Cas & Jenny's Great Big Lap of Australia

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

Location: Sydney, Australia

We hope to take some Sydney Metro photos on the weekend ...it looks like they'll be atmospheric, misty, grey umbrella shots as it's meant to be showery all week. So you'll have to Wait for the Sunshine-On-Blue-Waters days on Sydney Harbour ...they'll be coming back eventually.

Drizzle drizzle drizzle ...

Every now & then we get a lurching kind of yearning for the caravan & life on the open road. And yet it's good to be back home. Talk about being torn in two directions! When I glimpsed the Harbour Bridge as we drove over the Gladesville Bridge while coming home the other day I got this warm fuzzy feeling ...ahhhh yes, we're Home all right!

We really do love this old town every bit as much as the great outdoors. In spite of the ghastly traffic. It's teeming with life. It's got Attitude. It's got great coffee & fabulous food from every country in the world, that doesn't break the budget.

It's like living in Italy & Thailand & Vietnam ...& China & Japan & France & Spain & Portugal ..& America ...& India ...& Oz ...& don't forget the NZ ice cream shops ...mmmm that hokey pokey ice cream.

In the city there's always something new ...great shows, movie theatres, art galleries galore, bookshops with books AND coffee in them ...music music music! ...& sports for Cas, maybe not for the Nerdess of the family. Exhausting but wonderful. I feel giddy at the thought of spinning around in the city catching up with all the Sydney culture.

Cas already has been snapped up by Vintage Cellars to start casual work soon. They must have missed their Papa Cas ...awwwwww :-)

I have an interview tomorrow for a little teensy bit of casual nursing at a new & smart aged care facility in Leichhardt, which is justa downa da road from us in 'Little Italy.'

And I MAY have some singing gigs at regional nursing homes ...now THIS is more exciting for me. One hostel wants Beatles, Elvis & Shows ...& songs from The 60s ...hey they're a mod & swinging lot in there! Yes the 60s are my era so I can come up with the goods. I may have to find a Beatles wig. :-) Anyone got a spare one? guess a mop would do ...a new one I mean, not my old floor squeegee. And it would be fun to ferret out some 60s props at a Vinnies shop & markets. Hmmmmm ...a river of creative juices flowing madly now!

So much to do. We've already had the washing machine man out to fix up Old Faithful which needed a new valve ...Ruby is booked in for a full service next week ...the piano tuner is next on the list ...Cas needs another skin doctor check ...sorting through the wad of mail that never got redirected ...grrrr...looks like I'm overdue for the 2 yearly mammogram recommended for us old birds ...poke prod squeeze ...can't say I enjoy those. Ah well it's back to the Real World with a thud!

Do come back for the rainy photos of Sydney after the weekend!

Sunday, 07 March 2010

Location: Sydney, Australia

We're home!
Gasp ...just staggered up the stairs with the last load from Windsor Castle, now sleeping soundly in Maitland & still very much a part of our family ...young Max & Leo slept in there last night with their dad Nick ...awwwww ... Lucky Windsor! But he can't stay with us because he won't fit under the door of our inner city apartment block's garage. He looks miniscule amidst the grandeur & vastness of the Outback, but as out of place as a white elephant in the City.

And Ruby is getting to grips with her new role as a city car ...she has been very well-behaved this trip in spite of those little whipper-snapper city cars weaving in & out of lanes & generally being as annoying as a cloud of mosquitoes.

Really she has been very tolerant, with barely a Vroooom on encountering the city traffic :-) We haven't had a chance to wash all the Outbacky squashed grasshoppers off her yet ...she looks a tad slovenly amidst all those city slicker cars. Tsk Tsk.

Well those 2 years certainly passed in a flash. Now of course, in true Nomad style, it's going to be 'what next?' ''That's after we've plunged back into some kind of income generating activity for a time. So it's not really over Red Rover. Let's call it a city break.

Tuesday, 02 March 2010

Location: Port Macquarie, Australia

Wow we've climbed to Number 2 spot on Planet Ranger this month ...so thank you to all of you who are still with us as we wait for news of Ruby's Fanbelt Idler Thingy Transplant & subsequent discharge from the Garage.

It's raining in Port M so we have been amusing ourselves exploring the Great Indoors ...such as shopping malls, which are still a novelty after all those stretches of scrubby desert ...& catching up with family.

All those beautiful beaches out there are grey & gloomy & misty ... I guess our newly topped up Outback tans will fade pretty soon.

Wait! There was a ray of sunshine just now & the kookaburras burst into manic laughter ...we may be lucky tomorrow & get a few walks in ...I'm Over the shopping malls now!

Monday, 01 March 2010

Location: Sydney, Australia

Trip Statistics

Left Sydney: 29 Jan 08
Returned Sydney: 26 Feb 10
759 days - nearly 25 months

Travelled: 52,943 kilometres
Longest in 1 day: 530 km - Norseman, WA to Madura Roadhouse, WA

Diesel used: 8135 litres
Highest diesel price: 238.6 cents per litre - Bramwell Junction, Cape York, Qld
Lowest diesel price: 110.1 cents per litre - Portsmouth, Mareeba, Qld
Total fuel cost: $11,758

Monday, 01 March 2010

Location: Australia

Port Macquarie NSW
March 1

Hi just popping in for a moment ...we're at Mum's place in Port Macquarie after yet another motoring drama...that drama queen Ruby broke down again ::)

This time it's the fan belt something-or-other--thingy ...oh it's the Idler Wheel Cas informs me ...not the Thingy. At this rate, she'll be like a new car with all-new innards at any rate.

We spent 3 1/2 hrs on the side of the road sitting on our cheerful red picnic rug because it was too hot in the car & looking like we were having a picnic but definitely not. OK we had a banana each. We passed the time reading jokes to each other out of a heap of Reader's Digest magazines that we found in a caravan park laundry a few days ago .

So we managed to keep our cool & even have a laugh or three. The tow truck driver was an obliging fellow & called in at a roadhouse so we could refuel for the 2 1/2 hr trip to Port. Which is fast for a truck! He talked non-stop all the way & now we know his family very well!

So we arrived in Port M just before 9pm all lit up like a Christmas tree ...quite exciting for Mum! At least we didn't have to take a camel :-)

We're just so glad we took out the top motoring cover at the beginning of this great nomading adventure! It's paid for itself over & over.

Now we're just waiting for Ruby to be towed to a local garage but we do get a hire car under this insurance ...so that's a big help!

Saturday, 27 February 2010

Location: Sydney, Australia

OMGosh the Sydney traffic is frightful!

Maybe it's the same as when we left but we've forgotten, being used to pretty much having the country's roads to ourselves. They built the roads in the Outback just for us? Seemed like it!

We're home briefly to dump some belongings, then going again. Stashing the van & visiting ....Busy busy. We'll be back properly in a week. It looks like finding work won't be a problem either, so that's GOOD!

What a ride it's been! Our apartment looks exactly as it did when we left 2 years ago, so a big thank you to our tenants who took good care of it. It's great to be home for a time & it's so quiet & peaceful here so we can chill out for a while ...just not in the mood for the rat race just yet!

So we're both going to be getting back into the work scene when we return ...& plotting the next trip ...ahhh the anticipation! Thanks for coming along ...I'll keep the blog up so you know what happens at the end of an adventure ...& when to start packing again :-)

Wednesday, 24 February 2010

Location: Dubbo NSW, Australia

Wednesday 24 February
Dubbo

OMG it’s the last night in The Castle for a while! Tomorrow Windsor will be put out to pasture in Maitland NSW, about 2 hrs drive from Sydney, until such time as we hit the road again.

I feel quite devastated ...torn between looking forward to going home & catching up with our family & friends & our apartment ...& the piano :-) ...& missing this freedom of the open road, roaming at will through this astonishing country, dancing on the earth so to speak with Ruby & The Castle.

I can’t help recalling that poem set to music in the 60s, Desiderata .... so popular in the 60s & 70s, but it’s amazing to discover it was really written in the 1692 & found in a church in Baltimore ....

.Well we have been living quite a lot of the Desiderata these past 2 years, with still more to learn from it, so we’ll be hitting the road again before long to find it! Here ‘tis for those of you who are too young to remember it ...:-)

"Desiderata
Go placidly amidst the noise & the haste
And remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune but do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata"

Well there’s something to be said for the caravanning life-style ... we have never been so healthy as in these past 2 years. Is that due to living the Desiderata?
Anyway, that’s enough of deep & meaningful 70s stuff!

Back to Broken Hill ...or Silver City ...and as you can see from the photos it’s a really lovely town with many fine buildings from those boom times in the 1880s & 90s. The people are a strong, close-knit community as there is nothing around for hundreds of kilometres.

The flatness of the surrounding desert stretches out forever & the colours at sunrise & sunset alone make the trip out here worthwhile. There’s plenty to do, from looking around the town & absorbing the history to mine tours to visiting the nearby ghost town of Silverton 25 km away ...as well as the atmospheric desert sculptures about 12 km out of town.

You can also take in some walking & fauna trails, which we were thinking of in the early morning since it was so hot even after sunset. Only a storm swept in & dropped a lot of water over all so the road was promptly closed. We were pleased we went at sunset To see the statues & didn’t leave it until the morning as we’d originally planned, having had a hot afternoon at Silverton.

The karaoke’s going strong in Broken Hill ...some great singers here with big strong voices ...the people seem extra big & strong here too ...must be all that fresh air.

It was a fun night & we were made welcome ...a long time ago I’d heard that being so close-knit, Broken Hill wasn’t really a town that took to outsiders, but it’s not true. Nothing but friendliness at the karaoke & everywhere else we visited around town.

With the storm, the desert sprang to life immediately ...by the next morning grass was shooting up through the mesh in the matting we’d put down outside the van. And all along the road to Wilcannia & Cobar the greenery increased as well as rushing torrents of water in the rivers & by the side of the road ...new billabongs appeared like magic. Rain is miraculous stuff out here!

So now we are in Dubbo, with only a few hours left to get to Maitland. And then it will be catching up with family ...get ready Port Macquarie ...hope you’re reading this blog! ...& finally home to Sydney.

But hey I’ll take some photos of Sydney for you so don’t go ‘way will you? The party’s not over yet ...stay a while ...I’m just putting the kettle on so you can’t go!

More later ....

Friday, 19 February 2010

after a long but pleasant day we're unhitched ...well not us two, I mean the car & van ... in Broken Hill ...a little bit cooler than Port Augusta ...at least its quite bearable heat. There's a lot to see here, so staying 3 nights.

And we've climbed to Number 4 on Planetranger ...thanks to you all for your visits, just hope you are all enjoying the ride as much as we are!! Have some more tea ...another slice of cake?

Thursday, 18 February 2010

Location: Port Augusta, Australia

Today we escaped the worst of the heat up in the beautiful Flinders Ranges. It's a really enjoyable drive out there ... but we were disappointed that we couldn't get to see the amazing Wilpena Pound. You have to leave the car & walk in, or take a shuttle bus a little way & then walk ...anyway it was going to take too long to get back to Port A by the time we'd done all that.

And we didn't get to do a 4WD track that is meant to be stunningly scenic. We just ran out of time & it was too hot to rush around madly wearing ourselves to a frazzle.

If we'd researched all this properly beforehand we'd have camped in the National Park ...just shows how it often pays to do some homework first ...especially in the Outback where there's so much driving between sights it's hard to judge how much time you need.

Well we are coming back to SA anyway, in the not too distant future ...there's just so much to do around this area but not in the summer heat.

Anyway, we saw enough beautiful scenery for one day, and trundled down into Port A in the late afternoon ...the temperature was still 39C then & it's still hot outside at 11pm ...guess the air-con will have to go off now ...it's nice & cool but noisy! It's meant to be even hotter tomorrow.

We're heading for Broken Hill in the morning ...it's only going to be 33C there! It's quite a drive but we'll probably do it without overnighting ...so we'll be back in NSW although not quite home yet! Not by a long shot ...

Tuesday, 16 February 2010

Location: Australia

Wow!! This week our little blog has reached the top 5 (Planet Ranger rating) ...thank you to everyone who is travelling with us ...we're delighted to have your company even if we don't know who you all are!! cheers mates ...on we GO!!