NSW home leg - the final journey

After over five months and 23,000km we are back home living a city life again (the beard is gone!). It’s been just over a week since we backed the van down the driveway and already Tabitha is back at (her new) school (with just two weeks to go before breakup), I am looking for work (at the worst time of year), Charlie is back with his beloved toys (all like new again) and Liz is, um, socializing and running the house (actually, she is thinking of getting back into the workforce next year for a couple of days a week or so).

Before I write my best and worst of aspects of the trip, I will briefly detail the final leg of our sojourn to complete this blog journal. Our first destination in NSW after passing through the Victorian Alps was good old Wagga Wagga.
We dropped in to cousin John Mid’s who kindly put us up in a bed, along with his unique (and excellent) version of a potato bake to go with a BBQ. Charlie devoured Beau’s toys. We visited Aunty Marie as well as cousin Sam and Woody and some of their clan, too.


It was then up the road along the rail line to Junee, the town of my christening, where we parked the van at the back of Lizzie Logan’s place and camped. Thanks to Kym, Joe and Darcy for pushing the old Magna out of the driveway for our poor old van.

Charlie and Ruby got on like a house on fire. We had a couple of fun nights there, and visited a bunch of the Junee Logan’s at Aunty Betty’s home, and went to Jill’s Old Junee property where the kids found a dead chook among the marauding, wild flock.

We then dragged the van to Forfar at Illabo where we again were able to put our heads down on solid beds thanks to Tim and Chrissy.

Charlie had been asking after Harry for some time and was overjoyed to see his country cousin again. Don and Jeanie were hard at it on the farm, Don gritting in posts and Jeanie preparing mulberries for making jam. After shaking the mulberries off the tree in the afternoon she had converted a whole bucket of the delicious fruit into jam by the morning, spending most of the night snipping the stems off the thousands of berries while we yarned over dinner.

Just as Tim and I were about to turn in around midnight, Joe Blake the seven foot plus python was about to shed his skin. For the next hour or two we watched in fascination as the snake managed to roll off its outer layer to reveal a smooth and much more colourful exterior.

While Tim was at work the next morning and after Don gave the kids a tour of the farm, we all talked in and around the parked van while a perfectly good house (make that two) stood nearby. I think expecting Chrissy actually fell asleep while we were sitting in the van.

Further up the road and we turned off the Olympic Highway at the Frampton siding to the Ryan’s of Gundaline. The Ryan kids and the young Snell wipper-snappers seemed to enjoy each other’s company and after another impressive evening meal, we climbed into our van parked out front of the house only to freeze half the night in what was one of the coldest nights since we left our house in the dead of winter back in June.

Of all the places we visited, somehow this was the only one we forgot to take a photo as a memory, although we have one of Brian and Martin who are currently staying with us while Marty does work experience at a pathology lab (see above pic taken today). After we thawed out we made our way to Canberra to see more relos over yet another top nosh at Gerard and Bernadette’s Amaroo pad. Lucky for us Emm and Lachly were in attendance as were Tanya and the one and only Leigh. All I can say about Leigh is check his pockets for beers, you might be surprised.

Back at the caravan park, we were planning to stay in the national capital for another night or two, so that we could (for once in our lives) actually visit some of the national sites despite all our visits there (ie, museums etc), and bump into another one or two relos as well. But with home beckoning only four hours away, and the amenities block in the van park being in such poor condition, we decided to cut the trip a little short and head for Sydney town after just one night there.

It was a little weird driving back to the northern beaches and finally walking into our home (which was in the capable hands of Karen Cooper during our absence). We made it!!!!!!

See NSW home leg photos here.

Worst things of the trip

• Not being able to make tea after waking in the morning following an overnight of minus 10 degrees at Gunnedah where the water hoses/taps were frozen solid. It was some time later that we learned to fill the jug the night before.

• Not having a door on a bedroom.

• Not having a bedroom.

• Having a domestic without a room to have it in.

• Cleaning dust out of the car only to find more dust mysteriously appearing immediately afterwards.

• The above point over and over ... until you gave up in despair.

• Getting the wrong directions from the navigator and then having to both navigate and drive the van, at the same time, yourself.

• Going on walks and having to carry a child most of the way.

• Wondering why your fridge was not working only to be told by an electrician that it was not switched on at the plug.

• Having to pay the electrician.

• Admitting the above two points.

• Wondering if the next road train is going to turn your car and van into scrap while travelling on the most scary roads you’ve ever seen.

• Praying the next road train will turn your car and van into scrap just to stop the incessant “are we there yet” queries from the back seats.

• Having to constantly stop for wee wees.

• Having two kids vomit in succession while in a very small light and bumpy plane.

• Trying not to vomit yourself due to the smell from the aforementioned episode.

• Cleaning out a portable toilet from an emergency “number two” from a four year old (it was never used again).

• Wondering if there was enough fuel in the tank to get you to the next servo.

• Redrawing the loan after the budget ran out.

Best aspects of the trip

• The amazing landscapes and locations all over the country, particularly in the Outback.

• The faces and excitement of the kids at seeing just about every species of native animal in the wild.

• Seeing acres of wildflowers across the desert of the Red Centre following record rainfalls at spring time (more rain in Alice Springs in the first nine months of the year than the entire last century).

• Wondering what to do each day.

• Spending so much time with the kids (see also “worst things of the trip”).

• Living in thongs for five months.

• Not having to work while wishing we could be travelling around Australia.

• Cracking the first can after completing the journey for the day and setting up the van.

• Cracking the second can, etc.

• Free camping on a river bed in the middle of bloody nowhere.

• Having fires at night and watching shooting stars.

• Cooking marshmallows on those fires.

Tips

• Don’t use a Vodaphone mobile for a round Australia trip.

• Do use a Telstra mobile for a round Australia trip.

• Only take a few changes of clothes. You can wear them for days and even weeks before you need to use a van park’s laundry (everybody does it, they just don't admit it).

• Make sure you have heaps of one dollar coins for the laundries.

• When planning a big trip, if you think you might need something for the trip, you don’t need it.

• When planning to write tips for such a trip, write them down as you go, not at the very end when you’ve forgotten them all.

Victoria

The past month touring Victoria has been just as we expected: cold, windy and picturesque. Nice place to visit, but the weather… We are currently coming back through NSW and will be home soon; well in time for some Christmas shopping for the kids. I think I signed off last time by saying the kids had not once mentioned home. That all changed a few days after penning those fateful words. Home is on our collective mind as we visit some relos and inch our way closer to Sydney.

The Great Ocean Road

Taking up from our last blog post a month ago, after Kangaroo Island we followed the SA coast eastwards, crossing the Murray River at Wellington on a punt before skirting the very large Lake Alexandria (or the mouth of the Murray) and staying at Robe on the Limestone Coast. Our first destination on the Victorian coast was Warrnambool, where its Flagstaff Hill provides a wonderful historical tour and multimedia/laser light show re-enacting the sinking of the Loch Ard on that treacherous coast in 1858.

From there the Great Ocean Road meanders about 200km along very windy and beautiful coastal terrain. It took us over eight hours to complete the journey, stopping at most of the lookouts and lingering at the Loch Arch Gorge dreaming about what it would be like to be ship-wrecked on a stormy night in such inhospitable waters. Just two of 58 people survived, somehow.

We camped at Anglesea for a few days and toured around, visiting Tourquay and Bells Beach, which conjured some wonderful surf but looked far too tricky for me to test my novice skills. For more than 22,000km my second-hand, soft surf board has been tied to the under-carriage of the van and not once has it been used (until reaching the coast of SA and Victoria there hasn’t been any opportunity but when there, the water was too bloody cold or the surf was too big for my inexperience).

See Great Ocean Road pics here.

The Goldfields

From the coast we headed due north to Ballarat, that famous gold rush town of the 1850s in central Victoria where the Eureka Stockade uprising took place. There are some nice old buildings there but the town itself seems a bit tired and in need of a makeover. I don’t know when I last saw so many teenage mums pushing prams around. The kids loved the Sovereign Hill gold rush theme park. I travelled by bus to Melbourne on a Saturday and flew back to Sydney for the night to see my mate Memsie off to live in Japan (temporarily) with his expecting wife (who has since given birth to a healthy boy).

From there we travelled north east to Bendigo, a much prettier town, via some very lush countryside and cute towns (such as Castlemaine, which the Victorians pronounce “casle…” as opposed to the more common “carsle…”). Recent rains this year have apparently turned the hills green again. The “talking tram” in Bendigo is a popular tourist attraction and having a son mad on trains/trams meant that we had to ride on the little circuit several times (at least Liz and Tabitha got to go shopping).

See Goldfields pics here.



Melbourne

From there we travelled through the wine regions north of Melbourne to that state capital, destination the Big 4 caravan park of Coburg. It was funny being back in a big smoke after being on the road for so long. The kids loved the city and Charlie couldn’t believe his eyes: there were trams and trains everywhere. He and I rode trams for many hours, to the point that he decided he only wanted to go on short rides in future.

Liz also flew back to Sydney for one night (with Tabi), to join in her mum Kaye’s 70th birthday party, which nearly didn’t happen because Kaye didn’t want one. If Liz’s dad Ray didn’t reveal to Kay that Liz was flying back for the occasion it probably wouldn’t have happened. By all accounts, it was a very successful event. You can’t let a big milestone pass without a party!

See Melbourne pics here.

Phillip Island and the Gippsland

We continued south on the South Gippsland Highway to Phillip Island, home of the Aussie Moto Grand Prix. It is a lot like a smaller version of SA’s Kangaroo Island, but just a lot more touristy. The “penguin parade” was a fantastic experience, witnessing hundreds of little penguins emerge from the surf on dusk and walk across the beach to their burrows in the sandhills and nests in and around the nearby car park. We were asked to check under our cars before leaving. The only disappointment was that you were not allowed to take any photos.

But that didn’t seem to matter at another location called The Nobbies where the little penguins wander around in the day time. The island itself is a serene place and while we were there “out of season” you could tell it was a very touristy destination. There are various sites and activities to do but they all cost plenty of mula.

From the island we made our way to Wilson’s Promontory, an amazing outcrop that is Australian mainland’s most southern point. This national park seems so completely different from the rest of the southern coast. It was like being on a tropical island: beautiful beaches, creeks, dune regions and mountains.

Next stop was Omeo in the Victorian alpine region, a quaint mountain town with trout infested creeks and rivers. At least we were told the waterways were brimming with trout but despite our best efforts all we caught were snags and colds. From there we headed straight up, and I mean up, all the way to an elevation of 1950m via Mount Hotham on a cold, wet and foggy day. It took us over six hours to travel the remaining 300km to the NSW boarder where we crossed the Murray River again.

We are now travelling from the Riverina through the South Western Slopes and will soon be home, from where we will pen our final blog post along with some tips and “best of” and “worst of” things experienced from our five month sojourn. Amazingly, we family of four are all still talking to each other having lived almost on top of each other for so long!

See Gippsland pics here