Summary

Melbourne to Gold Coast and return

54 Days, 53 Nights

Accom: $1999.60 avg. $37.73 per night

Fuel: $1284.08 avg. $23.78 per day

Total Kms: 5586Kms

Thoughts

When I named this trip ‘A Cool Coast’, I was not referring to the weather.

Weather

We like to go north in Melbourne’s winter to get a little bit of warmer weather. Low to mid-twenties is the norm. However, this trip seemed to throw everything at us. Rain, fog, sleet, ice, snow, the highest temperature was 23 and that was for one day only. I can’t tell you what the coldest was because the internet was down thanks to the snow.

Highlights

Snowbound.

It was great to catch up with family and The Bridesmaid joining us was a special treat.

Carcoar was the standout town, a place we hadn’t visited, and it felt like finding a time capsule tucked in the hills.

The pretty village of Tyalgum in the Tweed Valley.

Having a better look at Grafton, its colonial history and treed streetscapes. It must be a picture when those jacarandas are in bloom.

The Coffs Coast is always delightful.

Yass was the big surprise. The once ‘highway town’ is quiet and appealing, and those who are in a hurry are now speeding past on the other side of the hill.

Lowlights

Snowbound.

Our water tanks leaking, twice, was eventually resolved by yet another repairer at home.

The dodgy TV aerial connection, has now been replaced.

The door screen that was jammed, fixed itself, sometimes potholes can be handy.

Missing out on having dinner at Royal Hotel, Carcoar.

Speeding fine in Macksville. $149 for 57Kms in a 50Km zone, oops.

Food Finds

The meltingly divine almond croissants at Cubby Bakehouse, Chinderah on the Tweed River.

An Alternative Root café at Uralla. Though I doubt I’ll be able to convince Woody to stop in Uralla ever again.

The beef cheeks at the Soldier’s Club, Yass.

Our Accommodation in a nutshell

We camped at a showground while a footy match was in action. On a bowling green at a golf course. Behind a pub. In a caravan park overlooking historic railway bridges and welcomed by goats, guinea fowl and turkeys. At a bowling club with a graveyard and no bowling green. At two more showgrounds, Uralla and then Bellingen with an alternate folk festival. Another showground, this one in a favourite town, Murwillumbah in the Scenic Rim where we watched the cane burn at night. Then there were the many palm trees of the caravan park at Wooli right on the river and its quirky, friendly community. Darlington Beach is always memorable with the kangaroos taking centre stage and the surf beach mere steps away. It’s not often that a kangaroo knocks on your door in the night, but hey, when you’re in Darlington Beach. And our old favourite Nambucca Heads, a caravan park with stunning views and roaring surf. The return to the high ground of Uralla showgrounds with the expectation of thumping rain, only to be snowed in instead. Nearly bogging the caravan at the caravan park at Lake Macquarie because they’d had the rain that we’d avoided. The peace of the cheery little park in Yass and then old grumble guts at Wang to finish off yet another crazy adventure.

Where to now? Anywhere, we’re up for it.

I’ll be taking a break for a few days, before restarting ‘The Places We Love’  to keep my promise to fellow caravanners Notta Holiday and her husband Scribbles.