2006 The Begining

Val & Myself, retired and from Sydney, moved to our favourite Holiday destination in Port Stephens. We lived in the Corlette / Salamander Bay area for approx. 9 years. We bought a Jayco 16.5 ft pop-top caravan, second hand, early 2006. Our plan was to rent out our 3 b/r Duplex and travel Australia.

Our “travelling adventure” started off in June 2006. We headed up the coast for Brisbane, to visit Val’s brother, Brian, & family. We arranged flights for Val’s Mum to visit Brisbane, while we were there, then return to Sydney. While Mum was in Brisbane, we took a week out to go to the Glasshouse Mountains. Our Caravan Park was just average but the beauty of the surrounding area made it well worth while. On our return trip to Sydney to catch up with our own family, we stopped at Anna Bay and caught up with our friend, Doreen Cotter, and attended the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Dinner Dance with her. It was a great night. We were members of the WRH Fundraising Group in Nelson for a few years.

We have 2 boys, both living in Sydney. Steven, our eldest, lives in Alexandria, with his partner, Nikos, and they are doing a great job of looking after our financial interests. Greg lives in Glenwood and is married to Dianne. They have given us two beautiful Grandaughters, Jessica (5) and Annaliese (2).

Early September, we took off south from Sydney for Canberra. Timed to visit Floriade. The flowers & gardens were fantastic. Our friends, Joan & Robert, from Cardiff (Newcastle) came down with some of their family and stayed a weekend in a cabin. We couldn’t believe how dry & dusty Canberra was, at that time. It wasn’t long after we left there that they had bushfires.

Beginning October, we went to Shoalhaven Heads, via Kangaroo Valley. The narrow windy road down into the valley, towing a Caravan, was very scary. Val was on the edge of her seat. Val’s Mum spent a week in Shoalhaven Heads with us. Val & Mum had a day in the nearby Town of Berry. This was their type of Town, full of quaint craft shops. I read a book, moving from seat to seat along the street.

The next stop was at Merimbula, an area where I had boyhood memories of getting extremely sunburnt. We visited the nearby Bega Co-operative Creamery and did the factory tour and cheese tasting. Nice cheeses and interesting tour. We also visited the Town of Pambula, a place where my parents used to holiday a lot, where my Uncle Fred was the Minister at the Anglican Church for many years. He did reach the position of “Canon” and we found a plaque in his memory, in the gardens of the church.

Moving on, we took the time to stop in Eden and visit the Whale Museum. The historical story of “Tom” the Whale was very interesting, definitely a Legend. We crossed the border into Victoria and stayed a while at Lakes Entrance. Nice Town, but was the weather cold. A gale force wind was blowing from the south, off the ice caps. We had to lean into the wind just to walk down the street and this was the beginning of November.

Next stop was to be Melbourne, with a lunch break at Rosedale. A very quaint country town with street carvings and murals being a big part of the local artistic décor. We hit the southern outskirts of Melbourne late afternoon and spent the most frustrating couple of hours trying to find our way across Melbourne to North Coburg, where we were booked into the BIG4 Caravan Park. Several helpful locals had us going in all directions and traversing through some large Tram dominated intersections, pulling a caravan, was extremely hazardous. Despite that, we eventually reached our destination around 8pm, very distraught. We were now convinced that we would need to buy a Navigator to happily continue our Australian adventure. We loved our stay in Melbourne and were very impressed with their transport system. We mostly used Public Transport, trams, bus & trains. Their simple ticketing system allowed you to use all forms easily. We caught up with my sister Barbara and hubby Bill at St. Kilda. We had a great time at the Melbourne Cup even though the weather was atrocious and the favorites are all still running. It was our first time at the Cup, live, and the atmosphere was great. The bad weather did not stop the young girls from wearing their pretty outfits and others were dressed in theme outfits. We visited The Shot Tower Museum, housed within a large Shopping Centre, in the City. Val enjoyed some shopping at The Queen Victoria Markets.

Next stop was Ballarat. Quite a large old mining town, liked the look of it right off. We toured The Eureka Stockade Display, Sovereign Hill mining town, The Gold Museum and the Wool Museum. Sovereign Hill was my favourite. A fully working town complete with a stage coach & horses, running through the streets. I did the underground mine tour while Val had a glass of wine in the Pub.

Now on to do the much heard about Great Ocean Road, checking out the beaches at Torquay, Lorne on our way to Apollo Bay. Absolutely great place. The scenery was spectacular from the hills above the town. I didn’t tell Val, till much later, but I did see a snake slither off into the grass as we walked past going up the hill. The Great Ocean Road, 12 Apostles, lived up to all expectations. An impressive feature of nature at work.

We stopped in Warrnambool, a lovely town and visited Flagstaff Hill. An old historic seaport display. We enjoyed that very much. Then we travelled on to Mount Gambier, crossing the border into South Australia. Marked by a large sign, threatening $2500 Fine for taking plants across the border and much to Val’s displeasure, I dumped her Cherry Tomato plants in the big bin before moving on. My theory was, if anyone is going to be caught taking plants over the border, IT WOULD BE ME!

Mount Gambier was another Town that we liked, a lot. Val was very impressed with the Rose Gardens at the old Fletcher Jones Factory which also had a spectacular Water Tower that could be seen from anywhere in Mt. Gambier. The deep Sinkhole in the middle of Town was impressive, as well, with paths, steps and gardens to allow visitors to walk to the bottom, if inclined. We admired it from the top.

On the road again, we headed for Robe. Stayed overnight and visited the ruins of the Robe Goal before moving on to Meningie to spend a few more nights. We had a great meal at The Lakeside Dairying Co. Café and enjoyed a tour through their little Antique Museum. We traveled on to our next big stop, at Murray Bridge.

We were very fortunate to have the opportunity, kindly offered to us by Karen to take up a weeks holiday on the Murray River on a drive yourself “Holiday Concepts” Houseboat. Our good friends Joan & Robert from Cardiff (Newcastle, NSW) flew over to join us. We picked them up from the Airport in Adelaide and had the most wonderful week of Fun, Laughter and Adventure on the Murray. We are still wondering where all the Murray Cods were hiding, as we couldn’t even catch a Carp. We won’t dwell on the fact that Val was seasick on the very flat waters of the Murray River or how relieved I was that we passed by The Murray Princess Paddle Steamer at a wide section of the river. This was one of the best highlights of our Travels to date. We found time to visit the Queens Wharf Markets in Adelaide before putting Joan & Robert back on the plane for Newcastle. On the way back to Murray bridge, we stopped off for lunch at Hahndorf, a German Village. Val had a lovely time, exploring every shop.

Its now early December, 2006. Time to head back to Sydney, to catch up with the Family and spend Christmas with them. Leaving Murray Bridge we head for Mildura. Some unnamed person, who didn’t fill up with petrol before heading off & said I’ll get some on the way, ran out of petrol 20 klm out of Loxton, which was the next Town that had an operating Service Station. Fortunately we were picked up by a passing car and kindly driven into Loxton, where Ford Roadside Assistance arranged to have myself and a can of fuel driven back to the car. Val had a lovely time shopping in Loxton. We continued on to Mildura. Val caught up on her shopping and we had a close look at the Lochs that are all along the Murray River.

The next leg of our journey will take us to Hay. We stopped in Balranald for lunch and found they had sheetmetal sculptures along the footpaths, eg. Green frog with wheelbarrow filled with flowers. We were amazed at the absolute flatness of the countryside we were travelling through. Not much to see in Hay, so dry and dusty, but I found the Shearer Outback, which was very interesting. A recognition to many famous Shearers and the Wool Industry.

Travelling from Hay to Wagga Wagga, we came across cows casually feeding and wandering across the road, at their leisure, due sometimes to there being no fences. The cows demanded their “right of way”. We wandered the streets of Wagga, after dark, looking at the Christmas lights. We also paid my Aunty Lorna a surprise visit. I hadn’t seen her for years and she was thrilled to see us and made us feel very welcome.

The next stop was Goulburn, my birthplace. We lunched at The Dog on the Tuckerbox at Gundagai, on the way. I visited The War Memorial & The Big Merino, while we were there.

We arrived in Sydney,19th December, staying at Parklea Gardens Caravan Park. It was good to catch up with all the Family. Christmas Day lunch was enjoyed with Mum, Steven & Nikos, Greg & Dianne and Jessica & Annaliese, in the Camp Kitchen at Parklea Gardens. The food was terrific, Santa was good to us all. Annaliese’s favourite toy was a battery operated white fluffy rabbit that hopped along the ground. We all enjoyed a swim in the new “resort style” pool.

We moved up to Bays Holiday park, in Anna Bay, and brought in the New Year with friends.