We've Done It!

In one sense I guess you could say our round Australia adventure is over. We have completed the lap, arriving in Biloela where it all began way back in February. BUT we are NOT done yet!

Grandma is shocked? dismayed? bamboozled? by Jon's post-lap analysis. Grandfather thinks it's a great story.

Not quite the finished product as we plan to keep on driving. But if you look really closely you can see where the mighty Navara has taken us since February....south, west, north, south, west, north, east, north, south.....all over really! 37 000+ km.

And the best bits.....definitely July-September which was spent across the top of WA, NT and QLD hitting all the 4WD 'Big Ticket' items like: The Kimberleys, Gulf, Cape York. Tassie and the Victorian High Country still rate a mention in the 'best bits' list.

We get to go back to Fraser Island next week.....wonder where it will rate?

Favourites

As we cruised on the Spirit of Tasmania back across to mainland Australia, Jon asked me for my 2 highlights of our 3 weeks in Tassie. Soooo many options, what to choose. In the end I nominated.....the views from on top of Mt Rufus in Lake St Clair NP. I have never seen so many lakes and mountains all at once...every direction you looked. Amazing! And my other highlight was our lazy morning at Cosy Corner which you read about in the previous post. Divine! Jon's choices were similar, but not so surprisingly, one did include food! He said the pancake and coffee breakfast cooked while checking out the surf from his outdoor kitchen and achieving the long-held goal of climbing to the top of Cradle Mountain. For both of us, we could make a much longer list, but as we look back on our time in Tasmania, we are so thankful for great weather and wonderful experiences and beautiful scenery and crazy adventures. And we HIGHLY RECOMMEND a trip to Tassie sometime in your life:)

4WD Adventures

March 1 & 2

We visited the Cooma Snowy Hydro info centre this morning and were blown away by the size of the scheme. Took over 100, 000 workers and 25 years to build, Has 7 power stations which provide power for half of Australia … or something like that. 121 people were killed during its construction but it seems to have been the start of multi-cultural Oz…with 60 000+ immigrants brought in to work on the project. Quite astounding. Headed through Mt Kosciuszko NP and enjoyed lunch in a very dry, snow-free Thredbo. Can only imagine how beautiful it must be here in winter, and how convenient to be able to ski out your door to the snow lifts, or if you prefer, sit by your fire with a mug of Milo and watch the skiers on the slopes out the living room window. One chair lift to the top was running and it would have been great to go up for a look and hike around, but Kirsty had a really sore back today and was not able to move very freely, quickly or even uprightly. Poor old girl! Continued through the national park somewhat perplexed at how many ‘dead’ trees there seemed to be. Jon wondered if they were just dormant, but in talking to someone later, we discovered they were in fact D-E-A-D, having been killed in the 2003 fires. At a little camping area called Tom Groggin on the NSW / Vic border we headed off road and started our climb up into the mountains through the Alpine National Park. Some pretty rough tracks and a couple of creek crossings made it a great 4WD adventure. A spectacular sight was the sun shining through red leaves on some of the undergrowth of new gum saplings. It looked like little lights in the trees. At Davey’s Plain we came across an old mountain hut almost in its original form. Great for a look and we camped nearby on a ridge. The rustling wind in the trees made it sound like we were near the ocean and the stars were spectacular. We enjoyed good old flour Twisties on the campfire for dessert – haven’t done that for years!

A cold, cold night…apparently it was 6 degrees at 7am this morning. Slow start for us, but we woke up very quickly with a rinse in the creek water. Brrr! Spent the day mostly staring through the blue tint on our windscreen as we headed down steep hills, or staring at the bonnet as we headed up the steep hills. It was slow going…we did 33km in 3 hours…but fun! The track was quite rocky in places and there were a few hair-raising hairpin turns. Jon handled the Navara with great skill making for a day of thrills but no spills. We found a loaded blackberry bush beside the track and picked a few for pancakes tomorrow. Crossed a couple of snow plains and creeks in our travels – the ones in the high country were flowing, the 3 in the valleys were dry. Lunched at Limestone Ck at 3.30 and thought it would be breaking with our routine if we set up camp anytime before dusk, so we continued along to Native Dog Flat where we are set up in a picturesque little spot. Jon has the fire blazing already and the sun doesn’t go down for at least another 2 hours!

 

March 3^rd

Adventure plus on the tracks today. More ups and downs and scrambling, but no dust billows as we had some light rain this morning. Came across 2 big trees down across the track and Jon’s ingenuity kicked into top gear. Using our whole arsenal of tricks – the chain, axe, winch and tree trunk protector  - we spent just under an hour moving the trees enough to slide the Navara through. All of this down in the rain! Great work by Jon! The terrain and vegetation changed a lot on the Nunniong Road. Lots of ferns in the understorey of some fairly dense gums. Many cleared areas and we even passed a loaded logging truck on a pretty narrow section of road. Lunched at Moscow Villa – a little wood hut built in 1943 by Bill Achow – a man who was at that time the local bushfire spotter. He used to spend his days up a tower in the forest and his nights in the hut. No fires for us today, although the descent to Omeo revealed very dry farming / grazing areas. We stopped for a look at the Washington Winch – an old steam driven cable winch used in the early logging days. Quite an impressive old girl. So were the spar trees they used to anchor the cable and hooks to. Found a loaded peach tree beside the road and proceeded to load the camper with fresh fruit! Now camped beside the river at Omeo in a caravan park…..and taking time out to do the washing and a few unfinished projects on the camper.

More photos

Native Dog Flat campsite in the Alpine N.P in Victoria. We had the place to ourselves.

The smallest of all our creek crossings. There were 4 little fish in here when I jumped across the creek. Not sure what they looked like after the Navara had been through.

Back in NSW...this is Thredbo in the summer. Imagine winter.

The Van Itallie's in the nation's capital. Parliament House, Canberra.

"In his dreams" - Jon and Peter Brock at the base of Mount Panorama, Bathurst

Pics...

Ahhh! This is the life. Our first night on the road.

The Big Golden Guitar was alright, but lapping Mount Panorama at Bathurst was better - even with the 60k restrictions.

She's a beautiful thing - note the new additions of side rails and roof racks.

One of many border crossing photos to be taken I am sure.

My kitchen....don't you think it's so cute??

On the Road

Well, we're off! Have enjoyed the last 4 days on the road and you'll read more than enough about them if you make it thru this very long post. I promise the next ones will be shorter....just let me indulge in a little of the excitement of the whole trip finally moving from dream to reality. I do apologise for the layout too....seems you can't cut and paste from Word directly into your blogspot post. Oh yeah....photos to follow sometime soon. 

Feb 26

We’ve just finished eating our first dinner meal on the road and it was delicious! How could it not be….sitting by a creek (50ks south of Tamworth in a little place I can’t even pronounce the name of) with a peach sunset going on behind us, lightning dancing in the clouds to the south and the prospect of this being our life for the next 11 or so months. Very nice!

We left Mum and Dad’s at the lake yesterday morning and headed south to Brisbane for more car work….tyre check this time. Bought a SatNav on the way  - which despite my protests for the past 6 months has proved to be very useful. We used it to get from the north side of Bris all the way thru the mess of roadworks to Jon’s brother’s workplace, under the Story Bridge and then out to our friend’s place 15ks out of Stanthorpe. Lovely to catch up with Noel and Jude who moved from Gladstone earlier this year and enjoy a last night in a real bed in a real house.

Set off on the real journey today – Jon calls it ‘real’ because we actually left the state. Cockroach territory now. Highlight of Kirsty’s day was finding a loaded apple tree beside the road and without too much coaxing, getting Jon to do a u-ey and go back to pick a few. Lunch in a park in Armidale and then a photo with the Big Golden Guitar in Tamworth. Our plans to get to Bathurst for the night fell by the wayside and we found a freebie overnight spot right beside a First Fleet Memorial in the middle of central, country NSW. Go figure! Apparently it is the only memorial in Australia that lists all the First Fleet voyagers – both convicts and British Military. Did you know there was only 1 free settler on the First Fleet…a Mr Smith! There were 3 Knights who were marines – Knight is Kirsty’s Mum’s maiden name. Too bad they weren’t convicts….there’s more notoriety in that. 

Dinner: pre-made stew  Weather: a few drops of rain  Mozzies: yep…Note to Self: I must wear a shirt, not just a singlet, on dusk.  Quote of the evening: Jon – “I know you think I’m a geek….but this is so cool….sitting beside my camper, on my laptop, surfing the web.

26 Feb

Lots of dirt roads today as we wound our way from Wallabadah through backroads to Merriwa and Bathurst and Goulburn. Got to take the Navara on laps of Mount Panorama…very cool. Much steeper than I thought and so many properties on/in it – even a winery. Plethora of wildlife on the drives today….white cockatoos, swimming snake at lunch stop, mobs of roos and a wombat facing the sky on the side of the roadL Did 4 or so creek crossings too….only 5cm deep max, so I didn’t have to get out and do a walk thru. Finally stopped close to 9pm outside of Canberra….by a lake on which sheep graze. No water at all. Cold here and the ground so hard J couldn’t get the pegs into itJ Slept under 4 layers…sheet, doona, sleeping bag and the canvas bed cover.

27 FebInto the nation’s capital today and started our visit with a tour of Parliament House. Our bright and bubbly tour guide was most informative and her style was such that we weren’t sure if she was a politics or drama major at uni. Despite this being about the 10^th time Kirsty has been to P House, she still didn’t get to see parliament sitting…seems it’s unconstitutional to sit on a Friday. Really!!! We made our way 20ks out of town to check out the Cotter Reserve campsite right by the mighty Murrimbidgee River. Not so mighty at the moment as drought certainly has a stranglehold on Canberra and surrounds. A quick trip to Tidbinbilla Space Station allowed us to marvel at the achievements of mankind beyond our planet. Quite amazing stuff, but the best bit was seeing the moon rock. Our home for the night came with 2 bonuses – showers and barbeque fireplaces. Both were very welcome, especially when the marshmallows were finally found in the bottom of the food crate. A lovely summer’s evening under the stars.

28 Feb

A really warm day in Canberra with strong, dry winds. Talked to the ranger this morning and he said the current conditions are a lot like those in 2003 when the big fires tore thru most of the parks surrounding Canberra and burnt houses in outlying suburbs too. He was actually on his way south to Victoria tomorrow to continue to assist the parks and wildlife staff and CFA in fighting fires. Good man. A 30k bush run was being held in the area and we had 40 or so super keen (or silly) runners sprint, trot, limp, waddle past us as we ate breakfast. Questacon (National Science Centre) was a heap of hands on fun for the morning and we especially enjoyed the ‘Boom Crash Boing’ show with Sven, the crash test dummy in training. The afternoon was spent by the lake – trying to get a bit cooler and then at the very moving War Memorial. I have a hard time staying dry eyed whenever I am there. Did you know that there are over 102 thousand Australians who have lost their lives serving in wars? The sound and lighting shows about bombing raids in Germany and the Japanese mini-subs in Sydney Harbour were very good. And we got to see the daily closing ceremony where a lone piper played a lament on the steps of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Headed south out of Canberra to a rest area where we are the only campers. We’re on our way up into the high country tomorrow.

Ooopppps!

Two ooopppps!

1. I may have jumped the gun a little. We didn't head off on our trip last week, but we did leave Biloela and make it to Kirsty's folk's place at the Sunshine Coast. But the really exciting news is we do head off tomorrow morning (Tuesday) for Brisbane and then a little further afield...maybe Stanthorpe. In my books, that's officially 'on the road'. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We will be heading south through NSW, ACT and hopefully into the Victorian High Country. Have to be at the Port of Melbourne on March 7th at 8am to catch the Spirit of Tasmania across the strait to the Apple Isle.

The 2nd oopppppps was not mine! On Friday we had the Navara booked in for roof rack and side rail fittings. The latter went well, the former, not so great! The fitter failed to fit the racks correctly...one was 100mm out. So we then got to spend a whole other day at the coast while the panel beater removed the racks; welded up the holes - which included peeling back some of the interior ceiling; refitting the racks in the right place then painting and drying and blending the roof. But he did it well and we're back on track. The rig sure looks good with the roof rack and basket and the side rails now on....we'll post pics soon. So apart from a couple of little jobs Jon is doing now and packing the whole thing properly, we're ready to go!

Whetting our Appetite

We had a lovely visit with friends yesterday afternoon who spent 6 months travelling round Oz this year. They did it in style with a Land Cruiser and Off-Road caravan, leaving from Boyne Island and heading anti-clockwise. Ok....so we're in a Navara (even better) and tent and headed clockwise, but same great country to see. Such a blessing to have time to pick their brains for ideas and tips and have "their obvious enthusiasm and excitement continue to brew the same in us." (A Jon quote there!) Highlights for James and Glenda were the Red Centre and WA. We were warned about some rather unsavoury public conveniences, budgets and some rip-off servos....all helpful advice. Thanks J & G for all your stories and your 'show & tell'....we're EXCITED! 

We have a PLAN!

The last fortnight has been very exciting! We've decided to hit the road in 09 and travel around Australia. WOW! What an adventure:)

The time is right....feel a real sense of God-given peace, there are no kids as yet and a number of other factors have also contributed to the decision.

Here's a few:

• J was sick earlier in the year and that time raised a few of life's BIG questions. Pointed him in a different direction in many ways.
• We had an awesome touring holiday in Tasmania and Victoria. Life on the road treated us so well that we thought we'd like to do it again...for longer. Highlights included cruising on the Great Ocean Road; chasing wombats; climbing mountains; eating cheese and sitting in front of log fires.
• It's in K's genes. Mum and Dad did a 6 year working holiday around Oz in the 70s and I was on the road with them for most of that time.
• We visited 'Leisurefest' and were introduced to the Carry Me Camper (Google it!) which is our accommodation of choice for next year. Sleeping in a tent for a year. Hmmmmm.

So the plan began to formulate. 

So far we have:

• Told our bosses we won't be around next year
  
• Put a snorkel and lift kit on the Navara
• Set up Skype
• Starting piling up stuff for our November Garage Sale...please come
• Sold J's motorbike and the Lancer
• Ordered our camper

The wheels are in motion.

We're very excited to have you join us on this adventure....keep reading our blog for future adventure updates.