Forster Tuncurry

Monday 11 April - Well it rained really heavy all night and a bit of the morning so we went for a drive around Tuncurry just having a look around and the rest of the day was just reading or sewing and chilling out again. Tomorrow is our last day in Tuncurry so I imagine if it is fine it will be the beach again and just filling up the car with petrol for our trip up near Coffs for two days before heading into Wooli.

Sunday 10 April - We went to the markets in Forster this morning which was OK and then we headed off to the beach again which was lovely. So another relaxing day.
We got back to camp and this couple with three kids have camped just about on top of us, they have a caravan with an annexe and then put up this large outdoor pegola that leans right against our van where they and all their friends hang out all day yapping on the top of their lungs and just being pests. They even brought their washing machine that they have set up at the back of their van.

Saturday 9 April - It turned out to be a lovely day, John went off on his charter (charter boat, what charter boat?) sorry couldn't help it. I did the washing and cleaning up and headed down the beach. Just after I got there a group of locals turned up and introduced themselves and before you knew it I was one of the elite group, by the end of the morning I knew who was who and all the gossip and I also managed to get a little sunburnt as I couldn't get a way from them.
Once I could break away I headed back to camp as John was to ring when he got back for me to pick him up. Well I went to pick him up and he came over to the car and said that he had just dropped the biggest @##%ing fish that he had ever seen (so I guess he was a little unhappy, don't you think?) He just about had it in the boat a 50 kilo cobia and they couldn't get it in the boat in time, so they lost it, the skipper who has been running the charter boats for years reckons it was the biggest cobia that he had ever seen, oh well, the only consolation is that they managed to catch a lot of other fish so he didn't come home empty handed, we just need to keep it frozen somehow.

Friday 8 April - Yeah! it is a lovely fine day, so off for a swim this morning, John as usual got talking to a guy in the water and came out looking a dried up prune after at least an hour of talking or waffling. So it was home for lunch and back for a fish, but no luck there so off for another swim after John finished a long conversation with a guy as we were packing up our fishing gear. With John in toe there is no such thing as a quick hello and move on it turns into a marathon conversation.
Fingers crossed for the sea to be calm tomorrow and an abundance of fish in the ocean as John is booked on a deep sea charter tomorrow. I hope he has a great time.


Thursday 7 April - Weather wasn't the greatest so we went sight seeing today, we headed south down to Seal Rocks, we passed through Pebbly Beach, Bennetts Head, Smith Lake, Boomerang Beach and stopped at a lovely little craft cottage and had lunch in Green Point. Even though the weather was terrible we really got a suprise on how lovely the beaches are, the water was so crystal clear and just absolutely lovely looking spots.

Monday to Wednesday 4-6 April - Just chilling at Tuncurry, we have had a bit of rain and when it clears up we head down for swim. We have managed to go fishing, John caught a lovely estuary cod that he had to throw back as they are a protected species, what a bugger. John has had a crook hip since South Australia so we finally got it looked at now that we are in the one spot for a while. He had a cortisone injection after x-rays etc, so fingers crossed it helps out.

Sunday 3 April - We couldn't believe it we woke up to a lovely warm morning. So after John washed the car we headed down the beach and had a couple of swims before lunch, the water was so clear and not that cold. The little enclosed beach is so pretty with nice white sand. We went back to camp which is a short walk through the park to the beach and had lunch. We headed in to town to get the usual bread and milk etc and I managed to get a hair cut that was badly needed, I asked for a trim but came out considerably a lot shorter.
Tonight we walked over to the local bowls club for the meat raffle, (we had no luck) John thoroughly enjoyed his "Tooheys Old" schooners though, funny that. We put a couple of dollars in the pokies after dinner and then walked back to camp.

Saturday 2 April - Another long trip but yeah we made it we are in Tuncurry which so far looks like a pretty spot, we had a quick drive to familiarise ourselves with what is what today and tomorrow, weather permitting we will peruse it much better. We are camped right next to the ocean and there is a man made rock wall that is on both sides to give you a very protected little beach very much like "Little D-/bar" at home at the entrance to the lake. Fingers crossed for some fine weather.

Gulgong

Friday 1 April - Wow what a long day, lots of really bad roads cutting across to Gulgong, we got there around 3pm and left the car on the van as we had an early start the next day for another 500klm.
We camped at the Gulgong showground for $12 which was a real bargain as most caravan parks are twice as much as that and more. We had hot showers and power included in that, so we just chilled as we had nearly another 500 klm to go tomorrow.
I know Michelle had been here on a school excursion when she was in 5th class, you will notice Gulgong on the $10 note.
When we left the next morning we were absolutely blown away by the beautiful old town. We have seen a lot of towns on our trip and a lot of them old but this was unbelievable, as we drove through the old town it was like being in an old movie, the streets were really skinny you could just imagine the horse and carts going through the township. So pretty we will have to come back some time to take photos. Apparently the museum is really good also.

Griffith

Thursday 31 March - We organised to go on a trip around Catalia Fruit Farm so before we got there we went out to McWilliams Wines and I managed to taste test a few nice wines and purchased a couple.
Then it was up town for a quick bite to eat before going to the fruit farm, we arrived at the farm and there ended up being 18 of us waiting to do the tour. The owners turned up,first Joe the husband handed us all a large bunch of grapes to eat and the wife Sharon was such a hard case, she was telling jokes and was very informative about how to propogate the various citrus fruits and plants in general. So off we went nice and cosy in her little mini bus with old scolloped fringe all around the top of the windows, very italian. She drove us around the orchards explaining everything and then we watch a dvd all about the farm, it was great.
When we got back we had taste testing of all the goods that Sharon makes, some of which were jams, relishes, sauces, honey, wines, mustards etc etc.
Then we headed back to town to fill up with that "cheap" fuel from the day before, we drove up and down the street and couldn't find the petrol station, there was a petrol station with no name on it and no bowsers and we thought "NO" that can't be it there is nothing left they couldn't demolish it in less than 24 hours, but guess what they had. As they say he who hesitates losers. So early night tonight as we have nearly 500 klms to go tomorrow.

Wednesday 30 March - Arrived at Griffith, set up the van and drove around town checking it out. The main street was so long it seemed to go forever. On the way up with noticed a United service station with diesel fuel 10cents cheaper than any of the others. I suggested we fill the car up and John said we will do it tomorrow.

Echuca

Wednesday 30 March - We said our goodbyes and headed in different directions, Julie and Brian headed off to Hollbrook and John and I headed for Griffith for two nights before making our way across NSW to the east.

Tuesday 29 March - The four of us went off for a drive in the morning and the boys went to the Port of Echuca which is a museum mostly about old paddle steamers, the river and old rail carriages.
Julie and I went and found a couple of fabric shops to spend time in and that night we went into Moama RSL for dinner. Out came our Seniors Cards and we had a lovely two course meal for $12.50 each, not bad, sometimes it pays to be senior.

Monday 28 March - We went for a cruise on the "Kingfisher" boat cruising the Murray River at Barmah where we went into the Barmah lake. There was heaps of birdlife and very high waters due to the floods. It was a very relaxing 2 hours. Then we went back to camp for lunch and headed out after lunch walking around the town checking out all the stores. Then back for beer 'o'clock.

Sunday 27 March - Off again this time we are heading to Echuca a fairly long trip. We had a detour in Karang which copped a lot of flooding not that long ago, it is where Prince William visited to check out the damage. It was really bad, I got out and took some photos of the Murray Valley Highway once we got back to the end of the damage, the road was still under water and completely ruined, the tar was all in a huge bulge, the paddocks still held loads of water, it was unbelievable. Finely we arrived to meet up with Brian and Julie for 3 days. We stayed at a caravan park right on the Murray River with old paddle steamers going up and down the river all day blowing there deep whistles as they passed by, there looked so lovely.
We didn't get up to too much that day, just bought food for dinner and headed back to camp where John and Brian had a swim and Julie and I just caught up with each other.

Gol Gol - Mildura

25 - 26 March - Friday - We arrived in one of my favourite caravan parks, if anyone decided to head down this way it is the first caravan park I would recommend, the amenities are set up as ensuites and the facilities in general are great. The whole place is absolutely spotless.
When we first arrived John went off to the doctors as he is having problems with his hip, so he got some drugs and off we went walking around the town of Mildura checking it out. It is a really large place.
Saturday - we headed off to Wentworth it is where the Murray River meets the Darling River. We were here last year but boy what a difference, the road was blocked off and the water has come right up over the parks, the lookout and road. I took heaps of photos as it is unbelievable the difference. The picnic table we had lunch on last year is out in the water some distance away. You cannot get to the lookout as it is way out in the water as well. The river is running so fast all because of the flood waters coming down from Queensland. Mildura has had a lot of rain as well and there is water laying around everywhere it is not soaking into the ground at all. When we were up at Nuriootpa a couple of the big wineries (Penfolds and Wolf Blass) lost a lot of their grape crops due to the water. I think the 2011 wine vintage will be a poor one as they are all complaining about the lack of quality.
After lunch we headed down to Red Cliffs where they have the lunar festival which is the end of the harvest so they have a big celebration. There were floats going down the main street, stalls in the park and loads of entertainment. It was an excellent turn out for a reasonable small town. Then it was back to camp to prepare for our move tomorrow. We are off to Echucha for a couple of days meeting up with Brian and Julie, then we will start heading upwards on our home stretch.
Hopefully this next week we can put the last week behind us and relax a little more.

Barmera South Australia

Wednesday 23 March - We set off early today as we had a lot of kilometres ahead of us today as we changed plans to arrive in Mildura today. But just outside of Renmark we received a call from a friend and need to go back to Adelaide to do some business, so we found a caravan park at Barmera on Lake Bonney which would probably be quite spectacular if that bloody wind wasn't howling at a rate of knots. I know I sound like a broken record, but I have never encountered so much wind as we have in South Australia, we just can't get away from it. To make matters worse it has chilled up again today I think we reached 18° at one stage.
We went for a drive into Renmark, the town isn't as big as I thought it would be. We discovered quite a few large houseboats moored in the Murray River and took a couple of photos then headed back going through Berri where they make the orange juices etc. We didn't bother going through the factory as we wanted to get back to have a rest as we have a late trip into Adelaide tonight and then hopefully head off in the morning to Mildura.

Nuriootpa

Tuesday 22 March - We got off to a sluggish start today but managed to cover a fair area. We headed off to Angaston to the Angus Fruit factory, after testing a few of the dried fruits we purchased some dried peaches that are yummy and some dark chocolate orange balls, John and I ate one each and then I got the guilts and said we should put them away for Kylie as she would really love them, so fingers crossed Kylie that they make it home. Then we headed to Lyndoch another town further south of Tanunda and called into this beautiful cottage full of patchwork fabrics that went forever, she had some many rooms full of fabrics but I refrained from purchasing any.
After that we went to Maggie Beers for lunch it was so delicious, I had a picnic basket of duck pate with couscous, pickles and fresh mini bread loves with a lovely white wine that is from Maggie's husbands vineyard. Then off to a couple more wineries which included Jacobs Creek that is huge. The grape fields went forever and the wine was sooo nice, so feeling very relaxed we went to this beautiful nursery to admire all the rose plants. The roses grow like weeds over here you just can't believe how many every one have in their yards and the standard roses along their pathways leading to the beautiful old homes are just unbelievable, we are so envious of them all. John has been pinching all the old dead buds hoping to germinate the seeds. I have heard that an expert down here does that but sometimes you can plant hundreds and have a return of about 2, but if it keeps him busy that's fine.

Monday 21 March - We arrived in Nuriootpa in one of the prettiest caravan parks I have seen, it was very impressive. The trip here was another story though, the roads are unbelievable they are so bumpy with dips all over the place, I don't think they have done maintenance on their roads for years.
The caravan right next to us has a lovely couple (John and Rose) who happen to live in Burleigh, it is amazing how many people we have run into that live near us or where we lived in Wollongong, small world. Anyway we set up and went for a drive into Tanunda which is the next town down from us that is quaint with lots of old shops in it. On our way back we decided to go to Penfolds for some wine tasting which was nice. We purchased a couple of wines and another port and headed back to camp.