Bye bye Bluey France

Day 91 Monday 3 August 2026

As our plane wasn’t leaving from Paris until 10:30pm tonight, we had a relaxing time finalising the packing. 

Then we took Bluey for our final drive to the service point in Balan, just 5km away.

After lunch we have one last selfie with Bluey. Bye bye Bluey..

We have had a fantastic time visiting Europe since 2013. Since then we have travelled to Europe 10 times totalling 42 months the equivalent of 3.5 years. We have visited 38 countries, some only once and others numerous times.

We have made some amazing memories… thank goodness for the blog so we can remember them all! It has been special to meet up and spend some time with my family in both France and Switzerland. We are sure we will be back one day… just not sure know when..

We were dropped off at the train station from the airport near Lyon at 2:30pm for the 3:34pm train we had prebooked a few weeks ago via the SNCF app (2 pp plus extra luggage and booked seats €113). It was quite full as it’s the holiday summer season but we managed to squeeze our bags on and settled in our seats for the 2 hour trip to Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris.

Views from the train as we sped through France at 250kmph

From the train station we took a small train to Terminal 1. Then waited to checkin before we could make our way to the nice new lounge.

Just under weight limits of 40kg pp each suitcase at 26kg

The flight to Singapore was slightly delayed and we had to make our way from Terminal 1 to 3 via the small rail that took us through the dome and waterfall.

We then had a quick shower and bite to eat in the lounge which wasn’t as busy as the previous times we have been here.

All went smoothly to Melbourne even arriving early. Being the first to land, there were no queues for border security. For the first time our bags were the first to come out ! So within 30mins we were waiting outside for our driver to take us home. We didn’t waste anytime in lighting the fire to get us warm as the house was only 10°. And so, this adventure has come to a close.

An older plane and seats were smaller.. but can’t complain as we could still lay down

Sheepyard Flat, Howqua Historic Site, Victoria

We had another wonderful time at our annual camp at Sheepyard Flat in the Howqua Hills area. Great company, lovely walks, nice chats around the fire, delicious meals  and refreshing swims in the beautiful Howqua River. What more could you ask for!

The beautiful Yarra Valley.

Pit stop in Yea at the old railway station.

First time we have managed to get a pie in Yarck. Well worth it.

The evidence of the rest fires around Alexander.

Lake Eildon is down to 46% very noticeable at the bridge near Bonnie Doon.

We set up near our usual spot and enjoyed cooking and chatting around the camp fire.

Although we had a bit of rain we still went for our walks.

Beautiful Tunnel Bend.

Reminders of the gold mining era.

Misty morning.

The walk along the river to Fry’s Hut is always a favourite. We were surprised to see NO ONE camping there.

We enjoyed picking the blackberries along the track .. haven’t been sprayed yet.

The Howqua River was lovely and refreshing for our daily ‘swim’.

Spotted lots of birds and some came visiting too. (Also spotted 2 dingoes).

Before we knew it, it was time to head back home..