Melbourne to home

We arrived back in Melbourne to stop initially outside our daughter Nikki's house. We can park on her front lawn, and hook up to power. We really enjoyed catching up with her and her husband Shannon, and, of course, our little grandson Zac.

We stayed there for two nights, then off to camp outside Katie and Matt's house (on the road), and some grandparent duties looking after little Otto.
Nikki and Zac came over for a visit, so it was lovely having time with all the family.
We discovered that Zac loves moving to the music!

Otto loves looking at trains, so we took him on a tram trip down to Flinders Street station for some train spotting.

Sadly it was time to say our goodbyes. We were booked on a day crossing on Sunday, so we headed down to Port Melbourne on Saturday afternoon, to look for a place to stay so we were close to the Spirit of Tasmania for the early morning departure.

Amazingly we found a place with no parking restrictions, and right near a lovely park.

Last time we had stayed on the esplanade and it was a bit noisy. This place was lovely and quiet. We met up with friends from our Cambridge Caravan Club, Bev and Dave, and had an enjoyable meal with them at a Thai Restaurant nearby.

We were up early the next morning, to get organised for our day crossing. Thermos's, bread rolls, snacks, plus computers, iPads etc etc. Then off to queue to get on to the boat. It was a full sailing, and we had to wait for a while to get on.

The swell was a bit big after we got through the heads, but settled down after a few hours thank goodness. We got off the boat at about 6.30 pm, and headed for the RV camp spot called Horsehead Creek. It was really just a carpark, but we were happy to stop for the night. We had a lazy morning and so got a knock on the door from a fellow from the Devonport Council asking for our permit. We explained that we got in too late to get one, and assured him that we would pay up the $10 as we were leaving. He explained that the fee was too appease the caravan parks in the area. That was the first bit of 'accommodation' that we had paid for the whole trip!!

Our last stop before we got home was to be our holiday place at Coles Bay. It had been raining heavily on the East Coast, so we went to check that Randall's leak fix had been working. Fortunately it was all good, so we enjoyed a night there. We both think that in all our travels that Coles Bay is a very special place!

We arrived back home, and felt we were in luxury with so much space! It was lovely to be home and catch up with my mum and Randall's mum and dad. Now to plan for the next adventure!

Wodonga to Benalla

As we drove down the highway we checked out some of the towns that were bypassed. One town called Holbrook was interesting. It was originally called Germanton, but during the war it got changed. They chose Holbrook  in honour of Lt. Norman Douglas Holbrook, a decorated wartime submarine captain and winner of the Victoria Cross. 
There is now a submarine half buried in a park and other submarine memorabilia in a little museum. It is quite amazing to see how big the submarine is when you walk all around it.

We called into the Albury Wodonga RV World at Wodonga, where we had got good service from earlier on in the year, unlike the Avan Superstore back in Melbourne. (Hopeless!!)
We had a wander around the new caravans and motorhomes in the show room. This one caught our eye - a deck at the back of the caravan!!

It all folded up into the back of the caravan. They still didn't have a new Avan Applause to check out - you have to wait up to six months if you want a new one!

We stopped overnight at Lake Hume and got a spot right by the water. 

We went for a lovely walk around the lake in the morning, and passed lots of runners and walkers on the way. After that we packed up and decided to head for Benalla via Yackandandah and Beechworth.  

They were both lovely old towns. We checked out the bakery at Beechworth but it was crazy busy, so we found a little takeaway and enjoyed some delicious potato cakes and dim sims, before the last part to Benalla.

Benalla used to welcome campers at an area by the lake, just near the shops. We had stayed there once before and it was really nice. The council had stopped people using that area and we decided not to push the friendship, so we went to a place called Thoona, where you could stop behind the pub. It wasn't that far up the road. As we drove along Randall suggested checking out another place just out of Benalla, and there were heaps of people stopped there. It was a chapter of the CMCA, so we said hello and then went to Thoona. Thoona was a bit disappointing, so around we turned and went back to our friends from the CMCA! They were very welcoming and friendly, and we enjoyed sitting by a nice big fire having a cuppa and later a wine and our tea.

The next morning we drove back into Benalla as I wanted to check out the Benalla museum. It has Ned Kelly's green sash there and as I had read about it in a children's book, I really wanted to see it.

I wasn''t disappointed. I can't believe I didn't know about this until I read the book to my classes.

From Benalla we drove off back to Melbourne to see our lovely girls and their families, and lots of Grandma and Pa cuddles from our two little grandsons.

Heading South.

Our next destination was to the Gold Coast to visit our friends Cliff and Fiona. They live in a two storey unit and we were able to park our van outside their back door and hook up to power - the first time since we left Melbourne 3 weeks previously.
They took us up to Mt Tambourine for lunch at a pub with an amazing view looking down on the Gold Coast.

We had a great couple of days, with lots of laughs and good times. Cliff cooked us a delicious breakfast one morning at it was beautiful sitting out in the sun eating it.

From the Gold Coast we drove a short way south to Kingscliff for an unexpected catchup with Randall's old workmate Andrew and his friend Janine. They had arrived from Singapore only the day before and had followed our travels on Facebook, so they knew where we were.

We stopped overnight at a place called New Italy, which was nice but a bit noisy as it was near the highway. Then down the coast to Bulahdelah. We arrived quite late, but there were lots of campers there - obviously very popular. We walked to the pub, hoping to get a meal there but nothing appealed  so back to cook out own tea.

In the morning we we sat and watched as a few rigs packed up and headed off, before we did the same.

Our next stop was going to be Wollongong where Randall's second cousin David, and wife Penny live. We drove towards Sydney and on a spur of the moment decided to head to Manly and check out the area. Probably a bit of a mistake, as the traffic was shocking, and by the time we got there it was just about time to leave! It was amazing driving in the tunnels under the city to get to Woolongong - all so fast and furious! Penny and David had invited us to a roast lamb dinner, and a spot in their driveway - both very much appreciated. They have a motorhome, so it was nice to chat with like minded people about our travels so far.

From there we headed for Gundagai. It is a quaint town with lots of roadworks in the main street which was a pity. It is an RV friendly town, so we camped by the river and sat out in the sun in the afternoon.

                                         

We decided to stay two nights here, so get over the hustle and bustle of constant travelling. There is a cafe at Gundagai called the Niagara Cafe and it has been around since the early 1900's. We went to get some potato cakes and dim sims for a treat. It is a time capsule from the early days with memorabilia up on the walls. John Curtain had famously stopped there late one night and returned often over the years. The booths are the same, as are the padded seats, when you look at the photos.

The forecast was for lots of rain in the next 24 hours, and the campsite was very grassy, so it was suggested we go to higher ground. We headed for the highest ground - the look out! The view up there was amazing!

     

I was really glad we moved as it did rain quite a lot overnight. The only thing that disturbed us up there was some idiots doing wheelies in the mud not that far from us - luckily they got sick of it after a while and we were left in peace.

We packed up the next morning to continue our trip down the Hume Highway, checking out all the rivers and creeks full to overflowing in some places.

Heading South.

Our next destination was to the Gold Coast to visit our friends Cliff and Fiona. They live in a two storey unit and we were able to park our van outside their back door and hook up to power - the first time since we left Melbourne 3 weeks previously.
They took us up to Mt Tambourine for lunch at a pub with an amazing view looking down on the Gold Coast.

We had a great couple of days, with lots of laughs and good times. Cliff cooked us a delicious breakfast one morning at it was beautiful sitting out in the sun eating it.

From the Gold Coast we drove a short way south to Kingscliff for an unexpected catchup with Randall's old workmate Andrew and his friend Janine. They had arrived from Singapore only the day before and had followed our travels on Facebook, so they knew where we were.

We stopped overnight at a place called New Italy, which was nice but a bit noisy as it was near the highway. Then down the coast to Bulahdelah. We arrived quite late, but there were lots of campers there - obviously very popular. We walked to the pub, hoping to get a meal there but nothing appealed  so back to cook out own tea.

In the morning we we sat and watched as a few rigs packed up and headed off, before we did the same.

Our next stop was going to be Wollongong where Randall's second cousin David, and wife Penny live. We drove towards Sydney and on a spur of the moment decided to head to Manly and check out the area. Probably a bit of a mistake, as the traffic was shocking, and by the time we got there it was just about time to leave! It was amazing driving in the tunnels under the city to get to Woolongong - all so fast and furious! Penny and David had invited us to a roast lamb dinner, and a spot in their driveway - both very much appreciated. They have a motorhome, so it was nice to chat with like minded people about our travels so far.

From there we headed for Gundagai. It is a quaint town with lots of roadworks in the main street which was a pity. It is an RV friendly town, so we camped by the river and sat out in the sun in the afternoon.

                                         

We decided to stay two nights here, so get over the hustle and bustle of constant travelling. There is a cafe at Gundagai called the Niagara Cafe and it has been around since the early 1900's. We went to get some potato cakes and dim sims for a treat. It is a time capsule from the early days with memorabilia up on the walls. John Curtain had famously stopped there late one night and returned often over the years. The booths are the same, as are the padded seats, when you look at the photos.

The forecast was for lots of rain in the next 24 hours, and the campsite was very grassy, so it was suggested we go to higher ground. We headed for the highest ground - the look out! The view up there was amazing!

     

I was really glad we moved as it did rain quite a lot overnight. The only thing that disturbed us up there was some idiots doing wheelies in the mud not that far from us - luckily they got sick of it after a while and we were left in peace.

We packed up the next morning to continue our trip down the Hume Highway, checking out all the rivers and creeks full to overflowing in some places.

Heading South.

Our next destination was to the Gold Coast to visit our friends Cliff and Fiona. They live in a two storey unit and we were able to park our van outside their back door and hook up to power - the first time since we left Melbourne 3 weeks previously.
They took us up to Mt Tambourine for lunch at a pub with an amazing view looking down on the Gold Coast.

We had a great couple of days, with lots of laughs and good times. Cliff cooked us a delicious breakfast one morning at it was beautiful sitting out in the sun eating it.

From the Gold Coast we drove a short way south to Kingscliff for an unexpected catchup with Randall's old workmate Andrew and his friend Janine. They had arrived from Singapore only the day before and had followed our travels on Facebook, so they knew where we were.

We stopped overnight at a place called New Italy, which was nice but a bit noisy as it was near the highway. Then down the coast to Bulahdelah. We arrived quite late, but there were lots of campers there - obviously very popular. We walked to the pub, hoping to get a meal there but nothing appealed  so back to cook out own tea.

In the morning we we sat and watched as a few rigs packed up and headed off, before we did the same.

Our next stop was going to be Wollongong where Randall's second cousin and wife Penny live. We drove towards Sydney and on a spur of the moment decided to head to Manly and check out the area. Probably a bit of a mistake, as the traffic was shocking, and by the time we got there it was just about time to leave! It was amazing driving in the tunnels under the city to get to Woolongong - all so fast and furious! Penny and David had invited us to a roast lamb dinner, and a spot in their driveway - both very much appreciated. They have a motorhome, so it was nice to chat with like minded people about our travels so far.

From there we headed for Gundagai. It is a quaint town with lots of roadworks in the main street which was a pity. It is an RV friendly town, so we camped by the river and sat out in the sun in the afternoon.

We decided to stay two nights here, so get over the hustle and bustle of constant travelling. There is a cafe at Gundagai called the Niagara Cafe and it has been around since the early 1900's. We went to get some potato cakes and dim sims for a treat. It is a time capsule from the early days with memorabilia up on the walls. John Curtain had famously stopped there late one night and returned often over the years. The booths are the same, as are the padded seats, when you look at the photos.

The forecast was for lots of rain in the next 24 hours, and the campsite was very grassy, so it was suggested we go to higher ground. We headed for the highest ground - the look out! The view up there was amazing!

     

I was really glad we moved as it did rain quite a lot overnight. The only thing that disturbed us up there was some idiots doing wheelies in the mud not that far from us - luckily they got sick of it after a while and we were left in peace.

We packed up the next morning to continue our trip down the Hume Highway, checking out all the rivers and creeks full to overflowing in some places.

Caloundra

Caloundra has a lovely walking track by the water. Part of it is dedicated to the Anzacs, and there are little plaques embedded in the footpath, with the name of an Anzac, and there are rosemary bushes along the pathway as well.

There are mostly low rise units dotted along the water's edge, but we did find this funny little house squashed in between two modern places. Cheekily, at one stage, it was stealing the power from next door as well!

We have also seen some interesting wildlife around the place. The bush turkeys, which I've mentioned before, and a green tree snake, pointed out to us by another walker as we went by. The birds around it were going crazy!

                                     

We bought ourselves a Telstra hotspot to give us some more data while we are away. Because of that purchase we can now connect to the free wifi often found at Telstra phone boxes. We get an alert on our phone that we are connected as we walk or drive near it. It's free until March next year. It's good for quickly updating any apps on our phone or iPad.

We get to talk to a lot of people as we are sitting in our van. We usually have the door open while having a cuppa, and people often come up to us and ask about our setup. Randall is a mine of information about the Avan. One day a couple stopped to chat and two hours later they were still there!

We had our wedding anniversary while we were at Caloundra - 37 years! We went out for a celebratory meal, which was really delicious.

After two lovely weeks at Caloundra we headed south, first to Brisbane to catch up with an old friend from Randall's bagpipe band, The Derwent Scottish Pipe Band.

We had no idea where we would stay, but headed for the CBD and did a cruise around some back streets. We found a park, reasonably level, and paid the parking fee for the rest of the day. It was Friday, and free parking on Saturday, so we didn't have to worry about getting up early the next day to move on.

     

   

We enjoyed catching up with Selina and listening to her play with her band, Queensland Irish, then enjoying a drink with her at Mick O'Malleys in the Brisbane Mall.

                                    

We then headed to the Gold Coast for our next catchup with friends.