Christmas in Beechworth

25th - 26th December 2016

Merry Christmas to all.  We were on the move today, very quiet on the roads in the early morning.  Travelled through Yackandandah to Beechworth, then out 10km to the small village of Stanley.  Made camp at the local cricket oval and not a soul here.  It was a very quite Christmas for us, all on our lonesome!

We took a drive into Beechworth for a bit of a look then returned home for our Xmas lunch, tucked up in our airconditioned van away from the flies and the heat.

Beechworth Goal

Our fancy Xmas lunch!

Boxing day we did the Gorge Scenic drive around the outskirts of Beechworth past some lovely waterfalls then back into town for breakfast at the local bakery.

Lake Sambal in the middle of Beechworth

Tallangatta near Albury / Wodonga

20th - 24th December 2016

Set up camp at the Tallangatta Showgrounds for a few days.  Lovely spot overlooking Lake Hume and hardly anyone here.

Tallangatta Showgrounds

Drove into Albury Wodonga a few times for shopping.  Ferg managed a game of bowls at the Wodonga BC, unfortunately the men didn't allow women to play.  Old fuss pots!!  Ferg enjoyed his early morning walks on the rail trail which followed the lakes edge.

Overlooking Tallangatta and Lake Hume.

Blue Mountains and beyond

18th December 2016

Heading west from Sydney to avoid the crowds on the coast this time of year.  Up through the Blue Mountains unfortunately we couldn't find a park at the three sisters lookout.  Kept going through to Oberon until we found a lovely free camp 65km north of Goulburn.

Blue Mountains, one of many lookouts.

19th December 2016

Finally today we reached the mighty Murray River.  Pulled into a free camp behind the Bridge Hotel in Jingellic.  Got a lovely spot right on the river. Very peaceful, nice just to sit and watch the water flow by.

View from our campsite at Jingellic.

Sydney

13th - 17th December 2016

Arrived into Lane Cove Caravan Park mid afternoon after battling the Sydney traffic.  It was a nice respite to pull into our site overlooking the national park bushland.  We found a big shopping centre nearby to stock up and buy our Opal Card for the transport system.

Interesting decoration at the Macquarie Shopping Centre, North Ryde

We caught the train into the city the next day and visited the Powerhouse Museum and had lunch in Chinatown. After lunch we took the train to Circular Quay and wandered out to the Opera House.

Unfortunately the next two days we had rain so we didn't do much sightseeing. Finally the sun came out and we were off to Circular Quay to catch the Manly Ferry for our harbour cruise.  We had a lovely walk along Manly Beach, it was a hot day and there were lots of people in the water.  Wish we'd brought our togs!

Manly Beach

On arriving back at the Quay we set off for the Rocks area.  There was a great market happening there, with lots of stalls winding through the narrow streets and lanes.  We found our way to Pylon Park directly under the Harbour Bridge.  Got a good shot of Luna Park across the water with a big Maxi yacht sailing by.

Checking the nuts on the bridge!!

Had a great time in Sydney but probably won't be back with the caravan, too crazy on the roads.  Public transport was excellent for getting around.

Wisemans Ferry

 12 December 2016

Took the back roads south from Singleton through the small country towns of Broke and Wollombi, heading for Wisemans Ferry.  We crossed over on the ferry and found a lovely camp at the NSW Water Ski Gardens, right on the Colo River.

Wisemans Ferry crossing

NSW Water Ski Gardens campsite

We had a lovely afternoon sitting by the river, reading our books. Had a big storm come through, lots of lightning and thunder, then it was gone as quickly as it had arrived.  Ended up having a great happy hour with the other two couples camped here.

13th December 2016

Woke to a lovely misty morning on the river.  Took off early for some sightseeing before we head off to Sydney later in the day.  We had a good walk along the Great Northern Road which was hand built by convicts.  

Hand chiseled sandstone blocks made by convicts

Camouflaged spide in Flannel Flower

The Great Southern Trip

1st December 2016

After two months home catching up with friends and bowls, we are finally hitting the road again.  Looking forward to 4-5 months of travelling.

Nothing like a selfie to get you going!!

We spent a lovely couple of days at Pete and Marlyns' place at Stokers Siding. There is always a laugh when catching up with my big brother.

3 December 2016

On the move today heading for Maclean.  We got away early and it was no time at all before we were pulling into the Maclean Showgrounds.  What a lovely spot right on the Clarence River. 

We even had a local water dragon come up in front of our awning.

We took a drive into Yamba on the coast, only 15 minutes away.  Beautiful surf beaches. Tried to get a game of bowls at the local club but they had a tournament on, bugger.

The bridge in front of our campsite gave us some great photo opportunities at various times of the day.

4-5 December 2016

Left Maclean this morning, following the Pacific Highway south through Coffs Harbour.  We turned inland then heading for Bellingen valley.  Once again staying at the local showgrounds.  We visited the Old Butter Factory which is full of arts and crafts stalls, then had a walk through town.  Stopped for a Gelato icecream, yum!

The next day we left early heading up the range to the Dorrigo Rainforest Centre.  We did the Wonga walk, 6.5km down the mountain and back up again, phew!  Besides the steep trail the walk was amazing. We saw several waterfalls, lots of native birds and came across a couple of lizards on the track.

After the walk, we drove into Dorrigo and came across the rail yards with the old steam engines lined up.  By the time we got back to Bellingen it was 37 degrees so we locked ourselves in the van with the aircon for a lazy afternoon.

6-7th December 2016

Big storm last night, lots of lightning and rain.  Woke up to a lovely sunny morning.  Back on the Pacific Highway south to Kew, then inland to Kendall, a small country town with a good showground.  We finally managed a game of bowls in this afternoon at North Haven Bowls Club.  Had a great time and met some nice locals.

The next day was a bit drizzly so we drove up to Port Macquarie for a bit of shopping.  We took the coast road back through North Haven, stopping for a lovely lunch at the Sandbar Cafe.

8-9th December 2016

Moved on south again through Bulahdelah then west through Stroud, Dungog and Gresford. Again found a lovely showground on the river at East Gresford and decided to stay for a couple of nights.  No bowls but we did have a good chinese dinner at the bowls club. A very pleasant stopover.

10-11th December 2016

Into Singleton this morning, and yes at the showgrounds again!  Nice open space and right in the centre of town.  Got a phone call from Marion and Graham Hewish a couple of days ago saying they would be in Singleton for a few days.  Arranged a game of bowls with them at Club Singleton.  Had a great time, smashed the locals.  We then had a lovely bbq down along the Hunter River in the evening.  

Visited the Australian Army Infantry Museum this morning.  Well worth going, very interesting exhibits.  Also visited the Singleton Markets in the main street, bought some fresh vege.  Heading off tomorrow towards Sydney.