Tag: Travel

Bush Poetry9 Comments

Australia Day 2016

Itching for Hitching

My Country The love of field and coppice, Of green and shaded lanes. Of ordered woods and gardens Is running in your veins, Strong love of grey-blue distance Brown streams and soft dim skies I know but cannot share it, My love is otherwise. I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains. I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea, Her beauty and her terror – The wide brown land for me! A stark white ring-barked forest All tragic to the moon, The sapphire-misted mountains, The hot gold … Continue reading Australia Day 2016

Caravanning with PetsLeave a comment

Abi’s Story

Itching for Hitching

We recently spent a weekend with friends at the Heathcote Wine Festival in Victoria, sampling a few wines and having a lot of laughs. Our mates T & T have a gorgeous little King Charles Cavalier called Abi and like most dogs she loves caravanning with a passion. T & T had only recently upgraded to a spacious new Jayco Silverline van. You know the ones, with the big black wraparound front window and a slide out to give even more living space inside. This was their second trip in only a few weeks in the van, so you could … Continue reading Abi’s Story

NSW, Road House6 Comments

Coombah Roadhouse

Itching for Hitching

The Coombah roadhouse is the only roadhouse or in fact commercial building on the 266 kilometres of Silver City Highway between Wentworth and Broken Hill in south western NSW. This used to be known as the ‘Crystal Highway’ because of the amount of broken windscreen glass on the road but windscreens are better constructed these days. To break the monotony on this long straight north south highway, emus dash across the road when you least expect it. Whilst driving one tends to say “oh look there’s an emu running beside us” and before you know it he’s dashing across the … Continue reading Coombah Roadhouse

Tugs9 Comments

In For a Service

Itching for Hitching

Being a woman of a certain age I recently and nervously checked in for my regular colonoscopy. As I laid there on the operating table in my stunning backless blue hospital gown my Gastro Enterologist, whilst waiting for the anaesthetist to do his job, was cheerily trying to relax me by asking how the caravanning was going. “I’d just love to talk my wife into caravanning” he said “what sort of four wheel drive do you have?” “We bought a Jeep” I said and promptly fell into unconsciousness.   Continue reading In For a Service

Choosing a Van, Why CaravanningLeave a comment

Wanna give it a go? Why not hire?

Itching for Hitching

Have I piqued your interest yet? Would you like to try caravanning but don’t want to outlay your hard earned cash on a rig when you’re still unsure? Don’t be disheartened there are options available to help you make a decision. You could do what we did. We hired a Britz Motorhome and toured the North Island of New Zealand. It was a reasonably inexpensive holiday as for the price of a hire vehicle there were low accommodation costs and most of our meals were prepared onboard. New Zealand’s motor camps are reasonably priced and of an exceptionally high standard, … Continue reading Wanna give it a go? Why not hire?

The Characters You Meet, Vic7 Comments

Homeless or Rich Beyond Belief?

Itching for Hitching

This post was inspired by a post that I read by author and blogger Jan Hawkins https://janhawkinsau.wordpress.com/2016/01/21/oldies-at-large-the-friends-you-make/ We were recently camped lazily beside a river in Victoria. The corellas chattered and called in the gum trees and sometimes a water fowl would hoot. Four owls slept in the tree above. There was little else to do but enjoy the summer warmth beside the river. Camped nearby was a gentleman who had decided to change his life on retirement. He left his boarding house as it was depressing him and purchased a good sound tent, a kayak and some fishing gear. … Continue reading Homeless or Rich Beyond Belief?

Places, Point of Interest, WA11 Comments

Salmon Holes, Torndirrup National Park, Albany

Itching for Hitching

We are intrigued by a place on the map called Salmon Holes. We discover that the steep, wet and slippery granite rocks are covered in fishermen and they are hauling in large salmon. The salmon apparently take refuge in the calm waters of this spot. They maybe calm waters for the salmon but they threaten the fishermen with every wave and over the course of the next few months of our travels through WA three fishermen are drowned at this place. Continue reading Salmon Holes, Torndirrup National Park, Albany

Why Caravanning16 Comments

Caravanning is Like Sex

Itching for Hitching

Yep, you read that correctly, caravanning is like sex! You just cannot get enough of it. There’s the build up, counting down the days until you can sneak away. The preparation, packing the van and each time you open the door to put food on board or a few clothes, the smell of the van heightens your senses and sets you to longing, only a few more days, only a few more days. Then you start baking for it, luscious casseroles and heart warming pastas go into the freezer for those cold inland nights. And the warm sweet smell of … Continue reading Caravanning is Like Sex

Why Caravanning12 Comments

Powerful Suggestion

Itching for Hitching

If there is one piece of advice that I wish that someone had given me five years before I retired it would have to be: Retirement is not about how much wealth you have, but how much time you have before your health fails you. All the money in the world won’t bring back your health and fitness. I recently read somewhere that we fret about financial planning but don’t give any consideration at all to time planning. I guess we all just hope that we’ll live to the magical one hundred years, probably toothless and sucking on egg sandwiches. … Continue reading Powerful Suggestion

Places, Qld6 Comments

Winton in the dry season 2014

Itching for Hitching

Winton in Western Queensland has a population of about 1000 people. The main street has replica heritage street lamps and a centre strip of lawns and trees, even a water feature depicting the original town site of Pelican Waterhole. The town is busy and colourful which gives it a good feel. From what we see it appears that the people of this town aren’t afraid to have a go. This is the birthplace of Qantas. The grandest hotel in town is the North Gregory Hotel. After having been demolished and rebuilt with a second storey, it twice was burnt to … Continue reading Winton in the dry season 2014