Jul 22, 2020 - Gulgong to Moree's Artesian Spa

Our hotel room was very chilly so getting out of bed the next morning required some real willpower. Once outside however it was much more pleasant as the sun was shining and there was not a breath of wind. We walked around town and in one of the shops the charming shopkeeper played us a tune on his fiddle. You don't get that every day. We found a cafe for breakfast before hitting the road, we have almost five hours of driving to get to Moree. We stopped at Coonabarabran for a very quick bite before continuing. There sure were a lot of road...

Jul 21, 2020 - Sydney to Gulgong - heading for Queensland (Take 2)

Well today is the day we headed off again. We have printed off our border passes for the Qld border checkpoint and fingers crossed this time we make it. We left Sydney mid morning and crossed over the Blue Mountains, stopping at both Echo Point in Katoomba and Govetts Leap at Blackheath for wonderful views over the valleys. Both viewpoints were quiet which is a first for the popular Echo Point viewpoint, no tourist coaches and great parking spots available. We stopped at the bakery at Blackheath for comfort food Grae had a pie and I had a...

Jun 30, 2020 - Forster and Seal Rocks

We spent our last night in Forster. We followed the Visitor Information Officer's recommendation and did the coast walk to Bennetts Head Lookout with breathtaking views up and down the coast. For dinner we ate at Hogs Breath, we both ordered rare steaks and I treated myself and ordered a Moscow Mule (Vodka, ginger beer and lime juice). Our accommodation at the Golden Sands Motel on Head St was very good value (only $81) and conveniently located one street back from the beach. It's winter but because the weather is nice and sunny there are...

Mar 21, 2020 - North of Eden, Aslings Beach

Yesterday before we left on an arduous 1 hour journey to Eden we thought we would visit Gypsy Point for some lunch. Needn't have bothered nothing there, except it is the departure point for "wilderness river cruises". The only thing of interest was that there were bell birds calling... This morning we rose early and packed up to get to Eden where we arrived around 1100. Nice van park, last time we stayed here we had Gracie with us. I left her moored outside the $2 shop and went inside for something. On egress Gracie had found the tennis...

Mar 15, 2020 - at Kingscliff - drive to Murwillumbah

SUN Mar 15 - Day 21 Dawn has brought a cold wind from the south, fully overcast with occasional very light showers. Good morning to stay inside and attend church back home via the web LiveStream. Dan Paterson speaking again. “Has Science Buried God?” Great service. Finished about midday and Jan had thought she would like to do a load of washing before going home - there is a huge amount of blue sky and sunshine but still windy. She decided not to. After lunch we did a bit of reading and decided to go for a drive at 3:00pm. It’s still a nice...

Mar 14, 2020 - at Kingscliff

Sat Mar 14 - Day 20 The day has dawned with blue sky and no wind but we don’t expect that to last. Minute by minute the clouds are building up over the sea and moving in. The weather almost echos the current state of the nation with the Corona Virus. Uncertain, gloomy prospects, plans being reconsidered or cancelled. Yesterday the news was all about the declared Pandemic and last night’s address to the nation by the PM stated the measures being taken by the Fed Govt to deal with the expected rapid increase in the number of identified cases...

Mar 13, 2020 - Day 49 to Young - UPDATE NOTES

Hi All, Leaving Burra we headed into what is regionally called the Riverland Region being the agricultural area along the Murray River from about Morgan in SA to Mildura in Victoria, years ago citrus was predominate crop grown but now grapes, not a lot of cellar doors, but a hell a lot of grapes along with citrus, almonds and olive oil. On the way we looked at a silo at Waikerie which is unique as it’s done on all sides by 2 different artists. Due to the route we were taking this part of the trip involved some interesting river crossings on...

Mar 13, 2020 - Evans Head to Kingscliff

Fri Mar 13 - Day 19 Time to move on and take some rain to the Northern Rivers area. Last night the TV weather said that they were expecting the rain to clear by Monday/ Tuesday. So when did we say we were coming home!!!! Todays trip is only an hour 20mins so that should be an easy run. Not long after departure, Jan suggested we detour into Lennox Head for morning tea. No idea what’s there. First time we think. We have 1km at 95km/hr to make up our minds. Done - take the exit. It’s a windy and overcast day but not raining. Morning tea was...

Mar 12, 2020 - at Evans Head

Thu Mar 12 - Day 18 Jan wants to re-cook the lemon butter a bit more to try to get it to thicken more - and then she’s put on a piece of silverside to cook (in the Dreampot during the day) so that’s what we’ll have for dinner tonight. All morning it has rained on and off - no incentive to get to the beach. Late morning we went for a drive to go to Razorback Lookout which is high above the south breakwater wall. Didn’t spend much time there as the squalls chased us back inside the car. On to the carpark at Shark Bay and then the carpark...

Mar 11, 2020 - at Evans Head

Wed Mar 11 - Day 17 First up today Jan put a load of washing on - and as soon as it was under way we had a rain shower come over. Never mind, it will dry eventually under the awning. Which it did, because a strong wind blew up after the shower and kept up all day - so we did another load and got all the washing up to date. After lunch it was time to walk the entire Evans Head shopping centre - 20mins later it was all done and time to head home. Exciting!!!! Actually what was even more exciting was when Ron tipped over a cup of coffee into...

Mar 10, 2020 - Grafton to Evans Head

Tue Mar 10 - Day 16 On the move again for a 1hr 45min drive. But why does the GPS on my iPhone want me to go via Casino for 2 and qtr hrs? I ignored it initially until we were on the Highway again when I pulled over and tried again unsuccessfully to get it to give me a route straight up the highway. I can only assume that it (Apple Maps) considered the road cut and impassable because of all the work being done on the highway in bits and pieces. We arrived at Evans Head ‘Reflections’ park at about 12:10 and took our time settling in before...

Mar 9, 2020 - Bonny Hills to Grafton

Mon Mar 9 - Day 15 Time to farewell this quiet place just north of North Haven. We left at 9:30 and set the GPS destination for “Ricardoes Tomatoes” which is just 15min N of Coffs Harbour. This is a working hydroponic farm growing tomatoes and strawberries and making and selling products made from those ingredients. Two big attractions for us - pick your own strawberries and devonshire tea in the cafe. We picked about a half bucket of strawberries and bought some jam and pasta sauce and some tomatoes. The scones, jam and cream were beaut...