16 March 2010 Adelaide to Wagga Wagga
We left home this morning on our way to Gosford NSW to help Dad celebrate his 80th birthday on Thursday.
Today was all about getting closer to Sydney, Gosford is just north of Sydney.
After 915km (570 miles) in 9 hrs we checked in to a hotel in Wagga Wagga across the road from the Murrumbidgee River.
After we checked in, we went out and got fish and chips then headed back to our hotel, walked across the road and had dinner on the banks of the river.
It was so peaceful, with many cockatoos in the trees “chirping” away. While we were walking along the river someone started practicing their bell ringing in a near-by church.
Although they were very much a beginner, we enjoyed listening to the ringing, it took us both back to a few of the cities in Europe where we sat back and listened to the bells being played.
We have a “short” drive tomorrow, about 600km, so hopefully we will be up on the central coast by about 2pm
Comments:
Vonnie dingi 2 d pilgrims
Hey Pilgrims
Hope you’re having a super trip, please pass our best wishes on to Bid for a fabulous 80th birthday.
Love Tom and Vonnie xoxo
17 to 27 March 2010 Wagga Wagga to Gosford to Sydney
17 March 2010
We left Wagga Wagga , you have to love a town with a name so good they named it twice, at about 7:15 am and had a very easy drive up to Gosford and then Umina and the Ocean Beach Caravan Park. The Park isn’t too busy and it is well laid out and the amenities are good and clean.
We then drove to mum and dads, about 30mins from the park.
We spent the afternoon just hanging around at their place, catching up on what they and us had been up to since Christmas, and I sorted out a couple of “technical” type issues they were having with their computer and mobile phone.
Mum put on a nice dinner and we eventually got back to the Caravan park at about 9pm. The night was a bit cold and the bird wildlife around here a little loud, but we both had a reasonable nights sleep.
18 March 2010
We got to mum and dads around 10:30, and went in and wished Dad a happy birthday, gave him all the cards we had brought over from Adelaide and also gave him our present. He appreciated all the wishes from everyone back home.
We went out to Erina Fair, a large shopping centre and got mum a new SIM card for her mobile, and then had lunch there. After that we went back to mum and dads and then at about 2 went over to my brother’s (Craig) place to see him and Cook (his wife). They were both well and was good to see them.
We started getting everything ready for dinner at about 4pm, Craig and Cook had already set the table, so we started getting the food ready. The menu for the night was Prawns for starters and then Roast pork with all the trimmings for main, followed by Bread and Butter Pudding (Dads Fav) and the birthday cake.
As the afternoon went by Caitlin and Carly (Craig and Cooks daughters arrived home), Mum and dad arrived with Dads sister Elaine and her partner Arthur, and then Patrick arrived lastly at about 5:45pm.
Dinner was very good, and everyone had a good time celebrating Dads birthday with him and generally catching up with each other.
The night finished around 9pm and we all went home.
19 March 2010
A nice slow morning. We are meeting an “old” school friend of mine, Bruce Felton, at Ettalong Hotel for lunch. We had a very relaxing morning just sitting around enjoying the surrounds and sunshine. Lunch was lots of fun. We had lots of laughs and a few geeky moments, but mainly just caught up. It’s amazing how we seem to stay the same no matter what the years have thrown at us. Deb and I had a very enjoyable couple of hours sitting in the beer garden sharing a few stories over lunch and a couple of drinks.
We spent the afternoon lazing under a big old gum tree relaxing and keeping cool.
Had dinner with Mum and Dad, and Craig and Cook(Carly and Caitlin both had to work), at an Italian type restaurant. Meal was Ok and was good to see everyone again before we left.
20 March 2010
We packed everything up and left Umina at around 9:30 on our way to Narrabeen. It was an easy drive down, well, as easy as Sydney traffic can be. Apparently down here if you leave any sort of gap between you and the car in front it is an open invitation for someone to fill it, quickly!
We called in and got the Weekend Australian for Deb and some rolls for lunch before checking in early at the camping ground. We were lucky and they let us in very early, and as a result we were all settled in by midday. I organised with Pat to go to the rugby with him. Warringah were playing a trial game against Gordon at Rat Park. Pat picked me up at about 1:45 and we went to the ground ( a couple of minutes away). It was a very warm day for football, around 30 and high humidity. I guess there were only about 20 Rats supporters there, it was mostly players watching the games. Just before First grade started , Lou Feltscheer and Lindsay Gordon arrive, Dave (Lou’s eldest son) was playing in first grade. It was a nice surprise to see them. A long story short, the Rats won by a try in a typical trial match.
After the game we said bye to Lou and Lindsay and Pat came back to the Campsite with me. We were going to go out for dinner with him. We got a call from Barry and Sue Freshwater, we organised to go out for dinner together at a little cafe /restaurant next to the Camping ground. Kate, their daughter came along and we had a great time catching up with them, it’s always good to see them and the meal was very pleasant. We have been invited around to their place on Tuesday night for dinner, Pat is the guest chef, cooking up and Indian feast for us all.
After everyone left Deb and I started to try and catch up with how the State elections were going back home. We were checking Twitter and the net to get a picture of what was gong on. Seems like the Labour Party will be returned to Government with a significantly reduced majority. Twitter was a particularly amusing way to follow the elections as Sarah (Ben’s wife) was very active having her say on how it was all going. It’s another way that people can get really into the political process, putting your thoughts on the way things are going in real time. It made us both smile.
21 March 2010
Another beautiful morning. The suns shining and the humidity is up. Pat is playing in a 10 a side corporate rugby tournament today so we won’t see him today. There is a market on in Narrabeen today, so we thought we might go down and have a look at that then go to Manly , maybe up to North Head and maybe over to Bondi.
The Narrabeen markets were interesting, seem to a have a variation on the stuff all markets have. Lots of people, but not many buying anything. Got the Sunday papers and then drove to Manly via North Steyne. So many people down at Manly and the surrounds. Got a park reasonably quickly and took a walk up to the beach and then down the Corso, through the Corso market ( similar to Narrabeen, but much smaller) down close to the wharf and then got a couple of chicken wraps for lunch and drove up to North Head for the view and to sit and have lunch.
I doubt if there are too many views of Sydney much better that the one from North Head. But gee it was very hazy over the city and North Sydney. On the way down we had a quick look in at the old Army facility and cruised past the old Manly Hospital and the old Monastery (now a Hospitality College) before driving back to Narrabeen via all the beaches. So many people and cars around the beaches from Manly to Dee Why, then it got a bit easier.
Having a quiet afternoon reading the papers before going off down tho North Narrabeen Beach. Thunder storms forecast for this afternoon tonight, so we don’t want to be too far away when it all hits !!!
The surf definitely wasn’t up today, small 2’ to 3’ waves coming in at North Narrabeen. There aren’t too many brave souls down at the beach, the water is starting to get cold and it’s a bit windy.
Monday 22nd March 2010
Deb here. Was a very windy night, we put the prado behind the tent as that was where the wind was coming from. Don’t think it did much, the tent was blowing around and it was very noisy. We still managed to sleep though, think the wind died down into the early morning. Today we went for a drive up to Palm Beach, some lovely views and homes up there. On the way back we drove through Karingai National Park, was a relaxing day.
Tues 23rd March
Today we drove to Taronga Zoo, we could use our passes to the Adelaide Zoo to get in. Saved us $41 each, we love a bargain!! We really enjoyed the zoo, it had been ages since Greg had been. I enjoyed the Giraffes, Elephants – we don’t have any at Adelaide Zoo. There were 4 adult ones and two babies, one was 8 months old and the other a few weeks old. The smallest one was adorable, I couldn’t get over how tiny it was it easily fit underneath its mum’s tummy. Was great to be able to see it. The Gorillas and chimps were also really good, one Gorilla was enormous and there were a few babies which were also adorable. We had lunch there overlooking Sydney Harbour, great view. There is a gondola at the bottom (it is all down hill at the zoo) we caught it back up to the top and drove home.
Went to Barry and Sues for dinner. Patrick came to and cooked us a lovely Indian dinner, we had lentils and rendang was delicious, a bit hot, which Greg of course loved. Was lovely to see them all again. Especially Patrick. It is Sue’s birthday tomorrow, hope she has a great day.
Wed 24th March 2010
Today we drove to Taronga Zoo, we found out yesterday that members of the zoo can park in their carpark for $5 for the day. So we parked there, caught the gondola down to the ferry (James Packer’s $30 million yacht was still parked there – hard life for some, will see if Greg will put a pic up of it, it is very specky). We caught the ferry to Circular Quay. We were going to get a ferry over to Paramatta, but there was too long a wait, so we caught the ferry to Watsons bay and had lunch at Doyles, had a great view back over to Sydney. We had flathead and squid, was delicious. Afterwards we walked up to the Gap for a lovely view back to North Head and also back to Sydney was very picturesque. We then caught the ferry back to Circular Quay then another one back to the zoo and drove home. Was a bit cooler today, which was more pleasant. It has been quite hot high 20’s with high humidity, which I find a bit difficult. We spent a few minutes when we got back packing some things up. Doesn’t take long when you are camping as we don’t have much stuff. Tonight we are having tea with Phil and Lou, will be good to catch up with them.
Tomorrow we are off to Queanbeyan about 3 hours away, we are hoping to go to the art gallery and see the Great masters of Paris. Then tomorrow evening we are off to have tea with Fiona and Robert (our old neighbours).
A cuppa awaits, have a few hours to relax some more!! Before heading out for the evening. Tough isn’t it!!
Hope you are all well, looking forward to seeing you all when we get home xoxo
Thursday 25 March 2010
We were all packed and gone from Narrabeen at 9:05am, all ready to face Sydney’s infamous peak hour traffic. Well, if that what peak hour in Sydney is like those who live there whinge a lot about nothing. We were going through the harbour tunnel in less than 30 mins after we left.
We had an uneventful trip to Queanbeyan, arriving at about 1:30pm. Checked into our caravan park no problem and drove to our site. The first thing we saw was dirt, then we got out and looked at each other, firstly there was a lot of traffic noise, and then the smell of urine!! We figure many, many past guests must have used the border fence line as a urinal. Not nice. So we tried to wash it all down with water and liberal sprinkling of washing powder. We put extra tarps down on the ground under our camper and in the annex area just to be safe. (The smell did actually get a bit better with time). Once we had sorted everything out we set off into Canberra and the National Art Gallery. The gallery had a special exhibition of Post Impressionist artists on loan from the Musee d’Orsay in Paris and other galleries in Europe. We had seen a great number of the works last year in Paris and Amsterdam. The star of the exhibition was Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night. While we were queued to get into the exhibition (it was about a 35 minute queue) we took turns in exploring other areas of the gallery. There are many very interesting works on show. But we both agreed, Jackson Pollock’s “Blue Poles” hasn’t improved with age. After we had spent some time in the gallery and the exhibition, we strolled over to the High Court building, right next door to the gallery.
We went and sat in all three of the High Court Rooms. Each room had a resident guide and they all passed on some brief but very interesting facts about the jurisdiction and operations of each of the courtrooms.
(Next time we come to Canberra we intend to time it so both the High Court and Parliament are sitting, that would make for a very interesting and very different time)
After all that we set off to visit our old next door neighbours from Wattle St, Rob, Fiona, Lach and Bella. It was so good to see them and catch up on what they had been up to and tell them of the various goings on in our neighbourhood. Fiona cooked up a beautiful meal of Lamb Kofta, with Mango slices, Cucumber yoghurt and chutney. It was a very enjoyable time and as usual when you’re having fun, the time went way too quickly. We said our good byes and hope to see them all later in the year when they visit Adelaide.
Back at our campsite, the cold night air helped to make things not so smelly, which was a relief, if only the cold had deterred the amount of traffic that flowed past us all night. Yes even deaf old me could hear it and was woken a few times.
Friday 26 March 2010
We left to go exploring by 9am.
Our first call was the new Parliament House. We got there and were parked and in the main entrance by 9.40, and sorted out where to meet up for the guided tour at 10am. We walked around and looked and artworks and the many photos they have on the walls.
The tour took in the Great Hall (today being used for a University graduation ceremony), the House of Representative Chamber, the Senate Chamber and the Main Committee room. The guide was very informative with a good sense of humour and typical Australian irreverence. After the tour we got the lift up to the roof of the Parliament building and had a walk around under the flag pole and on the grassed areas. The views from up there were superb, expansive vistas over 360 deg of Canberra. From there we went down and had an early lunch in the Queens Terrace Cafe. We both had a salad (a chicken and a calamari), both were very nice.
We then walked down to the Old Parliament House, and walked around having a look at old Prime Ministers suite, the Cabinet room, party rooms, the opposition rooms, the press areas, The Senate and House of Representatives Chambers, and numerous other little nooks in the building. The only rooms we couldn’t get to were the members bar and restaurant areas, seems they still use them for functions etc. It was very clear why that had to have a new building. The Old Parliament was clearly too small for a modern Parliament to work effectively in.
It appears that the grassed area immediately in front of the old parliament house has been given over to the aborigines and the “Embassy”. The embassy was originally set up in front of the Parliament House back in the 70’s (I think) as a means to get public recognition of the plight and struggle of the aborigines. The fact that it still remains today is somewhat of a stark commentary of how far we have (or have not) come since those heady days.
We then walked over to the National Portrait Gallery. We both enjoyed this much more then the Gallery the day before. The works on display were done in a large variety of media, from traditional paintings to more abstract / contemporary works. A fascinating snapshot of Australian icons and what makes us who we are.
From there we drove to the Australian War Memorial. As we walked into the first display area we just happened to arrive as a guide began a tour. It was very interesting to hear the history and stories behind the dioramas, and have them put into context of the days when they were first put on show to a post WW1 Australia, and the relevance it has for today. We eventually found our way downstairs to see the display on the Malaysian Police Action (that Dad was involved in). Like many other theatres of action seen by our armed forces, the display was very brief, but it was good to see that it and other events had made their way into the Memorial. We finished our time there with a visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a very respectful memorial.
We then drove down to Civic, the commercial hub of Canberra. We somehow found our way into what looked like a VERY large shopping centre spread over a very large area. All the shops looked new and fresh and there were lots of people streaming through. We got a few provisions for the drive tomorrow and then headed back to our camp for a bit of a rest before going out for dinner and preparing everything to go back into the car to start the first leg of our drive home.
We had a lovely dinner, found a restaurant that served wood oven pizzas, was delicious J
Saturday 27th March 2010
We got up at 6.50am and were on the road by 8.20am, we had a good run to Balranald, arrived at 3pm. We have a nice room in the Balranald club Motel. I think the Motels of Australia have all had a makeover. Well the few we have stayed in over the last few years have. Really nice. There is an RSL next door, the guy who checked us in said they had nice Chinese and Australian food, so we will see.
We hope to leave by 8am tomorrow, so should be home by 1.15pm Looking forward to seeing Aiko, seeing how the garden has withstood the heat while we have been away and also seeing the house. The painter told greg last night he had done the bedroom, hall, kitchen and most of the lounge. Looking forward to seeing you all soon.
Was a good holiday, really enjoyed celebrating Bid’s 80th with him and catching up with everyone. Will post this and add a few more photos
28 March 2010 Gosford to Balranald to Adelaide
We got away from our hotel at about 7am and had a very easy drive back to Adelaide with 2 stops.
Our first stop was to take in the magnficet sunrise over the mallee just out of Balranald, simply breathtaking. The colours of the sky and landscape were unbelievable, the photos were good but don’t really do it justice.
Our second stop was to call in at Pinnaroo, mum’s family were pioneers in the area and we just had to stop in for a look. Dad has always called it a one horse town, and I guess the horse had slept in with everyone else. After all, it was 9:30am on a Sunday when we called in. Even the bakery was shut!
We arrived home arounf midday. Went indirectly, (washed the car first) straight over to pick-up Aiko (our dog) and then onto home.
We have had a painter in painting the inside of our home while we were away. He is making good progress and his work look very good. We were both pleased with the colour we chose for the walls (Antique White) and how fresh the place was looking.
We had a great time over the last couple of weeks, but its always nice to get home.
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