Douglas Park 23 November 2005

Well, we took longer than we thought to sort everything out at home, but at last we are travelling again. While the weather has been cold and rainy, we don’t care, as we are very comfortable in Jimmy. Heather is pleased to have a break from work and is looking forward to a relaxing time. After sorting out some battery problems, we set out for the highlands via Mt Keira. We had a mosey around Picton and Tahmoor, and then we went to visit Rhonda and Harvey at Douglas Park. Unfortunately, Harvey was away, however we had dinner with Rhonda, Jenny and Joan and then stayed the night in their yard.

Howlong sunset

Holbrook 4 November 2005

Howling is a small town that has doubled in size in the last few years, with people retiring to the Murray – sort of an inland sea change! When driving onto Albury, we came across the Wongi Lagoons and had a walk around. They are a beautiful series of lagoons, full of birds, frogs and turtles. Drove onto Holbrook for the night, as we had some trouble with the battery and needed to go for a long run. While Holbrook is on the highway, it is a picturesque town, with lots of interesting buildings. In the morning, we set off for home and to catch up with our daughter.

Wangaratta roses 1 November 2005

Howlong 3 November 2005

Left Bundalong and drove along Lake Mulwala. This area is becoming very popular, with lots of new houses being built. After experiencing years of drought in southern NSW, it was a shock to see how green it was around the Murray. Stopped at Yarrawonga for lunch and Peter picked up some great electric jugs at an antique store. Heather has been very impressed by the healthy roses and is planning a new rose garden when we get home. Then onto Corowa, that has a marvellous collection of Victorian and Art Deco buildings. Stopped at Howlong for the night. Experienced an amazing sunset on the Murray River that seemed to last forever. The colours changed from yellows to golds, oranges and finally to shades of red – brilliant.

Ned and friend at the Glenrowan seige

Bundalong 2 November 2005

Ready to move off in the morning after a great day, but alas, we weren’t going anywhere. We were stuck in the mud and needed a tow to get moving. After the ‘Bargain Queen’, went back to the factory shop to buy the rest of the towels she left behind, we headed off to Glenrowan. While there were many tourist shops, there was nothing left from the famous Ned Kelly siege. The original inn had been burnt done, the railway station and tracks pulled up and the siege area is now a desolate tract. The whole town seemed to be full of quiet despair, while waiting for the next tourist bus to arrive.
As it was a very hot day and we left Glenrowan and headed north to Bundalong, where we camped on the edge of the Murray River. It was a lovely spot until four water skiers came along in a 500 HP boat that drove all the wild life away for miles! However once they left, we had the whole area to ourselves – heaven!

The Fashion Stakes was a keenly fought event

Peter backing a winner

Wangaratta Races 1 November 2005

Next day, we attended Wangaratta Races for the Melbourne Cup. Had a great day amongst the local punters and came out about even. It was great fun and we were able to bet on Flemington and the local races. Most of the local people were dressed up and really knew how to party. We meet two other motor-homers, Terry and Julie and stayed at the racecourse overnight to have a few drinks after the races.

P & H relaxing after the races

Wangaratta 28 – 31 October 2005

Arrived at Wangaratta in the morning – a pleasant country town of about 17,000 people. We are looking forward to the Wangaratta Jazz Festival, claimed to be the best in Oz! The festival was very well organised and attracts about 30,000 visitors. With so many bands to listen to, we had a hard time choosing whom to see. On Friday night, we caught up with some friends from Kiama, who are regulars here. There were some fantastic bands that covered the whole jazz and blues spectrum. Unfortunately, it rained heavily on Saturday and Sunday and it made moving around very difficult, however we still managed to hear about 15 bands over the 2 days. Monday was much drier and we rode the bike out to Milawa to catch some blues at the cheese factory. The ‘Bargain Queen’ found a fabric factory that had an outlet shop and proceed to buy half their wares. The only problem was we were on the motorbike and so had to balance assorted parcel as we struggled home.

Everton overnight

Everton (Ovens River) 27 October 2005

After a cold night, we woke up to a warm morning and had a leisurely breakfast. We then drove straight down to Yackandandah (after a short stop at the Ettamogah Pub). Yackandandah is an old gold mining village that nestles into the base of the Victorian Alps. After lunch, we drove up the mountain to Beechworth, another well-preserved gold mining town. Jimmy took the hills very well and we have no problems with him so far (touchwood). Settled down on a campsite on the Oven River. On a walk along the river, we were attacked by the biggest mossies we have ever seen. We rushed back to Jimmy and anchored him down so they wouldn’t carry him away!

Peter outside his old B&B

Yerong Creek 26 October 2005

Had a restful night and then drove into Wagga. Peter wanted to catch up with his staff from the Cancer Council, but unfortunately all the staff had left. Walked around the Botanical Gardens that had a fantastic display of roses. In the afternoon we drove down to Yerong Creek, a small village and stayed at the showground. Meet some of the locals and had a few drinks at the bowling club.

Monte Cristo

Wagga Wagga 25 October 2005

Drove to Cootamundra, which is still a thriving country town. Stopped at Junee to visit Peter’s cousin and caught up with the family gossip. They have a liquorice factory there and we went on a tour of the workshop. We bought lots of liquorice and ate it when it was still warm – yum, yum! We then went on to see Mountie Christi – an old privately owned house that the owner has spent the last 41 years restoring. It was an amazing home stacked full of quality antiques. Stopped the night just outside of Wagga and met Alan who was just leaving on a 5 year trip around Oz. He had a 35 ft bus and was towing a car – rather him then me!

A wee stormy night at Wallendbeen

Wallendbeen 24 October 2005

After a leisurely breakfast, we set out off for Yass. Visited Cooma House that was owned by the explorer Hamilton Hume. Yass has the biggest antique shop I have ever seen. The business was in an old arcade that had contained 12 shops. There was china and furniture everywhere! Headed off for Junee, but only got as far as Wallendbeen, because of bad thunderstorms. At one stage Peter had to pull of the road, as the rain was so heavy. Wallendbeen wasn’t much - just an intersection on two highways.

On the Road at Last! 23 October 2005

We had a few months at home to recuperate from our last holiday and then we were all set to take off, when Laura, our daughter, broke her leg skiing. What to do? We thought of dumping her outside a hospital and running away very quickly, but in the end our paternal/maternal instincts took over and we brought her home to recuperate. Now that she is hobbling around on her crutches, we feel confident to leave her to the tender mercy of her friend and we are hitting the road again! Yaaah!
While we haven’t made any definite plans, we are heading in a southerly direction to attend Wangaratta Jazz festival and then - who knows?
Set off in the late afternoon and after a hairy drive up Macquarie Pass, settled down at Gunning for the night. Gunning is a small village with a classic Chinese café, straight out of a 50’s movie. We camped by a creek and in the morning, we were awakened to the sound of gentle rain.