Committed Travellers

Bluey was left in the Bushtracker with Tilly while we had breakfast at Hutch and Co, which is the only half decent cafe in the area. Saturday mornings are for young families such as the group seated next to us with a 2 year old who screamed, two 4 year olds who spilt their hot chocolates, and parents who were focussed on their own food and conversation.

After dropping Anita back at the caravan park I went to see my father. When I arrived he was eating lunch followed by a glass of wine – a great improvement as he hasn’t been doing either. Three women share his table but only one is able to converse.

We went back to his room where I had set up my laptop to show him old family photos. He was able to identify most of the people in photos up to 80 years old. I had scanned dozens of old black and white photos onto a USB stick so he can view them in his room, but his smart TV is not user friendly for 90+ year olds. This photo is of my father (in the front middle) with his five siblings.

I took Bluey and Tilly for a walk, but tied Tilly to the van while Blue met the 60kg black European Shepherd that is living in the park. This will not be a long standing dog-to-dog friendship.

After making sure the big dog had returned to his van at the bottom of the park, I took Tilly to an empty caravan site with fencing on three sides. She and Blue had a wrestle together but Tilly was more interested in that rabbit.

I had an early start as my allocated visiting time to see my father was 9.30am. I was on the road by 8am  avoiding 100kph toll roads as it was raining and I prefer the 80kph highways. It took me less time to get to Vermont South than it would have on the toll roads, even though I passed through several school zones dropping to 40 or 60kph.

Visiting secure aged care residential accommodation is exhaustive. I have to sign in electronically, wear an N95 mask and a face shield, and do a rapid test to confirm I don’t have Covid. Thankfully I found my father out of bed sitting in the dining area. He hadn’t eaten his cornflakes but the staff asked him what he would like to eat for breakfast. I am concerned they will go to the trouble of making him porridge that he won’t eat.

Later we had a meeting with the doctor who is concerned he has no explanation for my father’s see-sawing symptoms. I unpacked the clothes I had bought, and tried to tidy his chest of drawers.

I drove back to Lilydale to have lunch with my sister at Hutch and Co. Later I picked up Anita who wanted to do some shopping. While she was busy in the supermarket, I was able to take photos of oak trees, leaves and acorns in Melba Park.

Blue and Tilly had a couple of walks around the caravan park, sniffing extensively. I later discovered why they were so interested. It was 5.5° at 7pm in Lilydale, which is inconsistent with the forecast minimum of 7°.

Our caravan park drains were blocked so I had to get one of the workers to unblock them as water from our washing machine was making more mud. Most of our washing was put through the dryer because there was little sun and wind.

I drove to Vermont South via tollways, listening to frequent e-tag beeps. I haven’t seen my father since January 2020, but he recognised me even though I was wearing the compulsory N95 face mask and plastic face shield. He hasn’t been 100% lately and kept falling asleep while I was with him – I mustn’t have been scintillating company! He told me he needed new pyjamas so I went to Kmart and bought him some, plus other bits and pieces. He later told one of his carers I had visited, which indicates his short term memory is not too bad.

Many shoppers at the Vermont South shopping centre were wearing masks, but at the large Chirnside Park complex very few wore masks. I decided to play it safe and wore my mask as Victorian hospitals are overwhelmed by Covid and flu patients.

Back at our caravan park I walked Blue and Tilly. I let him off his lead so they could have a fun wrestle. As I wandered back to our van, I noted our immediate outlook is not attractive, with a works area one side and van storage the other side.

We discovered some problems caused by condensation inside the van. This is a recurring problem and one that is difficult to manage when we travel to colder areas. Running the diesel heater at 12° overnight helps the main living area stay free of condensation, but we found moisture inside cupboards and other enclosed areas. I hand washed several curtains affected by dampness. Blue didn’t like all the disruption to the normal routines.

As I was walking down to the laundry for the umpteenth time I caught glimpses of the sunset.

It was dripping drizzle when I first walked Blue. By the time we drove one kilometre into the Benalla CBD the drizzle had become rain. We had breakfast at the Rustik Cafe and Foodstore. The food and coffee were good but not sensational.

Poor Blue and Tilly stayed huddled together in the car, not appreciating the low temperature. They warmed up once we were driving.

We finally left boring four lane highways, following the picturesque Midland and Goulburn Valley Hwys. Our planned first stop was going to be Yea so we contacted a Roadie friend who lives in that town and had a brief catch up. Blue recognised Val and her dog Charlie, but seemed troubled by the different context.

Yea was established in the mid 1800s so has many historic buildings, such as the post office.

The final leg of today’s trip was along the Melba Hwy, passing numerous vineyards and wineries. The rain stopped but there was a lot of mud on our allocated site at the Lilydale caravan park.

Previously we have stayed in sites on the other side of this park, but it will be full over the weekend so we had to take the site allocated. We unhitched and connected power and water for the first time since Stockton. I hosed the mud and dirt off the concrete slab, put up the awning, and laid out two annex mats over the muddy area to stop traipsing it into the van.

For dinner we ordered Indian which I collected. It was OK but not as good as we recalled from an earlier visit. Tomorrow I am going to visit my 92 year old father who according recent reports is eating and drinking very little.

As we were getting ready to leave Yass, I saw the unleashed labrador from the caravan parked next to us. It left a large poop which was not picked up by the male owner, even though he saw what his dog had done. Behaviour like this spoils things for responsible dog owners. It is probably not wise to behave badly when you are advertising your instagram account on the side of your van.

It was cold and foggy when we refuelled before rejoining the highway. We moved from the bowser to a caravan parking bay to buy coffees and breakfast. A car was parked in one of only five caravan bays so I spoke to the driver and he moved his car to the nearby carpark.

It started raining before we passed Gundagai, and continued until we crossed the Victorian border. I finally found one advantage a motorhome has over a caravan – you can use a motorhome toilet without getting wet in the rain!

We decided to stop overnight at the Benalla Showground, leaving our $12 cash payment in the designated box. There is a lot of groundwater and soggy soil, so we parked near the restored grandstand on the driest ground available.

I took Bluey for a walk viewing some of Benalla’s impressive historical buildings. The original Courthouse is an amazing building, with its detailed stone and brickwork.

Another impressive building is St Joseph’s Church, particularly the tower.

We walked through the Botanic Gardens headed for the bridge over Benalla Lake, formerly known as Broken River. This intersting pine caught my attention. Bluey scrounged a morsel from a man eating his meal outside the fish and chips shop, before we headed back to the showground.

This morning it was sunny when we hooked up and left Stockton. We farewelled our friends who are “grounded” pending medical treatment. This is a photo of the Stockton Bridge taken by my navigator extroadinaire on Saturday evening.

Our drive through Newcastle to the Pacific Motorway was uneventful. We refuelled before crossing the Hawksbury River Bridge because there would be no rest stops for a while. We chose the North Connex tunnel for the first time and were impressed, particularly as there are emergency stopping lanes. The fancy lighting and 4G mobile phone connection were an added bonus.

We continued following tollways clocking up $65 worth of tolls. It was a straightforward drive around Sydney, much better than dealing with dozens of traffic lights and narrow lanes along Pennant Hills Rd. Unfortunately only NSW residents are eligible for rebates on tolls charged for towed caravans.

We drove for well over an hour before reaching Partridge VC Rest Area at Menangle, the first rest stop without leaving the motorway. Sensibly caravans are permitted to park with trucks. We had lunch in the van overlooking a dairy farm.

We continued on to Yass, stopping in the Soldiers Club carpark which has three free RV parks. Our meals at at the Club were good and Bluey ate leftovers. A second caravan with children arrived after 7.30pm in the dark.

I took Tilly for a walk on her lead but she kept wanting to explore under bushes by the gully behind us. One of the bushes has large bunches of small grape-like berries, the size of peppercorns.

Bluey walked around town with me while I took photos of some of the historic buildings. I liked the detail in the doors and windows of the former 1865 City Store, now the studio of Sadie Grace photographer.

The Westpac bank building is impressive, both for its size and architectural design, but my favourite is the Soldiers Memorial Hall.

I was waiting for our coffees when a group of not-so-young blokes in their budgie smugglers emerged from the Stockton Beach Surf Lifesaving Club. They chuckled when I asked them for a photo, with one wag suggesting I speak with his agent! They were heading to the beach for a training swim. I would not get in that water without a thick wetsuit.

We still had intermittent rain so I put a load of washing through the dryer in the caravan park laundry. Dogs are not allowed in the amenities so Blue sat on the mat outside keeping watch.

While waiting for the dryer to finish I walked Bluey to the Breakwater just as a bulk carrier was sailing into harbour. Ships are very close as they pass through the Breakwater. The African Pipit is a fairly new ship having been constructed in 2020.

A friend in Newcastle offered to mind Bluey while we went to a lunchtime Beccy Cole concert at Lizotte’s. We dropped him off and they both had a lovely afternoon.

Lizotte’s is a favourite food and entertainment venue, but it is small so the chairs are close together. The Hussy Hicks are travelling with Beccy as part of her band, so we enjoyed Lisa and Jules singing some of their songs. Beccy’s show was fabulous, but she is still struggling with her recent emotional upheavals. The slow cooked beef fillet was well cooked and flavoursome.

We picked up Bluey just before the heavy rain started for our drive back to Stockton. At least the street lighting in Newcastle is very high quality and the wet roads were well lit.

The weather changed dramatically today. The sun has gone and the rain settled in for the day and night.

We spent most of the day keeping warm and dry in the Bushtracker. I walked to Lexi’s Cafe for coffees and Portugese tarts. On the way back this ship entering the Breakwater was noticeably listing before I took the photo.

During a brief lull in the rain we drove to the local supermarket for a couple of essentials. There is a ferry terminal connecting Stockton with Newcastle. The harbour area of Newcastle has changed a lot over recent years.

We drove beside the Hunter River to the west of the peninsular. A fully loaded coal carrier was heading out to sea under the control of tugs. It passed in front of an empty ship showing the extent of the draft of the empty ship.

We passed this magnificent Victorian building which was built in 1897. It is known as “The Laurels”. I found an old photograph on line.

Our friends introduced us to a lovely tapas restaurant in Lambton. We had earliy dinner sharing four savoury dishes, but also managed to fit in desserts. Every dish was lovely.

Our run of dry sunny days may end this evening. Clouds formed this morning but we enjoyed another fine day.

Today we spent time with an old friend. We met at the Newcastle Food and Flower Markets for lunch. This is a small market that has suffered wind damage to its greenhouse. The cafe has a reasonable menu and interesting pastries. There are murals on the external wall.

After lunch we went back to Stockton for a walk along the Breakwater. Bluey had a run on the beach, chasing another small dog. The remains of wrecked ship have survived recent wild weather.

The David Allan dredging ship returned to harbour this afternoon. This ship operates 7 days per week keeping the harbour safe for shipping. It makes several trips through the breakwater every day.

As the sun was setting in the west late this afternoon, the clouds to the east reflected the sun’s rays over the ocean.

A freak photo was posted on the Facebook page for our last Aussie Road Crew trip. The picture was taken as a small motorhome drove through the gate into the Evening Star Caravan Park. An old truck has been parked near the gate for years. In the photo it looks like the old truck is a motorhome, because the front of the motorhome is hidden behind the truck.

After tea and toast for breakfast we packed up and left Jimmy’s Beach. Our reasonable coffees were from 2 Fat Bakers. A group of tradies came into the bakery with their traditional orders of pies, sausage rolls and cream buns.

There is a convenient dump site at the Lions Lookout on Myall Way just outside Tea Gardens – providing possibly one of the best views from a dump site!

Our friends had enjoyed water views from their campsite at Stockton Beach until we arrived, as our Bushtracker had been allocated the prime position. The distant sand dunes are north east of our site, looking towards Anna Bay.

We soon saw a coal carrier guided by tug boats pass through the Newcastle Breakwater, heading up the Hunter River to the wharf.

I had Blue and Tilly out on their leads attracting the attention of a toddler. Tilly soon put herself on the tray under the pram.

I watched a Facebook video where a Tilly lookalike climbed onto the railing of an apartment verandah, too high for a safe landing if she fell. The cat wanted to say hello to her neighbour.

The real Tilly enjoyed some free time in the Toyota. I left the windows down a little so she got fresh air while enjoying the view from the top of the critters’ crate.

Bluey had a long walk around the caravan park, and a run on the sand next to the Breakwater. It looks like new reddish-pink sandstone rocks have been placed on the Breakwater. There has been further erosion of the other side of the Breakwater where this couple was walking on the beach.

Blue and Tilly were both tired after their busy day, resting together in their crate while Anita cooked dinner.