Dubbo,

Sunday 19^th April 2009

It’s been a long time since I had the chance, or perhaps took the opportunity to write about our adventures.  Frustration! Yes lots. Finding the quiet time to actually be creative is becoming almost extinct.  We have done a lot of traveling since I wrote last and a I have experienced a good deal of frustration regarding space issues, time alone issues and the weather.

 

Monday 30^th March.

Arrived at Bombah Point, which is located east of Bulahdelah in Myall Lake National Park.  Raining, the worst conditions for caravanning, however I am sure even more confining for people who are tenting.  It’s a lovely place on the Myall River with kangaroos and great bush land and fantastic trees.  We left Tuesday morning hoping to get across on the Bombah Point Ferry to Mungo Brush, however the ferry was cancelled due to foul weather.  A chance to re evaluate our plans so Ken suggested the Hunter Valley, which was a great alternative.  The one and only Caravan Park in the region is called Valley Vineyard Park, in Cessnock.  There would appear to be a great opportunity for an alternative park in the area, should someone be interested.  Rain, rain and more rain drove us to more wine tastings and the discovery of some beautiful caramelised Balsamic Vinegar and lemon and chili olive oils.

  

Friday 3^rd April

Found the sun shining and us leaving town, but not without another bottle of  PUKARA ESTATE Caramelised Balsamic Vinegar, yes it’s not about the wines it’s about the food.  We decided to backtrack a little so went back to Bulahdelah and then on to Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest.   Mango Brush is north of Hawks Nest and is situated on the southern side of Bombah Broadwater, it is the most beautiful location that one can imagine.  As the sun is subsiding in the west, the view over the lake is sensational with the multi-layered mountain range as a background.  The colors of the mountains with their varying degrees of grey is something I have never seen before.  This however was not a cat friendly place and poor Wendall had to stay inside for several days, as there were families of Dingos roaming in the park both day and night.  Ken had a lovely time sailing the dingy and rowing me around. I also caught up on some reading.  

All good things must come to an end so on Monday 6^th we headed south to Newcastle and then on to Belmont.  A couple we had meet at Cessnock recommended a beautiful park that they had visited, so we booked into Belmont Pines Lakeside Park and stayed for three nights. Lovely location and would recommend the park to anyone.

 

With Easter looming we headed toward Sydney on Thursday the 9^th to meet up with an old friend of Ken’s, Tim and his wife Susan.  They live at Glenorie, which is an outer north - western suburb of Sydney.  Their house is situated on beautiful bush land acreage, so the van was not a problem for parking.  We stayed in Sydney over Easter and enjoyed a motor in the dingy at Berowra Waters on the Sunday and a visit to the city on the Monday to see the Archibald exhibition at the Art gallery of NSW.  We were also able to catch up with family and friends who live in Sydney with particular interest in my nephew Strathmore’s new baby boy Louie.

 

Still raining we decided to head for the Blue Mountains on Tuesday 14^th.   Katoomba Caravan Park was full due to school holidays, however we found a spot at Blackheath, which worked in our favour as it is a far superior park. The next day was beautiful weather and the trees were a picture with their red and yellow foliage, so different from what we are used to on the coast.  We had lunch in a really old pub, complete with fireplace and tapestry covered lounges. We then drove to Govett’s Lookout to see the magnificent views and then we backtracked to Faulconbridge to the Norman Lindsay Gallery.  Ken also caught up with an old school friend that he went to primary school with, and also his cousin Grahame and wife Julie.

 

Thursday 16^th we headed West down the mountains to Orange to visit Ken’s niece Jessie and her husband Nathan, we also got to meet for the first time their daughter Sophie who is three and is a gorgeous little girl.  Unfortunately we were only able to spend one evening in Orange as I had made arrangements to be in Dubbo on Friday afternoon.

 

Friday 17^th we were back on the road heading West and stopped for lunch at Burrandong Dam just out of Wellington.  It’s amazing how dry it is, not much water anywhere.  A quick visit to Wellington Cemetery at Ken’s insistence to check out my mother’s grave and according to Ken so she (my mother) could see the van.  Wendall was particularly grumpy at this time so Ken got him out for a quick stroll around the graves. He was very good he didn’t wee on anyone. Friday afternoon found us ensconced in the Big 4 Caravan Park just near the Dubbo Zoo. Dinner on Friday evening with my sister Susan and her son Lachlan, his wife and children was a pleasant change to eating in the van.

Susan and I managed to do lunch at a lovely winery out of Dubbo while Ken was in charge of a list of jobs that needed attention while we were gone.  When we arrived back after lunch Susan was horrified to find that well meaning Ken had chopped a huge branch off one of her trees that she really loved.  I guess we should have taken him to lunch also.

 

This my friends, brings me up to today which is Monday 20^th.  We left Dubbo about lunch time and are heading North at last.  At Ken’s insistence we drove through the Warrumbungle National Park just as the sun was beginning its decent.  It is a very beautiful time to see nature.  At the side of the road between the National Park and Coonabarabran we found a lovely park with lots of trees and no other people and here we are for the night.  Wendall is in heaven and is enjoying his walks on his lead. Oh, it’s the simple things in life!!

Enough from me, I hope all who read this are well and taking care.  I trust that every one had a peaceful and happy Easter, and I am looking forward to seeing many of you in a week or two.

Take Care,

Elizabeth.