Nagambie to Hobart with What’s Up Downunder (Part 1)
I boarded Flight VA 735 from the sunny Gold Coast bound for Melbourne. I had checked in three pieces of luggage, which seemed a bit excessive as I was only going to be away for two weeks. In true TK style, everything except for the kitchen sink was packed because you never know what you might need!
This was not going to be any old filming trip away with the TV program, What’s Up Downunder, it was their annual Convoy for Charity Fundraising Tour. We’d not only be filming six episodes over the next two weeks, we were also presenting concerts along the way all in-aid of our chosen charity, the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF).
This shoot involved approximately 25 people comprising of presenters, cameramen and audio guys, caterers, support crew, sponsors and caravan manufactures who would be showcasing their new Products and Caravans along the way. We were also lucky enough to have some lovely representatives from the NBCF joining us for the trip.
After arriving slightly later than scheduled into Melbourne, I hightailed it to Nagambie Lakes Holiday Park, the first town of our 14 day journey. I literally had fifteen minutes to put on my ‘stage clothes’, do a quick sound check, touch up my lipstick and then walk on stage to entertain the hundreds of holiday makers who were packed into this beaut lakeside Park. This would be the first of six concerts to be held over the next two weeks as we travelled throughout Victoria and then onto beautiful Tasmania, showcasing some of the best places to visit and highlighting some of the terrific tourist attractions the towns in those regions have to offer.
There was a slight chill to the air as the sun set over Nagambie. The audience settling in on deck chairs and picnic blankets in readiness for an evening of entertainment! My good mate, James Manson, donned his acoustic guitar and jammed along with me during me set, which was an added bonus. James, incidentally, is also one of our top cameramen for this shoot. However, it was his work before getting behind the camera that elevated him to legendary status, you see, he was one of the AFL’s award winning stars who played for Collingwood football team, for many successful years. I have always enjoyed working with James, he’s down to earth and a truly great bloke who, can still kick a footy!
There was a swag of other great performers during the evening which included Sunny Hawkins, Prousty (bush poet) and Brian Cadd, a real crowd pleaser! The evening would not have been complete without a cascade of fireworks, spectacularly lighting up the Nagambie sky. It was fair to say the evening was a great success and went off with a bang!
Next morning everyone was up early, some looking a little disheveled after the big night of music and vino, nevertheless after a hot breakfast superbly made (with love might I add) by our gorgeous catering team, Claire and Sharyn from Sweet Seduction everyones tummies were full and ready for the day ahead of filming. As we waved goodbye to Nagambie and travelled towards Ballarat, through the beautiful little towns of Heathcote, Kyneton, the Macedon Ranges, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity, something in my inner compass was telling me I was back in my old stomping ground.
Although I was born in Albury, I did spend much of my teenage years touring and performing around this region! Was it the rolling green hills, the river gums, fat cattle and horses with shiny coats in paddocks along the roadside, that made me feel like I was ‘home’? I’m not sure, but I was absolutely enjoying the drive and reminiscing along the way.
When you make a TV show like WUDU there’s a lot of stopping and starting, to ensure the cameramen get that, ‘magic’ shot and that it does justice not only to the region we are travelling through but also making sure the sponsors (and there were many of them) get plenty of exposure. Needless to say, the two hour journey from Nagambie to Ballarat took us the best part of five hours!
Once we finally arrived at the Big 4 Goldfields Holiday Park, which would be our accommodation for the next 2 nights, it gave me the chance to set up my little Mini Winnie, (Winnebago) which would be my home for this trip.
The Minnie Winnie, which I towed with the Ford Ranger, were the official NBCF sponsor vehicles. The Winnie was painted in their signature ‘pink’ so everyone took notice as we drove through towns, you just couldn’t miss it!
The Winnie had everything you’d need for compact touring…. shower, toilet, 4 burner gas cooker, full size fridge, reverse cycle a/c, microwave, dinette and a very comfy queen size bed!
With all my clothes hung and toiletries put away and bed made, I decided to have a walk around the streets of Ballarat. I love to do this whenever I visit towns as it gives me a real feel for the area.
It had been a few years since I’d been to Ballarat, in fact the last time I was there was when I was filming a video clip for my song, Life Don’t Get Much Better Than This. We had half of the main street blocked off with cameras, production vehicles and crew, it was lots of fun to shoot and the Ballarat Council were very accommodating making sure we got exactly what we needed to make a top video clip!
One thing I couldn’t help but notice during my walk was the magnificent roses in everyone’s garden, they seem to grow like weeds in this part of Australia! I found myself stopping to smell a variety of roses in people’s front gardens as I strolled along the footpath, isn’t that what living the dream is all about, stopping to smell the roses? I was doing just that! As the night air was closing in it was time to head back to the Winnie, have a hot shower, make a sleepy time tea and rest up for a big day of filming next day.
I started the morning with a 6am walk up the main street of Ballarat. I love this time of the day. The air is crisp, the council guys are out doing their early morning street cleaning, birds are chirping and I’m on the road with WUDU, what’s not to love!
Ballarat is a town that still holds much pride in the ‘old’ whilst embracing the new. The wonderful old architecture of the many heritage listed buildings stand majestically amongst the new more modern buildings. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and bacon and eggs wafting out of the various cafes along the main street was getting my tummy rumbling so it was time for me to head back to the Big 4 for some breakfast!
Out first filming location was Ballarat’s number one tourist attraction, the historic Sovereign Hill, a replica town of the way life use to be in the gold rush days. I have visited there many times before however, each time, I find the whole place fascinating and could spend hours wondering around enjoying all it has to offer. It’s quite amazing to think people really lived that way once upon a time. Gee, it must have been difficult for the women back then, they did a great job raising their family and keeping a home. Haven’t we got it easy these days with all the mod cons!
Our cast and crew spent most of the day filming around Sovereign Hill, everyone got involved in the fun and frivolities before heading back to camp to prepare for our Charity Concert to be held in the awesome Big 4Camp Kitchen.
A cold front and rain was on its way, so the staff from the Holiday Park along with our trusty Producer, Wazza, secured a marquee for the evenings performance. The word was, there was a big crowd coming to the Park for our concert so we needed to bring in extra covering to accommodate everyone! A big thanks to the fabulous team at Ballarat Party Hire for making it all possible for us. We had a great night, everyone who came along was so supportive and the NBCF girls was incredibly appreciative, thank you Ballarat!
A rainy start to the morning but no-ones spirits were dampened after last nights fabulous concert. After a quick breakfast and ‘brief’ about the day ahead by Joel, our tour coordinator, the convoy was soon packed up and we were back on the road heading to our next destination, Torquay.
It is no wonder Torquay is one of Victorians favourite holiday destination, it was truly magnificent. Home to the famous Bells Beach and the birthplace of iconic brands Rip Curl and Quicksilver, Torquay was breathtaking with its views across the turquoise waters of Zeally Bay.
I started to know my way around the little Winnie, plugging in water, power, organising the sullage hose, heck, I even visited the dump point as it was about time I empty the cassette! I have to say, from a girls point of view, it really is a luxury to have a toilette and shower in your caravan, I felt quite spoilt! Another feature the Winnie had and for the fellas reading this, it might not mean much, but the lighting in the ensuite was the best I have experienced in any caravan, ever! At last a design where you can see what you are doing, morning or night. It sure made it a whole lot easier applying my makeup. No dark shadows being thrown over your face because of bad light positioning, thank you Winnebago! Torquay Foreshore Caravan Park was our home for the next 3 nights, with another mini concert held on their oval, that’s right, this Park has its own oval! Set on 35 grassy acres bordering the ocean, it’s no wonder my caravan site felt like I was camped at a bush-ocean retreat. I kept getting the scent of nearby pine trees combined with salty wafts of sea air, drifting through the Winnie screen door and I was only a couple of minutes walk from the town centre.
Torquay holds a special place in the hearts of my family. It was on the beaches of Torquay at the beginning of WW2 where my grandfather, Pat Kernaghan taught many of the young soldiers in the light-horse brigade how to ride. Pop had a magnificent black horse called Bobalong and the Commanding Officer in charge was so impressed with Bobalong, he commandeered him for himself! The Torquay camp was the last Light Horse training camp in Australia.
Not sure if there was something in the food I ate last night but I dreamt that I won $27 million in Lotto! Holy Guacamole! I had a flood of emotions when I woke from feeling elated, relieved to nauseas and strangely puzzled wondering what to do with ALL of that money, what a great way to wake up,I only wish I had remembered the winning numbers!
Now fully awake, I climbed out of bed and into reality. Soon after, we were off to Saltair Day Spa and Retreat for some filming, showcasing another wonderful experience the town of Torquay had to offer. I was lucky enough to enjoy a massage from one of the Spa’s therapists, however, as this for telly purposes and not my personal pleasure, it was only a ‘quickie’ for the cameras…10 mins later, I’m dressed and off to the next location, that’s TV for you!
Blackmans Brewery, our next stop, had the boys (and girls) all champing at the bit to do some taste testing. The Manager brought out ‘tasting paddles’, which consisted of six different varieties of their home brew, it was a great way for us to sample their signature beers. I was a bit of a fan of the Minnie Cider followed by an Arthur then Ernie, oh the list goes on… A couple of hours later, everyone joyously made their way back to the Caravan Park for a SCAN (Senior Citizen Afternoon Nap) lol…before getting ready to present another one of our NBCF Charity Concerts.
One thing I have noticed during my concert touring over the years is there is something quite unique about Victorian audiences. It doesn’t matter how cold it is or even if chilly gusts of wind blow around your collar or in this case, under your camp chair, they are real stayers! Particularly if they are enjoying themselves and that’s exactly what they were doing at our concert.
The girls from the National Breast Cancer Foundation who were travelling with us, were once again, thrilled by the generosity of donations from all of the locals. The filming combined with the concerts were proving to be a wonderful success all round.
Next day we had a ‘rest day’ from travelling so it gave us all plenty of time to explore Torquay, I hit the shops first off, I just couldn’t help myself when I saw the SALE sign in front of a dress shop!
I indulged in fish & chips for lunch and then had the most exhilarating walk along the beach where my Pop would have trained all of those years ago. I had a strong head wind on my return, I swear the wind was coming straight from the Antarctic, gee it was cold. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw people in bathers and actually in the water swimming, they must have been visiting from England! lol.
Tomorrow we make our way to Tasmania, first stop Davenport then Cradle Mountain. I am glad I put the hot water bottle in!
The morning got off to a slow start, a little more filming around the Torquay Caravan Park and then it was off to the Port of Melbourne to board the NEW Spirit of Tasmania. I understand they had recently given the ship a $35 million dollar revamp, so I was eager to check it out for myself! It had been four years since my Mum, Dad, sister, Fiona and I, took our caravans to Tassie on the Spirit for a holiday to Tassie and I thought the ship was pretty good back then!
We arrived earlier into Melbourne than expected so our convoy parked in one of the back streets of St Kilda for a couple of hours whilst we waited until our allocated boarding time of 4.30pm. We found a shady nature strip, set up a few the camp chairs and the fellas managed to find a few cold beverages to enjoy whilst we waited. What a lovely way to spend an afternoon and even better way to wash down some Kwells (sea sickness tablets) prior to our voyage! LOL… It was about 6.30pm by the time our entourage had loaded their vehicles and caravans and we found our cabin accommodation for the night. A little advice, make sure you write down the Deck number and position you park your car and caravan on, it will save a lot of time the next morning wondering up and down levels and squeezing in between vehicles etc, to find your rig! OK, I am speaking from experience….
Once on board, I could see straight away the fabulous renovations the ship had undergone. It seemed so much more spacious than I remembered. Everything was shiny and new from the fresh linen in the tastefully decorated cabins right through to the sparkling new restaurant and reception area. They even had two cinemas and a games room for their patrons to enjoy! The journey was really smooth and one I can thoroughly recommend.
