Off to the Nova Hospital

Day 1

Finally we had our opportunity to take the van down to Nova in Melbourne. Left home about 9am and had a leisurely run down the Hume. We went into Holbrook for lunch and got into Wangaratta about 3pm.

It’s 31C or so, so we wanted a swim but no swimmers… We drove into town to Kmart (despite our little caravan park man assuring us that ‘town’ was closed on Sunday afternoons) and Judy bought yet-another-pair of swimmers, I was happy with wearing my undies, after all there is only about 3 people in the entire place. Back to the caravan park's pool and in for a dip, very pleasant, perhaps bordering on a tad too warm from the solar heating.

Read the papers and played with the pewter for a hour or so, then off to The Vine Hotel for dinner and a glass of wine.

Not having had quite enough to eat, we nipped back into town for an ice-cream from big-Ms.

This is a nice, clean well kept older park, only complaint is that it’s right on the main road between town and the Hume highway, and its just full on noise. Did I mention the train line that runs next to the road? It’s just as busy, with horns blaring as they approach town and engine rumbling up and down the line. 

Day 2

We didn’t expect to find ourselves back here quite so soon! Having left at 7am for the run down to Melbourne, we arrived at Nova Caravans right on 10. Steve was very thorough and appears to be quite knowledgable regarding the types of problems we have experienced and gave the impression that none of them were too big or overly difficult for him to repair. The bad news was that they weren’t going to be able to take the van in until well after Christmas, so we were faced with the prospect of having to turn around and tow it back home.

As it turns out, we left it there for an hour while we went to a dodgy looking car yard down in Essendon to pick up the send hand X5 turbo I had bought on e-buy. The fellow was the ultimate representative from the white-shoe brigade and his story was that he had been forced to buy a new turbo for a car he had sold a few years ago with only 88,000kms on the clock, but it turned out that there was nothing wrong with the old one after all and after having the turbo loafing about the office for 3 years he had decided to get rid of it. Never mind, at $99 it’s cheap enough to send off and get reconditioned. It all sounded pretty lame to me!

Fed and watered, we left Melbourne about 1230 and it was soon apparent that Wangaratta was as going to be as good a place to stop as any, so here we are. Having spend 8 hours and 510k in the car, we were both happy with the choice. 

We had a very nice pizza at Cafe Martini, which is the dining hall for a pub in town, filled up with diesel and went back to get a good nights sleep. Funny how you don't hear the road noise if you're tired enough!

Day 3

I was up early at 6am and hit the pool again for 1/2 an hour. The lovely warm water of Sunday was fading fast due to the all-day clouds and the rain. Took our time to get some breakfast in one of the cafes in town before hitting the road at about 830. Easy run up to Gundagai, where we turned our back on the less than salubrious Shell eatery and the even worse 'dog-on-a-box' offering, and headed into the main street of town itself. It's a really nice town and we all should go in there more often. Had a coffee and a scone as it was too early for lunch and headed home, which is where we are now.

So until next time (Melbourne again, soon I hope) see you later.

Canberra, ACT

Home! Made it back safe and sound. 

Had a fantastic time, already planning for next year, which looks like it will include the Nullabor and southwest of Western Australia, but then we need to see the wild flowers up near the Murchison, and if you get that far, you might as well go back to Broome, and …. Well, who knows where we might end up!

We did notice that our style of travel has changed due largely to having been to all the big must-do attractions last year. Taking more time now in each place, just to settle in and smell the roses, but not to long to get bored. We both still love to travel, even if its down the road we were on last year, it's still and adventure.

 

Some simple stats, because I’m really tired: 107 days away, Towed the van 13,465km, drove the car 19,620km

Did I mention we had a good time? 

Thanks to everyone for reading our blog and we'll catch you on our next trip.

Brian & Judy

Karuah, NSW

Made it down to Karuah by lunchtime mostly because it’s all dual carriageway / divided road from near Kempsey. I thought about going on but decided the safest option was to leave the Newcastle / Sydney scrum for a new day, besides Paul & Sue were heading our way and we could catch up and spend some time together.

Did I mention that Judy was giving me hints about fishing up in Coffs Harbour, so we went and snagged a couple of baby breams and basically fiddled about. Seeing as we were in Karuah, that has a big long jetty sticking out into Port Stephens water, we opted for another go. It was rather pleasant sitting in the sunshine, watching the activity on the water and listening to it slop, slop around the pier. Mixed catch, a baby bream and an even smaller whiting.

I braved the pool, which felt really cool, but was actually rather refreshing after the days driving. We were just thinking it must be afternoon tea time and P&S turned up, must have radar!

We spent a pleasant hour or so chatting about vans and tours and kids before heading up to the Razzle for dinner. We ate here a year or so ago and was the usual bistro tucker, fried this, hamburgered that, all with chips and free cholesterol. They surprised us by having changed to Chinese, which maybe wasn’t our first choice, but in Karuah on a Tuesday night, in the off season, it’s that or nought. More choices – ala carte or buffet. The buffet looked empty but they promised that the one chef would get around to some more stuff just as soon as they finished the takeaways. We chose the buffet and ate in dribs and drabs, but the food itslf was pleasantly tasty and in the end we all had all we could eat.

Helensville, Qld

Helensville, Qld

Yes, Helensville, because that’s where the van park is and it’s also right across the road from Movie World, Wet and Wild and The Great Australian Outback Spectacular. Having seen the show the last two years we thought we’d give it another crack, even though the show is the same as last year.

The show comes with a three course meal, drinks and tea. It’s a full on bit of fun for 2 ½ hours, with horses and cows and sheep and utes and bulls… I couldn’t help wondering what the two dour Scots next to me made of it as they didn’t crack a smile all night, just sat there looking kind of perplexed. Not to worry, we joined in with the yelling and stomping and hat waving, all good fun.

After the show, we both decided that we hadn’t remembered a thing about it from last year and that they must have changed it! Doesn’t matter, another great nights entertainment, probably a lot more fun and just as believable as that other show on national telly at the time. Yee Ha!

Coffs Harbour, NSW

We left the van park at 8am, simply by pulling out onto the M1, right at the front door. Its 45km to the NSW border and then another 55km to Ballina, which has now been bypassed, and not before time. The road is dual lane divide road for that entire distance, so it’s gradually creeping down the coast. After Ballina there are road works, but being Sunday, they were idle and didn’t slow us down much. After Grafton, there are massive roadworks where they are building a complete new road in and around the old one. At one point the new road dives into two huge tunnels, and we never did see them emerge again. Maybe they come up near Coffs! Speaking of Coffs, the huge roadworks from last year have crept further north without finishing the original lot. Make no mistake, this will be one hell of a road when it’s done.

Brisbane, Qld

Today we went out wandering to find a shop or two and replenish some bits and pieces. We also wandered into Sanctuary Cove, home of the zillionaires and their big, huge, enormous boats. Can a zillionare have too big a boat? I guess not. Only the odd Porsche, Maserati, Lambo and Jaguar around in the streets, they could do better than this! I have to mention that Sanctuary Cove is a bit of a closed environment and with the houses arranged around the marinas and golf courses. They then have special paths for the wives (I didn’t see any men driving them) to run into their own private shopping centre to pick up a new frock or two, in their golf carts. Even the carts have flashy mag wheels, fabulous paint and beautiful upholstery.

We then went into Brisbane City, to go and see Grease the musical which is on at the Lyric Theatre, which is in that Southbank (Expo 88) area. This is a great area, lots of gardens and a lagoon beach pool and the river as a backdrop. We wandered about and eventually had "afternoon tea" in one of the many restautrants and cafes and bars that litter the place. We had Vodka cured gravlax washed down with Prosecco while watching the Brisbane Wheel turn idly in the sunshine. The wheel was $15 a go and it even has a smoked glass VIP gondola that you can use for $120 should you require such a service.

We had dinner at the Russell Street Bar and grille where we had tapas, believe it or not. I have to admit that the prawns, pies, pate and cutlets, served with ciabatta, complimented the Semillon sauvignon blanc we used to wash it down perfectly.

Then on to the show. First is the parking, which is huge and right underneath the theatres. Then the theatre itself, which is fantastic, large, comfortable, easy access, and chock-a-block with avid fans.

The show was great, despite old Moonface being in it and the two lead characters not being as strong as in  the movie. The stageplay was actually written and performed in the 1970s, before the movie, so it’s a bit different, but the singing, dancing and acting, along with the sets, provided a really good nights entertainment. The voices were really good, dancing great and the whole show was full of energy. Todd McKenny almost stole the show with his performance as the Teen Angel.A true entertainer.

If you get the chance, go and see this, it’s great.