Moolymook - Canberra - Lockhart 2004

---

Sunday, 15 August 2004
It's been a very long day, that consisted of a eight hundred kilometer drive, taking nine hours to complete.
The Princes Highway starts a few suburbs from the centre of Melbourne and I joined it on the outskirts of Dandenong. Traveling towards the east, the road took me through many towns I have already worked in, Warragal, Morwell, Traralgon, Sale and Bairnsdale. Some of these have been visited this year.
It was a good run out of Victoria. Mostly blue sky's with some scattered clouds that bought patches of rain.
It was around two o'clock in the afternoon when I made my first stop at the Gippsland town of Cann River. Half an hour later I crossed into New South Wales. The weather got worst after I crossed the border.
This part of the Princes Highway has many bends. In general the traffic had been good but every now and again I would catch up with very slow vehicles doing sixty kilometers an hour when they should have been doing one hundred kilometer an hour. It was a bit hard on the patients. Each time I was lucky and managed to get around them, leaving the growing convoy behind.
Eden is a fair size coastal town which I'm sure is worth exploring but with still plenty of distance left on my journey I could not spare the time.
When I reached Batemans Bay I noticed a lot of blackened trees. I assume the authorities have been burning the area in an attempt to lessen the threat of bush fires in the summer. There is still a few months before the hot winds arrive but being prepared this early is pretty responsible.
It was five-thirty when I left the Princes Highway and drove one kilometer towards the small town of Mollymook. I had been on the road since eight-thirty that morning.
At least two years have elapsed since I have worked here and I needed the local road directory to or remind me where the motel was.
The Seaspray Motel overlooks the local beach. I got my keys at reception and climbed the stairs to my room. A high vantage point with the waves crashing onto the beach can easily been seen and heard. I had enough time to bring all my gear into the room before taking a short walk to the Golf Club Bistro for an evening meal.

Monday, 16 August 2004
I have just finished watching the sunrise over the South Pacific Ocean town of Mollymook. It was a nice way to start my Birthday.
It was a good centre and the staff were good, they allowed me to set up the children for activity photographs and I was able to finish at mid-day.
The afternoon was spent walking the rocks and sea shore of the local beach. Took some nice photos and a bit of video, which will be edited into a record of this part of this week away from Melbourne. A nice meal at the Bistro again tonight.

Tuesday, 17 August 2004
I had been looking forward to this trip but now I'm doing it, I'm not so sure.
I managed to complete the morning session at Mollymook. Every large group has me stressing. I realise four year old children don't have a very long attention span but I struggle to keep thirty-five children looking in one direction long enough get a decent group photo.
When the morning session was finished I drove south to Batemans Bay and joined the Kings Highway that leads up onto the tablelands near Queenbean and Canberra. Climbing up to the high country follows a twisty sealed road which at the best of times is slow going. Slow vehicles hold you up even more, as did the rain that at times was heavy. Low clouds meant no views and two hours behind the wheel was tiring, especially after a busy morning.
Kings Highway seems to be the popular way into Canberra from the coast and during the journey I joined more than a few fellow travelers .
The tablelands are six-hundred meters above sea-level and when I reached them the weather cleared and I was able to get back up to to the legal speed limit.
An hour and half after leaving Mollymook I arrived at the first town of Braywood. Soon after that, I drove through Queenbean. To avoid the central business district of Canberra I followed the freeway that bypasses the city to the east. Eventually reaching the Rex Hotel. That evening I had dinner at the Ainsly Football Club.

Wednesday, 18 August 2004
Working in a centre for a couple of days then moving onto a different town suits me. Although I must admit waking up during the night I sometimes become confused as to where the toilet is.
I've been to the Rex Hotel a few times now, Usually taking a room on the third floor, facing away from the lights of Canberra.
This is the first time I have worked at this centre. I knew it was going to be busy but wasn't prepared for the response from the director. It seems she isn't too happy with the company I work for. Each year she asks for two photographers. Each year only one is sent. Each year she asks for at least three days for the photographer to get the shots, this year she only got two days.
It was three-thirty in the afternoon when I had finished the three rooms. A total of fifty-six children had been before the camera. Twenty-four rolls of film were exposed, thats about eight-hundred photographs will be delivered to the centre.

Thursday, 19 August 2004
Today was a repeat of yesterday and I was glad to be heading out of Canberra. I had a three-hundred kilometer drive to Lockhart.
Once on the Hume freeway I noticed how green the paddocks were. Its incredible what a few months does to the landscape.
I've been to the Lockhart Motel before, the owners know me and we joked about them not wanting to do any cooking tonight. So I told them I would go to the RSL instead.
The Asian lady who runs the Bistro remembered me from last year, she had a three- year old girl coming for photos the next day.
I was shown to my table and nodded a greeting to an elderly lady sitting at the next table. She invited me to join her. It was eight dollar steak night, the room was crowded and the lady had a lot of people to talk about. Chance meetings like this makes the traveling worth while.

Friday, 20 August 2004
This Lockhart Kindergarten is a dream centre. Staff are fantastic and helpful, the country children are easy to photograph and I'm always happy to work in this town.
It was a long drive home, broken up with a few stops along the way to photograph some old buildings.

---