Ballarat at last

Hello again. We left Brisbane on Tuesday 16th Nov stopping over night at Coffs Harbour then Golbourn via Sydney. On Thursday we decided to head for Victoria not knowing just where to spend the night. As we approached Albury Helen asked about the wineries at Rutherglen as she had some fond memories of some "white port" from days gone bye. We located Morris's Winery, however, upon asking about their white port we were informed that it only came in 20 litre containers. A bit out of our league. Not to worry, a successful port tasting was had and bottles purchased. On leaving Morris's, we headed into the town of Rutherglen and successfully got lost. Thank heavens for the GPS. We punched in Ballarat and were directed back out on to the Freeway. With Melbourne in our sites, we decided to turn of at Seymore and find an alternate route to Ballarat. As we drove along some back rodes, Helen's faith in the GPS began to wain until we arrived in Daylesford, familiar territory at last. After 700 km for the day we arrived in sunny Ballarat.

After a couple of days rest the bike got it's chance to hit the road again. It had been almost four months since we had been on a ride and we were chaffing at the bit. Through Ballarat and out on the highway to Creswick where we checked out the old woolen mill before lunching at the Farmers Arms Hotel. A quiet ride back to Ballarat via Dean and out to Buninyong to visit some reatives before heading back to Mt Helen and dinner with mum.

That's about it for now.

Keep the shiny side up.

Col & Helen
'Old Farts on Tour'

Back in Brisbane (again)

After leaving the tranquility of Kangaroo Valley, we arrived in North Haven on Friday night 22 Oct, in preparation for the Ulysses RV club AGM on Saturday. The happy hour on Friday night was an eye opener, the amount of people present was amazing. We were told of a club member, believed to be in his 80's, who had stepped out of his van and broke both ankles. (Three plates and seven screws later). The club members from Mudgee organised for another club member to fly his plane up from Mudgee and bring a driver with him so as to be able to fly the patient and his wife back to Mudgee whilst leaving the other member to drive their rig home for them. That's what I call club comradeship.

Sunday morning after Saturdays AGM, we hit the road for Qld. After eight hours and a bit over 600 km, we arrived at Burpengary to yet another house sit. This time for a week, just to help out a mate who decided to go to Phuket (Thailand) at the last moment, for a holiday. Monday, 1st Nov, saw us back in Brisbane with our beloved Honda Goldwing. We had been without it for so long, thanks John for looking after it for us.

Another house sit, this time in Warner, a northern suburb of Brisbane. We are looking after two Long Legged Jack Russel Terriers who are spoilt to bits by their owners. This two weeks in Warner will allowed us to catch up with old friends and most importantly, with our kids. On completion of the sit, we will be headed for Ballarat to visit family and spend Christmass with Mum.

That's about it for now.

Love to all.

Don't for get to "keep the shiny bits up".

All the best.

Helen and Col.
"Old Farts on Tour".

Narrabri still.

Our one night stop in Narrabri extended out to two nights. After severe storms over night combined with gale force winds, we were lucky enough to have sprung a leak in the roof. We checked out various avenues for van servicing or repairs but had many a door slammed shut in our face. Nobody was interested in helping us with our problem. After talking to the manager of a van park, she pointed us towards a motor body repair shop. They spent about two hours checking things out to end up with them securing black plastic over the effected area. Cost, a massive $30. Apart from that, no assistance anywhere else. Friday night saw us still in Narrabri laying in bed listening to the heavy rain wondering if the plastic would do its job. Saturday morning we woke to a nice sunny day and still dry in the van so we headed to Dubbo. Great day for the drive even though it was bloody cold over night. We camped next to a lovely couple who had a small (14 ft) Jayco Freedom whiched the used for sleeping and storage. They still liked the idea of camping out, so all the cooking and eating was done outside.
Sunday we took off for Forbes. Changed our minds after stopping at the Radio Telescope in Parkes for a break. We diverted to Cowra for the night. The van park is owned by a Queensland family and was very well looked after. We spent the evening sitting arround a camp fire with some other travellers, swapping lies and stories, and having a few drinks. Monday we moved on to Bungendore where we camped out of town in the very depressing show grounds. We previously had asked at the council offices in town for assistance in where we could camp and were basically told that if we camped anywhere but the showgrounds the police would be required to move us on. Another place NOT to stay again.
Tuesday awoke to a beautiful day as we headed for Ulladulla. We ste up camp in a beachside van park and the strolled down to the boat ramp. Threw a line in but the fish weren't playing the game. Not even a bite. Ulladulla is a lovely little beach town which has still to be invaded by the hob-nobs from Sydney.
Wednesday, the final leg of this van trip. We arrived in Nowra and immeadiately knew that we were getting close to Sydney. The traffic was very anoying and heavy. We placed our van in storage to have some work done on it i.e. service and check out the area of the water leak.
Late afternoon saw us laying up at a lovely little homestead in Kangaroo Valley which is owned by my cousin Jill. It is on 8 acres and about 7 km from the actual village. The property has its resident group of kangaroos and wombats and numerous variety of bird life. Unfortunately we are only here until Friday as we have to be in North Haven on Friday night. We will, however, be returning here at the end of December for a house-sit until mid February.

I think I have waffled enough for now so remember to keep the shiny side up and stae safe.

Until next time.

All the best

Helen & Col.

Hi All

Well we are on the move again. After a great couple of weeks house sitting we moved back to friends in Bundaberg proper and had 170 watts of solar and a second battery fitted to the van. This will help us be self sufficient when we 'free camp'.
We left Bundy on Tuesday and made our way to Kingaroy for the night. Wednesday saw us arrive in Bogabilla, NSW, where we stayed in a dodgy, but clean, van park. We were camped near and elderly gent who has been there for the past 16 years. Today, Thursday, was a relatively short drive to Narrabri where we have set up camp in the Show Grounds. I think we need to upgrade our vehicle to something a bit heavier and with a bit more grunt. The Landrover is doing a great job, however, the fuel consumption has sky rocketed due to the van. We have gone from about 800km per tank to roughly 500km per tank.

Thaks about it for now.

Stay safe

Col & Helen.

Rain, Rain go away

Well we have been house sitting since Saturday the 18th and what started out as a couple of nice days has turned into a rain depression with flood warnings for Bundaberg. If we had been on the road as originally planned, we may well be stuck somewhere we don't like.
Sunday turned out to have a sad ending. Whitey, a friend from our archery circle, lost his companion of 7 years, his dog George. George was found to have about 6 paralasis ticks and even with the help of a vet, he did not recover. As George was Whitey's constant companion, it is understandable that Whitey is absolutely devostated.
On a happier note, even with the rain, Bundy is a great place to use as a base when visiting this area. There is so much to do within such a small distance.

Until next time

Stay safe

Helen & Col

Back on the Road Again

Well believe it or not, we are back on the road again after a few minor stops. After the stuff up with our 'toy hauler' we decided to look around for a motor home. Lots out there but not in our price range. During our house sit in Bli Bli, Qld, we started to look for a caravan. I didn't know there were that many different styles on the market. After checking out nearly every distributor on the Sunshine Coast, we decided to check out one we found by chance in Nambour. We looked at a few they had in the yard and proceeded into the showroom. Helen decided to check out the only one on show and as soon as she stepped inside she stated that she could live in that one, so, you guessed it, we are now the proud owners of a Regal Aussie Tourer. It is classed as a 19 ft hardtop van. Which in fact means that it has an interior length of 19 ft.
We picked it up on completion of our house sit and took it to Brisbane to collect some of our necessities from our storage shed then headed off on a weeks shakedown trip. Once back in Brisbane, we caught up with family and friends before starting on our next adventure.
After leaving Brisbane onTuesday 31 August, we camped for two nights at the Cabulture Show grounds before heading to Rainbow Beach for the Ulysses RV get together. On Monday 6 September, we departed Rainbow Beach with some new found friends and headed for Hervy Bay where we spent the next two nights. By now you are all thinking, they're not going very far each trip, well you're right, however, when you have time restrictions like we do, who cares how far you go each time because our time constraints are covered by John Melion's famous lines from Crocadile Dundea, "doesn't know, doesn't care", therefor we stop when and where ever we feel the need.
Wednesday 8 August saw us heading for Bundaberg to spend a few days with friends. We had intended to depart Bundy and head west on Tuesday 14 August but let's not rush these things. On Saturday morning Helen and I were shoping in Big W when I got talking to a lady and her son (complete strangers) I mentioned that we were travelling and had not long completed a housesit in Bli Bli when she stated that the people she had organised to housesit for them over the school holidays had pulled out at the last moment so their trip to Alice Springs looked like being cancelled. Being the true gentleman that I am I came to the aid of this damsel in distress and offered to housesit for her and her family.
After meeting the rest of the family the next afternoon over coffee it was set in stone, we would housesit for them from 18 Sept until 4 Oct. Who said you shouldn't talk to strangers.

Until next time, stay safe and enjoy life.

Love Helen & Col

Thursday 20 May 2010

"On the road again, just cant wait toget on that road again". Just a minute, we are on the road again. Finally. After one hurdle after another we now have a trailer to take the bike and some gear and we are on the road again. Very short day today, due to the late start. Overnight at Ballina. Tomorrow the 21 May will be very ordinary in travel as we will be heading to Coffs Harbour for the Ulysses Club Coffs Capers. More on Saturday.

Col & Helen

Sunday, April 4.
Well quite a lot has happened since last posting something on the blog.
The day after we arrived back in Brisbane, we headed off down to Sydney to collect "our new van".
Friday saw us at the van dealership all geared up to collect what we thought would be our home for the next, how long. What a disappointment. Oh the van was there, however, not what we expected. The bike would fit length ways but left NO room to access the sides to tie it down. We left there very disappointed and without the van.
We took three days to get back to Brisbane and wonder what to do next. Spending some time with friends allowed us to rehash what we were going to do. Finally we have found a trailer builder who will build us a van to our specifications and at a cheaper price. He has a very good reputation and spent hours going over our plans with us. It will take until early June to complete so it's just hurry up and wait.
In the mean time, we are spending some time at the Gold Coast in a unit owned by Helen's sister. We have plans to be in Ballina for the Wing Club AGM on the weekend of 10/11 April then the Celtic Festival at Glenn Innes on the May Long weekend.
Until next we converse

Stay well

Regards

Col & Helen.

Tuesday, 23 March.

Update on leaving Perth. Arrived at the Perth Airport about 1830 hrs, after sitting out one of the worst electrical storms that I can remember. The Qantas terminal had to be evacuated as a result of the amount of rain that had come through the roof and caused the ceiling to collapse over the arrival carosal. A number of flights were cancelled, fortunately we were able to leave only 35 minutes late.

Bye for now.

Col

Monday, 22 March. Started out late today. Visit to Aquarium. For a privately owned set up it is fantastic. Able to take heaps of photos, from leafy sea dragons to large sting rays and sharks. A very pleasant 2 - 3 hours spent. Travelled north up the coast and ogled at the multi million dollar mansions along the way. Makes the Gold Coast look miserable in comparison.

Home to pack the bags and rest before heading to the airport and back to Brissie on the Red-Eye flight. Should be back by about 0500 hr 23rd.

Will be on the road again on 10 April.

Bye for now.

Col & Helen.

Sunday, 21 March. Zanders Cafe at Scarborough Beach for breakfast today. Could not eat it all. Headed to Fremantle, or Fre'o as those who have been there call it. What an area, beaches every where, massive container ships in port and the odd million dollar boat/yacht, both on the water and at the mariner. Found a market which appears to be a permanent fixture, crowded to the gunnels (that sea talk) but not much worth buying. Had a quick look at the maritime museum and headed back to Perth. The rest of the day was spent recovering from yesterday. Need to do some last minute shopping and the the packing begins to head back to Brisvegas tomorrow night.

Saturday, 20 March. Lazy start to the day. Drove to Scarborough Beach and was amazed at the beauty of the area. Met up with Russell & Karen from Redcliffe. Afternoon saw us heading towards the Gravity Centre. It helps if you know where you are going as we ended up in Gingin (WA not QLD). After some telephone direction we finally made it to the Gravity Centre. We only missed it by about 20 kilometers. Interesting place, if not a little strange. The highlight of the centre is a 45 metre tall tower built on an angle. After climbing the 13 stories to the top, no there is no lift just stairs, and dropping water filled balloons to see how they erupt upon impact, we headed back to Perth via the correct route and spent the next few hours wandering around Kings Park. I still think we have yet to see It all. Magnificent view of the city by day and by night. Finally made it back to our accommodation around 2130 hrs.

Friday, 19 March. Early start to the day. Checked out the light house overlooking Bunbury. Great views of the area. Headed down to the beach to great the visiting dolphins. Only two turned up, mother and calf. Not a great deal of action, however, we did get to see them close up. Headed to Harvey where we went to the cheese factory. Tried some cheeses, purchases some chilli bri. A most delightful little number with a light bite at the end. Spent time at the Harvey information centre which had a display of May Gibbs (Snugglepot & Cuddlepie author) who it is said drew inspiration for her stories from her time living in the area. A self guided tour of the Sterling House replica, lunch then up to the Harvey Dam, a bit disappointing. From Harvey to Mandurah to visit with some cousins that I have never met before. Great afternoon catching up then on to Scarborough to meet with David and Rochelle. They have kindly allowed us to stay at there house whilst they are in NZ.

Thursday, 18 March. Wedding Anniversary number 32. On the road again, this time we are headed for Bunbury on the west coast. From Manjimup to Bridgetown. Not a long drive but very scenic. Checked out the 'King Tree' just outside Manjimup, not the largest karri tree but still impressive. Set in the centre of a stand of karris, the king karri is 2.6 metres in diameter and 45 metres tall. It is over 500 years old and there is not a branch for about the first 30 metres from the ground up. From Manjimup to historic Bridgetown. Even though it has a very old bridge in the centre of town, it was named after one of the river boats that serviced the area. Whilst there we were required to do the mandatory visit to the "Cidery" where we got to sample their various types of apple cider. Had lunch at the cidery to allow the effects of the cider to wear of then on to Bunbury via Greenbushes, Balingup, Donnybrook and Boyanup. It is amazing just how many Ulyssians we meet whenever we stop some where. Bunbury is no different. Visit to the Information Centre, ulyssians, local shopping centre, ulyssians, booking into motel, more bloody ulyssians. We are everywhere.

Wednesday, 17 March. St Patricks day. Started today with a last look at Albany (for now). A ship in port so the craft markets were on. Checked out the jewelery on sale then its on our way. First stop was at Williams Bay. What a fantastic area. Large granite boulders in the ocean creating a sheltered harbour with beautiful turquoise blue sea. Onward towards Jassi Uggs, the boot factory, however, the toffee factory caused a short detour. The boot factory saw Helen get her long awaited pair of Uggs. Moving on through Walpole and onward to Manjimup for the night. A quaint little town renowned for its history in supplying the world with Karri wood. Lots of history in the surrounding forests.

Tuesday, 16 March. Big day today. Headed to Porongurup. A quaint little village with not much there, surrounded by numerous wineries and the Porongurup Mountains behind the village. To the north were the Sterling Ranges. Found ourselves a quaint little boutique winery, Dukes Winery and Gallery, where we sampled some fine vintage and of course had to purchase their lovely Autumn Riesling to have with dinner tonight. From Porongurup to Mt Barker to sample, what they claim to be the number one pie in Australia. Must say they were pretty dam good. Its the most kidney I have ever found in a steak and kidney pie anywhere. Mt Barker to Denmark via Muirs Highway. A short break in Denmark then headed to Comfort Cove. A beautiful little beach with easy access and a great place to camp. Lots of photos taken during the day. Back to base camp for a drink and a good lie down.
Tomorrow we depart Albany for places further afield. Maybe Pemberton to overnight and then who knows where to from there. Until tomorrow night it's bye for now.

Monday 15 March. Visit to the Brig Amity (Sailing Ship) the first ship to bring settlers to Albany. Designed to take a crew of about eight with stores, It arrived in what is now called Albany, with 61 people on board, live stock and produce and tools to start building a township. Not my idea of a fun journey. We then ventured out to the Salmon Holes, Natural Bridge and the Gap. What fabulous scenery. Back in towards the wind farm to view the fire devistation caused by the motorcycle accident. Further info at hand: The rider crashed trying to avoid one of the locals that had HOPPED out in front of him, good old skippy. On into town for lunch at the Strawberry Farm, the first farm in the area.

The afternoon was spent walking town and doing some window shopping. A few small purchases were made, then home for a Nanna/Grampa nap befor dinner.

Sunday, 14 March. The AGM is over. Wow how fast this week has gone. We attended the AGM site and found that 2 thirds of the campers had already packed up and left. Guess they're anxious to tackle the Nullarbor and get home. Drove out to the Marron Farm/Bird Park, however, we were subsequently disappointed by both the quality of the food and the area as a whole. We travelled on to Two Peoples Bay and Little Beach. A Lovely spot spoilt only by the inclement weather. Would like to return here in the future and spend time relaxing at the bay.

This afternoon we attended at the Emu Point Marina to have lunch at the Squid Shack. Some of the best Squid I have every eaten. The inclement weather drove us back to the cabin for the afternoon then out to Latte and Sue's unit for diner.

Saturday 13 March. Parade day today. What a parade, almost 2000 bikes through Albany, the towns folk turned out in their droves to see the parade. An amazing specticle. The afternoon saw us at another meeting, this time it was the main AGM with a new national committee was elected. As we exited the meeting we were engulfed in smoke and lite soot from a bush fire started after a Ulysses club member had an accident and his bike (NOT a gold wing) ruptured it's fuel tank and burst into flames. Turned out to be so serious that they had to evacuate houses and close roads. By the way the rider busted his shoulder and cracked a few ribs but will survive to ride again.
Saturday night we attended the AGM dinner and as we settled in to a sumptous meal the heavens opened up to one of the fiercest storms I've seen in a long time.

Friday 12 March. Quiet day today. Late start, headed to the AGM site for a quick catch up with friends. 12 o'clock headed for the extra AGM. It is just amazing how much dribble goes on there. Found out that the 2013 AGM has been awarded to the Frazer Coast (Maraborough, QLD). Just enough time after the meeting to get ready to attend a wedding of some friends from Alice Springs. Home by 10 pm to end the day.

Thursday 11 March. Quiet start to the day. Visit to Princess Royal Fortress. This Fortress was the protector of the Western Sate with the use of two six inch guns placed in concealment, dug into the hillside of Mt Adelaide. It also overlooks the harbour where all the troop ships gathered prior to departing for Galipolli. It was later used as a US naval submarine base.

Our next stop was the ANZAC memorial atop Mt Clarance. This is also the location of a lookout point giving 360 degree views of Albany and surrounding areas. From Mt Clarance we moved to Emu Point which has the whitest sandy beach I have ever seen. Whilst there we meet up with a couple of Queenslanders on holiday from Mackay. After exchanging pleasantries for half an hour or so, we headed to the AGM site to listen to a fabulous musician, Gerry something, who had at one stage played with Santana. A great night then home for the evening.

Wednesday 10th March 2010.

Early start today. Picked up Paul (Latte) and Sue (Skinny Latte) about 0800 hr and headed to Denmark Info Centre. Provided us with some great tourist info. Headed to the Swiss chocklate factory. Beautiful chocklates even though they were a tad expensive. Most of them were about $2.50 a piece. Headed to Old Kent River Winery for a lunch of fresh maron (WA's version of our Yabbies but much bigger). Proceeded to the tree top walk in the valley of giants. One of three tree top gantry walks in the world. We have now completed two of them, one to go. Some massive trees not only in height but also in girth. From there we travelled to Pt D'Entrecasteaux via some very bad dirt roads in the D'Entrecasteaux NationalPark. The trip was well worth the effort, some striking and very rugged limestone coastline beaten and worn away by the harsh winds and ocean. Mother nature is one hell of a sculture. After taking a number of photos, we headed back to Albany, this time via the black top. Quiet night in tonight.

Tuesday 9th. Visit to the AGM site chasing further merchandise. What a shock, all jackets and caps sold out. Managed to buy a Penrith AGM shirt. Tooke the free bus to the sandalwood factory at Mt Romance. A real eye opener. They create the largest quantity of sandalwood oil in the southern hemisphere and the operation is almost totally polution free.

The afternoon saw us back at the AGM site where we met with other Northern Gateway branch members who had ridden from Brisbane. Our evening meal was at a branch get to gether where we ate, drank and told each other stories/lies abot what we had been up to.

Monday 8th March. Today stated with a visit to the wind farm located just outside of Albany. The wind turbines are massive, and noisy, with the bades being an incredible 35 metres in length.

We then travelled further around the bay to Whale World. A great museum dedicated to those brave men that went chasing sperm whales in the most adverse of conditions.

Ulysses AGM Albany

We have finally started our long awaited trip leaving Brisbane yesterday (6 March) and flying to Perth for the Ulysses AGM in Albany.

The Perth weather was great, 27 degrees, and the drive down to Albany unevantfull. The roads are the best I have seen in a long while.

Arrived in Albany about 1730 hr and settled into our accomodation.

Early night in readiness for a big day to come.

Bye for now.

Col & Helen