Feb 2008

Our next stop is Goulburn which is approximately 150 kilometres South West of Sydney on the Hume Hwy, which is the major link between Sydney and Melbourne. We did not want to stop in Sydney on this trip so we bypassed by using the Motorways which skirt the outside of the city. We could not see any of the well known landmarks such as the Harbour Bridge or any of the city skyline due to the high walls surrounding the motorway which was a pity.

We finally arrived in Goulburn, found the caravan park and set up for the night. After a little bit of shopping we drove around town to find a public park with a BBQ on it, and finally found one. It was a lovely night as we encountered the first clear skies in over 2 months, and had a picnic as the sun set.

We have stopped at the twin border towns of Albury/Wodonga for 3 days as we have a breather and spend a bit of time before heading to Melbourne, and drive onto the ship to Tasmania. It’s amazing how big these towns are, and coming from Western Australia realise how much of WA’s population is concentrated in Perth. We spent time exploring both towns (as well as the odd bit of shopping). On another day went on a drive to visit as Strawberry Winery and bought a very yummy bottle of Strawberry Liqueur. After that, we drive onto Mt Beauty which is on the edge of the Victorian Alps. It was only 30 kilometres from the ski resort town of Falls Creek which (unfortunately) we did not go on to.

We are glad to be in drier areas now as there is no humidity with the warmth, which is a pleasant change for us all. No doubt as we move into cooler areas, we’ll miss the warmer weather (no pleasing some people eh?).

Today we have a longer than usual drive as we head for the coast to Salamander Bay which is in the Port Stephens area. Just before we reached Tamworth, we travelled down the steepest section of road we have been on to date. Luckily for us we were going down as it’s 6 Kilometres of very steep road in 3 stages. We were hoping to drive through Tamworth to have a look at the activity there, but the main road through town was closed and detours were in place. As we had the caravan on the car we had to bypass the town, but there were no shortage of cowboy hats!

We arrived in the Port Stephens area which is approximately 60 kilometres north of Newcastle on the NSW central coast. We stayed here with friends we made back in WA who kindly offered us to stay with them, and spent 3 wonderful days in an area called Salamander Bay which is one of those unspoilt areas of the coastline.

Our friends Rex and Marrion showed us all the sights in the area including a day trip to Newcastle. Newcastle is an old city which is reflected in its architecture. We went through the Christ Church Cathedral which is one of the largest in Australia which was a first for us both. It was here that the effects of the 1989 earthquake became apparent due to the reinforcing made to this large and ornate building. Despite being in a geologically stable region of the world, you are reminded that nature can change the face of the earth at any time and in any place.

Despite the rain and overcast weather, we’ve had a wonderful time here and before long, it was time to hit the road and head towards Bass Strait.

Happy Birthday Denise!

We haven’t quite escaped the rain yet, but it’s been mostly clear on our journey here from Brisbane. For the first time on this trip we encountered some really serious hills to pull the van up! This was along the Cunningham Hwy which runs from Ipswich in QLD and joins up with the New England Hwy just before the NSW border near the town of Warwick. Before long we were at the border and after 13 weeks (3 months), we finally left Queensland.

We stopped in the lovely town of Teneterfield and for those of you with an eye for trivia, this is the birthplace of Peter Allen. It had a pleasant feel to it and if we weren’t travelling, would have liked to have spent a few days here exploring the countryside.

Danii managed to get herself stranded in Tweed Heads on the QLD border, so we drove there to pick her up. We travelled over the Great Dividing Range through the towns of Casino and Lismore en route. This is the area of NSW which had been in flood from the recent storms over the New Year period, and the damage in some places was amazing. In some places, the road had only been re-opened in the previous day, so it shows how easily you can become stranded when weather like this hits.

The next stop was meant to be Tamworth, but unfortunately this is the time of the year when the country music festival is on, and all accommodation is booked out. We stopped at the town of Uralla which is just over 200 kilometres south of Tenterfield for the night and it turned out to be another lovely country town. We finally had a stop where there was no rain to be seen and gave us a chance to get some of our stuff dried out.