WE GET OUR NEW VAN AT LONG LAST

MY NEW KITCHEN

CARCOAR DAM

Welcome back to all our friends that have been following our travel blog.  We hope you’ll continue to follow and enjoy our travels.  We also hope that we may inspire some of you to get out there and see more of the beauty of Australia.  It really is SO spectacular.  Even to just explore your nearest surrounding beauty spots.

Monday 11^th March   - We drove from  Sydney to Hay leaving Sydney at 6am, arriving in Hay at 2.30pm.  On the way down, we stopped at a little town off the highway called Gunning– 2 hours drive from Sydney and found  a lovely free camping area right along the river.  It was pretty full and was quite small, but a definite possibility for another time.  It’s very pretty with lots of ducks wandering around the grassed areas.   We also stopped at Wagga to check out Wilks Park another free camping spot.  It’s a very big area off the main road where you can stay for up to 3 days.  That was also quite busy for mid-week.  Both of these rest stops are featured in The Camps 7 Book.

 We stayed at Charlie’s Retreat, which is a house owned by The Royal Chain Hotel where you’re allowed to take dogs.  They’re supposed to sleep in the laundry (try telling that to our pampered Sally).  It’s a big old house that’s been done up with fenced gardens and was very comfortable.  It sleeps up to 8 people, but the only drawback is there’s only 1 toilet and bathroom.  Perfect for us.  The local Bowling Club had a lovely Chinese restaurant and the food there was absolutely beautiful.  I had sizzling lamb in a black pepper sauce with vegetables.  We doubled the restaurant’s patronage as there was only one other couple eating in the dining room.  We spotted 2 people coming in for take-aways.  The barman was flat out when we walked in talking to his only customer, a local. When he’d served us he must have been exhausted and went on his extended break.  

Tuesday 12^th March – We left Hay at 8am for a 3 hour trip towards Mildura.  We stopped for morning  tea at Lake Benanee which is another free camping area.  Richard stayed overnight there on his return trip from SA to Sydney last year.  We got to Jayco at Mildura and spent the next two hours looking over the van and doing the paperwork.  We were thrilled to have our new home again and couldn’t wait to stock it up with the immediate supplies that we could fit in the back of the car.  The staff at Jayco Mildlura have been fantastic to us, so very helpful and couldn’t do enough for us.  We’ve had many phone calls from Sydney to Mildura since November and the Manager there Newton has really gone out of his way to do all he could for us.  It was so nice to actually meet him.  We were anxious to be on our way to the caravan park.  By 4pm we arrived at Apex Riverbeach Holiday Park and eagerly stocked it up with our belongings.  The park was right on the riverfront and the sites very spacious.  We had a roomy drive through site on the water front.  There were some lovely walks and bike paths in both directions following the river which were always busy.  We had a celebratory wine later that night by the riverside. We were told it gets very noisy at weekends.  It didn’t worry us as we would be long gone by the weekend. Our stay was pretty quiet and enjoyable.

Wednesday 13^th March  -  We went for a drive around the area stopping at Jaycee Park for morning tea.  We sat by the river watching the paddle steamers going up and down.  It was such a beautiful spot.  We walked along the river up to the Weir.  We drove further along to The Australian Inland Botanic Gardens and visited the magnificent rose garden.   We then drove to Wentworth to see the junction where the Murray and Darling Rivers meet – quite an historical spot.  We had lunch in the park by the viewing platform.  At the top of the platform you could actually see the division of the two rivers.  It is the site where Captain Charles Sturt gave the Murray River it’s name in 1830.  The Murray River is the longest river in Australia, stretching 2739 kilometres from Northern New South Wales.  It officially starts near Bourke at the junction of the Culgoa and Barwon Rivers. The Murray River is Australia’s third longest river, stretching 1,472 kilometres from New South Wales.

Friday 15^th March  -    We left Mildura and started the long drive back to the Central Coast.  We drove from 8am to 4pm with comfort/tea breaks  along the way and stopped at Wilks Park at Wagga overnight.  It’s a large free camping area with toilets and water available.  It was fairly crowded with weekend campers by the time we arrived.  It’s off the main road and within walking distance to the town and shops.

Saturday 16^th March  -  We left Wagga at 9am heading for Carcoar Dam near Blaney on the other side of Bathurst.  We stopped for lunch at a lovely park at Cowra and stocked up on supplies.  We arrived at Carcoar Dam at 2pm to find it quite busy.  It’s a beautiful spot with camping/caravans all over the grassy slopes overlooking the Dam.  It’s a busy place for water sports and always popular.  We found a suitable spot and set up.  We bumped into a couple we’d met at Wilks Park on our way down to Mildura and had a catch-up chat with them. There are some lovely walks around the Dam and there’s a viewing platform to look at the wind farm on the other side of the Dam. We really enjoyed our stay there and will definitely go back there again.  It’s an idyllic free camp area with 2 showers and toilets .  I think it’s only cold water though!!!

Sunday 17^th March  -  St. Patrick’s Day –We left Carcoar Dam for the final league of our trip back to “Camp Cox” at Warnervale on the Central Coast.  We arrived in time for a lovely roast dinner and a huge warm welcome by our very dear friends and their teddy bear dog Tyson.  Sally and Tyson were really happy to see one another again.

We’re busily doing minor altertions to the van  - outside  – installing fishing rod holders (top priority) underneath, rear vision camera, installing fans behind the fridge for better airflow in very hot temperatures.  Inside – extra power points, extra shelves in some of the cupboards, putting up pictures and heated towel rail (a godsend in wet weather) to name just a few of the many jobs to be done before we finally head off.  We’ve also been busily sorting out our storage shed to finalise what we do and don’t want to take with us.  We’ve been flat chat getting everything organised and finding a place inside for it all.  We’re just about done now, so can relax and enjoy Easter with our friends. 

We leave Warnevale on Tuesday 2^nd April and will be heading to Gunning to stay overnight.

APEX RIVERBEACH PARK A MILURA

 

 

We’re very much looking forward to heading off and being “on the road” again, being official itinerants and grey nomads once more.  Don’t forget to log on the blog for the next instalment of The Winter Adventures around Oz.