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

2008-03-21T18:04:00.039+11:00

BEACHES, VINEYARDS AND TALL TREES....
Our first stop on the journey south was the small inland town of Collie. It was a pretty town with some good walks along the Collie River. We even got a game of bowls on the day we arrived. We took a lovely drive through the surrounding Jarrah forests and visited the Wellington Dam.

Once the school holidays had finished we could move down to the coast at Busselton. We booked into the Four Seasons Van Park which was halfway between Busselton and Dunsborough. It wasn't long before we had booked our first dive under the famous Busselton Jetty. What a fabulous dive, fantastic marine life, absolutely stunning.

We moved down to Margaret River on 6th February and stayed at the Big Valley Campground. It's a private farm about 10km from town. We took a walk around the town then drove out to Prevelly Beach at the mouth of the Margaret River. We watched some surfers catching the waves before going in for a dip ourselves. It was so hot even Twistie jumped in the water.It was lovely driving south through all the vineyards, they are everywhere in this region. We moved on to Augusta for a few days. We took a scenic drive out to Cape Leeuwin to see where the Indian Ocean officially meets the Southern Ocean.We decided to head back to Busselton to get another dive on the jetty. The dive operator only seemed to get enough divers on the weekends so we booked in for Saturday 9th February. We had another great dive although it was slightly overcast.
On the Sunday we took a drive around some of the Margaret River Wineries. We got to taste some lovely wines, luckily Ferg was the driver so I got to taste all of them, hic...! We bought a few bottles to keep for special occasions.

We travelled inland from Busselton stopping at Bridgetown for one night. It was a pretty town and we had a lovely walk along the river. Probably would have stayed longer if the caravan park hadn't been right on the highway. Too many trucks rattling past all day and night.

We were looking forward to visiting the tall Karri forests and moved on to the small town of Quinninup. We stayed here for a few days using it as a base to discover the wonderful Karri forests around Pemberton and Manjimup. The Karri trunks are a creamy peachy colour and grow straight up to 90m. We took the Karri Forest Explorer which is a 85km self guided drive through the forests. We visited Big Brook Dam and had a lovely walk around the dam.

2008-03-21T15:16:00.035+11:00

SUMMER IN PERTH
The only way I can tell the story of our time in Perth is through pictures. Our first sight seeing day was spent in Kings Park which is situated right in the centre of Perth city overlooking the beautiful Swan River.

All too soon Christmas day was upon us. As usual 40 degree heat, lots of pressies and an enormous amount of food.
Boxing day was even hotter so we drove down to Rockingham Beach. The beach was packed with families trying to escape the 44 degree heat. We drove around to Point Peron and spent a wonderful hour snorkeling in the crystal clear water.Dave and Jeanette took us on a tour of Fremantle. We had a lovely walk around "Freo" visiting the markets and looking at all the old buildings. The town was buzzing with people. We stopped for fish and chips overlooking the marina.

Before we knew it we were seeing in the new year. Dave and Jeanette had a few friends over for dinner and we all saw in the New Year together. We had been filling our time playing bowls a couple of days a week at various clubs nearby. Early January we decided to escape the heat of Perth for a few days at the beach. We hitched up the van and headed south through Mandurah to the small beachside village of Binningup. We had a lovely couple of days swimming and just relaxing in the shady caravan park. Twistie loved the walks along the beach.
Back in Perth we were finally getting some work done on the van. All the panels were being replaced after the hail damage we had in Tassie last February. We moved into Dave and Jeanette's house for a week while the van was away. The repairs were good, thank goodness for insurance!

Late January we finally got to dive Rottnest Island. Long story, we had tried several times before with the WA Uni club but their boat broke down. The day was good and the boat was good. We had a nice trip across and we were in the water by 10am. Unfortunately the viz was down although we did enjoy the two dives and a BBQ lunch. The wind picked up on the way home and it was a fairly rough trip.

Our stay in Perth for the summer finally came to an end on 30th January. We are now on our way to discover the south west region of Western Australia.

2008-03-21T13:05:00.015+11:00

WESTERN AUSTRALIA AT LAST

8^{th –}15^th December

We are finally heading into Western Australia. We left Ceduna early and had a good run (300km) to the Nullabor Roadhouse. We were going to top up our fuel but decided against it when we saw the price, $1.87 per litre for diesel. For the next 100km the road runs right along the cliff tops of the Great Australian Bight. We pulled off at several spots and got fabulous views over the ocean. Late in the afternoon we crossed the border at Euchla then drove another 75km to a good free camp spot. We had another long day of driving across flat open plains arriving into Norseman mid afternoon. The van park was dry and dusty but it was great to have power and hot showers again.

We moved on to Esperance, it was nice to be back on the coast. We stayed four days and got the car serviced and the windscreen replaced. The coastline around Esperance is stunning, beautiful white beaches and turquoise water. We also met Sammy the seal who lives under the Esperance jetty.

Leaving Esperance we headed through the wheatbelt country up to Perth. The countryside was golden wheatfields as far as the eye could see. We pulled in at Hyden to visit the famous Wave Rock then moved on to the small town Corrigin for an overnight stop. We finally made it into Perth on the 15^th December arriving at Ferg’s brothers place mid morning.

2008-02-10T13:40:00.000+11:00

ADELAIDE AND BEYOND

Tuesday 20^th November

We had been forewarned about a storm that came through at 4am and had already put the annexe in last night. There was a lot of wind but not much rain. It was a very blustery day so we decided to head off to Adelaide. It is a very pretty city, lots of tree lined streets and lovely old houses. The Windsor Gardens Caravan Park is a good base for us while we are in Adelaide. It is only 10 minutes from the city and backs onto the Torrens River (creek!!) with great walking tracks on both sides. We got a game of twilight bowls at the Kensington Bowls Club. It was bitterly cold in the wind.

Wednesday 21^st November

Ferg and I took a walk along the river and encountered a koala wandering along the path. Wish we had the camera, we stopped for 10 minutes and watched as it ambled along. We played bowls at the Modbury Bowls Club and Ferg picked up a $25 voucher for the local hotel.

Thursday 22^nd November

We dropped Twistie off at the local vets for a hairclip then headed into the city. We picked a bad day to be in the city as it was the first day of the Adelaide Classic Car Rally and the vintage cars were holding up the traffic. We eventually found a park and had a wander around the Central Markets. It was a foodies paradise. We walked a few blocks up to the Rundle Mall passing some lovely old churches. We caught the free tourist bus back to the markets and had a lovely asian feast for our lunch.

Friday 23^rd November

We had a quiet morning then headed off to the Modbury Bowls Club for another game. After the game we called into the local pub to use our voucher for an early dinner.

Saturday 24^th November

Happy Birthday Ferg! We both had a sleep in then I cooked up a big breakfast for the birthday boy. We had a pretty lazy day. In the afternoon we visited the massive Ikea complex for a bit of a look around. We joined our neighbours for happy hour then adjourned to watch the election results.

Sunday 25^th November

Another lazy morning then off to bowls again at Modbury. We played brilliantly and won the overall tournament. We won two $25 hotel vouchers and $40 cash, best win we’ve had in ages. We ducked home to change then off to the pub for a big feast using both the vouchers. It was a great night out.

Monday 26^th November

We were off sightseeing today into the Adelaide Hills. The road wound through the Torrens River Gorge and through some very pretty little towns. We stopped in Woodside to visit cheese and chocolate factories and stuffed ourselves with the free samples. We visited the quaint German town of Hahndorf and wandered up and down the tree lined streets. On the way home we drove up to the Mt Lofty Summit to take in the views of Adelaide.

Tuesday 27^th November

We were on the road early heading out of Adelaide through the peak hour traffic. Thankfully it was going the other way. The countryside is very dry as we drove down the Yorke Peninsula. We passed lots of crumbling old stone houses set in the middle of vast dry plains with the blue of the St Vincent Gulf glistening in the distance. After stopping in at the small seaside village of Stansbury for a morning cuppa we arrived into Edithburgh by midday. The Edithburgh Van Park overlooks the ocean and was only a short walk to the jetty. The diving is suppose to be very good around the jetty but unfortunately there is no where to hire tanks here. We tried our luck at fishing in the afternoon with no luck as usual.

Wednesday 28^th November

The wind picked up this morning so we decided to move on. We traveled up the West coast of the Yorke Peninsula through lots of wheat and sheep country. We drove through Port Pirie and Port Augusta and arrived into Whyalla mid afternoon. What a depressing town, due to the Iron Ore refinery everything in the town is tinged red. That includes the trees, grass, shops, roads, seagulls, absolutely everything! Our campsite is right on the water but it was blowing a gale so we had to hide inside the van.

Thursday 29^th November

The wind eased today and we did a bit of sightseeing around town. We played bowls at the Whyalla Bowls Club in the afternoon and even the bowls green was red!

Friday 30^th November

We were off early again traveling down the East coast of the Eyre Peninsula. The scenery is very barren and the roads are long and straight. We arrived into Port Lincoln by lunchtime and found a lovely van park 12km north of the town. After setting up we took a drive into the town, unfortunately on our return our windscreen copped a stone and a running crack has appeared.

Saturday 1^st December

We had a quiet morning enjoying the view. We took Twistie for a walk along the beach. I played ladies bowls in the afternoon while Ferg tried fishing of the local jetty.

Sunday 2^nd December

We left Port Lincoln early calling into the marina on the way out to look at the big tuna boats. Our destination today was the small seaside village of Elliston on the West coast of the Eyre Peninsula. We got a lovely grassy site at the Waterloo Bay Tourist Park. We got the fishing rods out once again. This time we actually caught a few whiting which was just enough for dinner.

Monday 3^rd December

We took a walk along the beach and jetty before breakfast. Later Ferg and I took a drive along the cliff tops south of the town to take in the spectacular views along the rugged coast line. I spotted a seal surfing the waves. In the afternoon we did the tourist drive north of the town. It was interesting as several sculptures had been erected on the cliff tops along the drive.

Tuesday 4^th December

We did a lovely clifftop walk this morning before packing up the van again. We didn’t have far to travel today, arriving into Venus Bay mid morning. This really is close to paradise, brilliant blue water and white, white sand. The van park is right on the beach again and there is a great jetty for fishing. We had a go for awhile but I only caught one undersized whiting. In the afternoon we did the Great Southern Headland Walk. We saw dolphins surfing the waves. Each turn of the path brought another fantastic view. Our neighbours joined us for happy hour and we watched the pelicans gathering around the fish cleaning station.

Wednesday 5^th December

We were away early heading for Baird Bay to do a seal and dolphin eco tour. It was dirt road all the way in then along the beach to the office, van and all. The tour was great, we snorkeled with the dolphins first then moved over to a seal colony. They were very curious and came to swim with us. It was a unique experience, a real highlight of our journey so far. Afterwards we drove on to Streaky Bay and camped at the Foreshore Caravan Park. It was quite crowded and there were no grassed sites. It was extremely hot all afternoon so we locked ourselves in the air con van. We treated ourselves to dinner at the Streaky Bay Hotel.

Thursday 6^th December

A hot northerly change came through this morning and it was blowing a gale. We hit the road for Ceduna and had a nasty head wind all the way. The Ceduna Foreshore Van Park is good although there is a high wire fence right around the park to keep marauders out.

Friday 7^th December

It’s a much better day, the wind has dropped and the sun is shining. Ferg and I went for a long walk along the esplanade and out along the jetty. The paneling on the van had popped out, probably due to the gale force winds. Ferg tried to fixed with some screws. We now have three small holes right through the inside paneling. Never mind at least it should hold until we reach WA. Ferg took a long 7km walk out to Pinky Point while I stayed behind and wrapped xmas presents for posting. We topped our groceries and fueled up for the big journey across the Nullabor tomorrow. We had a lovely sunset walk along the beach for our last day in South Australia.

2007-12-13T14:44:00.001+11:00

WONTHAGGI TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Tuesday 6^th November

It was Melbourne Cup day and we went off to the Wonthaggi Bowls Club for a game of bowls and a bit of fun. We had nibbles and champagne at 9.30am then onto the greens for a couple of games. We had a lovely chicken and salad lunch, watched the race and checked our sweep horses. As usual we didn’t have a winner but we did have an enjoyable day.

Wednesday 7^th November

We took Joan for a drive today out through the green Gippsland hills to Kurrumburra. The views were great looking out over the hills towards Inverloch and the ocean.

Thursday 8^th November

We did a bit of spring cleaning in the van this morning then headed off to bowls in the arvo. We both had good games.

Friday 9^th November

We moved the van today out onto the footpath as a marquee is being erected in the backyard in preparation for Kim’s birthday party tomorrow. We spent the afternoon setting up for the party and gave Twistie a bath.

Saturday 10^th November

It’s Kim’s 40^th birthday today. We did more setting up, blowing up balloons etc throughout the day. Phil put the roasts on the spit mid afternoon and the guests started arriving at 5.30pm. It was a fabulous night the food was fantastic. Ferg and I snuck off to bed about 9.30pm and the last guests straggled out at 5am. It was a big night for Kim and Phil!

Sunday 11^th November

It was a quiet start to the morning. We helped with the clean up then picked up Joan for a scenic drive out to Inverloch via Cape Paterson. The road winds along the clifftops and has some great lookouts along the way. We bought some fish and chips for lunch then had a picnic at one of the lookouts. We packed up the van in the afternoon and hitched up the car as we head off very early tomorrow morning.

Monday 12^th November

We were on the road by 4.30am and had a good run through to the Mornington Peninsula. We pulled into the Sorrento ferry terminal at 6.30am. Just enough time to make a cuppa and watch the sunrise before the ferry arrived. We had a good crossing, the seas were flat and in no time we were disembarking in Queenscliff. It was much easier taking the ferry rather than driving all the way up to Melbourne then down through Geelong. We spent several hours driving along the Great Ocean Road checking out Bell’s Beach along the way. It is one of the best ocean drives. We pulled into Apollo Bay mid afternoon and found a great van park at the recreation reserve.

Tuesday 13^th November

We took our time packing up and eventually left Apollo Bay to drive through the Otways National Park. The road wound through tall timber forests with the occasional spectacular view across the rolling hills to the ocean. We came back down to the coastline at Princetown then meandered our way along the rest of the Great Ocean Road. We passes by the Twelve Apostles and various other lookouts as we had seen these earlier in the year. Although we did stop in at “London Bridge” and the “Bay of Islands” for another look. We pulled in at Warrnambool to find an early voting centre for the upcoming federal election. We decided to move on to Portland to stop for a few days. We arrived late in the afternoon and found a great van park.

Wednesday 14^th November

Portland is a very pretty city, we had a lovely walk along the foreshore in the morning. We checked out the bowls club and ended up having a roll up for a few hours. Later we took a drive out to Yellow Rock and Cape Nelson Lighthouse. We spotted a brown snake at Yellow Rock, luckily Twistie didn’t see it. We spent the afternoon playing bowls at the Portland Bowls Club.

Thursday 15^th November

It’s a magnificent sunny day, we took a nice walk around the wetlands of Fawthrop Lagoon. We decided to go on a seal tour from Cape Bridgewater. The walk down to the boat took 15 minutes and was quite steep down the cliff. Ferg and I got front row seats in the rubber ducky. The seas were calm and we got to see both Australian and New Zealand fur seals up close. They were lolling around on the rocks and some swam near the boat. It was a good tour. In the afternoon we took Twistie for a long walk along Nun’s Beach. At 6pm we headed up to the bowls club for a game of twilight bowls.

Friday 16^th November

We are moving on today crossing into South Australia. We traveled through Mt Gambier and down to the coast at Beachport. We stopped here for a morning cuppa by the sea. Now we are in South Australia we have to turn our clocks back by half an hour. Our destination today is Robe and we chose the Sea-vu Caravan park right on the beach. Our spot was good overlooking the ocean although the sites were small and we felt jammed in. Robe is a very quaint little town with lots of old sandstone buildings. We took a walk through town and shouted ourselves fish and chips for dinner. We sat outside the van and watched the sun set.

Saturday 17^th November

The weather had changed and it was quite windy so we got on the road early. We headed north through the Coorong district. As we left the coastal saltbush we came into the Langhorn wine growing district. There were many boutique wineries and grape vines as far as the eye could see. We arrived into Victor Harbor by lunchtime and found a nice grassy site at the Victor Harbor Holiday Park. We took Twistie for a long walk along a nearby creek. She was exhausted by the time we got back, it was a bit much for the old girl.

Sunday 18^th November

Just off Victor Harbor is Granite Island and it connected to the mainland by a wooden causeway. Ferg and I took a walk across the causeway then around the island. There is a horse drawn tram that operates daily across the causeway for the tourists. We chilled out for most of the day. Twistie got a bath and Ferg washed the car. We took a scenic drive out to the Bluff in the afternoon.

Monday 19^th November

We were slow moving this morning. Ferg gave the van a wash while I gave the interior a clean. We are only going a short way today, across to the other side of the Fleurieau Peninsula to Normanville. Once settled in we drove down the coastline to Rapid Bay. The diving off the Rapid Bay Jetty is supposed to be very good. The town itself looks deserted and the hills around are very barren. Unfortunately there was no where on the peninsula where we could hire scuba tanks. We called in to Second Valley and found another good snorkeling site. It was a very hot afternoon, we took a walk along the beach in the afternoon and paddled our toes.

2007-12-13T14:28:00.000+11:00

THE MELBOURNE REUNION

Sunday 21^st October

It was time to move on today, we are crossing over into Victoria. We had a good run down through Eden, arriving in Mallacoota early afternoon. The council van park is right on the foreshore and we were able to get a spot right on the water. Unfortunately most of the large park was closed for the winter so we were very tightly crammed in with other vanners. While we did have a fantastic view over the inlet, the poor facilities and overcrowding were not to our liking considering they charged $29 per night (not good value!).

Monday 22^nd October

Ferg and I were up early and took a lovely walk up to the headland. Ferg got some lovely sunrise photos over the ocean. We had packed and we were on the road by 7.30am heading for Lakes Entrance. I had my first drive of the car pulling the van. It was about time! We arrived at the Lakes Entrance Showground van park mid morning and found a lovely spot only metres from the waters edge. The black swans came over to say hello. They have seven cygnets this year, all grey and very fluffy. We tried our luck fishing again with the usual results.

Tuesday 23^rd October

It was a bit chilly this morning when Ferg and I took our walk along the lake. We had lunch at the local bowling club then had a roll up on their synthetic green. Late in the afternoon we tried fishing again.

Wednesday 24^th October

Ferg did a long walk this morning while Twistie and I ambled along the waterfront. Ferg played bowls with the men this afternoon. I prepared some cornbeef for dinner and had a wander around the local shops.

Thursday 25^th October

We all took a walk along the marina this morning. There are some great walk/bike tracks around Lakes Entrance. Later we found a good internet site and caught up on our emails. We both played bowls in the afternoon but didn’t enjoy it much as we had to play “Fours”. Ferg played well as usual and won overall picking up $8 for his efforts!! No one could ever accuse us of chasing the money! Although we did win a $10 club voucher in the raffle.

Friday 26^th October

It’s a miserable cold rainy day. Ferg spent the morning backing up the laptop onto the portable drive. We made popcorn and watched one of our DVD’s, “Flushed Away”. The rain cleared mid afternoon so we went for a long walk along the lake. We joined our neighbours for a happy hour drink late afternoon.

Saturday 27^th October

We played bowls again this morning. I was “permitted” to play with the men! Again we played fours so it was a little boring. We had a lovely lunch at the club afterwards to use up our raffle voucher. We gave Twistie a bath in the afternoon and generally relaxed around the van.

Sunday 28^th October

Daylight saving started today, we had to turn our clocks forward an hour. We have a full day of bowls at the Bruthen Bowls Club. Bruthen is a small country town about 20 minutes drive west of Lakes Entrance. It was an Open Pairs Tournament with four games during the day. We did very well to win 3 of our 4 games and had a great day. It was a very long day and we didn’t get home until 6.30pm. Poor old Twistie had been in the van all day. Our neighbours had looked in on her during the day but she didn’t want to come out of the van. Ferg took her for a long walk while I prepared dinner. We had a few thunderstorms in the evening and even got a small amount of hail.

Monday 29^th October

On the move again, we had a good run through Bairnsdale and Sale. We stopped at Leongatha for some lunch before arriving into Wonthaggi mid afternoon. The whole Gippsland area has had some rain and it’s a lot greener than the last time we were here. We set up the van in the backyard of Kim and Phil’s place again. Kim cooked us a lovely corn beef dinner. Joan (Ferg’s Mum) and I headed off to bingo in the evening.

Tuesday 30^th October

We took a good long walk this morning, the weather is fine but a little cool early. Later we went into town to do some shopping and we called into the bowls club to put our names down for a few games. Joan invited us to her place for some lunch.

Wednesday 31^st October

Kim gave me a haircut this morning and put a colour in my hair. I dropped Ferg at bowls in the afternoon and picked up Joan. We had a lovely time at the Wonthaggi Workers Club playing bingo. In the evening we enjoyed a BBQ with Kim, Phil and Joan.

Thursday 1^st November

We packed our clothes for our trip to Melbourne in the morning then played bowls in the afternoon at the Wonthaggi Bowls Club.

Friday 2^nd November

We left early for Melbourne and had a good run right through to Paul and Marilyn’s place in Macleod. All the gang were there for the 6RAR reunion. We settled into our “glamorous accommodation”, a tent in the backyard. All the girls took off for some shopping while the boys hung around in the shed swapping stories. In the evening we all went off to the Greensborough RSL for the official meet and greet.

Saturday 3^rd November

Once everyone was up and had breakfast, we all took off for a long walk. Phew! Later the girls went shopping while the boys went of to the TAB. When we got home from the shops they were all snoozing! We all got dressed in our finest and went to the Venuto Club for the reunion’s dinner dance. The dinner was very tasty and we had free drinks all night. We danced the night away until well after midnight then wobbled home.

Sunday 4^th November

We were awoken early with a heavy rain storm, thankfully the tent held together although it was damp and miserable. There were a few sore heads this morning. We attended a memorial service at the Simpson Barracks then enjoyed a lovely BBQ lunch in the sergeants mess. After an afternoon nap we were all into it again. All the gang came around to Paul’s place for a final get together.

Monday 5^th November

We had a miserable night, the airbed had gone down a bit and was very uncomfortable. The gang all headed off in a bus to Phillip Island to visit the Vietnam Vets Museum. We took off soon after and drove back to Wonthaggi to drop Twistie off. We then met up with everyone at the museum. We spent several hours there then eventually said our final farewells to everyone.

2007-10-25T10:29:00.000+10:30

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.

2007-10-17T16:57:00.000+10:30

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.

2007-10-09T11:24:00.000+10:30

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!

2007-08-02T07:40:00.000+10:30

MURWILLUMBAH
4th June to 9th July 2007

Yes I've been slack and haven't posted in quite awhile. We've been too busy enjoying life to spend time on the computer. For the last month we have been camped at Pete (brother) and Marlyn's place near Murwillumbah. He put us to work the very first day we arrived, mulching his new garden beds.

On the 6th June we drove up to Brisbane to visit the Caravan and Camping Show. We picked the most dreadful day as it poured with rain all the way up to Brisbane. When we finally arrived there were no parks left and we drove around for about an hour before finding one a kilometre away from the showgrounds. We then spent the day sloshing through water to each of the pavillions. Should have just stayed home!!

Over the next few weeks we helped Pete and Marlyn renovating a property. We painted inside and out and refreshed the garden. It was good to do some real work for a change!! We also helped around their property building garden beds and chopping down bamboo.

It wasn't all work though we managed to play lots of bowls at Murwillumbah, Kingscliff and Condong Bowls Clubs. We played at least twice a week. The Kingscliff Club is right on the beach and from the club house we watched whales frolicking out at sea.

Every Sunday we would all arise very early and head into Murwillumbah to a friends place for a paddle on the Tweed River. Bob and Jano live right on the river in town and have a pontoon to launch the canoes. The Tweed River is very pretty in the early morning light. We would spend about 45 minutes paddling then return for a breakfast BBQ beside the river. There's nothing better than enjoying freshly brewed coffee, bacon and eggs overlooking the water.

Well that's about all for now, life is good. I will try and catch up with the rest of the blog very soon.

2007-06-03T12:51:00.000+10:30

YAMBA

Saturday 26^th May:

We took our time packing up camp and didn’t hit the road until 10am. It didn’t take us long to get to our next destination, Yamba. We are staying at the Fishing Haven Van Park located on Palmers Island which is about 5km out of Yamba. We have the best spot in the park overlooking the Clarence River. From the comfort of our annexe we have views up and down the expansive river. We popped into Yamba in the afternoon to check out the bowls club.

Sunday 27^th May:

We awoke to pouring rain this morning but thankfully it had cleared by 9am. Ferg got the fishing rods out and threw a line in off the jetty. Unfortunately my reel has been broken so there will be no fishing for me for awhile. The Yamba markets were on today so we took a drive in to check them out. They are very good markets, lots of stalls. We played bowls later in the day and met a lovely bunch of locals. They were a very friendly lot. Back at the van we enjoyed the most magnificent sunset while chatting to our neighbours.

Monday 28^th May:

We went into town early and Ferg got a haircut while I wandered round the shops. Most of the day was spent around the van. We fished and just relaxed soaking up the peaceful atmosphere and enjoying the view.

Tuesday 29^th May:

I went to bowls this morning and played triples with the ladies. It was good fun but as usual there was too much rubbish about following traditions. (eg. You must play with your hat on; you must stand when the president enters the room; you must not ask questions out of turn; etc, etc.) It’s a load of rubbish, we should be there to have fun and play bowls. Anyway enough of my soapbox! Ferg took Twistie for a walk along the beach while I was at bowls. We enjoyed another beautiful sunset over the Clarence in the evening.

Wednesday 30^th May:

We took a drove over to Iluka today. The town is on the opposite side of the river to Yamba. Iluka is not as developed and is a little isolated. We had been told about a good fish and chip shop there so we decided to have an early lunch. It only cost us $5 for an ample feed for both of us. We sat at the waters edge and took in the view across the water to Yamba. Ferg played bowls with the men in the afternoon.

Thursday 31^st May:

Off to ladies bowls again, sucker for punishment I guess! It was “Birthday Bowl’s Day” so everyone had to bring a plate for a luncheon after the game. Ferg took Twistie for another walk then hung around the van. We had a lovely dinner out at the local Mexican restaurant in Yamba.

Friday 1^st June:

We had a springclean of the van this morning. Vacuumed throughout and rearranged the cupboards. I dropped Ferg off at bowls in the afternoon. Twistie and I enjoyed a lovely walk along the beach. I cooked up a chook for dinner and watched the Friday night footie.

Saturday 2^nd June:

We drove into Yamba this morning and parked at the marina. From there we walked along the river, out to the breakwater, then up to the lighthouse. It was a beautiful day, we watched the surfers catching waves. It was a good long walk but poor old Twistie was very tired by the time we got back to the car. We both went to bowls this afternoon. The Yamba Bowls Club was holding its annual “ Shirts versus Skirts” comp. It was a fun afternoon, unfortunately the Shirts beat the Skirts by 13 points.

Sunday 3^rd June:

It’s our last full day here in Yamba. We spent the morning doing some more maintenance around the van and updating the blog on the net. We played “Jackpot Pairs” at the bowls club in the afternoon. We have met some really friendly people here and will definitely return. We are off to Murwillumbah tomorrow to spend time with Pete (brother) and Marlyn.

2007-05-26T10:01:00.000+10:30

COFFS HARBOUR – MOONEE BEACH

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.

2007-05-25T14:34:00.000+10:30

SOUTH WEST ROCKS REVISITED

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.

2007-05-24T11:44:00.000+10:30

FORSTER – TUNCURRY

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.

2007-05-24T10:08:00.000+10:30

THE ORANGE EXPERIENCE

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.

2007-04-28T10:02:00.000+10:30

VICTORIAN GOLDFIELDS AND BEYOND

Friday 30^th March:

We had a rough crossing but it wasn’t too bad tucked up in our cabin. Poor old Twistie had to ride it out down below in our caravan. We arrived back into Melbourne early morning and high tailed it out of the city. We headed up the Calder Highway to Castlemaine an old gold mining town. We found a lovely van park right next door to the botanical gardens. In the afternoon we dusted of the gold detector and did a spot of prospecting. We found an old cricket badge but no gold and we also broke our trusty pick. Bugger!

Saturday 31^st March:

We took a walk in the botanical gardens this morning, the oak trees were magnificent. Castlemaine was buzzing today as it was the start of their bi-annual State Festival. We visited the Chewton Markets then drove out to Maryborough to purchase a new pick from the Coiltek shop. On the way back we did some more prospecting. Later in the day we tried another old diggings area. We found lots of lead shot and one old button.

Sunday 1^st April:

We decided to move on today, only 17km up the road to the small village of Maldon. The whole town is heritage listed and the main street still has all the old shops from the gold mining days. We spent an enjoyable hour looking through all the stores. Later in the afternoon we took our detector for another walk through the bush. We may not find any gold but we do enjoy the bushwalks.

Monday 2^nd April:

We drove into Bendigo this morning and had a look around the city. There were some lovely old buildings. We did a bit of shopping then headed back to Maldon. We again spent the afternoon detecting.

Tuesday 3^rd April:

We took Twistie with us today while we were detecting. She loves the bush but she’s a bit of a worry as she puts her head into every tree trunk. One of these days she’ll find more than she bargained for. We came back to the van for lunch then headed out again. We gave ourselves a scare, we actually got a good sound from the detector and dug down thinking we may actually have some gold. Unfortunately it was a small lump of lead which gives off the same signal as gold.

Wednesday 4^th April:

On the move again, off to Kerang for Easter. We are meeting some other caravaners there that we know from an internet forum. The Ibis Caravan Park has luscious green sites and sparkling amenities. Some of the forum members were already there and we were welcomed by all. Kerang is also hosting a bowling tournament so we dropped our entry in to play over the next few days. Most of the afternoon was spent socializing and welcoming more members as they arrived.

Thursday 5^th April:

We didn’t do much this morning. We drove into the bowls club after lunch for a roll up practice. Back at the van park there was more socializing going on all afternoon.

Friday 6^th April:

Ferg and I took a drive up to Kangaroo Lake today and took a walk along the lakes edge. The drive took us through some of the Browns Brothers Vineyards. The grapevines are just starting to change to their autumn colours. On the way back we called into an Ibis Rookery and spent some time in the bird hide watching all the water birds. Today was also the first day of the bowls tournament. Ferg and I played in separate games today and we both did well but didn’t win the overall. We joined the caravan forum members around the campfire when we returned.

Saturday 7^th April:

We got away early and drove out to the Murrabit Country Market. It was quite enormous with over 300 stalls. We visited the Kerang Art Show on the way home. In the evening we all got together for a communal roast dinner. Everyone brought along their various food offerings and we chatted well into the night.

Sunday 8^th April:

Ferg and I stayed around the camp today. I did some of my embroidery while Ferg mucked around with his photos on the laptop. The park owners put on a sausage sizzle for the group in the evening while we sat around the campfire.

Monday 9^th April:

It was a big day of bowling today, starting at 9am. We popped home during the lunch break to check on Twistie. Luckily our caravan friends had offered to look after her. We again played all afternoon then the club supplied an evening meal. It was a good day.

Tuesday 10^th April:

Almost all the caravanning group are leaving today and the morning was taken up with farewells as each van pulled out. We again played bowls in the afternoon and just got pipped for the jackpot by one point.

Wednesday 11^th April:

We are finally moving on today. We followed the Murray River on the Victorian side going through Echuca. We crossed over into New South Wales at Tocumwal and stopped for lunch along the river bank. It was a long drive through the very dry countryside. We arrived in Narrandera late afternoon and found a lovely caravan park overlooking Lake Talbot.

Thursday 12^th April:

It was a lovely morning so we decided to take a long walk around the lake. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and chatting to our new neighbours. We treated ourselves to a dinner out at the Ex-Serviceman’s Club, $6 schnitzel night!

Friday 13^th April:

Twistie had a bad night, she put her neck out and was in a lot of pain. She was Ok by morning, wish I knew what caused it. We gave the van and car a wash before heading off today for Orange. We drove up the Newell Highway stopping at Forbes for lunch. The van park in Orange is a dive but we have no other choice. Autumn has arrived in Orange and the colours of the trees are fantastic.

2007-03-28T12:04:00.000+10:30

TASMANIA (Part Four)

Tuesday 20^th March:

We spent a quiet morning around the van, drying the dive gear and giving the van a spring clean. At lunchtime we drove down the coast to Swansea to have a look at some the town’s galleries. We had some lunch overlooking Great Oyster Bay then headed back to Bicheno. We stopped at the Coombend Winery for a tasting on the way home.

Wednesday 21^st March:

Leaving Bicheno today and heading back to Hobart. The day was perfect for the run down along the coast road. We had spectacular views along the way and arrived at Bill and June’s place early afternoon. Once settled we drove in to Glenorchy Shopping Centre to stock up on groceries.

Thursday 22^nd March:

The Pajero went in for its 30,000km service this morning. We borrowed Bill’s car to drop it off and we also dropped off Twistie for a haircut. We had quiet day around the van then picked up the car and dog in the afternoon.

Friday 23^rd March:

We took a drive up the Derwent Valley this morning. The road meanders along the river and the scenery is very pretty. The trees are just starting to change into their autumn colours. We visited the famous Salmon Ponds and had a walk around their beautiful gardens. This place was set up in the late 1800’s for trout and salmon breeding. In the afternoon we went to the Sandy Bay Bowls Club for our last game of bowls in Tassie.

Saturday 24^th March:

It is very chilly this morning but the sun is shining. We had a lovely morning strolling around the Salamanca Markets. The atmosphere in the markets is great with all the buskers and colourful stalls. We played around on the net in the afternoon and booked a van park for the Easter period. We had to change our clocks back an hour this evening as daylight saving finishes.

Sunday 25^th March:

We took a drive out through Richmond to Sorrell to visit their Sunday market. It was quite big with lots of bargains. We spent a couple of hours fossicking at all the stalls but didn’t end up finding anything we needed. After we drove back in to Hobart and took a walk along the riverfront at Bellerive and got some photos of the city across the river. We spent the afternoon chatting with Bill and June as it is our last day here. We went to dinner at Monty and Debbie’s place and had an enjoyable evening.

Monday 26^th March:

We left Hobart for the last time this morning saying our farewells and thanks to Bill and June. We headed north up the through the Midlands to Gowrie Park. There is not much in Gowrie Park except the camping ground and a couple of houses. The town once housed up to 3000 people when the hydro dams were being built. It is quite eerie, there are lots of paved streets and street signs but all the houses have been removed and the bush is starting to grow over them. The camp ground is nestled beneath two large rocky mountains, Mt Roland and Mt Claude.

Tuesday 27^th March:

We are finally off to Cradle Mountain National Park and the weather is good. We left Twistie in the van and drove out to the park. We left our car at the information centre and took the free shuttle bus down to Dove Lake. Cradle Mountain soars high over one end of the lake. The 6km boardwalk around the lake is spectacular. It took us 2 ½ hours to complete due to the many photo stops and a lunch stop. We enjoyed a hot cup of soup and sandwiches while sitting at the lakes edge. The shuttle bus runs every 10 minutes so we didn’t have long to wait for a pick up.In the afternoon we drove into Sheffield a small town nearby that is famous for its murals. We had a wander around town to have a look at some of them.

Wednesday 28^th March:

We had a lovely forest walk early this morning along O’Neill’s Creek. We have decided to move on to Deloraine for our last night in Tassie. We took the back roads through the mountains down to Mole Creek then on to Deloraine. The Apex Caravan Park is right on the Meander River that runs through the town. After setting up I walked up through town to check out the various galleries and shops. The museum housed the most exquisite silk embroidered panels depicting the history of the town. The ducks at the van park are very friendly and come right under the annexe looking for food.

Thursday 29^th March:

Our last day in Tassie, Sob! We took it slowly packing up and eventually left Deloraine at 10am. Our first stop was the Cheese Factory in Elizabeth Town. We filled our tummies with lots of cheese varieties and ended up buying a couple. The next stop was the Anvers Chocolate Factory. We ran amok in the tasting room trying dark chocolate, truffles and various fudges. We settled on a small pack of Choc Walnut Fudge. Yum! After dragging ourselves away from the chocolate we headed into Devonport to have a walk around the city centre. Unfortunately we couldn’t find parking with the van on so we drove out to the small town of Latrobe to spend the afternoon. Ferg took Twistie for a walk in the forest behind the town while I had a wander through the various antique and craft shops. We drove back to Devonport early evening and got to the “Spirit” in good time for loading. We didn’t have long to wait before were on board. Twistie stayed in the van for the crossing. We tucked up in our cabin early as it was going to be a rough crossing. We had a great two months in Tasmania and hope to return some day.

2007-03-20T16:35:00.000+11:00

TASMANIA (Part Three)

Saturday 10^th March:

It’s blackberry season in Tassie and they are everywhere! We went for a walk along the road and collected a couple of kilo’s of them. Our freezer is now full of washed and bagged berries, Yum! We played bowls again in Ulverstone in the afternoon.

Sunday 11^th March:

We visited the Penguin Markets this morning. They are held in the old Penguin school and there are over 200 stalls. Lots of yummy food to taste and crafts to look at. After a bit of grocery shopping in Burnie we spent a lazy afternoon around the van. We joined our neighbours for happy hour as the sun set.

Monday 12^th March:

We are moving on a short way up the coast to Wynyard this morning. The Beach Retreat Van Park is right on the beach at Wynyard and walking distance to town. We walked into town goes along the beach and river to visit the local info centre. We took a drive up to Table Cape to take in the stunning views of the coastline. We took a walk that wound around the cliff top to the lighthouse. It was a perfect day, not a cloud in the sky and the ocean was a stunning aqua colour.

Tuesday 13^th March:

Ferg went off for a long walk this morning and was away 2 hours. He got slightly lost and ended up walking a bit further than planned! Meanwhile I soaked up the sun and did a bit of embroidery. It really is a hard life (somewhere)! We drove to Fossil Bluff in the afternoon and did some rock hopping along the waters edge. The cliff face is covered in fossils encased in the sandstone.

Wednesday 14^th March:

It was another great day so we took a drive up to Stanley. The village of Stanley is nestled at the base of “The Nut”, which is a large volcanic plug that has been pushed up out of the ocean. The village is full of quaint old sandstone cottages and lots of cafes and galleries. We checked out a free camp spot at the wharf area. There were several vans parked there and we decided to move up there the next day. Back in Wynyard we played bowls at the local bowls club and Ferg won two frozen chooks. Our freezer is filling up with chooks, I’ll have to start cooking some of them!!

Thursday 15^th March:

We moved up to Stanley this morning, unfortunately all the other vans had moved on so we were on our lonesome. The van was dwarfed by the cliff face of the Nut. We left Twistie in the van and drove up to the chairlift that goes up to the top of the Nut. We took a one way ticket up and did a walk around the top to take in the views. The walk down was very steep and very hard on the knees. Ferg dropped me off in town to wander around the galleries and shops, then walk back to the van. Ferg and I spent the afternoon fishing off the wharf. The wind and rain set in early evening, bugger!

Friday 16^th March:

It rained all night and we awoke early at 5am. The van and car were surrounded by a large pool of water, we had parked in the only depression around, typical! We decided to leave the coast and head inland towards the Cradle Mountain National Park. We camped in the small town of Waratah, an old tin mining town. The council caravan park was very good. It provided good amenities and free washing machine and dryer. Unfortunately it rained all afternoon, we took a walk around town to look at the waterfall.

Saturday 17^th March:

It’s still miserable and no good for going to Cradle Mountain so we’re moving on. We drove south through Queenstown. The area around the town has been aggressively mined and it looks like a moonscape. We stopped for a cuppa at Nelson Falls in the Cradle Mountain National Park and took a short walk through the rainforest to see the falls. We then continued on winding up through the mountains and at one stage the temperature dropped to 6 degrees. We drove through the towns of Tarraleah and Wayatinah, both hydro electric towns. After 6 hours on the road we finally camped on the lake at the Wayatinah camp ground.

Sunday 18^th March:

At long last the front has passed over and the sun is shining. We are off to the east coast to get in a couple more dives. We drove across the midlands stopping at Oatlands for a morning cuppa. The township had many old sandstone buildings still lining the main street. On the road again the ocean was a welcome site as we came over the mountain range down to the east coast. We had spectacular views of the Freycinet Peninsula and Great Oyster Bay. We have camped again at the Bicheno East Tourist Park.

Monday 19^th March:

We awoke to a magnificent day and took a walk up Whaler’s Hill overlooking Bicheno. We picked up some tanks and weights from the dive shop and we were in the water by 11am. The water was a very brisk 18 degrees but crystal clear. We had a few hiccups, Ferg’s BC started leaking and my tank slipped. After fixing the problems we had an enjoyable 40 minute dive, spotting one weedy seadragon along the way. We came in for lunch and to warm up for a couple of hours. Our second dive was much better, we spotted a big bull ray, some boar fish and a cute pot bellied seahorse. The color of Bicheno Bay was just stunning in the sunlight. We enjoyed a dinner out at the local hotel overlooking the beach to end a perfect day.

2007-03-11T16:14:00.000+11:00

TASMANIA (Part Two)

Tuesday 27^th February:

We had a slow start this morning as we were only moving a short way up the coast to St Helens. The town is a bit bigger than Bicheno and is known as the Game Fishing Capital of Tassie. We took a long walk around St Helens Point in the afternoon and got caught out in the rain ending up a bit bedraggled. The rain kept up all night so we stayed tucked up in the van.

Wednesday 28^th February:

It’s still raining this morning but it’s not going to stop us from sightseeing. We drove out to St Columba Falls which is in the mountains behind the small town of Pyengana. The walk down to the falls was through magnificent rainforest. The tree ferns flanked both sides of the path. The falls were running well with all the rain. On the way back through Pyengana we stopped at the local cheese factory for some tasting. In the afternoon we drove up to Binalong Bay and the Bay of Fires. We were checking out possible dive spots that the local dive shop had given us. There were some great free camp spots along the beaches at the Bay of Fires. There were quite a few caravans perched up on the sand dunes overlooking the ocean.

Thursday 1^st March:

It’s still overcast but we are going to dust of the fishing rods and try our luck out on the point. We fished for a couple of hours but I only got one bite which turned out to be a giant bullray and it broke my line. Later we took a drive south of St Helens up through St Mary’s Pass (built by the convicts) to the towns of St Mary’s and Fingal. Both towns had lots of old sandstone buildings from the convict days. We came down the mountain through Elephant Pass and stopped for some pancakes and coffee at the “Famous” Mt Elephant Pancake House. The sun was trying to break through as we drove back along the coast through Scamander.

Friday 2^nd March:

On the move again up through Weldborough, Scottsdale and on to Georgetown and Low Head. We stopped at the Weldborough Pass to take a walk through an ancient myrtle forest. Low Head is situated at the mouth of the Tamar River. We have a good spot in the van park overlooking the river. We had a drive around Georgetown and Low Head in the afternoon. The sunset over the river was spectacular.

Saturday 3^rd March:

We were off to discover some Tasmanian gold this morning. We had read about some old gold mines in the area around the town of Lefroy. We found the old mines in the state forest and spent a couple of hours detecting. Twistie found a big blue tongue lizard and I found a couple of bull ants (ouch!), but no gold was sighted. We tried our luck with fishing in the afternoon along the Tamar River in Georgetown. Ferg caught a small salmon on a lure but it jumped off on the rocks and escaped.

Sunday 4^th March:

We arranged to go diving in the Tamar River today. There is a spot around one of the channel beacons that is supposed to be pretty good. We had to dive on the top of the tide which today was at 12.30pm. The wind had picked up in the afternoon and the river swells were quite choppy. The local dive operator took us out along with one other fellow. The diving was great, a lot different from the coral reefs we know. We swam through our first kelp forest, what an experience! There were a lot of new fish varieties that we had never seen such as the boar fish. The water temp was a cool 22 degrees but we lasted for just under an hour. It was a bit tricky getting back into the boat with the big swells but the dive was well worth it.

Monday 5^th March:

We are off to do some sightseeing of the Tamar Valley district. We followed the east bank of the Tamar river heading south to the city of Launceston. We stopped at the small town of Windemere to admire a beautiful old church perched on the banks of the river. We stopped in Launceston at Cataract Gorge but we couldn’t take a walk into the reserve as we had Twistie with us and as usual “No Dogs Allowed”! Never mind we continued north along the west bank of the Tamar driving through some very pretty villages. We stopped at Beaconsfield to visit the gold mine museum. Eventually we came to the mouth of the river directly opposite to Low Head where we were camped. We took a short cut home via the Batman suspension bridge.

Tuesday 6^th March:

On the move again heading west today through Devonport to the small village of Penguin. We took the scenic route through Ulverstone and wound along the coastline road. We have an excellent site right on the water at the Penguin Caravan Park. We took a walk into town along the beach. Later we tried fishing, virtually from our doorstep, and we both caught a couple of fish. They were an unkown species so we gave them their freedom. We enjoyed a magnificent sunset overlooking the calm ocean and sipping on a glass of wine.

Wednesday 7^th March:

I tried out the local hairdresser today while Ferg played on the internet. In the afternoon we drove into Burnie for a game of bowls. We had a great time and the members of the South Burnie Bowls Club made us feel very welcome.

Thursday 8^th March:

The weather was perfect this morning so I dragged out my watercolours for the first time and painted a picture. The view was stunning sitting outside our van looking down the coastline. We did a spot of shopping in Burnie later in the morning and tried fishing again in the afternoon. It was just one of those perfect days to soak up the sunshine.

Friday 9^th March:

We took off early this morning into Burnie to have a walk around Fernglade Reserve. It’s lovely walking in the early morning before anyone else. We came across a small wallaby on the path. Afterwards we took the long way home via some spectacular farmland in the Leven Valley. We went bowling again in the afternoon, this time in Ulverstone. I played really well and actually won a frozen chook.

2007-03-02T15:04:00.000+11:00

TASMANIA

Monday 29^th January:

Moving day again, Yeh! We slowly packed up and hung around until midday hoping our computer part would arrive so we could fix the laptop. It didn’t come so we hit the road for Melbourne. We called into to see some of Ferg’s relations in Werribee on the way to the boat. Prior to boarding we parked along the esplanade and gave Twistie a romp on the beach. We were driving on board by 7pm. The hardest part was leaving Twistie in her cage while we went up to the comfort of our cabin. After we settled in Ferg and I grabbed a drink and stood on the deck watching the Melbourne skyline disappear. It was a beautiful evening and the ocean was flat. We spent the evening chatting with fellow caravanners.

Tuesday 30^th January:

We awoke at 6am and could see Tassie in the distance. Twistie was very pleased to see us. We disembarked in Devonport and got on the road by 8am. We drove south through the midlands stopping at Ross to check out some of the lovely old sandstone buildings. Ross is also known for its lovely old bridge featuring carved sandstone blocks. We arrived at Bill and June’s place in Bridgewater late in the afternoon and parked the van on the hill overlooking the Derwent River.

Wednesday 31^st January:

We took a drive into Hobart this morning and walked around Constitution Dock and Elizabeth St. Wharf. There were a couple of lovely old boats moored at the dock.

Thursday 1^st February:

We visited the Hobart Botanical Gardens today. The flowers were stunning, we spent several hours wandering around and took heaps of photos. We then took the long and winding drive up to the top of Mt. Wellington. The weather was perfect and we could see for miles. Hobart town was spread out below us.

Friday 2^nd February:

We went bowling at the Sandy Bay Bowls Club this afternoon. Ferg won the comp and come home with a bottle of wine. We went to the movies in the evening with Bill and June to see “De javu”.

Saturday 3^r^d February:

We visited the famous Salamanca Markets today. It’s a large market held near the docks and has 100’s of colourful stalls. There were lots of buskers, yummy food stalls and some great craft. We also spent some time in the galleries and bookshops surrounding the market. In the evening we went rock and roll dancing at a local pub with Bill and June.

Sunday 4^th February:

We had a quiet day today, Ferg went for a walk. We picked a bucket of fresh mushrooms from Bill’s garden so I cooked up a stroganoff for dinner.

Monday 5^th February:

Ferg went off with Bill this morning to walk with the “Vegemites”. The Vegemite club was formed by like minded Vietnam vets who wanted to exercise. After their walk they head to the Vietnamese Kitchen in Salamanca for a coffee and chat. I spent the morning checking out the Hobart shops.

Tuesday 6^th February:

We bought a heavy duty box for more storage today. Bill helped Ferg attach it to the bumper of the van. We also got a “Ferg N Jude” sticker for the back of our van. In the afternoon we went bowling at the Buckingham Bowls Club.

Wednesday 7^th February:

We went sightseeing today. We left early and headed south to Kettering to catch the car ferry over to Bruny Island. The island narrows in the middle to a very narrow isthmus. We stopped here and climbed 100’s of steps to get some spectacular views. We drove around the coastline then up into the mountains where we discovered a lovely rainforest walk. The tree ferns were enormous and we found some lovely coloured mushrooms growing in the undergrowth. Back down from the mountains we headed along the coastline again to the lighthouse on the southern most tip of the island. On the way we stopped for a picnic lunch overlooking craggy cliffs and blue, blue ocean. We picked up a dozen fresh oysters from the local oyster farm “Get Shucked” on the way back to the ferry.

Thursday 8^th February:

We spent the day doing the domestics around the van. We all went out for dinner at another local pub.

Friday 9^th February:

Ferg, Twistie and I did a 7km walk along the Derwent River in the morning. We discovered wild apple and plum trees growing along the walk. Also the blackberry bushes are covered in ripe berries. We kept stopping to grab handfuls along the way. We played bowls at the Sandy Bay Club in the afternoon. In the evening we went off with Bill and June to the movies to see “Miss Potter”.

Saturday 10^th February:

We went bowling again today at Sandy Bay. We got there a bit earlier so we could watch Qld and Tas state team play. It was good to watch the professionals.

Sunday 11^th February:

We visited a couple of local markets today. I bought a lovely slab of Tasmanian salmon which we had for dinner.

Monday 12^th February:

Ferg went off with the Vegemites again while I went to the Wooden Boat Show at Constitution Dock. There were lots of beautiful wooden boats, my brother Pete would have been drooling! Ferg helped Bill with his carport and Bill made us a flag holder for the van so now we can fly the Aussie flag.

Tuesday 13^th February:

Played bowls at Buck’s today. It was a glorious day, we really have been lucky with the weather.

Wednesday 14^th February:

We are on the move today. We left Hobart at 2pm heading south down the Huon Valley. We arrived in the little seaside town of Dover late in the afternoon. The drive down was very pretty as we passed many apple orchards with trees covered in rosy red apples.

Thursday 15^th February:

We are off to the bottom most tip of OZ today, well at least as far as the road goes south to Cockle Creek. The bays were very pretty and there were lots of places to free camp. We took a walk along the beach at Cockle Creek and visited the old cemetery. We stopped at Recherche Bay for morning tea and discovered fresh oysters on the rocks. Ferg got his hammer and screwdriver and prized a dozen off the rocks for me. (Yum! Couldn’t get any fresher than that!) And for dessert we picked some blackberries growing wild alond the road. We headed inland on our way north again taking the scenic route through the mountains. One of the roads was an old logging track and only wide enough for our car as the tree ferns bowed across our path. We did an hours walk in the rainforest to Duckhole Lake following a pristine mountain stream. Back in Dover we had a picnic lunch on the beach. In the afternoon we drove further north through Geeveston to the Arve Forest. Here we did a short walk through a magical moss covered forest. We took the scenic route along the Houn River on the way back to Dover. The views were spectacular overlooking the river and we passed a lot of Salmon holding ponds.

Friday 16^th February:

Back to Hobart again today. We had a game of bowls at Sandy Bay in the afternoon. Coming home from bowls we noticed a very large storm head over our way. We got home just in time for an almighty hail storm. Unfortunately our annexe was out and all Ferg and I could do was hold it down while the hail pelted our heads and arms. We eventually got the annexe in without any damage but I can’t say the same for the sides of the van. Thank god for insurance!

Saturday 17^th February:

It’s another scorcher today, 32 degrees!! We spent the day catching up on the domestics and restocking the larder.

Sunday 18^th February:

We are off again today, this time heading for Port Arthur. We are staying at the Eaglehawk Neck Dive Centre. It was a pleasant drive down as the road followed the waters edge of Norfolk Bay. The dive centre is situated on a large property overlooking Pirates Bay and there was plenty of room to park our van. We even had spectacular views across the bay from the van. We spent the afternoon in the dive centre’s pool trialing their 7mm wetsuits and adjusting our weights. We both felt like “Michelen Men” bobbing around the pool like corks. We treated ourselves to a dinner out at a fancy restaurant called “Mussell Boys”.

Monday 19^th February:

It rained all night and our dive gear is soaked. There is no way I was getting into a freezing cold wetsuit then jump into freezing cold water so we cancelled our dive for today. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. Instead we took the opportunity to visit Port Arthur Penal Settlement. We got there early and wandered amongst the ruins. We also had a harbour cruise which was included in our ticket price. We found out that dogs were allowed in the park so we ducked home for lunch and picked up Twistie. We spent another very pleasant hour wandering around the gardens and ruins. On the way home we visited the remarkable caves which in on the southern most tip of the peninsular.

Tuesday 20^th February:

Diving today, weather is better but not great. We were kitted up and on the boat by 9am. Ferg and I were the only divers today so we had lots of room. The boat passed some spectacular cliffs and caves on the way to Waterfall Bay. The dive was good, there was lots of kelp on the bottom and we saw our first weedy sea dragon. Ferg’s camera was playing up (wrong settings!) so he didn’t get any good shots. We only had the one dive as the swell was picking up. In the afternoon we visited the Tasman National Park and took a walk along the cliff tops overlooking Waterfall Bay.

Wednesday 21^st February:

The weather has closed in again today so we decided to give diving a miss. Hopefully we’ll get another chance further up the east coast. We headed back to Hobart via the old town of Richmond. It has the oldest bridge in Australia and the town is full of galleries and cafés.

Thursday 22^nd February:

We did a bit of shopping today, bought ourselves new walking boots. We went out to dinner with Bill, June and friends.

Friday 23^rd February:

We bought some fresh Tassie scallops and trout from the fish markets today and I cooked them up for dinner. Tasmania is a foodies paradise! We played bowls at another club called Rodmans this afternoon. The greens were pretty rough and Ferg got lumbered with a horrible team.

Saturday 24^th February:

We are finally heading up the east coast to Bicheno today. We got away at 10am after washing the car, van and dog! It was a grey old day so the coast road wasn’t as inviting as it could have been. Bicheno reminds me of Maggie Island, there a large granite boulders reaching into the sea.

Sunday 25^th February:

We awoke to an absolutely glorious day, the gods are with us! We are off to the Freycinet National Park to see the famous Wineglass Bay. The walk up to the Wineglass Bay Lookout takes in some 600 rough steps and the path is almost all vertical. It was a hard walk but the payout at the top was worth it. Words can’t describe the beauty and the photos really don’t do it justice. On the way back down we met a very friendly rock wallaby and he finished off my apple core. We drove to Cape Tourville lighthouse to take in some more fantastic views of the rugged cliffs. In the afternoon we visited the Bicheno Dive shop and got some info on the local dive sites. We spoke to some divers along the foreshore who had just finished a shore dive. Hopefully the weather will hold for tomorrow.

Monday 26^th February:

Fantastic day, not a cloud in the sky! We picked up some tanks, weights and 7mm wetsuits from the dive shop and we were in the water by 9am. It’s quite an effort to get kitted up in the 7mm wetsuit and all the extra weights but it was all worth it when we hit the water. The bottom was covered in kelp and there was a lot of sealife. We spotted a pot bellied seahorse, several weedy seadragons and a very friendly octopus. We had an enjoyable 70 minute dive.

2007-01-28T15:03:00.000+11:00

WARRNAMBOOL

Wednesday 10^th January:
We got away early from Maryborough and drove through to Ararat then on to Warrnambool arriving early afternoon. We are staying with friends who live in Allansford which is a small village just outside of Warrnambool. We set up camp in the middle of their front paddock. It was a very hot day (39 degrees) so Marion and Jon took us down to a local swimming beach, Childers Cove. Wow, what a spectacular coastline. The cove was extremely pretty with giant orange cliffs towering over a sheltered bay. We all had a swim in the icy water. We had dinner with Marion and Jon (Elephant) in the evening.

Thursday 11^th January:
Marion and Elephant left for Melbourne this morning. Ferg and I took a walk and explored Allansford. In the afternoon we drove down to Hopkins River and had a walk along the beach where the river meets the ocean. We drove down to the Warrnambool breakwater then on to Thunder Point. Stingray Bay near the breakwater is very pretty and had lots of people enjoying the early evening on the beach.

Friday 12^th January:
Did a bit of shopping today. We bought ourselves a TV so we can now use the laptop and watch telly at the same time. We spent the afternoon trying to set the new TV up!

Saturday 13^th January:

We played bowls today at the City Memorial Bowls Club. Ferg wasn’t happy as it was fours and a bit boring. After bowls we dashed home for a quick dinner then
headed of to the local speedway for an evening’s entertainment.
We watched the V8 Dirt Car championships. It was extremely
cold but we thoroughly enjoyed the night.

Sunday 14^th January:
Happy Birthday Jess! Ferg and I checked out the Warrnambool markets today, there was lots of second hand gear, not much craft. We stayed home and watched the cricket in the afternoon.

Monday 15^th January:

We took off early this morning to Port Fairy. It’s a pretty little fishing village with lovely old stone cottages and beautiful cottage gardens. We parked at the old marina and took a walk past the fishing boats, across the footbridge and down the other side to Battery Point. We were surprised to see a seal swimming around tossing a half eaten fish in the air and chasing it. The seal kept us amused for quite awhile. We visited a couple of galleries and bookshops before heading home for lunch. After a brief rest we headed east along the Great Ocean Road. What a spectacular coastline, every bend of the road brought another incredible view. We stopped at the Bay of Islands, Loch Ard Gorge, The Arch, London Bridge and of course, The 12 Apostles. The Apostles are very touristy and not (my opinion) as spectacular as some of the other spots we had seen.

Tuesday 16^th January:
We awoke to an extremely hot day, 40 degrees. We had a rest day today and just hung around the van. Ferg packed for his Townsville trip.

Wednesday 17^th January:
Ferg left early this morning with Elephant to drive up to Melbourne. His flight to Townsville left at midday. I spent a quiet day reading and enjoying the solitude.

Thursday 18^th January:
Another quiet day for me. Ferg got to his doctors appointments and all is well.

Friday 19^th January:
I took Twistie in for a haircut today and went to the movies while she was being done. I saw the Will Smith movie, “In the Pursuit of Happyness”.

Saturday 20^th January:
Ferg’s on his way back to Victoria today, Paul picked him up at the Melbourne airport. Ferg stayed the night with Paul and Marilyn and will get the train home tomorrow. It is absolutely pelting down rain here today. Nothing to do but stay inside the van and read.

Sunday 21^st January:
It’s still raining with gusty winds. I picked Ferg up from the train station at lunchtime. It was good to have him home.

Monday 22^nd January:
The weather is still miserable. The laptop is playing up so we took it into Warrnambool for some warranty work.

Tuesday 23^rd January:
Went shopping today, Ferg bought some new boots for detecting. I spent the afternoon sewing while Ferg watched the tennis.

Wednesday 24^th January:
My birthday today, 48 years young! We decided to pack a picnic lunch and drive up to Ararat to do some gold detecting. We spent the morning at various places around the town but didn’t find any gold. We got lots of bullets and musket balls. We did a bit of 4wd driving up a steep mountain track, a bit scary but the views were great from the top. We stopped for our lunch then did a bit more detecting. We gave it away mid afternoon and headed back into town. I had a quick look in the Ararat Regional Art Gallery before we headed home. I cooked my favourite dinner (Lamb Roast) for dinner and we enjoyed a good bottle of wine.

Thursday 25^th January:
We spent the morning at the van. Ferg washed all the dust and mud of the Pajero and we also gave Twistie a wash. We collected the laptop in the afternoon but the part hadn’t arrived so it’s still sick. Hopefully the part will arrive next Monday before we leave. Jon and Marion arrived back from Tassie today. We'd been looking after their alpacas, ducks and chooks.

Friday 26^th January:
Had a typical Australia Day, hanging around the van watching the tennis and cricket.

Saturday 27^th January:
Ferg and I played bowls again today. It was very cold but we enjoyed the game of triples at the City Memorial Bowls Club.

Sunday 28^th January:
It’s our last full day here in Warrnambool. We spent most of the day cleaning up the van, defrosting the freezer etc. We’ll head off lunchtime tomorrow for Melbourne to board the Spirit of Tasmania.

2007-01-18T09:17:00.000+11:00

GOLD IN THEM THAR HILLS...... SO THEY SAY
MARYBOROUGH (VIC)

Friday 5^th January:
We made it through Melbourne without a hiccup and arrived in Maryborough early afternoon. Maryborough is in central Victoria and is in an area known as the “Golden Triangle”. It was very hot, (35 degrees), so we decided to leave the detecting until tomorrow. We bought ourselves a pick to go with the 2^nd hand detector we bought in Wonthaggi, so now we are set to find that big "nugget" (not).

Saturday 6^th January:
Our first full day of gold detecting in the goldfields. We left early and headed off towards Avoca. The countryside all around Maryborough is covered in diggings, there are large mounds and holes everywhere. We worked an area all morning, getting good signals, digging holes and finding BULLETS! There is an incredible amount of metal rubbish in the bush. It’s gets very frustrating after you’ve dug a large hole only to find a bottle top or bullet casing. We returned to the van for lunch and a rest then headed out again to another spot in the afternoon. No gold but we did enjoy walking around the bush.

Sunday 7^th January:
We put in another full day today in various areas around Maryborough. At least we are getting a lot of exercise. The muscles were a bit sore this morning from swinging the pick.

Monday 8^th January:
We drove out past Avoca and up into the Pyrenees State Forest to try our luck again. There was some spectacular views across the countryside from the top of the mountains. There was a lot of leaf litter which made detecting a little harder. After getting a bit lost on the many tracks in the forest we finally found our way back to Avoca for some lunch. We tried some old diggings on the road back to Maryborough but still no gold. We had a chat with our neighbours in the van park and they showed us the gold they had found (bugger!). So now we have proof it's out there we've just got to find it.

Tuesday 9^th January:
We teamed up with our neighbours, Phil and Chris and they showed us where they had found their gold the previous day. We all worked together in the area for a few hours but none of us had any luck. We headed back to the van for an early lunch then did some sightseeing out past Dunolly. We visited the historic township of Waanyarra. There wasn’t much left to distinguish the settlement except for the cemetery and one old building that used to be the pub.

2007-01-12T17:51:00.000+11:00

GIPPSLAND – VICTORIA

WONTHAGGI

WEEK ONE 7^th December – 13^th December:

We settled into Kim & Phil’s backyard with the van. It’s a good spot to stay over the Christmas period away from the crowds of holiday makers and a good chance to catch up with family.

It was John’s Mum’s (Joan) birthday on Friday 8^th so we took a drive over to Phillip Island. Kim drove us around and showed us some of the interesting spots on the island. We stopped at “The Nobbies” to view the spectacular coastline. The surf was up and there were lots of surfers catching waves. We passed the Phillip Island Racetrack and stopped to watch the V8 Supercars doing there laps. It just happened to be the first day of the final round of the year for the supercars so we got a real taste of the sights and sounds. We had lunch at San Remo overlooking the water before heading home.

On the Saturday night we went out to the Wonthaggi Workers Club to catch a live show, “Walkin’ the Line – A Johnny Cash Tribute”. It was a great night out.

Sunday saw high 30’s temperature and smoked filled air from the fires in north Gippsland. We ventured out to the local Wonthaggi Market but didn’t stay long as the heat was unbearable (even for us north Queenslanders!). We were suppose to play bowls in the afternoon but even that was cancelled so we headed to the beach at Inverloch. Kim and I went in for a swim, the water was freezing but worth it. Ferg dipped his toes in!

We can’t get used to the Victorian weather, Monday dawned to a cold and windy day. It was way too cold to do anything.

Tuesday 12^th, Jess arrived down from Townsville today. Ferg and I drove up to Melbourne to collect her. We left early and called into the Queen Victoria Markets before heading out to the airport. Great markets we spent 3 hours wandering around them. It was fantastic to see Jess again.

WEEK TWO 14^th December – 21^st December:

We decided to head up to Dandenong Markets on Friday 15^th to get our last minute Christmas presents. It was bitterly cold, after wandering around the markets we headed over to the shopping plaza for a further shopping fix.

On Saturday, Ferg planted a new front garden at his mum’s unit in the morning then played bowls in the afternoon. Jess and I watched a DVD then I went of to bingo with Joan. Kim, Phil and Ferg went fishing in the evening and caught a couple of whiting. It was too cold for Jess and I, we stayed snuggled up in the van.

Sunday 17^th, I drove Jess up to her friends place in Narrewarren to stay overnight. I spotted a couple of markets on the way home which I just had to stop at. Meanwhile, Kim and Ferg drove over to Kongwak markets so we all got our fix.

Tuesday 19^th, we took a drive over to the Mornington Peninsula. We drove to Frankston then followed the coast down to Sorrento. There are cute little beach huts on most of the beaches down this way. We picked up Jess on the way home.

Wednesday 20th, Jess and I are off to Melbourne to stay overnight. Ferg dropped us at the bus in Wonthaggi at 6am and 3 hours later we pulled into Spencer Street Station. We dropped our bags at the motel then headed downtown to the shops. We spent the next 6 hours shopping. It’s amazing how the time flies when you’re having fun. Footsore and very weary we got back to motel late in the afternoon for a rest. Later we walked down to the Suzuki Night Markets to grab some dinner and take in the atmosphere of the live African band. We finally dragged ourselves home at 9pm. We decided to try out the rooftop spa, wow, it was fantastic. We had the spa to ourselves and the view over Melbourne was spectacular.

Thursday, we were up and away by 8.30am. We visited the Queen Victoria Markets then walked downtown to catch the free bus out to Chadstone Shopping Centre. It is a massive complex with DJ’s, Myers, Cinemas and 100’s of boutique shops. We spent several hours checking them all out. We were completely shopped out by the time the bus returned to the city. I was glad to be on the bus heading home to Wonthaggi. It had been a long day but we had both had a lot of fun.

WEEK THREE 22^nd December – 28^th December:

Too tired Friday! We did absolutely nothing for most of the day. It was good to be back with Ferg. He had spent the last two days bowling. Ferg, Jess and I drove down to Inverloch via Cape Paterson for a walk along the beach. The scenery is quite spectacular along the road to Inverloch. Twistie enjoyed the romp along the beach.

Saturday was another quiet day, Ferg went bowling. Jess and I mooched around the van. Sunday was more interesting. We went gold prospecting for the first time. Kim and Phil took us to a place near Foster and showed us the ropes. We had a great time even though we didn’t actually find any gold. We dug up lots of metal trash and learnt a lot along the way. We’re hooked!

Monday, Christmas Day! It was quite cold, a unique experience for north queenslanders. Kim had Christmas lunch organized and cooked throughout the morning. We all sat around eating chocolates and nibbling nuts. Joan arrived and we opened all the pressies. It was nice to enjoy a hot Christmas lunch on a cold day. We were all stuffed afterwards and found the nearest place for a snooze.

Tuesday, Boxing Day Test! Sydney to Hobart Race! What else but to sit around eating leftovers and watching the Cricket. Doesn’t everybody?

Wednesday 27^th, time to do something, the sun is shining. We set off early for a sightseeing tour of Phillip Island. Our first stop was the Vietnam Vets Museum on the island. Unfortunately it has just moved to the new premises and was not quite set up. It was still very interesting. We drove on to “The Nobbies” and took a stroll along the boardwalk. It is nesting season at the moment and we saw lots of nesting seagulls and the odd penquin. Most of the little fairy penquins were hiding under the boardwalks. The scenery is spectacular and it was worth braving the icy cold wind blowing of the water. We moved onto Cowes and stopped there for lunch and a walk along the main street. There were lots of Melbournians down for their summer holiday.

Thursday 28^th, we took Joan and Jess to the movies at Leongatha. We saw “Happy Feet” and thoroughly enjoyed it.

WEEK FOUR 29^th December 2006 – 4^th January 2007:

Friday 29^th, Ferg bowled in a pairs tournament at Wonthaggi Bowls Club. Jess and I headed up to Cranbourne to ….. (you’ll never guess)….. Shop!! I’m a bit over shopping now after Christmas. Ferg did well in the comp and only just missed out in winning overall.

Saturday 30^th, packing day for Jess as she heads home tomorrow. I went to bingo with Joan in the afternoon. Ferg cooked up his special spaghetti bol for dinner. It was early to bed for all of us as we had to be up by 3am to drive up to Melbourne.

Sunday 31^st, bleary eyed, we drove through Melbourne and out to the airport. The freeways were deserted so we had a good run through. I said my farewells to Jess and she boarded her plane to Townsville at 5.30am. Ferg and I then drove back through Melbourne and stopped at the St Kilda Markets on the way home. We didn’t stay up for the New Year.

Monday 1^st January 2007, Happy New Year! Ferg and I were up early and we were on the road to Foster by 7.30am. We were off on our first solo prospecting trip with great expectations. We spent the morning detecting and digging up metal trash. Great fun! We continued on after lunch until a rain storm came over. We got home late afternoon, very tired but we had enjoyed the day.

Tuesday 2^nd, my arms are very sore this morning from wielding the pick. I will have to develop some muscles. Ferg’s watching the fifth cricket test and I’m finally catching up with this blog.

Wednesday 3^rd, Ferg’s bowling again today. I dropped the Pajero off for it’s 22500km service. It’s amazing we have clocked up that many k’s already.

Thursday 4^th, Ferg and I both played bowls today in 35 degree heat. We just can’t get used this weather. As it was our last day in Wonthaggi we took Kim, Phil and Joan out to dinner at the Inverloch Chinese Restaurant. It was very crowded and noisy but the food was good.

Friday 5^th, on the road again, yippee! It took three attempts to get the van out of the backyard without taking out the house or the shed. Finally we were away and heading for the goldfields in Central Victoria.

2006-12-08T16:29:00.000+11:00

SOUTH OF THE BORDER INTO MEXICO

LAKES ENTRANCE TO WONTHAGGI

Sunday 3^rd December:

We entered Mexican territory (Victoria) this morning on our way to Lakes Entrance. It’s a very popular place and it would be very crowded during the holidays. There are at least 30 caravan parks all squeezed onto small blocks of land, just like sardines, yuk! We booked into the Eastern Beach CP run by the council and much better, not so squeezy. Ferg and I took a very long walk in the afternoon into town along the lake then back along the beach. Poor old Twistie was exhausted, not to mention me.

Monday 4^th December:

The Lakes Entrance area is very beautiful, there are three main lakes all converging at the entrance. We took a drive over to Metung, a very pretty and exclusive lake side village. Back at the Entrance we called into the bowls club to put out names down for a game. While there we noticed a very small van park behind the club at the local showground. The van sites were situated on the lakes edge so we decide to make the move. Within an hour we were settled in and watching the swans and pelicans swim by. We spent the afternoon bowling and had a great time. Ferg won the prize for best team and we also both won the two raffles of $10 club vouchers. So we decided to eat out at the bistro in the evening and use up the vouchers. All in all a great day!

Tuesday 5^th December:

We went for an early morning walk along the lake and got some good photos of the pelicans. I walked into town to check out the local shops while Ferg watched the cricket. We decided to play bowls again this afternoon and had another good game. We got back to the van just in time to enjoy the sunset over the lake.

Wednesday 6^th December:

We are on the move again today, further south to Wilson’s Promotory. We checked out both Sandy Point and Waratah Bay but both van parks were a bit run down so we ended up in Foster, just north of the “Prom”. After taking a walk around the town we spent the afternoon chatting to our neighbours in the park.

Thursday 7^th December:

We were going to drive down to Wilson's Promotory National Park this morning but have decided against it. We will try to get back here over the next few weeks while we are staying in Wonthaggi. We arrived in Wonthaggi by noon and found Ferg's sisters house. It was a bit of a struggle getting the van into the back yard as it was a bit narrow but we finally did it. We had a lovely lamb roast dinner with Kim, Phil and Joan (John's Mum) in the evening.

2006-12-02T09:23:00.000+11:00

CANBERRA to DALMENY

Tuesday 21^st November:

We went to the National Library today to use their internet connection. It was full of boffins and very hush hush! In the afternoon we did some more sightseeing. We visited the National Gallery and wandered among the Monets, Picassos, McCubbins and Boyds just to name a few. Wow, it was great to see the real thing, specially Monet’s “Water Lillies”. We also wandered around the sculpture gardens which overlooks Lake Burley Griffin. We then moved on to Parliament House which was quite interesting. The main foyer is full of marble and timber paneling. No “Pollies” about just lots of tourists!

Wednesday 22^nd November:

Rest day today, no sightseeing! We visited the Belconnen Food Markets and also the Westfield Shopping Centre. It is very hot today with a gusty hot wind blowing. There is a total fire ban here in the ACT. We spent the afternoon tucked up in our airconditioned van.

Thursday 23^rd November:

We got away early from Canberra and headed east towards Bateman’s Bay. It’s a nice spot but couldn’t find a dog friendly van park so we continued south to Moruya to the Riverbreeze Caravan Park overlooking the river. Once we had settled in we took a drive further south through Bodalla, Dalmeny and Narooma. We found a fantastic council park in Dalmeny overlooking the ocean so we will be moving tomorrow. Narooma is very pretty and the Wagonga Inlet waters are crystal clear. We took a walk along the wharf and spotted an eagle ray right under the jetty.

Friday 24^th November:

Happy Birthday Ferg! We got up early this morning and took a walk in the Mogo State Forest and a drive out to Moruya Heads. We were on the road by 9am heading for Dalmeny. It didn’t take us long before we had our feet up overlooking the ocean. We were treated to a couple of whales passing by. They were breaching out of the water and doing a lot of tail and pectoral flapping. It was fantastic to watch all from the comfort of our deck chairs! We took another drive into Narooma and wandered along the Mill Point Boardwalk which has been built right over the water. We spotted two octopus in the water. Back at camp we joined our neighbours for happy hour and we shouted ourselves pizzas for Ferg’s birthday dinner.

Saturday 25^th November:

We have decided to stay in Dalmeny for a week as it is such a great spot. We woke up to a glorious day, Ferg took a walk along the beach and I sat under the annexe and drank in the view. Later we went fossicking along the rocks on the point. We had a lazy day watching cricket and checking out the surfers riding the waves. We again joined our neighbours for happy hour then cooked up some flathead fillets and chips for dinner.

Sunday 26^th November:

We visited the Narooma Markets today and I bought a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle to keep me busy. It’s rather cold today, we had to drag out the winter woolies. The afternoon was spent playing bowls at the Narooma Bowls Club. We had a great afternoon playing mixed triples.

Monday 27^th November:

The weather has changed again, it is a magnificent day, the sun is shining, the wind has dropped and the whales are passing by our front door. Ferg joined our neighbour down at the beach to go beach worm hunting. Apparently they are the bees knees for bait around here.

Tuesday 28^th November:

We didn’t go anywhere this morning, just stayed around the van and soaked up the sun and the view. I finally finished the jigsaw. Our neighbour gave us some beach worms so we went fishing in the afternoon. We chose a spot on Kianga Beach and did a bit of surf fishing. Both Ferg and I caught a salmon each which we cooked up for dinner.

Wednesday 29^th November:

We did some sightseeing today. We headed south to Central Tilba and arrived in the town at 9am. Unfortunately most of the galleries and shops didn’t open until 10am. We visited the cheese factory and took a walk up to the lookout overlooking the town. The whole town is heritage listed and very pretty. We drove further south to Bermagui, which is another nice coastal town. We didn’t stay long as a very strong southerly had picked up and we had left our annexe out on the van. So it was a quick trip back to Dalmeny to secure the van. After lunch we drove back to Central Tilba and spent an enjoyable hour looking at all the galleries.

Thursday 30^th November:

Ferg got the cleaning bug this morning and gave the car and caravan a bath while I did a load of washing. It was a lot colder today but at least the wind had dropped. We went to bowls in Narooma in the afternoon. Ferg and I teamed up and won both our pairs games. Everyone is very friendly around here, it's a shame we are moving on tomorrow.

2006-11-21T11:50:00.000+11:00

SOUTH WEST ROCKS

Tuesday 14^th November:

It was a beautiful day to be on the road. We traveled east from Armidale through Dorrigo, Bellingen, Nambucca Heads and Macksville arriving at South West Rocks by lunchtime. We have a perfect site overlooking the river. We called into the local dive shop and made a booking to dive Fish Rock Cave in the morning.

Wednesday 15^th November:

We were at the SWR Dive Centre by 8am kitting up our tanks and meeting the other divers. It took about 30 minutes to get out to Fish Rock. Our first dive was through the cave which runs the length of the rock. It was amazing, the cave was full of crayfish. We stopped in a bubble inside the cave and we were able to take our regulators out and breathe, a weird sensation. There were masses of small fish at the cave entrance. We did our second dive outside the cave and saw lots of Wobbegongs and Grey Nurse Sharks. The visibility wasn’t very good and it was very cold but the cave dive is well worth it. We took a drive out to the Trial Bay Gaol in the afternoon.

Thursday 16^th November:

A cold front came through overnight and the temperature has dropped to 15 degrees. We have dug out the jumpers and fluffy slippers. John took a bush walk near the Smoky Cape Lighthouse. Too cold for me, I went to the South West Rocks Country Club. We spent the afternoon indoors with the heater cranked up.

Friday 17^th November:

On the move again today, south through Kempsey and Taree. We stopped at a great spot in the Buledelah State Forest for lunch. We ended up at The Entrance just north of Gosford. It was a nice area but the van park was packed like sardines so we only stayed the one night.

CANBERRA

Saturday 18^th November:

Sydney here we come, yuk, goodbye Sydney. Too many cars, houses and humanity! We kept on driving and decided on Canberra as a good place to park for a few days. We are staying in the Exhibition Park (showgrounds) for $12 per night. Good value and only 5 minutes from Parliament House.

Sunday 19^th November:

We visited the Old Bus Depot Markets this morning. Great markets, lots of interesting crafts, flowers and food. The food section was delicious, we got to taste all the goodies. Nuts, olives, fudge, bread, wine, fruit, cheese….. yes and all in that order….. YUM! No need for lunch! We also visited a textile gallery in the morning. I caught up with my friend Simone and we had dinner with her husband and family in the evening.

Monday 20^th November:

We got up early today for a walk along Lake Burley Griffin. There were lots of cyclists and joggers about and the hot air balloons were flying overhead. Back to the van for breakfast then off to do some sightseeing. Our first stop was the National Museum where we saw our next caravan! Then on to the National War Museum which overlooks Anzac Avenue down to Parliament House. We spent a good hour wandering around all the displays. That was enough walking for one day. Late in the afternoon we got to watch the local Trots meet as our van overlooks the racecourse.

2006-11-13T11:31:00.000+11:00

WOOLI - ARMIDALE

Friday 10^th November:

We farewelled Pete and Marlyn as they had another busy day ahead of them at work. The rain was clearing so we finished packing and had hit the road by 10am. We drove south past Byron Bay, Ballina, Maclean and turned east towards Wooli just before Grafton. As we were coming into Wooli we saw five emus making their way along the road. We booked into the Solitary Islands Caravan Park which is right on the Wooli River. Unfortunately we couldn’t get a riverside site. Our bad luck continued when we visited the local dive shop. They didn’t have a boat going out so we had to miss out on our much anticipated dive at the Solitary Islands. We took a drive down through the township to the ocean and rivermouth.

Saturday 11^th November:

Awoke to a beautiful morning, great diving weather (bugger!). We drove down to the oceanfront and took a walk along the beach. After breakfast we drove over to Minnie Water township. The houses are perched on cliff tops overlooking the ocean. The village is still quite unspoilt. Back in Wooli we tried our luck with a spot of fishing. We got a couple of bites but no fish. Back in the van park we were overrun by kids on a weekend camp. (Glad we are leaving tomorrow!)

Sunday 12^th November:

We left Wooli and drove through Grafton, unfortunately we had missed the jacarandas in full bloom. We took the Nymboida road south which was steep and winding. We stopped at the Ebor Falls for lunch, lovely spot. We arrived in Armidale at 4pm and found Guy’s place. His driveway was too narrow for the van so we ended up at the Pembroke Caravan Park a short drive away. We enjoyed a lovely dinner with Guy and his family and caught up on old times.

The picture above was taken specially for Mr John Edwards (who wanted to be mentioned in this blog! So consider yourself MENTIONED!)

Monday 13^th November:

We arose early for a walk through the Armidale State Forest. It was a beautiful morning and we met several other walkers with their dogs. Spent the rest of the morning wandering around the Armidale checking out the shops and heritage buildings. We popped into have a farewell drink with Guy in the afternoon.

2006-11-05T06:37:00.000+11:00

MURWILLUMBAH - STOKERS SIDING

Week One - 13th October to 19th October:

Friday: We travelled the western route through Woodenbong, Kyogle and Uki on our way into New South Wales. We arrived at my brother's place in Stokers Siding just after lunch. We set up the van near the house nestled in amongt some tree ferns. Our first afternoon was spent painting the decking on Pete's boat.

Saturday: We joined a working bee to clean up a house that Pete and Marlyn had just purchased in Murwillumbah. We scrubbed walls and pulled old staples out of the floor. Walls were being knocked out and the old kitchen was demolished. It was very satisfying to see the transformation. In the evening we called into Ross (my nephew) and Carly's place for drinks and nibblies.

Sunday: A day of rest for some of us. Pete and Marlyn had to work while Ferg and I got to relax around the pool. It is solar heated so it was quite pleasant in the water. We had a wander around the property to check out all the species of bamboo.

Monday: We took a drive up to Tweed Heads in the morning and had a wander around the Tweed Mall shops. It was drizzling rain when we returned home so we spent the afternoon indoors.

Tuesday: More shopping today, we drove further up the coast to Robina Shopping Centre and then into Pacific Fair at Broadbeach. We mostly window shopped and had some lunch before heading home again. We helped out with some cleaning at the new house in the evening. We were all pretty tired so we ended up eating nibblies for dinner and getting stuck into the red wine.

Wednesday: Oh dear, we were very seedy this morning. We spent most of the day recovering. Drew (another nephew) came out for dinner and stayed the night. He is moving into the new house that we have been cleaning.

Thursday: Drew's furniture was arriving this morning so we all went into unload at the new house. We had to be back at Pete's place by 9.30am as the Daily News was coming out to take some photos of his boats. They were doing a story on the Tweed River Boat Classic which was being held on the weekend. In the afternoon we slipped up to Tweed for Ferg's dental appointment then we helped Pete clean down the boat.

Week Two - 20th October to 26th October:

Friday: It was a very busy day. Pete and Ferg took off early to take a couple of trailer loads to the dump from the new house. I did a grocery shop then spent most of the day preparing a picnic feast for tomorrow's Classic Boat Festival. The boys got the boat out of the water and spent the afternoon finishing off the painting and cleaning. Late in the afternoon we drove into Murwillumbah to pick up Marlyn then headed up the coast to Tweed Heads. It was the festivals meet and greet evening and we had a lovely twilight cruise on the Tweed River.

Saturday: It was an early start this morning. Pete and Ferg took "June Rose" down to Condong to launch. Marlyn and I packed the picnic feast and headed into Murwillumbah to meet the boat at Drew's new house on the river. We headed down river to Tumbulgum to pick up some friends, Bob and Janet. The rest of the classic boat fleet were heading up from Chinderah. We all gathered on the beach at the Murwillumbah Rowing Club to check out the boats. The fleet moved furthered up river to a lovely picnic spot. We all enjoyed a scrummy picnic and a couple of glasses of champagne. Poor Janet slipped off the side of the boat and fell in the river, camera and all. We had a slow trip back as the boat steering had a problem and Pete had to steer with his foot poked through a very small hole to the rudder. Drew came out to meet us on his canoe. Bob and Pete worked on the steering late into the afternoon. We joined all the festival entrants in Chinderah for a BBQ and award presentations.

Sunday: Up early again for a breakfast cruise down the river. We met another couple of riends, Jenny and David at Drew's place at 7.30am. We had a lovely morning cruising up and down the river. Ferg and I helped Pete pull the boat out at Condong and bring it back home to his dam. We had a quite afternoon getting over the hectic past week.

Monday: We didn't do much today, just pottered about in the garden. I cooked a dinner for the workers, Pete and Marlyn.

Tuesday: Ferg and I took the Pajero into Murwillumbah Mitsubishi for the 15000km service. It hasn't taken long to run up the kilometres. We had a wander around the Murwillumbah shops while waiting for the car. I cooked a delicious dish of steamed ginger fish and rice for dinner.

Wednesday: Pete and Marlyn headed off to the USA today. They are visiting their son Christopher in Dallas, Texas. We headed up the coast to Tweed with Bob to go snorkeling at the Tweed bar. We had a great drift snorkel along the rivers edge. I saw three octopus and a large flathead plus a large variety other fish. It was a little chilly but well worth it. We relaxed around home in the afternoon. Twistie decided to get into Pete's coal pile chasing lizards and came up covered in coal soot. Guess who got a bath!

Thursday: We booked Twistie into the local vet to get a clip today. We dropped her off on our way up the coast to meet some friends at the Tweed Heads Bowls Club. We had a chat and lunch with Syd and Shirley who were down from Townsville. We picked up Twistie on the way home and boy didn't she look good. She had been given the whole "day spa" treatment. Wash, cut, blowdry, full body massage, nail clip, walkies and a treat! She came strutting out with a little bandana tied around her neck!

Week Three - 27th October to 2nd November:

Friday: We left early this morning to drive up to Currumbin to meet Bill. We took the scenic route up over the mountains through Tomewin then down into Currumbin Valley. Bill had brought my embroideries down from the Port Douglas gallery on his way back to Tasmania. We went up to Harbour Town Shopping Centre for a wander through all the factory outlets.

Saturday: What a beautiful morning, the birds are chirping and the sun is slowing spreading across the lake. We are going for a snorkel again today up in the Tweed River. Both Bob and Janet are going in as well. Bob dropped Ferg and I off further up river so we got quite a long drift snorkel. The viz wasn't as good as the other day but it was still very enjoyable. We stopped for fish and chips by the river on the way home.

Sunday: It's the first day of daylight saving and we have moved all our clocks forward an hour. We took a drive over to Chinderah and Kingscliff and found a market. We bought a large bag of fresh strawberries to nibble on. We drove further down the coast to Cabarita where we stopped to watch the surfers. The swell was running and there were lots of surfers in the water. We continued south through Hastings Point and Pottsville before heading back to Stokers Siding via Moobal. It was a pleasant mornings drive. Twistie found a snake by the pool later in the day. It had been attacked by a bird but was still alive. A bit of drama for the afternoon!

Monday: A quiet day today, just stayed around home. Ferg hopped on the Ride-on and did some mowing for Pete.

Tuesday: We again spent the morning at home. Ferg went bowling at the Murwillumbah Bowls Club in the afternoon. I filled in the time wandering around the Murwillumbah shops.

Wednesday: We both got stuck into the garden this morning. Ferg finished off the mowing while I did some weeding and tidied the nursery area. We treated ourselves to lunch at the Tumbulgum Pub overlooking the Tweed River.

Thursday: Ferg went bowling again today so I took off up to Pacific Fair for another shopping fix. Ferg had a good game, he played against a previous Australian champion and won.

Week Four - 3rd November to 9th November:

Friday: It was tidy up day today as Pete and Marlyn arrive back from the States. In the afternoon we both went bowling. We played a game of mixed pairs with the club president and his wife. It was a fun afternoon, the people are very friendly at the Murwillumbah Bowls Club and have made us feel very welcome. Pete and Marlyn arrived home late in the evening full of stories from Dallas and very tired.

Saturday: It was raining today but we braved the markets in Murwillumbah for some fresh fruit and vege. We also visited the Murwillumbah Show and had a wander around all the pavillions. We spent the afternoon indoors out of the rain.

Sunday: We took a drive up the coast today looking for a new wetsuit for me. I got a new Paragon 5mm at Sporty's Warehouse in Bundall. We called in on Bob and Janet and ended up staying for a late lunch. Pete and Marlyn were there also and we had an enjoyable afternoon overlooking the Tweed River.

Monday: We packed our dive gear and headed for Byron Bay on the chance we could get a dive with Sundive out to Julian Rocks. We got the last two spots on the 11am dive. I got to wear my new wetsuit. The dive was great even though the viz was only 8-10m. We had a Grey Nurse shark cruise right by us and we also saw lots of Wobbygongs nestled amongst the rocks. We had a picnic lunch overlooking the beach after the dive. I cooked a lovely lamb roast for dinner. Pete and I had a swim in the pool after dinner.

Tuesday: Melbourne Cup Day! We spent the day at the Murwillumbah Bowls Club. We played two games of triples with a break for a chicken and champagne lunch in between. It was a fun day, lots of members dressed for the occasion. Ferg's team were the overall winners and my team won the second round so we both had a win. As usual I didn't do any good in the sweeps but Ferg got a place bet at the TAB. Overall we had a most enjoyable day.

Wednesday: Pete had another newspaper visit this morning to do a story on his boats. We spent the day tiding up the van and car as we will be on the move on Friday. The afternoon brought a thunderstorm. Luckily the worst of it missed us, the Gold Coast most of the damage. We all went out for a farewell dinner at the Olive Tree. A good time was had by all.

Thursday: We were suppose to go diving this morning at Cook Island but due to the weather it was cancelled. It has rained for most of the day, hopefully it will clear up before we leave tomorrow. We finalised our packing of the car and van in readiness. Ferg and I helped out again at Drew's place, there is still quite a bit of work needed. It's been great staying with Pete and Marlyn but we are now looking forward to the next leg of our journey.

2006-10-16T06:27:00.000+10:30

SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND

BUNYA MOUNTAINS

Tuesday 10^th October:

We farewelled Ros and Mick then headed west past rich red soil through Kingaroy tp the small town of Kumbia. It was a good place to base our van while we explored the Bunya Mountains. The Kumbia Apex club have provided a local park with free power for campers to overnight. Smart move as most of the vanners spent money in the town. We drove up to the Bunya Mountains in the afternoon, leaving Twistie behind in the van. The road up wended its way through magnificent forests. From the rangers station at Dandabah we took a 4km walk. We had only gone a short way when Ferg grabbed me suddenly. I was one step away from a large red belly black snake. Luckily it decided to slither away from me. The rest of the walk was uneventful although the pine forest was stunning. Back at the car we were just in time for the bird feeding at a nearby café. We were surrounded by King Parrots and Rosellas.

QUEEN MARY FALLS NATIONAL PARK

Wednesday 11^th October:

We had an early morning walk around the town of Kumbia before moving on. We found an unusual sign on our walk and of course Ferg obliged! We drove south through Kingaroy, Nanango and Esk heading for a camp ground at the Atkinson Dam. Unfortunately we hadn’t counted on the drought, there was absolutely no water left in the dam. We decided to continue south through Gatton and Warwick and ended up in Killarney. In the mountains behind the town is the most perfect caravan park opposite the Queen Mary Falls National Park. The park is full of King Parrots, Rosellas, Shrikes, Kookaburras, Magpies, Native Minas andnumerous other birds. The parrots sit on the roof of our van peering in through the door.

Thursday 12^th October:

We awoke to a glorious morning filled with birdsong. It had been rather cold overnight but we were snug in the van with our heater! We took a 2km walk down to the Queen Mary Falls. They were very pretty plunging 40m over a rock face covered in orchids.

After our walk we drove to Carr’s Lookout to enjoy the panoramic views over to Mt Barney and Mt Tamborine in the distance. We continued on down the range and turned onto a 4wd track that took us through the Condamine Gorge, crossing the Condamine River 14 times. The track took us back to Killarney where we stocked up with supplies before heading back up the mountain. We stopped at Browns Falls and Daggs Falls on the way back. We spent the afternoon feeding the birds. Ferg took another walk down to the Queen Mary Falls. Late in the afternoon another van arrived and blow me down they were from Townsville. (It’s a small world!)

2006-10-09T11:11:00.000+10:30

GYMPIE

Wednesday 4^th October:

We said our farewells to Henry, Vicki and Pete and headed south to Gympie. We had arrived at Ros and Mick’s place by mid morning. They live on a lovely property 10 minutes drive from Gympie. Our van fitted nicely under their very large carport. Ferg and I took a very long walk along the country roads in the afternoon. Twistie and I were worn out!

Thursday 5^th October:

We spent a quiet morning around the house, chatting with Mick. His passion is hunting and he took Ferg deer hunting in the afternoon. Ferg changed into camouflage gear for the expedition. They left just after lunch and didn’t get home until late in the evening. They got one stag which Mick will keep for the meat. I spent the afternoon in Gympie discovering the shops much more civilized!

Friday 6^th October:

Ferg and I went driving today to investigate the countryside behind the Sunshine Coast. We drove to Imbil then out to Borumba Dam where there were lots of boats with water skiers. South of Imbil we stopped at the Kenilworth Cheese Factory for a nibble. Yum, they had lots of different cheeses displayed and we tried each one several times. Further south we drove through Malaney, Monteville and Mapleton where the views to the ocean were magnificent. Turning north we hit the highway at Nambour and drove a short way until Eumundi. They have a great market here on the weekend but not today. We took the back roads back to Gympie via Cooroy, Pomona and Kin Kin. The countryside is a mixture of rolling dairy hills and rainforest, very pretty.

Saturday 7^th October:

Ferg and Mick went to the Imbil rifle range in the morning. Ros and I did a bit of grocery shopping in Gympie. When the boys got back from their shoot we decided to drive out to Tin Can Bay. We enjoyed fish and chips overlooking the bay. Unfortunately the tide was out so we were overlooking the sand flats. Later in the day we took a walk down to the creek at the bottom of Mick’s property.

Sunday 8^th October:

The valley was covered in mist this morning but the weather looks good for the day. We have booked a couple of dives with Wolf Rock Dive Centre at Rainbow Beach. We arrived there at 9.30am and kitted up. The owners Kev and Cheryl took us in their 4wd with the boat behind down Rainbow Beach. It was the first time I have driven along a beach. The coloured sand cliffs were spectacular in the sunshine. We launched the boat and were in the water very soon after. We had two dives on the rock. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see any Grey Nurse sharks that the rock is renowned for, but we did see several eagle rays and large groupers. We also spotted a mosaic moray eel which neither of us had seen before. Ferg’s computer died on the dive and he also had trouble with his camera settings so no really good photos. Bugger, the Ferg factor strikes again!

Monday 9th October:

Lucky we went diving yesterday, the change has come through and its cold and raining today. Spent the morning at home, we are heading off again tomorrow so we did a general clean up of the car and van. Ferg is off to the dentist this afternoon so hopefully it's nothing major.

2006-09-30T09:03:00.000+10:30

HERVEY BAY (Cont.)

Thursday 28^th September:

Awoke to a lovely misty morning. We decided to go whale watching today. We chose the cruiser “Mikat” for our trip. The weather was magic as we headed out of Urangan Harbour. It wasn’t long before we spotted our first whales, a mother and baby sleeping on the surface. A bit further along we spotted a large pod of males and one female with baby. The baby was playing, breaching the surface and tail slapping. They are magnificent creatures. We had a lovely lunch then slowly headed home spotting more whales. Unfortunately we came across a whale carcass that the sharks had been feeding on. We spotted a 12’ tiger shark nearby. We got back to Urangan at 2.30pm. What a great day.

Friday 29^th September:

Domestics day today, swept and mopped the van. Well that took 5 minutes!! We drove up to Bundaberg with Henry and Vicki to pick up their new car, a Rav 4. After we took a drive out to the Bundy port and had a late lunch of fish & chips. On the way home we stopped off at a quaint country pub in Cordalba. It was rather nice sitting out on the back veranda of the pub overlooking jacaranda trees and cane fields.

Saturday 30^th September:

Ferg helped Henry put the main beams up on the carport he is building. I spent the morning on the internet. We drove into Hervey Bay to do some grocery shopping then watched the AFL Grand Final in the afternoon.

Sunday 1^st October:

Got up early this morning to go diving with the local dive club. We met them at the Urangun boat ramp at 7.30am. Bugger the wind had blown up and the dive was cancelled. Typical there had been glassy seas for the last 4 days. We called into the weekend markets and picked up some fresh fruit and vege. We joined Henry for a dring at Toogoom where he was selling raffle tickets for his local fishing club. Ferg and Twistie had a quiet arvo snooze. Then we enjoyed home made pizzas and pies while watching the NRL Grand Final. Woohoo, the Broncs beat the Storm!

Monday 2^nd October:

We drove into Hervey Bay early to take a walk along the beach with Twistie. Ferg did a 7km walk from Scarness to Urangun Harbour. The weather is perfect for diving today, bugger again! Ferg and Henry have baited up the crab pots again and put them in the creek. Henry took Ferg and I fishing again this afternoon. It was lovely watching the sun set over the creek. We only caught a bream and a whiting but had a great time.

Tuesday 3^rd October:

Ferg spent the morning bowling at the Pialba Bowls Club and I had a couple of hours of retail therapy. Henry and Ferg cooked up a load of mud crabs and prawns for our dinner. We spent an enjoyable afternoon playing bocce. Ferg and I were the champions (this time!). When the light faded and we couldn’t see the bocce balls we all came in and devoured a magnificent seafood feast. It was a lovely end to a wonderful stay at Higgen’s Hideaway. Thanks Henry and Vicki, and a special mention to Pete for the use of your computer, thank you.