the slow path home

Well here we are. Almost the end of the journey.  I am such a slacker for not updating this blog EVERY day or two as originally planned.  Even every week would have been a good goal! :-)
The last couple of weeks we have spent most of our time visiting relatives and friends on the road from Coonabarabran, to Tamworth, Toowoomba, and Tweed Heads (well - Bilambil Heights to be correct) and then Coffs Harbour.  The trip definitely morphed suddenly from our 'going it alone' style of driving into the great unknown - to the familiar faces and places we have trekked to at other times in the past.

Now in Sydney.  Today we said 'Goodbye' to staying in caravan and Matt drove off back to the Gong and leave it on our front lawn.  We need to work out how we can get it fixed as quickly as possible! It must be Gods blessing that we got this far - as it now sports a broken shock absorber and suspension over the back right wheel axle. (whew: thats it with the technical terms).  We had entertained the odd wild thought of giving up life for another few years and living on the road.  I guess the van had enough for now! Matt then turned around after reaching our home in Wollongong and headed straight back to Sydney.  The kids were so busy playing with their cousins that they hardly realised that either their father or the caravan were missing: until tonight when the wanted to go in and look for some things and realised with shock it was GONE.  Mumma also hopes she retrieved the right items before it was driven away.  So used to it being there, not far, with all our needed possessions inside. Still, staying here at the home of Matts parents on the Northern Beaches of Sydney whilst they are away on holiday, isnt a bad spot to be! :-)

I wonder what the future will hold.  Will we stay in Wollongong? Accept a job in far outer new south wales? I think this blog may well stay active as we storey's keep on the journey. 

We may be almost home, but the journey continues..... [roll the suspense filled music notes] :-)

 

 Some Random Pics from last two weeks to enjoy :-)

Faves from the Dubbo Zoo

Mr Galapagos Tortoise - a serious scary guy when he gives you the stare... (lucky we can outrun him!)

Water play area at a Dubbo Park - bucket loads of free fun :-)

Mooching in the Van - a morning tradition

Attitude at the dirt bike track - still Dubbo!

Oriental Carp at the Japanese Gardens. Big enough to suck off your big toe (and they tried). So much to see at - you guessed it - Dubbo!

Katelyn and an ancient Diprodon

Double up Giant Cupcakes for two birthdays - thanks Nanna!

Crazy Benny

Hannah's cake made by Granny -a very special mudslide creation complete with frog in a pond.

from the farm to the city

On Thursday night our accommodation was at a farmstay in Victoria just outside Keith, about 2 1/2 hrs from Adelaide.  The kids absolutely loved it.  More than i had expected. They had a whole lot of animals besides the regular chickens, sheep and horses.  There was Camille the Camel, some Emus and Kangas, a herd of deer, and some buffalo. Transport during feeding time was on the back of the old farm ute, and this was a highlight for all the children.  The joy on their faces was heartwarming as all the usual OHS rules went out the window and they romped around the tray of the ute.  Katelyn was in her element, laughing in that wild way.  Benny was crying out 'WeeHoo', Hannah was loving the wind in her hand, and Adam was king of the world when he was standing up and holding on tight. The farmer was preparing fields for baling hay, and the kids rode on the tractor with him while he was on his rounds. A campfire was built and marshmallows were eaten. Canoes were pushed into the lake and awkwardly steered around the island. Our guide was the farmer's daughter, who was very knowledgeable about the land and the animals and taught the kids a lot. Huge Tick for homeschooling! Katelyn couldnt be consoled as we drove away, she fully wanted to stay for a week.

Earlier this week we crossed the border of Vic/SA and drove to Mt Gambier.  We are all learning so much about our own country. And last week it was all about limestone on the limestone coast and all the volanic history of early Australia.  The Blue Lake at Mt Gambier is so amazing - it changes colour each year in November from a grey colour to a brilliant azure blue. It looks like someone has poured a whole lot of food colouring into this huge lake.  We were lucky to see it this colour as it changes back to the grey about march/April.  We saw a couple of sinkholes with gardens built in them which looked amazing too.  After seeing just how the whole town is city is built over so many underground caves, and with the recent events in Japan and New Zealand - i was feeling a bit uneasy for the people if any even minor quakes should occur.

Today we spent at Adelaide Aquatic Centre and tomorrow? Not sure yet. 

adventures of the unexpected kind

What a day! It started slowly, with a sleep in til 8.15am, which isn't so unusual for our family, however we had decided late the previous evening to stay yet another day in paradise a.k.a. Torquay.  Matt returned from the office to say that they were expecting busloads of schoolkids to arrive and there was no room for us! Arrghhh! Timecheck: 9.55am. Luckily they weren't so fussed about check-out as long as we got out of there before the schoolkids arrived to set up camp.  In an amazing flurry we were packed up just after 11am, which is Super Quick, helped along by Katelyn minding Ben at the playground, and Adam being a Super Star helper with the van pack-up jobs.
Matt took the four kids to Point Bake for their fav babycinos with the chocolate spoons while Kerran ducked in for a final hot shower and hair wash for goodness knows when the next one will be.

Best Babycino the kids have ever seen!

No sooner had the coffee orders arrived than a gas leak was discovered next door where some dodgy workmen were digging a driveway.  They ran for it, but forgot to notify the cafe.  The kids were able to get one sip and a chocolate lick before they too ran for it and watched through tears of disappointment all the police cars and fire sirens and roads blocked off and chaos. Only Benny was thoughful enough to bring his chocolate spoon with him!
The car and caravan now behind police barracade, we couldn't leave as planned, so we walked into town (4 whole blocks) and went shopping :-) On the way Adam managed to be a lucky duck and find a $5 note blowing in the breeze.  He spent up big and purchased a goggle mask for 50c and a dinosaur for 20c once again at the brilliant Salvos store (Kerran also found two skirts and Matt found a Bells Beach shirt -BNWT!)
Next stop Diana Ferrari outlet where those SuperSoft sandals were going out for $29. Katelyn loved the Smiggle store, and there were so many other shops that i didn't get to even peep into since by this stage Ben had well and truly 'lost it' and it was after 2pm. Matt retrieved the car and van.  We still had to find accommodation for tonight.  We drove along the coastline and stopped only 15 minutes down the road at Anglesea and chatted to the old bloke who hires out paddle boats at the river. The kids and i begged Matt to allow us a turn on the boats and he wearily agreed to mind the sleeping Ben whilst we had fun on the river. The kids had a ball, and my legs got a workout as they couldn't reach the peddles too well!

Paddle Boats at Anglesea on the Great Ocean Road

Then onto Aireys Inlet where we waded into the lagoon and found an amazing spot for swim, although we didn't have our swimmers on, so just paddled and walked across to the surf and looked at the huge cliffs and the lighthouse, and then dawdled back to the car. Note to those without 4 children: You may be thinking we could have easily got swimmers on since we were towing our van with everything in it, but trust me, that would have taken an additional 40 mins AT LEAST and so that is why we just waded. Okay?

 

Matt and the Lighthouse at Aireys Inlet

By this stage it was 4pm and Matt had decided we were not going to make it over to a free camp at Johanna as time was ticking and so we drove through to Lorne and have set up camp here! Several bushfires were sighted on the way and i was just waiting for the road to be closed or some other such adventure to complete the day - however all was well and the only other disaster to report was being eaten alive by mozzies at dinner time.  So its quite warm tonight - i love the heat!  The kids have their summer PJs on again.
Tomorrow, Erskine Waterfalls, maybe a swim, and possibly some other adventures (not too many i hope).

torquay

Okay this is a short post.  I realise i am beginning to sound like a broken record, but i totally love this place! I love the babycinos with the chocolate dipped spoons at Point Bake Cafe, i love laughing at all the surf-culture names around the place (The Green-room, Thats how we roll), its so easy to get around town, and there is a trendy little shopping precinct with outlets that i will check out tomorrow, plus the Salvos Op Shop is Great - i really need to go back there and spend another $5.  Lots of great books for 20 cents a pop. All this is walking distance from where we are at Torquay Foreshore Park.  Weird to see so many families and young people - up till now we have been surrounded by the Grey Nomads and i was so used to the only kids within hearing distance being mine.  The first day i kept answering yes to random kids when they called Mum! Oops! I think we might stay another day...

we are still alive and on the road!

What a very long break between writing.  We were busily filling our days with seeing the sights and scenery of glorious Tasmania. I am totally amazed at just how much there is to see in such a small state. The whole experience of Tas was just amazing, i absolutely recommend it to anyone! I liken it to an overseas trip, (which, with that huge Bass Straight crossing: it sort-of-is) and there are many differences to everyday life on the mainland.  We sped around the island for 3 weeks and it wasn't near enough time to see what we would have liked.  Definately 6 weeks would be ideal! Our last week on the East Coast we slowed down the pace a little and at Bay of Fires i got out the laptop for an update, (and to check the state of the world affairs to see if any further disasters had taken place) and discovered we had no reception at all.  So that was that - just was forced to relax and make a lasagne in the caravan oven, and mix up a batch of damper to wrap around our gathered sticks and hold them over the hot coals until it turned that golden brown colour.  And then smother with butter and golden syrup.  And i had to eat double as Hannah predictably didn't like hers. Mmmm, yes. She liked the marshmallows, though.

Campfire at Bay of Fires

Bay of Fires - Tasmania

I hope i find the moments to write about some of what we did in Tasmania before it departs my memory.

i love trees

My kids know that mum loves trees.  So driving through all this native bushland and seeing trees galore they know that mum is loving it.  Throw in a few starfish and she is happy.  It was very very low tide at Coles Beach where we stayed the first night, free camping in Devonport, after disembarking from The Spirit of Tasmania. (Feeling recovered from the hours of sea-sickness in mid trip - one vomit only between us all - but that's another story...)

Wild winds of Bass Strait

There were tiny starfish all over the rock pools, and my camera battery was about to crash so i took as many as i could! Only about five -

They were so gorgeous!

We stopped at the Raspberry Farm on route to Launceston. Yummm. We had heard about Cataract Gorge as a must-see, and we wondered how they would hide a humungous gorge right in the centre of the city, buts its really true! Seriously 2 minutes drive on the GPS up a hill and bang there is the most spectacular natural wonder you have ever seen.  Just amazing.  With a free public swimming pool up there too.  And peacocks wandering around quite common place.

Our friend with the amazing blue plumage

We saw one just as we arrived and we were taking photos and pointing and making a fuss and all the other people (locals?) were completely taking no notice at all.  Yawn.  Oh yes, another peacock.  Like it was just an ant or some other boring creature not worth photographing.   And in just a few minutes walk along the basin you come to the suspension bridge where every angle offers an amazing vista.

Cataract Gorge, Launceston, Tas

Falls under suspension bridge

Do you see the swimming pool?

Anyway, tomorrow we head to Platypus House to see the platypuses (platypi?) in action.  Hopefully.  The kids have hit the wall and i guess they are supremely exhausted.  We spent this afternoon at the caravan park, doing maths, to relax (!).  I guess my husband may have been onto something when he said those words "we are doing too much".  Maybe they all need some downtime. It makes me feel impatient as there is so much out there to see and do and we wont be back anytime soon.  But everyone has their limitations and maybe some early to bed nights might be headed their way (although, not mine, as you can see, i'm up blogging!!)

Sea anemone at rocks pools, Devonport, Tas (love this one)

Goodnight!

floods and more chocolate

On the news last night we watched all the flash floods around Melbourne and wondered if we would get through to eastern suburb of Balwyn. I am updating this in the car as we drive, delicately balancing the laptop on... top of my lap, actually.

So we just made it through, albeit with a very long delay as the Gippsland Hwy was reduced to one lane and we had to drive through a bit of floodwater too.  Great to have a 4WD!

Earlier this morning, on Phillip Island, we packed up in the alternating heavy rain and wind and drove straight back to the Chocolate Factory.  It was such a hit yesterday, for the factory tour, and this time we each ordered some real hot chocolate to warm up.  We've been listening to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on audio books, so the kids were pretty excited.

That done we drove to The Nobbies Centre on the far western side of the island and while the little ones and Dad slept in the car, the remaining 3 of us braved the bitter winds and ran along the fantastic boardwalk that lines the rugged coast.  We looked out to Seal Rocks, saw some strange unknown duck type birds, as well as a baby penguin in his burrow.  We stared at the Blow Hole and tried to look across to Tasmania (couldn't see it...a bit far). We will head that way tomorrow.