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

SOUTH COAST NSW

Tuesday 2^nd October

After our farewells to Pete and Marlyn we were on the road by 9am. We had a good run south stopping at Ferry Park in Maclean for a morning cuppa on the Clarence River. We arrived at Corindi Beach Holiday Park at 12.30pm. Corindi Beach is about 30km north of Coffs Harbour. We had a nice camp spot right on the beach. Twistie enjoyed being back on the beach as we took a long walk in the afternoon.

Wednesday 3^rd October

It was a glorious morning and we were in for a very hot day. Ferg took a long walk along the beach with Twistie. The park managers put on a pancake breakfast for all the residents. We got to meet some of our neighbours over Blueberry pancakes and coffee. Mid morning we went down for our first swim in ages. The water was very bracing but once in it was refreshing. Ferg and I caught some waves while Twistie looked on. She hates the water! We lazed around for most of the day going in for a second swim after lunch. We spotted a humpback whale heading south while enjoying happy hour with our neighbours.

Thursday 4^th October

We were up early to watch the sunrise this morning. Ferg and I took the metal detector down to the beach to search for treasure. (ha ha!) Off course we didn’t find anything but it was good to have a go anyway. We packed up the van after brekky and headed south again. We were heading for Nambucca Heads but when we arrived in town we found a hot rod convention. The streets were crowded with hot rods and there were people everywhere. We decided to keep on going down to Tuncurry. We pulled into the Great Lakes Caravan Park where we had stayed previously. Unfortunately it was school holidays and the park was packed with kids and vans.

Friday 5^th October

We caught up with some washing in the morning. Ferg went for a walk out to the breakwater. We had a look around the shops and I picked up a great trolley for my bowls bag at St Vinnies. We also bought Twistie a new bed! We played bowls at the Sporties club in the afternoon.

Saturday 6^th October

We are slowly getting hemmed in by caravans full of kids. The amenities are pretty yukky with so many people in the park. Thank goodness we can get out of the place to play bowls. We drove north to Blackhead Beach Bowls club for a game in the afternoon. The club is situated right on the cliffs edge and had spectacular views out over the ocean.

Sunday 7^th October

We were up early this morning readying ourselves for our dive trip out to Latitude Rock off Foster. The water was a very chilly 16 degrees so I only lasted 35 minutes before surfacing. Ferg stayed down with some of the other divers for a longer dive. I decided not to go in for the second dive. Ferg got some great photos as usual. On our way back we encountered some humpback whales. The skipper stopped the boat so we could watch them. We also picked up some dolphins which swam with the boat, jumping out of the water in the bow wake. Not a bad dive trip after all! Back at the van park the kids were still running amok so we decided it was time for us to go.

Monday 8^th October

We left early as we were heading through Sydney and hoped for a good run. We did ok until we hit the northern freeway. Roadworks had slowed everyone and the traffic was built up for 15km. We moved at a slow crawl for half an hour. We then got slugged two tolls on the M2 and the M7 which cost us about $15 for the privilege. We were glad to see the back of Sydney. We were hoping to stay in Kiama but due to the school holidays none of the parks would take dogs. We ended up in Nowra at a lovely van park right on the Shoalhaven river.

Tuesday 9^th October

We had a slow start this morning, washing the car and updating the blog. Mid morning we took off for a spot of sightseeing of the region. We drove along the Shoalhaven River out to Shoalhaven Heads then headed inland again to the lovely town of Berry. It’s a small town full of character. We had a wander around looking in all the interesting shops. Off again inland to Kangaroo Valley. The road wound up and down the mountain range giving us spectacular views both east and west. We stopped for lunch in the village then headed back to Nowra. On the way we stopped at the Mt Cambewarra Lookout. The views of the Shoalhaven district were fantastic.

Wednesday 10^th October

We moved on today checking out some van parks at Santuary Point and Sussex Inlet. None were any good so we kept on going down to Dalmeny. The campground hadn’t changed from when we were there last year. There were only a few vans and we all had great views over the ocean.

Thursday 11^th October

We awoke to a beautiful day, no wind and the sun was glistening on the ocean. We drove into Narooma and found our old internet spot then called into the bowls club to put our names down. We had a lovely walk along the boardwalk looking into the crystal clear waters of the Wagonga Inlet. Later that afternoon we returned to Narooma to play bowls.

Friday 12^th October

The weather isn’t so nice today. It’s grey, cold and very windy so we tucked ourselves into the van for most of the day. We did spot some whales passing by. They seem to like the rough weather and tend to do more jumping and tail slapping. Ferg got some great photos of a passing storm in the afternoon. Luckily it passed us by well out to sea.

Saturday 13^th October

The sun is out again today but the wind is very icy. Ferg, Twistie and I took a long walk along the headlands towards Kianga. Later we drove into Narooma to pick up some groceries and to download our emails. On the way home we stopped in at the Dalmeny Markets. We spent a quiet afternoon around the van.

Sunday 14^th October

Another lovely day, just perfect to sit under the annexe reading a book and watching the whales pass by. We made friends with a local parrot. Ferg and I played bowls again in Narooma in the afternoon and had a great game.

Monday 15^th October

We had another lazy day much like yesterday. Ferg played men’s bowls at the Dalmeny Club in the afternoon.

Tuesday 16^th October

A strong wind change awoke us at 4am and we had to get up to bring in the annexe. All the other vanners were outside doing the same thing! We awoke again at a decent hour to a beautiful day. The whales put on a great display this morning. It’s amazing how such massive creatures can get most of the body out of the water as they breach. I played bowls with the ladies at Narooma and won the overall ($10) plus the raffle ($20 IGA Voucher). The ladies also presented me with a Narooma Bowls Cloth. Ferg played men’s bowls in the nearby township of Bodalla. He also won the overall ($20), so we both had a good day.

Wednesday 17^th October

I still can’t get over the stunning view we wake up to each morning. Ferg went for his usual walk while I took Twistie for a stroll to get the local paper. It was the perfect day to sit in the sun reading the paper and enjoying a cuppa while watching the occasional whale pass by. A local Vietnam Vet (Richard) called by to have a chat about his travels around Australia. He invited us both back to his home to meet his wife (Patricia) and have some lunch. They had a magnificent home overlooking the ocean. They shared some of their experiences traveling in W.A. We spent a few hours with them, enjoying a lovely lunch and good company. Late in the afternoon we drove into Narooma to spend my IGA voucher.

Thursday 18^th October

The wind had picked up again overnight and we were being buffeted by a north easterly. We stayed in the van most of the morning. We played bowls at Narooma in the afternoon. Luckily the bowls club was protected from the wind. We had two good games and ended up with second prize of $10. Back at the van the wind had freshened to a south easterly and was very wild and wooly.

Friday 19^th October

It was time to move on today. The wind had dropped and the sun was out. We packed up slowly, Ferg gave the car and van a wash to get all the salt off. We decided we try an inland van park in Bega for a change. We did a bit of grocery shopping and called into the Bega Bowls Club. In the afternoon we took a drive to Tathra, about 20 minutes away on the coast. We had a walk out along the headland and spotted yet another whale. Back in Bega we treated ourselves out to dinner at the Bega Bowls Club. The club is quite small, not fancy, but had good homecooked style meals.

Saturday 20^th October

Ferg and I went for a morning walk along the road into town. Not very exciting with trucks and cars whizzing by. I did a load of washing then we went into town to find an internet spot. We played bowls at the Bega club in the afternoon. The greens were pretty lumpy but we both had good games. I won overall and took a meat tray home. We are heading off into Victoria tomorrow.

HOUSE SITTING

August – September 2007

We arrived at Pete and Marlyn’s place in Stokers Siding ( just south of Murwillumbah), on the 24^th August. They were heading off overseas for a month on 26^th August while we looked after their place. It was nice to have a house to live in for a while. We got a surprise early one morning finding a large carpet snake just outside the front door. After much scratching of heads as to what to do we encouraged it with a rake into a large box and relocated via the wheelbarrow down to the bottom of the property. Not bad for city slickers!

Over the next month we played bowls, bowls and more bowls. There are so many different bowls clubs around the area that we could virtually play bowls every day of the week if we wanted to. Most mornings we spent in the garden pruning the winter frost bite off the plants and sowing new vegetable seedlings. It was enjoyable watching all the flowers emerging as the Spring weather set in. We watched a couple of shrikes build a nest on the veranda and over the next few weeks they sat on their eggs then two babies emerged. The day we left the fledglings flew the nest. In the afternoons we would go off bowling.

The week before Pete and Marlyn arrived home we held a “Glam Party” at their place. We invited a few friends and relatives and everyone dressed up in their best clobber. We had a great night and everyone enjoyed themselves.

The travelers returned on the 26^th September, very tired but full of stories from Greece, Spain, Morocco, Egypt, Italy and beyond. They were pleased to be home and were very happy with our house sitting efforts. It was with some sadness that we left Stokers Siding as we had really enjoyed our time there. We took off on 2 October to continue our journey around Australia.

NORTH FOR THE WINTER

July 2007

We left Pete’s place on the 9^th July and headed north to Gympie where we stayed at Standown Park for 2 days. The park is a Vietnam Vet retreat located halfway between Gympie and Rainbow Bay.

We then moved on to Ken and Vicki’s place in Hervey Bay and parked next to Paul’s van in their back yard. Unfortunately I had picked up a tummy bug and was quite ill for several days. We stayed with Ken and Vicki for a week spending our time bowling and sight seeing. The area was experiencing its coldest winter, we awoke to white frosts each morning and Twistie’s water bowl had a layer of ice on it.

On the 23^rd July we packed up the car and headed north to Townsville minus the caravan. It took us 12 hours to get there. We stayed with our friend Robyn and shared her house with her daughter Peggy and her dog Molly. Twistie and Molly got along ok and were the best of pals by the time we left.

The next two weeks were a whirlwind of get togethers with friends and all our family. Ferg got to spend time with his grandson Dane and his daughter Jodie and son Jay. I spent lots of time with my daughter Jessie and son Alistair. I also had a lovely time catching up with my mum and sister. Ferg was quite ill for the whole two weeks with some kind of flu. Before we knew it the 2 weeks had whizzed by and we were heading back to Hervey Bay on 7^th August.

August 2007

It was nice to be back in our own bed in our little caravan. Over the next few days we spent time bowling and catching up with Paul, Marilyn, Ken and Vicki. We enjoyed some lovely dinners out at the local Craignish Pub. Ferg and I did a spot of house sitting for Ken while the four of them went out to Carnarvon Gorge for a 3 day trek. On the 18^th August we all attended a memorial service in Hervey Bay for Vietnam Vets Day (Long Tan Day). Paul, Ken and Ferg joined in the march carrying the 6RAR banner.

We hit the road south on 20^th August heading for Roz and Mick’s place near Gympie. We had a game of bowls at the Gympie Bowls Club and enjoyed a couple of days with Mick and Roz. On the 23^rd August we battled the wet roads all the way through Brisbane and down the coast to Pete and Marlyn’s place. It was nice to be “home” again!