A trip to Port Fairy

The Goslings' Grandparents live in Port Fairy and that's where we spent last weekend.  It is the perfect destination for families with young children.  It's just an hour and forty five minutes from the Mount (a bit more if you stop on the way to feed the baby) but I find not many people from the Mount exploit its proximity ... most head towards Robe.

The southern end of East Beach.

As soon as we finished unloading the car we walked to the beach.  The southern end of East beach is calm, sheltered, shallow and often covered with shells.  Miss Gosling peeled her clothes off as soon as she hit the sand and ran around with glee for a good half an hour.  A great way to wear her out.  After snacks, her lovely aunt took her for a walk along the jetty to see the boats coming in.  There is seal and big sting ray that both visit the ramp to eat scraps fishermen throw in while cleaning their catch.  It's tuna season at the moment and the men were bringing in very big fish.

We spent a morning walking over the shops and stocking up on toys and books from the op shops for the Grandparents house, had coffees and babycinos and ducked into the lolly shop.  It's a beautiful shop - more like a large cupboard lined with shelves of sweets of every shape and size.  It's irresistible.

The jetty.  It really does look like all the post cards.  I just snapped this photo on my phone.

There's lots more to say in praise of Port Fairy - the shopping is great, the day spa is a real treat, Miss Gosling rates the play park VERY highly, the cannons at Battery Point are of little interest to a two year old but there's a great hill for rolling down.   I won't say anymore, I'll leave it to you to discover yourself.

Excursion to Carpenters Rocks

We took the Goslings to Carpenters Rocks recently.  This is our favourite local beach destination.  It's so beautiful with the lighthouse mounted high above a rocky outcrop.  There are rock pools and shallow coves to explore, sweeping beaches, a wrecked boat for interest and miles and miles of uninterrupted views.  In winter it's blustery and wild, and in summer it's the perfect place for a shallow paddle.  The only drawback is it's also a popular destination for trail bike riders.  Don't get me started.  Why oh why hasn't South Australia banned beach access for bikes and cars?  As far as I can see, they RUIN the atmosphere with their noise and pollution and they are devastating the fragile dune environments.  However, don't let this put you off, they aren't there often and the beach is so vast it's big enough to accommodate everyone (if you can ignore the revving in the distance).

The Gander and Miss Gosling at Carpenters Rocks

Mount Gambier Library

I had a full morning of activities planned in town for the Goslings today, but things went awry the moment we left home.  I wanted to print some photos at Hardly Normal, but they were opening late on account of the public holiday.  So we scooted over to Target but found the same again.  I should have known better.  Luckily I found the Public Library already open for business, just seconds after Miss Gosling announced "Wet. Pants."

This library is awesome.  I've could sing it's praises to countless tunes, and I plan to in future blogs, but today I'm in love with the parenting facilities.   Next to the kid's section there is a clean, bright space for parents and their offspring.  There's a little toddler loo, change table, kitchen sink and microwave AND comfy chairs for breastfeeding.  They have curtains you can draw around for privacy or you can keep them open to monitor your toddler playing as you feed the baby.  Very handy.  The area feels like it was actually designed by parents of little kids.

The children's section at Mount Gambier Library

Anyway, this morning I certainly got my taxes worth.  We changed nappies, played, read, snacked in the cafe, changed more nappies, fed Master Gosling, played some more then headed over to Target, who was just opening its lazy doors at 11.  By the time we got back in the car, everyone was dry, fed and ready for sleep.  And lucky for me both Goslings managed the tricky car-to-bed transfer when we got home.  Yay.

Where do you head in Mount Gambier when you need to change a nappy or top up a baby?