Our Tasmanian Trip 2010

Just couldn't resist this post

2010-05-14T14:54:00.001+10:00

Well we have been home for a little while now and our travelling companions are home also. If you have been following this Blog you will have noticed that there have been a few "little" incidents along the way which have given me the chance to take the micky out of my mate from time to time (nearly every day actually).

Well Alan this time is completely innocent but he got the blame anyway; you see I have a digital camera and Alan has a digital camera and Maureen being a old fashioned girl at heart still uses one of those old fangled things called a film camera. Now I would never be one to rubbish the film camera which has served mankind well for many decades but on this trip things have turned out a little different.

You see Maureen has been busy taking photos all over Tassie and often snapped a scene that neither Alan or I got. When she arrived home she decided to get the film developed but found she was having trouble getting the film out of the camera. Of course Alan being the gentleman that he is offered to help and proceeded to unload the roll of film; - it was during this manly deed that he discovered that there had not been a film in the camera and all the many photos taken by Maureen had in fact not been photos after all.

Of course Alan got the blame for not loading a new film in when the last one was taken out. You naughty boy Alan, you should know better. Well we all had a good laugh as the story was being told but alas we will never know just how good a photographer Maureen actually is.

Please enjoy the many photos I have posted below from Maureen camera

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Home again and it is so strange.

2010-05-02T10:05:00.001+10:00

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)

Back in "Australia"

2010-04-19T08:56:00.000+10:00

Well we had a super smooth crossing on Saturday night and arrived in Melbourne(stepping forward twenty years in time) and unloaded at 6.30am. Said our goodbyes to Alan and Maureen as we were heading in different directions. I had been teasing Alan about not getting lost trying to get out of Melbourne and guess what, I got lost and ended up in the car park of the entertainment centre while trying to get on the freeway to the east.

Anyway we got out of the 6.30am Sunday morning rush hour and stopped at Nar Nar Goon for breakfast before making our way along the Princes Highway calling in to every town along the way. At Morwell we turned off the freeway and headed south to our friends Cuppa and Mrs T on their property 600 meters up in the hills overlooking the Latrobe Valley. Along the way we passed through much of the country which was devastated by the Victorian fires and the devastation is still very apparent with many hills still bare and some of the trees sprouting new growth in a desperate attempt to survive but they tell us that many of there trees will die within the next couple of years.Only three houses of 59 in this area survived the fire and many people died. One can only imagine the fear and terror that must have been in the area as this disaster descended on them. The word miracle comes to mind as you talk to Cuppa about how the fires divided and went around both sides of his property, The heat was so intense the the grasses were withered dry and the cattle could not eat it. It is indeed a miracle that they did not loose everything.

We will spend today with Ian and Julie and tomorrow descend down the mountain to make out way north to Bright before heading east to work out way up the east coast.

The Last Last Post From Tassie

2010-04-17T10:17:00.002+10:00

I know I said the last post would be the last BUT I just could not resist this. You know I have been travelling with a "mate" who has been inclined to be accident prone. Well this morning on our last day on the Island he was getting his bus down from the levelling blocks and guess what? You guessed it, another little "incident", he managed to run over not one but two of his buckets.

Lucky for him we are parting company once we get to Melbourne and I won't be around with a camera to record the rest of his journey.

Ah well, life wasn't mean to be simple.

Last post from the "Little Island"

2010-04-15T14:45:00.001+10:00

Well here it is Thursday pm and this will be my last post while we are in Tasmania. Just settling down to have a couple days rest before heading to the Ferry on Saturday.

Yesterday we woke up to cooooool breezes blowing off the mountains at Sheffield and it was interesting sitting in my seat watching poor old Alan outside putting his car on the trailer in the freezing conditions. If I had been a real mate I would have volunteered to go and help him but there are limits to mate-ship. I may look silly but I'm not stupid.

Alan and Maureen had once again decided to follow us ( I think he is scared of getting lost) and we decided to head towards Penguin where we had just passed through in the early part of the trip. I have discovered the joys of back road travel and found the longest way possible in the back farming country possible and he came across some magnificent views as we climbed hill and dale. We finally hit the coast at Forth and had morning tea and Turners Beach where I almost got Alan stuck in a one way street. That will teach him to follow me!

We found a nice spot at Penguin at Lions Park and camped with several other motorhomers and conditions were perfect with the deep blue of Bass Straight and lush green of the parklands around us. The local ranger called in to apologise for the toilets not working as they had been vandalised by the locals. A lot of local councils could learn from this council. Beside providing quite a few free camps along the coat they call in every morning and place a note under your windscreen wipers, welcoming you to the area and advising you where the camps sites and caravan parks are and also advising of dump points in the area.

We left Alan and Maureen at Penguin arranging to meet at Latrobe where we will celebrate Maureen's birthday tomorrow. I had advised Alan that the camp site was behind the IGA store and true to form Alan managed to find the wrong IGA and drove unto a car park where he could not get out of with the car on. I guess he is determined to go out in a blaze of glory just like he started this trip. How many times it now that you have have to unload the car Alan????? LOL!!!!! AGAIN!!!

What do you see in this picture

A lot of people must be thinking the same as we are and resting up before the trip, there are at least 5 in camp that are booked on the ferry on Saturday.

Alan is planning to make a quick trip home by the shortest route and we have decided to take the slow boat up the east coast with no particular plan. We are certainly getting used to this lifestyle and Wendy this morning even said "when we left home this morning" meaning the last campsite.

Packing the computer away for a couple of days now so the next report with be from the Big Island

How Changable is Tassie

2010-04-13T15:42:00.001+10:00

Well after a couple of days of cold blustery windy days, today has dawned cold but the sun came out and it is beautiful once again, even if the wind is a trifle cool.

We have spent the day going to Railton the topiary town and it was a bit of a disappointment, the town being a bit run down and the topiary just so so. I guess it is just a relatively new concept trying to give the town some distinction and no doubt with time it will work but at present it is a half finished town project and didn't really impress. Maybe I'm getting too fussy in my old age. Wendy did manage to get a hair cut there, probably the only customer for the day.

We came back to Sheffield and found Alan and Maureen had snuck into our camp site while we were away. We ran into them up town and had lunch together.

Sheffield is known for it's mural and they are everywhere. Just last week they held their International Mural Festival which draws large crowds. I'll let a few pictures tell a thousand stories.

This is the view from our camp site

Gee it's cold

2010-04-12T17:28:00.000+10:00

Camped at Sheffield, looking out over Mt Roland, the wind is blowing a gale, the bus is rocking and it's freezing cold. Friends of ours are making the crossing tonight, sure glad it's not us on Bass Straight tonight.

They even had snow in Victoria last night and we've got to go through there yet.

Only mad dogs and Englishmen would live in this weather. Now I know why all these Mexicans migrate north for the winter. Anybody got a spare hot water bottle?

I've Been Everywhere (remember the song)

2010-04-11T17:07:00.000+10:00

Well here it is Sunday and we are camped in the bus in the rain on a concrete surface at a a little town called Gowrie Park in the middle of nowhere and to prove we have been everwhere we have even taken a photo of of "Nowhere Else" which we visited today. I kid you not there is a place in Tassie called Nowhere Else and we have been there so I can now proudly say "We been everywhere man"

Since I last brought the blog up to date we have travelled far and wide but really haven't travelled far, just seen s a lot and enjoyed ourselves. From Beaconsfield we moved on to Port Sorell where we camped at the Boomerang Camp which is like a scout camp but with better facilities or power, dump point, showers, toilets and free use of the laundry. There were only four of us in camp and had a good chat. One couple had camped at Beaconsfield the night before us and had their motorhome stoned during the night. Luckily we didn't know about this or Wendy would have had a fit.

From Port Sorell we travelled to Devonport where I had to check something out fo the club and then we went to the Don River Railway and had a ride on a chuchu train. This dedicated bunch of enthusiast are keeping the railway alive for the next generation to enjoy. Unfortunately it had settled in to rain and we didn't get to see the best of it but I hadn't been on a train in 45 years, except for the Wilderness Railway on the west coast so it brought back memories. We decided to head to Latrobe as we knew there was a good camp site there and settled in only to have the weather improve and discover friends we had made on the this trip were also there, it being a popular site for those waiting there return journey to "Australia". We ended up going to dinner with Sandy and Mary-Jean and Gordon and Helen. This morning we woke to find Brian and Rhonda from Townsville had also joined us in camp. This truly is a small world down here.

Today we have taken a round about trip to Sheffield but we had not made it finding a nice spot at Gowrie Park for the night, getting here via Devils Gate and Lake Barrington. The dam at Devils Gate is quite spectacular and unique in design with double curvature and is one of the thinnest dam walls in the world due to its unique design. Approx 80meters in height and 130meters across the top of the wall it holds back 27kilometers of waters in it's dam. Not far from there we took a turnoff to the Lake Barrington recreation grounds with a very steep decent only to find about a million people (slight exaggeration) and a major rowing regatta in progress. Getting through the masses in narrow roads in the bus was an exercise in itself and the second gear 2k climb back to the road was "interesting".

We finally descended from the mountain country after of course visiting Nowhere Else and have now settled in for the night and the camp site is rapidly filling up with Queenslanders.

We hope to catch up with Alan and Maureen by Friday as it is Maureen's birthday and no doubt there will be a celebration.

Time Is Getting Short

2010-04-08T21:32:00.000+10:00

Well time is getting short on the Island and although we seem to have been away from home forever we only have eight days left in Tasmania.

We spent a very enjoyable night at Myrtle Park which is a great camp site in the middle of the Tasman Highway. Our drive to get there was also an experience choosing to take the back roads as much as possible and seeing country not usually seen by the "mass" travellers. The camp site is maintained by the Launceston Council and has the exorbitant fee of $3 per night with showers, toilets, fireplaces etc, etc and it was just our luck for it to be raining all night and with no TV, mobile or internet reception I was starting to have withdrawal symptoms.

Next morning we decided to break camp and head to Bridport via Scottsdale and the drive up the range was interesting to say the least with rain and thick cloud necessitating very cautious driving. When we reached Scottsdale we made a quick stop at the bakery for the usual vanilla slice and it was pouring rain, heaviest we had seen in Tassie and guess who should drive past and pull up but John and Marion. We had a chat in the rain and then went on our way to Bridport. The weather slowly improved and by the time we reached the coat it was almost fine. Bridport did not impress so we just had a look around and then headed west to lunch in George Town and then settle in for the night at Batman bridge where it again rained during the night.

This morning we crossed the bridge and headed south along the Tamar River and stopped at the Swiss village at Gridelwald before venturing further south to the Cataract Gorge in Launceston. This beautiful spot is totally unexpected in the heart of a city and we spent quite some time walking the area. The climb back up to the car park had us both puffing and sometimes I wish we had started this motorhoming adventure twenty years earlier.

The day was still young so we headed north along the East Tamar Highway to Greens Beach with it's really welcoming signs telling you there was a $500 fine if you camped outside the caravan park. Needless to say we spent nothing in this town and travelled on. I really object to councils who try to force you into their parks, what happened to free choice.

We travelled back via Beauty Point where we finally got to see a platypus or several actually at Platypus World where we did the conducted tour. There fascinating animals truly are amazing and we learned lot about this iconic animal. We then went on to Beaconsfield where we looked through the Mine and Heritage centre. The Centre now has a display of the mining tragedy and rescue and when you see the size of the cage these men were trapped in you get some idea of the enormity of this rescue.The picture at left is the actual entrance to the mine from where they emerged after their rescue

Tonight we are camped in the Beaconsfield show grounds with local Tasmanians and we had the greatest happy hour of the trip so far. I have never laughed so much with one of them being a natural comedian. The real joy of travelling is the people you meet and tonight has been one of those special nights. Long live the tradition of the happy hour.

Easter is Over

2010-04-05T20:30:00.001+10:00

Well it is Easter Monday and we are settling down for the night once again in Longford where we started our Easter break. Wendy was just commenting tonight that she thought Easter would be a bit boring being away from family with whom we traditionally get together but it has been far from so.

We spent Good Friday in Longford showgrounds and new found friends from Townsville, Brian and Rhonda who we met at Hellyer Gorge turned up and camped beside us, then Mike and Joan from Brisbane stumbled upon our campsite and spent the after noon with us. Mike and Joan decided to move camp to join us also.

On Saturday we were on the move again and travelled through Carrick, Hagley, Westbury and Deloraine where we settled in for the night and run into more friends we had met in our travels. Westbury has the famous Prean's Steam World with the most fascinating collection of old steam engines and tractors I have ever seen. The foresight of the three Prean brother to get this collection together is a marvel.

After spending the night at Deloraine we explored the area and just had to stop at the Honey Farm at Chudleigh and sample the wares. We left with the wallet much lighter and the bus much heavier. The ginger honey ice-cream was too kill for. I wanted to go back for another one but I wasn't allowed. We continued on to Mole Creek before doubling back to go to Elizabeth Town where the Ashgrove Cheese factory is situated (with their painted cows) I am sure I am going to leave this island about 20 kg heavier, they really shouldn't have all those samples on display.

We had decided to move East when Easter was over and check out some of the country be bypassed because of our need to get to the rally, and decided to backtrack to Longford once again for the night. Upon arriving in camp, pretty late in the afternoon only to find more travelling friends Sandy and Mary-Jean who we had met on the west coast also in camp. Needless to say we are still in camp here enjoying each others company.

In the morning we are heading east through Evandale to a lovely spot at Myrtle camp on the road to Scottsdale. Time is now getting short with only twelve days to go before we are on the ferry on our way home, with mixed feeling, sort of happy to be heading home but sort of feeling sad to be heading home.

Our travelling companions Alan and Maureen are still down in New Norfolk (last we heard) with Alan's son, having spent Easter with them, but he will no doubt be starting to head north again and we will no doubt hitch up again before heading for Devonport to catch the boat across the moat.

Easter is Coming

2010-03-31T14:19:00.000+10:00

Well today we have arrived back at Longford, (we like it here) and are going to use it as our base and make day trips out from here. With Easter only a couple days away we have decided to avoid the coast which is likely to be very busy. We really enjoyed our trip down through the Western Tiers and the Lake country and then back up the Midland highway.

When we left Oatlands we headed north again along the Midland Highway taking every opportunity to sidetrack into every little town and dot on the map.At Tunbridge we saw the oldest wooden bridge still in use and the township of Ross was an absolute picture with tree lined streets, lots of history and the famous Ross Bridge built by convicts. It is great how these towns have preserved their history and plaques on building telling the story of their original use. We just had to call in at Ross bakery as Wendy had heard the legend of their pies and has been tonguing for one for weeks. Must admit they were pretty good. From Ross we had a real long journey of about 12k to Campbell Town with yet another famous bridge. Built by convicts the "Red Bridge" has approximately 1.5 million bricks in it construction. Designed for the horse and buggy era about two hundred years ago it is still in use on the main highway with dozens of B-doubles using it every day and the bridge has hardly required any maintenance in that time. Such was the standard of workmanship in those days. Just beside the bridge there is a new attraction of carved trees which has just been completed this month.

We camped at Lions Park in Campbell Town on the banks of the Elizabeth River with the river only one meter from our back window, with babbling brook and the ducks feeding at arms reach. The site was so ideal we couldn't part company and stayed for two nights with fellow travellers we met from Brisbane.. We were surrounded by fellow Queenslanders and just about every second vehicle down here seems to have Qld registration. Just by coincidence while I am typing this two vehicles have set up camp beside us, guess what both Queenslanders. While we were in camp at Campbell Town one of the locals came down to the camp site and supplied us with fresh vegetables, all free of charge, such is the generosity of the Tasmanian people.

We just had to move on this morning and slowly wound our way north, checking out the camp site at Conara and stopping at the Woolmers Estate and the National Rose Garden. The gardeners were pruning the roses and as Wendy passed by they presented her a bouquet of the most beautiful roses which now adorn our motorhome. It was quite funny as we were walking out, people were asking us were you allowed to pick them and we had to hastily explain to see the gardeners. I sure they thought we were pinching them from the National Trust.

We now only have seventeen days left on the "Little" Island and intend to spend most of the time exploring every little town and attraction in the northern part of the island. Looking back we have probably rushed the first part of the trip, not realising just how close things are together down here, and being afraid of running out of time. The leisurely pace of the past week and a half that we have been travelling solo has been refreshing and I am now convinced this is the way to go. When travelling in company, no matter how well you know each other there is always some feeling of obligation and restriction, whether real or imagined.

Think I'll go and get ready for Happy Hour before I get writers cramp

This Is A Hard Life

2010-03-28T11:12:00.000+10:00

Well we had a second look at Richmond and walked the convict trail. There is an old convict prison there as well as the oldest bridge in Australia, still in use. They sure did know how how to build those stone bridges.

From Richmond we decided to return to Kempton for the night as it is an excellent camp site with level parking, water and power if you are luckly with showers and toilets and dump point close by. What more could the travelling RVer wish for. We were a little slow out of bed as the weather is cool and I had wrenched by back (yet again) and was in no hurry to hit the road and besides we only had a few K's to go for the day.

He headed for Jericho and the song, Joshua at the battle of Jericho came to mind as there was a wall with historic significance at Jericho. As usual, as is the norm in Tassie the signposting was non existant and we couldn't find the "mud wall" at Jericho so decided to take a back road to rejoin the highway. While driving down the small country road we came across the wall which is the only remains of what was once a fairly major convict settlement.

From Jericho we went north to Oatlands where we are now camped on the edge of a lake full of bird life. The ducks seem to know I'm a soft touch and everytime I open th door I am rushed for more bread. One of the local feeds them every day and they know her car and when she pulls up they make a hell fo a racket. Swans, seagulls, pluver and all sorts of water fowl are everywhere. We liked this spot so much we have decided to stay another night and give my sore back a chance to rest and recuperate

We had a small emergency this morning while boiling the water for a cuppa. The Gas Detector went off with a banshee howl, well at least that is what it sound like in a small motorohome when you're half asleep, and we dived for the gas tap and turned off the bottle to save what we thought must be an impending explosion. Still it wailed and we were mystified but soon the problem was solved. Wendy had been spraying some body perfume stuff around and the alarm appears to also be sensative to perfume. Much to our relief we eventually boiled the billy and had a cuppa with no more excitement.

Oatlands is noted for its topiary and there are many examples of it around the town, we even have five "animals" just outside our door on the foreshore.

Tomorrow, who know but probably north, the first signs of Autumn are upon us and the morning are getting cooler but Cambelll Town looks inviting.

I am typing this sitting in the sun at a park bench overlooking the waters of the lake with the sun breaking through a overcast sky, temperature is mild, wife by my side and the world could not be better. Eat your heart out if you've got to mow the lawn or trim the hedge today. LOL Somebody's got to do this.

On The Road Again

2010-03-26T07:45:00.001+10:00

Just like the title of the song we hit the road again and headed for "them thar hills" to the south west of Longford.via Poitina where there is a hydro electric power house. The engineering works that must have been done to develop this hydro scheme is amazing bringing water from the lakes on the top of the mountains down to the lower levels where it is used several times in different power stations to generate electricity.

The climb up the Poitina Pass is quite a drive climbing what appears to be a vertical cliff from below and the Coaster was in third gear for most of the way, fortunately there was the occasional part where I could pull over to let the long suffering cars through but once near the top the views over eastern Tasmania were magnificent.

We stopped at Cramps Bay on the Great Lake for lunch where there is a village of fishermen's shacks but not much else. Reckon it would be EXTREMELY cold in winter but we were having a beautiful day. The Great Lake is about 3000+ ft above sea level and the area is covered in snow in winter.We continued on to Lake Arthur (must have been named after me) and stopped at Pumphouse Bay but decide it was a bit early to camp and moved on. We saw a sign to sculptures in the middle of the bush at Steepes and turned in to find a display of sculptures attached to rocks just in the middle of the scrub. It was a little like Stone Henge in the UK but was dedicated to the people who protect the Steppes country both now and in the past.

As we came down out of the mountains the scenery changed dramatically into fertile plains and rolling hills. We passed through Bothwell and on the spur of the moment decided to checkout a camp site at Kempton where to our surprise we ran into Alan and Mazie who had pulled in for the night and we were followed into the camp by folks we had camped with at St Helens. This really is a small island.This town has done us proud with a beautiful camp site, they sure know how to attract the RV traveller in Tassie.

Had a call from Allan and Maureen and they are currently up north at Batman Bridge checking out the Tamar region.

Today we are going back to Richmond for a second look as we felt we rushed this area a bit and want to explore more.

Rally Is Over

2010-03-22T14:25:00.001+10:00

Well here it is a week later and you have probably have noticed that I haven't been keeping the blog up to date. We have been flat out at the rally, supposedly having break but that is not how it worked out.

We were parked just two sites away from our good friends from Gin Gin, Alan and Maizie and just down the row were Keith and Silvia from Toogoolawah (?) while Alan and Maureen got into the site late and were right across the paddock from us about 800metrs away. We had a good time at the rally meeting up with old friends and people we had met on the road during this trip. There never seemed to be enough time in the day.
After a total debacle in my seminar not being on the program it was slotted in and was very successful from the feedback I received. I spend the next two days loading data onto to GPSs and got no time to ourselves.

We have escaped today back to Longford Showgrounds where we have done the washing and having a rest but not sure how much rest there will be as there are about 30 motorhomes on site and it is like a mini rally all over again. Heard today the Ivan and Hazel Woolmer have had vehicles trouble and had to return to the Big Island to have things fixed. We haven't seen them since we came over on the same boat together.

We have parted company with Allan and Maureen with them going north and us going south to the Lakes District, will probably meet up on the ferry as we are both booked on the same day unless we bump into (not literally I hope) on the road.

We have four weeks to go now until we embark for the Main Land and the weather is getting a little cooler, hopefully we will see a little of Autumn before we leave but these winds are a bit hard to take, particularly when they like to go straight through you and not around you.

Just to show you how big the rally was I am enclosing a photo to give you some idea, hear various figures but about maximum of 940 on site.

Ready for the Rally

2010-03-14T09:54:00.000+10:00

Well it is Sunday and we are camped at the Longford Showgrounds with lots of others all getting ready to move into the rally site at Carrick which is about 15 minutes away. We have spent three nights here and it is good to have a rest from moving on each day. We have done all the washing (amazing how many dirty clothes we have), cleaned the bus, filled the water tanks and emptied the toilet, etc, all those chores which come from a period on the road.

Longford was a bit of a surprise to us being much bigger that it looks on the map, there is a meat works here who have a shop available to the public and we are told it is the best meat in Tassie. Of course we are going there on Monday morning to stock up before the rally.

This morning we woke to lots of horse trailers all around us and the local horse club is conducting a gymkhana in the show ring. Lots of entertainment, free of charge.

Ah well I had better sign off and retire to my deck chair, this is a hard life this motorhoming but I guess someone has to do it.

Hooroo!

How Time Runs Away

2010-03-12T14:14:00.000+10:00

Well time sure runs away and my plan to update my blog daily has fallen by the way side. I reckon if there were 48 hours in a day I'd still be behind.

On Wednesday morning we got the bus serviced in Scottsdale and it took a bush mechanic to solve a problem I have had ever since I have had the bus. I always complained that the bus was not firm on the road and tended to wallow around on rough roads. I have always checked my own tyre pressures religiously at home with my own compressor and set them at 70PSI. This mechanic commented that my tyres looked low and I assured him I was running them at 70psi but when he checked them with his recently checked pressure gauge they were all around 15 lbs lower than what I thought. After pumping them up using his gauge I could not believe the difference in the handing of the vehicle. It is quite apparent to me now that the gauge I have been relying on was/is faulty.

After restocking the pantry we moved on and wound our way through some lovely country to Lilydale when Wendy again restocked the pantry with what she had forgotten on the previous shopping spree that morning. We then slowly followed the back road via Pipers Creek to George Town where we called on on the Solo's rally to catch up with Wendy Purvis but to no avail as we could not find her.

We had decided to go to Batman Bridge for the night but by chance Alan was talking to a old gentleman who said no came to my place I've got lots of paddocks, we we followed him to his property on the edge of town and camped in his back yard. We were invited to come up to the house for a drink and to our surprise he had a BBQ in full swing and insisted we stay and enjoy ourselves. What an amazing host Peter and is daughter Berlinda were to total strangers and he had also invited two German tourists Rudy and Inga who were delightful company. While we were BBQing Peter's friends Fred and Shirley insisted on showing us around the town the next day and we we escorted on a sight seeing tour which lasted for a few hours. Tasmanian hospitality is second to none. Peter had an amazing obedient dog who was almost human and in the morning he came down the farm to see us, he jumped into the bus and promptly sat up on the engine cover between us and enjoyed a lift back to the house with us. He is black like the interior of the bus and is a little hard to see in the photo.

Reluctantly we left George Town and headed for Batman Bridge to spend the night camped beside the first suspension bridge ever constructed in the southern hemisphere. It was a nice spot but some of the fellow campers were a little "strange". Early this morning I rose and walked over the bridge to take some photos.

When we broke camp at Batman Bridge we headed down the east Tamar highway via Launceston to Longford where we are now camped up doing the washing and preparing for the rally which we enter next Monday. It will be good to put the roots down for seven days and not have to pack up every morning to hit the road.

Getting closer to the Rally

2010-03-09T20:23:00.002+10:00

Well we left Bicheno on Sunday morning to head north again to St Marys up in the mountains. Originally the highway went up to here and down the other side but there is a now a coast road where you can bypass St Marys.

We had been told such horrifying stories on how this road had 1st gear corners and switchbacks and was so narrow etc etc etc. Just goes to show you can never totally believe another's experiences. It was indeed a steep climb and interesting drive as we climbed through the clouds but we arrived in St Marys without mishap. The town had obviously seen better days but we arrived on a Sunday of a long weekend so most of the population had probably left. We decided to move on to St Helens and this was down the St Marys pass on a road originally constructed by the convicts and once again made for a slow cautious decent but arrived at St Helens under threatening skies. We were directed to the local recreation ground to camp and joined quite a few visiting and local CMCA members there for an enjoyable night.

Monday morning (public holiday) dawned raining so we decided to stay put and enjoy each others company. It rained so much I had to relocate the bus from it waterfront views to slightly higher ground. We also had the benefit of being able to plug into power for the day which was fortunate as the solar panels were certainly not seeing any solar. I spent some of the day installing camping site POI into other peoples GPSs and explaining the benefits of the club's GeoWiki

Tuesday morning dawned clear and the high water mark had receded somewhat and we packed to hit the road. We had to go into the town to restock the pantry and decide to travel alone. It can be a pain travelling in company all the time and one needs to get some space around one self every now an again. We had a lovely day exploring, found the "store in the bush" and spent some money, then detoured to a waterfall but declined the hour and half walk to see it and also made a little side tack to see the carved trees which were magnificent. (will post photos later) This work of art done with a chainsaw is a memorial to our fallen on WW1.

Tonight we are in camp at Scottsdale in a very crowded camp on the edge of town, Allan and Maureen caught up with us later in the day and turn up with Ray and Julia in tow. It's amazing who you run into in your travels. I have the Coaster booked in tomorrow for an oil change so will have to be up early. Forgot to mention Allan had another accident/incident last night, while lying in bed his glass top on his stove just exploded showering glass like a broken windscreen all around the motorhome but fortunately no injuries. I'm starting to think he is dangerous to travel with, hope his bad luck doesn't start rubbing off on us.

Bicheno and beyond

2010-03-06T06:54:00.000+10:00

Yesterday we left Triabunna and wound our way up the coast in a slow but steady stream of motorhomes, caravans and motorbikes who all seem to be touring the eastern seaboard at the same time. We had been told that there were special CMCA camp sites opened up for us for the rally but the club magazine has not caught up with us with details so we enquired at the Triabunna information centre and were given verbal information which was of little use when you don't know the area. Only after arriving at Bicheno did the information centre here give us a printed list of the east coast camp sites. Unfortunately we had already passed a couple of them.

Swansea was a pretty place and the main street was motorhome alley with rigs parked along a long stretch of road. I am amazed also at the number of rental motorhomes plying the road over here. I decide I was going to have a look at Nine Mile Beach but unfortunately I turned into a suburban street, following another motorhome and of course my "bumpersticker" Allan followed and we all ended up in a narrow street with no turnaround. The guy in front of me had no problem with his car on an A frame, I just backed into a driveway and did a three point BUT! Allan with his car on a caddy had to unload it to make a U turn. If I have learned one thing on this trip it is NEVER to travel with someone with a car on a caddy. You would think he would have learned after being caught FOUR times with this rig. %^$#@&^ Caddy trailers.

Anyway he laughed it off and I go grumpier and we travelled on.

Just as I exited from the Nine Mine Beach turnoff I pulled over to allow an ambulance, who was coming up behind rapidly, to pass and unfortunately we came across the scene of an accident where a bike rider was laying in the middle of the road being attended to by the ambulance.This was the first accident we had seen on the Island and most people appear to be very cautious on the roads down here.

We turned off to Coles Bay and only had a quick look as the weather was closing in all the scenery was covered in low cloud but decided to continue on to Bicheno for the night. We are currently camped in a sports ground right on the foreshore with the wind blowing and rain falling, probably the heaviest rain we have experienced so far but still relatively light. John, Kay and Gizmo (the ferocious guard dog) and Keith and Beth are also in camp here so we enjoyed a happy hour last night and caught up on the gossip that inevitably come from travelling and not seeing each other for a long time.

Up the East Coast

2010-03-04T20:11:00.000+10:00

Last night we camped in the State Forrest at Lime Bay and on the way out of the camp site we stopped at the Convict Coal Mine for a look see. The ruins are not far from the car park and if you thought Port Arthur was tough, this site was even worse with the hard work and the way the convicts were treated was appalling. The mines were eventually closed down by the government and subsequently handed over to private enterprise who could not make a go of them. I guess slave labour had it advantages when it came to running costs, no superannuation to pay either.

At Eaglehawk to turned off the highway to mix with the "real tourist" (those packed into buses and talking funny languages) to view the Blowhole, Tasman Bridge and the Devils Kitchen. It is amazing what nature can shape over a few millions years. The climb out of Eaglehawk is quite steep and we had a drag race between the Hino and the Coaster in the passing lanes. Needless to say the Coaster won hands down but I won't mention the extra ton and a half the Hino was pulling.

At Sorello we restocked and refuelled before heading north to Triabunna where we are camped with others behind the local pub. The trip was quite beautiful with some very nice mountain passes and coastal towns along the route. The drive along the river into Orford was spectacular.

One of things that has fascinated us is how you can turn a corner or climb a hill and feel you have driven into a different world, the scenery and contrasts can change that quickly.

Tonight we treated ourselves to Fush and Chups on the recommendation of another camper. If ever you are in Triabunna you just have to try the fish and chips caravan situated on the Esplanade. Fish straight from their boats to the pan and I have never tasted fish like it, and reasonable prices too.

Where to tomorrow, who knows, but most likely Swansea and Freycinet National Park.

Below is some of the photos we have taken.

Day Number ?? - I can't remember and who cares

2010-03-03T17:06:00.001+10:00

Well it has been a few days since I brought my blog up to date. I is amazing how you loose track of time and can't remember what day of the week it is - I think this is Wednesday but it doesn't really matter..

A couple of days ago we went up to the Tahune AirWalk from Geeveston and it was a lovely cool sunny day but as usual the clouds came over but no rain fortunately. Wendy took a deep breath and walked the air-walk with me and I really think she enjoyed the the walk. When it came to walking out of the cantilever at the end of the walk the wind was chilling and blowing hard so she declined that, as did a lot of other people. Me being a hero LOL made it to the end but it is a funny feeling being 48 meters above the Huon River and swaying in the breeze. I did have a look at the kite flight across the river but decided that flying on a wire is not my idea of fun and decide to save my money for "real" flying. The site is really worth the trip out and back and I enjoyed the bush walking and information available. There must have been some really BIG trees in the early days as the ones that remain are indeed impressive.

After having lunch at Tahune we decided to retreat to Franklin for the night just in case we were in for another freezing night, which didn't eventuate. From there we parted company with Allan and Maureen as we had business to attend to in Huonville and Hobart before heading for Richmond to explore this historic town. It was a great little interesting town and has the best custard slices to kill for, as well as the oldest bridge in Australia. We had decided to camp just up the road at Flower Mill Park at Campania. Here we met a lady from Warwick Qld who on the first day of their holiday had the misfortune to fall out of their slide-on and break her arm in three places. They hadn't heard of the CMCA but I'm sure they will be members shortly as we left them a membership form.

Moving on from Campania we went to Port Arthur and did all the things one does at Port Arthur. I'm sure our legs will be a foot shorter after all this walking but hopefully the waist line will be a bit slimmer also. We were all shocked to learn detail of the barbaric mature of this early convict settlement/prison. It is also very sobering to be on the scene of the 1996 massacre and you can't help but feel for those people involved.

Leaving Port Arthur ( which by the way is another thing named after me??) we took the slow road to Sorell and haven't made it yet. Tonight we will be camped at Lime Bay, a pretty spot but they shore know how to charge in these State Forests without providing much in the way of facilities.

Tomorrow who knows but we will explore the area and make our way up the east coast.

I've been every where (remember the song)

2010-02-28T19:43:00.000+10:00

Well the title might be a slight exaggeration but today we did get to the most southern point you can reach by road in Australia at Cockle Creek in Tasmania and what a trip it was.

The day dawned clear and cool but by 8am it was cold and getting colder with threatening rain, then our daughter rang to warn us there was a tsunami warning out for the east coast of Australia. We decided to go anyway and the further south we went the worse the weather got. We stopped off at the Ida River Railway and almost turned around but decided to press on on the dirt roads ahead. By the time we got to Cockle Creek it was bleak and very cold and we huddled inside the motorhome and had hot soup for lunch. The buses had changed colour with a thick layer of mud. We had intended to camp down there but common-sense dictated we return to Geeveston and camp in preparation for the Tahune Airwalk tomorrow.

This afternoon we spent quite a bit of time in the Forest and Heritage Centre at Geeveston until they chucked us out at closing time. This centre is well worth a visit and to see the tools and equipment the early settlers and timber getters used was very enlightening. Also the carving done with chainsaws was amazing.

First Cold day

2010-02-27T15:28:00.000+10:00

Well I suppose we can't complain but today has dawned with misty rain and it is COLD!, well at least by our standards although there are still some mad southerners walking around in shirt sleeves.

Yesterday we broke camp early at Gordon and took the coast road to Cygnet which surprise, surprise is named after the black swans in the area. We stopped in Cygnet to attend to the necessary motorhome chores and do a bit of shopping and it is funny to see the same motorhomes hitting the same town as you are in. I guess we are all doing the same round trip of the Island. We turned off the main highway at Cygnet and headed for Wattle Grove, nobody told us it was a bitumen goat track we had to climb over the hill to get to Wattle Grove but the view was worth a million bucks over Port Houn on the Huon River. Our friends Bryan and Trica had bought a derelict house about seven years ago on a desolate piece a land and tuned it into a magnificent home with gardens and fruit trees everywhere and even a level parking spot for visiting motorhomes.

We hadn't see them for fifteen years but it was just like yesterday when we met again and many hours were spent going over old times. We rolled into bed at some ungodly hour this morning and needles to say we were a little later hitting the road this morning. The drive along the Huon River from Wattle Grove to Huonville was a pleasent distraction with the chilly condition and the sneaky wind the south pole has thrown at us today.

We bumped into Allan and Maureen in Huonville and they were camped a few K south at Franklin so we decided to join them there and snuggle up under the doona.

Tomorrow we are off to Geeverston and the Tahuna Airwalk, sure hope the weather improves but that can happen from hour to hour down here.

Bruny Island and beyond

2010-02-25T14:03:00.001+10:00

Well our time on Bruny Island was interesting, after panel beating Allan's trailer and me giving him a suitable rubbishing for his driving I was very thankful that the trusty Coaster dug itself out of the bog the next morning and I didn't have to get towed by a Hino. I never would have lived it down it that had happened.

The camp was quite nice in a bush setting but the "girls" were not too happy to spend another night there. We pushed on to Adventure Bay where the road came to a dead end without warning and turning around with Allan's 11meter rig was "interesting". We had decided to take the short route to Lunawanna through the forestry only to discover after 2 kilometres that trailers and buses were not permitted on the road. Now I argued that my bus is a motorhome so I was alright but common sense (we haven't had much of that lately) dictated that we turn around and take the long bitumen route so did about 18k instead of 7. Nothing is a long way from anywhere on Bruny.

We had lunch at Lunawanna where you could have the choice of pies, curried scallop, venison, wallaby, crocodile,rabbit, etc but we opted for those we thought would not be road kill LOL. After lunch we headed for the Cape Bruny Lighthouse and passed Alan and Willa Ross on the way back. Had a chat on the UHF and got all the good goss. At the lighthouse, which is promoted as a tourist attraction, the narrow road suddenly and without warning comes to end which makes for a very interesting turnaround for a 7 1/2 and an 11 meter rig. I managed a multipoint turn without taking the grill out of a Nissan car but the two girls in the front seat were holding their breath while I turned. Allan had to wait until the very small car park was empty to do a U turn. Common sense would have dictated at least some warning signs but there is s decided lack of that with the signposting at venues down here. We had a photo taken to prove we climbed the hill to the lighthouse but must admit we were puffing at this stage.

Anyway the day ended well and we saw Allan and Willa camped in beach-side accommodation, so we joined them for the night and had a lovely evening on the foreshore before heading off for the ferry this morning. The passage back was calm but we got separated from Allan on the ferry and where we turned left he turned right and headed back to Hobart. Thought we had finally lost him for a while but he (muttering unprintable things about Tom Toms) eventually found us at the Gordon camp site which has a lovely outlook over the D'Entrecastaux Channel.

I just completed my husbandly duties with the washing and tomorrow we are off to visit long term friends Trica and Bryan at Wattle Grove.

Life wasn't meant to be easy

2010-02-23T21:36:00.000+10:00

Well Allan's birthday has come and gone and we all had a good day culminating in a barbecue tea in his son Bob's annex. The weather was a little unkind and the rain fell and the breeze was "chilly" and we all huddled up in borrowed clothes. Lucky Bob has lived down here during a winter and he his lots of spare jackets. Allan's phone rang non stop all day from family and friends and there were a "few" emails from club Forum and Chapter members.

The cake was great and no doubt there is enough left over to keep us in morning tea for a month or two.

Now Allan's 80th day was an auspicious occasion but his 80th year plus one day was a rather inauspicious day and no doubt one he would prefer to forgot. It all started with him getting out of bed, BIG mistake. While he was packing up preparing to travel he was loading the car on the trailer and I was giving him a hand to guide him into the right position on the ramps. Allan will no doubt tell you a good story about how it happened but suddenly the car (all by itself) leapt forward and rocketed itself over the loading ramp to sit on the spare tyre with the front wheels resting on the A frame. Somehow Allan had managed to jump the car sump over a bolt which was sticking up and the car could not be moved backwards without ripping the sump out. How he managed to get it there without damaging the sump in he first place is a miracle.

Much head scratching later and with a few miracle tricks with hydraulic jacks and blocks of wood, two hours and much effort we managed to somehow jack the car high enough so that it could be extricated without ripping the sump apart on the offending bolt. To add insult to Allan's injury he had to be towed backward by the trusty Toyota Coaster which we used to snig the while rig backwards. We even took photos to ensure he never forgets this one.

NOTICE WHO'S DOING ALL THE WORK WHILE THE SUPERVISOR LOOKS ON.

Anyway the rest of the day was pretty uneventful except for me getting Allan lost taking a shortcut through Hobart, the second gear goat track we had to take to get back to the highway and the "little" incident when Allan hooked up the trailer on a stump while setting up camp on Bruny Island. Bush panel beating has fixed that one.

Now I won't mention the fact that the Coaster has dug a hole in the sand with a set of duels while I was putting it up on ramps tonight. Sure hope I don't have to get towed out by a Hino in the morning or I'll never live it down.

Gee this holiday stuff is fun.!!

Birthday Party time.

2010-02-21T14:22:00.001+10:00

Well it is Sunday and Allan hits the big 80 tomorrow so we have left Hobart to rejoin him at New Norfolk and would you believe it nobody is at home when we got here.

Yesterday we went into the Salamanca Markets and they sure are large but like most markets they tend to try and sell stuff that you definitely don't want to store in a motorhome for the trip home, at least that was my excuse for dragging Wendy away from the stands. Must admit I was really impressed with some of the artists playing for the crowd, particularly a jazz guitarist and the fellow playing the drums on pots and pans and plastic buckets. Nice picture I took with the toilets in the background.

Today we left the camp site at the Showground after again attending the showgrounds markets which were also quite large and made our way towards the Tasman Bridge (the one that fell down some years ago) and proceeded to the north side of the river to wind our way back to New Norfolk by a very picturesque route. The view from the top of the bridge was spectacular but they wouldn't let me stop my bus in the traffic lane to take a photo. You would think they would have a parking bay up there just for visiting Queenslanders. At one stage I pulled over to let a timber truck go by, which is my normal practice on these winding roads and he took the trouble to get on the UHF and thank me for my courtesy.Nice touch from a professional driver.

The Derwent river is quite impressive with all it bays and good sailing waters. I could get interested in sailing again if I lived down here, but in summer only. We have been really lucky with the weather which has been warm and most kind to us. Last night however the wind sure did blow and rock the rig quite a bit.

Having a bludge this afternoon to build up my strength for the party.

Fickle Hobart

2010-02-19T19:26:00.001+10:00

Well I had typed a whole days Blog and suddenly it just disappeared without warning so here goes with a second attempt.

Today broke with clear blue skies and promised to be a good day. We were up early and heading for town to catch to tour bus for the Hobart and Mt Wellington tour. The bus takes almost an hour to get to the top of the mountain and by the time we got there all we got was a beautiful view of low cloud which shrouded the top of the mountain. Pity really as we were really looking forward to the trip. Sure am glad I didn't decide to take the motorhome up the hill, Wendy was even more happier but I reckon the Coaster would have done a better job of the climb than the tour bus which was a late model Mercedes, even the driver complained at the lack of power.

Of course the trip down was a little easier and would you believe it, by the time we were back in town the Mountain was clear of cloud and in bright sunshine. We must have the luck of the Irish. Couple of pictures to show how it looked as we left and how it looked at the top.

I have been having trouble with my six month old mobile phone and now after three trip to the Telstra shop I have swapped the sim card into the old LG phone we had with us and it is proving much more reliable. So much for modern technology. At least the 3G modem is giving good reception.

We have been expecting our forwarded mail to arrive but no luck so far, the assistant behind the counter telling us it can take 7 days from Bundaberg to Hobart. So much for Aust Post service. It is unbelievable in this day and age that such poor service is tolerated by the local community. We wil have to check again when we pass through Hobart on our way north again.

We will spend Saturday in Hobart as Wendy wants to see the Salamanca Market. We will no doubt return to New Norfolk by Sunday night to be there for Allan's OBE party on Monay. After that we will be heading further south than Hobart to have look around.

Some of our Pictures

2010-02-18T20:10:00.036+10:00

The King River taken from the Wilderness Railway. The river is "dead" due to pollution from the mining and nothing lives in it.

The camp site at Hamilton, it was full every night. A small village that really knows how to treat the travelling RV public

The Railway line from Strahan to Queenstown, a marvellous effort to build in two and a half years with no explosives and all hand labour

The steam engine that pulled us into Queenstown, one of the original engines used on the line in the heyday of mining

Wendy just had to paddle in Bass Straight but the water temperature made sure it was a short paddle.

Just to prove that sometime I take Wendy "out" to dinner in luxurious surroundings .

The "twins" at a waterfall lookout.

The Gunns Plains Caves in Northern Tasmania.

Hobart here we come!

2010-02-17T14:40:00.000+10:00

Well we left Hamilton and undertook a big day to journey to New Norfolk, about 35k for the whole day I think. We were wandering down the street to do a bit of shopping (again) and ran into CMCA Chairman Diana and Peter. Diana was less than complimentary about my beard but I was too polite to say anything about her hair do, being the gentleman that I am. They were heading west as we headed east. (I've had a trim since the photo was taken. ) Also checked out Tassie Lotto results while in town but sad to say I won't be returning home in a new rig.

We met up with Alan and Maureen again here and decided to spend the night at the caravan park where they were encamped. The first thing we noticed as we drove in was that Allan had had a little accident and had wet his bed and it was put out to dry. There is a long story about how this happened but I'll leave you in to ask Allan the details. I prefer my version of the story but I had better not print that.

Also caught up with Alan's son and D in L, Bob and Jenny at the park and had a good chin wag.

The park is right on the banks of the Derwent River and is an idea setting. We spent a quiet night there but as Alan is still awaiting repairs to his fridge and can't be seen till Thursday we moved on this morning for another big day of about 35k to camp at the Hobart Showground. Even managed to get a powered site to charge everything up to tip top conditions. I am finding the while the solar is keeping us going with some driving everyday we really are not getting enough sun light (even with daylight savings) to fully top up the system each day, particularly if you cane it with TV and lots of computer use.

We are constantly meeting up with people we have met on the road as we are mostly travelling in the same general direction. Baz and Karen who only live 1/2k away from us in Bundaberg as our next door neighbours tonight. We have booked into the showground for 4 nights and tomorrow, weather permitting we are going to do a tour of Hobert and Mt Wellington. Hobart is a pretty town with all the hills and the river but the weather is changable, it being warm and sunny as we drove into town but now blusterly and cool with threatening rain.

We will spend a few days here until Monday when we have promised to return to New Norfolk for a little bit of a birthday party, with Allan receiving his OBE that day (Over Bloody Eighty) (No wonder he wet the bed)

Day 29

2010-02-14T15:01:00.000+10:00

Well we left Strahan farewelling our friends we had made in the past few days and headed to Queenstown where we had been the day before on the train but it is the only way out and I am glad we did as you get a whole different prospective from the road in and out. It is quite a climb out of Queenstown but the views are spectacular. We stopped at Lake Burbury for lunch before the mountainous and twisting drive to Lake St Clair National Park. No doubt this would have been quite pretty but we couldn't see anything for the low cloud and rain. We cam across a large tour coach on one range where the driver was trying to change a flat tyre in a most precarious position. many of the coach passengers were out on the road in the rain directing traffic. Such are the joys of coach travel.

We were tired after the drive and wanted to camp but I would not recommend this site at Lake St Clair. Run by the National Parks Dept. is is expensive at $25 per night unpowered and $35 per night with power and by the time we got there it power sites were booked out. The facilities are substandard with just bare ground and little else, no sullage point, no drainage, no nothing. With all the effort we in the CMCA makes to leave no trace it is disappointing to see a government department. provide such poor camping facilities. I was also amazed at the power supplied to sites which was run down tree trunks to somewhat unprotected outlets. Just try that at your own home and see what the authorities have to say about safety.

The rain eased through the night but we decided to call it quits and pulled out around 10am. Just a few Ks down the road from Derwent Bridge there is a tourist attraction called The Wall in the Wilderness and a local artist is in the process of carving a 50 meter wall of Huon Pine with pioneering scenes. This is a 10 year project for the artist and he has now been on the project for 5 years. A truly spectacular attraction and the best $8.50 entry fee we have ever paid.

The rest of the day was spent driving in rain untill we stopped at the Nive River where there are two hydro power stations and spectacular lakes and man made lagoons to store the required water. One thing they are not short of down here is water. We had morning tea here and pulled up behind a Jayco and would you believe it the people were from the next street to us in Bundaberg only about 1/2k form our place. Small world when you travel.

We have continued on to Hamilton which is just 50 odd k from Hobart and are now camped on the river bank and there are platypus in the river so we are told. We are determined to see on in the wild before we leave this little island. Will probably stay here two night as it is a pleasant spot and the fellow campers are a nice group.

A Month Today

2010-02-13T15:46:00.001+10:00

Well it is four weeks today since we started this epic (??) journey and tonight we are camping at Lake St Clair in the National Park. What a rip off these parks are, $25 for an unpowered camp site with pretty ordinary amenities but I guess they have a captive audience and if you want to come here you pay, and pay through the nose.

Well yesterday we finally got on the Wilderness train from Strahan to Queenstown and bused back to Strahan. It was a wonder day full of surprises and information. We had "Thomas" doing the commentary and he was quite a character, only young but obviously loved his job and was full of information and stories. The first part of the journey used a diesel loco but you change trains for the last bit into Queenstown with a steamer to climb the steepest grades in the southern hemisphere.

When you see the devastation of the Queen and King Rivers (both dead with no life in them) caused by the mining, mankind has a lot to answer for. I don't consider myself a "greenie" but this is an eye opener as to what man's greed can do. Fortunately we are waking up and genuine efforts are being made by the current owners of the mine with noticeable results. Many of the denuded hills around Queenstown are being given back to nature with reforestation and maybe in another fifty years much of the damage will be reversed.

We had intended to once again go north from Strahan but we decided to abandon that plan and make for the East Coast via Queenstown. As things happen Allan poked his out this morning to say his fridge had gone on the blink (yet again) and he was going to make a dash for Hobart to see if he could get repairs done. We also said our goodbyes to Sandy and Mary-Jean ( from the Gold Coast) who we have been travelling with us for a few days, and shared an ale or two, and are now alone in this wild wilderness (with about 30 others camped with us)

Tomorrow, weather permitting we will have a look around the lake before moving on. I don't like our chances of this rain lifting but we can't complain as this is the first rain we have had since we have been here.

As Far West As We Go

2010-02-11T15:14:00.000+10:00

Well here it is the 26th day of our epic journey and we are parked in the car park of the West Coast Wilderness Railway.It had been our intention to be on the train today but it was booked out and by the time we had booked for tomorrow we got the last two seats on the train, such is the popularity of this attraction. It cost $256 for two people but we got it for $141 as we had bought a Venture Experience pass (highly recommended) while we were at Devonport which gets us discounts or free entry into five attractions. I won't mention names but a couple of the rigs we are travelling with at the moment didn't buy the pass and had to pay full price. The cruise boats and the train here seem very expensive but popular.

On the way to Strahan fromTulla we passed through Rosebery where we enriched the local community with our wallets and also at Zeehan where we catch up with the washing at a laundromat. We have found it quite strange in the west here when you enquire if you have a laundromat and are told, "no not in this town but there is one in the next one" Same applied to electrician, auto electricians etc. The towns are quite quaint but mostly with limited facilities.

There is much mining in this area and it is littered with old mines or operating ones. The train journey we are going on tomorrow is a relic of foregone years of mining, now turned into a tourist attraction.

Allan finally had an electrician make temporary repairs to the fridge so hopefully (fingers crossed) he will have no more troubles.

The road in this part of the country are either narrow or hilly or probably both and we find ourselves travelling mostly in the 40/70 KPH range and feel quite comfortable doing it. Life wasn't meant to be a rush anyway.

No report tomorrow as we will be "playing trains"

Dramas, drames and more dramas

2010-02-09T21:27:00.000+10:00

Well we waited at Waratah, a town with much history and once the largest tin mine in the world while Allan and Maureen caught up and as we were running low on fuel had to wait until new supplied arrived. Decided to camp at The Fossey River rest area and met up with fellow Qlders who were doing the same as us in a caravan.

Of course while camped there Allan's fridge goes on the blink and won't work on 12v. By the time they realised it was not working everything was starting to melt. Some was transferred to our fridge to save it but I think Allan had to live on thawed out sausages. It was discovered the converter gizmo (technical term) that runs it on 240v was only working intermittently and the fridge would work perfectly on the generator but not off batteries. It was decided Allan would return to Burnie to have repairs done while we went on to Cradle Mountain and he would catch up later.

We pulled into the car park at Cradle only to find we were parked nose to nose with Wendy Purvis, one of our Chapter members so we exchanged good camp sites after we had been up the mountain. Only wish we were 20 years younger and fitter for places like this that require so much walking. It is a truly spectacular mountain and you could walk for a week and not see everything. To our surprise when we returned to the car park we saw Allan's bus there, apparently the frig started working on 12v and still is but your truly will be effecting a bypass of the "gizmo" as soon as we get to a town where we can buy suitable cable for the job.

Tonight we are camped in the back of the Wee Georgie Wood 2' gauge railway tourist attraction at Tullah, only wish we were here on a day when it was operating. Haven't had time to read up on the history of the steam engine but would suppose it was used in the early mining industry around here. We started chatting to another Qld couple on the UHF as we approached Tullah and they are camped with us tonight.

Tomorrow who knows where but there are lots of alternatives with various lakes and towns within easy reach.

The West Coast begins

2010-02-08T11:07:00.001+10:00

Well it has been a few days since my last blog but we have been busy or out of range. On Thursday we left Sulpher Creek and headed west along the north cost. All these towns are just a stones throw away from each other and you are there before you know it. Burnie is a big town but we didn't spent to much time there, just attending to the necessary duties we all have with motorhomes and dump points. I was still looking for a part for the annex and the locals directed me to Somerset where there was a large caravan dealer who fortunately had the part but not a workshop as they were going out of the caravan business.

They directed me to a man at Wynyard, who of course was not at home. After filling the gas bottle we decided to camp at the show grounds for the night. Alan went on ahead and was in a panic that he could not get in with the car on, &;^%$#@ cars on caddies. Sure am glad I left mine behind in Bundaberg, there really is no need for one down here, at least that is my opinion, it really has been a pain in the proverbial. Anyway he managed to unload the car and get in to the rather confined camp site and we stayed two night here to catch up on the washing etc. Nice town with the friendliest caretaker you could imagine. The information centre has one of the best vintage car displays I have seen including the equally oldest Ford in existence (only two in the world)

We moved on from Wynyard taking a coastal road the locals had put us on to and what spectacular views. We also saw the opium poppies being grown, quite a big crop down this way but I suspect strictly controlled by the look of the warning signs everywhere.

Called in at Sisters Beach for morning tea, quite a pretty spot and here were all these motorhome and caravan camped in a clearly marked "no camping" rest area. One of them told us the locals had told them to camp there but it is no wonder councils can get off side when you see this type of behaviour.

We pressed on to Stanley and climbed a hill to a great lookout over the whole coastline and then toured through the original house of the owners of the Van Diemans Trading Company. The history was amazing and tragic when it came to the local inhabitants, the early settlers in this part have a lot to answer for.

While on the hill I heard a voice on the UHF and I called up and sure enough it was Ronnie Penfold, small world down here.

Took a while to talk Wendy into going up in the chair lift to the top of the "Nut" at Stanley and it was only after we got up there that I discovered Allan had never been on one before and had to change his knickers. It was a new experience for him at nearly 80. Now to get him to skydive LOL. From Stanley we did a quick run out to Smithton and returned along the coast to Black River where we spent the night in a National Park.

We parted company here as Allan and Maureen had to go back to Burnie while we took the back country roads via Myalla, Milabena, Meunna, Preolenna,Calder and Yello to get to the Hellyer Gorge State Reserve where we spent the night. This was a magnificent drive but not for the feint hearted, climbing mountain ranges on narrow but good quality dirt roads. Never saw another vehicle except for three quad bike riders who were having a Sunday ride.

Today we are in Waratah with its beautiful water fall right in the heart of town. The town is only small and has run out of diesel and of course we are waiting for the tanker to arrive. Of course trying to tie them down to when that will happen is a joke in itself, maybe this morning, maybe this afternoon, can't really say type of answer. Allan and Maureen are supposed to join us here today and we head off to Cradle Mountain as our ne t stop.(if the fuel tanker arrives)

Will post some more photos when I get time.

Day 19

2010-02-03T18:44:00.000+10:00

Today we took off for the interior, although nothing is very far from the coast in Tassie. We left Sulpher Creek and headed for a little town called Riana in the hills. It is a typical small country village and then we continued on to Gunns Plains and was greeted with he most spectacular views as we topped the range to see one of the most beautiful valleys in all it's spender. The decent into the valley was a second gear slow crawl and I was glad we didn't have to go out the same way. Gunns Plains Caves is one of the attraction in the area and good value at only $10 entry. Originally discovered in 1903 by a local who shot a possum which fell into a hole in the ground and disappeared. A few days later he returned with a rope and lowered himself into the caves with only a candle, six years later he started conducted tours through the caves and it has been an attraction to tourists since. These days the entry is a little easier than by rope but non the less spectacular. We then continued on to Preston Falls, just a short walk off the road in the highlands. The drive to Leven Gorge was steep and winding and unfortunately the weather was closing in and by the time we had walked to the lookout the gorge was shrouded in light rain.

The run back to the coast was a lot easier being downhill and we returned to Hall Point to camp for the night. I don't think we will be sitting out to watch the penguins tonight as the winds are quite strong although not cold.

Tomorrow we will continue further west up the coast. It is 7.40pm as I write this and the sun has suddenly come out from the cloudy skies and blue skies are appearing, might be a better day tomorrow.

First Day on North Coast

2010-02-03T06:57:00.000+10:00

Well we said our fair wells to fellow campers in Devonport and headed off. Allan had to get his Hyundai attended to so went off to find the dealers and we headed to Ulverstone to find a caravan dealers to get a part. We detoured via Braddons Lookout to get a magnificent view of the whole north coast. Next thing we knew we were getting a phone call saying where are you, Allan and Maureen were already there and trying to find us. Ah he beauty of not having a plan, you can take any turn you like.

Couldn't get the part I want in Ulverstone, just sold the last one the day before and it would be a week before more would arrive.Spent most of the day in Ulverstone looking around and shopping and of course I found the local hobby shop and had a chat with the owner, the store was called Big Boys Toys which sounded appropriate. Nothing is very far apart down here so went went on to Penguin where a camp site was listed but it was full.

We pulled into a spot on the rugged coastline where a local retired farmer dropped in and advised us to move to the next point along the coast, a few hundred meters away where we could see the penguins come ashore. He dropped in later to just say gidday and invited us to see his rose garden next morning. The locals or so friendly, it's amazing. We managed to see the penguins but it was quite dark and would have been better with a full moon

Last night after we settled in for the night a group of back packers camped close by in tents and were a bit noisy and kept us awake, This morning they are freezing out side with strong cool winds while we are nice and cosy inside. Serves then right for disturbing us LOL

Not sure where we will head today but who cares

First Day in Tassie

2010-02-01T14:24:00.000+10:00

Well the trip over was a little rough, so I'm told, as I managed to sleep all through it. We arrived at Devonport at 6am and were quickly off the ship, going through quarantine inspections, which took a while and then on our way. We decided to go to a local camp site, Girdlestone Park where lots of travellers stop for the night after arriving on the ferry or before joining the ferry. We found our friends John and Marion in camp here having arrived on the day trip and were joined by people we had met on the boat. (or is that a ship). I hear Alan and Willa are on the boat at the moment and will arrive tonight.

We went into town with John and Marion and bought some provisions and checked out the tourist information centre, came home loaded with tourist brochures. Allan has ordered the part he needs for the Hyundai and I have managed to break one of the levers on the awning so tomorrow Allan will have his part fitted and we will seek out the part that we need. I am atold there is a good caravan repairer in Ulverstone not far away. Our shower floor has also developed a hairline crack while will no doubt become a problem requiring attention.

Today we are taking things easy, and everybody seems to be taking the opportunity to tidy up or do minor repairs.

First impressions of Devonport is that it is much larger that we anticipated but not as green as anticipated. It is funny how you have have preconceived idea of what to expect. It was rather chilly this morning as we disembarked but the day has improved with just a nip of coolness in the breeze. The locals are running around with next to nothing on and think it's hot.

All being well we hope to head west (go west young man) tomorrow but just where we end up is anybody's guess.

The Big day has arrived

2010-01-31T15:20:00.000+10:00

Well here it is Sunday 31st January, the big day for the crossing to Tassie. We drove down from Numurkah today after farewelling Laurie and Timmy and Annie and Skye and it was a very easy run being mostly highways and freeways. Sure am glad I had the GPS as I would have been totally lost in Melbourne, it has changed so much since I was last here. We somehow took a few wrong turns once we were off the freeway but still managed to to find the terminal.

We have had to park in the back streets to wait until loading time as the area around the terminal is packed with Sunday revellers. Allan's problem with not being able to separate the car off the trailer has cost him an extra $245 to get it on board. Must be the most expensive brake switch in history with all the inconvenience it has cost. I offered to back the car and trailer into the ocean to solve the problem but the offer was refused.

Last night at Numurkah we had a couple pull in with a camper trailer and they had been to Tassie several times and gave us some good tips. If we do every recommended "must do" tourist thing we will end up in the poor house. This couple are going over tonight on the same ship so we should meet up again with them.

Today on the road down we passed through some of the burnt out country from the Victorian bush fires from 12 months ago and even now you can see the devastation, it must have been horrendous for those involved.

This is some of the artwork we have seen on the way. Pity about the body!

A Day of Rest

2010-01-29T21:31:00.002+10:00

Well we haven't travelled far today but have met up with friends Laurie and Timmy and Annie and Skye. I think Timmy recognised me and jumped all over me, but maybe he is that friendly with everyone he meets. Had Buffalo Pie for lunch at one of Laurie's favourite eating places, it sure pays to have someone with local knowledge.

Laurie very generously lent us her car to run into town to stock up, not with fruit and veggies though as we cannot take them to Tassie. This is the first time we have met Annie in person, although we felt we knew her through the club forum, what a lovely person. Laurie's new rig is just great and I tried to get her to accept a Coaster as a trade in but no luck. I'm sure she is going to be very happy with it.

We have decided to have another rest day here tomorrow and do the run into Melbourne on Sunday morning.

Alan is having some troubles with the Hyundai he is towing with the battery going flat and today he had another auto electrician look at it. Discover he had a broken brake switch on the pedal causing some problems and effective having no brake lights while driving it but they still work while it is being towed.. We decided to take it off the trailer to run in to Shepparton to try and get a new switch but while the switch is broken the car cannot be put out of "park" effectively making it impossible to get it off the trailer. Life wasn't meant to be easy!

While we were sitting outside tonight just on dusk two possums just came strolling by no more than a couple of meters away from us, Apparently some of the people here feed them and they are quite tame.

General Comment

2010-01-28T11:26:00.000+10:00

We have been motorhoming for about eight years but basically long weekends and short on schedule trips to get somewhere and be at something. This is the first time we have been able to really relax and take our time and smell the roses. I am typing this as I sit outside the motorhome and gaze across Lake Mulwala and to be quite honest I am finding it hard to concentrate on what I am typing.

It is amazing how unwound we have become and what happened happens. The occasional person strolls by and stops for a chap and suddenly half an hour has gone by, surprisingly most of them have already been to Tassie and offer some advise or help. I'm having trouble remembering what day it is and quite frankly don't care, and I think Wendy is getting the same. I could get used to this style of life.

We're getting close

2010-01-27T21:13:00.001+10:00

Well here it is day twelve of the trip and we are camped at Kyffins Reserve just north of Yarrawonga. Today we moved on from Police Paddocks which was quite restful on the Murray river and took our time not travelling very far at all. We spent quite a bit of time in Rutherford and helped the local economy by buying some provisions and particularly some fruit as we are now in the fruit fly zone and couldn't carry fruit into it.

Funny part of the story is while looking for this site we crossed a bridge and find ourselves back in NSW and we can't legally take the fruit we bought in VIC back over the border. Sure is a ridiculous situation.

The trip has been relatively uneventful but Allan has been having trouble with the battery in the vehicle he is towing on a caddy constantly going flat and needed to be recharged. I think this is due to the ridiculous way the auto electrician has wired the lighting set-up. Today the battery seems to have said enough is enough and has given up the ghost and he will have to tow it into town tomorrow to have things attended to.

We are tonight camped on the edge of a man made lake and there is quite a breeze. Always seems a pity to me the those who build these things don't have the foresight to remove all the trees as this lake is littered with dead trees standing in the water.

We will camp here for a couple of nights and then move on to Numurkah where we will catch up with Timmy and his driver. Timmy has his own blog and you can see it at http://www.dogdogs.com.au/ Timmy and his driver are great company and we have enjoyed their company in the past when Timmy and his driver camped at our place.

Just about every second person we talk to is heading for Tasmania or offers to carry our bags if we let them climb aboard. Might be quite busy down there.

Day Eleven

2010-01-26T21:21:00.001+10:00

Left Lockhart today for the short journey to Corowa just north of the Vic border. The country we drove through was flat and dry and you couldn't help feeling for the farmers in the area.

As we were approaching a small town called Urana Allan called on the UHF to say his spare wheel was flapping around in the breeze. The top bracket on the tyre holding swing arm had broken and temporary repairs were effected (probably last the whole trip)After all that hard work LOL we had a cuppa and went on to Corowa where we pulled into a park for lunch.

As soon as I stepped out of the bus I noticed water dripping from several place where my water tanks are fitted and I immediately thought the worst that I had split a tank. A quick dive into the boot soon found a leak where the water pipes entered the hot water system. Repairs were simple by tightening a couple of nuts and it was discovered that I had only lost about five litres which we soon replaced. It is amazing how much area five litres of water can cover on a bitumen car park. Just lucky we were parked on bitumen or we may not have noticed it and could have arrived at our next bush camp without water.

Tonight we are in camp at Police Paddocks about 10k outside Corowa. While there are no facilities the peace and serenity is amazing parked right on the Murray River with the bird life and the most amazing sun set. I have taken some photos to send to my Son in Law to make him jealous (he loves river fishing)

Tomorrow we will probably move on to yet another Murray River camp as there are many in the district and we have a few day to fill in before having to be in Melbourne.

Day Ten

2010-01-25T16:16:00.001+10:00

Oh Boy! we had a real long trip today, about 70k south to the lovely little town of Lockhart. We are camped in a very nice little park just down the street from the shopping centre. As we drove into town the first impressions are great with the town looking very prosperous but on closer inspection the town is struggling with many of the shops closed.

The town is steeped in history with bush rangers and early settlement. Mostly the building have retained their early charm and much of the history of each building has been engraved on the wall or embossed in the footpaths.

Wendy fed the geese in the park today and was real brave until they got a bit cheeky and started demanding food. They mustn't have a water problem here as there are sprinklers going everywhere in the park and it is a green oasis amoungst a very dry surrounding country.

We have had an easy day today and rested, Alan and Maureen still are not out of their air-conditioned motorhome, having a nanny nap and it is 5.15pm as I write this.

Tomorrow we are off to the Darling and will be camping along the river bank. Lets hope the weather improves.

Day Nine

2010-01-24T16:33:00.002+10:00

Well we left Boorowa this morning in cool conditions which was a pleasant change from the day before but the heat grew during the day. We travelled about 30k to Harden where I stopped to look up fellow CMCA member Geoff "The Sauceman" Crocker. Geoff is multi talented,making sauces, artist, writer, publisher and editor as well as inventing various machines etc. On top of all that he is a genuine funny guy and nice to boot.

Alan and Maureen reckon the trip would have been worth it just to meet Geoff.

We had lunch in a park at Harden before journeying on via Cootamundra and Junee to Coolamon where we discovered a very expensive caravan park provided by the local community for the traveller. $8.80 per night with power with excellent facilities. Can highly recommend this site to anyone travelling in the area. U don't know how they do it but it is certainly an attaction to the travelling fraternity as the park is well patronised tonight.

Must be time for happy hour so will sign off for today.

Day Eight

2010-01-24T06:42:00.001+10:00

We said out farewells at Molong having met up with some people from WA and went on to Orange. What an impressive town with lovely streets lined with trees or all shapes and colours, beautiful parks and gardens and the sort of town you could spend a week in and not see everything. Parking for motorhomes was not plentiful as they all have this reverse in parking in NSW and Allan with his car behind(which can't be backed up) takes up a lot of space. We eventually found a car park a few blocks from the main street and squeezed in. After we got in I did wonder if we were going to get him out again but managed some how, now doubt he will claim it was his driving skills.

I went looking for a Telstra shop to get the change to the new increased data allowance on the data pack I am using for mobile internet and got an increase from 400MB per month to 1GB per month without increasing my cost. About time Telstra woke up to themselves and became competitive. So friends and family you can send through the jokes again LOL

From Orange we headed for Canowindra and the "windra" part of the name sure is true, we ran into some severe cross winds and had to fight the bus all the way with gusts seeming to come from all directions. When we stopped for lunch the wind was so hot, must have been 40+ degrees it dried out everything, including the sandwiches, with in minutes. We escaped back to the comfort of the closed up bus with the air running full blast where it was a "comfortable" only 33 degrees. The air-con and fridges were working hard this day.

We proceed on to Cowra, a nice town with lots of history. There was a Japanese POW camp here in WW2 where a mass escape was made and lot of prisoners were shot. The war cemetery attests to this event. Liked this town with its lovely parks and garden and a magnificent rose garden right on the highway.

We finished the day at Boorowa and once again decided to camp in a caravan park to have air-con but what extremes we have. First the day was HOT, then just on dark a howling wind blows up and we all batten down for the night then this morning (Sunday) as I write this there is a COOL breeze.

I wonder what today will bring. Only about 700 K to get to get to Melbourne so we will now slow down and smell the roses as we have 7 days to get there.

Day Seven

2010-01-23T05:48:00.001+10:00

Well today is Friday and completes our first full week on the road. We got away from Premer quite early at 8am which is really 7am but are slowly getting used to the daylight saving time but it is still a bit strange sitting out at night at 8pm and still daylight.

From Premer we went south Coolah, Dunedoo and stopped at Gulgong and had lunch in a nice little bakery. Gulgong impresses with its quaint narrow street and it's old world charm with much of the town still in it's 18th century condition. The girls went shopping and us blokes went looking for the Museum which I had heard was a "must do" thing. You enter through what looks like a small corner shop and a whole world of acres of memorabilia and machinery of all sorts and sizes confronts you. Could have spent a whole day there but there who must be obeyed we waiting back at the motorhomes and we had to move on.

From Gulgong we went west to Wellington, quite an impressive town and then moved along the Molong road where Camp5 had three possible camps site listed and we intended to stop for the night. The "campsites" were an absolute disgrace, being nothing better than a patch of bitumen truckie stop and in our opinion should never be listed in a Camps Book. However it was stinking hot, the hottest day we had experienced so far so we pulled into a nice little caravan park at Molong and turned on the air-conditioning and soaked it up. Lots of others seemed to have the same idea and we had met quite a few nice fellow travellers.

Pleasantly cool this morning as I write this but no guarantee it will stay that way. We are now entering country neither of us have been in before so who knows what the day will bring.

Day Six

2010-01-21T14:11:00.001+10:00

Well we have been on the road almost a week and today we are having a rest day at Premer a small country Town west of Tamworth where the Country Music Festival has been in full swing.
Premer is typical of small country towns that have seen better days with dilapidated buildings, a school and a very small country store where you very importantly get an ice-cream, milk and a loaf of bread
amongst other essential.

Yesterday we left Split Rock Dam for Manilla and of course we found a perfectly good bitumen road all the way instead of the road we used to get to the dam.
We left a bit earlier and Allan and Maureen and they caught up with us in the town. I am starting to think I must be very important in this part of the world
have found Arthur Streets, Arthur's Rest and Arthur's Seat, obviously all named after me.

From Manilla we planned to take the Keppit Road via Lake Keppit but somehow missed the turnoff in Manilla and ended up on the Carol Gap Road on which there was a turnoff to the Keppit Dam which of course we took
and after travelling about 6/8k down a dusty road were met with a sign saving private property, no public access. Did manage to get both the rigs rather dirty and dusty for our efforts. Just after returning to the roadway we came across a gliding school just beside the road
and stopped for a while to watch their operation. Brought back memories of my gliding days at Kingaroy,was tempted to say lets stay for the day and have a flight but thought better of it.

We continue on to Gunnedah where we had morning tea/lunch in a park. Had a most interesting conversation with a 72 year old wheat farmer who was driving a B-Double delivering his wheat to a dealer.
Just so happened he was a caravanner as well and we had a great time chatting to him.You meet the most interesting people on the road. You should have heard his opinion on day light saving and politicians who make these decision without ever being in the west to see the effects. In fact he still had his watch on real time as his own personal sort of protest.

He was also rather critical of media reporting of recent floods in the area with "They weren't major floods, just covers a low level bridge and some creek or another(can't remember the name), in 55 I sat on my roof for three days, now that was a flood."

We then continued on through Mullaley to Premer where we arrived early afternoon and settled into the camp. We were sitting having a cuppa when the airforce
put on a display for us with F16s screaming over our camp at about 100ft on low level exercises and disappearing in the distance before you could catch your breath. Quite spectacular for an aircraft enthusiast like me. We have heard them in the distance again today but I guess they are not using us as target practice today.

Done the Washing today and repaired Allan's door (well actual his motorhome door) which he broke the handle on the first day out.Everyone, except me, is currently asleep in there rigs with the air-conditioning on as it is quite hot outside today.

Day Four

2010-01-19T21:45:00.001+10:00

Our Travel map is here

We left Wells Crossing after a very peaceful night camped on the Severn River. There were five rigs in camp and we were the first to leave. Went back into Ashford to have a look at the town and it is a pity to see these small country towns dying with lots of empty shops in the main street. Went on to Inverell and had lunch at the RSM club (RSL to us Qlders) and had a great meal for $7.00. After refuelling, the dearest so far, we went on to Bingara via Delungra and Alan showed us where he had camped in the leadup to the Bingara rally, lovely spot on the Gwyder River, but it was too early to camp so we went on to Baraba and pulled into the Lions Park rest area just south of town for afternoon tea. The site was not our cup of tea for an overnight stop being right on the highway with trucks constantly going past so we opted to head for Split Rock Dam.

Our adventure started when I set the GPS for the camp site and it took us down a very narrow dirt road (Allan was barely able to get his trailer through some of the cattle grids) for 11k with no sign of a dam anywhere.There was nowhere for Allan to turn around with his trailer so we had to keep going. Eventually it told us we were at our destination at a road Junction in the middle of cattle paddocks. Somebody obviously got the co-ords terribly wrong. We did however see lots of country the normal tourist would not see.

We eventually found the camp site which overlooks the almost empty dam and Allan shouted me a hot beer for happy hour, that is how we found his frig hadn't been working all day. I think we have now fixed the problem, but neither of us know exactly how, but we did have to eat all his ice-creams before they completely melted.

Happy days tomorrow as we head towards Premer.

Day Three

2010-01-18T18:15:00.002+10:00

Well today has been uneventful after yesterdays "excitement" and we met up with Allan and Maureen at Texas today and have now entered into the dreaded daylight saving time. I am typing this at 7.12pm sitting outside the motorhome is broad daylight with the sun still hot enough to fry an egg. Seems strange how these southerners think this is a good thing but I guess we will get used to it as we journey further south. The country down this way is looking great with recent rain and all the locals seem happy, I guess it is about time they had a good season after all the droughts. Must download a few pictures from the camera and post them on here

.
EDIT! Early day 4 and boy did it cool down overnight, good practice for the summer chills of Tassie.Last night was a beautiful of sky and we spent some time counting lots of satellites, haven't done that since I was a kid.

Day Two

2010-01-17T21:25:00.001+10:00

Well we have had an exciting day today, left Kumbia and was a few Ks down the road when I realised I had programmed the wrong town into the GPS and we were heading the wrong way. Well having no set plans we continued and eventually went through Dalby, Cecil Plains, and finished at Walpole Park in Millmerrin where we spent the afternoon with a solo traveller and later joined by another couple. The exciting part was the arrival of a male person in a car who was obviously intoxicated/drugged and continued to spend the rest of the afternoon in the camp site. Long story but local from across the road got involved because of their concern at his behaviour. He eventually sped out of the camp site nearly collecting a motorhome and promptly lost control of the car and almost crashed back into the camp site before speeding off around town and then toward Cecil Plains. Police were promptly informed and last we knew police, ambulance and fire brigade were seen travelling hastily towards Cecil Plains. We can only assume this idiot has become another statistic.

The whole episode has shaken Wendy and the solo lady up a bit but we were actually in no danger and hopefully we will get a good nights sleep. A big thanks to local Jim who kept calling into the campsite to ensure our safety and keep us informed on what was happening.

Off tomorrow to catch up with our travelling companions a bit further down the track.

Day One

2010-01-16T20:18:00.001+10:00

First Night Camp at Kumbia Rest Area

Well it seems like it would never come but we are on the road and had an uneventful but enjoyable day. Left Bundaberg around 9.30am after doing all those must do things before you leave and had lunch at Ban Ban springs. Must say I have never seen Coulston Lakes looking so good after recent rains. The place was an absolute picture book scene, green and lush. We stopped off in Kingaroy to visit an old friend of Wendy's, before continuing on to Kumbia for an overnight stop. This rest area is great, power supplied for a donation, hot showers for $2.00 and a 48 hour limit on the stay. Only drawback is the water is unsuitable for drinking.

When we were leaving Kingaroy we passed the airfield where I did a lot of my gliding instruction and they were operating, put a real tingle in the fingers to get back in the air again but can't afford motorhome travelling and gliding at the same time.

One more sleep to go

2010-01-15T14:23:00.002+10:00

Well here we are with, as our grandson would say, one sleep to go before we start our great adventure. The last few days have just flown with friends dropping in to say “hooroo” and a couple of dinners out to farewell us and of course the last minute rush to do all the things you forgot to do in the past week.

The brake saga continues and isn’t resolved and to top it all the modem on the desktop decided to have a holiday as well (partly due to me) but I have got the laptop working and hopefully it will last without problem for the length of the trip.

Our travelling companions Allan and Maureen have taken off today to visit rellies and we plan to catch up with them in three days time, somewhere around Texas (that’s Qld not USA) Our first stop will be Kingaroy to visit with an elderly friend, who was one of Wendy’s dress shop customers and has stayed in contact now over many years.

The bus is all packed and I swear it is bulging at the seams. I envy those people who can travel light and just buy what they want as and if they need it. I reckon we will not need to go near a supermarket for about three months with all the provisions on board but I wouldn’t bet on that, I’d be sure to lose.

Catch you on the road when next I post.

Frustration

2010-01-07T19:50:00.000+10:00

Well the best laid plans of mice and men are bound to go astray. I had the bus booked in for a service before Christmas and I wanted them to look at the exhaust brakes which were not working properly. Of course they didn't get the exhaust brake done and said bring it back after Christmas which I did today and guess what the problem is a bit more complicated than what they originally thought so I haven't got the bus back yet and hopefully they can sort it out tomorrow. Its frustating justing sitting around waiting to pack the bus. Of course it has been raining on and off all the time since Christmas making things difficult and tomorrow we are supposed to be getting our "free"government insulation in the roof. Would be just our luck if it was pouring rain and that was put off also.

2010 - Already!

2010-01-01T14:02:00.000+10:00

Well we survived the New Year Eve party and low and behold it's the 1st of January 2010.

Only 15 days to go and so much to still do. Got the bus booked in for some final work on the exhaust brakes, which was supposed to be done before Christmas but like all businesses at this time of the year , of course they have to have holidays and we have to wait. Hopefully we will have everything packed and this will not cause too much disruption. Other than that the bus is in tip top condition and with luck we hope to have no dramas along the way.

Starting to count the days now and the excitement grows as the time gets closer to hit the road.

Before the trip

2009-12-30T10:44:00.002+10:00

Before undertaking a trip such as this, there are several stages you go through. First the dreaming, one day I would like to etc., then slowly the realisation that you can do it, then the loose planning, then the bookings, then the set in concrete stage and finally, holy cow we are running out of time to get ready stage.

For a bit of background, we have been motorhoming for some eight years now but mostly taking a long weekend off work each month to attend Club events with the occasional two or three week journey to a CMCA rally but rarely having the time to really take our time and do what motorhomers can do best, and that is taking our time. Since retiring eighteen months ago we have learned to slow down and enjoy the trip as much as the destination and have had a few shorter trips enjoying life and leisure.

This time we are determined to have no schedule except to get to the ferry on time to cross to Tassie and get back again, everything else is fluid and we will take it day by day.

Well at least that is the plan; to have no plan.

I have often threatened to grow a beard (much to Wendy's disgust) while I am away so this time I've started early, wonder what it will look like in four or five months time, or if I'll get divorced and lose the beard. (Or maybe it will drive me nuts and I'll shave it off)