Apr 10, 2021 - Day 3. Adelaide

We woke to a cold and windy day. I decided I needed to buy a Puffer Jacket, so we were deciding where we’d go when Lyn contacted us saying they were free and would pick us up and take us to Westfields, Marion. Sounded good. Found a lovely jacket at second shop, had coffee and vanilla slice - our first indulgence - collected our dozen Krispy Creme donuts which I ‘won’ for spending over $50. I was impressed, as I’d looked at these and saw the price and walked away. They would have cost about $30. We then went for a drive to the beaches which...

Apr 9, 2021 - Day 2. Adelaide

W e both had a wonderful sleep last night, probably best for first night in a different bed. Breakfast and then a walk to Rundle Mall. It’s a little chilly to cold today - I’d forgotten how quickly weather can change in South Australia. We tried to buy paperback books, but no luck. None in newsagents, cheap shops, K Mart, Woolworths, Myer. We went to the Markets, one of Ian’s favourite haunts in Adelaide, where we met my cousin Peter and Lyn, had lunch and wandered for a while. We went to their home where we had a lot of catching up to do,...

Apr 8, 2021 - Day 1 - Adelaide

I made a mistake in yesterdays entry and said Ian Fair was picking us up at 6am..Should have read 6.30am. He and Anne turned up just before 6am and we weren’t ready. Sorry! Good flight, passed through South Australian Border Entry with no problems, waited in long queue for Covid test, Uber to hotel. Asked by Reception if we were self isolating - said we weren’t told to, but we decided we’d do the right thing so had lunch here and now we’re in our lovely, big room, compliments of Lufthansa flying points. Pays to register with all these...

Apr 8, 2021 - I lost count of how many days it’s been

Today we went to the beach to see crazy waves and a blow hole going meters high also we went to nature world with kangaroos roaming around, we saw some Tasmanian devils and wombats, my favourite was the echidna. Once we did that we went to Swansea to our apartment and had a swim.

Apr 7, 2021 - -Day 1 - Ghan Adelaide to Darwin

This is not how we usually start our holidays....packing the port the day before! That's the way Margaret and Pam do it, but not us. But we had no choice. Late Thursday afternoon before Easter, we had a call from Journey Beyond Rail Expeditions asking for Cathy. I explained that this wasn't Cathy's number but she was our Travel Agent. She then said that because Brisbane was a Covid 'hotspot' we wouldn't be allowed to join the train. I told her that we'd self-isolated since the outbreak and that we'd had our first Covid jab, but she said...

Apr 6, 2021 - That's Tour de Cowra for another year

With 11 of us left at the house and no cycling today, it was a gentle start to the day with a cooked breakfast for a few then some of the guys went to the camp ground to help the Bike North organisers pull down a marquee, as agreed the previous afternoon. When the guys got there at the agreed time they had already taken it down with some help from other club members. The guys had a bit of a chat and then turned around and drove back to the house Meanwhile at the house we were packing up and cleaning before we left. Mandy (house owner)...

Apr 5, 2021 - Day 4 The traditional house ride - The Chiverton Loop

As has become the tradition for the group staying the Blue Gum Farm Lodge, we all stick together on the last day and ride at the pace of the slowest person. It is a social ride more than anything and the only day we have a chance to ride with everyone in the house. Of course we have some fun too. Leanne B and Helen did not ride out from the house but took the car to the official start point of the ride. Leanne has been gradually increasing her distance ridden since her operation last year so the drive to the start each day was a safety...

Apr 4, 2021 - Day 3 Wyangala Dam for some.. and not for others

Wyangala Dam is traditionally the difficult ride of the weekend. Tom and Roman had not done it before and so they were keen to attack the climbs to the dam followed by the 7km climb out of the dam, on the 90km loop back to the house. Brian and Goran had done that ride before and nothing was stopping them doing it again. The rest of the riders in the house did the only other ride (56km) on offer today, known as Pine Mount. Not sure if there is a place called Pine Mount but there is certainly a Pine Mount Rd that we followed for quite a bit...

Apr 3, 2021 - Day 2 Billimari / Goolagong Rides

Another beautiful day in Cowra. Mid to high 20s with clear blue skies. The house group members chose different rides. Goran, Gaylene, Roman, geoff and Leanne M did Goolagong / Billimari loop fir 104km Gerry, Tom did Billimari loop for 71km and Gerry had a flat tyre on the ride back to the house after lunch. Leanne B and I did Billimari there and back for 62km Helen had a rest day Ronnie and Carol enjoyed the local area going their separate ways After light lunch at the Rose Cafe we returned to the house for a rest and a game of Finska...

Apr 2, 2021 - Day 1 The Woodstock rides

Ride to Woodstock today. Anticlockwise. Some did the shorter route , I did the middle distance as I was testing out how my broken elbow would handle a ride, and others did the longer ride. We all split after the Woodstock Pub. Leanne M, Tom and I rode back together on the middle distance. Lunch at the Rose Garden cafe then a quiet afternoon back at the house. BBQ dinner of lamb chops , sausages, chicken with plum and tomato salad, potato salad and Greek salad. Fresh fruit salad and icecream for dessert!

Apr 1, 2021 - The clan gets back together again

The good old group get back together again with some newbies to the house and the event, and many ‘oldies’. There are 13 of us in the house this year, and we all arrived at different times and via different routes. Some coming via the blue mountains and Bathurst and the others via Goulburn and Boorawa. With Goran leaving after work and not arriving until 23:00. Tom and I stopped in Blayney for coffee only to find Brian there ,just finishing coffee and an apparently excellent beef and vege pie. Unfortunately no GF snack to be found there...

Oct 23, 2020 - Bundaberg to Brisbane

Wed 23rd Oct - Bundaberg to Brisbane I slept soundly through to Bundaberg - about 6:00am when the sun was up and streaming through the windows that had blinds up. I know it’s an illusion but the trip seems shorter coming home to what it did going. The most remarkable thing this morning is the amount of water in creeks dams and rivers and the different colour with everything having some sort of shade of green as opposed to out west where all the colours are shades of brown. Oh how we need rain. The promise of a La Nina weather system is...