Winter Trip 2025 - wrap up

 We left Collie on the 5th of May and will arrive back on the 23rd of October after around 17,000km and 171 days on the road (and over $6,600 in fuel). This is planned to be our last caravan trip east of WA, so we covered a lot of familiar ground and some new locations. We visited every mainland State except the Northern Territory and ACT.

Some highlights of the trip:

Are you my dinner?

Monarto Safari Zoo – Lions 360 experience – bucket list item

Ahh - Moorook

Two extended stays at Moorook Reserve on the Murray River – green grass, water, and birdlife

Just us at Fitzgerald Bay

Two extended stays at Fitzgerald Bay (near Whyalla) – ocean views to die for.

Our lengthy stay at Bill and Sandy’s farm near Kilkivan QLD – great spot and good company

Our almost three weeks stay at Paul and Desley’s house in Burpengary (north side of Brisbane) – great company and taught them how to play Sequence 😊 Caught up with my other siblings as well. My brother Gary and I went whiting fishing – only three fish but some good brother time. 

Old Barra Fisherman

I flew up to Mackay to spend three weeks fishing with my brother-in-law Tom. Barra, Barra and more Barra, a few mud crabs and some sweet water sooty grunter, and a saratoga. Great company and great fishing. 

Our two weeks stay at Michael and Leah’s farm in Portland Victoria for Linda’s family reunion. Fantastic to catch up with her large family and Michael and Leah made sure that they looked after us.

Linda won nearly $2000 on a single game of Keno (I probably lost that much playing pokies ☹).

I brought a crib board from an Opp Shop in Streaky Bay and taught Linda how to play crib. She is now almost unbeatable (maybe I should have put this in the “lowlights section below?)

We have a freezer full of fat lamb sausages (fifty of them) from the butcher in Burra (SA). We made a detour through Burra on the way home just to pick them up. Yummy.

Some lowlights of our trip:

Severe dust storms in SA on our way east.

Absolutely freezing weather and lots of rain for at least three months of our trip. The new diesel heater sure got some use!

We lugged our Kayak for 17,000km and only used it at a few places – mainly because when we had planned to use it on the Murray River it was bitterly cold and raining.

Coming north from Streaky Bay to our last stop at Penong before heading across the 2,000km stretch of the Nullarbor (where there are no services) the car started overheating again – talk about stress levels going up! See diatribe below on the four “H’s”.

Our car, despite a new radiator being fitted in Adelaide continued to overheat due to the four “H’s”

Extreme Heat

Strong Headwinds

Long Hills

Dick Head driver – who realised (only after finishing the Nullarbor crossing coming home in near 40C heat) that if the automatic transmission was left in Auto (during times of extreme heat, strong headwinds and long hills) it subsequently hunted between fifth and fourth gear trying to find a happy medium – which also caused a lot of heat. Locking the transmission in fourth gear during these stress times resulted in no overheating and surprisingly better fuel economy.  So, looks like issue is now solved. 

We covered lots of ground, caught up with lots of family, visited new places, I grew a beard, Linda lost weight, I gained some 😊and we are so glad we went. Now to spend some time at home before heading off to Alexndra Bridge in February and then North to Pardoo and surrounds for five months in May.

A very early Merry Xmas to followers of my blog. 

 

BC Fing Great!

When my good wife suggested that I fly up to my brothers-in-law place for three weeks of camping and fishing it was something that I couldn’t miss.

My brother-in-law Tom lives at Mirani near Mackay and thus has access nearby lots of tropical mangrove creeks, freshwater rivers and dams.

I had a bucket list of three species I wanted to catch one last time before I got too old and too far from tropical Queensland – Barramundi, Sooty Grunter and Saratoga – and Tom did everything possible to help me achieve my bucket list.

He provided top quality rods, reels, lures for me to use and most importantly the local knowledge, experience and patience to get to the right spot at the right time.

Over the three weeks we caught barra, blue salmon, mangrove jack, queenfish, cod, trevally, sooty grunter, saratoga, mud crabs, drank a few (a lot) beers, and had some bloody good tucker (in addition to being a great fishing guide Tom is a master chef). 

So fishing, fishing, beers, dinner, fishing, fishing, beers, dinner – repeat repeat.

To put things in perspective it wasn’t just driving down to the local boat ramp and cruising out to catch fish. For example, to fish the Thompson Creek, it went like this:

• Up at 4:30AM to drive 160km to the creek

• Launch down a very steep, very slippery mud ramp that required chocks behind your wheels to stop the car sliding down and then make your way through the mud to get to the boat.

• Navigate through sand bars, rock bars, and channels to get upstream as the tide was dropping.

• Fish standing in the full sun casting lures at every snag for over four hours.

• Being very careful not to put any part of yourself near the water as the monster saltwater crocodiles were always present. DON’T FALL IN!!

• Make your way back to the mud ramp, retrieve boat, drive 160km home, clean fish, drink beer.

• Repeat for three consecutive days 😊

Didn’t quiet achieve my bucket list – lots of Barra, a nice Sooty and help land a Saratoga – but what I did go away with are memories to keep an old fella happy and stories to tell. 

Thanks, Tom, for a “once in lifetime” experience!

Short slideshow is HERE

Condamine - my childhood home

 In 1956 Reg Britton and his young wife Billie (Dad and Mum) brought their first home and some land in Condamine QLD. With them was a toddler (me 😊) and a baby (my sister Donna). I spent all my childhood at Condamine finally leaving in 1970 to go to boarding school in Toowoomba and then permanently in 1971 to join the Navy.

Through hard work and determination Dad established a livestock trucking business and during our childhood years we were what would be considered at the time to be “reasonably well off”. Every school holiday was spent on the Sunshine Coast at Caloundra and when home we had a great ski boat.

Our house

Growing up very small country town was probably the best childhood (I am biased) anyone could ever wish for. Those were the days when children could wander anywhere (as long as they were home by dark) and parents didn’t have to worry about them.

So, it was school, sport, swimming, fishing, shooting, skiing, holidays on the coast and weekends out on my school mates’ farms.

Star pupil in 1966

So, on our wandering around the east coast this trip we decided to spend two nights in Condamine. 

There is not much that is familiar after fifty-five years, but our family home is still occupied and Dad’s truck shed, although falling down, is still recognisable, and some things are familiar close up.

It was good to wander around town and reminisce about my childhood days.

Short video is HERE

Foot Note: Mum and Dad left Condamine late 1971 as well, as increasing competition (every man and his dog were buying a truck and selling services cheap) and the QLD Rail Tax Levy (charged to Trucking Companies who competed with the State-owned Railways) made it unviable to keep the business going.

Inland NSW

 It’s just over 1000 kilometers from the Victorian Border at Mulwala to Goondiwindi in Queensland via the Newal Highway. Our trek took us through some great country towns – from south to north - Narrandera, West Wyalong, Forbes, Parkes, Dubbo, Gilgandra, Coonabarabran, Narrabri, Moree, and Goondawindi.

My dish

We spent eight nights at various showgrounds, free camps and caravan parks.

Some of the highlights/lowlights of our trip north were:

• The big Dish at Parkes Observatory (highly recommended)

• We dodged the “bomb cyclone” that devastated the coast

Peak Hill Mine

• Walk trail through the now closed Peak Hill Gold mine.

• Met some nice folk – who will be heading west to WA

• After leaving the free camp near Dubbo we got 50 km down the road to Gilgandra and the Pajero automatic transmission over temperature warning light came on. These things always seem to happen on a Sunday – so back to Dubbo caravan park. Luckily a guy at the Park recommended a mechanic next door to the Park and he had us up and going again by late Monday. Turns out that the mechanic at the radiator place in Adelaide decided to bypass the radiator cooling line for the auto transmission which was fine until we hit strong head winds and hills. Don’t think he factored in us towing 2,800Kg of caravan?

• Since leaving Dubbo after the repairs, the car has been running great - up and down a lot of hills, so hopefully now (finally) all good.

Now in Queensland – our fourth state since leaving home in May. Looking forward to some warmer weather, catching up with family and boiled salted peanuts.

The video at the link is a mish mash of photos of our journey north. I am sure that we missed many things, but you will get an idea of how the trip went. Video is HERE

Lake Mulwala

 I have been dreaming about fishing for Murray Cod at Lake Mulwala (Yarrawonga/Mulwala) for months now and it was the primary reason to stack the kayak on top of the car. 

Well – as usual it was a great place to camp with views across the lake, lots of birdlife and plenty of flat grassy camping spots. Very quiet at this time of year with only a few campers even on weekends. BUT – after a good ten hours of paddling round in the yak throwing lures at every tree (and there are thousands of them), log and anything else of interest not a single bump, follow or anything to indicate that there was a fish in the lake (probably because the water was freezing).

Did I mention freezing - we have never been so cold on some of the cloudy days, with a lot of frost in the mornings and everything iced up and wet till at least 10AM. So, to go out in the yak – standing in the water to launch and only being warm in the middle of the day (on days it was sunny) was a real challenge. 

Although after the frosty mornings it was usually a beautiful sunny day with the temperatures soaring to a balmy 14C on some days (did I mention the freezing weather?). 

We no longer clean the caravan just defrost it! Just joking – the new diesel heater has been running almost nonstop and works a treat.

We did cop a few days of strong winds and heavy rain with minor flooding under our awning necessitating some extended trench work to try and drain the excess water.

We were lucky to catch up with some friends from Mandurah who were also meandering their way through the eastern states with caravan in tow. Alan and Sally (and Rosie the hound) camped near us for a few nights and was great to catch up and enjoy some time together.

Not sure if I will ever make it back this way, but if I do it will certainly not be in winter. 

Great place to camp, nice country and towns – unfortunately no fish.

Short Video is HERE

Moorook Camp on the Murray

 Moorook is a very small town located on the Murray River between Loxton and Barmera. A Social Club that opens for three nights a week and a General Store that must struggle to keep open is about all there is - except for the citrus and grape farmers.

BUT - what Moorook does have, is one of the most comfortable camps on the Murray River with green lawns, riverside sites, bins, toilets, water, dump point and all this for $12/van/night.

We finally got the kayak off the roof of the car and spent a lot of time trying to catch the elusive (very) Golden Perch (known as Callop in SA) - lots of birdlife but no fish (except carp). The new outriggers on the Kayak worked a treat (thanks Aaron) and we are now both confident on the water. Hopefully we are now ready to land those big Murray Cod when we get to Lake Mulwala is a weeks’ time.

We did some touristy things around Barmera, Berri, and Loxton and fitted in yet another counter lunch at Loxton Pub.

As usual in SA it’s pretty hard to find firewood, but I was lucky to hunt some down nearby. Not sure everyone knows this but apparently it is illegal to cut wood on the side of the road in SA and when the farmer living near where I was cutting wood drove over to see me, I was thinking that might be in a bit of strife – but turned out “Wayne” the farmer,  was just dropping by to say hello 😊

We didn’t do much while we stayed for just over a week – just chilled out on the lawn, caught a few carp – batteries recharged and ready for the next camp.

Short video is HERE

Mannum South Australia

Free and on the river

 We decided to stay at a free camp on the Murray River (Wall Flat) near Mannum for a few reasons:

·        We wanted to spend a day at the Monarto Safari Park and do the Lions 360 Experience (where you get up close and personal with the Lions). The Park was just 23km from our camp.

·        I had to go to Adelaide to get a new radiator put in the Pajero as occasionally (once since leaving Perth) on steady long inclines the temp gauge started going up and we knew we had some hills to cover on our trip to north of Brisbane to Portland in Victoria and home again in the next five months. Adelaide is only 90kmn from Mannum.

·        We were also keen to have a look around Mannum and Murray Bridge as these were our first stop on the Murray.

Wall Flat is a very small free camp about halfway between Manum and Murray Bridge. Probably room for 3-4 Vans. We lucked out and found a nice grassy spot by ourselves. It was a peaceful quiet spot on the river and perfect for our five-night stay.

Feed me!

The Monarto Safari Park is a well set out Park on a huge area where you either walk through or take the bus and jump off at various attractions throughout the park. The “Lions 360 Experience” at Monarto is, as far as I am aware, the only place in Australia where you can get within touching distance (without being on the menu) of adult wild lions. A tip- if
 you’re standing behind a male lion who is about to mark his territory – dodge quickly to the side!

It was great to take the bus trip around the park but the Lions 360 made the day and was the discriminator compared to all other Parks/Zoos we had been to over the years. Lots of photos on the video at the link.

Tough out here?

So, a bit of sightseeing mixed in with laundromat, a counter lunch or two, a long day in Adelaide getting new radiator, a great quiet camping spot, and a unique experience at the Safari Park made our stay a most enjoyable one,

Link to video is HERE

 

 

Worlds End and Burra

 We purposely left Point Lowley (Fitzgerald Bay) on the morning before forecasted severe weather (gale force winds, massive tidal surges, dust storms, and rain) to get away from the coast and hopefully find more sheltered camping areas in our planned destination of Worlds End Reserve just outside Burra. Halfway to Burra after being sand blasted and nearly blown off the road we decided to bunker down at the Burra Showgrounds ($20/night for power). On arrival at the Showgrounds and checking out all the open sandblasted sites we decided on Plan B – the local caravan park that at least had some shelter, grass, power and water. We stayed three nights bunkered down, straying out for a bit of shopping, dinner at the pub, and a walk thru the town. We moved on to Worlds End free camp (23klm out from Burra) but liked Burra so decided to do a Passport Tour later in the week (more about that later). 

So, the blog is broken into two parts – first about our camp at Worlds End and secondly about our Passport Tour of Burra.

The camping area at Worlds End with lots of level sites in two areas well serviced by bins and three long drop dunnies. All the camping areas are adjacent to Burra Creek, which all though small, had small permanent water holes and flowing water.  Due to the permanent water there was an abundancy of bird life and some very tame kangaroos and perhaps a lonely koala of two (could hear them but couldn’t see them).  I was very impressed with the massive Red Gums that line the creek area and have included several photos in the movie below.

A few downsides of the camping area are - no chainsaws ☹, no fish in the creek ☹, and no wood to be found (I did have one successful wood scabbing expedition - finding a big bag of wood next to a campsite but unfortunately a lot was painted so couldn’t be used).  Fortunately, we still had a few nights of wood from our successful wood scabbing at Point Lowley 😊.

 

Burra is very old town which had its origins in the Burra Copper Mine which in its time was one of the largest in the world. In the 1970’s some residents decided that this rich history needed to be preserved, and since then, much restoration, preservation and collecting of artifacts has been undertaken by state government, local municipal bodies and a lot of volunteers. One initiative by the local shire was to introduce the “Passport Tour” where visitors for a small fee are given a key and map for exclusive entrance into many of the locked buildings and historical sites.

The mad hatter

We spent just over four hours doing the Passport Tour and were very impressed by the exhibits and sites – largely manned by local volunteers. The second part of the movie at the link below is a collection of photos of the tour which in isolation won’t be of too much interest (you have to be there 😊) but it will give you an idea of history of the mining era and the town of Burra. We liked Burra which is so full of history but also a very proud and supportive local community to preserve its past.

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If you are coming this way, it’s certainly worth a stop-over.

Longish video is HERE – first audio track has nothing to do with the movie – I just like ZZ Top 😊

 

Fitzgerald Bay

 

Silo Art - Kimba

After departing Haslam, we decided to do a small detour on our way to Fitzgerald Bay via Kimba to check out the silo art. Being a Sunday there wasn’t much happening in town, but the silo art was worth the detour. Stayed at an isolated free camp outside Kimba for the night and then headed off to Fitzgerald Bay.

Fitzgerld Bay is situated just north of Point Lowley which is thirty kilometres northeast of Whyalla. At Fitzgerald Bay there is a dozen or so free camps along a rocky shoreline of Spencer Gulf. I had been studying Wikicamps for some time and it seemed the best campsite was the most southerly one (or first one you come to along the coast road). So, after travelling from Point Lowley on a very rocky, rough road (turns out we took the hard way) we arrived at the planned campsite to find it empty, flat and protected somewhat by the headland.  Yahoo! 

After setting up camp I went “wood scabbing” where I visit every vacant camp hoping that someone has left some neatly stacked wood – hit the jackpot – had a fire every night and left with more wood than we arrived with.

Linda - squiding again

I could ramble on about how magnificent the location was, how fantastic the weather was, how great the wildlife was but I will let the photos in the video at the link below tell the story.  One other bonus was that this was the first camp since leaving home that Stella (the hound) did not need to be tied up and was free to wander around camp for the five days we were here. A young couple with three young children camped near us for four nights – Stella was in heaven spending most of her time with the adoring kids.

Mine Sweeper - HMAS Whyalla

We did spend a day in Whyalla to do so long overdue washing, go to Supercheap, BCF (off course), fill up the water bladder, and top up on food and beverages. I waited in the car at the shopping centre and Linda came out with food and $204 she had won at Keno. Only in South Australia can you play Keno in a shopping centre!

Definitely - one of the best free camps we have stayed at.

Link to short video is HERE.

Haslam (again)

Haslam Jetty

 After leaving Penong we stopped for food shopping at Ceduna and headed south down Eyre Peninsula. Picked up two dozen of the worlds best oysters from Smokey Bay and headed just a bit further to our camp for a week at Haslam. Oysters Kilpatrick that night for dinner. 

Been a few years now since we have been to Haslam but still the same quiet oasis by the sea. We were blessed the first few days with very cold nights (bloody glad I decided to install that diesel heater before we left Collie) and warm clear days. Got a couple days of cloudy skies and showers (thanks to John the rain god visiting) but all in all great weather.

Inky Linda

One of the main attractions for Haslam for us is the long jetty where with a bit of luck and patience a good catch of squid is on the cards. Linda as usual, excelled and we had two nights of squid rings for dinner and stacked away another three meals in the freezer. 

Talking about cards – on a visit to Streaky Bay for a water top-up, bit of shopping and a counter lunch at the pub – I spotted a crib board at the local Vinnies.  Linda has never played crib before, so it was “15 two? 1 for his knob? 2 for 31?” what the hell is this game!!  It was amusing for me and frustrating for her (I loved it!), but after a few nights she finally had a win.

Apart from the squid on jetty the only other activity in the town is the daily routine of the Oyster farmers heading out just after sunrise to tend to their oyster racks and coming in just before lunch with their produce. 

An old shucker

Once again, an enjoyable relaxing week at Haslam – probably drop in on our way home in October.

Forgot to mention – after 71yrs – I have decided on a project for our holiday – grow a beard. Not a pretty sight.

Short video is HERE

Collie to Penong 2025

 We left Collie on a cool and rainy morning on Sunday 5th May for a planned six-month trip to the eastern states.  Stage one was to cross the Nullarbor via Esperance to Penong in South Australia a trip of around 2,000klm.

First day saw us heading out through the wheat belt to a free camp just south of Lake King (an old Grain Silo storage area). It’s been a quiet a few years since we had been out this way and we were surprised on how green the country was. Farmers were very busy either preparing to seed or seeding. The silo art at Dumbleyung and Newdegate was worth a stop and photo session. We were the only ones at the free camp so a quiet night with a fire, dinner and TV.

Day two was more of the same - meandering our way down thru Ravensthorpe, across to Esperance and then north to our camp at Bromus Dam just south of Norseman. Once again, the country was flourishing, and farmers were out in force doing what farmers do (during the daytime anyway?).  The highway from Ravensthorpe to Esperance is finally in good shape and an easy drive especially with a 20klm tail wind. Bromus Dam is a great free camp with clean toilets, bins and lots of level private sites. 

Third day – into Norseman to top up the water tanks for the Nullarbour crossing, squeeze in as much fuel as we could before we hit the expensive roadhouses on the Nullarbour and point the Pajero east. Great free camp at Nuytsland Reserve (just west of Cocklebiddy) – with large private areas with a view over the plain. Yep – fire, dinner and TV again.

Where is the Kangaroo?

Next day saw us camping near the beach at the Old Telegraph Station Eucla.  Nice spot amongst the sand dunes. The Station was established in 1877 as part of the SA-WA telegraph line. As I said to a mate “I wonder what the Postmaster in 1877 would have thought of me sitting 50 metres from his humble adobe, sending emails, surfing the web and updating data in the “cloud” via Starlink using 7,221 low earth orbit satellites?” Reckon he would have been pretty impressed!

Having a whale of a time

Give me a minute to get on my soapbox.

After leaving Eucla we headed across the WA/SA border into the South Australian section of the transition.

We all know what SA stands for - “SHIT AMENATIES” or “STUPID AUTHORITIES”. From the SA border to Penong:

• Not one roadside stopover with a long drop toilet, or dump point

• Every roadside stopover littered with overflowing bins, toilet paper, and human excrement (due to the point above).

• Some Einstein in the Roads Department has now decided to barricade access to areas out the back of the roadside stops where you used to be able to camp away from the road noise with a little privacy amongst the trees. So now you can only camp in the asphalt covered roadside stop area with all the appeal for a parking lot (which is exactly what it looks like!)

• The scenic burnt-out car bodies littering the highway verges and some of the roadside areas are a highlight.

We were intending to stay a night at a free camp before arriving at Penong but gave it a miss and travelled straight through to Penong (a very nice little town and caravan park).

World's biggest Windmill

Only highlights were the cheap fuel at Yalata ($1.86/ltr vs. $2.75/ltr at Nullarbor Roadhouse and Bordertown) and arriving in Penong.

Enough of my ranting and raving – now looking forward to overdosing on Smokey Bay oysters.

Check out my slideshow HERE (out of sequence a little but you will get the idea)

Swansea - St. Helens

 

After leaving Swansea we headed north to St. Helens via Bicheno. Bicheno is a pretty little town with a nice beach walk (including a small blow-hole) and the mandatory “best bakery” in town. Both didn’t disappoint.

As we headed north along the west coast, we did notice how dry and brown the landscape is compared to the rest of Tassie – I am told this is because all the rain is dumped on the west coast and high central plateau and the east is in a rain shadow. The other unique feature of the east coast is the beautiful long white sandy beaches.

As we had some time to kill before checking in at our apartment in St. Helens we headed out to the Bay of Fires to do some sightseeing. I thought it ws called the Bay of Fires due to the bright orange algae covering the rocks, but the bay was given its name in 1773 by Captain Tobias Furneaux in Adventure who saw the fires of Aboriginal people on the beaches.

After we got back to St. Helens we checked into our apartment – I mention this because I have a story to tell. We were in Room 2 on the first floor and as soon as we we got out of the lift we knew the name of the lassie in Room 1 – it was Lisa - Mona Lisa. You could hear her moaning loudly from twenty meters away. This was accompanied by the sound of the bedhead banging against our common wall? Not sure what they were up to - Tai Chi maybe?? Anyway, it all very exciting – almost had to buy a pie and a newspaper. Must have been fun because they were at it again an hour later.

A very short video is HERE

Swansea - Freycinet National Park

 After spending some time down on the South Coast we headed to Swansea on the East Coast to catch up with Aaron, Tara, Luke, and Aria for a couple of nights and do a bit of sightseeing around the Tarkine Coast/Freycinet National Park.

Once again, the accommodation was great with a near large new house with tons of room for four adults, two kids and an anxious dog.

Now is probably a good time to mention that I am the unbeaten Swansea Yahtzee Champion for 2023 😊.

The 4:30 AM bream fishing trip was a dismal failure – I am convinced that there are no fish in the sea in Tassie – just trout in the lakes!

The day out in the Freycinet National Park was a a great family event and the video HERE shows some the parks features.

Off to St. Helens tomorrow – and maybe Bay of Fires.

Port Arthur

 It's been over 40 years since I last visited Port Arthur and hasn’t it changed. Huge car parks, massive visitors centre and so many people!  Guess that’s progress?

Upside is entrance fee ($76 for two concession passes) now includes a twenty-minute harbour cruise.

It’s still worth a visit if you are down this way as there is a lot of history in these old buildings and site.

Looks like a prisoner escaped.

Must be getting old as it was a bit of a struggle for Linda with her sore hip and me with my recovering knee, but we made it around, albeit slowly.

Guard?

The most difficult thing to do at Port Arthur is to get a photo with no one else in it.

Our accommodation for the night was nearby at White Beach and we had a lovely old cabin to ourselves. Once again excellent accommodation with no complaints.

Off tomorrow to catch up with Aaron, Tara and Family for a couple of nights at Swansea on the East Coast.

Short vide is HERE

Around Hobart

 After leaving the rugged west coast and the interior plateau we headed down the Derwent River Valley to our accommodation our accommodation on the South Arm at the “River View Bungalow”.  

On the Bungalow deck

We did have some initial reservations as it was a lot further out from Hobart than we thought (about 40min drive) but what a spectacular spot. The Bungalow was perfect for two with separate lounge/bedroom and ensuite rooms and every window had views over the Derwent River estuary plus there was a deck in the morning sun.  Linda spent hours watching the resident plover family, hundreds of other birds, and the antics of the rabbits. We had booked two nights as we wanted a full day to look around Hobart area.

As we were once again blessed with clear weather, we decided to take the long uphill drive to the peak of Mount Wellington. The views were spectacular, and Linda found a small patch of snow to play in.

After coming down the Mountain we headed out to historic Richmond to check out the oldest bridge in Australia, visit the Sweet and Chocolate Factory and the sample Wicked Cheese Factory.

Our routine whilst staying at AirB&B’s is to have a big late lunch and cheese and crackers at night (with a small glass of red or two). So – we stopped at the local Tavern on the way home ate a big meal and spent the next two hours investing in Tasmania’s budget (playing Keno and the pokies). 

Linda came home around $350 up and I cleared $30 (which is good for me). I have referred ourselves to the Gambling Help Line and hopefully our rehab will start shortly.

Small video is HERE

Cradle Mountain

 After leaving Ulverstone we decided to go the long way around to our next B&B at Waratah via Cradle Mountain. It was a good decision as it was a rare day where the mountain was not obscured by cloud and rain.

When we arrived, we pulled into the Visitors Centre to pay our fees ($38 for a Concession 12month National Parks Pass) and were advised to drive the 6 km down to the Rangers Station to catch the shuttle bus to Dove Lake. As luck would have it there was a shuttle bus ready to leave as we arrived – so we bolted across and jumped on. Unfortunately, this was the returning bus to the Visitors Centre! Old people do weird things? Anyway, after visiting the Visitors Centre twice and getting our bearings we finally got the right bus to Dove Lake.

I could rabbit on about the beauty of the Lake, the Mountains, the magnificent scenery, the unique vegetation, the wombats, the serenity, the waterfall, lunch at Peppers etc (yep, I’m rabbiting on again) but I will let the photos in the attached video tell the story.

Definitely ticked one more off the bucket list.

Short video is HERE

Ulverstone

 After a super-fast 31/2  hour flight from Perth we arrived in Launceston Airport and picked up our hire car and headed off to Aaron and Tara’s place in Ulverstone. We were lucky to get a good exchange rate 1 Australian Dollar to 1 Tasmanian Dollar. It’s been about six years since we had caught up and Luke and Aria had certainly changed. 

Our AirB&B in Penguin (our home for the next nine nights) was small but comfortable for two old people. Situated in a rural area on the edge of town it was peaceful and relaxing.

A nice rainbow for Luke

Over the next week Aaron and Tara took us everywhere around the Ulverstone/Devonport/Burnie areas.

I am going to miss some but to name a few:

Penguin burrow

Sheffield, Mt Rolland, Reliquiae in Latrobe, Penguins at sunset at Doctors Rocks, Trout fishing (caught my first Brown Trout – tick the bucket list), Leven Canyon (pronounced Levin) – where Linda climbed a mountain with Aaron, more Trout fishing (we are Britton’s 😊), dinner at Pedro’s Seafood, and breakfast at Doulton Café.

Linda also put a dent in the Tasmanian economy with over $500 won in Keno at the local Sport and Recreation Club.

In this busy schedule I was also able to catch up with my other Tassie based son – Joshua, my eight-year-old granddaughter Olivia, my grandson William (both who I have never seen), and Olivia’s/William’s mum Cassie. Been a long time and was great to catch up.

Stanley

On a miserable and rainy-day Linda and I decided to head west to Smithtown and Stanley. I was very impressed with Stanley with the town nestled around a huge block of rock (called the Nut). 

Two Granddaughters!

Although our B&B was small, we did manage a couple of sleep overs for the grand-kids. Luke (the quiet one), and Aria and Olivia (the not so quiet ones 😊) stayed on separate nights. It was great to have the grandies stay over.

Fantastic time - thanks to Aaron and Tara for looking after us and Aaron taking time off work to take us everywhere! 

Small video is HERE

Escape from Collie

 After three months of being grounded because of my knee replacement we decided to pack up the van and head south for a week.

After visiting friends in Bridgetown, we decided to free camp for a one night at Muirs’ Bridge on the Franklin River. Not a bad area for an overnighter with a large level area suitable for half a dozen vans with several tables and seats available for use. We were the only ones there for the night, so it was light the fire, drinks, Yahtzee (I hate that game – always getting flogged), and dinner by the fire – nice to be back on the road again.

Camp on the Kalgan River

We booked into Kalgan River Caravan Park just outside Albany for four nights. We had stayed here before and it’s a great little park where you can camp 30 meters from the river. After four months of not fishing, I was keen to wet a lure or two so got up an hour before sunrise to flick some lures around wading the shallows.  Unfortunately, the icebergs floating down the river got tangled in my lure – bloody freezing! 

As it was our 34th wedding anniversary on the Saturday we caught up with some good friends from Collie (who were also caravanning down south) for a celebratory dinner at one of the local Indian restaurants. Called the Albany Indian Tandoori Restaurant – great food, reasonable pricing and I would certainly recommend.

Plan for our stay in Albany was to visit the National Anzac Centre and do some tourist things around the area. 

Chainsaw cockatoo

One unusual display in Albany was the “chainsaw” art carving exhibition which for a gold coin donation you can do a drive through tour of some pretty good artwork created by using only a chainsaw.  Takes a good 10-15 minutes to do the loop – and well worth a look.

Old HMAS Torrens 4.5" Turret

Late in 1914 - 41,000 Anzacs and 13,000 horses departed Albany in two convoys at the start of WW1. The National Anzac Centre records the departure of the convoys and the story of the Anzacs in all theatres of conflict in WW1 and history of some of those lucky enough to return home. It has a brilliant interactive display, and the main display building is surrounded by military memorabilia – including the 4.5” gun turrets from HMAS Swan and Torrens (which during my Navy career I had certainly been in and on – shows how old I am). Linda and I spent an enjoyable but sobering 4 hours out at the centre. The severe hardship endured with a joke and a smile, and mateship that those young Australian’s and Kiwi’s displayed was unbelievable.

At the Gap platform

Day three in Albany saw us heading out towards Frenchman Bay to take in the wild coastline at the Gap, Natural Bridge, Blowholes, and then to the whaling station for coffee and scones. Unfortunately, the blowholes weren’t “blowing” due to the low swell – but the coffee and scones were great😊.

Cheynes Beach

After leaving Albany we headed east to Cheynes Beach Caravan Park – it was a long and arduous run of 55Km, but we made it! Friends had told us that this was a special spot, and I would have to agree. The beaches are that pure white silica sand (that makes Lucky Bay at Esperance famous) and almost as hard as bitumen. It would be a mecca in summer with at least 15km of beach easily accessible by 4WD.  We were lucky to visit when the Southern Right whales were in the bay with their calves. There were three mother calf groups in the bay when we were there and they quiet often were within 100m of the shore. photos we took didn’t really do justice to the whale action and my drone was playing up. Reckon Cheynes Beach beats Lucky Bay anytime. This same beach was where the huge pod of Pilot Whales beached themselves recently with all of them dying on the beach despite a huge effort to get them back off the beach – sad. 

We tried the famous “fish and chips” at the Cheynes Beach Take-away and were disappointed - 5 out of 10. Oh well could have been worse – pilot whale pie?

On the way back to Collie we took a diversion through the Porongurup Ranges -as the whole southwest had received above average winter rains everything was green and lush. Funny thing – when you get up very close to the Porongurup’s you can’t see anything of the ranges unless you go into the park. So, the sights of the Stirling Ranges in the distance dominated the scenery.

Great to get away. A short video is HERE. I have just brought some new video editing software - so some of the effects in the video might not be that great.

Footnote: Regular readers of this blog might have noticed no photos or mention of our little dog Molly. Sadly, in a devastating and tragic series of events we lost her in June this year. We miss her very much.