Hi everyone,
It's Christmas again and even though I got an early start on my Christmas preparations and greetings, as fate would have it, my technology skills came unstuck and I wasn't able to send my ecard successfully. So I'm resorting to blogging again which I realised when I opened up my blog, hadn't been added to since January. Ah well. . . . . .
2012 has been a busy year. Having arrived back in the West in May, I set about finding some work at a couple of local schools and buying a place in Mandurah. It's a lovely house, situated near the estuary and is only two years old. I moved in mid September and have spent many happy hours unpacking, rearranging things and generally settling in. The garden doesn't take up too much of my time as it's quite small and so far I've managed to keep it tidy, feed and mulch the rose bed, weed the garden box out the back and put down some artificial turf near the flower bed. It's all looking good. I've also enjoyed catching up with family and friends and doing some dance classes and the odd bit of entertaining. My new kitchen is fabulous to work in.
I've had a couple of visitors from the east, including Lenny and Trish from the Gold Coast and Julanne from Mooloolaba (ex teacher buddy from Caningeraba) who stayed for a few days. I got a chance to show her around Mandurah, Harvey, Rockingham, Fremantle, Kings Park and parts of our beautiful Swan River. I have plenty of spare room for any other visitors thinking of making the journey over to the West. I'd love to see you here.
The family is all well and we plan to get together on Sunday just before Christmas. Sooooo . . . .

I WISH FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A FANTASTIC CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY, HEALTHY 2013!!!!

Lots of love from Julianne

05.01.12

Happy New Year everyone. It was with the best of intentions that I started to do a final blog before Christmas. Sadly, it didn’t eventuate as I was so busy socialising as I travelled through the Gippsland area as far east as Orbost and then back to Sale. I had a lovely weekend with the Sippy family (only those acquainted with Elaine will know who I mean.) It was so nice to meet Elaine’s family.

At Wilsons Promontory National Park I had a good walk to the Tidal Overlook which is the vantage point between Norman and Leonard Bays. There are lots of walks to do at the Prom but I decided that one was enough for the day. From there I decided to travel mainly around the coastline of Victoria, visiting places like Port Albert, which is Gippsland’s oldest port. Established in 1841 this delightful coastal hamlet has historic buildings and is truly a lovely unspoilt place with fishing boats tied up in the port. It has remained relatively untouched until recent times.

I’ve enjoyed some lovely campsites such as Marlo where the Snowy River ends its journey at Bass Strait and Marlay Point on the edge of Lake Wellington, where I again had the place to myself. 

At Lakes entrance I booked in for 2 nights at a park on the Backwater or North Arm of the lake. I decided that I’d do a lake cruise. Lakes Entrance is a beach and lakeside holiday destination. The Gippsland Lakes’ Cunninghame Arm takes you to the expansive 90 Mile Beach to Lakes Entrance. On the foreshore of Lakes Entrance unique carved statues in the stumps of cypress trees stand as a memorial to World War One soldiers. John Brady, chainsaw artist, was commissioned to sculpt these figures, to preserve the ageing butts. The trees were actually planted in 1924.

What a lovely relaxing afternoon it was as we sailed down the waterways and with a fairly comprehensive commentary by the boatman too. It was a 35 km scenic cruise through Reeves Channel, Bancroft Bay into Boxes and Chinaman’s Creeks, around the shores of picturesque Metung with a run into Lake Victoria and as far as Paynesville.  We then took a cruise up some of the canals to see the rather grand housing development. It reminded me of the Gold Coast. By this stage we had almost circumnavigated Raymond Island and into parts of Lake King. And then we returned to Lakes Entrance some 2 and half hours later. It was a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon especially as the weather was so lovely.

Near the town of Traralgon I took time out to visit Tarra Bulga National Park. Some historical facts about the area include the Polish explorer Strzelecki and his party, who in 1840 explored the ranges that now bear his name. The Aboriginal guide was Charlie Tarra and together the party cut through thick scrub and tall timber to reach Western Port.

I then set off for Walhalla, via Tyers. The drive itself took me through some of Victoria’s most spectacular scenery. Walhalla was once one of Australia’s richest gold towns and in its golden hey days had over 3000 people, 10 hotels, 7 churches, schools and shops. It still retains its historic charm, as I discovered when I took a walk after dinner.

The next day was so interesting wandering around Walhalla. It’s a great place to leave the car and take in the wonderful story of the old town – the hillside cemetery, the picturesque miners’ cottages, the narrow gauge railway and the once prosperous Long Tunnel Mine, from which more than 50 tonnes of gold was removed.   I began my self guided walking tour at about 10am. The buildings have mostly been recreated in the fashion of the time and many blocks have not been rebuilt after fire destroyed them. Many are now guest houses. Today the tiny town’s population is less than 20 permanent residents, a far cry from its population of 3500 in the 19^th century when Walhalla was a booming gold town.

From there I travelled towards the Mornington Peninsular, via Morwell, Leongatha and Cranbourne. I had an extremely busy time meeting up with friends and family over the Christmas and New Year break. The reunion at Merricks Beach at Ian and Jo-Anne’s was great as we (all 8 of us) reminisced about our Cape York trip. Then it was on to see Kevin and Jean at Mornington (friends met at the Birdsville Cup) for some more reminiscing. At Mt Eliza I met up with Kay and John Carrol for some – you guessed it – more reminiscing about our Caningeraba days. By this time it was Christmas Eve and I just had enough time to do some last minute shopping before joining Aileen, Imelda and Colin and their littl’uns for Christmas at Portsea. I can’t thank everyone enough for the wonderful times I’ve had due to everyone’s kindness. The weather, too, has been most kind, making visits to the occasional winery, beach or restaurant very pleasant indeed.

All too soon it was time to leave the Mornington Peninsular and head for the western part of Port Phillip. The ferry ride across the Bay from Sorrento to Queenscliff takes a mere 45 minutes and is very smooth indeed. Again the holiday crowd was out in force and this was probably due to the mild weather. It was nice to be part of the happy holiday makers.

After a drive around the Bellarine Peninsular and Portarlington I stayed at a little caravan park just to the east of Geelong and had a rather quiet New Year’s Eve. But I did manage to see in the New Year and watched the televised fireworks display in Melbourne.

My last few days were in Geelong meeting some of Jenny’s family. They showed me the Geelong Waterfront, which is a fascinating place, as it has a beautiful bay and a harbour that features great restaurants and cafes and stunning views. During the 1990s the council, along with a public appeal, funded a multi- million- dollar rejuvenation program to improve the whole foreshore area. It really is a beautiful place to visit with lawns, rotundas, playgrounds and pavilions. Geelong’s most photographed and talked about icons are the bollards which tell of Geelong’s history. There are over 100 colourful wooden bollards created by local artist Jan Mitchell. So activities such as walking, swimming and bike-riding were the order of the day for me whilst visiting the Geelong area. Just as well we got our bike ride in early in the morning, as Monday turned out to be a ‘stinker’ of a day with the temperature soaring to 42 degrees. That hot northerly wind never let up all day.

But it’s been delightful meeting Maureen and Margaret, Jenny’s aunts, along with some cousins too. So, as I put the finishing touches to this very long blog, I’m sitting at a very crowded caravan park in Port Fairy. Everyone is certainly making the most of the holiday season and the good weather. And for those of you fortunate to still be on holiday, ENJOY!

November 2011

It’s been such a long time since I added to my blogs that I hardly know where to start. So let’s go back to the end of October. I arrived in Melbourne via Seymour on the 26^th October, the same day as the Queen. The drive down to Melbourne was quite good, as I kept an eagle eye on the GPS to ensure that I was taking the right roads. It got a little tricky in places especially where the traffic started to build up, due to the Queen’s arrival.  So I arrived at my cousin’s at a reasonable hour - 12.30pm, which wasn’t bad really. However, I hadn’t been game to stop to have a cuppa in case I got caught up in the traffic.

The next few days were very busy catching up with relatives and getting ready to go to Oaks Day during Cup Week. We had a ball. I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven looking at all the fashions. Unfortunately I didn’t pick the winner on either day but it was fun being part of the whole scene.

Then I made an unexpected trip back to the Gold Coast to attend the Caningeraba Cup, which was a reunion for past and present staff. What a night! Tony, the PE teacher, had organised a race meeting never to be forgotten. We watched each of the 6 races on a big screen and used “play money” to bet on each one. One needed to follow the form guide carefully before deciding which horse to back, as each horse was named after a staff member.  Fashions on the Field drew many entries and everyone dressed for the occasion.  It was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with all the staff. Thanks to Stephanie and Ritchie who put me up for a few days at their lovely bush-side retreat.

So having finished my “Cup Crawl”, I then ventured down to Maclean to visit Margaret and David. What a pretty place. The rural residential area just outside town has blocks averaging 1 acre in size with trees, grass,  kangaroos and birds. It was not unusual to see 40 or more kangaroos grazing while out on my morning walks. Some of the kookaburras that come onto the back lawn are so are so tame that you can actually have them feeding out of your hand, while the dozens of lorikeets, galahs, ducks, doves and magpies regularly come to feed out of the feeders.  During my stay we also managed to take a trip down to Coffs Harbour and Grafton and I must say the countryside is very pretty with the river and lush, green paddocks and cattle dotted everywhere.

During the next few days back in Melbourne I was busy catching up with more friends and cousins. I didn’t realise I had so many people to see in Victoria. All too soon it was time to repack the van and hit the road again. The last month has been wonderful; it’s been so good to have a base and to be able to catch up with so many people. So on leaving Melbourne, I headed south towards Phillip Island passing through Cranbourne and Koo-Wee-Rup, Lang Lang, Grantville, San Remo and across the bridge to Newhaven on Phillip Island. I stopped in at Caldermeade Farm just in time for milking. It was originally established in 1875 as a beef property but now it’s a dairy farm which milks 400 cows a day through a 50 cow rotary diary.

After a visit to the Visitors’ Information Centre in Newhaven, I decided to find a caravan park nearby, cook dinner and make my way to Penguin Parade. What an experience! This is where the world’s largest Little Penguin colony marches from the sea to find their burrows amongst the sand dunes at sunset. But my goodness, how cold it was sitting on the specially constructed viewing platform waiting for their arrival. But it was well worth the wait and the cold. They are so cute waddling up the beach and through the grasses.

Spent the next morning walking through the streets of Cowes which is the main town on Phillip Island, noting all the dining places. Then it was off  to The Nobbies Centre  to find out a bit more about the wildlife in the area. A stroll along the cliff-face boardwalks allows you to see nesting seabird colonies without disturbing them. Talk about rough coastline!

The day ended at Inverloch where I booked into the Foreshore Camping Reserve. I must say the long evenings are ideal for taking a stroll and so I made the most of my walk along the beachfront this evening while looking at the sun as it began to set.

So it looks like my next destination will be Prom Country and Wilson’s Promontory National Park. Cheers for now.

Nevertire, Warren, Narromine and Dubbo and on to Narrandera

The countryside certainly changed once I arrived in NSW and as I was in a more agricultural area. The locals are happy to get some rain to aid their crops. The weather, too, changed and I am now experiencing rainy periods, something I haven’t had since Cairns, back at the end of June.

I’ve been through a few quaint little towns such as Nevertire, Warren and Narromine and finally on to Dubbo to meet Jenny, another friend from Perth. Again I struck some cold wet weather. So I spent some time getting organised and preparing some meals for the next few days.  I also had the opportunity to do some shopping as this is the biggest town I've been in for several weeks. I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven when I actually came across a Myers store.

Our first stop on the way out of Dubbo was the Dubbo Zoo. We spent a delightful few hours looking at the animals before having lunch in the park. We decided that the zoo is like going on safari because of all the African wildlife. The zoo offers 15 kms of bike and walking trails but we managed about 5kms and felt so good, especially as the weather was so warm and sunny after the previous few days which had been quite wet and cold.

Then it was on the road again to Gilgandra, some 60 kms away. We browsed through the Coo-ee Heritage and Info Centre and found it to be  very well organised with interesting information about the Coo-ee March, the WW1 recruitment walk, along with WW2 and Vietnam War memorabilia.  A walk through town revealed just a few little shops, nothing of real interest, and a pub where we decided to have a beer. A group of bikies turned up. Drove out to Acropolis Caravan Park, also known as Barney’s and booked in to a powered site and we also went on an interesting walk along the river with several windmills dotted along the way which have been collected from various properties.

On the road to Mudgee we passed through Mendooran, Dunedoo (meaning Black Swan), and Gulgong. Gulgong is a 19^th century gold rush town and it’s like stepping out of the car and back in time 50 years. It’s such an attractive little town with some 130 buildings listed with the National Trust. The narrow streets wind between clapboard and iron buildings with verandas and iron lace.

Gulgong has the Henry Lawson Centre. This historic weatherboard building houses a fine collection of books, memorabilia and writings of Lawson and is a living memorial to this great Australian writer’s life and times. There is also some fine art representing his work displayed there.

Mudgee itself is well known for its wine production. The Mudgee streetscape is dotted with cafes and restaurants and we certainly checked these out, as the weather while we were there, was cold and wet, not really suitable for bush walking. Instead, window shopping was “the go”.  We noted the early Australian architectural facades and historic buildings which line the wide streets, many dating back to the 1850s. The two churches really appealed to us. Mudgee is definitely worth putting on your travel list.

Then it was on the road to Wellington. However, we weren’t all that impressed with the town, especially after Mudgee. The weather by now was on the improve and as it was a warm balmy evening, we sat drinking our wine and waited for the roast to cook in the turbo cooker. It was well worth the wait and we felt even better when we finished off with apple crumble. (Note the white table linen and crystal glasses)

With only a couple more days to go we decided to go out to Lake Burrendong and a night of camping in the national park near the lake. Simply stunning scenery. We both enjoyed the sunshine and walking by the lake. A brown snake interrupted our thoughts and chatter but fortunately, we both saw it in time to give it a wide berth.

All too soon Jenny’s visit had come to an end so we spent the last day together at  Burrendong Botanic Garden and Arboretum, which has native plants and animals and a mass of subtropical vegetation. Fern Gully was a complete surprise to us. It’s a dry bush gully which has been transformed into a rainforest.

Since Jenny’s visit I have travelled through a number of towns including Parkes, Forbes, West Wyalong and Narrandera as I travel towards Melbourne.

Peak Hill is a quaint little town with a history linked to the discovery of gold in 1889. Even a century later the mine was operating and the mining company set up a tourist mine with walking trails around the five new pits and the original open cut.

Parkes’ CSIRO Radio Telescope is affectionately known as “The Dish” and is one of the greatest landmarks of the Central West.

Forbes is a very rich primary producing area with green and gold paddocks and hillsides. Forbes is an historic town nestled beside a natural lagoon, Lake Forbes, with lots of little eateries and speciality shops. I certainly enjoyed looking through some of the lovely little boutiques and gift shops. While there I also visited  McFeeters Motor Museum which is a purpose built facility to house a collection of cars ranging from Veteran to Custom Builds, all of which have been meticulously restored. Truly amazing.

 One of the remarkable people who contributed to the development of Forbes is the notorious bushranger, Ben Hall. He was linked with hundreds of robberies during his 3 year bushranging career in the 1860s.

Wyalong is another place which has a rich history of gold mining and the crooked main street is a result of  the original bullock track which curved around trees and gold diggings.

Narrandera is called the town of trees and has huge street trees, parks and gardens. The Murrumbidgee River,  Lake Talbot  and the koala regeneration area are places I’m going to check out later.

And after that I’m on my way to Wagga. See you later.

Tambo, Augathella, Charleville, Cunnamulla and Bourke

When I reached Tambo just 100 kms from Blackall it was time to stop, relax and enjoy the slower pace of life in this little town, after the much more hectic pace of the last 10 days. My first stop was the Grassland Art Gallery which had some wonderful and varied forms of art. Apparently Tambo is the oldest town in the central west and is located on the Barcoo River. I enjoyed lunch on the banks of the Tambo Dam which attracts a lot of waterbird activity. Domestic ducks have taken up residence there and come begging scraps.

Tambo teddies are gorgeous little hand-crafted teddies made of sheepskin and can be dressed in a range of outback clothing. And you don’t have to be a tiny tot or little child to fall in love with them. Apparently this little business has created an amazing 34,000 bears.

From there it was a mere 60kms to my next free campsite, not too far out of Augathella and I must say this campsite has the cleanest outback loos you would find anywhere. Just read the comments left by other campers. There wasn’t a lot to see at Augathella except the local park, called Meat Ant Park which is a tribute to the footy team there.

The next town was Charleville and it’s quite a big town. At this stage I felt I needed a couple of days to unwind and give the sightseeing a miss and just catch-up on some much needed cleaning (including me, my clothes and the van). So the first job was to wash the van and about an hour and a half later I could see that it was white again. It was thirsty work and my neighbours, Wal and Doreen could see that I was in need of a drink. So they invited me over for “Happy Hour”. So after a couple of days I was back on the road heading for the border and NSW.

The road to Wyandra was good with some wildlife such as emus and the odd lizard as well as lots of dead kangaroos.

I arrived early and  spoke to bar tender about camping. He told me the best place would be the camping area behind the school. I passed an interesting house along the way, fundraising for Breast Cancer. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading and then decided I needed a drink so went to the pub, got talking to lots of the locals and stayed for the BBQ.

Walked home in the dark in time to watch the 2^nd half of the Eagles and Carlton match being played in Perth. Was going to use the outside loo but thought better of it as there was a bat up in the rafter which I’m sure had peed on me. Camp kitchen was worth a photo.

Hey, how exciting was the Eagles/ Carlton match? (for those of you who are into AFL that is.) I managed to get TV reception here so was able to watch the Eagles defeat Carlton by 3 points. Talk about nail biting!

What a pretty little town Cunnamulla is – very green, and with lovely parks, well kept houses and gardens. A tribute to the young blokes who worked on the properties around the area is the “Cunnamulla Fella”, a huge bronze statue, which is situated in the middle of town. The song about him was first written by Stan Coster and was later immortalised by Slim Dusty. I drove out to the Weir which is a camping spot, (well not officially) and stayed there the night. I seem to be awake early these mornings as summer approaches and sunrise is earlier. The bird sounds were amazing. I had a family of geese (mum, dad and 3 kids) around the van so I took some photos. Dad was ok at first but when I went out to turn on the gas, whoa, he became a little concerned and went to ward me off. I was quite wary after that little episode.  However, it was sooooo beautiful this morning by the water. Again such a lot of birdlife.

Weather has been quite hot and windy and I could feel the gusts of wind pulling the van as I drove. I crossed the border into NSW andI must admit  it was with a tinge of sadness since it will probably be a long time before I get back to Qld. The last 9 years have certainly been good to me, living in Qld. Within minutes I was pulling up at a little place called Barringun and walking into the pub. I had read about the publican, Mary Crawley (90 years of age if she’s a day.) I ordered a Coke and sat and talked to her and a couple of blokes. She is as “sharp as a tack” and has an opinion on every subject.  A delight to talk to.

I was on the road again through Enngonia and then on to Bourke, arriving at about 3.30pm. I booked in for 2 nights at the Kidman’s Camp where the caretaker gave me some literature on Bourke. Bourke is located on the mighty Darling River, the longest river in Australia. It’s got a population of about 3000 and is important for wool, cotton and citrus production. It has the usual shops in town but the pharmacy caught my attention. Grey nomads needn't worry about visiting the dentist in town. Check out the photo.

The “Back O’Bourke Centre” happens to be the Tourist Info Centre too. I spent an interesting few hours there reading the history of the area and listening to the legends of the back country. The stories are inspiring and often moving and one again realises the importance of this region to Australian history. Names synonymous with this area include Henry Lawson, Will Ogilvie, Harry “Breaker” Morant, Fred Hollows and Charles Sturt.

The paddle steamer trip down the Darling River leaves from just outside the caravan park and it was only a 10 minute walk at most. The PV Jandra allows you to take a leisurely cruise and the only sound you hear is the splash of the paddles. The original Jandra was a steam paddleboat built in 1894 and pulled a barge behind her as she went from station to station along the river to collect wool. But the PV Jandra was built in 2000 and is the first paddleboat to operate on the Darling River in 60 plus years. Beautiful red river gums and Coolibah trees line the river banks.

I decided to stay extra night so I could go to the camp oven meal and bush poet. It turned out to be a good show with music and poetry accompanied by steak, vegies, mashed potato, bread, pikelets and toppings and washed down with billy tea. What a treat from cooking! All proceeds went to local charities.    

It was a pleasant drive through to Nyngan, although there seems to be a lot more traffic on the roads now and I’m beginning to see the first signs of agriculture with green paddocks of wheat, fenced properties and large grain receival bins. At the caravan park, when I walked over to check out a spot, I was almost dive - bombed by a very angry magpie. So when I went back to check in, I made sure that I carried a large stick (my windscreen cleaning brush) as a means of defence, in case it decided to strike again. The neighbours in the nearby vans were quite amused. The evening passed without any further problems, thank goodness. I don’t seem to be having a lot of luck with the local birdlife!

So in the next few days I shall be in Dubbo, where I plan to meet another friend from WA. Hope you’re all keeping well. Cheers for now.

It's now 1.55pm Saturday 24th Sept, and I'm just going to see if I can get the Eagles' game which is about to be broadcast. Go Eagles!