Girlie Day

Day 33

The wind got up again last night but with our new awning it’s not so noticeable. Alan is waiting for the car repairer to phone to say the part has arrived and he will drive the 170 km to Port Lincoln and return this afternoon. He leaves about 9:15 and I have the day to myself!!!!!! After my housework which consists of washing, cleaning the fridge (which takes all of 30minutes) gotta love this camping!!! I walk to town and have a coffee while reading the paper. Buy fresh bread and a few groceries and walk back along the beach. A swim is refreshing and I am surprised that we hardly see anyone swimming down here. The water is cool but pleasant??? There are a lot of older people travelling so maybe that is it??? In fact we feel very young at all these caravan parks!! I’ve just caught up on my computer work and Al arrives back with the car all fixed. We decide to leave here tomorrow!!! Fingers crossed all will be ok from here.

Coffin Bay to Elliston..At least we are not at Timber Creek!!!

Day 30

28/3

Lazy day . Caught up on computer work. Swim at our fave beach here, Golden Beach in the National Park. There was a seal playing in the waves nearby and was just perfect. In the evening after dinner we actually watched TV!! We have bought a connection which allows us to get TV through the computer!! A bit civilised I know but we actually sat down and watched the news for the first time in 4 weeks and Steve

Marchwicki,we even watched THE BILL!!

Day 31

29/3/09
Went for an 18km bike ride into the national park. Back to camp for a Sunday Bacon and Eggs....smelt like everyone in Coffin Bay was doing the same!! 11am we had arranged to hire a double kayak for 1 hour. We had a lovely paddle around the bay...or should I say I paddled and Al sat at the back and enjoyed the scenery!! It was a very hot day 33 degrees with no breeze and we had planned to pack up the camper and tidy up the car but left that till later and went for a swim in the bay. Had to wade out about 200 metres before we could dive under but was refreshing. Packed camper up as we have an early start to get to Port Lincoln to get the car reapired.

Day 32/

30/3/09
We departed a lovely spot at Coffin Bay this morning where we had been for 6 days. Not a problem because it was lovely but we are keen to get back on the road!! Anyway we get to Port Lincoln to the Car Repairer and after an hour or so they tell us that the part won't arrive today!!! What to do?? We have already seen all that Port Lincoln has to offer....and we are just a little bit sick of it here!! Stay at the windy dirty caravan park here or what??? We decide to head north to Elliston which is about 170km away and Alan will drive back to Port tomorrow if the part arrives...if it doesn’t then the service manager's life will not be worth living!!! Ha-ha!!

For those of you who are wondering what the connection with Timber Creek is, several years ago when we had a land cruiser and were on an outback trip and needed car repairs we had to wait each day for the car part to arrive from Darwin by bus. We waited 5 days and Timber Creek ( N.T.)is in the middle of nowhere so my reference to that incident as we wait for car repairs here brings back some memories!!

On the way north we stop at Cummings monument and if it’s ok will have lunch. The views we found as we drove to the top of the hill were magnificent. Sheer cliffs and pounding surf. It is a glorious day and the water is a gorgeous blue. We watch a guy surfing off a point, he only gets short rides as the rock ledges await but he looks very experienced and must be worth it. We arrive at Elliston, a quaint little town and check into the caravan park before taking a tourist drive around cliffs and unusual sculptures which is an art exhibition which opened yesterday and will stay there till June. In between we watch a few more brave and very experienced surfers riding some huge waves off reef breaks with an enormous swell and which seem to be in the middle of the ocean.

One of the many sculptures on the cliff

Magnificent scenery at Cummings Monument

Coffin Bay....Glorious one day...even better the next!!

Some beautiful wildflowers in the sand dunes The expert oyster opener!

Day 29

Another glorious morning. After brekkie we decide to walk to the lookout, about 1 hour walk. Views over the bay and beyond were lovely although there is a bit of dust haze in the distant farm cropping country. There are only a couple of shops in town but I come across a hairdresser and am able to get some much needed maintenance to my hair or as Alan would say I needed to go to the panel beaters!! Call it what you like but I felt 100% after that and I even found a great coffee shop next door. Close to bliss!! On recommendation from the locals, we go directly to one of the huge oyster sheds and buy some fresh oysters for lunch. The workers are quite happy for a bit of beer money and didn’t mind selling us a couple dozen and showing us the best technique of opening them. Alan does an expert job and after tasting them I think we have found THE best oysters in OZ....but we will keep testing just in case.........In the afternoon we cycle to a little beach nearby for a swim and dinner back at the Yacht Club and another delicious fish meal with amazing view of the sunset on this lovely bay.

Port Lincoln......... revisited!

Day28

A bit cooler this morning and a little overcast, glad we saw the national park yesterday. We pack up and head into town. The Mitsubishi repairer won’t be able to look at the car till 2pm and the awning won’t be ready till 12:30 so we collect our mail and finally get the computer back all fixed and ready to go. Apparently there was a Dell repairer in Port Lincoln so it was easily fixed. Its only 7 hours drive from Adelaide to Port so luckily for us, is fairly accessible to get parts sent.

Our cosy little camp & new awning

We head to pick up the awning and with a little adjusting and zippering on we drive back to see about the car. I am able to catch up on some computer work in the customer lounge while they diagnose the problem with the car. Apparently there is a part which was supposed to be recalled (and we hadn’t been notified) which has caused the oil leak. They are going to fix it but not until the parts arrive on Monday so we are here in the area for another 4 days. They have topped up the oil but we don’t want to drive too far so decide to head back to Coffin Bay. Arrive and set up with our new awning. It is so nice having some canvas over us and Alan thinks more people are talking to us now that we fit in a bit better. Haha! Not like the poor drenched souls of a few days ago with a bit of tarp roughly tied down to the camper to keep us dry!! After a nice barbq we get on to Skype (I’m very new to this!) but Sarah talks me through it and next we are watching Sarah and Anj and Sammy (who has been very sick) at home and talking to them!! Lisa is at work so will have to arrange a time to talk to her later. I’m so excited and Alan has to keep telling me to keep my voice down or else the whole caravan park will be complaining about the noise! We sleep a bit easier and hope this is the end of all the little problems of life on the road.

Magic Day at Coffin Bay National Park

Coffin Bay Tranquility

Massive Sand Dunes in Coffin Bay Nat. Park

Al releasing a bit of hot air!
A perfect Lunch spot

Day27

Awake to a nice morning and after brekkie I decide to go for a walk on the ‘Oyster Trail’, a 12 km walk around the foreshore of this delightful town which is famous for Coffin Bay Oysters and many varieties of fish. Alan takes a cycle around the town and bay and finds the entrance to the Coffin Bay National Park is only about 1km away from our caravan park. We pack our lunch and swimmers and go for a drive around the nat. Park. We take a dirt road which leads to some huge sand dunes and Al enjoys a bit of sand 4wdriving requiring letting down the tyres a bit. Over the dunes and we have the most amazing view up and down the rugged coastline with a small surf and beautiful white sand beaches. We head up to Point Avoid and after lunch overlooking the water on one of the cliff tops we decide to have a swim. There is a seal swimming and diving under waves in crystal clear water so decide if it’s good enough for the locals its good enough for us! We are not disappointed and with a water temp of about 21 degrees we have no trouble enjoying the waves and beautiful surrounds. We take a drive as far to the end of the park as we can, missing the top end as the rangers are doing some work on the park. Back to the camp after an amazing day, we decide to walk to the Yacht Club nearby for fish and chips dinner. The club is run by volunteers and the lovely views and friendly workers as well as a delicious meal and a bottle of local wine was a great end to the day...... That is until Alan noticed oil under the car!! He is a bit worried and wonders if something happened when we were 4wdriving today. We decide to pack up early tomorrow and as we have to pick up computer and awning and mail in Port Lincoln we will try and get the car looked at hoping there is a Mitsubishi dealer in town. Another worrying night ........

News Flash! Hamiltons again break long standing drought!

Day 26

We decide to pack up early and find a spot to park the camper for tonight and we are planning to drive down to Memory Cove for the day. Alan rushes me a bit but for good reason....it starts to rain!! Great for the farmers ...again our tradition as drought breakers continues, but not so good for a pleasant 4wdrive to a lovely rugged area. We decide to abandon our plans and head back to Port Lincoln....again, and have a cooked brekkie at our, now new local cafe (Choux Box equivalent) and make new plans. Decide to head to Coffin Bay and stay at the Caravan Park there a couple of nights and hope the rain clears enough for us to see a bit of the National Park there as it is supposed to be lovely. It’s only 45km from Port Lincoln so we arrive early afternoon and get a nice grassy spot at this lovely little park in a small village near the bay. We have no awning so Alan makes do with a tarp so that we can at least sit outside and make meals etc. The rain eases a bit in the later afternoon and we are hopeful of a fine day tomorrow. We buy some oysters, unopened, and Al decides to try out his oyster opening skills. They were very nice, but not as nice as the Cowell oysters we had a few days ago. We will persevere though with trying them out wherever we can to find the Best Oysters in Australia!!

All is not good on The Road Trip!!

Coffin Bay Oysters

Slow Track into remote beach campsite

Beautiful campsite at Lincoln National Park

Day 25

Packed up and headed to IT repairer. The LCD is buggered!! Only option is to phone DELL and find out what to do. In the meantime we buy a new camping table as our old one is just about ready to pack it in. While I am on the phone... for about an hour, Alan decides to go to a caravan shop to see if we can fix our awning so that it is not so noisy in the ever present wind in this part of the country (they always have camp spots with beautiful views of the ocean but are as windy as hell and doesn’t matter which direction the wind is coming from!!) He meets a guy who makes canvass awnings and he is just back from hols. And doesn’t have any work on at the moment so agrees to make us a new awning out of canvas and it will only take a couple of days. Finally get on to a person at Dell!! And after going through the check list they agree to replace the LCD.....but I need an address for them to send it to with a repairer!!! I don’t have an address I tell him!! To cut a long story short the friendly IT repairer that I been to earlier in the day agreed to be my address. Not sure how Dell are going to do all this (are they going to send a little man with an LCD...pink of course...from Malaysia?????) Oh well, that’s their problem!!We also arrange for Sarah to send our mail to the Port Lincoln post office and should be there when we get back Wed. Or Thurs. On top of all this Al gets his glasses fixed and sees a doctor about a boil which has developed on a strategic body area. All the things we have achieved in one day is amazing!! We are exhausted but decide to head off to Lincoln National Park about ½ hour away for a couple of days armed with a key for a remote place called memory cove which we have heard is just lovely(we must also return the key Wed. Or Thurs morning). Things are falling into place... we hope!! Nat. Park maps are a bit unreliable but we decide to go down a trail to find a lovely remote camp spot. 45 minutes and 3 km later!!! We find a lovely little secluded spot right on the beach. I am hopeful that we can’t be struck down with any more bad luck and with no awning we cross our fingers and settle down for a nice cold drink watching the sun set over the ocean. It is serene and peaceful and the wind does not spring up that night.

1st visit to Port Lincoln

Some of the huge Tuna Fishing Fleet Makybe Diva which is owned by a

at the Port Lincoln Marina Tuna fisherman from Port Lincoln, statue

is on the foreshore

Day 24

Woke to a glorious morning. Wind had stopped and the water was glassy!! After brekkie we decide to go for a bike ride. This town is not as flat as the other towns we have recently ridden around so have to work a little bit harder. First stop the Information Centre where we found out about the National Parks nearby and the points of interest. A lovely cycle around the Marina which is home to many huge Tuna fishing boats and equally as large modern homes. A nice cold beer before the uphill ride back to camp. Wendy and Nick phoned to say they had arrived but were staying at the dog friendly park about 10km north of town so we arranged to meet them at the jetty maybe for a swim. Alan and I ventured in to the netted off pool next to the jetty and again it was amazingly warm in the water despite the cool breeze which had sprung up. We did a drive to the town lookout and golf course before going back to the c/park for dinner. That evening as I was preparing to do some work on the computer, the screen went all strange colours and I knew it was not good!! L As it is a DELL I wasn’t looking forward to the procedure of getting it fixed under warranty. We planned to take it to a computer repairer in town in the morning to see what could be done. It was a sleepless night for me trying to work out possible scenarios for getting the computer fixed in this rural part of S.A.

Moonta Bay to Port Lincoln

Alan in Whyalla Dust storms in northern Eyre Peninsula

Day 23

Drove from Moonta bay, and it was very hot. Up to 39 degrees so not much fun outside of the air con car. Stopped at Whyalla for lunch and the weather hadn’t improved so we continued on to Cowell on the Eyre Peninsula where we bought a couple dozen fresh oysters. The red dust storms were in full force all the way down towards Port Lincoln and it was sad to see the drought up close. Arrived at the caravan park in Port Lincoln, a lovely ocean view park but the southerly wind made it quite unpleasant to set up. We decide not to put up our awning and eat dinner in the camp kitchen but we are hopeful that the weather will improve tomorrow.PS the oysters are the freshest and plumpest we have ever tasted!! YUM!!

I am no longer a Virgin!!

My First Blue Swimmer Crab



Nick and I outside the famous Cornish Kitchen

Day 22

The Title has you all intrigued!! I can hear you all saying..."so whats new??" Read todays blog to find out...

Wake to the most glorious morning with no wind and the water calm. Nick, Alan and I go for a bike ride around the town and on one of the many heritage trails most of these S.A. country towns have. Lots of mine ruins and old churches and houses. We ride to the Cornish Kitchen in the centre of town and introduce Wendy and Nick to the famous Cornish pasties. Just what you need after an hour of cycling!! It’s getting warm and I decide to purchase a couple of crab pots bait and get instruction from the lady in the shop. We all head out to the jetty and while Alan and Nick swim and Wendy and Lucy (their little dog) chat to passersby, I set about to catch some crabs for lunch. I can almost taste them with a cold beer....enough dreaming tho; I will have to get them first. I notice a couple who seem to know what they are doing so get some instruction from Barry and Liz and watch as they haul in crab after crab next to my pots. 12 I think they get!! Alan says I should not be so impatient and leave them in for longer than 1 minute but it is difficult when Barry is taking all the crabs in the area!! Alan and Wendy and Nick decide to head back for bread and butter and a cold beer. Barry and Liz also leave to have their lovely fresh crabs...and beer. I am not leaving till I get one!! No sooner did they all leave than I got my first crab, which was undersize and I have to throw back, but exciting nevertheless. Before too long I got 3 and have learned how to pick them up too and when things got quiet I headed back to camp to show the others my haul. As I write this the blue swimmers are in a bucket awaiting a pot of boiling water and we will have them for entree tonight. Wendy is preparing a yummy chicken dinner (I don’t think 3 crabs will fill 4 of us up) but I know I will enjoy them all the more having caught them myself! ...

So I am no longer a blue swimmer crab catcher..Virgin!!

"Houston We have a problem!!"

OOPS ...No Power Sunset over Moonta Bay

Day 21

4:30am and the sou/Easter arrived with a vengeance. As the fridge has packed it in and we are in danger of getting blown away, we pack up camp. All ready and Alan tries to start the car ....not a sound! We have 3 batteries but to cut a long story short, the fridge has drained them all!! There are 3 other campers around but as it is so early we don’t like to bother them yet so have brekkie then as no action from our neighbours, Alan goes out to the road and hails a guy who is driving to work to rescue us. We drive about 85km north to Minlaton where we find a camping store to check out if the fridge can be repaired. Also check the batteries which are fine now they have been recharged. The camping guy doesn’t have our brand of fridge and suggests a repairer about 100km away who may charge $400. As the fridge is getting on in years we decide to take the guy up on his offer of a trade on a new Waeco fridge. Not sure if he has spun us a story or not but he was a very good salesman and after our problems of the past 12 hours we were happy with our new purchase, no looking back . We phone Wendy and Nick who are camping at Moonta Bay, about 90km north so we decide to go to there and regroup!! Arrive to a lovely camping spot with only a light breeze so we are happy. Wendy makes us a lovely lunch as we have no fresh food, having had to ditch the perished food we had with the old fridge. We are very grateful. Decide to stay here 2 nights to give us a chance to clean things up, wash clothes, shop and just enjoy this beautiful area. Later in the afternoon Alan, Nick and I head out to the jetty to have a swimming the net enclosed swimming pool. The water is just delightful, Alan says about 22 degrees and the few very large holes in the net are forgotten!! We have dinner at the hotel just a short walk from our camp, and enjoy the lovely sunset over the water, delicious dinner and Wendy and Nicks Company.

Adventures in the Innes National Park

Our "idyllic"camp spot at Cable Bay Beach Browns Beach Camp resident

Day 20

Packed up our camp then went for about a 12km bike ride to another village. Strong winds but was all flat so not a problem. Decided on a swim in the tidal pool. It looked very chilly but we ventured in and it was actually quite nice....if you kept swimming!! Alan thought it may be about 18 degrees so no frolicking about. Headed west towards Innes National Park, it was getting warmer and the wind had died down. Stopped at Foul Bay for lunch at a beach and deserted fishing ramp, it was so peaceful. On to the National Park and after paying our visitor entry for 2 nights we checked out several camp spots. First 2 were ok but we decided to look on further to make sure we weren’t missing the best spots. Next few were ordinary and came to the last one, Brown’s beach which had only one other tent and some lovely sites backing on to lovely red sand dunes. We decided this was where we would camp and knowing there was a beautiful swimming beach over the dunes, we found a perfect spot and just as Alan was about to park I noticed a huge black snake sunbaking on the sand dune!!!Will have to rename it “Blacks beach”! Needless to say we got right back in the car and left the snake to that camp! Back to Cable Bay Beach camp, where we set up camp at the most beautiful spot. Alan was a little apprehensive! If the predicted south easterly winds came, we might be in trouble!! It was such a balmy evening; I assured him we would be fine. J Al noticed the fridge was not working but we had dinner and hoped it would be ok and we will check it in the morning. Drifted off to sleep to the sound of the gentle lapping waves about 20 metres away....

St. Patricks Day..and Alan's Birthday

Al hitting off on the 7th Tee at "Royal Edithburg"

Birthday Lunch of Oysters at Stansbury,SA.

Day 19

Alan’s Birthday!!!
We woke early....not really early, because it doesn’t get light here till about 7am here. Went for a bike ride around the town and to North Beach. It is a beautiful morning, no wind and lots of boaties out. Back to camp to pack up and say goodbye to Jenny and Ross who are heading home to Warragul in Victoria. We head south to the southern part of the Peninsula with no definite plans. We buy some fresh oysters and stop at several different fishing villages on our way and decide to stop for lunch at Stansbury. It is such a beautiful day, still no wind and we enjoy our oysters on the lovely foreshore. On to Edithburgh and we make a decision to stay here at this quaint little town right on the water with views of Troubridge Island, a conservation Park and in the distance, Adelaide. We decide to have a game of golf. Well there is no grass...anywhere, the tees are artificial grass and the greens, black fine oiled gravel which Alan called “scrapes”. What and experience!! Well, there was a lot of run on the course and a couple of the holes would rival Pebble Beach, the greens were tricky but we had a bit of fun and at the end some of the locals invited us on to the verandah for a beer. A lovely afternoon!! Alan decides to barbq dinner for his birthday and we open a bottle of Ninth Island red to celebrate. Ahhh!! Life on the Road ....

Burra to Wallaroo

Hope I don't lose grip of this!!

Ross and Jenny and crystal on the jetty at Wallaroo

Alan behind bars on the Heritage trail at Burra

Day 17

We head off on our trail which is supposed to take up to 5 hours by car so will see how long it takes on bikes. It’s quite cool and even after a couple of serious hills on gravel roads we still need to wear jumpers. The trail is really interesting with lots of old buildings, miners dugouts, a gaol as well as the mine and old equipment. We finish in 3 hours and decide to have some lunch before we get back on the road. There is a cute little Indonesian cafe in town so we warm up with Nasi Goreng.. With extra Chillies!! That warms us up! Drove about 140km to Wallaroo on the western coast near the top of the Yorke Peninsula where Jenny and Ross have reserved us a site. It’s only a small park but very full of mostly fishermen. This is a very popular spot for catching blue swimmer crabs and squid. We have a walk around the jetty where ships come in to take the wheat and barley from the huge silos near the wharf. There are many ropes tied to the railings of the jetty with crab pots attached and we are lucky enough to see one fisherman retrieving his catch. It’s very windy here and probably will stay with us now on and off as we head across to the West. Jenny has made us dinner so we retreat to their lovely warm van for our meal. They even have a TV and I can’t help glancing aimlessly at it (haven’t watched TV since we left home). Our camper is great and versatile, but when the weather is a little chilly we miss the nice little comforts of indoors.

Jack and Carmel preparing our crabs

Old church in Moonta with EK Holden

Day 18

It’s raining this morning and a bit cool. We are catching up on our e mails, updating the Blog etc. until we work out what the weather is going to do. Mid morning, we decide to go for a drive and do the “Copper Triangle”. It is 3 towns...Wallaroo, Moonta and Kadina. These towns not only have mining history but lots of Welsh history as well. We wander through the town of Moonta and have lunch at the famous “Cornish Kitchen” and try their Cornish Pasties. Alan is in food heaven!! Next stop is Kadina and we visit the “Farm Shed”, the best museum we have ever seen. Big call I know, but it was really so easy to get around and such interesting displays. We were all a bit tired when we got back to camp so decided on fish and chips at the jetty, almost wrapped in newspaper it was so fresh!! Cuppa and bed.....until Jack, from Whyalla who is camped next door, knocked on our door and asked if we wanted some crabs he had just caught. Can’t turn down a fresh blue swimmer ,so after instructing us on how to cook them and accepting a beer for his troubles we cooked 4 of the little darlings up and ate them with a bit of seafood sauce. A bit of a chat with Jack and wife Carmel and it was 10pm when we finished!! How different life on the road is to home.....

Mildura,VIC to Burra,S.A

Creek beside our camp at Burra Alan and I on the wharf at Renmark

Day 16

Our Around Australia trip almost ended last night!! A series of little mistakes with our gas stove and the canvas, rubber and stove caught alight while I was enjoying the balmy Mildura evening waiting for the billy to boil. Just as well Al returned from having a shower and we were able to avert a disaster!! Lots of cleaning up and some rubber to be replaced but luckily no serious damage! After a restless night with hoons using the Mildura side of the river as their drag racing strip and maybe a bit of post trauma, we decide to pack up and head to South Australia. Wendy and Nick are going to stay another night and then go to Adelaide to visit friends for a few days. We will catch up with them later. Stopped in Renmark for a look. This is a cute little town, wished we had stayed here last night instead of noisy Mildura. Decided we would stop at Burra and have a look and decide whether we will stay there tonight or on to Clare. Arrive at Burra about 4pm, a quick visit to the tourist office and we decide to stay here the night. There is a Heritage Trail about 11 km which we will do tomorrow morning on our bikes. This is an old copper mining town with lots of history so we are looking forward to that. Caravan park is in the town and quite small, but we get a lovely camp site beside the little stream and head to one of the quaint pubs for a meal.

Day 15

Got an early start as we have about 550km to travel if we want to get to Mildura. Uneventful landscape but at Hay the fuel attendant said they had 1 inch of rain yesterday so that was great for these farmers and town. Had a phone call from Alan’s sister Jenny who with husband Ross are in their van with little dog and are on the Yorke Penninsula in SA. We are going to try and meet up with them by Sunday or Monday in Wallaroo. Arrive in Mildura and the Riverside Buronga caravan Park where we choose a site on the banks of the Murray river and only a short walk/cycle to town. Wendy and Nick are going to meet us here later so we cycle in to town and get some groceries. Cools down in the afternoon, it would be pretty unbearable here in the summer. There is also a movie on tonight down by the river. Take your chair and glass of wine and watch the movie. How civilised!

Day 14

After picking up the repaired tooth plate and checking he looks ok!!We head off towards Wellington then Parkes on the Newell Highway. We drive into a plague of “Plague Locusts” and make it very difficult to see out the windscreen. It takes Alan quite some time to clean them off our radiator too. Must be a huge problem out here for the crop farmers. We drive towards West Wyalong where it has been raining. Great for the locals but we are not sure if we want to set up camp. The rain eases and we decide to stay here the night. Wendy and Nick are staying at Parkes tonight. We will catch up somewhere down the track.

Day 14

After picking up the repaired tooth plate and checking he looks ok!!We head off towards Wellington then Parkes on the Newell Highway. We drive into a plague of “Plague Locusts” and make it very difficult to see out the windscreen. It takes Alan quite some time to clean them off our radiator too. Must be a huge problem out here for the crop farmers. We drive towards West Wyalong where it has been raining. Great for the locals but we are not sure if we want to set up camp. The rain eases and we decide to stay here the night. Wendy and Nick are staying at Parkes tonight. We will catch up somewhere down the track.

Day 13

After Alan and Nick went to get a couple of repairs done we drove out to Cousin John’s farm where he has sheep and cattle. Came back to camp for lunch and as Alan was biting into a bread Roll his tooth broke!! Déjà!! This has happened before so we were able to spring into action fast. A phone call and visit to a local dentist for a quick superglue job and they will have it ready in 3 hours!! We decide to play 9 holes of golf at Mudgee. Not sure if it was the missing tooth but I beat Al again, he said he was all unbalanced or something like that. He did manage 1 birdie tho, so there is hope for him. We get back to get the repaired plate and it needs some more adjusting so tomorrow at 11am is the new pick up time. It means staying in town a little later tomorrow but at least it was repairable and wasn’t a weekend. So he will just cruise around scaring little kids and old ladies for 1 night only! Hopefully.?? Tonight we are going to meet Julie and family at a Thai cafe in town. I think this will be our last eat out for a while.

Day 12

Tuesday

Went for a bike ride around this lovely flat town with a group of riders,friends of my cousin, the eldest a lovely gentleman in his 80's. Bit different to our Cudgen Hills and most enjoyable. Even had coffee at a local cafe so felt right at home. In the afternoon we went and visited a few wineries and purchased a couple of bottles to try one night ,perhaps around a camp fire later down the track. In the evening we again met my cousins for dinner at a Chinese restaurant in town.

Day 11

Monday

9th March

Packed up a wet camper but luckily no rain while we were doing that so made it a little easier. Drove to my brothers at Emu Plains. No traffic at all!! Had a coffee with them then headed off in the misty rain through the blue mountains. At Springwood we stopped to take photos of the house where my dad was born in 1907. The house and area has a lot of history and I was thrilled to be able to get a couple of pics through the dense bush.Arrived in Mudgee and a lovely fine afternoon about 3pm at the Mudgee Valley Tourist Park on the edge of town on the Gulgong road.We decided to ride our bikes to visit my friend Julie who I did my nursing training with and flatted together through our training time in Sydney. Spent a few hours at her home catching up. It was lovely. Wendy and Nick arrived at the campground about 6pm and after setting up we headed into town to the Lawson Hotel to meet our cousins Berry & John and Sue MacDonald for dinner. As I ordered my meal I turned around and my brother David and his wife Liz had surprised us and followed us to Mudgee for a couple of days!! What a fantastic surprise!! They are staying at one of the motels in town so after lots of family reminiscing... again, we headed home arranging to meet up tomorrow.

Last Day in Sydney

Day10

Sunday

8th March

Looks like rain this morning so we take umbrellas and head off to Milsons Point on the train where we meet Wendy & Nick and my brother David and wife Liz and Shannon and Suzanne Cross and Husbands for lunch at the Kirribilli Club. The Cross family, parents Ian and Beryl were close friends of my mum and dad when they were all first married and who both died recently so we decided on a get-together . Again, I had not seen the girls since I was about 12, so almost 40 years ago!! None of us had changed a bit!! Lovely lunch and lots of photos and promises to keep in touch and we headed back to a very wet and soggy camp. Rain is still falling and hope it stops for us to pack up. For now though it is an early night in preparation for leaving tomorrow for Mudgee and hopefully some dry weather.

Day 9/Saturday 7th March

Alan was supposed to be playing golf at Kogarah today but he decided to be a camp husband and stay around home to do cleaning and chores,cook dinner etc. mmm... wait till his golfing mates hear about this!!!

Wendy picked me up from Bondi Junction, where I had a 10 minute shopping venture and bought 2 pairs shoes and a pair of shorts and gloves in 10 minutes( haven't lost my touch!!) We went to the Coast Golf Club at Malabar for lunch where we met up with a group of girls who we had met on a cruise on the Himalaya in 1971. I had not seen most of the girls for about 38 years so more reminiscing!! Amazing how things from back then seem so clear but sometimes can’t remember what happen 5 minutes ago!! Anyway after a lovely lunch and promises to keep in touch and get together again soon, I headed back to Lane Cove where Alan had a lovely dinner waiting and if I had of had a recliner chair and slippers he would have had those ready too!! What a husband!!

Around Sydney

Day 8/Friday 6th March

After a bike ride and coffee. We arranged to meet my friend Cathy Hassett. Cathy and I did our nursing training at Sydney Hospital about 35 years ago. Although I have seen her since it was lovely to catch up and hear about her family and she is also recovering from a serious operation. Cathy took Alan and I to a lovely little local Italian cafe where we not only had a delicious meal but she insisted we try the best Italian Gelato in Sydney. Where is a gym when you need one!! We then drove back to Wendy and Nick’s where all Nick’s family were meeting for a sausage sizzle as well as Wendy’s daughter in law ,Natasha and grand daughter Kirra. It was lovely to catch up with everyone and after saying our goodbyes and after another exhausting day drove back to our camp at Lane Cove.

Narrabeen to Lane Cove National Park

Day 6/Wednesday 4th March
Rode our bikes to Collaroy and had a swim in the lovely clean tidal pool. Saw Tom Williams from “Getaway” riding in the opposite direction, would have turned around but Alan insisted that we had to get back to get ready as we were going out yachting! Drove to Careel Bay and out to our friends Naomi and Bruce Cuthbert’s Yacht, “Scrimshaw”. They had sailed around Australia last year on their boat, and are now living here in Avalon. The weather forecast was for possible rain and strong southerlys in the arvo so we were prepared any sort of weather. After turning the motor off we set sail around Pittwater before stopping for a delicious lunch in a lovely sheltered bay “The Basin”, “with fellow yachties, Robyn and Ian. The nasty weather didn’t happen and we were delivered safely back to shore after a wonderful day on the water .

Day 7/Thursday 5th March
Packed up and left Narrabeen about 8am.Peak Hour traffic!! Fun towing a camper!!!. Finally found Lane Cove Tourist Park which is just on the edge of the Lane Cove National Park. Set up camp then after making arrangements to meet an old friend Jan Amies I headed off to the new North Ryde train station which is about a 10 minute walk. The line from Epping to Chatswood is only newly opened(about 2 weeks) and it makes it easy to get to the city without taking the car. Had lunch with Jan and her parents Gwen and Bill Carratt at Caringbah. I had not seen them for 35 years! Wendy and Nick and Alan picked me up at Bondi and we went to very nice trendy cafe at North Bondi. Was quite exxy but I think we were paying for the privilege of being at a cafe to “Be Seen”. Food was nice and we were with friends Ron and Bev Tait so was very enjoyable. Will have to live on Baked Beans for a week or so!! Wendy and Nick kindly drove us home so saved our legs a bit after a huge day.

Sawtell to Narrabeen

Day 4/Monday 2nd March

Left Sawtell and headed for Sydney. Stopped at Freddos pies north of Kempsey for Brekie!! On recommendation from The Sim’s. Never had a pie for breakfast before but was actually quite good. Arrived at Narrabeen, my old stomping ground. Found a nice site with an ocean view. Alan thinks it might be a bit open to the Southerly but I quickly unpack before he can change my mind.

Day 5/Tuesday 3rd March
Went for a drive to Newport and the house where I grew up. I was devastated that the owners had gutted the old place leaving only foundations.The garage was still standing but will go also.The whole place looks so small!! It was huge when I was growing up! Took some photos of my old primary school ,Newport Public School then to Newport Arms hotel(lots memories of a different kind here too) had a beer and lunch overlooking Pittwater. Then it was off to golf at Mona Vale. Enjoyable arvo but not much to write home about the golf. :( Alan thinks I am still tired from my big swim....his excuse ??...he used up all his good shots at Bonville on Saturday with 3 birdies!! Oh Well any excuses will do!

The Chair has Made it!!!

Hi from Sawtell.
We left home on Friday about midday and after a quick lunch stop on the way we arrived in Sawtell. The caravan park is very nice and not crowded at all. We found a spot and set up. Did the chair make it you are thinking????
Yes,Happy hour was spent in my lovely chair!!sipping a col glass of chardy!! What a lovely hubby!! ......This is going to be a good trip.
Al cooked a barbq and we had our first nite in our home for the next 6 months.

The day arrived for the Coffs Harbour Ocean Swim. The nerves were beginning to show so as I had seen many top athletes do I put on the ipod for some motivational music!!Al listened to the radio while we drove to the Jetty. We met up with my swim training buddies Jan,Lisa, Cherie,Lee-Anne and supporter Gary. Excitment was mounting and with our green caps,goggles and large numbers on our arms, we waited at the start line with over 500 others. The 2km race went smoothly and we all bettered our time from last year. Al then told me about a shark attack he had heard on the radio that morning. Would I have swam faster if I had known before....or not at all!!! Anyway we celebrated with a bottle of bubbly before the others headed back to Kingscliff.

We were now really starting our trip!!