Eden

Left Paynesville about 9.30 this morning to an overcast cool morning, travelling through some lovely dairy country side near Orbost, and stopping for lunch at Cann River Snowy Mountain region. It was certainly chilly there and a nice hot pie went down well. Most of the drive today was through winding hilly terrain after leaving the coast. We crossed the Victorian – New South Wales boarder not long after lunch and I could feel it warmer already, arriving in Eden around 2pm. Lovely sunny day here and able to go for a nice walk down to the beach and along the boardwalk, we also checked out the dead centre of town.

A view to die for!

Bainsdale/Lakes Entrance

After a very rugged night rain, rain & more rain plus some gale force wind we woke to a blue sky and a windy day. After doing some chores we set off to Bainsdale to have a look around the town and have some retail therapy at the Rivers Store and stop into the Chemist for the drugs that keep our arteries unclogged and the pressure valves from blowing. We then travelled onto a little coastal village Metung that is approx. 10klm off the Princess Hwy on the way to Lakes Entrance. Lovely holiday area, boating, fishing and wildlife on an extensive water way, would be beautiful in nicer weather.

Our next stop was the town of Lakes Entrance where we walked over a walkway to Main Beach, would have appreciated it a lot more if the temperature was 10 – 15 degrees warmer. Had an enjoyable lunch at the Sports Bar and returned to Paynesville.

Hobart to Paynesville

Wednesday 23rd May finally arrived and it was time to start our caravan travels again. We had a couple of issues with the packing the main one was finding my shoes in the wheelie bin! Bazza had kindly offered to take them out, he thinking I had cleaned my shoe cupboard out and I thought he was taking them to the caravan, lucky for him I found the misunderstanding before the bin had been collected. Could have been very costly for him! After saying a sad farewell to Tania we headed north via Brighton where we caught up with some long time friends. The weather had been fine when we left home but by the time we left Brighton it was starting to rain and we encountered patchy showers travelling north. We did have a nice clean car and van when we left but that did not last for long. We travelled through to Ulverstone to catch up with some fellow travellers that we had met in Queensland a couple of years ago and to pay a visit to dad’s resting place and pop some flowers near his plaque. Finally it was time to meet Les and Pauline whom were also on the same sailing as us, I got my wires crossed (not listening) and had us waiting outside the wrong hotel. After a quick phone call was able to get the correct location to where we should be, and then it was onto the check in and to line up for boarding. We had to wait around an hour so we enjoyed a nice cuppa while we waited, at last it was time to board only Bazza had just decided to visit the loo and we were left in the middle of the car park all by ourselves, as everyone else had move off. The trip on the boat was quiet comfortable only a little rough arriving in Melbourne on time. We headed S.E. to Tooradin where we had the caravan booked into the Jergens factory to have a couple of minor additions done. While we were waiting we drove down to Flinders passing through Hastings where Jason had spent time when he was in the Navy and training at HMAS Cerberus Naval Base. On the road again by 1pm we then headed to Warragul where we stopped for the night then today heading off travelling through Moe, Traralgon, Sale, Bainsdale and then finally ending up at Paynesville. We arrived here around 3pm unhooked and decided we would take the ferry to Raymond Island as you can see lots of Koalas we only managed to find a mother and baby. The ferry trip is only about 200metres from Paynesville to Raymond Island takes a whole 2.5 minutes to cross, Bazza was slightly disappointed as he was looking forward to the crossing. It is now raining quiet heavy and very cold will stay here for a couple of nights and do some sightseeing weather permitting.

Time to tickle the Ivory's while doing the washing!

Final days of trip 2011

After leaving Sofala it was onto Bathurst and a spin around the race track with the caravan, it was a real eye opener to experience the steepness and the bends of the track. Of course we were going much, much slower than the racing cars but our Gps’s warning went off to say we were speeding down Conrod Straight, it only has a 60klm speed limit normally.
We stopped that night at Junee then the next day it was down to Cobram to catch up with some friends before stopping for the night at Shepparton. The next day (Friday) we travelled through Melbourne where we passed a new caravan yard and thought we would have a look around. We saw a van we liked and put the pressure on the salesman to get the rego permit required and the van detailed as we needed to be on the boat Sunday night. Saturday was spent swapping our gear from the old van to the new one, did not realise we had so much stuff packed in it.
We are now parked along Marine Parade Port Melbourne waiting to board the Spirit of Tasmania for the final leg of this trip.

The old (right) and the new (left)

Nundle, Gulgong - Sofala

Next it was off to Nundle which is a historic gold mining town where there are quite a few campsites that you can stay at along the river while you try your hand at gold panning. We also visited the local Woollen Mill which had beautiful woollen products for sale. After spending a few dollars at Nundle we headed to Scone then onto Gulgong which is another 19th Century goldrush town thtat was also the home of Henry Lawson. The town of Gulgong is like stepping back 100yrs with old shop fronts and narrow streets which wind between quaint clapboard and iron buildings, you will also find the Henry Lawson Museum. We noticed as we drove into town that The Old Fella (Rodney Gregory) who was a contestant on Australia’s Got Talent was appearing at the Gulgong RSL. David and Alison made some enquires and found that the show had been booked out for weeks, but if we like to rock up we may stand a chance of getting in, if we didn’t mind standing at the back for the show. Not only did we get in to see the show we enjoyed a BBQ there at the RSL, and ended up with front row seats right in the middle of the stage only having to pay $12 each for the BBQ. A great night was had by all.
We left Gulgong this morning (Tuesday) passing through the town of Mudgee with it’s historic buildings. Then once again heading off the main road, passing through Rylstone and Kandos to the little town of Sofala, Australia’s oldest surviving gold town. We again experienced hilly climbs and steep descents to arrive at this very unique little town, with a narrow main street and very old dilapidated buildings only the nucleus of the town remains today.

Crescent Head to Woolomin

After leaving South West Rocks we travelled further south stopping at Frederickton to sample the Freddo Pies,they have about 50 different varieties to choose from. Then it was onto Crescent Head, passing through the town to a free campsite backing onto to a beautiful sandy surf beach. We made our camp there for two nights we had some lovely hot sunny days, allowing sunbaking and walks on the beach, we were also able to enjoy campfires of a night.

Heading further south we tuned West just before Port Macquarie travelling to Wauchope to once again stay at a free campsite at Ellenborough. The next day we crossed the Great Dividing Range which was a long steady winding climb sometimes needing to stop at road works as the road had been washed away, leaving only a single lane at times. We arrived at Walcha where we had our lunch then it was back on the road again this time heading south for about 50klm then it west again on a gravel road for awhile until we had to negotiate a pass which was very similar to Elephant Pass in Tassie. It was a long steady windy climb and then a slow steep descent where trucks and heavy vehicles are advised to use low gear, we were about 2klm from reaching the bottom when Bazza experienced serve brake fade ! The brakes on the Pajero were emitting a strong hot smell, so decided he had better adjust the brake controller up on the caravan brakes and locked the car into second gear, it was a great relief when we reach the floor of the valley safely. We are certainly experiencing some very challenging road conditions since we have been travelling with Alison and David as they prefer to travel on the minor roads instead of busy highways. We stayed that night at Woolomin once again free camping, many of these little inland towns welcome travellers & provide areas in or near their town to camp. Travelling the back roads through the mountain rangers allows you to enjoy the beautiful scenery, small towns and friendly people who love to have a chat.

Fee camp Crescent Heads

Taylors Arms - South West Rocks

After leaving Southport Friday morning it did not take long for us to cross the border into New South Wales, the weather was very overcast with some rain. It was good to turn off the Pacific Hwy that was very congested to travel south through Lismore, Casino and onto a free camp for the night that was 28klm south of Casino. The rain cleared by mid afternoon for us to enjoy a very pleasant evening, and surprisingly a good night’s sleep.

Saturday it was on the road again going further south and onto the Pacific Hwy at Grafton travelling through Coffs Harbour stopping for lunch at Sawtell then going inland at Macksville to Taylors Arms to the Pub with No Beer, that was made famous by Slim Dusty. We were able to free camp opposite the pub in a recreation area, so that afternoon it was just a short stroll for us to go and enjoy a drink and meal at the pub. In the pub there is a great deal of memorabilia relating to Gordon Parson’s who wrote the song, that Slim Dusty recorded. A local named Scott that had a few under his belt, came over for a chat and a laugh, he got us to feel the weight of his jacket after taking it off for a group photo, it was weighted down with a couple of litres of chainsaw oil. It was so heavy, he said it was keeping him real warm, oil had leaked into it when it was in his ute.

We are now at a seaside caravan park at South West Rocks, it was a beautiful day yesterday but today is not so good with a very chilly sea breeze. We are able to either walk or ride our bikes up to the coastal township that is nearby. The caravan is parked on the edge of a 50 foot drop, so had to make sure we had it well chocked, hanky panky is certainly out of the question DO NOT want to rock the van!

With our new friend Scott

Happy Hour South West Rocks

Scary Hilltop Parking