Rankins Springs

Well we are the cleverest campers - at the little caravan park last night, we set up away from the road to eliminate the truck noise - however, we didn't realise we set up right by the rail line and the trains roared through so much so it seemed they were coming right into our vans!  The trucks were noisy too so none of our ploys worked! Scenes of Deloraine in Tasmania!! 

We once again travelled through some beautiful country and even around here, things are looking pretty good. We had an interesting drive down the Main Street of Gulgong - the historic Henry Lawson town. It's a very narrow street with cars parked both sides and a chap towing a car trailer decided to try to drive along whilst we were and - oops - he didn't fit so he had to reverse and luckily a car parked in front of us drove us off so we had space to manoeuvre!! Darryl was very glad to leave that street behind! The town however is a place we'd love to visit again as it seemed to have so many interesting places. From there we went across to Wellington where we had morning tea in the same park we visited on our Myall Lakes trip. It's surprising just how large these country towns are. We had lunch in a lovely park at Canowindra ( yes Ell - cruskits and saladas again!) then travelled to Cowra, Grenfell, West Wyalong to here. It was a long drive but quite easy traveling and we are pleased to be within a days drive from home. 

         

This is a crop just this side of Grenfell. 

 

We are surprised at this little place as its lovely and obviously they've had more rain than at home as things are looking pretty good. This town has an amazing silo which really looks better in real life.

            

This camp area is not we thought - it's picturesque and very quiet here and not what you'd expect in the middle of nowhere. 

        

 

It's funny but an Ultimate camper just like our old one has pulled up next to us and there is much swapping of stories. Darryl had identified the couple from the Ultimate forum. 

Tomorrow we will be home then a week to prepare for our guests for the Camp Fest!!  The flies have been terrible the last 2 nights so hope they aren't going to be bad next weekend!

So after a few days of traveling with our new vans, we are delighted but we will be happy to get home and organise things - we have a long list of items to purchase to make things convenient in our vans. We don't wish at all that we still had our Ultimate camper - even tho we did love it when we owned one. 

I'll do a blog from the camp fest so till then, love from the happy glampers ❌❌❌❌❌⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️

Dunedoo

We've had some lovely days travelling and are now in a quaint place called Dunedoo! We've set up a little earlier than usual and we are all busy with our devices! 

We left Mullumbimby and travelled along the Pacific Highway to Grafton - through some pretty countryside and through lots of roadworks. We reckon all of the nations road monies are being spent on this road as they are undertaking huge developments. It's a busy road and we were glad to leave it. We had morning tea at an old ferry place which had gift shop attached to the information centre and unfortunately Tops and I left our purses behind and then it was time to head off! We could have spent a few dollars there as there were so many unusual and reasonably priced items - but not meant to be!!

At Grafton we stopped so Dennis could purchase a towing mirror and seeing it was lunch time, Tops and I were taken out for lunch - to Hungry Jacks!! It did the job I suppose and a change from our biscuits and cheese. From Grafton we went on the scenic route to Armidale - it was very scenic but the  first part of the road was pretty ordinary! Tested out the campers anyway and they passed the test easily! We were surprised to be at an altitude of 1300metres - Armidale is Australia's highest city. We visited the information centre and found the park where we had intended to stay was closed so they directed us to a place in the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park called Dangars Gorge. 

    

    

         

What a find!! It was one of the best national parks we've visited. There was no fee, the sites were spacious, each with a picnic table, fire pit (plus wood supplied) and a paved area and it's situated by this amazing gorge which had very new walking paths with steel fences and grating to enable best views of the gorge. The waterfall wasn't running - it would be spectacular when it was so will have to go back one day.

          

      

 The area is home to beautiful little brush tailed rock wallabies - very cute. We had a lovely walk thismorning till it started to rain so we hurried back.  Can you see the joey in the pouch? 

          

  

We packed up - neither of us can believe how easy it is - especially seeing we haven't been putting our annexes up.  I enjoyed my shower and Darryls very impressed with the ensuite as its so convenient.

We were on a tourist drive which was so pretty with old churches, bridges, an amazing octagonal white shearing shed and beautiful avenues of deciduous trees. It was worth the trip! 

            

We went from there to Tamworth and it seems to be a huge place. The Main Street looked so pretty with lovely big trees. They've had a lot of rain there overnight and we ran into some very heavy showers - yesterday going to the gorge, we tested out the dust suppression unit and today we tested the waterproofing - and happily no dust and no water in the vans. We enjoyed our usual cruskits and salada lunch at Gunnedah then found the Black Stump highway and drove through some lovely valleys which were lush and picturesque. We are now about 90km from Dubbo - its Dennis and Tops's turn to determine the route tomorrow - there are many options.  We decided to stay in the caravan park as we were a little afraid to go off road after the rains. Getting bogged isn't  on our priority list! 

We've got 2 more travelling days then will be home so the week has gone quickly for us. We love our vans and are very happy with our choices. 

Till our next blog, love from the 'glampers! ❌❌❌❌❌❌❌

Mullumbimby

We had a lovely sleep  in our campers and we can report that both our beds are very comfy and we were lovely and cosy. The ensuite was christened and yes Sandy, it was very nice to not have to pop out side or trek to the toilet at night. Once again we were awake early (thank heavens we are now in NSW and back to our time zone!) but we didn't hurry as we had to enjoy a yummy cooked breakfast compliments of Ricky and Flo! We then popped to the local shops to get a few supplies and spare gas bottles filled. We finally packed up and were happy that we managed that with no stress and it is easy.

So finally we left Rick and Flo's (with Tops's fridge full of green chicken curry, rice and  BBQ noodles) and headed south with cameras flashing to record the momentous occasion. 

        

We took the freeway to the Gold Coast and it's so different from how we remember from our trip years ago. On Ricky's recommendations we took the scenic drive to Kingscliff where had our picnic lunch in a park by the beach. Darryl was fortunate enough to find some lovlies by the beach:

        

We took the longest route possible through some beachside places and ended up this very alternative place Mullumbimby. We are camped out at the Leagues Club by a creek and it's very peaceful and picturesque. You can see Dennis inspecting the underneath of his camper. 

         

We feel as if we haven't done enough to set up but we'll get used to that - we haven't put up our annexes as its only an overnight spot. So we really only have to pop our tops and we have to pull out our bed and that's it - we are done!! 

We drove into Mullumbimby to get a couple of things and Tops and I allowed Darryl and Dennis to buy some shoes. Darryl's pretty happy with his Byron Bay loafers which made Dennis a bit jealous as he was only allowed to get a pair of rubber thongs!! (You can see Dennis's sad face!!) 

         

It's beautiful here in the sunshine enjoying a wine and beer but we suspect once we've eaten, we'll be getting into our beds. Its been a few really tiring days. Who knows where we'll be tomorrow - it's Dennis and Tops's turn to decide our route and destination.

We really are the happiest campers you would find - even though some people think we have a caravan!! 

So farewell from the 'glampers' 

xxxxxxxxxxxxx 

  

         

       

New campers 😀😀

Well, after what seems a very long wait, we have finally taken delivery of our new campers and  are now set up on Rick and Flo's lawn!! It's a beautiful evening and we have our campfire going and are enjoying lots of laughs!! Flo has cooked up her usual storm and we are spoilt with BBQ noodles, marinated lamb and a beautiful fresh salad. 

        

      

We left early Friday morning and spent 2 solid days driving up the Newell Highway. It's a lovely drive and we were pleasantly surprised to see lush feed and excellent crops all the way once we left Deniliquin - such a change from the dry conditions around home. We had an overnight stop at Gilgandra and enjoyed Top's chicken and corn soup for dinner - yum yum. 😋😋

It was lovely to enjoy a rest day yesterday and we were once again spoilt by the Greenwood hospitality here at Rick and Flos and at Rob and Pru's. 

Today we were awake so early as they don't have daylight saving - plus we were probably too excited to sleep!! As we neared the factory, the butterflies set in - especially for us as ours was an impulse buy and we hoped we wouldn't be disappointed! Luckily we are absolutely delighted and have even more features than we remembered. We were ages at the factory being shown every little detail and how to set up and down!!  

           

As we left the factory we really couldn't believe how lucky we are:

       

 Here at the Greenwood caravan park, we are very comfortable and we managed to set up without too much stress. I was so excited to finally make up our bed with the lovely Aldi gear and really can't wait to snuggle up in our bed tonight.

       

I am so lucky to now have an ensuite but Ricky made sure Tops hasn't missed out with this little beauty:

       

Dennis and Tops are also delighted with their camper and I'm a little envious of Top's kitchen. 

         

Tommorow we will start the trip home but this time luckily we don't have to hurry as much! We'll head to Byron Bay way and who knows where we'll be set up tomorrow night.

So from the 4 most happy campers we sign off till next blog. 

😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄

Broken Hill then home.

After last nights burnt potato drama (chef Darryl got too immersed in talking about Murrabit's Grand Final wins!), chef Greenwood took over tonight and on the menu is lemon chicken and it's looking and smelling great :

     

There's nothing you can't cook whilst camping is Dennis's mantra!! We are living like kings that's for sure.

Today we toured Broken Hill and gave Dennis and Tops a trip down memory lane starting with a coffee at Bells cafe in South Broken Hill, where Aunty Lina used to take Darryl for a spider treat. It was like walking back in time with the place set up as a 1950's museum. Here's Darryl and I watching  the Astor TV on the old lounge suite. 

      

We then managed to find the unsigned road to the miners memorial up on the hill and what a sad thing it is to see how so many miners died from horrific accidents. Each flower marks a plaque with the miners age and cause of death. What a shame though the restaurant is closed - seems such a waste.

        

We also found the spot where the first terrorist attack was made in 1915 by 2 Afghans on a train taking  people to a picnic at Silverton Penrose Park. Four innocent people died plus the two attackers. We couldn't believe more wasn't made of this significant event - there was no signpost there and only a deteriorating train carriage with a sign! 

We strolled up the Main Street and admired the beautiful old buildings then found a cafe for lunch. We drove around to show Dennis and Tops where the aunties lived then called into Pro Harts gallery before having a drink at the Silverton Hotel. 

         Pro Harts decorated Rolls!

     Outside the Silverton Pub.

    And trust Dennis to find a Ford - at the Silverton Pub.

And so we have had a brief overview of Broken Hill and Silverton - quite iconic places.

We are now at the Apex Park by the river in Mildura for our last night! We are dining out with Tim and Di Wren tonight - we called at their Merbein Club to say hello  and look forward to catching up tonight. 

So our Farina trip has ended - it's been a lovely trip - a bit shorter than we originally thought seeing we didn't get to go to Innaminka. We are a little nostalgic tonight as its the last time we'll be sleeping in our current campers as we are both upgrading. So anyone who wants an excellent Ultimate camper it's for sale!! Until our next trip - which will be to pick up the new campers, goodbye from the travellers. 

xxxxxxxx 😃😃😃😃

      

Silverton.

We left Peterborough and travelled along the Barrier Highway to Cockburn where we stopped for lunch  outside the bustling caravan park (ha ha!) and took Darryl's photo at the school where Murray attended when his Dad was station master.

     

 Then through Broken Hill we went and onto Penrose Park at Silverton. The park was pretty busy but we found a good spot and set up nicely positioned to get the most out of the solar power. (Very important consideration!) It's encouraging to see the park has a few new amenities - a lovely camp kitchen, an undercover BBQ area, a great undercover playground and even a new laundry! There's also some newish picnic, BBQ and campfire areas and there's even someone playing tennis on the court by us. The last time we were here it was looking a bit neglected - though there are still bindiis, apostle birds and some run down facilities. It's a great spot to stay and suits us as we can be by ourselves and enjoy a camp fire and we aren't regimented. 

        Camp Bray / Greenwood.

This morning was very frosty but the day has been lovely and sunny and we've been lapping that up 🌞🌞. We toured Silverton and gee it was busy - the pub had a motorcycle group roll up as well as the car club and other visitors. We'll pick a quieter time to pop in and have a drink. We visited the school where Murray attended in his first year at school and saw photos from the past - his Dad was train Station Master here before transferring to Cockburn. 

           Here we are at the Silverton School.

    

    These donkeys roam the common and are quite tame. Horses and cows also roam and we had to stop on the  way here yesterday as the horses were crossing the road.

Tops and I had been led to believe that we'd be taken out for lunch but with the pub full and the cafe very busy as well, we ended back in camp for leftovers and soup. Maybe tomorrow?? As it turned out, it was just as well we were here as Brad and Bubs Hein and boys called in then Pete McDonald and boys. They are all staying in Broken Hill. 

       Some of the crowd at the Silverton Pub - more arrived after this was taken.

We are now at the Mundi Mundi lookout to enjoy the sunset with a wine and beer.

      

Tomorrow we hit Broken Hill so more reminiscing. Trust all's well with our readers. From Mundi Mundi, love from us. 

❌❌⭕️⭕️⭕️

Peterborough SA

What terrible news we awoke to thismorning and like everyone, we are stunned to hear of the tragedy. How sad we are for the Walsh family and the football community who knew him so well.

We packed up from Farina in beautiful sunny conditions - it's so much easier than in the wet! We stopped at the Farina bakery to say goodbye to Laurie and came out with fresh bread, rolls, apple turnovers, cream buns and a vegetable pasty for me! We didn't go hungry yesterday that's for sure!! As we headed south, I think half of SA and Victoria were headed north as there was a constant stream of 4wd Utes and cars, campers and caravans - all headed to the camel races at Maree or the concert at Big Red at Birdsville we deduce. Also heading north were a large number of oversized trucks carrying huge pieces of machinery that looked like it was going to the gas fields. Luckily for us, no one was heading south so we had an easy drive.

We enjoyed morning tea at Leigh Creek and had a look around there - it's a shame it's all sort of closing down as the mine closes next year. We noticed along the railway line some small pieces of old sleepers so we stopped and replenished the wood supplies! I even fossicked and picked up some old spikes and bits and pieces that I'm sure Darryl will be able to use to create something useful 😏  Our lunch break was at Hawker and our phones went crazy with messages as we came into mobile phone range!! It was good to catch up with everyone. We arrived at Peterborough and decided to try another farm stay at 'Willangi Bush Retreats' . It's 15kms out of town and we are very happy - we are by ourselves - not a soul in sight - wood is supplied and we are in a pretty setting. Our toilet is unique and the best long drop we've seen - inside this funny shed are all sorts of conveniences - hand steriliser, magazines, ash & deodoriser, material slips to keep flies out ...... and not an odour to be smelt!! 

              

And thismorning we enjoyed the best shower since we left home - in the tin shed, bath mats,shampoo, and soap are provided and there are hooks aplenty for clothes. Best of all the pressure was great and it was nice and warm. 

        

We came into town to pay for another night for our farm stay (the 'office' was an interesting experience too!) Then we found a coffee shop which was also very different - it's in the old picture theatre set up with all memorabilia - very interesting and coffee was lovely! 

             

Then Darryl and Dennis went off to the train museum - Peterborough is a great train town as they had 3 gauges meet here! But Tops and I were the lucky ones as we got to visit the laudrymat and the supermarket 😄😀. We lucky ones are now back at camp sitting in the feeble sun and waiting for the train enthusiasts to return. No doubt they will share lots of information and photos with us.

Tomorrow we head to Broken Hill and Silverton so Darryl can reminisce again about his memories of this area. 

We have no service here at the camp site (seems to be the case for us) but I think if I climb a hill, I might be able to eek enough service to post this. We hope all weekend sports are successful and will continue sharing our travel experiences at Silverton. xxxxxoooooo from us 4. 

            Here are the train buffs - Dennis  playing the piano in the parlour car and Darryl driving the    

             train!! 

    

       

     

       

Farina.

Well our goal has been reached and here we are camped at Farina. We are bathed in glorious sunshine and we're all lapping up the warmth after some rather cold miserable days. Tops and I did a load of washing at Arkaroola but there were no dryers so we hung them on the line up at the caravan park then before we set off on our afternoon tour, we hang them in Dennis's wash house!! A pointless exercise as overnight nothing dried at all! 

    

Our Ridge Top tour at Arkaroola was great but pretty darn cold and no sunshine to show off the beautiful colours of the rugged ranges. The trip hasn't gotten any easier and up that last bit I had to close my eyes a bit! The views are spectacular though and we could clearly see Lake Frome with some water in it. Just as well we booked in for dinner that evening as we didn't get back till 5.30pm and it was cold and wet - so it was lovely to warm up in their lounge enjoying a drink then we enjoyed a yummy meal - and we didn't have to prepare it or do dishes. We also saved our firewood as we went straight to bed when we got back to camp. 

     Look how cold we look - and stuffing our faces with lamingtons!!

Unfortunately it rained in the night and next morning it continued to drizzle so it was rather tricky packing up and trying to keep clean and dry. However, we set off and travelled across to Copley where we had lunch and then onto Lyndhurst where we fuelled up and unsuccessfully looked for the Safeway supermarket and Bunnings (haha)  However, we came across a group of vechiles just  off the Strezlecki Track! The track is closed after some rain but these people (about a dozen cars, campers and even a caravan) were part along and struggled to get out and boy oh boy, everything was covered in red mud!! They'd take a lot of pressure washing to get things clean.

            We were going to travel on the Strezlecki Track but not now!! 

             

We then only had to travel  26kms from Lyndhurst to Farina - the place we've heard so much about and couldn't really grasp what it would be like. It has amazed us - the number of visitors, the restoration program, the picturesque and well facilitated campground and the bakery - all in the middle of no where!  We arrived mid afternoon, found our spot and immediately hung out our clothes to dry in the sunshine!  Just across the way were Lyn and Kevin Sambrooks and Tony and Rosie Laughlin so it was quite a Kerang reunion - especially when Laurie and Marion Grey came across. We all shared the huge fire to cook our camp oven roasts and had a lovely evening together.

    

Today we've had a rest day looking around the ruins and catching up with the Greys in the bakery. The town was settled where the narrow and standard gauge lines crossed over - plus the early settlers and SA government thought this would be the future food bowl for SA!! How they ever thought that is unbelievable as the landscape is just stones  and not much grass. 

         

         You can see us set up in the background. The campground is pretty, has showers and flush toilets, rubbish bins and bbqs - far more than we expected! There would have been over 50 camps set up here last night. 

    The program, run by volunteers, takes buildings looking like this and restores the stone work to save them falling down completely.

This old Post Offce has had its stone work restored.

        

      

 Here is  Laurie baking his bread in the underground bake house. Also on the menu are rolls, scones, buns, pies, pasties, sausage rolls ....... You only have to beat the rush to get them! We had to line up for a loaf of bread at 8 am!

Tomorrow we'll head towards Peterborough with Broken Hill and Silverton our objective. It will be good to be in touch with everyone - we've missed that. Trust everyone is well - as soon as we get some service I'll post this blog.

So till later, love from the 4 travellers xxxxooooo 😘😘

       

      

Dennis does SkyTrek.

We experienced a frosty start to the day - our campers were quite damp - even inside - but the day was glorious 🌞🌞. With Dennis at the helm of his trusty Ranger Ute, and Darryl along side as navigator and reader of notes, we set off on this day long trek.

            

                 Morning tea at Moxans Hut.

The whole SkyTrek is done very well with accompanying notes giving bits of information along the way about history, flora, fauna, geology, and titbits of interest. It's surprising how many people do this trek and we've noticed other stations offer 4WD experiences as well. 

            

The variety of lansdapes on this one property was amazing - from gum studded creek beds, bald hills, rocky terrain to real saltbush desert scenery. 

         

The track was pretty good until the last bit where you are advised to select 4 WD - and boy do you need it!  Dennis has now qualified as an off road driver and he managed the rocky steep ascents and descents very well - better than Tops and I sitting in the back!!  

         A view of the homestead on our home stretch. - they hosted a wedding today.

It's a great way to see a property of this size and to acknowledge the difficulties they would have in mustering the sheep - they seemed to be dotted everywhere! More prolific were the kangaroos and euros - and even emus! No wonder they need to have regular culling! We would recommend this tour to anyone - it is a great way for the owners to supplement their income and allows us tourists a glimpse into this beautiful part of the world.

        The old grader which originally graded the track.

We are now camped by another creek bed at Arkaroola. We had a great trip here - we went the back way on the eastern side of the ranges and saw more interesting scenery. We deviated from the road into Chambers Gorge for lunch and were very impressed with this drive along the creek bed - which still had a bit of water in and stones! We must have crossed dozens and dozens of creeks so it would be great to see these creeks flowing. Tomorrow we are booked into the Ridge Top tour so chose the afternoon trip as an 8am start in a troop carrier would be rather chilly! We hope by 1pm it will be pleasant.  Tonight we have the lamb roast cooking on the campfire but tomorrow night Dennis and Darryl are taking us ladies out for dinner at the restaurant here. 🍴🍝🍤. 

With no mobile phone access and only limited internet up at the shop, we are pretty well cut off from everyone - we don't even know how everyone's weekend went. Even though we aren't in touch, we are thinking of you all. 😏

Love to everyone from the happy travellers. ❌❌❌⭕️⭕️⭕️