Ewingar - 30 and 31 May 2023
A glorious two days relaxing with family in this beautiful part of the world! The sunshine has been so warm and bright - Greg and I have commented several times that this is the best weather we've had on our visits here in years! We've enjoyed breakfasts and elevenses on the deck in the sunshine in t shirts, then pretended to do a bit of work (or at least supervised Andrew doing some work) in the afternoon sun before the weather cools and we light the fire for ambience more than anything.
It's been lovely to see some of the improvements Andrew and Courtney have made since we were last here (less than a year ago) and just hang out with them and the dogs. And of course, we have been very well fed as Courtney is an excellent cook.
One new acquisition which Greg was very keen to check out was the new timber mill. Some long term readers of this blog may remember the chainsaw mill he used to have - well, this is a professional step up and is very efficient. I took a video of it in operation but that will be too big to upload to here. For those interested, I'll arrange a link.
I took a few walks around the property, hung out with the horses, checked out our campsite (a little overgrown - the horses aren't doing their job) and Greg helped Andrew with a few things on his new ute. It has just been nice to stop and recharge and not have to get in the car for hours - turns out I'm a little sick of that! However, we do need to get ready for a big day's driving tomorrow.
As always, lovely to spend time in this part of the world, enjoying the disconnection from civilisation (no power let alone mobile coverage here!) and catching up with family.
South West Rocks to Ewingar - Monday 29th May 2023
Back in this beautiful place with family! That includes the dogs - we were reminiscing as we drove the pretty ordinary road from Grafton (the back way) that the last time we drove this road was six years ago with Slick and Jamie as a pup in the back of the Landcruiser! We don't think Jamie would fit anymore!
A lovely slow morning in our beautiful cabin in South West Rocks, watching the sun sparkle on the water in front of us. Coffee, breakfast and we were only just on the road before checkout at 10am. Back out to the freeway and heading north, we stopped for elevenses in Coffs Harbour before continuing up the road to Grafton. We've been here a few times on our various trips to see Andrew and Courtney and it's quite a nice town, big enough without being too big. After lunch, we found the Clarence Way which is the back road from Grafton to Tabulam. I had heard it had been bitumenised since we last travelled it but we soon discovered that this wasn't for the whole length, and indeed the sections that were often had more potholes than bitumen. So it was a slow drive and I was very happy to turn off to Andrew and Courtney's and discover that part of their road had been tarred since the last floods! A lovely night to catch up with family.
Twelve Mile Creek to South West Rocks - Sunday 28 May 2023
I had two dozen oysters for dinner. I got them straight from a local oyster farmer and they were so good, served with a squeeze of lemon. My dad would be so proud of me. What a perfect end to a great day.
We drove 270km today and there was nothing exciting about that. We stopped for elevenses in Taree and arrived here at 1:15pm, heading straight to the beach. The sun was reflecting off the water, there was fresh fish and chips available at a kiosk - I was in my happy place.
After lunch, we checked into our beautiful accommodation. When I rang to book last night, I asked for a "nice" cabin. We were a bit over the basic utilitarian $110/$130 p/n cabins we've had over the past few nights. I really felt like providing some interior decorating tips to last night's place. Then we got this. It's huge, beautifully decorated, beautiful views, very comfortable - so good. And still less than $200 p/n! After moving in, we went to explore. First stop was the oyster farmer - in case he ran out later. I don't think he was going to - he was prepared to shuck a whole lot more for me! Then the Trial Bay Goal - which only operated between 1886 and 1889 but is remarkably well preserved. We laughed a lot when one of the huge kangaroos milling out the front just hopped straight through these doors!
Then to the Smoky Cape Lighthouse, with it's magnificent views. A super steep climb to the top (and the most exercise I've done in days, but oh so worth it) with amazing north bound and south bound views.
Then back home for sunset drinks watching over the water from our cabin. This has been the best day of the trip so far for me!
Burril Lake to Twelve Mile Creek - Saturday 27 May 2023
It turns out that New South Welshmen like to take weekends away - within a couple of hours of Sydney; in caravan park cabins. My plan of a night at Nelson Bay on the spit, watching the sea, or at the very least, the waterways that snake inland from there was thwarted by said New South Welshmen. So we're in a cabin in a motorhome park on the highway - enough said.
Morning cuppas in bed from the caravan coffee machine almost made it feel like we were in the van. We had breakfast sorted, the cabin cleaned and we were packed and on the road before 9:30am. The first hour or so of driving was pleasant enough through small towns and valleys, past hills and with occasional glimpses of the sea. We turned off to Kiama for elevenses - my goodness is that place busy on a Saturday morning! The market was on, the sun was shining, there was not a carpark to be had and not to mention the queue for coffee. Mental note - don't bring the caravan into Kiama on a Saturday morning. We got our coffee and treat but even the road out to the blowhole was lined with cars so I took it as a given that it was a good thing I had seen it before and we headed back to the highway.
It was freeway and motorway all the way after that, so incredibly boring driving. The plan had been to widely skirt Sydney so we didn't have to drive through which worked well - on said freeways, motorways and through a really long tunnel. And incredibly, no service centre for well over 200km of our trip. Out the other side of Sydney, I was about to turn into Gosford to stop for fuel when I saw a sign for a service centre so kept going. Lunch was a quick (late) bite to eat there which was when I discovered the lack of accommodation. It turns out winging your holidays also doesn't work so well on weekends.
Anyway, we got a perfectly comfortable cabin here at Twelve Mile Creek. I went for a walk after unpacking which was good to stretch the legs - and most importantly, back! - after so many days/hours of driving and we settled in for a cosy home cooked meal.
Orbost (VIC) to Burril Lake (NSW) - Friday 26 May 2023
Many years ago, I used to spend a lot of time in Bateman's Bay with Lisa and her family. Her dad sank his yacht in the Bay and then took many years to rebuild it. We would come and "visit" the yacht, take it for test runs, and enjoy this part of the world over those years. Today we drove through Bateman's Bay (new bridge!) but I didn't feel the need to stay there again. So we ended up just up the road!
Today was the true epitome of a road trip. Takeaway coffees in the car (although being pseudo-greenies, it was in our glass reusable cups!), fish and chips and plenty of sounds from the speakers - audio book, not doof doof music. Changing scenery, tourist drives and driving to find the cheapest fuel. Almost typical!
A nice comfy morning in Orbost after the rain of last night. We took our time with cuppas in bed, slow breakfast etc but we were on the road just after 9:30am. Up the road to Cann River where we stopped for fuel and elevenses. Elevenses are a critical component of our schedule these days. Everything depends on where we can stop for a good coffee in an idyllic location. Without the caravan, obviously we needed to buy the coffees but found a good cafe in Cann River and matched the coffee with home baked muffins from our mobile pantry.
On the road again, through much fire affected forest. Some of the trees are recovering but some were obviously more affected than others and are quite dead. As the kilometres melted away, the sea came into view! I was happy to feel like I was on the coast again.
Our next stop was Eden, a former whaling town now a strong fishing village. I aimed for the lookout (and loo) and after enjoying the view, we decided the fish and chips here would be legitimate so stopped for lunch. Delicious local sand whiting with chips was the perfect lunch overlooking the blue seas.
Back on the road, I decided on the tourist route (as a tourism CEO, I thought it appropriate) and enjoyed travelling through small towns, along the coast and through many waterways. The number of single lane wooden bridges was staggering! I was also blown away by how many caravans I saw today - this far south at this time of year! In fact, at the servo this morning in Cann River I felt out of place not towing - every other vehicle had a caravan or a boat!
We stopped for a stretch and break at a beautiful beach at Cuttagee Beach - almost as good as the beaches on the east coast of Tasmania!
We were aiming for Huskisson but that wasn't going to be achievable before dark. Batemans Bay was ruled out for the above reasons, and for a reason I can't remember, we used to call Ulladulla "Ulla-bloody-dulla" so I didn't want to stop there. Hence, we have ended up in a tiny little cabin (truly not much bigger than our caravan!) in Burril Lake. It seems fine to recharge our batteries before the road trip resumes tomorrow!
Bangor (TAS) to Orbost (VIC) via Bass Strait - 24/25 May
Apparently we have travelled 999km since leaving home yesterday afternoon, although I only had to drive 560km of that.
We had grave fears about the crossing last night when the Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds - we've had some rough crossings in our time including being thrown around the bed and certainly didn't want to experience that again. It ended up being much better than expected - just couldn't sleep because of the uncomfortable beds! Time for new ships with new beds!
Awakened early for our first disembarkation since the ferry has been coming to Geelong but I'm afraid to say I didn't get to see any of the new terminal - just the bitumen in front of me as I drove off. We headed straight to Highton as my parents are in the Highton cemetery and I wanted to visit but it was still dark at 7am so we had breakfast first in a lovely cafe nearby. A couple of cups of coffee and a delicious breakfast fortified us and we went to visit the family (grandparents, great grandparents, cousin, aunt and uncle are all there as well). I hadn't seen them since my aunt was interred there a couple of years ago.
Then we hit the road for the drive up the freeway to Melbourne. How quickly I forget about changing lanes on a multi lane highway - let's face it, we don't have too many of them in Tassie! A bit of traffic at the new tunnel works but we ended up at Lisa's for morning tea before 10:30am. My best friend and I are doing well this year - we've seen each other every month for the last four months! Lisa had baked a feast and we enjoyed a catch up before getting back on the freeway and heading east. One more stop off the freeway - to the property where I grew up. Until we moved to Bangor, the place in Nar Nar Goon North was the only place where I have felt really connected to the country. I knew every tree, every slope, every waterway on that property and loved it. Nowadays it looks nothing like when we were there and in fact all the greenery the new owners (not so new now, after 32 years!) have planted has blocked all my views and I couldn't see anything. I don't think I'll ever come back now. The majestic gum tree in the middle of the road (we always gave people directions to our home as "the first place past the tree in the middle of the road") is still going strong. Andrew, this one is for you.
On the road again, and the miles faded away. We stopped for coffee in Rosedale and checked that there would be suitable accommodation for us in Orbost while still in Bairnsdale, before completing the last 100km just on dark. We're in a pretty nice one bedroom apartment (because I am clearly trying to pretend we are still in a caravan and I have brought lots of food to cook up ourselves), have enjoyed a delicious dinner and can guarantee that we'll be in bed pretty early to make up for last night.
Time for another little trip!
In a couple of days, we're off again! Road trip, this time - without the caravan because we couldn't get that on the Spirit. You really need to book almost a year ahead at the moment - bring on those new ships next year!
So it will be a driving holiday up the East Coast, visiting friends and family and then back to Melbourne for a few more catch ups before we're home after the June long weekend.
Hoping for some warmer weather to counter the frosty mornings we've had already at home. Stay tuned if you want to follow our adventures.
