According to the World Factbook, Australia has the sixth largest land mass on earth. That is a lot to explore without border crossings without the hassles of language or swapping to the ‘other’ side of the road. ‘Bland’ you may say, but oh there are so many cultural differences and more than just football codes. It’s a point to remember next time you surrender your veggies at a fruit fly check point. Continue reading There’s a Lot to Explore
We eat our fresh baked rolls (from Hearthfire Organic Bakery) stuffed with last night’s leftover lamb, in the sun at the Bellingen Showgrounds in the Coffs Coast hinterland. Now I’d classify this as a Caravanner’s Business Lunch as we’re actually checking out the condition of the showgrounds. With mown lawns, autumn leaves and nice clean amenities it ticks all the boxes. Continue reading A Caravanner’s Business Lunch
Elle & El bought a nice leg of lamb from the local butcher in Valla Beach and as we have a well equipped camp kitchen at this park they pop it in one of the large ovens. Part way through … Continue reading Lamb Leg a la Camp Kitchen
Tootling around the Myall Lakes in NSW we take the Lakes Way to the hamlet of Bungwahl and down to the coast at Seal Rocks. Reminiscent of Walkerville in Gippsland this tiny community overlooks Sugarloaf Bay, a curve of cream … Continue reading Seal Rocks
Driving around the Corryong district we can’t stop reminiscing of the times when we used to come up here to visit a farming mate, way back in the Seventies. I make an appointment at the hospital medical centre to have some stitches removed from my leg and I’m greeted by a cheery nurse who suggests that leg stitches should be kept in as long as possible as there the wound is more likely to be ‘stretched’. About to lurch into a tourism spiel (these locals are well versed) she asks if we’re familiar with the area. When I say that … Continue reading A Surprise Connection to an Old Mate
The countryside is superb, I take over the driving and within minutes the car is shuddering as though we’ve got a puncture. I slow to a crawl and pull into a rest area and we both recognise that “Hey, we’ve been to this rest area before…with the same problem”. It’s the bloody road. Will we ever get used to the concrete roads in NSW? I doubt it. Continue reading Surfaces
We’re in a shopping centre somewhere in Perth and Woody questions some poor stranger about the whereabouts of the nearest Dan Murphy liquor store. I keep insisting that Google is easier but Woody reckons it is much more fun scanning the crowds for a likely ‘drinker’ then having a bit of a chat. He doesn’t factor in the difficulty of deciphering the resulting instructions….”just go down there oh, about a kilometre, turn left at the service station, then right or is it left…..?” Continue reading Taking Directions…from locals
Australians love their sport and without wanting to cause too much debate, Australian Rules football or Aussie Rules draws the largest crowds. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it was the glue that held communities together and even today small towns across the country only survive through the camaraderie of the local footy club. In the part of Melbourne that I call home, the Mornington Peninsula, there is a monument on the Mornington cliff top that I can never pass without feeling a pang of sorrow. On the 21st of May 1892, the Mornington Football Club played a … Continue reading The Mornington Tragedy
The town of Jondaryan on the Queensland Darling Downs has a remarkable working farm museum with hundreds of pieces of farm equipment. Staff and volunteers work passionately to ensure that your visit is memorable and it certainly is when a drover and his sheep pass your window. Not Your Average Caravan Park My Father was passionate about his windmills of which he had many over the years. Thus I grew up under the shadow of one of these tireless machines and can still hear the sound of it the clanking as it pumped water up to the tank. The tank that … Continue reading The Windmills of Jondaryan
When you are pottering about the house you sometimes don’t even notice that it’s raining. In the caravan you hear every drop on the roof. TV becomes impossible to hear and if it goes on for too long you start to get cabin fever and pray that nothing leaks. In a tent it’s a different story altogether. Shovels are at the ready to dig trenches to drain the water away. Extra tarps are hung from the trees to give more shelter and it’s out with the garbage bag raincoats. For those of you who have been following this blog for … Continue reading Trump’s word of the day – Leaky
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