We've had rain during the night and this morning is cloudy.  The rain seems to have gone though.  Well we hope it has, although we shouldn't complain, we know only too well how important precipitation is at this time of the year.  Today we are headed for Mount Gambier and seeing we had travelled the Princes Highway to Portland yesterday, we decided to go inland a bit, on the less travelled roads. The road across to Heywood was a bit of a billy goat track in places. Fortunately not too many kms of it! It did give us a look at farming country and Peter was obviously enjoying the drive. I decided to blog, so I could record his comments.  "All grazing country with some farmers scratching in a hay crop around the rocky outcrops".  Well that is what he thought.  The soil in this area is rich volcanic soil and there is a volcanic discovery centre at Penshurst (my research). We were also not far from Macarthur when we turned to head towards Heywood.  The Macarthur region is where they have the States largest and yep, Australia's biggest wind farm.   You guessed!  It is also the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere!  The cost was $1 billion and was finished last year.  It can generate enough power for 220,000 homes and abate 1.7 million tonnes of greenhouse gases annually.  The 140 towers have 55 metre blades and are 83 metres tall. We travelled under the huge power lines taking power to Portland, quite a few times.  There were quite a few dairy farmers and as we got closer to Mount Gambier it was more beef production.  There were more plantations of blue gums, closer to Mount Gamabier as well.  There was a Timber Treatment Factory just out of Heywood.  Most of the sheep seem to be Corriedales, but closer to Mount Gambier Peter reckoned they were Poll Dorsets.  We didn't see any Dorpers.  They need those Corriedales to make warm coats over here!  We did see lots of sheep and we have commented often about the fact we have seen very few. Obviously you have to come the back tracks. We had morning tea in Dartmoor and it started to rain just before we got there.   Hopefully it rains again at Dartmoor and the surrounding areas back in WA.  We know they get plenty of rain on Dartmoor in Devon England.  A lady also having morning tea at the only cafe, come store, come service station, said "We get lots of rain here"!  Well she knew what she was talking about!  Rain!!  It hasn't stopped since we left Dartmoor.  Quite heavy here in Mount Gambier.  We have set up and shut ourselves in the caravans.  Just listening to the news and Adelaide has had the coldest May day for 33 years and the coldest ever for this early in May!  No wonder the airconditioner has been going constantly! We walked the Avenue of Honour in the main street of Dartmoor and went down to the 'Village Green'.  In September 1918 - 60 Atlantic Cedar trees were planted as an 'Avenue of Honour' to commemorate the 60 lives lost, from this area during WW1.  The trees became unwieldy and some were diseased, so in 1993 the Dartmoor Progress Association commenced consultation with relatives of the remembered veterans, with the aim to carve a section of the avenue with suitable images and themes.  Similar to what has been carved at Lakes Entrance.  The remainder of the trees were milled and kept for public purposes.  Picnic tables, benches and a carved memorial mural have been made.  By 1998 this initiative became a reality and no doubt it brings tourists into the town.  The 'Village Green' was well worth a visit, umbrellas and all!  We needed the grandies to remind us of the nursery rhymes and fairytales.   We reckon we did get most of them in the end.  It is said there are 20 fairytale characters carved in the tree.  This is more of a fun blog, than the last!  How many can you find?  Also realised that Jeremy Cameron from Greater Western Sydney must have come from Dartmoor.  Kevin recognised his name on a sign on the school fence.  The sign was being updated, as he was increasing his goal tally for the season.  With the help of the internet once again I have found that he is a very talented recruit.  Cameron didn’t begin playing football until the age of 16 but burst on to the AFL scene, making his debut in Round 1, 2012 and finishing his first year as the GIANTS’ leading goal-kicker. 2013 saw Cameron finish third in the Coleman Medal, become the first GIANT to be named in the All-Australian team and win the Kevin Sheedy Medal as the GIANTS’ Best and Fairest player. Cameron was named in the GIANTS’ emerging leaders group before the 2014 season.  

Hopefully tomorrow the rain will ease and we can look around Mount Gambier.  We are in a park near the Blue Lake.  18 photos