Foodies Adventure

Hello there,

Off on an adventure to the City Markets - a foodies paradise - similar to Melbourne Markets and right next door to China Town. We stocked up on the cold meats, ( found a new meat called lachsshinkin - yum - to die for - smoked pork with the texture of smoked salmon) cheeses, dips, olives, smoked octopus, baklava and fig n fennel sourdough. God our waistlines will never be the same. Topped off with a good Shiraz from the McLaren Vale vineyards and we are as happy as piggies in mud.

Stumbled upon the Asian section for lunch - every cuisine known - and had yum cha - the guys out the back were producing yum cha flat out and the ladies out the front were selling at a great pace - we had a few dishes - as much as we could eat for $13 - that's for two not each. We strolled back to the van and packed our purchases in the fridge - a definite advantage of travelling in the van - and then a leisurely stroll up Rundle Mall and Rundle Street to walk the lunch off.

Home for a read and a punt, Ross got a quadrella and it paid $700 - and very happy he was too. A walk along the river again and home for a fine spread of small goods and wine.

Life could be a lot worse.

Adelaide the big smoke

Hello there one and all,

We finally made it into Adelaide to Levi Park at Vale Park about 5 k out of the city. Because it is the Easter weekend the traffic is down and it is a city easy to navigate. Levi Park is excellent, lots of trees and wide sites. We managed the site across from the loo - yay finally - the gardens are beautiful and there is an old house divided into units, a big Morton bay fig, ducks and heaps of other birds and a van park that has espresso - I may be here for ever.

The back gate opens onto the Torrens Linear Park - a park that runs along the length of the Torrens River on both sides with small parks and a long and winding walking/riding trail from the Adelaide Hills to the City. Why can't we have something like this in the Byron Shire? So we spent the first day walking and riding the paths and then into the city to walk the Botanical Gardens - early night - two pooped chooks.

Kangaroo Kapers

Hi once again,

I am still having problems with publishing our photos in the blog. BUT we are persisting and so have put a bunch of our Kangaroo Island photos into this post - well we will try to anyway.....

Just a hop, skip and a jump

Hi guys,

Well we headed off to Cape Jarvis to catch the Sealink ferry to Kangaroo Island and with 15 minutes to go we're turned back by the police because of a brushfire, started by dry lightning. Great start to the day.

Arrived at the ferry, which was running an hour late, packed the van onto the ferry with inches to spare and gulped the ginger tablets to prevent seasickness and burped ginger for the next 3 days. Six metre swell and heading into 50k breeze we held down the muesli. Alas some of those around us were not so fortunate.

On to dry land and kissed the ground. Of to Penneshaw Caravan Park about 100mtres away and then set up - wherever you want mate and just plug in. Went to the pub for a quite one and then returned later for Birthday tea. Ocean views and a nice meal - staggered home and slept like logs.

Up early and off to American River - not a great deal to see, lots do swans, pelicans and lovely oysters for lunch. The oysters not the birds. Sat by the sea and had oysters and a bottle of Chapel Hill Chardonnay - gee it's tough. Went through a couple of  galleries and a long walk in the afternoon. Then off to the pub for a very ordinary coffee and a beer.

Headed to Kingscote the next day and walked the beach. Went into town and raided the seafood wholesales - lobster steaks, oysters and some king prawns to be eaten that night with another Chardonnay - Shottesbrooke - yum yum.

Kangaroo Island is interesting, not as brilliant as its media hype, but pleasant and with beautiful scenery. We have been to hidden beaches, lookouts over sea, islands and lagoons, jettys and seascapes, lots of farmland and very dry areas. Some of the best spots are those not marked in the information books and the people have generally been great.

Headed to the Western part of KI and the sun finally came out and the island woke up - the colours and the sparkling vistas are just like the brochures. Ross is devastated, no TV and no mobile reception. We called into the national park at Seal Bay and went on a guided tour right down to the beach and the sea lions were up close and personal.

Finally at the WI Caravan Park and greeted with the same. - find a spot and plug in. There are Tamarind Wallabies everywhere. Ross is feeding one water crackers because he feels sorry for it missing out on the cheese and biscuits. There are Cape Baron Geese wandering around and a koala in the tree me t to us. The possums are out tonight and keep trying to get into everyone's vans. Many more vans than caravans in this park. Yay Vans!

We had abig day - out to Admirals Arch, a natural arch full of boiling seas and seals, both Australian and New Zealand. They are everywhere on the rocks. KI does boardwalks really well and they have hundreds of metres, kilometres of boardwalks, steps and natural beauty. Remarkable Rocks is another site, Weirs Cove and down to Hanson Bay were we actually had a swim. Freezing but brilliant in crystal clear water that is green and blue and reminiscent of Magnetic Island and Emily Bay on Norfolk. Ross had his first swim for 10 years he reckons. Scary sight!

Heading back to Penneshaw tomorrow.

Reds under the Bed

Hi friends and family,

McLaren Vale is the red wine capital of South Australia. And very nice they were too. This didn't start out as a wine tour but is rapidly degenerating into a food and wine extravaganza.

We pulled into McLaren Vale Lakside Caravan Park and then headed to Shottesbrooke Vineyard - thank you Kay and Steve for the referral, the lady behind the testing counter was friendly, knowledgeable and even gave us a discount. Their Chardonay Single Vineyard was and is (I'm drinking it as I write) special and yummy (is that a wine term) and we bought a Sparkling Shiraz to sip whilst BBQing a scotch fillet that evening. Also hit Graham Stevens Vineyard, small but delivered with passion. Graham met us and shook hands with purple palms, had a chat and returned to stirring his vats because the timing is everything. He handed us over to his daughter who again was informative and chatty. McLaren Vale should pride themselves on their personal touch. The vineyards are happy to chat and are very friendly. We bought far more than we should and found the van has many nooks and crannies that are suited to wine storage.

The buildings in the area are old, stone and very Australian. The town is beautiful and the produce tasty and reasonable. Again we had a BBQ - lamb and salad wraps, with a very nice Shiraz.

We called into a couple more less known vineyards the nextday -Kay Brothers (great wines) and then Wirra Wirra (great grounds but not wines suited to our palettes) and finally Chapel Hill, the most beautiful buildings and great wines but probably the least personal tasting. Overall McLaren Vale gets our vote for good wines, personal and friendly tastings, closeness of the vineyards and pleasant environment. Way to go South Australia.

Victor Harbour the next day and we had a quick nana nap. Then off to town to send a letter to Kate with some cards we found that depicted X-rays in the outback. We thought she may appreciate the humour by artist Howard Steer. Then Ross decided we were going for a quick walk around town (so I wore my casual shoes with my new inserts). Hmmmm typical, 3 hours later when we had walked around town and then out the boardwalk to Granite island and back my feet were sore and my ankles killing me. Lucky the old knee is hanging in there really well just the rest of me is falling to bits.

A huge storm that night had the van rocking as the wind blew and the lightning flashed. But a good nights sleep was assured in the vans snug and safe interior.

On to Kangaroo Island in the morning.

A Day at the Races

Hello once again,

Saturday the 16th was the St Patricks Day Races in Broken Hill and we decided to head on in for sentimental reasons. Paul lent us his truck so we didn't have to take the van. We arrived in outback style with a bullbar and two way "breaker, breaker". Paul and Kerryn were going into the sponsors tent but with tickets at huge prices and the dress expectations set high we decided to enter the Members Stand. When we arrived the stand was in the shade for starters and on a hot day in Broken Hill very welcome. The stand overlooks the parade and presentation ring and then it was lined up with the finish post. The cream on the cake was the fact that some friends from Norfolk had saved us some seats and we settled in for the afternoon.

Ross caught up with the boys in the betting ring and out the back at the stables. Everyone is older and grayer and their kids are all grown up. It's like we haven't been away sometimes and we had a few laughs with the boys.

Also caught up with Denzo and Mick Channels who were out in the Hill after riding in an old boys contingent that heads out on bike treks every few years just to prove they still can. There were some spectacular bruises and some very stiff and sore punters.

A great day all round and Toni even won a few on the day. Ross should never have shown me how to bet using his Internet tab account and the iPad. Heheheh.

Once again a brilliant day was had by all.

Menindee Matters

Hi guys,

Heading out to Menindee today, you will remember we taught there 30 years ago and have very fond memories of the place. We headed to Don and Joan Bessells, they are Paul's mum and dad and they were  very kind to us when we headed out to the back of beyond when we were just kids really - all of 20 and very inexperienced. We parked the van on their front lawn and plugged in and then chatted for hours - those two are great, even though they are quite a bit older they are really good people and we always have plenty to talk about, catching up on gossip, family comings and goings and what's been going on in Menindee.

Don and Joan kindly shouted us to tea at Maidens Pub and we caught up with Hitler and Dominic Dettore. The food was great and there was plenty of it.

Day two and Don and Joan gave us the Tikki Tour of the lakes system and the back roads, again we saw roos, camels, sheep, cattle, goats and thousands of birds. We also found some great free campsites and will keep them in mind for our next visit. Don has promised to take us out for yabbies to the Three Mile Creek next time. Also ran into some old friends and even one of my old students who is now 48. I suppose he would have been 16 my first year out so we were only 5 years different in age. I was quite chuffed that he recognised me and then that he would come over and chat and bring his son to meet me. Nice to know we didn't do any harm and that we were appreciated. A small joy of teaching.

On with the tour. The lakes system is impressive and Don was there from when they surveyed it - it's like talking history - absolutely fascinating. The guys who engineered and planned it were before there times.

Caught up with friends from both the North Coast and Norfolk - it's a small world and it was a very easy and pleasant evening at Darryl and Kim's. We hope to catch up to the at St Patricks races with them on Saturday. Also toured the school - like Wilcannia resources coming out their ears and plenty of staff. Some schools obviously are given more than others.

Back to the Hill on Friday and a couple of tourist spots as well as art galleries and the Musicians Club - site of our first date - who said Ross wasn't sentimental. Paul and Kerryn have put us up once again and they are wonderful hosts, make us feel welcome and it's great to catch up - it seems like we see each other all the time - they are easy and fun. Good friends last over time and distance and the Bessell's, both generations, are those sort of friends. We are lucky to have them.

St Patricks Races tomorrow and then on to the Clare Valley in South Australia.

Bessell's bed and Breakfast

Hello all,

We arrived in Broken Hill and it was 37 degrees. We are staying with Paul and Kerryn and they have been wonderful hosts - yabbies were on the menu, nothing like them, followed by Bess' special lamb shanks, lots of chat and beers for the boys and we slept like logs.

Next morning out to Silverton and Umberumbika. Silverton was hot and moonscapes with some great artworks and landscapes. It was so hot even the donkey was up on the verandah leaning on the stonework to relieve the heat.

Umberumbika is a dam that holds huge amounts of water for Broken Hill - very surreal in this desert
Landscape, beautiful lakes and trees.

Home for nana naps too hot!

On the road again

Hello there friends and family,

We are travelling from Cobar to Broken Hill today, takes about 5 hours all up and it is a hot day - 36. There has obviously been a bit of rain out here because it is greener than we have ever seen it. The road edges are green and there is heaps of wildlife. Emus, goats, sheep, cattle, kangaroos and salt bush scrub - it's all olive green and red with that blue blue sky you only see out west. It makes you a bit poetic thinking of the vastness and harshness of the outback and of course the beauty. It's amazing and so beautiful.

Ross has worked out as we travel at vast speeds the roads are pretty good BUT we only come to bumps when we are passing trucks - a bit of Murphy's Law. We have just driven in a dead straight line for 50k and the GPS says go 462k and turn left. Where else in the world?

We are seeing packs of smaller hawks or kites and they are in groups of 20 and 30. A bit of a worry near the edge of the road but they seem to be used to the traffic and move of in the right direction every time. It must have been a busy breeding season.

Stopping in at Emdale, a roadhouse in the middle of the outback that we used to stop at for a pie and beer on the way to Menindee. You could write your name on the wall and then read all the names and destinations of other travellers. Well it's gone upmarket - a paint job and wait for it Merlo coffee and a barista - ya gotta laugh - in the middle of nowhere, in  36 degree heat and the flies, we had an espresso. You can camp there for $20 and that includes 2 showers. Though the toilets are a bit suspect - the Mouse House (ladies loo) had a huge - like 20cm centipede in the sink - made for a quick exit for me.

The windscreen now looks like a war zone, every bug in the vicinity committing suicide on ours. Passed some trees in the middle of nowhere, 1 with shows and thongs and sox hanging from it, another with hats and the last with soft toys, we think it is a point for a cache spot - a GPS Internet system where you visit and post on the net. Will have to ask the kids.

Going across the Talyawalka Floodplains heading into Wilcannia, ks and ks of green and red with low blue hills in the distance makes it look like the brush men of the bush paintings, the old sweeping plains and Dorothea McKeller.

Wilcannia is looking very differently than it did in our day - it actually looks like someone cares. The parks are all looking good, the pubs shut and the rubbish cleared. Still bars on windows and doors but it, looks the best we have seen it and the heritage buildings are worth a look.

Did a run past the school and they must have spent millions on it - all brand new and everything that opens and shuts. All for 90 or so students. Although most of them looked like they were sitting on the main streets smoking - there seems to be some hope.

Cobar Capers

Hi guys,

We headed off to Cobar with anticipation the road is good and the scenery is rural all the way. Brings back memories of flying out along the same track heading back to Menindee for start of term 30 years ago.

It's a long drive through some pretty towns - some have spruced up and others seem like they are fading away. Trangie is looking good, Nyngan is a bit sad really. We stopped in the park for lunch in the  - wait for it - the Bogan Shire, Nyngan and had the bagels that James was cooking last week which we snaffled and froze. We had them with smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers and lettuce - yum o James. Your breads are getting better every batch. A bit decadent for lunch on the road, but what the hell.

Narromine was a nice surprise - they really work at keeping the town looking good. The home of Glenn McGrath and Bart is looking good.

As we drove along we saw lots of cotton, kangaroos, camels, llamas and donkeys. Always something to see as we travel.

Arrived in Cobar where we found the caravan park to be clean and leafy, very relaxed - choose your own spot and let us know!! We chose Alice leafy spot with some very strange and squeaky birds and a giat peppercorn tree. Thank god for air conditioning as it hit 33 and we bunkered down after the long drive and read, watched telly and then a nana nap. As dusk came down we were treat to a brilliant red sunset and it was time to set up the BBQ and eat under the stars. They are so bright out here and you can see all the constellations clearly. My only winge was the showers- water saving extremes. Thank goodness I didn't need to wash my hair or I would have been in ther all day chasing the water droplets - not much rain around. Seems a crime after the deluge we have on the Far North Coast.

The next morning we headed out to Fort Burke Hill Lookout and Open Cut Mine, wow the viewing platform is virtually on the edge of the cut and you can see straight down into the centre. very impressive and only 2 minutes from town. It is a massive production.

And then on the way to the Hill.

Gulgong Gossip

Hi again,

Another step in the trek had us leaving Newcastle on a bright and shiny autumn day and heading up the valley towards Gulgong. We lunched in the park at Merriwa and checked out the art and craft stores as well as the information hut, that had heaps of local stuff to peruse.

Heading on up the Valley there were roadworks with red mud everywhere. Ross had a little road rage on the water truck guy who had trouble with his signals and we ended up covered in red mud which was an extra task when we got to Gulgong - boy that's sticky stuff and it gets in all the little cracks and crevices.

Also starting to see plenty of animals and birds. Plenty of kangaroos and even a giant wombat and a couple of echidnas and flocks of both white and Gray cockatoos.

Gulgong Caravan Park is old but green and leafy. The bathrooms are vivid pink for girls of course and there is handcream and vases of roses in the room. but then the gardens look like a bomb hit them and the playground is like a dessert. lucky Ross didn't want to play on the slippery slide. Met a few long time travellers - Bob and Deirdre Ellis been travelling in a huge van for 14 years - they invited us for evening drinks and gave us a run down on van park etiquette and rules and routines. They were a mine of information.

Gulgong is a Heritage town, old buildings and narrow meandering streets as well as cranky old CWA  ladies who won't get off their bums to help you. Lunch at the pub (info from Bob and Deirdre) for $6 - fish n chips and burgers - guaranteed heartburn! They also have the biggest $2 dollar shop in the world - we spent heaps of time wondering at all the treasures.

Gulgong is the town on the $10 note and home of Henry Lawson - quaint but not somewhere you would stay for more than a couple of days.

The Butcher Shop Cafe does a great coffee and is worth a visit.

Newy Natter

Hi family and friends,

We finally arrived in Newcastle and headed to my sisters place in Mayfield. We were delighted to see that she has been sprucing the place up and it looks great. It is an old cottage and she has redone the front paintwork and now the back deck area. Villa Vallencia is looking good.

As usual we headed off to catch up with the kiddy winks for tea. James and Ruby are great little cooks and produced a sumptuous feast for us - potato salad, asparagus from the community gardens, roast tomato and goats cheese quiche and scrumptious beef and red wine pies. A hit with Ross. We finished with crumble and decadent vanilla ice cream. As always we ate too much but the company was fine and it's always lovely to see them both. The flat looked brilliant and the kids happy.

We did the family thing over the next couple of days - lunch with ma and pa, coffee and drinks withMick and Donna and the nieces and nephews and then dinners and afternoons with my sister. It's great to catch up and Ross had an opportunity to show off his van.

We coffeed in the Hunter Mall at a place called Half Penny Black - great coffee and setting under the dappled light of the Leopard trees. Wandered down along the Harbour foreshore and on to the relatively new James Squires Micro Brewery to check out the range.

You can take the girl out of Newy but it is always good to get back and see the family.

Thank you Villa Vallencia for a very comfortable and welcoming stay.

What the F@#!$ are you doing in Necknock

Hey there guys,

We made it to the Hunter via Windscreens O'Brien - a lovely coal truck just outside Muswellbrook left us with a large chip and the start of cracking on the windscreen. Luckily Windscreens O'Brien are the first thing you see as you enter Muswellbrook and the guys there were really efficient - 20 minutes later and we were back on the road to Cessnock where we stayed at Hunter Valley Vineyards Big 4. A walk around town to buy tea, a quick spa in the common area where we met a Dutch/ Canadian who was visiting his son who works in Sydney and had a great chat about the way to approach travels in Canada.

Back for tea to the van where we had a dozen oysters followed by chicken salad with a nice botle of Chardonnay. Very nice too, a lovely finish to the day of travels.

The Park actually has a woodfired pizza oven that we could have used but we didn't find out until after tea. Too late!

We were really weary after the spa so we shut down and retreated to the van on dark to read and watch MKR of course. My sister rang and asked where we were. Hence the title of todays effort.

The next morning we headed up the valley for a few tastings - oooh not sure about morning wines though - Tamberlaine Organics - a style we hadn't tried before - Chamboucin - not my style - even tried one that was processed during a bushfire year and you could actually taste the fire and ash in the wine - again not our style, but great gardens and very pretty vineyard.

Tasted at Brokenwood (thankyou Maso), a coffee at Tempus Two, lunch at Audrey Wilkinson overlooking the vineyards and beautiful vistas and then on to Hungerford Hill where we tasted a beautiful Chardonnay and bought a bottle to take on our travels.

Then headed back to Newcastle, family and "Villa Valencia"

Wallabadah Wanders

Hi again,

I am getting up to date while we have a rest stop at "Villa Valencia" my sisters place in Newcastle.

On the way from Armidale to the Hunter we stopped for lunch at the reststop at Wallabadah. Don't you love Australian small towns - who thinks of these names? It was lovely - it had just been mowed (the workmen still there) and is a small spot by the river that gurgles along overlooked by a couple of spotless barbq's and tables. The toilets were clean as well and a short stroll away is a First Fleet memorial and gardens. It was a lovely time of day and the weather was the first sun we had seen for what seems like weeks so our opinion may have been influenced by this. The signage says you can stay overnight only so we may try it on the way back to the shire.

P.S. it looks like a great cafe and pub just up the road too within walking distance.

A pretty spot that warrants another visit.

Armidale Arrival

Hi friends and family,

Well we finally made it away and left on Saturday morning around 9 (only half an hour after we planned - pretty good for us) Because the weather is still stinky we decided to do the inland trip down the New England Highway and  through Lismore, Casino, lunch at Tenterfield and a visit to the Tenterfield Saddler (looking a bit worse for wear these days) and we finally left the wet behind as we travelled through Glen Innes and onto Armidale. A big trip for 1 day but we had finally outrun the worst of the weather.

Pembroke Tourist Park with an ensuite (very old but useful especially in the wet) was our final rest and we had a walk around the park. Then off down the street. Armidale has some great ladies shops - very country elegant and the town is full of historical buildings a really pretty but cold town (13 degrees at the beginning of Autumn) when the wind blows.

We had Thai for tea - PJ's Thai - absolutely brilliant - highly recommend it.

The next day we went to the farmers markets and collected some vegetables for tea and then wandered around on a Historical Walking tour of the town. The city has heaps of churches and beautiful old buildings. A bit much for the knee so we had to head home for an icepack and a rest.

The gardens all have herbs in them at the caravan park and some vegetables even - so I was able to collect a fine bunch for our cous cous that evening. Yum. Ross cooked up a fine scotch fillet and some of the corn in its leaves on the barbq and a couple of wines and the end to a great day.

Cold but clear weather and some very tired campers - a recipe for a good nights sleep.

Lake at Lennox

Afternoon guys,

I have been a bit slack of late so thought I better catch up with our news and travels.

Last weekend we decided that if we didn't get a way soon we would be stuck without a trial before our big trip. With the weather on the beautiful north coast presenting us with three weeks straight of wet and windy, stormy and ugly weather we decided that a quick run is better than no run at all. So we headed down to Lake Ainsworth at Lennox Head - not far from home but far enough to give us an idea of how everything works and check out our setup and packup skills.

The weather had a rest and we had a fun afternoon setting up, Kate even came down for lunch with us. A long walk along the lake edge  at dusk was lovely with many families taking advantage of the break in the weather.

After our walk we settled in for the evening with some cheeese and wine followed by a barbq all sitting outside the van and eaten overlooking the lake.

Then as if Huey knew we had finished eating the heavens opened, we rushed inside and battened down the hatches - lots of thunder, lightning and torrential rain. A bit of a riot but between the TV and the kindle we kept amused and had an enjoyable evening after all. I slept like a log and poor Ross spent the night waiting for us to leak or blow away. Needless to say even though it cleared on Monday we dried out a bit, packed up and headed home.

A good trial run - 4 seasons in one day.