Almost home

It's going to be so strange to be home for months, not sure how we are going to handle that LOL.

We changed our plan yet again and decided not to stop over in Echuca and instead just called into Geoff and Jenny for morning tea and then headed on down the road to Bendigo.

I was looking at the Badgers caravan report site over breakfast yesterday and there was a park at Big Hill, just outside Bendigo that was getting rave reviews, so we thought we would check it out as it sounded too good to be true. But it is. An amazing park. Only 16 sites, all with ensuite and set in manicured gardens. Pool area is spotless and set up for adults not children, what a nice change LOL.

As this was our last stop before Melbourne we got right back into the Nomad swing and invited the young couple behind us and the elderly couple next to us over for 5 o'clock drinks which of course went on until 8.30. Lots of ideas and places to go were swapped. Just like being back out on the road with the nomads, must be an omen for May departure.

I did sneak a couple of pics at the Glass Gallery and it's no surprise that I would love this one. The lines are classic Deco and the colour is very moi. We headed off yesterday and stayed at Deniliquin where I got D'Luded into the Edward River. Today heading down the road to Echuca for an overnight stop and then onto Bendigo for two nights before hitting Melbourne to do the deed.

Bruce has finally left Melbourne and Oz for Thailand, our loss their gain but I am sure we will still get to see lots of him. Hope the trip was great and happy house hunting in phuket.

Hello from Wagga Wagga

Very hot (37 yesterday) with a threat of rain this afternoon. Yesterday we went to the local gallery and what a great surprise it was. Back in the 90's the major regional galleries agreed that they would specialize in only one area instead of everyone doing the same thing. Wagga went for Art Glass. The galley is amazing and the collection is breath taking. All the pieces are made in Oz but there are many internationals represented. Sorry no pics allowed.

If you ever are passing this way, put aside a couple of hours and have a good look.

It's so green it hurts but.............

as you travel around you can tell the the downpour from last week has really sparked everything into growing but the truth lies in the dams. We headed out to this massive dam about 30klms outside of Cowra with the idea of putting D'luded into the water and having a sail. The truth of the drought is here for everyone to see. the dams are almost empty.

Cowra Japanese Garden

How great is this place. Some of you know that I am a hopeless Japanophile, having been to the country 6 times, doing gardens and temple complexes from Hiroshima, Kyoto, Tokyo, Matsamoto, Sapporo and everything in between and the gardens here in Cowra are right up there with some of the best.

Nakajima San the designer also designed the Imperial Palace gardens in Tokyo and the Japanese Gardens in NYC and these gardens are every bit as good. Stunning views from all areas and the addition of Gums scattered through the garden is a fantastic touch. As you wander around the paths you stumble across lizards sunning themselves and kookaburra singing in the tress - Bliss.

Last look at the mountains.

The clouds nestled into the valleys was our goodbye to the Blue Mountains. The trip down the highway to Cowra via Bathurst was uneventful apart from a stop off at the Dan Murphys in Bathurst for some supplies LOL. Our arrival in Cowra had a slight hickup when I turned into a side street only to find it a dead end and that cars were parked in the turning circle just to make it that little bit more difficult. After further refining my reversing skills it was off to the park to set up home for a couple of days. Everything is VERY green, it looks like a slice of England out here. We wandered up main street to check out what was here and low and behold we found a fine dining restaurant, but it doesn't open until Thursday so we might extend a night so we can sample the local fare. Today is off to the Japanese Gardens so stand by for pics.

The view from Mt Tomah

It may be raining but that didn't stop us doing Gorge 74. We headed into the Blue Mountains yesterday to have a look at the "Cool Climate Botanical Gardens" which were very good. Unfortunately it rained the entire time we were there which made getting around a bit soggy LOL.

On the way home we came across a couple of dirt roads going off to picnic areas, so we went to investigate. The best was Mt Tomah (above) which was about a 2 klm climb and scrambled to the very edge of the gorge and a very spectacular view. Even the rain was heaven sent as waterfalls were cascading down hundreds of meters into the valley below, very very specky.

Still Raining,

Beginning to think NSW has been lying about the drought up here LOL. Off to Cowra tomorrow (I think) as the roads to the really good places around here are not all that crash hot at the moment because they are dirt and with all the rain it is not advisable to take them on.

It's very soggy this side of the range LOL

Our welcome to Lithgow has been somewhat wet. It hasn't stopped since we arrived, so the weekend might be a galleries, museum and short walks affair. We have just discovered that we are only 600klms from Inverell and the sapphire fields, so if this dam rain doesn't nick off we just might hitch up and head that way to make our fortune.

Kiama is never dull

After three days of glorious weather and lots of sunshine we have sadly said goodbye and hit the road again. But before we left there were some things that we needed to do.

Two years ago almost to the day we had the first "Pensioners Lunch" at the Cargo Restaurant on the wharf and so we felt it only fair that we should relive the experience and make sure the high standards were still up to scratch - and they were.

We then took a quick trip up the highway to Wollongong as neither of us had ever been there before, and now we know why LOL. I am sure I will upset someone else by saying that. We headed north on the coast road to the fantastic Seabridge which is on the way to Sydney. Never fear we didn't make the mistake of actually entering Sydney. The Sea Bridge is 1.7 klms long and gives a fantastic view of the coast.

An absolute must if you are in the area is a visit to the Nan Tien Temple, just a couple of klms south of Wollongong. This wonderful Buddist Temple almost makes you think that you are back in Asia proper. After saying "Hi" to Budda and burning some incense to Health and safe travelling we headed back to our last night by the sea.

This morning we headed off to Lithgow. Again this is another town we haven't done before (being so close to a city is usually why we avoid these places) and from the info so far it looks like we might spend 3 or 4 days here as there seems to be some good walks etc. Right on cue, as we were setting up Miss G, down came the rain, so the travelling "Rain Show" continues LOL.

Our last morning in Wollami,

dawned foggy and cool, but with the promise of a really great day ahead. True to form as we drove out of town the fog lifted and not a cloud in sight. We arrived at Kiami, (just south of Wollongong) at lunch time and set up Miss G and for the first time in days got to open all the window and really give her a good airing. As things had been so damp we desperately need to do some laundry so off to the amenities block with the basket full to overflowing. While the little buggers washed it was off to the pool for a very relaxing afternoon. Temp 28 and clear blue blue sky. We have lucked out again and got a nice big site just up from the beach so we can sit outside with the G and T and watch the waves roll in. We were planning on heading to Cowra for the weekend, but we met some people from Cowra and they warned us off, explaining that there is quite a native problem on weekends and we were advised that during the week is much much better.

Update on the Cowra thing, I now have it on good authority that  the town is very RV friendly and have just been awarded the "RV friendly town" Award so maybe my original info was a bit off the mark, either way we are still not due there until next week.

Shelob and friends

To get out of the van (yes it's still raining here, but nowhere near as bad as further north)yesterday we decided to go for a stroll around Abraham's Bosom (National Park) and lying in wait for moi was this little group.

Tomorrow we head off and it's very sad that we have this great site, right on the banks of the river and haven't been able to take advantage of it, oh well maybe next time. Well things are finally moving ahead with the sale of the house with a sale date of May 1. We arrive back in Melbourne on Feb 28 and probably will be home for about 8 - 10 weeks.

Rain, Rain, go away, please.........

Our neighbours are trying to work out whether the weather is getting worse or not. We have now been at Wollami for two days and it hasn't stopped raining, I heard on the radio that they should be able to officially announce that the "Drought has broken". Great news for the country and the city alike. The dams in NSW are getting lots of inflow and I am sure that it falls on us before heading off to the dam LOL.

Went to Berry today to pick up some wine and thought we might check out the annual show, only to find out that it is sooooooooooo wet that most of the event have been cancelled and that the place was just a muddy bog. So we had a great slow breaky and then came back home.

No more flying ducks on the inside it's cocky's on the outside

This multi millions home on the beach at Huskisson proves that money doesn't buy everything, including good taste LOL.

We have moved around the corner to Wollami on the river and Ron is already out trying to catch dinner, pics tomorrow.

What to do when the weather turns

We arrived at Huskisson on Tuesday and bought the rain and wind with us. Although that dam cyclone up north might have had a weeeee bit to do with it. So far we have had torrential rain and gale force winds blasting poor wounded Miss G. The nieghbours got totally drowned overnight and we woke to them pulling out their beds and linen totally sodden.  Last night we had dinner with Ron's sister at Seagrass and a good night was had by all. We headed up the highway to Nowra yesterday to see about our hitch which had become a bit wobbly and we needed to find out if it was dangerous and the answer was yes. So we left it with them and headed off to the local art shop for some supplies.

The problem of where we go from here has been sorted. We have managed to get into a park just out of town on the banks of a river and the site we have is right on the banks so with luck and a change of weather there should be some good pics over the next couple of days. The park also has a boat ramp so Ron can get D'luded into the river without me - bliss.

Mad Dogs and fisherman ................

If you look really carefully you will see Ron in D'luded scaring the fish. This was Saturday and he decided to go for a quiet fish out to sea. Way out to sea LOL. Yes the trip was successful and we ate well that night.

The sun is up and no wind so I expect he will venture out yet again and that means I get to go to the beach and snorkel for a couple of hours.

Off to Huskisson tomorrow, still having trouble getting into parks as the NSW Mexicans have surfaced and are invading the coast now that the kids have disappeared. We could only get 3 night at the good park but may go out to the Corryong park (right next to the national park and great small coves to lay around and snorkel in) for a couple of days if there are no cancellations. From there it's off to Berry and then we head inland.