Day Twelve - Mt Gambier to Ballarat

We woke to a misty morning over the showgrounds. 

The girls were delighted to be able to make misty clouds with their breaths. That is once we persuaded them to get up out of their warm snugly beds.

We packed up the van and headed once more to Grandpa's so the girls could take some final photos of the garden,  knowing this would be their last time there. 

We couldn't leave without giving the ducks and geese one more feed of bread and having one last walk around with Grandpa. Final teary hugs and we were on our way to Ballarat.

The road from Mt Gambier to the border was lined with plantation after plantation of pine trees, some only just planted and others looking ready to harvest. This time, when we entered Victoria, it wasn't raining, so we stopped at the border sign for the traditional photo. 

We were surprised to see many fires once we entered Victoria as Mt Gambier has a fire ban until the end of April. The fires were all controlled and seemed to be farmers burning their paddocks rather than burning rubbish. We have not yet discovered the reasoning behind this but assume it aids in pest control if nothing else. It was such a contrast to the endless white of cotton earlier in the trip. 

The next stop was in Coleraine at the old railway station for a picnic lunch. The station is now the visitor information centre and sits on the banks of a small lake with a couple of picnic tables and a playground. Quite a lovely setting. 

After Coleraine we had the pleasure of seeing the Grampians in the distance. Such a stunning mountain range. 

We didn't stop again until we arrived at the campground at Smythesdale, just out of Ballarat.