August 23 - 27 Broken Hill

This is the second leg of our goal to put 5000kms on Tom before we hook up the van.


We left on Sunday and were very surprised at how green the countryside was - crops, grass, hills, and the trees are all in flower, wattle everywhere too. First stop Junee for a ploughman’s lunch (the last time there it was great) but no; they don’t have it anymore, very disappointed. So we bought some chocolate and licorice anyway.

Stopped at Griffith and went to West End wineries for more tastes and bought another case. This time we kept a list of the ones we want for Christmas.

Our first stop was Hillston motel. Not much to pick from in this town. Spots of rain overnight but it didn’t stay on the ground for long. Ian spoke to the NRMA man and the council about the roads and they said all ok. They haven’t had any real rain for ages. We left Hillston and set off to Ivanhoe. 100kms of dirt road, bad for the first bit but then softened out.


Ivanhoe is a small town and while there we bought some postcards for mum and the girls. The lady was washing the floor of the shop, so I had to wait over in the corner to pick the postcards and then pay for them. Then onto Menindee, more dirt road for another 200km. We pulled over to the side of the road and had lunch and watched a dozen cars pass by. There were also numerous emus, goats, sheep and cattle. They were working on the road and it was bad at first and very rocky, then smoothed out. The landscape varied from desert, to scrub, to trees. There were lots of wildflowers we just don’t know which ones, so I took some photos.


Menindee lakes are empty; we drove to the lookout and couldn’t see any water. Ian wanted to drive down to the bottom over the railway line but I wouldn’t let him so he found another road to go down.

Stayed at Broken Hill overnight. It was very windy driving into BH and also overnight and as we left town the wind was still blowing.



Called into the Wentworth gaol on the way and also checked out the spot where the Darling and Murray Rivers join.






Then thru to Mildura – what huge trees they have in the main street. On the way to Moulamein we saw various vegetation, changing all the time from trees, shrubs, grasses and back again to trees, we also saw what we thought were tumbleweeds. Decided not to stop overnight at Moulamein as it didn’t look very enticing, so we drove thru to Deniliquin.
In the morning we checked out the Ute on the pole (Deni is the ute capital of the 'world') and the Ute covered in mosaics (the Arts school decorated a ute with mosaic tiles and it took them 2 1/2 years), and totem poles in park (don’t know why they were there). Drove thru to Mulwala lakes – dead trees in lake, very spooky, checked out the CPs in Lake Mulwala and Yarrawonga for future trips.



Onto Rutherglen, stopping at Pfeiffer and Cofield wines then into Rutherglen and found a motel. More wineries, All Saints and Morris (Ian found a tokay he would like for Christmas) and later on a great dinner at the Poacher's Pub. The following day we set off for Canberra, there is lots of roadwork along the way (Sturt highway and Albury), dozens of caravans heading south.


Achieved out goal and did 4973kms on the two trips and over 5000kms if you count what we did in between. Next week its off north - YEAH.

August 2009 11th to 18th

Our trip for July to go north was postponed when Tom blew a piston and needed a new motor. That took a few weeks to organise and on 11 August we took off, without the van, to run in the new motor.

We headed west through Crookwell and stopped there for coffee and a visit to the sock factory. They have a small shop and the back room is the factory, where they make 150-300 pairs of socks per DAY. Wonderful colours and styles for women, men and children. I bought some purple and pink ones for me and some multi colours for the girls. We continued on thru the old village of Tuena, Hobby's Yard and Blayney, to Orange (Ian's home town). The afternoon seen us run through Parkes and to the village of Trundle with its wide main street, which is the widest in Oz. Dusk arrived as we went through Tullamore (lots of T's around this part of the country) and after numerous close encounters with kangaroos we arrived at Tottenham for our first overnight stop.


The hotel was in the middle of town and had a big verandah on top. We were the only guests so we didn't have to line up for the bathroom. We drank wine on the verandah and in the morning had breakfast there as well.





Thursday we set off to get to Quambone (the birthplace of Canberra Times editor Jack Waterford). Jack had frequently referred to his home town in the CT and we were looking forward to checking it out. Unfortunately we were disappointed with the small settlement we found.



We stopped at Bingarra at the Myall Creek Memorial. This memorial is the site of the massacre of 28 aboriginals by 12 whites and resulted in the first conviction in the colony for whites killing blacks. Very well presented memorial and very moving.



After a overnight stop at Inverell we travelled to Sydney by Thunderbolts Way. We visited aunties, cousins, brother and mother. The traffic is terrible in Sydney, I will never complain about Canberra traffic again (well at least for a while).



Sunday we were off to Dalmeny to visit Tracey and Graham for two days. Very relaxing time with them. We went via the Sea Cliffe Bridge - what a engineering feat, out over the ocean.



On Tuesday, on the way home, we checked out some places around the south coast to see if we would like to live there - the jury is still out on that. We arrived home around 2pm and unpacked. To pack up again in a few days for our trip to Broken Hill.

So far we have done 2500 kms on Tom and Broken Hill will bring us up to around 5000kms. Then we can head off with the van - north.

28 May - 2 June, Lake Cargeligo-Cowra-Canberra

We arrived at Lake Cargeligo just after lunch and went to their one and only CP. Small park but nice, with two very large buses also there (both also had trailers with cars on the back). We went for a drive around the town and checked out the lake. People are not allowed to go onto the lake at the moment because it is so low.

Arrived in Cowra Friday afternoon and booked into the park. The man directed us to the site as he did everyone, some small sites for pop tops. Checked out the town later in the day. It was cold overnight, we needed another blanket on the bed. We found these brown marks on the car and part of the van and thought they might be bat droppings. Turned out to be Possums droppings, Ian washed it off, yuk smelly and messy. After lunch we met Nancye and Geoffrey Anderson at info centre at 3pm for coffee and talk. Then we checked out the information centre on what to do for the next few days.

Next morning more possums mess, more washing of Tom.

Sunday we went to the Japanese gardens in the morning, what a wonderful place, so calming and serene. We spent 2 hours there just wondering around and sitting and looking and had coffee after in their cafe. Then off to the cemetery both Cowra and Japanese graves plus the site of the 1944 breakout by the POWs. Sad place, very well presented and respected.

That night the possums returned around 12 midnight, Ian went outside to chase them off. Then it rained and they went somewhere else. Rainy miserable morning, I can't get the DVD to work and now the TV wont work either. This afternoon we drove out to Wyangala Dam, this is what 6% full looks like.

Home Tuesday, met some very nice people and had great time. We will go to warm places next time.

Griffith 24-27 May

We arrived in Griffith mid afternoon on Sunday and went to the Griffith Caravan Village just out of town, very nice park, grassy sites, nice amenities. The 0ther site in Griffith is in town and near the industrial area so we are glad we picked this one.


This is a dark park at night, the lighting is in pockets with the power inlets. Very peaceful and quiet. Monday was washing day and it had blown dry by noon. In the afternoon we visited wineries. Beelgara first, tasted some nice white and red and bought 1 Doz, then onto de Bortoli and tried some more and bought them of course. Last one Yarran, the guy there was very informative and told us they had left the grapes on the vines now to see if they could get a botrytis this year. Bought another dozen.


It rained all night and showers most of the morning. So what do you do when you cant stay outside - visit another winery of course. This tme it was Westend wineries, 1 dozen later we left. Not buying any more wines. Into town for lunch then drove around looking for houses built on drug money and think we found some on way to Lake Wynagan. Nice Lake numerous facilities for picnickers and very well kept.

Our next stop off was the Pioneer Park, Italian culture centre also included in park. Great stuff, they even had a school room with the old desks. They have rebuilt a village out of donated buildings from the past eras and incorporated the italian heritage in the displays.


In the evening we went to La Scala for dinner on Mathew’s recommendation. It was excellent; we had 3 courses and a local wine - 3 Bridges Cab sav. The place was very busy even for a Tuesday night.


On Wednesday we woke to a thick fog. Later in the morning we had an early lunch then visited Catania fruit salad farm. Wonderful place, Sharon took us on a tour of their farm in a small bus, with a short video in the shed, full of lots of information about farming their property, how it started, all about the different fruit. Then back to their house for jam, mustard (all hand made by Sharon) and wine tasting. Sharon and Joe are an interesting couple and have a great sense of humour. We bought some jams and mustards, including Ian's favourite - quince jelly.

18 - 23 May 09

Aussie Wide are sending the part for our hose to our home, so we will fix it when we get home. It isnt causing us any problems so far.

On Tuesday, off we went to the Holden Museum and Ian was in awe. Cars sure have changed over the years. Lots of memories of days gone by.

In the afternoon we went to the Historical Museum. The paddle steamer era certainly made Echuca; there was lots of information and examples of olden times in Echuca. Well worth the visit.

There are lots of ducks in this CP. Swimming in the pool, walking around the park and sitting under cars. The man hunts them from the pool by throwing large plastic water bottles at them as they land in the pool, and he hoses all the #$%*#* off the tiles every couple of days. A duck stole Shirley’s croc in the evening and Ian found it under the van. Well we assume it was a duck as something had been on our roof and Ian chased it off by banging on the ceiling.

Wednesday - Went on the Echuca Port walk and tour today. Echuca was a bustling town in the late 1800s, 78 pubs, 1200ft wharf and hundreds of paddle steamers coming in each day. The town has thrived since 1973 when someone decided to go the tourist route and it has worked.

In the afternoon, we did a cruise on the paddle steamer Pevensey. This was the actual vessel used in the 1984 TV mini series "All the Rivers Run" (they renamed it "Philadelphia" for the show). Many houseboats moored along the river, both luxurious and small.

Of great interest to us were the trees that just hang onto the banks by the thinnest root. Mighty Red Gums clinging on by the barest margins.

On Thursday we went to Barmah on a Kingfisher cruise. The mighty Murray is very different here, low banks but huge river red gums off to the side and fallen into the water. The red gums need flooding to keep them alive, so they do it artifically by releasing a flush of water from Hume Dam every three years. They couldnt do it in 2008 as there wasnt enough water, so now not till 2011. The river here is full of birdlife, we need a book on birds to work what they are.

Friday we started on the wineries and went to Chanter Wines, St Annes and the Old School Winery. Mostly wines of the sweeter types. We bought some, of course. The Old School Winery makes mead wine, ie with honey; very nice and we had some mulled (warmed with spices).

Saturday it was off to the Great Aussie Beer Shed. What a fascinating place. He gives everyone a tour and he has cans, bottles, glasses, syphons, barrels and anything and everything about beer in Australia. Old ice chests, plus petrol pumps, telephones and signs everywhere. He has over 34000 cans and is expanding into accommodation this year.

Tomorrow we are off to Griffith.

Cows at Shepparton

17 May

Checked out the caravan place for the part for the hose, but they only had a bigger one and it was $85 so we left it there. and we will call Aussie Wide on Monday and find out where to get the part or have them send it to us.

The birds had a party on the roof of the TARDIS so we took him for a wash. Shepparton has lots of fibreglass cows in their parks, and we took lots of photos for the kids of the various cows around town before leaving for our trip around the region.

First stop, Tatura to the museum but it doesn’t open until 2pm, so onto Murchison to the cemetery and to the Italian Ossario mausoleum, Italian war graves. Then onto the Murchison Heritage Centre and learnt about the POW camps located in the Tatura/Murchison area – fascinating stuff. From there we went to Rushworth but the heritage centre was shut, the town has been heritage listed so the building are little ones not changed from then.

Over to Kyabram, total surprise to why it exists, 6900 people in the middle of nowhere, although orchards everywhere so they do that now, but what did they do before. Then on the way to Tatura we skipped thru Byrneside and had to go back to take a photo of the sign, couldn’t find anything else. On the way to Tatura called in at the German War cemetery, the only one in Australia. German civilians and soldiers from both World Wars. Back to Tatura and into the museum, more information on POW camps, huge camps 4000 in one of them (Murchison). Plus info on irrigation, weirs, Rosella cannery, and snow milk (previously called Tatura milk).

On Sunday we moved from Shepparton to Echuca (a whole 77kms). Called into Tongala Golden Cow on the way which was condensed milk in Australia but 3 three years ago Nestle sold it to Fontana. It is very confusing try to keep track of who owns what and what brand is true now. We expected to pick up cans and cans of condensed milk for the boys but no luck.

After settling into the Echuca Caravan PArk we went into the town. It was very busy, cafes and pubs with outdoors seating and entertainment. We visited the information centre and Ian picked up maps for all sorts of places in Victoria and NSW. Never know when you might need a map. The next week looks busy as there is lots to do in Echuca.