We woke to a gorgeous morning at Yarck Recreation Ground. The sun was shining with blues sky and fluffy white clouds. The rain overnight has cleared away.

We packed up camp and before we drove out we went for a walk around the facilities to see if we could find a donation box. Alas there isn’t one. I would really like these small communities to have a secure lock box so we could make a donation to help offset their costs of providing such great spots for us self-contained campers to camp.

There seemed to be an abundance of coffee shops in Yarck and then we realised that’s because it is right on the Great Victorian Rail Trail so it is a very popular spot to stop for a break when you are cycling along the trail. The rail trail is another great thing that brings people to these small communities.

Our journey continued on via Yea and then down into the Yarra Valley through Yarra Glen. From there it was not very long before we reached the outskirts of Melbourne at Lilydale. We followed the Maroondah Highway until it met up with the M3 Eastlink then followed that southwards all the way to Frankston.

I remember as a child in the 1960’s living in Box Hill and a trip to Frankston was an all day journey. Now it is all just one big city all the way with a motorway to get there!

We pulled in at Frankston Waterfront Reserve where there was a large carpark. We had to park in the car section where we did take up 4 spaces but we tried to be right down the back so there were lots of free spaces. Frankston Foreshore is home to the Frankston Pier and the outlet of the Kananook Creek where it runs into the bay. We found a restaurant right on the water overlooking the beach and ordered fish & chips washed down with a cold beer. Ahhh!

After a delicious lunch break we headed the motorhome eastwards towards Pakenham where I’d found a great camp on WikiCamps at the Pakenham South Hall. A donation camp for self-contained RV’s. There were 8 RV’s already set up when we arrived and one of the locals who look after the hall was busy mowing the grass.

There are no facilities except rubbish bins and they like you to put your $10 donation under the door. I really think they also need a secure donation box!

It’s a great little spot surrounded by farmland but only a 30-40 minute drive to get to Cruden Farm the next day.