Burren Junction - Moree

 Tuesday is was on the road again this time heading east towards Moree, as the old Baz had Burren Junction on his wish list it worked in well for an over night stop at the Artesian Bore Spa Baths Camp. We could not believe our eyes as heading east from the township of Burren Junction we could see a whole community of grey nomads, some go there for weeks at a time even months, we are at a loss to why!  What a disappointment, the camping area was reasonable a level gravel area and the surrounding grounds well maintained but the pool was disgusting, slimy covered in algie, yuk yuk. We made the mistake of getting in as others were socialising in the warm water but we couldn't wait to get out of the swamp and shower off the slime! Reading on Wiki Camps people rave over the pool others say in the summer it is closed as the frogs and snakes move in! Still having night mares!

We rang the Gwydir Caravan Park in Moree to see if we could arrive a couple of days earlier than we had booked, no problems there, so we have been here since Wednesday and thoroughly enjoying the beautiful clean Artesian Pools it is always one of our favourite places to stop. Today has been a little cool only getting to around 18 degrees but lovely and warm in the 39 degree pool. We even had to use the umbrella to go over to the pool as a front has been crossing NSW and we have had quiet a bit of rain on and off today, our soak tonight was cut short as we had thunder and lightening and very heavy rain so safer out of the water.

The local butcher here at Moree will cook your roast for you, so I have been to see him and arranged for Roast Pork tomorrow night. Maree and Brian will arrive sometime tomorrow afternoon after six hours of travelling from Newcastle, so I am sure they will appreciate not having to cook. I will only need to do the veggies, too easy, hope he gets the crackle right. 

Burren Junction Camp

Swampy Burren Junction Artesian Pool

Happier Campers at Gwydir Caravan Park and Artesian Pools

Bourke

We have spent a lovely three days at Bourke enjoying a break from travelling and soaking up the beautiful weather. Yesterday was a pleasant 27 degrees slightly cooler today only 24.

 We were hoping to catch the Outback Show while we were here but we are a little early as it will not be here until early June. We spent a good couple of hours at the Back O'Bourke Exhibition Centre which brings to life the story of Outback NSW. Yesterday afternoon we spent a relaxing afternoon on on the PV Jandra meandering up the Darling River to the Port of Bourke passing under the River Bridges old and new then returning to the caravan park. Last night there was entertainment in the park with the Poet on a Plate, a pleasant evening sitting around a camp fire listening to poetry about outback life with a delicious slow cooked meal topped off by a lemon tart for dessert.

P V Jandra

The North Bourke Bridge opened 1888
First bridge over the Darling River
First lift up bridge in NSW

Darling River

Bourke Wharf

The new and old bridges side by side

Another Bourke Sunset

Goolgowie - Cobar

Wow we are finally feeling warmer!

We left Moama Thursday travelling north towards Bourke on the Cobb Hwy  stopping at Deniliquin for morning tea then it was onto Hay where we had lunch then our last leg was on the Mid Western Hwy to Goolgowi where we spent the night at a free camp about 1klm from the town.We have not encountered a lot of traffic which is good, not having to worry about holding up the truckies. We passed quiet a few cattle grazing in the Long Paddock, also saw numerous Emu's and Goats just glad that the only Kangaroos we saw were road kill, would not have liked to encountered one of those big fellas!

We only had to travel a little over 300 klms yesterday for an overnight stop at Cobar, as it was my turn to have a stint at the driving Baz was left to be the navigator. He was suppose to be directing me to the Newey Resevoir Camping Area but somehow we ended up at the Cobar Old Resevoir I did ask the question when we ran out of sealed road! It may have been a good mistake as listening to other campers the other Resevoir is very popular and local dogs bark continually, the only down side to where we ended up was the dusty road and the locals like to come out to the resevoir to ride their dirt bikes.

We made a quick get away this morning once the dirt bike riders put in an appearance about 8am, travelling up the Kidman Way to Bourke. It was a relatively short trip only 169 klms so we arrived here at the Kidman Camp Country Resort before lunch giving us plenty of time to clean up the outside of the van and put a load of washing on. The temperature today has been quiet warm 25 degrees and the forecast for tomorrow is 27 degrees, this is why we leave Tassie for the winter so we can enjoy the warmer temps.

Cattle feeding on theHwy to Goolgowi from Hay

Goolgowi /rest area

Cobar Old Resevoir

Cobar Old Resevoir

Kidman Camp Country Resort

Sunset Bourke

Hobart - Newbridge - Bendigo - Moama

Trip 2016
Sunday finally arrived and it was time for another teary farewell to Tan, Greg and the boys 😂, You would think that after all these years of heading off for nearly five months it would get easier. Baz had spent a couple of days getting the car and caravan clean & shiny, which ended up being a waste of time because as we headed off the rain came and we were travelling on wet sloshy roads. The weather report wasn't good with strong winds forecast for across Tassie, we were lucky the only effect it had on us was the steady decline of the fuel gauge. We also thought that we may experience a nasty trip across the ditch, but our prayers were answered and once again we sailed into Port Melbourne after enjoying a good nights sleep.

We had been undecided which direction we would take prior to leaving but after some discussion on the trip north we came up with a destination! We had seen on Facebook a good location that Graeme & Gladys had visited a few days earlier, so it was off to Newbridge a small town west of Bendigo situated on the Lodden River. We had a great campsite at the Recreation Camping Reserve beside the river and it was only a short walk over the bridge to the General Store & Pub.

Tuesday took us to our next stop the City of Bendigo that boasts beautiful heritage streets & buildings. We thought we would visit The Art Gallery which had an exhibition of authentic artefacts, clothing and other objects belonging to or worn by Marilyn Monroe, they also had a few of her original films showing. The Forever Marilyn sculpture that is eight metres high is also on display in the City, Baz had his photo taken with her, it was the only chance for him to get between her legs. Next it was onto Bendigo Pottery, Australia's oldest working pottery, which also houses this amazing Antiques and Collectable warehouse for its 40 stall holders, it was impossible to see all that was displayed for sale, there was just so much there it would take days to see it all and then you would turn around and see things that you had missed. If anyone is going to Bendigo I suggest you put it on your must do list.

Today we travelled from Bendigo to Moama which is situated across the Murray River from our favourite Victorian town Echuca. We are social members of the Rich River Golf Club which allows us to free camp alongside the golf links and is a good spot for an over night stop. It didn't take us long to unhitch the van and head back across the river to Echuca to indulge in a Beehive from the Beechworth Bakery.

Relaxing Newbridge Recreation Campground

Fantasising with Marilyn 

Artificial Turf Gazebo Bendigo

Rich River Golf Club Moama

Melbourne

Thursday after experiencing our first frost for this trip we left Yea travelling through the Yarra valley. With cattle & sheep grazing in the lush paddocks also passing many wineries it only took us a couple oh hours to reach the Jurgens Factory in Pakenham. We did a tour of the factory, it was very interesting to see the vans being made from the chassis up. 

We have been staying at the Dingley Five Ways Caravan Park in Dingley which is a very handy location for shopping and getting into the city. 

Fruday we caught a train into the city and were lucky to be able to get tickets to The Lion King, poor Baz was certainly out of his comfort zone  as he hates catching public transport. He was sure we would be spending hours doing loops on the train lines trying to find our way back, he lacks confidence in my ability. Saturday morning it was off to do some retail therapy 10 minutes down the road to Dandenong to the Black Pepper/Breakaway outlet where of course I was able to pick up some bargains then back past the caravan park  heading the opposite direction for 10 minutes to the DFO at Moorabbin must say saved the old boy quiet a few dollars. Today we catch the boat back to Tassie we will leave the caravan park about 3.30pm and head into Station Pier we have been given a late check out which saves us hanging around in town for too long. It has been lovely enjoying the sunshine here in Melbourne, time has come for me to finish up for another year.

Cootamundra - Rutherglen - Yea

KoSaturday we travelled as far as Cootamundra which is the birth place of Sir Donald Bradman along the way passing through bright crimson Canola crops. At Coota we stayed at a very nice friendly little caravan park with good drive through sites, so we were able to stay hooked up for the night. Adjacent to the Caravan Park is the Captains Walk, Bronze Busts of all the former cricket captains also a statue of Sir Donald Bradman. Being a Saturday night in Cootamundra there was a bit of back ground music coming from the local RSL.

Sunday found us heading down the Hume Highway before detouring into Rutherglen, had booked in for only one night but ended staying three. On the way to Rutherglen we stopped at Gundagai to get a photo of the Historical Monument of The Dog on the Tuckerbox, which is a tribute to early pioneers. We had a late lunch at our customary stop Parker Pies in Rutherglen before heading back to the van park to enjoy happy hour around the fire beside the lake. We managed to fit in a visit to a couple of wineries one of these being Campbell's where Baz took advantage of his $50 credit to arrange a dozen reds to be sent home.  We did ask that they delay sending the wine for a couple of days otherwise Tan & Greg might think it is a gift for them! We are certainly finding the temperature much cooler during the day but so far have been lucky to have missed the rain. Yesterday (Tuesday) we went for a drive over to Cobram and surprised Bridget & Don and ended up going to lunch with them to the Top Pub. On the way to Cobram we called into Rich Glen a Olive Oil farm which has a lovely array of products just love their flavoured salad dressings.

It was back onto the Hume Hwy today heading to Yea our last stop before Melbourne tomorrow. 

Brrrrrrrrrrr COLD !!! Think we should head north again!

Former Cricket Captains at Jubilee Park Cootamundra

Bronze statue of Sir Donald Bradman

Coota township

Dog on the Tucker Box

Happy Hour Rutherglen Caravan Park

Sunset Rutherglen

Katoomba

We left Newcastle by 8.30am and headed down the Pacific Motorway planning to hit Sydney around 10.30 - 11am we were advised that the traffic should be more settled by that time. We were heading to the Blue Mountains and had to negotiate the M2,M7 & M4 to make our way to the Katoomba. Our Tom Tom has lane guidance which made it a dream run negotiating the heavy traffic in the Pennant Hills area.

The motorway heading into Sydney is quiet spectacular with its mountainous terrain, very long dual lane accents and descents which tested the pulling power of the poor old Paj. Heading up into the Blue Mountains was also a steep accent, arriving at the Katoomba turnoff we turned off too early to find ourselves in a blocked off through road and a dead end side street requiring us to reverse up with the man doing road works moving the sign so we had room to go back the way we had come. Maree rang to see if we had been caught up in the massive storm that hit Sydney & surrounds with hail & heavy rain, we were very lucky must have been just in front of it.

We spent two nights at the Katoomba Caravan Park it was a good location to explore the surrounding attractions. The Blue Mountains are really spectacular and the villages are beautiful with their lovely old homes and gardens especially at this time of year as the blossom is out. Looking out at The Three Sisters is still as breath taking as it was when I was last here back in my High School days.

Saturday morning we woke to fine misty drizzle & some rain, it could have held off for a few more hours until we had negotiated Mt Victoria's very steep decent down the range heading towards Lismore.

Blue Mountains

Blue Mountains - Three Sisters

Blue Mountains - The Three Sisters

View from Wentworth Falls

Wentworth Falls

Katoomba Falls

Crimson Rosella enjoying the blossom