Well we left Ian and Julie's place and proceeded east along the Princess Highway to Bairnsdale before turning north towards Omeo. I seemed a bit strange with all the traffic and hustle and bustle around us compared to the last three months and we were glad to get onto the less travelled roads again. We pressed on to Bruthen for the night where we stayed a a small caravan park on the river. Late afternoon saw us hit with a storm but no damage fortunately. Apparently it had hit Melbourne and caused some damage there.
I could see Wendy was getting itchy feet now that her nose was pointed towards home so the next morning we travelled to Omeo and across Mt Hotham which scared the &;^%$# out of Wendy. The climb up the mountain was not two bad even though it was raining but the climb down the northern side was "interesting" with rain and heavy cloud, winding road and low visibility. An average speed of 30/40kph was the order of the day. Wendy reckons she never wants to see another mountain in her life time.
Anyway we survived and settled into Harrietville for the night and boy was it cold with the rain and dropping temperatures. The Autumn leaves of Harrietville were spectacular as was Bright just 25k away. At this stage I was outvoted and the decision was made to head for home without too much further meandering.
The next day we headed north via the Kiewa Valley Highway to Albury where we had morning tea before taking the back roads once again via Culcairn, Henty and The Rock to Wagga Wagga, arriving at Coolamon for the night. There is a great little council owned park here, very expensive at $10 per night with power and brand new amenities, free use of laundry etc. We like this place so much we decided to rest up for a day and booked for two nights.
Now we had managed to avoid much rain during our whole trip but Coolamon started to pour it on with the second night producing constant light to moderate rain. We took off next morning in rain and it got steadily heavier all day, heading north to Temora, a town that surprised me with it's size, then east to Young for a break and a cuppa. The rain even eased off while we stopped. From Young with the rain still coming down we headed for Cowra and Blayney on our way to Bathurst. Just outside Blayney we came across our first serious accident on the trip when a ute appeared to have skidded off the wet road and rolled a few times. Emergency service were on the way so we did not stop to avoid more congestion at the scene as there were already many people assisting.
We had hoped to make Mudgee for the night but on the spur of the moment detoured via Kandos and Rylstone on a road we had not travelled before. To our surprise there is a major quarry at Kandos supplying material to a cement company which has had a major manufacturing plant there for over 100 years. Amazing what you find when you get off the beaten track. We stayed at Rylstone, a very historic town for the night.
Next morning the rain was back so we decide to make as much distance as we could that day, not really the way to travel in a motorhome but it is not much fun being a tourist in the rain. We heading north again via Mudgee, Gulgong and Coolah before heading to Tamworth to go home via the New England Highway, stopping at Uralla for the night and the rain finally stopped as if by command the moment we set up camp.
The next morning we left fairly early and enjoyed a pleasant drive up the New England with the beauty of the Autumn leaves changing colour. The last time we were on the New England Highway was in the old non turboed coaster and it was amazing the difference in this vehicle with the turbo, hills which previously had been a real climb were now just a gentle cruise, some we were able to go over in overdrive which would have been third gear in the old coaster.
We got through to Crows Nest just north of Toowoomba where we settled for the night (and it was cold) before heading home on the final leg via Yarraman and the Burnett Highway to Bundaberg.
Was it good to be home, well sort of after four months on the road but it was a strange feeling walking into the house and having so much room around you after living in confined spaces for so long. I think we both had mixed feelings and the silent question was "where to next". Who Knows! BUT, I hope it won't be too long before we start talking about it. Did we have a ball, you bet! Things don't always go as you anticipate but that is the beauty of having your home on wheels, changes in plans, directions and itineraries really don't matter and taking life day by day sure has it advantages. Both Wendy and I have lost weight on the trip despite all the vanilla slices, and the walking and daily activity sure has been good for us. Good reason to hit the road permanently, but I had better not bring that up just yet.
I'll probably only make one more post on this blog with my "looking back" thoughts on Tasmania (when I gather them)
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