Maryborough Victoria

Maryborough stopover was a very special experience. This town is really beautiful with some of the most beautiful buildings i have ever seen, They have done a wonderful job here to protect and restore this local and glorious 19th Century architecture. The Railway Station is a case in point as is the Bull and Mouth Hotel in the towns High street. This architecture is just so beautiful.

The Caravan Park is family owned and run and you can tell they love it. So pretty and well cared for, right on Lake Victoria. We had a lovely spot with grass all around us. A rare commodity is grass in Vic. It was a busy weekend here because it was Vic’s Labour Day weekend. Though the town was pretty quiet.

Heading to Maryborough we passed through Bendigo. Bendigo really looks like a place I’d like to spend some time in. The architecture here also looked spectacular. Jayne and I agreed we might drive here and stay a while to check it out at anoth

We stayed an extra night in Maryborough because it was a lovely restful spot. Would recommend the Caravan Park on Lake Victoria in Maryborough. Top spot.

Onwards and upwards to Halls Gap in The Grampians. Never been here so looking forward to it.

Jayne and Dex and I are enjoying ourselves but Dex much prefers when we stop travelling and rest for a few days, He’s a good boy while we drive but he doesn’t really rest because he is too damned busy drilling his eyeballs into the back of the head of whoever is sitting in the passenger seat. Poor Dex.

Echuca

After seeing the Murray flowing full and free at Walwa, we were surprised to see that the Murray in Echuca was much less healthy. Echuca itself is a very pretty port town and the Caravan Park we stayed at was the NRMA park close to town. We love a park that is within walking distance to cafes and restaurants, this park allowed that. We had a really lovely meal from an Asian style cafe called Monkee and Co. Really lovely food.

Because the NSW Chief Health Officer recommends avoiding the Murray due to the mosquito borne Japanese Encaphalitis virus, we have changed plans and are heading south. Next stop Maryborough!

Corowa - Via Holbrook

We travelled from Walwa to Corowa via Holbrook. Holbrook is a pretty town with history related to submarines. There’s a huge sub in the middle of town. Pretty impressive,

We had a really lovely brunch at a little Cafe called J&B’s Gourmet Cafe. We recommend it. if you ever pass this way.. Lovely hot real tea (not easy to get) and the food was great.

From Holbrook we travelled to Corowa and stayed there for two nights. It’s a cute little town with a population of around 5,000. Brand new houses in Corowa, on an acre, are going for about $350,00 Not bad!

The CP we stayed in was the ‘Ball Park’ which was conveniently close to town. The park was not busy so it was very relaxing for us.

Jayne found the cutest Cafe called Docs with great coffee and really lovely toasted sandwiches. Happy days. This may be completely random but I loved the toasty because it was different. The ham and tomato had been precooked and then the sandwich made - the bread was then buttered on the outside and fried on both sides. IT WAS SOOO GOOD. Naughty but nice. The tea was a teabag which was a little disappointing.

We went shopping at a local sports store. spent too much money - Woolies and Docs (a few times). All the towns we’ve visited so far have showed signs of doing it tough due to Covid, We hope we can help a little by shopping locally..

Off to Echuca next. No idea where we are staying. We have not pre booked 95% of this trip because experience has proven that the advertising on the park sites can be deceiving. We turn up - check out the options and hope for the best.

Our plans are changing because of Japanese Encephalitis, which is prevalent around the Murray region at the moment.. More about that later.

Hope all are well and happy. Signing off for now.

WALWA - Where the bloody hell are ya?

Tumut itself is ok. Nothing much there this time of year. I’m sure it is bustling during ski season. We moved on and headed toward Jingellic NSW, after just one night in Tumut.

I’d read about the Pub at JIngellic and the fact you could free-camp on the banks of the Murray behind the pub. So off we drove!

We thought we’d use Google Maps instead of the chart maps that I prefer. Yeah that was interesting. Never again. Clearly the fastest route is the preferred for google. Well the road we ended up on was some kind of old logging road - deep ravines on our left - nowhere to turn around - we were in deep poo. Finally found enough room to risk a three point turn. Back to the paper maps for me!

We found our way to Jingellic…There is nothing at Jingellic but the Jingellic Pub and free camping behind it.

It was Sunday and the Pub was jumping. Really lovely food. We decided not to free camp at the back of the pub as it was soggy from rain the day before. So, we went in search of Walwa.

Just so you know- I spend a lot of time on camping sites and looking through free camping tomes. So when something sounds interesting I add it to a journal that I keep that has a bunch of places I/we might visit, depending on the direction we plan to travel. Once we decide on a direction I check the journal for possible stopovers that others have recommended. Jingellic and Walwa were in the journal, so we went in search of these places with strange names. It is a tad remote in this part of the world.

Walwa is a tiny town in Victoria just over the border (the Murray) from Jingellic. In need of people. It needs residents and visitors. Quite a few of the buildings in the main street are empty, closed up and derelict. The pub is for sale, and the general store sells petrol from bowsers a half a block away. Its a bit sad. However they have a golf course and a golf club that is still open.

Down on the Murray river behind the tiny village of Walwa is the Riverglade Caravan Park. Its a rustic little park, but quite lovely. They’d had a lot of rain the day before so it was a little wet under foot, But nothing Whimsy can’t handle. It was windy the day we arrived with 50 klm gusts. Did I say I don’t like big winds? Well I don’t like big winds.

Jayne told me the next day when we were leaving the she’d been speaking to the owner and he’d told her that in early December ‘21 that winds came through the park at 150 klm’s an hour and the river rose by 8 meters - which would have submerged Whimsy. I’m so glad she didn’t tell me when those winds were howling at 50klm’s the night before - I would not have slept.

I did take a few lovely photos there - I’ve put a couple on FB but ill try and load them here too.

Next stop Corowa via Holbrook.

I do love this coddywompling thing we are doing.

Every Man and His Dog - Literally

As mentioned, Adelong didn’t get the memo so we had to travel a further 12 minutes to Tumut {yeah tough} to try and beat the rain storm that was forecast. Tumut was surprisingly busy given the roads had been pretty much free of traffic . When we arrived in Tumut, the Riverglade Caravan Park only had a few sites available. It was as if everyman and his dog had turned up. Well, as it turns out that’s exactly what had happened. It was the annual Tumut Dog Show. Yep. only we could be so well organised.

We did however consider taking advantage of the situation by enrolling Dexter as a late entry so that he could do a ‘Steven Bradbury’ and in a shock late move, take out the gold - but these dog lover types could get real cranky I reckon. (see below)

In my inimitable style I got a tad cranky with a late comer in the site next to us - they parked a car, a caravan and a motorhome on one site which would have made it difficult for us to reverse out in the morning. I mumbled a few choice words about the goose and said to Jayne ‘ I’m going to have to have a word with him - Then he struggled out of his car - on one leg. Blimey, didn’t I feel bad…..cranky old coot.

So, onwards and upwards to Jingellic and /or Walwa, whichever took our fancy.

The New Journey Begins In Jugiong

We set off later than planned due to the weather. However, we feel incredibly fortunate that even though we did have dreadful rain storms in Jamberoo for days, it was nothing compared to up north. How is what happened up there even possible? My heart goes out to everyone effected. Disgusted that the folk in need are still waiting for assistance. This country is lacking in disaster management planning and the leadership to ensure it occurs and is funded to the hilt. Grrr;

We considered not travelling but as Jayne said ‘what purpose would that serve’? We will help in any way we can and support our loved ones who are impacted.

Jugiong, just off the Hume Hwy an hour or so past Goulburn, has a low cost (gold coin) camping ground at the showground. Across form the showground is the Sir George Hotel and a lovely coffee shop. What more do you need?

We have always found it a top spot to begin a trip if we are heading that way.

The pub (Sir George) is lovely and the food is better than average. The alcohol is expensive, but you pay for the ambience I think. The outdoor area is very pretty and dog friendly - that suits us.

We woke to a stunning sunrise - see the FB pics - and headed to Adelong as planned. Well Adelong didn’t get the memo, and was not able to accommodate our vehicle, so we headed to Tumut to bunker down while a storm front approached.

The storm is about to hit and we are parked up at the Riverglade Caravan Park Tumut. Here’s hoping the storm is short and sweet. However, the weather lately is so bloody crazy who knows?

Signing off now. Talk soon!

We Are Off Again on March 2nd 2022 - Murray River

Jayne and I (and Dexter) are off on another grand adventure starting March 2nd (we think). We plan to follow the Murray from the NSW high country, through Victoria then South Australia, then back along the coast of Victoria and then up the NSW Coast to our home in Jamberoo. We plan on taking about 8 weeks

Our first stop will be Jugiong for a spot of free - camping and a pub visit. Next stop will be Adelong.

We hope you follow our adventure and enjoy the nonsense we will post a couple of times a week.

We’ll do the usual rating system in case you are interested for future reference.

Carool - Potager- A Kitchen Garden

Ahhhh, Carool. Do yourself a favour and visit Potager-A Kitchen Garden Restaurant Carool. This restaurant has awards coming out its proverbial - and is worthy of every one of the awards.

We have eaten here a number of times but this time we visited our dear friends Pete (who owns Potagers) and Seb our gorgeous mate. We had a wonderful time and parked up in the Potagers car park. We also met Patsy (Betsy) who is staying with Pete for a while and Sandra who we met on Melbourne Cup Day. Lovely, lovely humans, I had peaked too early the day before and was a waste of space on Melbourne Day.

Carool is in the hinterland west of Tweed. Stunning spot. Book somewhere to stay and visit this award winning restaurant. Walk around the kitchen garden and just breath the air. Glorious.

Evans Head to Pottsville South CP

I’ve not written much on the blog lately. Truth is I’m sad, and being sad is not always conducive to writing, unless its about being heart sore (and who wants to listen to that) I hate the fact that my baby brother Lee no longer walks on this earth, our mate Mark is gone and our Pearly isn’t here making me feel loved unconditionally. She was my girl and I’m heartbroken.

Evans Head was an ok stop over to rest. Not really our favourite place. The highlight for me was running into my nephew Jordan (Lees son) at the local IGA. Speaking of the IGA there , it is a beauty I have to say. It’s a huge store for an IGA with a terrific range. We stayed at EH for 5 nights, but it was just ok. See the CP rating in Van Park Reviews.

We then headed to Pottsville Sth. Now that is a pretty place that is on our list for a revisit. The moon over the water there was indeed memorable. It has a similar geography to Dolphins Point (our favourite spot) with an inlet that flows daily filling the creek with clear clean sea water every high tide. Love it.

The shops are right at the entrance to the CP and the Thai meal we had was indeed the best Thai I have eaten…ever. We also had the most beautiful fish and chips from a Japanese fish shop Okky. If you go to Pottsville you need to try the fish there. The batter is soooo light its delightful, and the fish was fresh as a daisy. We walked to the Tavern…… turned around and walked home to have a drink at the van, enough said.

We both wanted to stay longer or come back later that week but it was booked out. If you want to go to this CP I suggest you book ahead. see review on Van Park Reviews.

Inverell and the drive over the Gibraltar Ranges

Inverell is a really lovely town. Trees are everywhere so you can find shade, and the council provide well maintained walking tracks along the river. These tracks are also very close to the shops, so its really well thought out. As Motor Homers its great when everything is linked by walking tracks. It was an easy walk from the CP into town to grab some groceries or have a coffee etc.

We visited Inverell to track down where Jaynes Mum was born. Jayne knew that her Mums’ Dad was a guard on the railways in the early 1900’s and that their house was close to the old tracks. The first thing we did was visit the Information Office in town. That was terrific because a woman working there (her name was Anne) knew the house and gave us directions that took us straight there. Well not ‘straight’ there it ended up being a hell of a walk - but still it was worth it for both of us. See pics in the Gallery.

Jayne was really chuffed to have found the house her Mum lived in from 0-7 and to see the remaining tracks that sit just behind the house. It was very emotional for her and very interesting for me.

We had a really lovely lunch in a little Cafe named ‘Freckles’. If you are in Inverell I’d give the food there a try. Very tasty, and made with love. (I can tell)

Leaving Inverell to go to the coast we had to traverse the Gibralter Ranges. Blimey was that an experience. The experience was made somewhat more breathtaking (and I don’t mean that in a good way) by the fact that we were the lead vehicle in a convoy for a ‘WIDE LOAD’ . Jayne thought that label a bit rude when she saw the sign - but hey, were aren’t as slim as we once were so suck it up I say. In all seriousness, it was a hairy drive. I was the driver and Jayne was the nervous passenger. We made it, but going down hill was interesting with four vehicles, one a police car, with all lights flashing, sitting right up our clacker. I was so praying all their brakes were working well - especially the ‘Wide Load’ as this was one huge rig that took up the whole width of the road. I had sweaty palms for a while.

After all that we made it to Evans Head, and we are resting here for a wee while. Jayne has organised to see Koalas in the wild tomorrow, through a friend she has on Twitter, who rescues them after fire events etc. I’ll get Jayne to write about that adventure once she gets a chance.

Talk soon. Love A

Coonabarabran and the Warrumbugles

We camped at the John Oxley Caravan Park in Coonabarabran, or Coona as the local call it. Because they were close by, we dropped Whimsy’s lines and took off to tour the Warrumbungles. The roads were a smidge rough, but doable. Poor Whimsy was shaken, not stirred and I may need dental work after this trip!

The sites were stunning - bird life was beautiful - kept our eyes peeled for Koalas but Jayne did spot a roo.

When we headed back to Coona we picked up some Chinese from the Golden Sea Dragon restaurant in Coona and by golly it was good. If you are ever in Coona its worth giving it a try. (by the way this blog is a personal blog so any recommendations are just that - personal - I GET NOTHING)

See the rating for the John Oxley in the Caravan Parks section.

We left Coona this morning and are now parked up in Inverell.

Conundrums while Coddywompling

Dear Lord in heaven can you please explain why anyone, anyone, would hang wind chimes on the outside of their caravan awning, in a tiny packed caravan park - at night.

I heard them first…tinkle, tinkle TINKLE….then I tracked them down…I can tell you in all honesty there was no positive Chi coming from this little black duck…in fact I’d suggest the opposite.

I get that some people think that wind chimes are some kind of cleansing thingy that ward off evil spirits, or attract positive Chi or or some other form of enlightenment. I support the idea, I hope it works - IN YOUR OWN FREAKING BACK YARD at least 50 metres away from any neighbours! Rant over. I’m off to meditate - I think I need it!

NSW Trip 2020 - Covid Camping!

After the last 3 months of incredible loss and grief, Jayne and I felt the need to escape and travel within the confines of the state of NSW. Although it seems limited, this is a huge area to explore.

We headed to Jugiong on the 14th October 2020 and then headed to West Wyalong to visit Jaynes family who ran the Tattersalls Hotel there.

We are now in Forbes where I’m trying to relearn how to write this blog!

I will write something on each of our stopovers, add photos to the Gallery section and rate all the parks - just because I can.

What have we learned so far this trip, after 4 days on the road?

1. Don’t listen to google maps directions - the shortest route is not always the best route.

2. When you have no idea where you are because you’ve never travelled the roads you are on, it can be very scary. Ask Jayne…..

3. West Wyalong is surrounded by goldmines, one of which provides the gold for the Melbourne Cup.

4. Forbes is a very pretty, well maintained town.

Off Again!

Things have been a little quiet re travel over then last few years. We have done a few small trips in our new Whimsy 2 . These trips are up on our Where’s Whimsy FB page.

I’m going to do a short solo trip in February, and Jayne and I, and Pearl, are heading south /south west in March. More to come shortly.

Cheers

Alison

Home safe and sound in Beautiful Thirroul

What a wonderful adventure for Jayne and I. We traversed mountains, gorges, rivers and lakes. We swam with magnificent creatures of the deep.... Jayne still peeved about the Great Whites. We walked with the local wildlife and we birdwatched to our hearts content. We drove through countryside that was so beautiful that it would take your breath away. The Pilbara and Kimberley were most especially beautiful.

Lake Argyle on the Ord was probably our favourite spot, but then there's Ningaloo Reef, sailing to Tassie on The Spirit was a hoot and Cradle Mountain, Strahan and the Gordon Franklin, Esperance and Cape Le Grande NP, Eucla on The Nullarbor and The Great Australian Bight, and other spots in South Australia. There was Kakadu and Lichfield and The Adelaide River in NT.  And then of course there was Port Douglas, Airlie Beach and Hervey Bay. ETC ETC ETC. All of the above and soo much more.

We saw a great deal of this brilliant and beautiful country of ours, and WE DRANK WAY TOO MUCH ALCOHOL. Well, we were on holidays. But that was a very long holiday. We are now DETOXING!!!

Jayne and I learned a great deal about ourselves and each other on this trip.....and we both made it home in one piece!! The confined space does stretch the friendship but it also makes you work issues out...there is no getting away from it! 

Jayne and I cut each others hair and I coloured Jaynes as well. I have to say that I was sure I would hit the hairdressers somewhere on the journey but no that didn't happen, because the haircuts were all ok.......just!

We hope those of you who have followed the blog have enjoyed the journey with us. We thank you for 'the follow' and we hope it has kept you somewhat entertained when you have had some free time.  

We are going to try and make this blog into something more permanent as a keepsake.

Its been wonderful to share the journey with you.

Love, good health and happiness to you all.

Goodbye from Alison and Jayne ( a couple of extra shots in the gallery!)

The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe

Well actually its just about the wardrobe.

Especially for those of you who have been following the blog from the beginning, who are aware that we had a really really bad wardrobe malfunction in Narooma. I'd just like to inform you, before we pack the blog in, (3 sleeps and we are home) that the re-engineering job Jayne and I managed has held under the most horrendous of conditions

This vehicle has been everywhere man and there were times when I was driving on really rough roads that my mind would focus on the wardrobe and wonder whether it might have collapsed under the pressure again? WELL folks it has held, and it has held well.

The Lion and the Witch are very proud of our wardrobe re-engineering efforts.

Who is the Lion and who is the Witch?

Love to all! See you soon!!!

Brisbane, Kingscliff and Woolgoolga

Brisbane was wonderful. Caught up with friends that I have known for 30 years. We ate, drank and danced! 4 people = party! Love these girls. see photos.

After Brisbane was Kingscliff. This is a lovely spot folks. Right on Marine Parade and if you go in season the inlet is wonderful for swimming. We stayed right on the beach near all the cafes, and its really terrific. The Kingy Hotel has just been renovated and the atmosphere and food is really top class. I would live in Kingscliff in a heartbeat, it has a really lovely vibe. We caught up with my little sister and that was lovely too!

From Kingscliff to Woolgoolga. By-passed Grafton (where I have family) this time but I want to try and organize a family reunion for next year. Lots of new little people in the family tree that I have to meet!!

Woolgoolga has always been one of my favourite places. It has not disappointed this time either. Went for a coastal walk this morning and saw whales, dolphins and roos. Terrific, warm charming little village. The beach is flat with hard sand (great to walk) and easy for swimming as it goes straight out for ever! No big drop offs to worry about.

There is a large Seikh population here which also makes it a special place. Great Indian food as well!!

Airlie Beach to Hervey Bay

A lot of you who are reading this would have travelled these QLD roads but I will give a brief run down anyway!

 Getting to Airlie from Port Douglas took us a couple of days. We free camped after trying a number of spots that were full. Just a tip if you intend free camping. If its a good spot it will be full by 3pm so plan to get there by 2! .

Once in Airlie we chose to stay at The Seabreeze Caravan Park. It was really lovely and just at the beginning of a walkway that takes you into Airlie itself.

Both Jayne and I enjoyed Airlie and plan to return. Not sure when or how but we are going back!

There is a lovely public Lagoon right on the beach, lots of restaurants and cafes and its just down right warm and pretty.

We left Airlie to head to Hervey Bay. We needed to free camp or stop somewhere for a night on the way. We decided to stay at the back of the 'Marlborough Hotel' This is Marlborough country alright and for $10 a night (includes toilet and shower) it was terrific. We wrote our names on the Marlborough pubs wall that has thousands of travelers names. So if you are ever there. check us out! see gallery.

Hervey Bay. Probably one of our favorite spots now. Torquay Beach in Hervey Bay is where we are staying and it is really lovely. The weather here in late June has been in the mid 20's. Definitely warm enough to swim. The water is about 21. We can see Fraser Island to the east and a little later in the year the whale watching is spectacular I believe.

On our way here we drove into McKay and Bowen and then drove out again!

Leaving Hervey Bay tomorrow...sadly.

We are off to Brisbane to catch up with friends.. Looking forward to that and other catch ups down the coast to home.

HOME. What a thrill that will be. Cant wait to see all the family and friends we have missed soo much.

We are so proud of ourselves though. We have achieved what we set out to achieve and so much more. Its been a real learning curve and the most wonderful trip around this amazing country. Bucket list tick.tick,tick and tick!

Will finalise the blog once we are home safe and sound. Love to all. See gallery!!

We Did It, We Did It!!!!

Today we drove Whimsy into the Daintree, Mossman Gorge and then up to Cape Tribulation.

This part of the trip so nearly didn't happen. Too wet, too homesick, unsure if you could take a motorhome due to roads and a river crossing etc etc.etc.

BUT we just bit the bullet and took off in Whimsy early this morning. First stop was Mossman Gorge car park. We took a shuttle up to the Gorge from there and took the 3klm Gorge walk/hike. That was spectacular and Jayne and I had to traverse a landslide that had occurred over night to complete the walk. Jayne and I looked at each other when we saw that the trail was blocked and said yeah, na, not going backwards after all its taken to get here, so we climbed over the landslide and the tree that was blocking the path and pressed on. The natural beauty of this place is very special and we really enjoyed the walk. see gallery.

We then crossed the Daintree River on a car ferry to head into the Daintree and up to Cape Tribulation. We really were still unsure at this point if Whimsy could make it. The roads we were told were narrow, windy and potholed with overhanging trees. A bit challenging but after all that Whimsy has managed during our adventure we thought 'bugger it lets give it a shot'.Whimsy is a real trooper and although the roads were truly BAD and I mean BAD we made it to Cape Trib and back with everything in tact.

We did consider taking a tour to do all that we did today but the cost was a bit over the top at nearly $300 each. We did it in Whimsy for about $50 all up because we made sandwiches and a cuppa in Whims for lunch and only had to pay for the ferry the shuttle and a little fuel. Mossman is only a few klms from Port Douglas and Cape Trib 80klms.

What I like about touring yourself is that you can stop when you feel like it and make a cuppa just the way you like it. AND can I say here that there is nothing like  a cuppa made on gas and a whistling kettle! After the Mossman Gorge hike the sanger and cuppa we made was like nectar!

Where's Whimsy Blog a Bonus

Well folks the original idea for this blog came about because so many people asked us to send postcards that I realized I just wouldn't be able to keep up! Hence, trying to set up a central location so that anyone who is interested could track the journey.

Well on reflection it is going to be a real bonus for us. We have seen  and done so much that I am already going back to the start to jog my memory about where we've been and what we've done. Thank God we have done this as a journal just wouldn't have cut it!

We still have lots to do so stay tuned!!