Adventure Before Dementia

Hi………………………..our Adventure before Dementia is under way!!!!!!!

We are sorry it has taken so long to do our first post on the road. We have not been able to get sufficiently good internet until now. We thank everyone for their posts, emails & Facebook entries….they are greatly appreciated.

Sunday 19^th July

We left Hobart around 1315 on a glorious day & tootled up the highway. We are so glad the weighbridges for heavy vehicles were not operating because we were loaded to the hilt & would definitely been considered a truck. I nearly had to put Cheryl on the roof racks! At Elizabeth Town we had a coffee & chat with John & Jenny Wagner at the Elizabeth Town Café before continuing on to Devonport where we were to catch the Spirit of Tasmania ferry to Melbourne. We were in the queue at 1830 as instructed for our 2100 sailing. We took forever to get to the terminal because a van had broken down.

We were then advised that the ship wasn’t in & sailing was delayed. We eventually sailed about 2300. After a very ordinary meal we retired to our cabin with porthole & slept reasonably well as it was a calm crossing.

Monday 20^th July

We disembarked about 0915 & exited Melbourne reasonably easily & stress free, before stopping at a roadhouse not far from Seymour for breakfast & fuel. It was then onto Wodonga to catch up with Nick from Regional Campers

& take delivery of EKO our new camper trailer. The 5 month wait was worth it. Nick showed us all the features of the camper & went through setting up & packing up EKO. As some of you would know we optioned up our camper to meet our free camping & comfort levels & received some additional accessories because I am a My Swag member but we were absolutely blown away by the upgrades Mod Con Campers the builder of EKO also gave us.

After the paperwork was finished we headed off to BCF Albury to get our gas cylinders & gas then it was off to Lake Hume Tourist Park to have a play with our new toy & start transferring all our camping gear from our car, make up our bed etc. We had a great meal at the Kinross Hotel

Tuesday 21^st July

As you can imagine we slept well. We finished transferring our gear & packing EKO before heading to the local bakery for a late breakfast then onto Woolworths to buy provisions. We again dined at the Kinross Hotel.

Wednesday 22^nd July

After another good night’s sleep we packed up in the rain before heading to Holbrook about 60 km. up the Hume Highway to catch up with Cheryl’s friends Keith & Carol. We enjoyed a nice coffee & a yummy Dutch waffle cake before travelling to Gundagai to see the Dog on the Tucker Box. We tracked across to Cootamundra through Young to Forbes where we stayed the night. It had rained all day.

Thursday 23^rd July

It was a cold night & we hit the road early & found ourselves driving through thick fog to Parkes & onto Dubbo where we did some shopping & banking. By now the rain had stopped & it had become a glorious day. It was astonishing how much water was laying in the paddocks, at the roadsides & sometimes on the road itself. We went through Coonamble & onto Walgett before a good stint to our destination at the Opal Caravan Park at Lightning Ridge. Cheryl was quite proud of her 2 hour driving stint & claimed “we made up time”. She even received an “escort car” through roadworks!!!!!! We dined at the Bowling Club which is quite large & well patronised.

Friday 24^th July

We again had a great night’s sleep – I thought it was because EKO was so comfortable …… but I have worked it out …….. It is because of Deb Vince’s instructions …… I am doing all the cleaning, cooking, washing, ironing & dusting!!!!!!!! Cheryl is just being totally relaxed.

Wouldn’t you know it rained all day? We took the opportunity to zip on & set up our Touring Awning & reorganise a few things. We had to fill & empty our water tank (100 Litres) quite a few times as the original water fill from Albury was tainted. We have had discussions with quite a few caravanners at the park whom have all advised how much rain there has been everywhere. We have booked a tour for tomorrow & extended our stay by a day as there seems a lot to see & do here. We still have not been able to get Wi-Fi. Tonight…. Cheryl cooked!

Saturday 25^th July

We had to attend to a minor repair to our water pump….loose wire. We went on a general town tour with Black Opal Tours & an underground mine tour with Chamber of the Black Hand Mine Tour. Both were interesting & informative & can be recommended. Cheryl bought herself a nice solid opal ring…surprise, surprise………it is on my credit card though!!!!!!

Sunday 26^th July

Another beautiful day with no rain & lots of sun. There was a short stop at the well-stocked local hardware store to get a spare sink plug then we attended the Lightning Ridge Market. This market is a great place if you are looking for spare parts for mining machinery which is 50 years old. We then did what is known as the 3 Pubs in the Bush circuit which is about 50 Klms. out of Lightning Ridge on a mixture of bitumen & gravel roads. We visited the Cumborah Cemetery before hitting the opal field & our first pub…..”The Club in the Scrub”. To get to the pub we had to drive through & across the golf course whilst they were playing. It wasn’t the Hilton….that was yet to come! We had a coffee with a couple from Kiama, NSW & Otago Bay, Hobart.

It was then on to the next Pub but we first stopped at the Sheep yard Community War Memorial which was interesting, a little humorous & situated in a quite serene location. We rolled into the Sheep yard Inn which displayed wonderful outback mining humour. There was quite a bit of sporting memorabilia in the pub & we noted that on the 1^st of August it is the AGM of The Ugliest Man Competition & it is compulsory for all men to attend!!!!!!

We then motored along some very ordinary road to the final pub…..The Glengarry Hilton!!!!! We dined on a steak sandwich washed down with a beverage & took in the ambience & humour. One sign indicated they were OPEN FROM 6AM to 6AM 8 DAYS A WEEK & another advised NO EATING WITHIN 4 METRES OF A STATIONARY SMOKER – FINES APPLY. We thoroughly enjoyed this self- drive excursion & recommend it to you.

Monday 27^th July

We awoke to a cool morning in Lightning Ridge, packed up & stocked up at the local IGA Supermarket & departed the “ridge” for Walgett where we fuelled up & headed for Brewarrina. We passed through Brewarrina & stopped for lunch by the roadside as we are easily able to access our kitchen, pantry & fridge on EKO. I checked out the rivers at Brewarrina as it is a known fishing hotspot (another trip!!!) By the time we hit Bourke we had gone from cattle country to cotton country. We are now starting to see emus & kangaroos on a regular basis. We booked into the Kidman’s Camp Caravan Park where EKO attracted a bit of attention & set up camp.

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