This bridge was one of the last structures we discovered (well, my friend Melinda's family discovered it !!) as Lake Eildon continued to recede. It is a fascinating old bridge, and I imagine it must have carried a fair amount of traffic in it's day, with all the farm vehicles travelling around. I think it was part of a road that ran through the valley, through the farming community.

In March 2007 we went for a drive through the fire ravaged High Country, near Mansfield in Victoria. This photo, taken through the windscreen of the car, shows the track down the mountain we were travelling on. It was actually quite steep, and bumpy ... unfortunately, the photo doesn't do it justice. The views around the mountains were so very different to what we were used to, as the trees were leafless, allowing almost uninterrupted views.

This was taken late January 2007. It is of the old and new dam wall, in Eildon. The new wall, which is the one in use these days, can be just seen at the right of the photo. The old wall, built in the 50's, is shown at the left of the photo. It is really fascinating to see history emerging as the lake disappears.

Whoo-hoo ... this is Chicky's first ever Wake Board ride !! It was in January 2007, on Lake Nillahcootie, in Victoria ... not far from Lake Eildon. She was so proud of herself, she couldn't wipe off the grin. I, of course, was so very proud of her, too.

This adult and juvenile Crimson Rosella are on our decking at Bonnie Doon. I just thought it was fascinating, watching them feed. We are very lucky in this country, in that we have such amazing birdlife.

This is what the Bonnie Doon bridge looks like with water under it !!! This isn't my photo, and was taken many years ago. The left bridge is no longer a railway bridge, but is now a walk bridge. One day, we will see the lake at this level again ... fingers crossed !!

Aaaawww, everyone loves a rainbow, don't they ??? This one was at Bonnie Doon (seems that's the only place I ever go, doesn't it ???), taken December 2006.

This was my Chicky in December 2006, on the night of her Primary School Graduation. She looked absolutely gorgeous. My cousin came over to do her hair, and makeup (which was minimal, but effective). Doesn't she look amazing ?

Still in the empty lake bed of Lake Eildon ... A homestead emerged from the mud. It was called Wappan Homestead, and was flooded out when the Lake was created back in the 50s. I just loved the raw look of the mud encrusted fence posts. The work involved in making these fence posts interested me, too, as I imagine all the holes were hand cut ... bit different to these days.

In October 2006, we went to Sorrento / Portsea with a bunch of friends. It was a fabulous day, the kids jumped in the ocean and got saturated. The water was so clear, we got some wonderful photos, like this one of a colourful starfish.

Last August (2006) we were on top of Chinaman's Hill, near Bonnie Doon, on the shores of Lake Eildon. It was a glorious evening, the sun was setting, and the wind was still. I loved the reflection of these trees in the lake, and the addition of the ducks swimming amongst them, made for a magical photo.

Another beautiful (foggy) sunrise, from the deck of our caravan / cabin at Bonnie Doon, on Lake Eildon. We are lucky in that we get so many beautiful sunrises ... shame I don't always have the camera ready (it's a bit hard when I'm still in the land of the nod !!).

Last August, 2006, the tree on our nature strip put on a beautiful show. Still not sure if it's a flowering cherry or flowering plum ... doesn't really matter, though, as it is just gorgeous.

My four-legged baby, Bambi, reclining in the bathroom basin !! This was a one-off, unfortunately ... she hasn't done it since !! Not really sure whether that's good, or bad !! She is a really cute kitty, with heaps of personalilty.

Ummm ... whoops !!! Looks like we're kinda bogged. This was in June 2006, when we were driving around in our 4WDs in the empty part of the Lake Eildon. Hubby doesn't normally get bogged, but this time he did !! Took a bit of effort to get the car out, too ... but eventually it was removed, thank goodness !!

This photo was taken back in June 2006, when we were exploring the dry part of the lake in Bonnie Doon, Central Victoria. We are looking at the Bonnie Doon Bridge, from the Bonnie Doon township side. I just loved the contrasting colours of the sky, clouds, and ground.

In June 2006 we went for a day drive to Portsea, about an hour's drive from Melbourne. On the way home, we stopped briefly in Mornington. This photo was taken from above the Mornington Marina ... that's the Melbourne skyline in the distance. It was a cold, windy day, and it was mid afternoon.

In 2003 we had a 3 week trip to Queensland. Whilst there we drove along the beach near Rainbow Beach. This photo was taken at the Coloured Sands ... how big is this sand-hill !! It was an amazing drive along the sand. It was interesting how many others were driving along at the same time ... we almost needed traffic lights !!

When Lake Eildon was made back in the 1950s, farms and properties were flooded. When the lake levels drop, some of these structures (if they are still standing) appear. This one is at Fraser National Park, and was taken about 8 or 9 years ago. I think it has collapsed since then, as it has been covered and uncovered by water a few times since then. It is really eerie.

I had a little lamb when I was a little girl, and it loved nibbling at my clothes !! I think I was about 3 in this photos. It was taken in the backyard where I grew up in Blackburn, Victoria.

Correllas flying over the Murray River, near Cobram, in March 2006. I just love the amazing blue skies we have over here in Australia ... just beautiful.

Chicky swimming in the Murray River, near Cobram, in March 2006. She was swimming against the current, which was really quite difficult, as the current can be very strong.

We went camping on the Murray River, near Cobram, in March 2006. I just love the stillness of the river, allowing for the lovely mirroring of the trees on the other side, and the glorious blue sky.

A bee-ootiful flower, with a buzzing bee, taken in the Royal Melbourne Botanical Gardens in November 2005.

This photo was taken in June 2005 (our Winter) whilst on a camping trip in the region of Yarrawonga ... the area was called Dead River Beach, on the Murray River. It was early in the morning, the sun was coming up, and the mist on the river was just beautiful. I just love this part of the world, it is one of my favourite places.

This photo was taken in June 2005, from the window of our car, on the way home from Bonnie Doon. It is of a tree (obviously !) in the middle of a vineyard, in the Dixons Creek area near Yarra Glen. I just loved the sun rays, or whatever it is, beaming down on the naked tree.

Whilst on our last houseboat holiday, we were parked in a beautiful spot along the river. This is a little creek, off the Murray River, which sort of went round in a circle, coming out a little bit further upstream. The guys mucked around, doing a time trial on a Jetski ... it looked mighty dangerous, with all the logs and stuff sticking out. Fortunately nobody was hurt, or even fell off. They had fun. I just thought it was a really pretty photo opportunity.

We used to go on a houseboat holiday every March/April, hiring the houseboats from Renmark in South Australia, and spending 7 to 10 days cruising the Murray River. There were usually around 30 of us, on 3 or 4 houseboats ... it was great fun. This is a photo of the last boat we hired ... a tiny one, just for the 3 of us. Beside it is our jetboat. This photo was from our last trip in 1994.

Chicky in 1997 (3 years old) in her ballet costume, ready for her first dance concert. She was a star in this concert ... the smallest dancer, and oh so cute. Isn't she gorgeous !!

My Oma and Opa.

This photo was taken many years ago. Sadly, my grandparents are no longer with us ... we lost my grandfather in December 1987, and my grandmother in April 1993. They were the most wonderful people, and were so full of love and life. I still miss them terribly, and think about them every day.

I love you Oma and Opa.

xxxxx

Another photo from our Cape York trip in 2005. We were driving along the beach, on our way to our camping spot at Vrylia Point. We had to stop, so that Hubby could tow out another car that had become bogged. Chicky and I got out of the car to wait. The shipwreck on the left of the photo is called the "Lighthouse". It was a very, very warm day.

On New Year's Eve 2005 we were partying at Bonnie Doon, in Central Victoria. There were bushfires not too far away ... but we were safe where we were. This is the view from the decking of our caravan ... looks like fireworks or something, don't you think ?? It was quite spectacular, and rather frightening. Fortunately, no property was lost, just a lot of grassland. It took quite a few hours to get under control. It was amazing watching the water bombing planes and choppers doing their work. Thank goodness for fire-fighters.

This is Chicky posing at Elliot / Twin Falls, in Far North Queensland, during our trip to Cape York in 2005. It is the most beautiful place, and I took many, many photos ... I couldn't help myself !!

We took this photo using the auto-timer. It was taken last Christmas Eve (2005) at my parents place. We celebrate our Christmas on Christmas Eve ... a German tradition. This was taken during dessert !!! It was just the 5 of us ... I am an only child, as is my Chicky, so that's all of us there is, really !! Oh yeah, Mum's cat was under the table somewhere, too ! It was a lovely evening ... I love Christmas.

A group of these parrots regularly visit our apricot tree during Summer. The cat is most attracted to them ... luckily she wears a bell and hasn't managed to catch one yet !! They are really pretty birds, and when there are a few of them together, they make a heap of noise.

We have a huge box, choc-a-block full of shells we collected during our Cape York trip in 2005. Chicky grabbed the camera, recently, and took this photo. I think it's gorgeous ... the shells are so pretty.

"Please don't take my photo ... I'm shy !!!" This is my cat, Bambi, who loves to sleep with her paws over her face. I can't resist taking her photo ... she just looks too cute !!

We had an amazing Summer storm a couple of weeks ago, and I decided to go for a walk outside afterwards. The air smelled so fresh and clean, again ... it had been a very warm day, with much dust in the air. The neighbours have a beautiful garden, and I though that this rose was just stunning. I couldn't resist taking a photo of it.

A friendly White Cockatoo, native to Australia ... in fact, they are considered a pest here, as there are just too many of them, and they are very destructive creatures. However, I think they are just gorgeous. This one was sitting on the railing of our decking at our caravan at Bonnie Doon last April 2005. Sometimes we have a dozen or more of them, just waiting for food. We try not to feed them, as this just encourages them to hang around ... sometimes it is irresistable, though !!

This is Hubby and I, about 20 years ago. We were at our friend's parent's place, in Acheron - which is in Central Victoria, near Alexandra. The gardens were so pretty. Weren't we a cute couple (oh yeah ... we still are !!!).

Wasn't I the cutest baby !!!!

This is one of my favorite photos of our last cat, Ratbag. We lost him in October 2004, at 16 years of age ... he was an amazing cat. He was such a smoocher. Here he is, counting out his pocket money, on our bed !!

In March 2005, we went for a 4WD day trip to the Victorian High Country. This photo is of some rocks on the very top of Mt Stirling. I thought they were beautiful, and just needed to take their photo. They were very obliging, by sitting nice and still !!

When we were travelling to Cape York in 2005, we went via a river crossing called "Gunshot". This crossing could be avoided via a detour, but our fellas didn't want to avoid it ... they wanted to play !! This is my Hubby, in his Nissan Patrol, going over the only section that was passable. The photo doesn't do it justice ... it was actually really steep (almost 90 degree drop, straight down). He inched the car to the edge, then slowly let the front edge drop over, with the rest of the car following. Pretty amazing to watch ... glad I was outside taking the photos !! Luckily, all 5 cars that were on the trip, made it through safely ... although we did have to winch one of them out !!

Another photo taken last June (2005), during the Australian Winter ... we were camping and I had this fascination with taking an awesome photo of the fire. This was one of the best ones. Does it make you feel warm ??

We had only had the camera a few weeks, and I was still experimenting, and tried out the macro on this beautiful Bottlebrush. They are an extremely pretty flower.

When we went to Cape York in 2005, we stopped at Elliot / Twin Falls. The guys disappeared, and I went snooping to see if I could find them !! I found them, all right, having a cool spa in this delightful waterhole !! What a photo opportunity !! Don't they look happy !!

A stunning sunrise, from the deck of our caravan at Bonnie Doon, looking across in the direction of Mount Buller ... taken in March 2005.

A cheeky photo of my Bambi cat !! She loves plastic bags, boxes, anything. She patiently waited for me to take this photo, then further demolished the bag !!

This photo was taken whilst standing on the side of the road, waiting for some friends to arrive, before we went through a bush track. I was experimenting with my macro & zoom, and noticed this pretty purple weed / flower. I didn't really register the butterfly, until I viewed the photo later on. How beautiful is it ??