"No matter where you go, there you are."

Saturday 19^th May:

We had a lovely walk out to the headland in the morning. We could see for miles up and down the coast and out to the Solitary Islands. There were a few rock fisherman below us and a couple of surfers riding the waves. We played bowls in the afternoon at the Coffs Ex-Serviceman’s Club. We played pairs and had a good game.

Sunday 20^th May:

We played bowls again this morning, this time at the Park Beach Bowls Club. Coffs is quite busy at the moment as the Ulysses Motor Bike Club is holding their AGM here over the next week. There are bikes everywhere, they are expecting over 6000 bikers from all over Australia.

Monday 21^st May:

Ferg took a long walk over the headland and down the next beach this morning. Later we drove into Coffs to check out the shops. I’m a bit off colour today, got the sore throat thing happening. Hopefully it won’t last too long.

Tuesday 22^nd May:

Ferg and I went into the Park Beach Bowls Club for a roll up practice this morning. Later in the day we drove up into the mountains behind Coffs Harbour. We visited Bruxner State Forest and did a lovely 45 minute circuit walk through the rainforest. It was very pretty although we did pick up several leeches along the way. Poor old Twistie had them all over her paws. We also visited Sealy Lookout which gave us expansive views of Coffs Harbour city. On the way back down the mountain we stopped at a road side stall and picked up some cheap avocados and bananas.

Wednesday 23^rd May:

I played ladies today at the Park Beach Bowls Club. They do go through some rigmarole! The traditions are becoming a bit archaic, we really are just there to bowl! Ferg had spent a quiet morning at the van, slowly packing up the gear as we were moving spots today. It didn’t take long to get set up in the new spot and now we have a lovely view of the ocean. As the sun sets behind us we get a lovely view of the water turning a delightful pink. We watched the State of Origin in the evening and thoroughly enjoyed QLD beating NSW. One down, two to go!

Thursday 24^th May:

I finally caught up on the blog today. We can access the internet from our van which is very convenient. We did a bit of sight seeing in the afternoon. We drove to Woolgoolga. a small beach side town a few kilometres north of Moonee Beach. We then drove into Coffs and took a walk out along the jetty. We overlooked the marina and Mutton Bird Island.

Friday 25^th May:

We played mixed pairs at Park Beach Bowls this morning and won. It was a good game and we played with a nice local couple. Ferg and I played on the laptop and enjoyed our beautiful view for most of the afternoon. We had drinks with another vanning couple in the evening. Chris just happened to be an ex-prison officer from Western Australia! It’s a shame we are moving on tomorrow.

# posted by Ferg & Jude @ 10:01 AM

Tuesday 8^th May:

Ferg went for a last long walk out to the breakwater before we packed up slowly and headed off to Port Macquarie. After checking out the two parks that took dogs we decided to keep going north to South West Rocks. We hadn’t booked and were very lucky to get the last spot at the Horseshoe Bay Beach Park. It’s in a fantastic position right on the beach. Unfortunately there are not many of these council parks left.

Wednesday 9^th May:

We settled in nicely and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the park. We took Twistie for a nice walk along the beach. In the afternoon we played bowls at the local club.

Thursday 10^th May:

The good weather has left us today and the rain has set in. We stayed in the van most of the day. We found a good spot for internet and spent an hour on the laptop.

Friday 11^th May:

It was overcast again this morning but eventually the sun broke through. We didn’t do much just soaked up the sun and chatted to our neighbours.

Saturday 12^th May:

We had to move spots today as someone is booked into this site. It was no problem we only moved two sites over and we still have a view of the ocean. The markets were on in the park next door this morning so we spent some time wandering among the stalls. We put up our side annexe for the first time today. It gives us a bit of privacy from people passing buy and protects from the wind. We played bowls again in the afternoon.

Sunday 13^th May:

Mother’s Day! Jess gave me a call. We went out to lunch at the bowls club with another couple from the van park. We enjoyed a lovely smorgasborg then adjourned to the lounge to listen to a country music band. It rained all afternoon which suited us for a snooze after the big lunch.

Monday 14^th May:

It was a glorious day, Ferg, Twistie and I went for a long walk along the beach. The water is quite warm. We spent an hour on the net then did a grocery shop. When we got back the water looked so inviting that we decided to go in for a surf. It was great, Ferg caught a few waves and I had a nice swim. Later we bought an icecream and sat up on the headland soaking up the sun.

Tuesday 15^th May:

We are off diving today and we were geared up and at the dive shop by 8am. They mucked around for awhile but finally we were heading out through the bar by 9.30am. The bar crossing was a bit hairy, the last wave broke over the top of us and swamped everyone. We came through Ok though, lucky we had our wetsuits on to keep us warm. We did two dives at Fish Rock Cave and saw lots of grey nurse sharks. The viz was good and it was another glorious day. Once back on dry land we cleaned our gear then snoozed all afternoon. It’s very tiring work this diving caper!

Wednesday 16^th May:

It’s another lovely day in paradise. Ferg and I went down to the bowls club for a roll up in the morning. When we got back we went in for another surf. The water is crystal clear and we could see schools of whiting and bream through the waves. We played mixed bowls in the afternoon.

Thursday 17^th May:

I played ladies bowls in the morning and played atrociously. I don’t like the heavy greens, you have to throw the bowls down rather than roll them. We went out to dinner with a group of friends from the van park. We all enjoyed a lovely Chinese dinner.

Friday 18^th May:

We awoke to overcast skies and a very strong on shore wind. Luckily we are moving on today. The wind left us by the time we hit the highway and we had a good run north to Coffs Harbour. We decided on a van park just north of the city at Moonee Beach. The park is set in a reserve overlooking a tidal estuary out to the ocean. There are lots of parrots, plenty of shady trees and an added bonus of free internet access.

# posted by Ferg & Jude @ 2:34 PM

Monday 23^rd April:

We had a very quite day relaxing around the van in Mudgee. We had a wander along the riverside parklands then walked through town to check out the shops. We again joined our other neighbours for happy hour.

Tuesday 24^th April:

We decided to move today down to the coast. We should have checked the weather chart first. We left beautiful sunshine in Mudgee and by the time we reached Singleton it was pouring down. The rain stayed with us all the way up the coast. We figured if we kept going it would finally stop. We decided to pull in at Tuncurry and hope for the best. Amazingly the skies cleared about 10 minutes out from the town. It had been a long day driving and we were greatful to find a lovely van park right on the water. The Great Lakes Tourist Park was a welcome haven for two weary travelers.

Wednesday 25^th April:

It’s drizzling rain again this morning, we are hoping it clears for the Anzac Day march at 10am today. Ferg joined up with some other Vietnam Vets and marched in the parade. We stayed for the ceremony then joined the other Vets for lunch at the RSL.

Thursday 26^th April:

Ferg went for a long walk out to the Tuncurry breakwater this morning. He said the water is crystal clear and there lots of pelicans hanging around. The whole area is one big lake system with the river dividing the towns of Forster and Tuncurry. It is a very popular fishing spot. We tried our luck fishing out the front of the van park but only got tiddlers.

Friday 27^th April:

We found the local shopping centre in Forster and had a bit of a wander. We bowled in the afternoon at the Sporties Club. It rained on and off but we still managed to finish our game.

Saturday 28^th April:

Raining again today, it did ease a little in the afternoon. We took a walk out along the breakwater and watched some dolphins riding the waves. We tried fishing again without any luck, I caught a small sole which went back in.

Sunday 29^th April:

It was a beautiful morning. Ferg took the rods down to the front of the park again for a fish. I took my embroidery and sat in the sun. It was very pleasant but again no fish. We bowled at the Tuncurry Bowls Club in the afternoon.

Monday 30^th April:

Ferg bowled at Sporties Club today. I went to Foster Stockland and also checked out a local Art and Craft exhibition. Ferg had a good day at bowls and won a chook, again!

Tuesday 1^st May:

We both played bowls in the morning at Forster Bowls Club. I trialed a 2^nd hand set of Taylor Vector bowls and did very well with them. I decided to buy them as it’s about time I had my own set of bowls. They are blue and have a seahorse symbol so they were definitely meant for me. Ferg gave the car and van a good wash in the afternoon. We went for a walk along the water at sunset and got some good photos.

Wednesday 2^nd May:

I attended ladies day at the Tuncurry Bowls Club. I had a good game, an enjoyable lunch and even won $5. Ferg played bowls at the Sporties Club with the men.

Thursday 3^rd May:

I enjoyed another ladies day at the Sporties Club this morning. Ferg and Twistie went fishing then picked me up after lunch.

Friday 4^th May:

Ferg and I took Twistie for a long walk out to the breakwater in the early morning, The water looks so inviting. We played mixed bowls in the afternoon at Sporties. We rang the dive shop in the evening and booked in for a dive tomorrow.

Saturday 5^th May:

We geared up in our wetsuits and we arrived at the dive shop by 8am. There was 6 other divers, the weather was perfect and the seas flat. Our first dive was just outside the river mouth on an old sunken barge. It was a deep dive with lots of grey nurse sharks. Our second dive was at a wonderful spot called Outer Latitude. There was lots of marine life and interested rock formations. It was a great dive. Ferg and I went out to dinner at the Forster Bowls Club. It was an “all you can eat” but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Sunday 6^th May:

We played an informal mixed bowls game in the morning at the Forster Bowls Club. The afternoon was spent relaxing around the van.

Monday 7^th May:

It’s our last full day in Tuncurry. We stocked up with groceries and called into the dive shop to show off Ferg’s underwater photos. We visited the Sporties club for a roll up in the afternoon. The Forster Tuncurry area is very pretty and we would like to return here again.

# posted by Ferg & Jude @ 11:44 AM

Saturday 14^th April:

It just happens to be the first day of F.O.O.D. Week in Orange so we visited the local Farmer’s Market. Most of the stalls had tastings available so we tried nuts, pate, prunes, dukkah, local olive oil and raspberries. It was a foodies paradise. In the afternoon we drove out to an old goldfield at Ophir to do a spot of detecting. It was lovely countryside but no gold as usual. Driving back into Orange we were stunned by the colours of the trees. There are various shades of green, yellow, orange and right through the colour spectrum to the deep maroons.

Sunday 15^th April:

Ferg and I visited Lake Canobolas Reserve for an early morning walk around the lake. The colours of the trees were again stunning. My Mum arrived today, we picked her up at the airport at lunchtime and came back to our van for a cuppa. Mum and I drove over to Kinross School to register for the Fibre Forum then we popped over to the PLC Campus to drop off Mum’s luggage. We were back at Kinross by 4.30pm for the meet and greet of our Tutor and fellow students. Our class is quite small so each of us will have more time with our tutor, Carolyn Sullivan. We will be learning the art of Kantha stitching.

Monday 16^th April:

It’s our first day in class. Carolyn got us straight into doing a small sampler. After lunch we started on the design for our major project. We stayed on in the classroom until 5.30pm when Ferg picked us up. Both Mum and I had completed our design and had started transferring onto silk.

Tuesday 17^th April:

It was a full sewing day today, wonderful. Poor Ferg is stuck without the caravan today while it goes in for a wheel bearing and brakes service. It was away all day and cost an arm and a leg to fix as the brake drums needed replacing.

Wednesday 18^th April:

More sewing today. We also did some leaf printing onto silk. It was only half day classes so Mum and I visited a winery in the afternoon. They were showing a textile exhibition and our tutor had some items in the exhibition. Ferg, Mum and I went out to a local Italian restaurant for a pizza dinner. It was so nice not to have to cook.

Thursday 19^th April:

Mum and I had another lovely day sewing. Ferg went to bowls in the afternoon and won the comp. The classrooms were open late this evening so most of our class stayed behind to keep working on our pieces.

Friday 20^th April:

It’s our last full day at the forum. Sadly the week has passed too quickly. We worked on our Kanthas most of the day. Pack up time was 4.30pm when we tidied the classroom and took our work over to be displayed for tomorrow’s open day. Mum, Ferg and I went out to dinner again with a group of friends. We enjoyed a lovely meal at the Lords Place Thai Restaurant.

Saturday 21^st April:

We picked up Mum and her luggage from PLC then called into Kinross to have a look at the exhibition. It’s great to see all the work from the other classes and it is also a time to say farewell to all the friends we have met over the week. We dropped Mum off at the airport mid morning, it had been a great spending time together. Ferg and I bowled in the afternoon at the Orange Ex-Serviceman’s Club. It just happened to be ladies day and they put on a massive afternoon tea for the bowlers. Homemade cakes, biscuits, apple pie and cream, cheesecakes and the list goes on. Off course there was no need for dinner this evening as we both felt like blimps!

Sunday 22^nd April:

We are finally getting away from the dusty Orange van park. We drove down to Bathurst then headed north east to Mudgee. We found the Riverside Van Park right in the centre of town. It was very well kept with lovely grassy sites. We joined our neighbours for happy hour in the afternoon. It was nice to relax after the hustle and bustle of the previous week.

# posted by Ferg & Jude @ 10:08 AM