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.