Gippsland

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12 MAY 2002
Sunday morning I was heading east along the Princes Highway to Stratford. Three hours behind the wheel wasn't too much to handle. I booked into a Budget Motel close to the centre I was due to work in tomorrow. In England there is a town called Stratford and it has a river called Avon, this town in the east of Victoria has the same name and the river Avon close by. Here in Australia I don't know what was named first the town or the river. The names haven't been lost on the residents; every year here in the east of Victoria Stratford has a Shakspere Festival. There was still a week to go but all the banners and poster indicated it's quite a celebration.

13 MAY 2002
I didn't have to fight the peak hour traffic this morning, by time I was ready to drive around the corner to the centre; it was hard to find anybody moving in town. The two staff, who ran the centre, was already there and I set up my gear at a leisurely pace. We drank coffee while we waited for the children to arrive.
Towards the end of that morning session I felt a little dizzy and had problems with my left eye but it didn't stop me finishing the last shots that were needed and I packed my equipment around 11am.
The Alpine Road starts in Bairnsdale and if you followed the road all the way, you would find yourself on the Hume Freeway near Wangaratta. While the car made its way around the twisting bends of the high country, my left side started to get pins and needles. Not a very good feeling but by time I reached Omeo the problem had left me and I felt better. I parked the car outside my unit, which I had booked for two days. I went for a walk down the hilly main street, taking in the sights of old buildings and kept the camera to my eye for much of the time.
It was 6pm when I decided to go to "Age Hotel" for a meal. There was no signal on my mobile phone and no phone in my unit, so I used the pubs phone to keep in contact my girlfriend.

14 MAY 2002
This morning I had a twenty-five minute drive to Swifts Creek. I left just after 8am and was saying good morning to the director in plenty of time to set up my light and start a conversation about how the morning should proceed. The hall we were in was small but so was the group, only ten children.
In the afternoon I was back in Omeo, across the road to my motel was the hall, which was the Kindergarten for the town. Another small group but all good children who seemed to have fun being photographed.
There was still time left for me to take a walking trail that leads from one of the side streets then climbs into the hills that surround the town. I was looking for an area called "Oriental Claims" where old gold mining diggings could be found. The track weaves further from Omeo and at one-point follows a ridge that looks down on a creek.
By time I arrived back in town almost two hours had passed. Autumn is a good time of the year to be in the high country. My evening meal was again at the local pub. Not many customers and I had the lounge to myself with a roaring fire to keep me company.

15 May 2002
A day off in the middle of a working week. I got up at 7 am, watched some TV and had a coffee. I was due to leave Omeo today and planned to video the many views along the Great Alpine Road. The weather was cool and clouds obscured the nearby mountains. I stopped many times along the twisting road that follows the Tambo River for much of the way to Bairnsdale where it intersected the Princes Highway. Turning west I headed for Sale.

16 May 2002
For the next couple of days I was to work in the Day Care Centre of the Sale RAAF Base. I knew from last year that I needed a pass. The security guard at the gate confirmed I needed one, so I parked the car and went inside. The staff had not informed security of my intended visit. Half an hour later I was given a pass and drove to the hall and started photographing thirty children. Eleven spools of exposed film indicated I used miles too many.
The afternoon back in Sale was boring and only two visits to the library broke up my time.

17 May 2002
This morning I had no trouble getting into the airforce base, after showing my pass, I was able to drive straight through.
At the centre I was greeted by questions from the children. "What is that blue thing?" (backdrop) "Why do you have an unbrella inside?" (reflector) "What are you doing?" I answered all the questions then started work. The session was finished around mid-day and then I drove back to Melbourne.

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Photos

Stratford
River Avon