Setting off from Dromana day 2
walking through the lovely Martha Cove Marina -day 2 from Dromana to Mount Eliza
Morning tea time!! Day 2 on our way to Mount Eliza. A little grassed spot tucked away on the side of the Nepean Hwy at the top of our biggest hill climb was just perfect.
Our day 2 highlight -a lovely lady by the name of Beth had been following our walk on facebook -she came tooting past us waving a lime green scarf as we neared Mount Eliza. We had a lovely chat, took some photos together and then Beth walked with us on our last little leg to our accommodation. thanks Beth was really great to meet you.
Day 3 is Steve's solo day. Steve setting off from Mount Eliza and is headed for Chelsea. The weather was not good for him that day :(
Steve's solo walk (Hmmm Michelle sure knows how to pick a rest day!!)
The rain cleared a little by late morning and Steve arrived in Chelsea in great time. He had a hot pie and all was good in the world again.
Setting out for day 4 from the lovely South East Holiday village in Chelsea. Thanks Lynn for your interest and support in our walk. we had a lovely stay and good night's rest.
Day 4. A beaut sunny day along the Mordialloc beach front.
Setting off from Cheltenham early Saturday morning -Whoo hoo our final leg we are nearly there!!
With 4kms to go to our finish line we met Mark from Hummer Limousines. We just had to stop for a photo. Mark had a busy day but was interested in talking to us about our walk and was happy to have a photo with us too. (if he wasn't so busy who knows we may have been able to finish those last few kms in real style lol)
Our finish line.!! Yeah we made it!!
We were met by Michelle's sister Sharron, her husband Tim, niece Alysse, Tim's son Ben and girlfriend Flick (Felicity). It was really lovely to see you and have you join us so a very big thanks guys !!
There were many messages and some comments from people who would have liked to join us but couldn't. we understood it would be a big ask for many people so your thoughts and messages were enough. We were grateful for your fabulous support and for following us along the way.
We will post some final information later this week or early next week once we have had a rest and settled back in at home
Kindest regards
Michelle and Steve
We had a great stay in Cheltenham last night with a lovely couple - Pamela
and Howard. They are friends of our neighbour and didn't hesitate to put us up
when they heard we would be passing by. A lovely home cooked meal and good
company was really enjoyed on our last night.
Two people, one backpack and one wheelchair arrived in Melbourne at 12:30pm
today. We were happy to have felt like we have completed our mission for walk
aware. We have had a great
time and can't thank everyone enough for
their support.
will post some final info towards the end of the week when we have settled
back in at home and had a rest.
I am a bit tired and sore but well and happy to have achieved this. It is
something that would not have been at all possible for me 3 months ago. Steve is
well and happy too. He says he is not sore (yet) he is a little tired and
looking forward to a sleep in tomorrow.
Thanks everyone for your amazing support. we couldn't have done it without
you all.
Hello all.
We made it safe and sound to
Cheltenham today. great sunny day for us again :). We spoke to several people
along the way.
We are nearly there!! its all a bit exciting as its our
last leg tomorrow :) Steve will be pleased as he is getting sick of my singing
lol
Michelle and Steve
good morning everyone
Michelle is back and ready to go :) We only have a short distance today -13.4
kms from Chelsea to Cheltenham So we are keen to use some time toady to talk to
as many people as we can. The sun is starting to shine again so we are pretty
happy about that
Two more days to go!!!
We have had a fabulous response so far and we are keen to really give it our
all to finish this campaign by raising as much awareness and funding for the
KMMF as we possibly can!! So while we walk and talk please share
and pass on our details to as many people as you can today.
more photos comming soon so keep a watch for those :)
To make a donation to the Karl McManus Foundation click on the KMMF tab at the top of this page
gday everyone steve here, finally got my computer
licence (bit like your pen licence at school) had a good day walking today
despite the rain and spoke to a few people along the way. if people were game
enough to get close to the bloke with a backpack and empty wheelchair then they
wanted to hear our story, that's what I thought anyway!!!! I found today a bit
different with time to think about being a carer and how it's bought out a
different side of me.
hi all,
day three today. a long post today sorry!!! but I think its an important
one. firstly Steve is walking alone today as I am under strict instructions to
rest. I am in the early stages of treatment and need to be very careful. I
didn't want to sit it out today but I know I need to. I am sore and slow this morning
but in good spirits - After today I will be ready to go for our last two legs
over Friday and Saturday! Steve is well and was ready to go again today. He
left at 7:20am this morning and is walking from Mt Eliza to Chelsea. it is a
little bit wet with drizzle so just hoping it improves for him.
Steve has asked me to say that he will be thinking about carers today -the job they do
and the things they have to deal with because someone they know has developed
Lyme disease.
Through our campaign we have spoken about how this illness has impacted on Michelle's life but it has had an enourmous impact on Steve too.....
I have often thought that it would be especially tough to endure the changes and losses we have had to endure for Steve as he was fit and healthy! Often as a carer, Steve said he felt like he had to do this quietly
because if he said something to me he knew it would make me feel worse. I felt
(and still do) feel bad about the impact of my illness on our lives. We have
lost a lot. We speak about this sometimes and we just try to make sure he has
some time to do the things that are important to him. I support his interests
100% as I know he has suffered, struggled and lost so much through this illness
too.
Pressures that naturally occur when someone develops a serious
illness we felt were strained further because of the very little recognition and
uncertianty about Lyme disease here In Australia. We have heard many sad
stories of family and relationship breakdowns and also stories of financial ruin
due to the impact of Lyme Disease. We can understand how this can happen.
I am greatful for the strength and determination Steve has showed and
the support he has given to me. I think his walking today signifies those
qualities! The impact of Lyme is pretty devestating on so many levels and not
everyone is able to withstand them sadly. I know I am lucky that Steve was able
to find a way to stay with me and get through what we have had to endure. We
still have a long road ahead and I hope we can continue to do so.
So in sharing some of our story today we hope to acknowledge some of the hard work,
the fight and sacrifices that goes with supporting a loved one with Lyme Disease.
Please consider making a donation to KMMF so that they can
continue working towards better education and research in Australia.
clik on the KMMF tab at the top of this page.
(Sorry about typos very tired today and my editor is out walking)
Our accommodation has been just brilliant!!! & the hosts have been so
supportive towards us and our walk so we just wanted to acknowledge
this....
.
Our first night at Sorrento Beach Hotel was really lovely. We received a
very warm welcome by Owner Peter Deacon . Peter got up and met us for a quick photo
session early on Tuesday morning and he waved us off on our first leg of this
journey :) Thanks Peter! we had a lovely stay and we will be back :)
Photo: Peter and his dog Cooper with Michelle just before we hit the road.
Our second night was at the very beautiful Dromana Beach Getaway and Denise
and Doug Marshall were so welcoming. Doug went out of his way to help us work out the best and safest route to take from our stay with them. So a very special thanks
to you guys too and your apartments are a real credit to you both.
Photo: We are well rested and re-cooperated from our stay at the Dromana Beach Getaway
Our first day on the road was fab. The weather was very kind to us. We met many people along the way. People were interested in our story and many stopped to ask us questions or spoke about someone they knew who had Lyme Disease or what they knew about the condition. We arrived in Dromana this afternoon and as you can see by the photo I was quite glad to see the sign that said we had made
it!!!
25kms down only 75kms to go:)
Thanks to all those we met along the way today, we hope you are now following
us and have been on this website too!
During these 5 days we are talking to people about the work that the Karl
McManus Foundation does here in Australia for Lyme Disease and we asking them
to consider making a donation
for more information or to donate please click on the KMMF tab at the top of this page
Good morning everyone
In the last 2 days our face book page has received over 20 likes, we are receiving loads of messages wishing us
well and also people asking for Lyme disease information, we are getting really
lovely well wishes and comments, we are achieving between 20-40 hits per day on
our website and our posts are reaching between 400-900 people!!!
SO EVERYONES HELP IN SHARING OUR DETAILS IS HELPING SO MUCH!!!
This is a fabulous result and thanks to everybody we are all raising awareness. So please
while we walk and talk you guys share our information!
The other aim of this walk is to raise money for Lyme research and education and we are asking people
to consider donating to the Karl McManus Foundation. Every little bit helps and
just as we are seeing with the likes on our face book page, lots of single actions can
quickly turn into something big.
If you would like to make a donation please click on the KMMF tab at the top of this page..
now better go - we have a walk to do
Michelle and Steve