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
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
Woody decided to change the voice on our poor misguided Gabbi Garmin GPS. We no longer have a confused English woman travelling with us. Instead we jump in fright every time she speaks. Why? Well this one has a broad Aussie accent and it sounds like we’ve got a mate sitting in the back seat. I’m voting to bring back the Pommie sheila. Continue reading Turn left will ya darl?
June 9th 2017 This morning I was roused from my morning blog reading to the news that a whale had beached itself on nearby Sawtell beach, directly in front of the surf club. It was a sad sight to see … Continue reading Whale beached at Sawtell
A pleasant 27 kilometre drive inland from the Pacific Highway at Macksville in northern New South Wales is the sleepy hollow of Taylor’s Arm. The Taylor’s Arm hotel proudly wears the moniker of ‘The Pub With No Beer’. When we … Continue reading The Pub With No Beer
How many times are you surprised at how differently others see retirement. You hear friends claim that they can’t stop work because they would not know what to do with themselves, or they need more money. Or, on the other … Continue reading Life is What you Make it
The Snowy Scheme is Australia’s largest ever engineering project as well as being one of the world’s most complex. Located in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales it was begun in 1949 and completed in 1974 and it was a source of work for many post war refugees. According to http://www.australia.gov.au there are 16 dams, 7 power stations, 1 pumping station and 225kms of pipelines, tunnels and aqueducts yet only 2% of construction is visible above ground. It covers an area of 5124 square kilometres. In summary, it collects snow melt from the region and diverts most of … Continue reading The Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Scheme
Towong, Vic to Jindabyne, NSW, 126kms, 2.5 hours not suitable for caravans Autumn 2017 Early morning sun is casting shadows through the poplars. We cross the Murray River into NSW and find that there is very little left of the … Continue reading The Alpine Way – rooftop of Australia
itchingforhitching 