Long time between posts

I didn't realise it had been so long since I last posted anything, my how time flies during a fire! My car broke down this week (well Frank's car really). We were on our way to Ararat so Frank could catch the 8:08am train back to Melbourne on Monday morning when there was a strange noise and then nothing – one dead car. Frank tried to flag down a passing car but he sped straight past. I managed to flag down the next vehicle, unfortunately the guy was smoking, had a dog in the car, and proceeded to tell Frank how Parks Victoria didn't do enough controlled burning etc. all the way to Ararat. On the upside at least Frank caught the train.
The RACV kindly arranged a hire car for me but I had to go to Ballarat to collect it, as none were available in Ararat or Horsham. I now know that the cab fare to Ballarat from Ararat is about $142, but thankfully RACV paid $110 of that. I still have to get the hire car back to Ballarat once the Impreza is fixed.
Work has changed substantially. What was originally a fairly laid back job in beautiful surrounds has become something quite different. With 47% of the Park severely affected by the recent fire there is a huge amount of work to do. I can see that I will be spending a lot more time behind a desk and a lot less time out in the Park. But what the hell, I wanted to help make a difference to the environment and I guess this is as worthwhile a way of doing just that as any other, and despite the fires it is still a beautiful place.
Halls Gap was all abuzz last weekend because of the Jazz Festival but it is extremely quiet again now. I hope that not too many businesses go under because of the loss of trade. It’s difficult to convince people that just because they can't visit McKenzie Falls and the Wonderland at the moment doesn't mean that they should stay away. There's still all those great walks around Mt Zero and Hollow Mountain up north and Mt Sturgeon down south and Parks have even managed to open up a couple of walking tracks in Halls Gap.
For any friends or relatives reading this don’t forget you’re more than welcome to come stay anytime.