come and sleep with you," whispered Mum.

Mum climbed into Harvey's sleeping bag and the girls all snuggled together and Harvey slept with dad.

"You can go back to sleep now, the storm's nearly over," mum hushed.

At first I was cold but soon got warmer.

Milla, to my amazement, slept through it all!

I ended up having an ok sleep after all

Wednesday, 3 December 2014

Maisie - Bail up I'm a Kelly!

"Bail up I'm a Kelly!" was a commonly used phrase by the famous bushranger, Ned Kelly.

Today we went to Beechworth where we learnt all about the bushranger and the rest of his gang, including Joe Byrne, Dan Kelly and Steve Hart.

He started off stealing cattle and horses and robbing passing coaches, but really became famous by murdering policemen and robbing banks.

Ned Kelly and his gang wore metal helmets and armour. Nobody knew what he really looked like so he could go into town and nobody would know who he was.

Ned Kelly lived with his mother Ellen in a town called Greta. He was the eldest son and had many siblings. His father died when he was very young and he didn't have much schooling as he had to help his mother on her farm and help pay off her land. Regardless, his letters were very passionate and poetic. One of his sisters fell in love with a policeman named Fitzpatrick. Ned disliked Fitzpatrick when he treated his sister poorly and said to him "If I ever kill anyone you will be the first!" Not long after that the Kelly gang got into a riot with police at Stringybark Creek and 3 policeman were killed in which Fitzpatrick was the first.

Another incident involving Ned Kelly was when he fought a man with bare fists in a boxing match in a Beechworth pub and won.

The Kelly gang held up a NSW bank then disappeared for 16 months. At this stage they were wanted for 8000 pounds.

Finally after years of robbery, murder and disguise, he was finally hanged in Melbourne jail age 25. His final quote to the judge was "wherever I am going, I will see you there". Twelve days later the judge suddenly died.

Whether you think he was a hero or an outlaw, it is impossible to ignore Ned Kelly.

Harvey- The 3 Peaks

The 3 peaks is a well known bike ride in the north east of the Victorian mountains that my Pop has ridden.

The race goes from sunrise to sunset. In that time the riders go over 3 peaks or mountains and over 200 klomters of winding roads. The first mounten is Tawonga Gap, followed by mont hothem the biggest of the 3 and Fallls Creek to finish.