The Journey Home

Sunday morning saw us wearily pack up the camper for the last time to head to the Hills of Byron to get my car and stay with my Aunty and Uncle for the night. We were spoilt with a lamb roast for dinner and a beautiful hamper full of food to get us through the next few days and nibbles for all the catch ups with friends, thanks Ray and Leonie.

We now had two cars to get home and Laura decided she wanted to finish the journey with me, or more precisely in the clean car. We had one last thing to do before tackling the final leg of the journey and that was to do the Eastern-most point of mainland Oz at Cape Byron. Considering what it took to get to Cape York and Steep Point the Eastern-most point hardly seemed worth it but we did it and got the obligatory pics to prove it

We headed for a coffee and morning tea then excitedly got in the cars for the last couple of hundred kilometres home to beagle cuddles. Upon arriving home I think it took the dogs a little bit to realise it was us but they were soon up to their usual antics. I also couldn't believe how big my house seemed after living in a camper for so long.

With our house sitters still in residence we couldn't be bothered to unpack much, choosing to pay a surprise visit to Lisa instead. We then spent a lovely evening with Danielle and Tully, enjoying our back deck and perhaps a little to much bubbles and red wine. This meant that Laura and Gypsy shared “their” room which resulted in both girls having a very late night.

It has been an incredible journey, providing very special family memories. I think I still need time to process all that we have done and seen, thankfully we have an abundance of photos to keep the memories alive. Along the way we met some great people and I hope the friendships continue. I am so glad I went to the effort to write this blog to help us all remember each day and the amazing things that happened.

Anyone contemplating such a journey I could only provide you with the advice to make it happen!!!

 

Starting to integrate back into life

The last four days we have spent in Bathurst staying with Grandma and catching up with family. We had a roof over our heads and had to watch the time a bit to know it was time to head to dinner at which ever family member was feeding us. Basically a bit of a halfway house before completely integrating back into the real world. Thanks everyone for the meals and thanks Grandma for providing a place to stay and especially feeding us and my boisterous family:-).

We didn't do any tourist things or sight seeing, instead we just spent time with family and friends. While we have been away my family have sold their property and moved into town so it gave us a chance to checkout their new family home. Much to the delight of Laura they bought a house with a pool.

It was time to think about knocking off the last 1,000 kilometres. We headed to Milthorpe all packed up to have breakfast with Steve and Rikako before starting the journey North. Milthorpe is quaint little country town with a great vibe, the perfect place for a girls weekend apparently as I ran into Bec from my mothers group, who now lives in Dubbo, doing just that. This was such a surprise to both of us, just goes to show what a small world we live in. Great to see you Bec.

We headed off thinking we would stay at Mt Kaputar but still in cruise mode we ended up staying at Lake Keepit near Tamworth, for perhaps our last night in the camper for the trip since we will be heading to the hills of Byron Bay to stay with family before getting home.

To remind us we aren't quite back in the city, on our travels we encountered a number of cows on the highway who weren't in any particular hurry to get out of our way.

We slowly setup the camper and then sat back and enjoyed the view and dreamed of beagle cuddles. We are in a good place as we have had the most amazing time and we would do it again in a heartbeat. However we are looking forward to getting home to our beagles, friends and a bit of routine, not to mention some of the luxuries of living in a house.

 

Short trip to Canberra

Of course it was raining in Jindabyne this morning when we had to pack our stuff back into the camper, a very cold rain I might add. We had thought we would stay in Canberra and do the usual tourist things but we didn't really feel like setting up camp in the cold weather, so we set our sights for Grandma's house in Bathurst instead.

We didn't just drive through Canberra though, we stopped and spent few hours at Questacon. Laura really enjoyed this and it was great to see Warren and Laura exploring together, it will be all over very soon.

Of course we need the self family pic in front of the skinny mirror. We did do a quick lap of capital Hill to show Laura Parliament House before heading out of the ACT.

 

Snow, snow, snow

The adventure for today was to take Laura to see the snow for the first time. We headed up into Kosciusko National Park to Thredbo Village. We could see snow on distant peaks so knew we would be in luck.

We headed up the chairlift, a good experience for Laura without skis so she will be a bit more prepared once we take her skiing, that's if Warren's ever allowed to have time off again 🙂

It was pretty cold for us with it being like -2 at the top, when the windchill was factored in. Between us all I think we had 14 layers on, and we needed them all. It wasn't all that pleasant on the top with a really cold wind so we only walked a few kilometres to the Mt Kosciusko Lookout, not right to the top. This turned out it to be a good decision as it was starting to lightly snow just as we reached to the top of chair lift for the trip back down.

On our walk we came across this snow drift so Laura got to play in the snow for the first time,

After getting back down to the village we headed for the warmth of the Leisure Centre for a swim and some fun on their water slide. The water was not as warm as I would have liked but that didn't stop Laura having heaps of goes.

We headed back down to Jindabyne were we had a delicious paella for dinner thanks to Francesca. It was a wonderful evening in the warmth of a house with great company.

The next day we decided to have a day just pottering around. We all spent a couple of hours doing some work in the garden. It was nice to have some normalcy and not getting in the car to go anywhere or seeing anything.

We had another beautiful meal in the evening with Laura being the assistant chef, I think she was really enjoying the comforts of a home. Thank you Geoffrey and Francesca for all your hospitality. Hopefully we can return the favour soon in sunny Brisbane:-)

 

Crossing the great dividing range

We set out today for a scenic drive going from Lakes Entrance over the Great Dividing Range through the Alpine National Park of Victoria passing into NSW and into Mt Kosciusko National Park. I don't think I was quite prepared for the scenery this drive provided.

Our first stop was the Stony Greek Trestle Rail Bridge, a beautiful disused bridge built by the use of only man and horse power. We then went to the Buchan Caves which looked like a delightful spot to camp with well manicured lawns and a camp kitchen in an old stone building. We didn't arrive in time to go on a tour of the caves but we had already been in a limestone cave on the trip so we headed out to do a short walk above the caves instead.

The road soon turned to dirt and wound it's way up the range and then back down again to Suggan Buggan where we had lunch. With a name like Suggan Buggan I nearly expected to see hobbits living there, perhaps there was and we just didn't manage to see them. The black and white photo below is the old school house at Suggan Buggan, just the right size for educating hobbits.

After lunch it wasn't far before we left Victoria and passed into NSW, straight into Mt Kosciusko National Park. This really intensified the feeling of nearly being home and the trip being almost over. The road followed the crisp, clear waters of the Snowy River for a while. My love of the Snowy River goes back many years to when I first started coming to the area to ski. I think it has something to do with knowing the water is coming from freshly melted snow.

The scenery along the way kept your attention at every turn, of which there were many. Actually I don't think there were any straight sections at all. The road was made up of all sorts of connected twists and turns, and probably some of the tightest hairpins we have seen, many with long drops into the valley below.

The road eventually descended into Jindabyne, somewhere both Warren and I have spent considerable time over the years, which was the first familiar place we have been for the last 5 months. We headed for the Lake Jindabyne Hotel to have a quiet drink in familiar surrounds. A fitting way to wrap up the day.

We were lucky enough to have a flat underneath a friend's Uncle's house to save us from chilly nights the alpine area is still having. We got a few things out of the camper and headed up stairs to the main house which had a huge fire place and views over Lake Jindabyne out to the snowy mountains. The perfect place to share a bottle of red wine and catch up with Geoffrey.

 

Change of Direction

Our plan to head to the Southernmost point of mainland Oz has been our focus since we reached Steep Point in WA. However, we stumbled across a major flaw in our plan. What is it you ask, the bloody road is closed and has been since flooding in 2011. We could attempt the 40km walk, 20km each way, but we are not prepared for an overnight hike and I think that would be to much to ask of 8 year old legs.

We discovered this major hurdle while hanging out in a suburban library in Melbourne waiting for the car to be serviced. Wasn't quite sure wether I should laugh or cry. The day deteriorated more as we drove back to Geelong in the icy rain, having dinner in the shelter of the near by camp kitchen. I was wishing Victoria knew that it was almost summer.

On a positive note, Laura had a great afternoon lying around the library and managed to read an entire Wendy Harmer book, ironically about a girl who goes travelling in a Motorhome. A librarian noticed what a diligent reader she was and asked if she would like to join their summer reading program. It's a bit far to travel for a school holiday activity though. The Teddy Bear pictured is a present for Abbey, affectionately named Kimberley, Kimbo for short, since that area provided many adventures for us. Laura is making sure the new edition smells like us.

We packed up the next morning and deciding to head to the Yarra Valley and then continue making our way East, with Jindabyne in our sights for Friday.

Of course we stopped at the Yarra Valley Cheese shop where we all enjoyed a cheese platter with different goat and cow cheeses, with fig preserve, while looking out over the lush green farm land and watching some fairy wrens.

We also called into yet another winery, and made sure we found a geocache since we will be leaving Victoria tomorrow. We seem to be flyng through the different States at the moment, only a couple to go before we will back in Queensland.

Made it to Lakes Entrance with a short stop to remove a tree from the road as we were coming over the range. Managed to capture this sunset, the first we have seen for a bit.

 

Great Ocean Road

On a mission to head East but not wanting to miss the opportunity to go along the Great Ocean Road, we spent the day along this well known route. I will let the pictures tell most of the story. Heading from West to East, our first stop was Cheese World since we're all suckers for a free cheese tasting and we are in dairy country.

We then got serious and first stop was the Bay of Islands.

Then just down the road to the Bay of Martyrs where a bird flies into my shot, which seems to keep happening.

Next stop was The Grotto, where Laura shows how comfortable she is in front of a camera, bit scary really.

Then onto London Bridge and the Arch before the finale of the 12 Apostles.

By the time we reached the 12 Apostles the weather really started to get cold and the sky grey so the pics are really washed out. This place was teaming with tourists, it actually felt kind of odd as we really hadn't been anywhere with so many other people during this trip. We had to nearly fight for time to get these pics.

After the 12 Apostles we set our sights on getting to Geelong for the evening. This was a really pretty drive through rolling green pastures, forest and then right along the coast line. The twists and turns of the road reminded me of heading over the blue mountains but with the difference of having the ocean on one side. Warren really enjoyed the windy road on such a flat surface, probably dreaming of being on a motorbike.

 

Another day on the road…

Today saw us continuing our journey with another long day on the road getting all the way to Mt Gambier. We did have a bit of a break when we stopped for lunch at Kingston SE. The park was right next to a tyre place so we took the opportunity to get the tyres changed around on the camper.

While Warren was dealing with that Laura and I thought we would try and find a nearby cache so we could tick off finding one in South Australia. The first one we searched for was a nano (very small) and even though someone had found it earlier today it remained elusive to us.

Knowing we would run out of time we decided to try and find another one close by which had only just been hidden. If only we had been a few hours earlier we would have been the first to find it, a very sought after badge of honour for us geocachers, but someone had beaten us to it. We were glad we found this cache but could've done without the swarm of mozzies that attacked us. We didn't take our usual pic or anything we just hurriedly signed the log and put it back, high-tailing it out of there. Laura couldn't stop laughing as we were walking back scratching all over, especially our bottoms. We got back to the car and covered ourselves with stingose!!!

Since being on the trip Laura's confidence has grown, especially over the last Couple of months. We now get to a caravan park and she is off straight away, checking out the facilities then off to the playground. There is no way she would have ran off by herself like that before this trip. So what do I find her doing on the jumping pillow? Acrobatics of course.

Only spending the night in Mt Gambier we got to see Blue Lake only, which is in a volcanic crater. It turns a beautiful blue colour in November so we were in luck to see it at it's best on our short stop.

I have been trying to keep up with my running so I headed out around the lake. Want a travel tip for free? Don't ask an overweight lady who doesn't even walk around the paths if it is flat. Feeling fatigued I wasn't up to a tough run, I just wanted to cover the distance. The first 2km was up hill, not a gentle slope as suggested by my local advisor. I don't think I fully took in the beauty of the lake as I was spending my time gasping for air not admiring the view.

 

Science and Art

We had a much needed relaxing morning, the first day in quite a while we didn't need to pack up or head off anywhere. Warren made his famous Eggs Florentine while we contemplated the day ahead over coffee, just the way we spend Sunday mornings at home, minus the beagles waiting for some crumbs.

We had found out that the South Australia Research and Development Institute (SARDI) Aquatic Sciences were having an open day and it was basically next door to the caravan park. We headed over thinking it would not take long but we ended up being a number of hours.

It was like a school excursion as all the kids where given a question sheet to fill in as they went around the different displays. To Laura's delight there were lots of microscopes setup to view all sorts of things. This was a great couple of hours with all of us learning stuff such as how you can tell the age of a fish. In case you are wondering you count the growth rings from their ear bone or more precisely their Otolith.

The pics below contrast how much diving for science has changd over the years.

It was amusing when Laura asked one of the Science boffins a simple question like “what is the importance of sea grass?”. He really struggled to put this into one sentence for a child to understand. I could just imagine the poor guy had probably spent his entire science life researching it and couldn't possibly simplify such a topic:-)

After a quick bite to eat we headed for the museum in the city which currently had a display of the best entries in the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer Of The Year competition. It was very inspiring. I have been to Adelaide a number of times now but it still impresses me, it is such a pretty city with great architecture.

I really wanted to have a quiet drink overlooking the ocean at Glenelg so once we were back and Laura had another swim we headed down there. Last time I was there was over 10 years ago and it really had changed. The old tram has been replaced with an electric one and there are now a lot more places to eat. For 6pm on a Sunday the place was heaving with people making the most of the last few hours of a beautiful day.

 

Girlfriend time:-)

I was very excited today as we were going to visit my girlfriend Kirsty, from my mothers group, who now lives in Adelaide.

Warren and I both fitted in a run by the beach, before heading to Kirsty's. I had to laugh when I got to the beach as it was being prepped for the impending summer with truck loads of sand being moved around. To me it just seemed like big boys playing in a giant sandpit as they shovelled and dumped sand all over the beach in their big Tonka trucks.

We got to Kirsty's house and had a great catch up. The kids didn't remember each other but they were only two when they played together. The mums group is no longer about the kids it's about the mummies.

I have made some great friends on the trip, Jen, Keiran and Nic but it was good for the sole to catch up with an old friend. Thanks Kirsty.

Laura headed to the pool in the afternoon and I thought we would have a family treat with nachos for dinner using the oven in the camp kitchen. It actually got better as we found they had a big TV room. We ate dinner on a lounge watching David Attenborough, a very special treat for us. We do miss Saturday family movie night at home:-(