20th March to 31at March 2013

20^th March 2013

We have now heard that Merry has an appointment at Peter Mac Hospital on 26^th March and unfortunately at 8.30am.  They don’t take into account the fact that we have a 1.5 hour journey to get there, however, unless we misinterpreted the booklet they sent us, the treatment is not going to cost us much if anything.  We will know more next week which coincides with our daughter, Colleen arriving with her husband Craig and two girls, Emma and Abby.   It is a fair bet that Colleen will go to the hospital with Merry in place of Barry who will look after Craig and the girls.

21^st March 2013

We had a trial run to Peter Mac hospital so that we knew the exact whereabouts and the train times merry needs to know to ensure she arrives on time on Tuesday.  We got to Parliament station alright but exited by the wrong exit which caused us to take about half an hour to get to the hospital instead of the ten minutes that it should take.  We timed the correct return trip to the station so that we were sure of the overall timing and then found somewhere to have a late breakfast.  From there we went to Carlton Gardens to a Garden and Flower show with the sales type stalls in the gardens and the flower show in the Royal exhibition Hall.  The Hall is a massive, beautiful building that looks like it should be someone’s palace but is completely empty except for the flower displays.  We spent several hours at this show before heading to find that Foxy had managed to escape.  We don’t know long she had been out for but Barry found her sitting on the pavement just around the corner about 30 metres away, but she seemed worn out as if she had been going round some of the walks we take her on, possibly in the hope of finding us.  Fortunately it all turned out okay but we now have to make the fence somewhat more secure before we leave her again.   

22^nd March 2013

Merry had her MRI scan at Clayton that took about 2.5 hours by the time they had done the scans and made the CD for her to take to the Peter Mac Hospital on Tuesday.

24^th March 2013

We all spent a fair part of yesterday and today preparing the house for Colleen, Craig, Emma and Abby arriving tomorrow, which involved organising two double airbeds. Moving our stuff down to the lounge which will become our bedroom so that Colleen’s lot can have the upper level and Garon, Sue and us use the bottom half of the house for sleeping, etc.  Soxy the cat, has also had a slight infection and had to have a visit to the Vet but seems to be okay now but is on antibiotics as a precaution.

25^th March 2013

Susanne collected Colleen, Craig, Emma and Abby from the airport, for which Barry will be forever grateful, and they arrived home in time for the dinner Merry had prepared, after a not too brilliant flying experience with Virgin Airways.

26^th March 2013

Merry and Colleen were dropped off at the railway station to go to Peter Mac Hospital for Merry to meet her surgeon.  This took her about 2 hours which worked out fine by the time the rest of colleen’s tribe had come up for air and went with Barry to the train station and meet up with Colleen and Merry to all go to the Victoria Street Markets.  After some lunch we all took the City Tram which did a roundabout trip to Harbour town, and then in to Federation Square.  We bailed out at a stop before Fed Square and went into the Melbourne Aquarium to see the Penguins, etc before crossing the Yarra River via one of the many footbridges and walked along the West Bank and veered off to the Eureka Skydeck were Colleen’s tribe took the trip to the top whilst Merry and Barry waited at the bottom as we did this during are previous trip to Melbourne.  We then all walked to Fed Square where we took in the atmosphere for a while and then took a Horse and carriage ride out to the Botanic gardens and back. 

This was followed by dinner and then back to the casino on the West Bank so our visitors could see the gas flares on the riverside and a look inside the Casino.  We then headed home to avoid keeping Garon and Sue up too long . Whilst we waited for Colleen’s tribe in the Sky tower we had a phone call from one of Garon/Sue’s neighbours to let us know that they had Foxy in their house as she had escaped again despite Garon and Barry putting in a much improved barrier to keep her in.  Apparently she burrowed out and Garon has now improved on our improvement.

Merry now has more information with respect to her treatment and knows that it starts in three to four weeks time for six weeks.

27^th March 2013

Barry took Colleen’s tribe out to the Dandenong ranges to enjoy the views, have lunch at Grant’s Picnic Area cafe were one used to be able to feed the birds which now isn’t allowed.  We had lunch in the cafe and moved on the Belgrave to the Puffing Billy Train ride but Colleen/Craig considered it too expensive and also didn’t fancy sitting on a train for two hours, so we headed home.  However, they did get to see an Echidna cross the road during our travels.

28^th March 2013

We took our car plus Sue’s car to the railway station and then took the train into Melbourne where we walked from the Richmond station to the MCG and took the tour of the facilities which are used by both Australian Rules Football (aerial ping pong) and cricket.  We had lunch in the 'Paddock' cafe and then descended into the Sports Museum which has an interactive sections where the girls could practice there skills at archery, football, soccer, running out batsmen, netball and more, which they enjoyed more than the museum as such.  We then crossed over the road and railway via the footbridge to the Rod Laver Tennis Arena, but unfortunately that was closed.   The footbridge interconnects with about five different sporting venues as well as accessing the trams, trains and walking back into Federation Square (about tem minutes).  We took the tram into Fed Square where Merry and the girls took the train from Flinders Street station to go back to our car at Mentone and to take the girls shopping and to the cinema.  Craig, Colleen and Barry stayed in town and walked some of the lanes and alleys to pass some time until meeting up with Sue and Garon in Fed Square.  During this time Barry received a phone call from a neighbour that was in possession of Foxy who had escaped once again, so Barry phoned merry who was heading that way so that she could retrieve her.  Hoe she managed to escape is a mystery as the improved barricades show no signs of disturbance, no tunnels, etc.  After meeting up with Sue and Garon we all walked back to the MCG and watched the Footy match between Carlton and Richmond.  We left at three quarter time as the preferred team was losing badly, and walked back into town for a coffee were we discovered that the preferred team had come back dramatically, but eventually lost narrowly having had at least two missed chances to win.  

29^th March 2013

Barry transported Colleen, Craig and the girls to the railway station so that they could take a train up to the Melbourne Zoo, and collected them on their return.  Meanwhile the rest of us had a lazy Good Friday around the house.  The evening dinner was to be homemade pizzas Sue mixed the base ingredient and allowed to rise and from there the two girls took over and kneaded and rolled the mixture to produce the three bases and applied the variety of chosen toppings.  Garon cooked two of them in the Weber Q whilst Sue did the third one in the oven, and all three were really good.

30^th March 2013

Being a Saturday there was a late arising, especially with the teenagers but we eventually drove along to Saint Kilda for a fancy breakfast and a walk through the shopping area to buy a heap of cakes for afternoon tea.  Dinner was to be Indian style made by Colleen but Garon thinks his Indian meals are better so we had an Indian cook off.  After the cook off, Abby and Garon went for a run which pushed it a bit for Abby who was running in sand shoes which was tough on her legs.  The eventual conclusion of the cook off was that both were great in their own right and complemented each other despite the obvious differences. 

31^st March 2013

Colleen and her tribe, along with Merry went to a Direct factory Outlet to that Abby could buy some proper running shoes for future runs.  Unfortunately that will not happen today as Colleen’s tribe have to fly back to Perth in the afternoon.  It has been a short but sweet visit which has been great for us as it was five years ago that we last saw them.  The girls were literally little girls and are now young ladies, although lady doesn’t quite suit Abby as she is the impish one.  Emma is the bright academic type and Abby is the energetic sporting type although Emma does play netball and also referees netball.  Merry was very happy to have colleen with her at her hospital meeting with the surgeon as she know the right questions to ask, and now that she knows exactly what is happening with her mother cam stop worrying about her.

25th February to 15th March 2013

25th February 2013

We ventured into Melbourne using the bus/train combination and suffered the same problem that we encountered 2 years ago where by the train returns to Mentone Station where you then walk through a subway to the other side of the railway in time to see the bus you need pulling away from the bus stop and heading into the distance.  We then sat around at a cafe with a coffee for the next bus in an hour’s time.   We only visited Melbourne because we had to go to the electoral offices to do an absentee vote for the WA elections so that we didn’t receive a fine.  Voting in Australia is mandatory.

27^th February 2013

Rain has reduced our activities to nil.

28^th February 2013

We returned to the specialist to get Merry’s biopsy results.  These turned out to not be as good as we had previously been led to believe as the more thorough examination revealed more than was first seen.  It means that it can’t be removed with laser surgery and therefore requires radiation therapy over a 6 to 8 week course.  Much better than the knife with the possibility of no voice.  Fortunately we can store our caravan at Steve and Terry’s in Woodend and move in with Garon and Sue for the duration, if they can bear it for that long.  Racing down to Melbourne from Canberra in the hope of seeing a specialist proved to be a good move.  So far getting appointments with doctors and specialists has fallen into place very easily.  Merry meets with the specialist and the radiation team on the 7^th March for the final decision on the method of attack prior to the first treatment.

2^nd March 2013

We packed up our annex, etc and moved out of Dingley Village and towed the caravan up to Woodend and managed to manoeuvre it into the parking area beside the house without any tree lopping required.  We settled in with Steve and Terry whilst Foxy argued with Badger (their dog) and Gypsy (their cat) as to who was in charge, which turned out to be Gypsy and Foxy and Badger resolved their differences.  In the afternoon Steve and Barry attacked the gas heating system that had stopped working as the installer had advised Steve to contact the manufactures, but that couldn’t happen until Monday and this is Saturday.  They found a hidden blown fuse in the igniter circuit which resolved the problem after it was replaced.

3^rd March2013

Other than a quick visit into the town for a small amount of shopping and a couple of photos, Merry had an afternoon of social chatter while Barry did an oil change on the car.

4^th March 2013

This was another day of socialising with our hosts and making future plans. 

5^th March 2013

We went with Steve and Terry on a trip to the small town of Molden and took a stroll around the town to take a few photos of the points of interest and moved on to Castlemaine to have some lunch and then walk the town.  On the return journey we called into Taradale to check out the railway trestle bridge before heading home via Kyneton where we had a quick look at another grey stone bridge.

 6^th March 2013

We packed all that we considered necessary to take with us to Garon and Sue’s, which almost filled the car and headed for Melbourne in the late afternoon and endured the frantic rush hour traffic getting through to Beaumaris.

7^th March 2013

We met with Merry’s surgeon and Radiation therapist at Murdoch hospital expecting to meet a team of ten but in fact a tea of fifteen had already discussed the situation and decided that radiation is the only option as the problem is a bit worse than first thought.  We are now waiting for an appointment for anMrI scan to get a better idea of what is going on.

8^th March 2013

We went out and bought a new computer for Merry as her current one is like us, getting old and slow, and generally becoming a painful experience, unlike us.  The idea being that we will be using a worthwhile fast computer for a devious little scheme (legal) that we are getting involved in with Richard.  

10^th March 2013

We drove out to Woodend to Steve and Terry’s again to collect some more of the caravan contents, and spent most of the day with them and Steve’s sister, another Sue.

12^th March 2013

We used the train to the Caulfield racetrack railway station and spent most of the day at the Caravan & Camping Show which is always dubious were we are concerned as it is difficult to leave without buying anything.  However, on this occasion it was at least something that should prove very useful, in the form of a TV antenna.  The caravan has a wind up antenna which we found to be only partially useful from a very early stage of our journey as it only receives horizontally transmitted signals.  When we got to Adelaide, some years ago, we bought another unit that fitted externally that can be rotated to receive a vertically transmitted signal.  Many of the country areas use the vertical signal.  When all else fails we use our satellite dish.  The new antenna is a retrofit unit to replace the roof mounted wind up antenna that can receive both transmission systems, which will replace the old horizontal bar.  Once we have proved it works to our satisfaction we will try to sell the additional external antenna which has to be removed each time we pack up.

15^th March 2013

The MRI scan appointment is not until next week, but Merry has had a blood test done as a prior requirement.  Now we just wait again, which we aren’t good at.

30th January to 20th February 2013

30^th January 2013

We successfully managed to clean and dry all of our tarps yesterday and store them on the roof rack along with one of the five chairs that we carry in order to accommodate the occasions that we net up with Richard, Jack and Rory.  That may not happen again for some considerable time as the next holiday that they are arranging will be just the three of them, and probably in a snow covered area.

31^st January 2013

We finally made it to the Botanic Gardens who proudly advertise free entry but forget to mention that it costs $2.50/hr, or $10/day, to use their car park.  The gardens where a bit disappointing though not the worst we have visited but way off  being comparable with the best, in Cairns.  After walking the main path and a few offshoot paths we had to walk to the furthest point again to visit the Display Glasshouse which was a totally dismal failure with very little to see.  On the return journey home we attempted to stay close to the banks of Lake Burley Griffin and stopped at the Scrivener Dam which was built to produce the lake on the Molonglo River.  We also stopped soon after that at the Government House lookout which offered a distant view of the house across the vast lawn and a landscape view in the other direction.  We stopped again near the city to see the avenue of national flags and the Captain Cook’s Fountain, a pumped water spout in the lake. 

1^st February 2013

We very quietly celebrated Merry’s birthday by taking it easy with the intention of having dinner out but it decided to rain so the enthusiasm quickly waned.

3^rd February 2013

Having seen adverts on TV that the Canberra Arboretum would be open to the public this weekend we took the opportunity and gave the benefit of our presence.  This was a special opening as it was the anniversary of the fire, and the real opening is due in a few months, so we were lucky to have been here at the right time.  We went on the second day and didn’t have to put up with the dignitaries waffling on.  The car park is not bituminised, and therefore no lines setting out parking bays, so parking was free but will eventually use the ready installed ticket machines.  It has a huge visitor centre which includes a cafe that produces excellent pies. 

There is an attached outdoor centre that now holds a fascinating Bonsai display and a separate pavilion that vaguely resembles part of the Sydney Opera House roof.  Between the two buildings is a huge grassed amphitheatre that no doubt will host some shows one day, but currently is host to kite flying kids as its shape offers great up drought.  The arboretum covers a huge undulating area with some established young trees and acres of freshly planted trees that will look really good in years to come.  It is impressive even now with its variety of trees in land that was totally burnt out by fire a few years ago. 

There is a lookout included on Farmers Hill that has a 360 degree view over the surrounding countryside and includes looking down on Scrivener Dam, and has a huge eagles nest with resident eagle made from scrap tools, springs and piping.  On the way home we stopped off at the Portrait Gallery where Barry elected to have a very quick walk through some of the various galleries and then sit and wait for Merry in comfort whilst she meandered slowly through all of  the galleries reading every inscription.

4^th February 2013

We had another lazy day during which Barry removed the front right wheel of the car and changed it for the back passenger side wheel as the front wheel has a flat spot that creates an irritating flapping noise.  Now that it is on the back, any noise it makes is behind us plus the wheel is rotating in the opposite direction which also eases the problem.

7^th February 2013

Apart from shopping we did nothing other than the gradual packing up of our annex, etc, so that we can leave early in the morning.

8th February 2013

We did the final packing and left the caravan by crossing the road into a car park that is hardly used so that Barry could jack up the caravan to adjust the brakes as he is not convinced that the van’s brakes are supplementing the cars brakes adequately.   This proved to be not such a good idea as it required a special tool to be able to adjust the drum type brakes as there is inadequate room to do it with a screwdriver..  We departed there with the caravan hand brake pulled slightly on to simulate the adjustment as a temporary measure which worked quit well and we can feel the van helping the braking.  We had two stops on the way to the Albury region. 

 The second stop, for lunch, was at Holbrook where we had visited before and were impressed, and were impressed once again at the town park with the top half of HMAS Otway, a submarine, as the central focus point.  There is also a museum alongside it that has a Hologram using the wife of the ship’s captain explaining the fascinating story of the submarine and its crew during the war and on the way through the museum you pass through the confines of a submarine control room.  For some unknown reason, there was about half a dozen Aston Martins cars of various types and vintage in the car park.   We then proceeded to the Albury region to a rather ordinary caravan park for the night.

9^th February 2013

We arrived in Melbourne soon after 2.00pm at 5 ways Caravan Park in Dingley Village where we stayed two years ago for

several weeks, as it is close to our son and daughter-in-law, Garon and Susanne, whom we will be visiting tomorrow.  We are actually on the same bay that we were on before.

10th February 2013

We drove round to Garon and Susanne’s home and enjoyed a great meal and very pleasant day with them.

12^th February 2013

We took an uncomfortable drive through Melbourne and out to Woodend to visit Steve and Terry, which would be the first time we have seen them since somewhere around June/July in 2008.  The trip back on a different route was a lot easier than the outward trip with only one spell of nose to tail creeping

13^th January 2013

Merry visited a doctor for a referral to a specialist to check out her throat and was told it may take up to six months, but rather surprisingly managed to get to see him next week and any follow up would be within a week or two from then.

!6^th February 2013

We visited Garon and Susanne again and as previously arranged with them, offloaded the camping gear that we are currently carrying which only gets used when Richard, Jack and Rory visit us for a holiday.  Richard is arranging their next holiday in the Snow to go skiing so they will not be using camping gear for quite  a long time, are reduces our total weight by a considerable amount and gives back a lot of storage space. Most importantly it reduces the height of the vehicle which we had hoped would allow us into a few underground car parks to use the shade when Foxy is in the car. We always needed a minimum of 2.3 metres and although the overall height is now reduced it is still too risky to get into the more usual 2.1 metres car parks now.

18^th February 2013

Merry visited the ENT specialist this afternoon and had her throat inspected with a fancy gadget used via her nose and informed that she has a tumour on her right vocal cord which needs to be removed ASAP as it is slow growing and hasn’t broken through the cord wall.  She was sent downstairs for an X-ray and a CT scan and booked into hospital for a biopsy the following day.

19^th February 2013

Merry had her spell in hospital and Barry brought her home again at about 3.00pm with a slightly sore throat as about half of the tumour was removed during the biopsy plus they had a good look around down there in case there was anything else there that shouldn’t be.  The specialist said it was similar to a skin cancer and they should be able to remove it all, probably by laser treatment, and wouldn’t require any further treatment, but we will know more soon.

20^th February 2013

Merry is feeling much improved today and her voice actually sounds better than it has in a long time, although there is still some soreness there.  We had a day in the large Southlands Shopping complex, not for shopping, just looking and checking a few things out, and on the way home bought some oil, filter, etc in readiness to do an oil change on the car.

 

11th January to 29th January 2013

I1^th January 2013

We left the showgrounds and helicopters and moved into Queanbeyan Riverside Caravan Park which has some level sites overlooking the river complete with pads.  Unfortunately we are on one of the others in the centre of the park that are very uneven dirt sites without pads, so we are hoping it doesn’t rain, which is not what the firefighters want.  The weather report is for a couple of cooler days then more heat wave and windy conditions which definitely doesn’t please the  fire fighters.

12^th December 2013

We now have the dates for Richard’s next visit on the 19^th and have booked the site immediately behind us to retain the family group.

15^th January 2013

We drove into Canberra and parked outside the American Embassy and strolled around the area to check out some of the other Embassies.  They are spread over a huge area which requires moving the car to other parking areas and walking around the streets close to the car. 

 

In several cases we saw Commissions, rather than Embassies, subject to the country involved. As you would expect, America has an area six times bigger than anyone else, with the buildings almost completely hidden, whereas the interesting ones are all on view.  This took care of the afternoon and we probably didn’t see half of the total embassies, so we may have another trip later after acquiring a map highlighting where they all are.

17^th January 2013

This was forecast as being a hot day so rather than going to the Botanic Gardens we took advantage of the air conditioning at Parliament House.  We have been there before in 2002 but a second look never hurt anyone and we did get to see more this time.  We toured both old and new buildings and checked out the gardens of the old building, which we didn’t do last time. 

 

The only drawback with the visit is the 3 hour parking limit, meaning you have to return to the car and move it after 3 hours, even when there aren’t many vehicles in the car park. We were in both buildings for more than 3 hours each plus there is a fairly long walk between the two.  The views from the roof are worth taking in whilst you are there.  There is a small entry fee to the old building which is now the Museum of Democracy.

18^th January 2013

This was predicted to be another hot day, so other than a quick shopping trip we stayed at home in the air conditioning, although the air conditioner did struggle a bit.  The temperature turned out to be much higher than predicted, giving Sydney a new record high of 46.8 degrees. Here in Queanbeyan, we only reached 46 degrees, which is what we used to be used to in the north west of WA for many years, but the aging progress makes hot weather less tolerable.  

19^th January 2013

We pitched the tent in the site behind our caravan in the morning in readiness for Richard’s arrival. The ground is so hard here that we had to buy a long 6.5mm drill to drill holes in the ground prior to knocking the tent pegs in, and it was still hard work and bent a lot of pegs.  It also systematically destroyed the drill.  Richard arrived at 3.15pm and on arrival at the park finished off the last few details to turn the tent into his temporary home.  

21^st January 2013

We collected the grandkids after a very roundabout route provided by the Navman which did literally find as many roundabouts as possible, and then continued on to the suburb of Woden to a medical clinic for Richard  to undergo a drug test  requirement for his next contacting job.  The kids and Richard spent the rest of the day at the swimming pool, the skate board park and a walk through town, etc.

22^nd  January 2013

We drove into Canberra to a Pancake Parlour for a Pancake breakfast to celebrate Richard’s Birthday. Unfortunately Jack was not feeling 100% and couldn’t finish eating his huge meal, which is somewhat unusual for Jack who is now a almost 6fft tall and similar shape to a broom handle.   As he was not in perfect shape we changed our minds about going swimming/walking at Coota in the extreme heat and went to Belconnen instead to the Hoyt’s cinema and suffered ‘The Hobbit’.   As yet, the point of the film hasn’t emerged other to slash and bash their way around the New Zealand countryside.  The later part and the special effects where good, and as luck would have it (for some people) it ended with obvious intentions of a sequel to continue the pointless journey.

23rd January 2013

The day started out with a drive through Canberra, everywhere we go seems to be via the centre of Canberra, to the Cotter Dam where we checked out the swimming possibilities ay Casuarina Sands and where not initially impressed.  We drove on to the Cotter Dam picnic area which offered even less opportunity options nut a pleasant place to have our picnic lunch.  We walked up to the lookout that only provided a view of the concrete wall which is being modified to a greater height.  We drove back to Casuarina Sands and made the most of it.  This lasted for about an hour or so before Aboriginals that think they have the right to ignore the ‘No dogs’ signs  don’t apply to them.  We pointed out this slight error and then underwent about half an hour of foulmouthed inane racist ravings, which of course is acceptable when directed at white people.  When Richard and the kids returned from their swim we departed homeward via another Navman tour of Canberra to go to the Black Mountain Telstra Tower for the view over the City.  When we finally arrived home Richard discovered that he had damaged his laptop screen when he carried it out of the caravan in the morning.  It was still open with a program running but had the power pack sitting on top of it and the carrying partially closed the screen onto the power pack which cracked the screen.  Not a particularly good day other than the picnic and the view from the Telstra tower, although Richard and the kids enjoyed their swim.

24^th January 2013

After numerous phone calls to computer repair specialists it was determined that there was no quick fix for Richards computer screen as there wasn’t one available to replace it with.  We drove out to Fyshwick and bought a new one and he will get the other one repaired in Perth when he gets back there.  The new one, although only six months younger, has much more to offer in the way of hard drive and RAM capacity, and was $1000 cheaper.  The other semi planned activities for the day were put on hold until tomorrow so that Richard can load his required programs, etc, after the kids spent some time in the local swimming pool.

25^th January 2013

In order to have another swim we drove Richard and the kids out to Kambah Pool, but to the so-called beach area this time where they were able to swim in the Murrumbidgee River.  We drove round to the rock pool area after the swim and had a primitive BBQ lunch and then left the others to explore the rock pools which didn’t last too long as it was full of people fishing.

26^th January 2013

We initially drove through Canberra to a mini-golf course that is no longer in existence but found someone who knew where another one does exist, although apparently only for another week,  we dropped Richard and the kids off and visited the Royal Mint and then went to Redhill Lookout, Mount Ainslie Lookout and Mount Pleasant Lookout before heading home.  The others met up with one of the campers from Mystery Beach and walked round some of Lake Burly Griffin, and still happened to be out there in the open when the predicted storm hit town.  Karen took them back to her place and came up with some loan clothing.  They had Pizza for dinner and arrived home whilst it was still raining at about 10.00pm, courtesy of Karen.   The river that the caravan park is alongside, had been allowing a dribble of water to pass over the town weir which is beside the park, but as it started to get dark and after an hour, or so, of rain it was allowing a torrent of water to pass over it.   Being a sloping park we also had a river running through the annex once more.  The countryside looked quite dry from the lookouts when were up there but will have to go again to see the difference that the rain makes.  More is forecast for the next few days.

27^th January 2013

We took Jack and Rory home this morning as they are due to start school soon and then drove on to Belconnen shopping centre to drop Richard off again to meet up with his new found friend.  We stopped at the shopping centre for a coffee and met Karen who actually seemed rather nice and a vast improvement on anyone he has introduced to us before.  He may have finally learnt how to avoid lame ducks, so we are hoping that the several thousand kilometres that will separate them when Richard returns to WA doesn’t affect the relationship, assuming a relationship is developing. 

28^th January 2013

We managed to take the tent down without rain although it thought about but despite being packed up we will get it out again when we get a good opportunity to make sure.  The tarps that were under the tent still need cleaning and drying, which may happen soon if the weather improves.   Karen came over and went out with Richard for a few hours and returned him in time to take him to the airport.  His flight was booked as a straight through flight to Perth which turned out to be great as he usually has to go to Sydney first.  Sydney airport was reduced to one runway due to diabolical weather conditions with many flights cancelled.  He was due to catch another plane in Perth to the Northwest tomorrow morning so he should have avoided any problems.

29^th January 2013

It rained through most of the night but not hard and appears to want to continue today, or at least threaten it, so there will not be much activity today.

27th Decenber 2012 to 10th January 2013

27^th December 2012

The work on the car didn’t happen due to strong wind and dampness, and also the Boxing Day test match.  Today looks a little brighter and without the wind but we have to go shopping and start packing up to leave early tomorrow for Canberra.

28^th December 2012

We arrived in the Eagle Hawk Caravan Park which is actually still in NSW about 200m from the border with Canberra, and about 17kms from the city centre, at about2.00pm and set up our camp spot in its entirety including the annex as we will be here for a week.  On the way down here we only used the awning to keep the rain/dew of the items stored outside overnight.  The park is very large and relatively new, and like most parks these days are tending to fill them with cabins of all shapes and sizes with relatively small areas for caravans, and the caravan bays are designed to just fit you in, rather than allowing a bit of elbow room.  That was one of the really good points at Wangaling Beach, near Mission Beach, you could really spread out.  The ablution block is good because of the newness and the fact that the cabins are self contained, therefore to a large extent, only used by the caravan owners (trailer trash). 

29^th December 2012

The weather is warm during the day but has now become cooler at night so in the last few days we have gone from a sheet only with the overhead fan on, after using the air conditioner to cool the van done prior to going bed, to now include a blanket and bedspread.  Barry took the better weather and nicer caravan park as an opportunity to change the fuel tank sender unit.  This meant removing the roller draws from the rear of the vehicle to be able to lift the carpet and sounding material to gain access to the floor plate.  Once this was removed it was a fifteen minute job to replace the sender unit, but removing and replacing the roller draws stretched the task out to five hours and will be completed with about an hour’s work tomorrow.

30^th December 2012

The car has now been completed and the roller draws refilled and we are free to get back to tourist stuff and to see if the $360 for the unit was worth the time and effort.  Nissan wanted over $300 to install the sender but we suspect they hadn’t taking the roller draw removal/replacement into account.  Even so, they were going to charge heaps for a one hour job without the roller draws.  They would only need to remove 6 screws to release the carpet, 4 screws to remove the access plate and 6 screws, 2 small hosepipes and an electrical plug to remove the sender unit and then reverse the process.  Barry did discover that the small hose must be removed before the larger hose as this depressurises the tank and avoids pumping diesel out.

31^st December 2012

This was a big day out at the National War Memorial that kept us occupied for the full seven hours that it is open.  We got there shortly before opening time and the underground car park, that is just high enough for us to get in, was relatively empty. 

 The first hour inside was really good with so few people around that allowed us to get a lot of photos without stay bodies in view.  Barry prefers photos without people unless the photo is specifically of people or required to demonstrate the size of something.   As you enter you are confronted with the garden pathway leading up to The Hall of Memory.  In front of you is a hedge lined pathway around the Remembrance Pond with an eternal flame burning at the far end.  Going up to the higher level brings you to arched corridors on each side overlooking the pool with the Remembrance Walls along each side that leads you to The Hall of Memory.  This is very cathedral like with its very high, beautiful domed roof and huge pictured walls of soldier/sailor/airmen and nurses achieved with mosaic tiles, all set off with stained glass windows also depicting our armed forces.  In the centre of the floor is the grave of the ‘Unknown Warrior’ in remembrance of the fallen that never received a proper grave.  From here you wander into a labyrinth of huge rooms containing equipment from numerous wars that Australia has been involved in and includes at least a dozen fighter aircraft and a Lancaster Bomber, tanks, armoured cars, trucks, a submarines, a helicopter, etc,  and how they got them all in is beyond imagination.   There are film shows in many of the separate areas showing the roles the various types of war such as the bomber crews, the fighter pilots, the seamen, nurses.   There are numerous 3D landscapes of many of the better known battle fields highlighting the conditions the battle was fought in.   There is also an area highlighting our decorated heroes with the medals on display.  Each day the memorial buildings are locked up after the playing of the ‘Last Post’.

1^st January 2013

We caught up with Rory, Jack already had plans with his friend, and we took her to her choice of venue, called Kambah Pool, which is a natural riverside setting with a beach in one area and a rock pool in another.  Her choice was the rock pool that turned out to be not a lot of fun, probably due to Jack being absent, and only a bit of rock hopping happening.  We decided to leave and took her to Cockington Green Gardens which is a beautifully laid out gardens including miniature villages, with typical English flavour.  We had a picnic lunch prior to entering which had been supplied and prepared by Rory.  There were several interactive miniature railways plus a ride-on train to add to the kids‘entertainment, plus an international area with impressive abodes of the wealthy from numerous countries.  None of the plants are Bonsai, they are all naturally mall but during the winter, any that have grown too high are removed and replaced with smaller ones.   There ia also a hop with a couple of very impressive dolls houses.  After leaving we called into a Dinosaurs Museum just down the road were we parked in their car park and took photos of the outside display before heading back to the caravan park where Rory used the swimming pool for a short while only, due to Canberra type water temperatures.

2^nd January 2013

We returned to the War Memorial to check out the surrounding gardens and statues along with the outside display of guns, tank and the complete bridge of HMAS Brisbane that we saw on the inside a few days ago.  We then drove down the impressive Anzac Parade towards the Houses of Parliament to take photos of the roadside memorials to individual wars.  Having accomplished that mission we headed out to a Hoyts cinema and watched Les Miserable’s which was a really good film and should win some awards if the Yanks can get past their bias towards their own inferior films.  We saw the live stage show some years ago and were pleasantly surprised how well the film compared.

3^rd January 2013

Most of the day was spent packing up ready to leave early tomorrow morning but included a trip back to the cinema in the hope of reclaiming Barry’s wallet which has gone missing.  His believe is that it worked its way out of his pocket whilst lounging in the cinema.  The theory proved to be correct as the wallet had been handed in and we were able to retrieve it. But it cost some time and fuel.  The caravan park has turned into a shambles as there is a local event happening involving old cars, most of which seem to Holden and have been restored to anything except original.  The engines have all been replaced with the biggest V8 engine available and fitted with the noisiest exhaust system available.  The usual 10kms speed limit in caravan parks doesn’t seem to exist anymore, as it mandatory for them to see what speed they can obtain between speed humps.   It also seems that the only form of amusement for these overgrown children is to sit revving the guts out of their cars for hours on end.  If they did it wherever the event is held to please their show pony needs it wouldn’t be a problem, but around the park is not appreciated, and the management is not about to do anything about it as they have suddenly filled about a dozen cabins for several days, which is a bigger earner than caravans.  

4^th January 2013

We headed out at 7.30am and parked and unhitched the caravan in a vacant area alongside a huge shopping centre near the airport so that we could collect Richard from the arrivals area without having to drag the van around there with us.  Jack and Rory had already been delivered to us at the caravan park by their mother prior to us leaving.  We drove the 230kms to the Mystery Bay campgrounds on the NSW coast south of Bateman Bay.  It isn’t quite what we had hoped for and we’re not too sure it is the best place to be as far as occupying the kids, but it is only for 5 days.  It is very rough, ready and packed due to the school holidays although we had been told on the phone that most people would have left by now, but that was exactly true.  No-one was available at the check-in so we had to simply find a spot where we could.  At $25 a day it is not really worth it as by the time you add on the extra costs that you don’t need in a recognised caravan park, such as running the fridge on gas, petrol for the generator, the extra fuel used to drag 260 litres of water with us.  These extras probably push the overall daily cost up to $30 which in most cases would cover the cost of a caravan park with better facilities such as better toilets, hot showers, swimming pool, BBQ facilities, etc. However, at this time of year with school holidays the coastal caravan parks will have pushed up their prices to peak season rates and need to be booked at least six months in advance to get in to them.  You can’t just turn up and expect to get in.

 6^th January 2013

During the last few days, Richard and the kids have done some exploring through this extensive campsite and along the coastline.  The immediate coastline is a cliff with a rough track down to the rock strewn beach, but further along the coast they have found somewhere to swim, snorkel and fish.  They actually brought some fish home for breakfast but now have to find a volunteer to eat it. 

7^th January 2013

The fish had to wait until the evening meal and even then most of it was thrown away as there were too many small bones to contend with. During the day we went into Dalmeny to a camping shop and to check out the local campsite, which had a really lovely ocean outlook and beach, but considerably more expensive but does offer hot showers.  On the way back we went up to Bar Rock Lookout for the view over the harbour entrance and then walked along the jetty an observed a large turtle.  On the way back, via the lookout, Barry spotted a Superb Blue Wren, but it unfortunately didn’t wait to have its photo taken. 

8^th January 2013

We have been put on to a total fire ban as there are fires north of here (about 100kms away but the wind is in our direction), and we are in the midst of an extensive forest area.  We are heading into Narooma for lunch today as it is Jack’s birthday as we can’t take him out for dinner as we need to start packing everything away ready for an early start and departure tomorrow morning, as Richard has to catch the 3.00pm flight out of Canberra.  Having eaten out at lunchtime we didn’t need to light an open fire for cooking.  With leaving early we also hitched up the van which would allow for a quick exit, if required.  Surprisingly, it rained during the night, but not heavy enough to be of any use to anybody.

9^th January 2013

We headed for Canberra but had to do a 60kms detour to get around one of the 134 fires currently ablaze in NSW which had closed the Kings Highway.  Both of the Canberra caravan parks that take dogs are full, so after dropping off the grandchildren at home and then dropping off Richard at the airport we headed out to the Showgrounds at Bungendore.  Due to the fire that had closed the road the showground was being used as the refuelling area for five fire-bombing helicopters to add to our entertainment.  The long uphill climb from Batemans Bay was not as punishing as we had expected, although we were down to 40kph for several long spells, but it was actually harder holding 5 tonnes back on the way down the mountain using bottom gear, and some braking.

10^th January 2013

We spent most of the day cleaning and drying the tent and tarps that got wet prior to packing them away, to make sure they don’t go mouldy, and then repacked and stored them on the roof rack for the next holiday visit in about a week’s time. Meanwhile the helicopters are still refuelling every couple of hours to fight the fires in the hope of having them dealt with before the weekend when the next heatwave is due to begin and start fighting more fires.

 

3rd December to 26th December 2012

3^rd December 2012

When Merry went to close up the chickens for the night there were only two and lot of scattered feathers, so the third chicken had been taken by something.  We suspect it was a neighbours’ dog as Merry had seen two dogs near the house about half an hour earlier but thought she had successfully shooed them off.
 

 4^th November 2012

We drove out to Salonika Beach to say farewell to Ankie as she is heading of to Sydney in a couple of days time and we will have left before she returns.  We also took Foxy for a walk on the beach where we enjoyed the refreshing sea breeze as it was a fairly hot day.

6th December 2012

Mark and Jeane are due back this afternoon.

8^th December 2012

 

Jeane has discovered from a neighbour that it was the dogs that Merry had seen on the property and that they are now aware of whose chicken arrived on their door step.

17^th December 2012

Along time between updates but little of interest has happened as Barry is still not allowed to do anything strenuous, so other than odd trips into Mackay most of the activity has been bird watching.   There is in excess of 26 different bird species that stop for drinks plus several that fly straight through and hawks that circle overhead, especially during the sugar cane cutting season that has just finished.   Barry has assisted Mark with erecting the last of the fencing on the property, by holding things in place without lifting, to keep out any other dogs.  Mark has made up a rectangular frame on corner legs to Barry’s specifications, which now sits in the caravan boot with the generator strapped on top.   This now means that neither of us is required to lift it out of the boot to run it.  This avoids lifting it up and over the 20cm lip of the boot whilst leaning over part of the ‘A’ frame.  We have also modified a short piece of curved tube to fit over the exhaust pipe and point outwards away from the van.  It also provides a large area of storage space under the frame that was not available before.

We started packing up to final leave Sarina tomorrow, subject to the specialist’s okay this morning, as we don’t expect any problems.  If there are and if it is not urgent, it will become a New South Wales or Canberra doctors’ problem.

18^th December 2012

We drove to Mackay today to visit Barry’s specialist who gave us the better news than we expected as we had determined that he would give us the okay to  go on our way subject to not overdoing the heavy lift (with no specific weight in mind, but simply don’t stain).  He also informed us that as result of the recent operation, Barry’s PSA reading was now 3.1 or effectively about half the accepted normal value for his age group.  Considering that since his first blood test reading, his PSA value fluctuated from 7.1 to 7.8 with several wild trips into double figures.  The last pre-operation value was 14 along with an enlarged, full bladder that instigated the urgent action. 

19^th December 2012

So all is well, at least for a while, and we are underway again.  We stopped at midday for a lunch break in a rather lovely park on the outskirts of Rockhampton which included a lake and three small waterfalls.  We stopped overnight at Biloela where we had to replace the water inlet nozzle on the side of the van as the non-return valve decided to not let us have any water.  This is the second replacement.

20^th December 2012

We continued on our way for another 400kms, or so, and stopped overnight at a free camp about 5km s from the small township of Bowenville.  It is a large very quite camp area with only a few other couples using it at present.  Tomorrow will be a relatively short trip to Tenterfield which is just over the border into New South Wales.

21^st December 2012

Today’s trip was not as long as the previous two days but has been more eventful with some lunatic drivers and atrocious road surfaces despite being so-called highways.  Some stretches were no better than bush tracks with bitumen laid over the dirt but despite that we arrived in Tenterfield in time to stop and have a look around the town.  We gave Foxy and ourselves a walk in a pleasant but not spectacular park and then checked out a huge cork tree, a saddlery shop where  the now deceased singer Peter Allen’s grandfather was the saddler, about whom the song ‘Tenterfield Saddler’ was written.   Peter Allen was born in Tenterfield.   The other claims to fame are the Federation speech by Sir Henry Parkes at the School of Art and Major JF Thomas who defended Breaker Morant up until he was executed.  We parked up in the afternoon at Bluff Rock free camp spot about 11kms south of Tenterfield.   According to the story, many moons ago, the white population associated with Bolivia Station objected to the local aborigines stealing their sheep, so forcibly drove them to Bluff Rock and over the edge.

22^nd December 2012

We are now well and truly into NSW with much improved roads proving that much more Federal money is available to NSW than anywhere else.  We are now in Tamworth, famous for the ‘Hippie’ communes that sprung up in the area as a result of the first drug induced country music festival.  The Festival is still an annual event but the hippies have died of drug overdoses or finally grew up.  On the way we passed round the edge of the lovely town of Glen Innes that appeared to have some grand old buildings.  Even the highway had a beautifully tended central median strip.  Later, we stopped in Guyra for lunch.  We have decided to return to both towns for a proper look as driving through them only wets the appetite, and Glen Innes has some waterfalls in the area, which you would expect in mountainous country.  Guyra boasts to have the highest caravan park in Australia at about 4200 feet above sea level.

At Tamworth we were going to free camp but the place we chose turned out to be 35kms out of town and not so inviting.  We had chosen it as it offered power at a small cost but on arrival were told there are only two powered sites and both are booked to the end of January, but they didn’t mention that when we phoned in advance, so we returned to Town and a caravan park making it more convenient for looking at the town tomorrow.   The alternate free camp is much further out of town which meant another $45 worth fuel to run back and forth to look at the town.  The two nights at the caravan park cost $50 and gave us more time without a lot of driving.

23^rd December 2012

Our first point of interest was the Oxley Lookout which was a well laid out picnic area with a good view over the town, which is much larger than we thought.  We then visited the guitar shaped visitors centre to wander around the ‘Walk a Country Mile’ museum explaining the history of the festival and the numerous performers, some of which became relatively famous after winning Golden Guitar Awards. 

We then drove out to the ‘Big Golden Guitar’ wax works to see the wax models of some of the more successful singers, such as Slim Dusty.  This was followed by a drive around town which ended in Centenary Park and the War Memorial with a tribute to the Light Horse Infantry and in particular the horses, of which only one out of half a million actually returned to Australia.

 

24^th December 2012

We have arrived at our pre booked caravan park outside of Newcastle. Actually rather too far out of Newcastle and is not a particularly inspiring caravan park, but we are stuck with it. 

 

On this section of the journey we called into Wallabadah, which had been our second choice for the Tamworth free camp.  It was a long way out but a very beautiful spot alongside the First Fleet Memorial Gardens.  They are really attractive gardens with a large board listing everyone that travelled out here, both voluntary and as officers, and those that make it.   Each ship has its own section of the garden with headstones listing their passengers and a sail shaped board explaining it journey and troubles encountered.  A smaller section at the rear of the garden did the same for the Second Fleet.  It appeared to have once been a caravan site as it still had taps and power poles but was not available for camping use.  The camping area was outside the gardens near the creek without power but water was available.  We stopped later on for lunch near a small township that offered a Vietnam War Memorial rest stop that was almost impossible to get into with a caravan, but we managed.

25^th December 2012

The park is fairly empty and those people that are here are kept themselves to themselves, so we had a very quiet Christmas day that included a traditional Christmas dinner.  The weather was not so traditional from our point of view with rain on and off all day plus thunder and lightning.

26^th December 2012

We should have posted this blog yesterday to wish those that actually read it a Merry Christmas but it didn’t happen, however, we hope you had one and that you have a happy New Year.  The weather is slightly better but not good enough to visit Newcastle so that will have to wait for another day.  If it doesn’t rain Barry will probably attempt to replace the fuel level sender in the car.  The current one seems to have two options, tell the truth or read approximately a quarter of a tank low.  When it reads low we have to assume that it is telling the truth but may have a heap more fuel than it shows rather assume it is low and discover it is telling the truth and run the risk of being caught out.  We carry a 20 litre jerry can of fuel so will never actually run out but it is not always possible to pull off the highway to put that fuel in.  The problem with changing the sender unit is the need to empty the rear of the car including the 56 litre water tank, and then removing the roller draws in order to gain access to the plate in the floor to get to the top of the tank.  It will be good to get it done and not have guess how the fuel system is behaving.