Category: The Characters You Meet

Qld, The Characters You Meet2 Comments

Camping with Macca

Itching for Hitching

July 2018, Elliott Heads, Qld On our way south we meet up with Woody’s brother, Woody the Elder and his missus, the Really Good Golfer and their surprise visitors Woody the Elder’s old mates Macca and Maria. Life on the road is like that, you plan meet ups with folks and then others drop in or just like the look of you and suddenly there’s a happy herd. Anyway, camping with Macca is what I would call a rare experience and like a good steak, best not overdone. We’re sitting outside enjoying a warm and pleasant happy hour when Macca … Continue reading Camping with Macca

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iPad Entertainers

Itching for Hitching

Winter 2018, Somewhere in Western Queensland after too many kilometres “Oh shit, here we go again, another ‘iPad entertainer’!” we moan. To be honest, sometimes it’s just karaoke with a seriously bad singer. We sneak off to cook dinner wondering why ukuleles get such a bad rap. Footnote: Anyone who’s stayed in the outback over winter will tell you that entertainment can be a lottery. Sometimes you’ll get lucky and find a singing cattleman with golden tonsils who will elevate your evening to heaven. Then on the night that you want to enjoy the stillness of a quiet evening beside … Continue reading iPad Entertainers

The Characters You Meet6 Comments

Mulambin Mumblings – Dave’s Cooking Classes

Itching for Hitching

Aug 2019, Mulambin, Capricorn Coast, Qld Every night at Mulambin Dave from Gippsland pops into the camp kitchen to cook dinner on the BBQ. Tonight, he tells us he is cooking Bolognaise Sauce…on the barbie. That raises our eyebrows. As we chat Dave is chasing mince steak and onions around the hot plate with a spatula and when it’s cooked he tells us that his wife, whom he refers to as “The Racobite” so we assume that she must be a non-drinker, will add tomato puree to it. You learn something new every day in this caper.  At happy hour … Continue reading Mulambin Mumblings – Dave’s Cooking Classes

The Characters You Meet7 Comments

Is this the end of campfires?

Itching for Hitching

May 2019, Bridgewater on Loddon, Vic We recently attended a caravan club muster at Bridgewater on Loddon in Central Victoria and who should we run into but mates from northern Queensland who are heading towards South Australia. Sorry map readers, but we caravanners don’t always take the most direct route, anywhere. The late autumn nights here in Victoria have been very chilly and our mates have certainly been feeling it, so much so that they solved the problem. They raced out and bought electric throw rugs. Now they can sit outside under the awning (to avoid the dew) chatting until … Continue reading Is this the end of campfires?

The Characters You Meet9 Comments

Farewell to a Good Mate

Itching for Hitching

This life of retirement has meant that we have made a lot of new friends in our new found pursuits. The obvious fact is that we won’t be lucky enough to know them for a whole lifetime. Perhaps that is why seniors laugh a lot. They are laughing at the ups, the downs and the inevitabilities. Today we say farewell to a very dear mate, whom we were lucky to meet when we joined our caravan club. A mate who possessed the quintessential laid-back dry Aussie humour that this culture is known for. A man who deserved a gold medal … Continue reading Farewell to a Good Mate

Qld, The Characters You Meet10 Comments

Clean up Oz

Itching for Hitching

Winter 2018, Queensland On an afternoon walk on the beach I meet a woman with a large bag of rubbish which inspires me because the beach looks clean. In minutes I have found three cans and a styrofoam foam tray. I huff and puff trying to remove a chunk of fibreglass from the sand before realising that it may have been the whole boat. In future I’ll carry a knife to cut nets and rope from driftwood but I’m not going to dig up boats. Continue reading Clean up Oz

The Characters You Meet8 Comments

The Tale of the Mongrel Dog

Itching for Hitching

One hears a lot of unusual stories on the road and this is one of them. They grow a lot of tomatoes in the warm dry heat of Central Victoria. The tomato grower down the road from our mate had a bunch of pickers in and one was living in a nearby shack. The picker had a dog that ran up and down the road constantly barking at all and sundry. All day, every day without a break. Talking to the picker our mate said “It’s a wonder no one has shot that bloody dog.” “I wish someone would.” Said … Continue reading The Tale of the Mongrel Dog