July 2014 We’re in Normanton on the Gulf of Carpentaria and I hear a Grey Nomad complaining about the heat (it’s 31 degrees and feels like 41). A local curtly rebuffs her with “wait till summer when it’s 56 degrees and 80% humidity!” Continue reading It gets warm in Normanton
Being on the banks of the Goulburn River the good folks at Chateau Tahbilk winery near Nagambie in Central Victoria have preserved a wonderful wetland area amidst their many hectares of vines. You’ll find that there are several kilometres of … Continue reading Tahbilk Wetlands
It is by no means the oldest vineyard in Australia but Chateau Tahbilk’s heritage stretches back to its first vintage in 1861. It went on to boast international awards. When the phylloxera outbreak destroyed vines around the world some Chateau … Continue reading Chateau Tahbilk
In the Spring it is a pleasant drive through golden canola fields from Nagambie, Vic to the Goulburn Weir. Australia’s Irrigation scheme was the brainchild of later to become Prime Minister Alfred Deakin. Built of large granite blocks the Goulburn Weir was opened in 1891 and was the first ‘diversion structure’ in the scheme. Water from the Goulburn River is diverted from here into the Stuart Murray Canal which flows north to Rushworth and the Waranga Basin. When the weir opened it housed one of the Southern hemisphere’s first hydro-electric schemes which attracted tourists to marvel at the ‘illumination’. A … Continue reading Goulburn Weir
South eastern Australia is awash with yellow in late winter and early spring. Continue reading Canola Fields
All it takes is a stumble and one of you can be out of action. When I suddenly found myself sitting on my ankle on a well maintained National Park pathway no one would have been more surprised than me. But a broken ankle meant that poor Woody had a three thousand kilometre drive with no assistance except for a whingeing navigator with her leg propped on a cushion. Now imagine if that had been Woody with the broken ankle and if I wasn’t able to tow the caravan. We really would have been up that proverbial creek. Someone once … Continue reading Why Women Must Learn to Tow
Gulargambone is a little bigger than expected, not to say that it is a big town (395 in 2011) and the caravan park is well away from the Castlereagh highway. Gulargambone has a lot of older empty shops and a … Continue reading 2828 Cafe
It rains solidly all afternoon, steady soaking rain, a blessing for farmers who’ve had a parched July of record high winter temperatures. The Gulargambone Caravan Park has a purpose built tin shed that houses a camp kitchen and a large … Continue reading Gulargambone Caravan Park
We’re becoming zig zaggers. We want to cross from Coonabarabran to Gulargambone and rather than travel south on the Newell Highway to Gilgandra then north again up the Castlereagh to Gulargambone we choose the road through the Warrumbungles National Park. … Continue reading The Warrumbungles
Have I mentioned our mate’s new van? Well it has club lounge style seating which has quite a bit of storage room underneath, but the cushions are a bit difficult to lift. To make for easier access to the storage our mate’s missus asked the manufacturer to put in two cupboard doors on the ends. “They’re lovely cupboards” says our mate “but I can’t even get my undies in.” Behind one door are the batteries and behind the other is the gas heater. Whoops. Not to mention our mate being somewhat pooped when we arrive from shimmying under the van … Continue reading Our Mate’s New Van
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