Home

Home for a while. The Navara is in having the doors fixed after the incident up north, (see Devils Marbles post 5th Sep.) at a cost of $3700 and 10 days. Metallic paint means that after the doors are re-sprayed, the paint is blended in to the rest of the body. To do that they pull the car apart and re-build it when the paint dries.

The Caravan is also in getting its 10,000 km service and a few warranty issues fixed. That should be done in a few days too. In the meantime we are staying home.

The dog trials last week were a disaster with Tiffany chasing a dumbbell in the ring next door, then falling asleep in the sit stay. She has a chance to make up for all that at an Agility trial on Saturday.

The dogs are getting on well. The pic looks grim, but they are just playing at who can make the most noise. 5 minutes after the pic they were curled up together, fast asleep.

Lake Albert

We are at Mount Gambier for a weekend of dog trials. On the way down we took the pretty way through the Coorong, and stopped at Meningie on the shores of Lake Albert. For years there has been almost no water in the lake due to the drought, but after rain in Queensland and NSW, the Darling river and the Murray river started flowing which has allowed water back in the lower Murray Lakes. The pic shows the view from the jetty near the Lake Albert Caravan park, looking back to the shore. A couple of years ago we could not see the water from the end of the jetty. The drive through the Coorong was great, just having water back in the Coorong has brought some of the bird life back so hopefully the Coorong can recover to its former glory.

We Have Returned, quicker than McArthur did!

Back home and getting back to normal.
The Navara is in for its overdue service and a thorough check up after doing 15000 km on roads that ranged from perfect to terrible. Lots of things have shaken loose and need attention.
The body shop has looked at the dents in the Navara doors and reckoned that they will need the Ute for ten days to fix it.
The caravan is also going in for a service, warranty repairs and fix-ups as soon as we can book it in.
Hannah has joined the household. Hannah is a full sister to Tiffany, she is 8 weeks old and is already pushing her way into our lives.
We will be staying home for a while until all the maintenance has been done, some jobs around home have been done, and until the bank balance builds up again.

Alice Springs

Hard to find a pic for today as we have about 2 dozen taken around Alice Springs and the McDonnell Ranges, and nearly all of them are screen savers. The locals say that they have had over 10 times their normal annual rain so far this year. The rain means that the desert is in bloom with flowers, shrubs, grass and trees splashing colours against the backdrop of the red Mcdonnell Ranges

I picked the shots of the Todd river flowing through Heavitree Gap and also flowing over the road as it is so unusual to see the Todd flowing.

When we first got here there was a trickle over the road that dried up over night, but after a couple of days of rain the Todd was flowing again.

If you look carefully you can just see Tiffany in the bottom right corner, sitting by the flooded road.

We will be moving out on Monday after doing the dog trials for the Alice Springs Obedience Dog Club

Devils Marbles

We had a night at Camooweal, which was hot during the day and most of the night until some rain cooled things down. There has been lots of rain up here as the drive along the Barkley Highway was like driving through park lands with wild flowers in bloom, lush green grass, shrubs and trees, and lots of surface water too.

Last night was at Tennant Creek. Kathy asked about staying 2 nights and the woman at the desk asked "Why would you want to stay here for two nights?", so we didn't. On the way out of the Tennant Creek site I brushed against a site marker and dented the passenger side doors on the Navara. I tell everyone that asks about the dents that we were crossing a creek when a croc attacked, but not many believe me.

Now in Alice Springs preparing for the trials at the weekend. The pic was taken at the Devils Marbles site during a break from driving.

Mt Isa

No prizes for working out what the major industry for Mount Isa is, just look at the mine site dominating the town. The pic shows the view from the city lookout. Mount Isa is a lot bigger than we imagined as it spreads out for miles.

We have booked in to The Irish Club for dinner tonight for Kathy's birthday, and we usually go out for dinner on birthdays.

Tiffany likes the caravan park as the off lead dog park is about 100m up the road so she gets a bit of a walk and a good run.

Cloncurry

We left Karumba after 2 nights and started south towards home. The sunsets at Karumba are considered magnificent, but it could be because the majority of visitors are from the eastern states and are not used to seeing the sun go down over the sea.

Our intention was to stop at the Burke and Wills Roadhouse, but when we got there at lunch time it was already crowded with more queuing up to get in, so we continued to Cloncurry. We will stay here for a couple of days while we decide where we will go from here. We have to be in Alice by 10th September, so we have some time to look around on the way.

Georgetown

After 10 days in Atherton, we are on move again, heading west towards Karumba on the Savannah Way.

We had a weekend at the dog trials, with very friendly people and lots of tips and advice on training, and a good feed from the Tablelands Dog Obedience club.

The pic shows one of the residents of the Atherton caravan park. The cane toad lives near the toilets and is active at night, which usually frightens Kathy on her way to the loo in the dark. They are hard to see unless they move, but there are lots of them around.

Georgetown is a little place halfway between Atherton and Karumba. We will be here for one night and should be in Karumba tomorrow.

Platypus Sighting

We were at Yungaburra, the heritage listed village near Atherton, being tourists when we were told about the platypus viewing platform near the bridge. Nothing doing at the official viewing point, but there was a walk along the creek. Not twenty paces down the track and there was a platypus on the surface doing platypus things. We watched it for a while and got about a minute of video, the pic is a grab from the video. We only saw the one, which is quite lucky because I have no idea of what the plural of platypus is.

Atherton

This is the view from the back fence of the Atherton Holiday Park. We have booked to stay for a week, Kathy has washed everything that can be washed and we are looking forward to being tourists for a while. There are lots of things to see and do in the area and many of them allow dogs, so Tiffany can join in.

There are obedience and agility trials next week end, so we may hang on here just to see what happens at a Queensland Country trial.

Cooktown-again

We set up home at the Cooktown Caravan Park next to friends from Mt. Gambier. Mary and John from the Caravan Park re-arranged a few sites to get us next to Jan, Max and Nikea.

The first day was spent cleaning out the back of the Navara, sorting out the equipment and getting back to normal, so we could be tourists again.

The pic shows the Endeavour Falls, close to Cooktown where we went for a drive. We also took Tiffy down to the dog beach to give her a good run as she has been restricted for most of the time in the tent.

Moving on tomorrow towards Atherton. The locals tell us that it will be cold there, but their idea of cold does not align with our idea of cold!

The Last Night in the tent

Archer River was our last night in the tent. We had a herd of cows for company, see pic, and lots of people. Unfortunately there were only two toilets. Looking on the bright side, that means that the seat was always warm.

We are back at the Cooktown Caravan Park, cleaning out the Navara and converting back to caravan life. While we were in the tent we had a couple of light showers, but nothing to cause us worry. However the heavens opened last night and the caravan annex floor was awash with all our boxes and kit still sitting there. We were going to wash everything anyway.

The trip to the "Tip" was worth all the inconvenience. We have met some good people at the camp sites (two of them were from Millswood!), had some good food in the bush, seen a lot of wild life (most of which was still alive) and been to one of the last frontiers of the Australian outback. Problems we had were a cracked windscreen, a number plate shaken off, but recovered, the car fridge packed up but then started up again two days later, and the rear view camera has taken a dislike to being underwater at creek crossings. There is bull dust in every nook and cranny in the Navara, the dog, and us. I think I will need an angle grinder to get the dirt off my feet!

We will spend a few days getting everything cleaned up and sorted, then we will head towards Atherton for the weekend.

Cape York

Here is the proof we all made it to the tip of the Cape York Peninsula. You will probably have to click in the pic to get the larger version to be able to read the sign.

It was long walk from the car park to the Tip, we walked out along the beach and then back over the headland. The views were breathtaking from both routes.

The roads are rough with a deep creek crossing about 5 km from the Tip. There was a Commodore waggon parked on the southern side as they were not game to cross.

More damage to the Navara. The front number plate was just hanging on with one screw after the jolting we got from the corrugated roads. The people in the next camp also last their front number plate in a creek crossing. There is only one direction from here, South. We start back tomorrow.

Loitering within tent

We have left the van in the fisho's back yard at Cooktown and have headed north to Cape York. First night in the tent was at Hahn River, see pic. The second night was at Moreton Telegraph Station and tonight we are at Loyalty Beach approx 45 km to the Tip of Cape York.

Today is the first day we have phone and Internet access, so that is why there have been no progress reports.

We took the Battle Camp road from Cooktown to Laura, with a couple of deep creek crossings, but since getting on the PDR (that's the Peninsula Development Road for southerners) we have had no creek crossings. We came across two girls in a Honda Accord that had lost it's sump guard in a deep sandy patch, but they were OK and they crossed the Jardine River Ferry just behind us. So far the only damage we have is a crack in the windscreen caused by some Rectal Sphincter that was going way too fast for the road, slid on the loose gravel and showered us with rocks.

Tomorrow we go to Cape York and then back here before starting back south.

Cooktown

We have reached Cooktown. The pic shows the cairn that marks the spot where Captain Cook landed to do repairs to the Endeavour. You get magnificent views of Cooktown and the surrounding area from the local lookout, as it is on top of a very steep mountain that is almost in the centre of town.

Yesterday we went to Archer Point, down a track crossing 11 creeks and not getting bogged once. More amazing coastline and photographs.

Several of the people at the Cooktown Caravan Park have been up to the top of the Cape and tell us the roads are good. Even the Telegraph road is good with only a couple of really deep creek crossings. We have decided to store the van in Cooktown and go to the top of the Cape in the tent. We will be going up the 'boring' road that the trucks use as wading hip deep in a tropical river is not so appealing to us as it is to some of the more adventurous people here in the caravan park.

Cairns to Port Douglas

A strange thing happened this morning. A bright light appeared in the sky and some of the clouds turned blue, so we took off for a drive up the coast to Port Douglas. The pic shows the view of the World Heritage Listed coastline from the Rex lookout between Cairns and Port Douglas.

Lunch was on the foreshore at Port Douglas, then we went up to the Cape Tribulation Ferry but ran out of time to cross there so we returned via the Shannonvale Winery. Not grapes, but Tropical fruit wines. Very different to Barossa wines, but we brought back 4 bottles of tropical wine. Maybe we will have some left when we get home.

Josophine Falls

On a rainy day, all you can do is go driving, so we went to Josephine Falls. Tiffy stayed in the car park while we walked to the falls. There was a huge amount of water pouring down the rocks, the pic shows the top pool, with two other levels before the river level out. The spray from the falls was worse than the rain, getting the lens of the camera wet.

Getting back to the caravan turned out to be an adventure. We followed a road on the map through a beach side village and on towards a river. Crocodile warnings everywhere so we did not go for a swim. Further on the road turned into a dirt track that meandered through banana plantations, twisting and turning, cut up by trucks and tractors and crossing flood ways and creeks. We got back to the van eventually.

Next day we moved to Cairns, and Tom Tom wanted to send us down the banana track with the caravan. We took the main road.

In Lake Placid, Cairns now, still raining, and we have booked in to give Tiffany a training session at the Cairns Dog Club tonight.

Innisfail

The Crystal Creek Caravan park recommended a trip to Paluma, a little village with tourist things. Getting there was an adventure, narrow twisting road climbing up to 2900 feet. When we finally got there, the top of the mountain was in cloud and we could barely see the road. The lookout there was like standing inside a cotton ball. On the way back we stopped at Little Crystal Creek, the pic shows the waterfall from under the bridge. It was worth the trip just to see the creek, and the spectacular views from the road.

We are now in Innisfail, meeting up with friends. Last time we met was at Bermagui, where it rained non-stop. Here it is raining too, see Tiffy's Blog. Maybe we should meet in the middle of a desert in future.

Going on to Lake Placid near Cairns tomorrow. If the rain keeps up, we may have to give the Cape York part a miss as Kathy is reluctant to wade through crocodile infested water to check the river crossings. I said I would be right behind her in the Navara but that was not enough for her.

Crystal Creek

Just behind the Service Station at Crystal Creek is the caravan park. You can not miss it, there is nothing else there.

It turned out to be a marvelous park, lots of palms and plants around each large site, very well maintained and very clean. They also don't mind if Tiffy uses the big area out the back for her run. The only down side is we must not let Tiffy run down to the creek as there are crocodiles in the creek. The locals said not to worry about the snakes because the spiders keep them under control.

If you look carefully at the picture, you can just make out the caravan hidden in the palms.

We will be staying here until Saturday morning, then we move on to Innisfail to meet up with friends.

Whitsundays

The pic shows the pool at the bottom of Cedar Falls, no Cedars, no water falling, but a pleasant place to visit. There was an eel swimming past in the pool, but it would not pose for photos.

We are at Midge Point, about 70 km south of Airlie Beach. We went there for a drive, it is a big tourist destination, so it is way too commercialised for us. Beside that they were not dog friendly so we just drove through and gave Tiffany a leg stretch at Shute Harbour, about 10km past Airlie Beach.

Some spectacular coast line and views of the Whitsunday islands from the roads and lookouts along the road, and all done in a temperature of around 30 degrees.

Gracemere

A whole week in one place seems like a lifetime after the traveling. I broke a tooth on a peanut and had to get it fixed at Rockhampton. O'Reilly Dental, High Street if you need a dentist in Rocky. Anyway, I had a temporary filling which will be replaced on Thursday with a permanent fix. In the meantime I have to be careful what I eat.

The Gracemere caravan park is 5 km outside Rockhampton. The weather is warm as you would expect as we are about 1 km north of the Tropic of Capricorn.

Today we went round the Rockhampton, Yeppoon, Emu Park tourist drive, stopping at the Singing Ship, see pic. The monument to Captain Cook's visit has holes in it that whistle when the wind blows - hence the singing ship. It is not a ship, the wind was not enough to make any noise, so it was all a bit of a let down really. The good news is we found Sea Glass at Yeppoon when we stopped for lunch.

Gracemere

At last we are in warm weather. Shorts and sandals, bare arms, cold drinks under the palm trees. We have set up at Gracemere which is close to Rockhampton, in a dog friendly park. It looks like having a dog is a pre-requisite as just about all of the vans have a resident dog. The pic shows us set up with the annex up, the clothes line installed and dog proof fence back and front. We will be here for a week. We just missed the Rockhampton Agility and Obedience trials, but there will be a show here on Saturday.

The dog exercise area is near the road, so we will have to find a safer dog park to give Tiffany her runs.

Bundaberg

You can not go to Bundaberg without visiting the rum distillery. Kathy and Tiffy posed beside the big bottle just to prove we were there.

I went in the shop to stock up with the Royal Liqueur Rum as it is only available from the distillery. It is used to make the Whales Tail cocktail, one part liqueur rum poured over ice, one part Bundy Ginger Beer, one part fresh cream, give it a quick stir and sit back and enjoy. One is refreshing, two are relaxing, three and your legs stop working.

Of course we also had to get some Ginger Beer, so that meant a trip to the Big Barrel to get a selection of Bundy soft drinks.

That took care of the morning, and as Tiffy had been in the car most of the time we took her for a run on a couple of dog beaches. Acres of sand, no people, warm sunshine and a long walk, so by 3 o'clock we were ready for an afternoon siesta.

Lake Monduran

A short drive north got us to Lake Monduran near Gin Gin. The caravan park is just behind the dam so it is a short walk to see the view in the picture, which was taken from the top of the dam.

It is a popular place with the boaties as just about everyone in the park has a tinnie on top of the tug, with a few pulling boats and putting their tents up.

We stopped here because it was dog friendly, looked nice, but mainly it was within range of Bundaberg and I will be able to buy some more Bundaberg Liquor Rum as it is only available from the distillery.

Esk

The pic shows the set up at Esk caravan park, where we will be for several days. It is good to relax a bit. The long drive, setting up camp every night in a different town, just to be sure we reached the dog trials on time took its toll on us.

The last few days have seen us visiting relatives and taking things easy. Tiffany is getting lots of walks as there is a pleasant walk along the creek behind the caravan park. It takes about 15 minutes if you don't stop, but halfway round is a big open grassy area where Tiffy spends 10-15 minutes chasing a ball.

Lots to see around here so we will be a tourist for a couple of days before we move further north to the warmer weather. Last night was the first night we have been away where we did not have the heater running all night.

Tiffany's training is falling behind a bit. Getting her to heel is almost a joke because she gets so excited about seeing all the new places, people and dogs. She has been confined in the car a lot during the traveling so she is due for a bit of freedom. Next week we will be back in training.

Caboolture

We stayed one night in Esk, just in time to catch the local fish van selling fresh fish. It was Barramundi and Prawns for dinner. On Friday we moved to Caboolture trial grounds for the Trials. A beautiful day after a cloudy start for the first trial and hopefully a beautiful evening for the second trial tonight. The pic shows us set up behind the club rooms with the rest of the competitors around us. We will be here until Sunday Morning.

We intend to return to Esk for a few days while we rest and visit relatives. Esk is a pleasant town in a valley surrounded by hills, with a good walk for Tiffy along the creek and a dog friendly caravan park. Maybe the fish van will turn up again.

Goondiwindi

We pushed through to Goondiwindi today so we could be sure of making Caboolture on Saturday. This meant an early start - By 8:30 am we were on the road. The pic shows Kathy and Tiffy looking at the camels and goats in the Nygan Caravan Park, before we left.

The drive was uneventful, apart from having to get off the road while a 6 metre wide load went past, and having to stop for 5 minutes while a herd of cows went past. That gave Tiffy something to bark at!

School holidays have started here, which means the caravan parks are full, so we may have trouble finding somewhere to stay next week.

Nygan

Nearly 600 km today, from Broken Hill to Nygan. The pic shows the van at Spring Hill where we stopped for a coffee and to give Tiffany a run. The Navara was hidden by the trees.
The council at Wilcannia are trying to promote the area as a tourist destination by making facilities available such as parks and local tourist drives. However, everyone you talk to says do not even stop to buy fuel at Wilcannia due to the high crime rate. The town looks nice, until you see the pub, the petrol station and the police station have weld mesh over the windows.
Nygan caravan park is really nice, on the banks of the Bogan river with grass sites and dolomite drive through sites. Only here for one night, trying to get to the Queensland border for tomorrow night.
The freezing cold night will continue with the forecast for Nygan being -3 C. My niece in England sent a stirring email to let me know they are having a heat wave over there.

Cold Night in Burra

After starting out late, as usual, we got as far as Burra before the light started to fade, so we pulled up on the Burra Showground. Great spot for an overnight, as I could stay hitched up. Lots of grass, plenty of room for Tiffany to have a run and all for $10. Just pull up at a power pole, plug in and you are set up. A lady comes round about 6:00pm to collect the money.

It was a cold night. The heater was running non-stop and when we got up the Navara was covered in ice, see pic. It was so cold, I had to put the bread through the toaster twice before the bread got warm. It took 4 goes to get the bread brown!

In Broken Hill tonight so we get a full day to get past Wilcannia, without stopping.

The Next BIG trip

Here is the Plan

We have to be in Brisbane by Friday, so we will have to rush that bit.

We will have a few days with Relatives then we will head north as far as we can get. The return will be through Mt Isa, Tenant Creek, Alice Springs and home.

It should take about 12 weeks, but if we like it, we may not come back at all!

Tiffany's Title

Tiffany finally made it to her Champion Title. We had a week end in Red Cliffs, Victoria for the final two shows that made up her 100 points.

As usual, we started out late on Friday, pushed the Navara all the way to Red Cliffs, about 500Km, and got there just before dark. Setting up in the dark is not much fun, so all we did was the bare minimum. The shows were on the oval next to the caravan park which allowed us to walk over for the show, then slip home for a coffee and finish setting up in the daylight while the other groups were on.

We left late on Sunday, because the all important last certificate was not ready until about noon, and got as far as Lameroo, just over the SA border, pulled up in to the Community caravan park to find our next door neighbour was a friend from the dogs that was off to a square dancing competition in Albury. Small world isn't it?

Port Pirie Trials

Port Pirie for a weekend of trials may not be every body's idea of a holiday, but we are glad of a chance to get away for a while. We stopped at Port Wakefield and called in at Mathews Fish Sales and bought Whiting and Oysters, which were eaten for dinner Saturday night.

We had some drama with the van last night. The power kept popping the circuit breaker, but our RCD did not trip. After some investigation, the RCD in the van been installed with a loose connection on the neutral, which caused the connection to heat up and the insulation to melt on the leads into the RCD, creating a short circuit between the active and neutral leads. If I found out who had jammed the neutral in the connector on the wrong side of the clamp, then wedged it in place using the Active lead, I will castrate him with a rusty spoon.

Back Home for a while

We have been traveling briefly to Mt Gambier for the Easter shows and Trials, where Tiffany got another 18 points. Then Keith had a couple of days in Sydney at the Easter Royal Show Judging Agility. We will be at Port Pirie for a weekend before we head off in June for Queensland. The van is currently in for some minor warranty stuff just making sure it will be ready for the Queensland trip.

Nhill

We stopped at Stratford on Saturday, a small town outside Sale. If you stop there and want a take-away for dinner, you have to buy it before 4:00pm because that's when the shops shut!.

Sunday was spent on the drive through Melbourne to minimise the traffic, and we stopped at Beaufort next to the lake, or what was left of it. Last week we were in floods, this week we are in drought. Monday morning we set off not sure how far we would get, when the wind got up so we stopped at Nhill. The wind is still strong and is blowing the TV antenna about so we lose the station. Vic weather, if you don't like it, wait half an hour.

The picture shows the cottage of poet John Shaw Nelson that was restored by the Rotary Club of Nhill.

Snowy Mountain Trail

Still at Orbost after the locals persuaded us to do the Snowy Mountain Trail. The views were magnificent, the road terrifying. For about 11 km past the McKillop Bridge over the Snowy River, the road is barely wide enough for the Navara. On one side is a vertical cliff face going straight up, and on the other is a vertical cliff face going straight down. Sorry I did not get a picture, but you would not have got my hands off the steering wheel with a crowbar. Kathy was muttering "Oh God" at regular intervals, and hiding under the dash, so no photo's from her either. There were "passing bays" that might allow two goats to pass, but cars were expected to pass there. Fortunately the only vehicle coming the other way was at a wide section so no worries.

We intend to move on to Traralgon tomorrow, then drive through Melbourne on Sunday to minimise the traffic.

Orbost

The rain stopped on Tuesday and we dried out as much as we could so we could start the long trip back home. It was a bit sad to leave our friends in Eden, but we have to return home. It will take us at least a week because we are still in holiday mode and we want to see the Victorian South East. We tried to see it last year but it caught fire and we had to turn back.
The pic shows the Snowy River near its mouth at a place known as the Slips. There are the remains of a slipway used in ship building, so maybe that's how it got it's name. Lovely park at Orbost, thick grass and lots of room, so we might stay an extra day.

Eden in the rain

The rain started just after we got here and has continued almost constantly. There is a religious looking chap up the road building a big boat while his wife is rounding up pairs of animals. The walk to the boardwalk where we walk Tiffany is under water as the lake is now 10 metres closer than it used to be.

Fortunately where we are drains quite well so the surface water does not get very deep and the floor of the annex stays dry. The poor devils in tents are saturated and many have had to go home to get dry.

Tiffany has been great in the van. She likes to look out of the window, so she spends a lot of time just lying on her mat on the bed watching the world go by, and giving it the occasional hurry up bark. Her first season has made her a bit sooky, perhaps just as well considering the weather, as she likes to sit quietly close to us.

Forecast is for the rain to ease up on Tuesday, and we plan to move on down the coast on Wednesday, hopefully with a dry kit.

Eden

The trip down the coast was fun with the van on the back. There was a realy tight steep turn coming out of Tethra that got the heart rate up, and the narrow roads and bridges meant you had to be careful with oncoming traffic, but it was worth it for the views of the hills and coastline.

We are at the Garden of Eden park, the picture shows the boardwalk just outside the caravan park where we walk Tiffany. The photo was taken late in the evening using a long exposure. The fish were jumping, not sure if they were catching flys or trying to get away from the cormorants, because there were plenty of both.

Quiet day today being tourists. The shows start on Friday for three days, when we hope Tiffany will get another 18 points. Can not go in the trial as she is in season.

Holiday time at last

The weekend was hectic, with Shows, Trials, Floods, Annex falling down and having to drink with the rest of the people in the park at 4:00pm every day.
The pic shows the view from the dog exercise area outside the Zane Grey caravan park. Click on it to see a bigger version. Zane Grey wrote a lot of his poems looking at that view.
There were violent thunder storms with lots of rain on Thursday and Friday, putting the trial area under water. Kids were surfing across the rings. No trial Friday night. The rain and storms also shook the annex loose so that the anti-flap strips came off, the side walls of the annex fell down and the awning filled up with water. It took two of us to empty the roof so that we could put the annex back together.
The Saturday and Sunday trials went well, after the rings were re-arranged to avoid the surface water and bogs, and both of us got sunburnt. Tiffany maintained her unbeaten record in the show ring with two Best of Breed awards bringing her total points to 66.
We have a few days of doing nothing. We will move on to Eden on Wednesday to set up for a week there and three more shows for Tiffy next week end.

Bermagui

We are at Bermagui on the NSW south coast just a bit north of Bega.

The pic shows the van set up for the night at Darling Point which is a loverly spot just across the Hay Plain heading towardsWagga Wagga.

We were in Queenbeyan one night as the van needed its 1000k service, but the Jayco agent there could not do it until March, and the mobile repairer could not do it for a week. We will book the van in somwhere in Victoria on the way home to get the service done.

The drive to Bermegui was interesting, especially down the Clyde Mountain. Kathy said "Look at the views" and I said " I am too busy watching the road twisting and turning down a 1 in 3 slope"

Met up with friends here, and went fishing on a charter boat. Rough seas, so I had a chunder in the old Pacific sea, caught a flathead and a rass fish and two others that were thrown back, and all for $100.

Murrayville

We finally managed to get going on our trip to NSW south coast, only a day later than planned. First night is at Murrayville, which is a small town just over the Vic border past Lammeroo. Nice park run by the community and only $9.90 a night, maybe the 10 cents under $10 attracts more customers. We will be going across the Hay plain today, the good thing about that is if you fall asleep you can get 10 kms down the road before you notice!