Day 1, Sunday 14/7/2019 Home to Tocumwal 5 degrees at home, 9 at Tocumwal, now that’s an improvement already. It feels like we’re escaping from a house filled with germs. Since we blew the engine on the Jeep and the car and caravan were towed back from Murray Bridge,SA thus aborting our long planned trip to Darwin, the car has been repaired but we both came down with a virus called Para Influenza. Not the flu that we had been vaccinated against but another strain, one that leaves you with only two abilities, sleeping and drinking soup. Not to mention … Continue reading Follow the Sun Day 1

We’re always intrigued with place name pronunciation and the plethora of towns whose names we’ve mispronounced over the years. When camped at Whorouly we constantly had to keep repeating the name of the town just to get it right…woh-row-lee, who-row-lee. Here’s a list of a few that we Melburnians get wrong: Town Name    Pronounced as  Melbourne’s version Newcastle        Newcassel.          Newcarsel Bulahdelah       Bulladeela         Bewladeela Forster              Foster                  Forster Launceston       Lonceston         Lawnceston Kilkivan              killkeevn          What? Oh the place with the good butcher Toowoomba       t’woombu         Too woomba Canowindra       Canoundra       Canna windra Quirindi             Corindi            … Continue reading Where’d you say you’re from?

Leaving for the Winter Ukulele chords (Apologies to ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane’) (G7) Oh the (C) van is packed, we’re (F) ready to go We’re (C) standing here, out (F) side the door (C) Chatting to our neighbour (F) and sayin’ good (G7) bye Oh we’re (C) leaving, (F) going to Queensland (C) Don’t know when (F) we’ll be back (G7) again (C) Oh (F) gee, can’t wait to (G7) go   (G7) Oh the (C) dawn is breaking, it’s (F) early morn Woody’s (C) waiting, he’s (F) blowing the horn (C) Already we’re so pumped (F) that we could … Continue reading Leaving for the Winter

Continue reading A Victorian Caravanner’s Calendar

Loch – There’s a possum growling outside our window. Toora – We have a rabbit under our van. I’m calling it Rosemary after the herbs along the fence. A wind farm is on the hill behind us, swooshing like an ultrasound of my heart. Marlay Point – We nod off as waves lap the shore fanned by a stiff breeze. Gillards Beach and Broulee – pounding surf. Albury – traffic, bloody traffic, why did we choose a city? Whorouly – more growling possums, like old men with consumption. Continue reading Night Noises

Some people count sheep, if I can’t sleep I count the towns that we’ve visited on the current trip. It works every time. Which reminds me of a story we heard in Karijini National Park in WA back in 2015: “At the (Karijini) visitor’s centre we learn about the history of the area and life for the Aborigines after the Europeans arrived. There is a delightful story about a woman who learned to count while mustering sheep, all 29,000 of them.” Continue reading Can’t sleep?

I stand in the van making the bed and dream that there’s a beach outside the door, instead of a suburban fence. Continue reading Dreaming, I’m only dreaming