Saturday, March 1st 2014 - Paynesville Day 280 of our ‘Around Oz Trip’
We were up late, not unusual for us. Time to go out to the motorhome and give it a good clean and Geoff put a new surround along the wall behind the sink in the bathroom.
Later we took the scooter into Paynesville and wandered down the dock where we had berthed in 2005/06. Chatted to a guy who lived on his motor boat and who knew Chris and Wade. We looked at a converted cray boat that was only $20,000. No, not yet!
After a bit of a wander around we headed back for lunch then Wyn and Ge0ff spent some time on Wyn’s laptop and his PC seeing if they could find a copy of photo deluxe, an old program Geoff was in search of. Geoff also worked on trying to get the GPS to talk to our phones.
Around 5.30 we all piled into Wyn’s car and headed off to Anita and Ari’s place for a BBQ. They have a lovely view overlooking the Gippsland Lakes from the second floor of their unit.
Sunday, March 2nd 2014 - Paynesville
Happy 46th anniversary to us!
After doing a few chores we, once again, headed into Paynesville on the scooter to visit Wyn who was on duty at the Paynesville Coastguard where he is Vice Commodore (I think).
Back to the house for lunch when Wyn arrived back which was bacon and eggs and then we relaxed for the rest of the day and enjoyed Wyn and Ann’s company … no pressures!
Monday, 3rd March 2014 - Freeburgh, North East Victoria
We slowly packed up the motorhome and got going around 10.30.
We were soon on the Great Alpine Road heading towards Bright where my heart still calls home. We stopped of at the Swifts Creek Bakery for some lunch and bread. We stopped quickly in Omeo to see if we could catch up with a friend from my Parks Vic days, Dave, but the office was closed. I guess he and his staff were off at a fire somewhere. Soon we were nearing Dinner Plain where we did a short detour to see how and if it had grown. Dinner Plain has the distinction of being the only freehold village above the snowline. The village is unique in its architecture with the homes and lodges being built of stone, timber and corrugated iron to reflect the history and heritage of the Cattlemen’s huts of the High Plains. To me, the village, reminds me of a Hansel and Gretel type town. Very pretty and picturesque set amongst the snow gums of the Victorian High Plains. Nice!
We were soon on the Great Alpine Road heading towards Bright where my heart still calls home. We stopped of at the Swifts Creek Bakery for some lunch and bread. We stopped quickly in Omeo to see if we could catch up with a friend from my Parks Vic days, Dave, but the office was closed. I guess he and his staff were off at a fire somewhere. Soon we were nearing Dinner Plain where we did a short detour to see how and if it had grown. Dinner Plain has the distinction of being the only freehold village above the snowline. The village is unique in its architecture with the homes and lodges being built of stone, timber and corrugated iron to reflect the history and heritage of the Cattlemen’s huts of the High Plains. To me, the village, reminds me of a Hansel and Gretel type town. Very pretty and picturesque set amongst the snow gums of the Victorian High Plains. Nice!
Once we left there Mt Hotham was only a few kilometres up the road and I was really looking forward to see the stunning panorama of the Alps stretching away as far as the eye could see. As we came over the top we could only look in dismay at the devastation we saw. Every three years since 2003, bush fires have ravaged this magical country. As far as the eye could see there were burnt out trees standing high and forlorn along the skyline. It has certainly taken its toll on this magnificent wilderness. It made us feel so sad.
We carefully and slowly made our way down from Mt Hotham to the valley below to Harrietville. I must admit, it was good to get down to the bottom. Harrietville had also grown a bit but not too much and we made our way to Freeburgh where we were staying with Sally and Martin. The trees were too low for us to get up their driveway but, with 40 odd acres, we had plenty of places to find a spot.
Once settled, Geoff got the scooter off and we headed into Bright for a look around. We were lucky to find the door of the, now closed, Backpacker Hostel open so we rang Mark to see if it was okay for us to have a look around. Apparently it was not supposed to be open but we got permission and had a good look around. Mark has been slowly renovating and painting it in preparation to be sold. It was about due as we built it in 1994 and left in 2005 and now here it was another nine years further on. He had done a good job with a new hostel kitchen and renovated bathrooms etc. It looked good but Goff doesn’t think it looks as homely as it is now a bit sterile looking.
We carried on walking through the town and catching up with a few acquaintances here and there who still remembered us.
It was then back to Peetsfields to make salads for when Sally and Martin arrived back from Albury. So … it was a late dinner but who cares?
Tuesday, 4th March 2014 - Freeburgh
Geoff helped Martin and Paul, from the next property, to level of an area for a new shed. Paul and his partner, Chris, are old paragliding friends.
I made a Lemon Meringue Pie and went into Bright with Sally. In the evening we went round to other friends, Ron and Jan, for a BBQ and looked at Ron's trailer sailer and his vintage cars. Showed some movies and photos and had a good night.
Wednesday, 5th March 2014 - Freeburgh
I had an unsettled night with painful legs. Mid morning we headed of into Bright and caught up with a few more people including our good friend Lois who looked really well. We also caught up with another good friend, Arno, and arranged to go to dinner on the weekend. Colleen and Norm were out so it was back to Freeburgh to find Sally in fits of laughter. Martin, Paul and Chris had used the backhoe to dig out near the dam to see where the water was leaking out. What they found was a huge European wasp nest which didn’t make the wasps very happy. Sally was quite a way away from them and was in convulsions as she watched the three of them running for their lives as an angry swarm emerged from the hole that Paul had dug up in the ground. They didn’t get away unscathed and all got a sting or two. They said ‘It’s not funny Sally!” Christine popped by later for a quick hello, thanks.
Martin had a meeting after dinner so, once it got dark, Sally and Geoff headed off to the dam with torches covered with red, plus wasp dust to kill the wasps. The red beams, supposedly, stop the wasps coming for you. “Not so” said Geoff who came back with a sting to his forehead where the wasp had made a bee line for his head torch. I looked for some Soda Bi-carb which is an old remedy for bee and wasp stings but could only find baking powder. Still, an antihistamine did the job later.
Still not funny, Sally!
Thursday, 6th March 2014 - Freeburgh
Geoff spent the morning looking at Sally and Martin’s B&B website, which he had originally completed around 2003, as it was getting old and needed updating.
Later we borrowed Martin’s Pajero and went into town again to buy some salmon steaks as Chris and Paul had been invited for dinner. Sally cooked the salmon and I did the potatoes and salad and then we both pitched in to make a fresh fruit salad. It was a good evening and we reminisced and chatted the evening away. Life’s good!
Friday, 7th March 2014 - Freeburgh
A ‘muck around the place’ type of day. Geoff took a heap of new photos and updated them on Stayz, a booking site that Sally uses. Sammy, Sally and Martin’s daughter, arrived around 5pm and then we all piled in the car (I must lose some weight … squashy) to eat at the Harrietville pub. We got in just before the rush as it is a very popular pub and eating place and it was Labour Day weekend in Victoria. Good meal and, once again, good company. We got home around 10pm and we said goodnight and headed for bed in the motorhome.
Saturday, 8th March 2014 - Freeburgh
Sally came up this morning to tell us of the drama that unfolded after we had left them last night. An error had occurred in her diary resulting in a double booking for the self contained cottage. Sally showed the first to arrive to the cottage and then had to ring the second set of guests. Luckily they had been to Peetsfields many times so were happy to be put up in the B&B. Fun and games … been there, done that!
Geoff and Martin spent the afternoon fitting Martin’s new UHF radio into his Pajero. Sammy, Sally and I left them to it and went round to Jan’s so Sammy could have a look at sorting out her iPad.
Sunday, 9th March 2014 - Freeburgh
Spent some time showing Sammy a couple of movies and then we hopped on the scooter to head into town, grabbed some fresh rolls from the bakery, and go to Colleen and Norm’s for lunch. We ate outside and chatted away, as you do, until after 4pm when we headed over to Sue and Arno's for dinner. We checked out Sue and Arno’s folding bikes and then Geoff borrowed one to pop into town for a bottle of sparkly (wine).
Roast Pork followed by rhubarb crumble for dinner … Yummo! After dinner we played Mexican Train dominos till late. It was really cold when we left and Geoff had forgotten a warm top so I gave him my cardigan and then tried to hunker down behind him to get out of the wind. We won’t forget warm tops again!!!!
Monday, 10th March 2014 - Freeburgh
After brekky we borrowed Sally’s Beamer (BMW) to go into Albury. We stopped at Yackandandah for an early lunch and then got to Centrelink around 12.30 pm and was out again at 1pm. Very painless!
We now had time to kill so took the opportunity to ring Polly and Jim and find out where they lived so we could have a quick visit, and quick it was … about 60 minutes. Jim was off to hydrotherapy as his back is really bad and he thinks the hydrotherapy is helping it. Polly looked well. It was really good to catch up! They went off to hydrotherapy and I went off to the neurologist. Luckily, he didn’t make me do the nerve conduction tests again but did get me to do walking and balancing tests, none of which were too good. He also checked my reflexes and just confirmed that I did, indeed, have, for short, Peripheral Neuropathy. This is, basically, nerve damage to the peripheral nervous system with only nerves outside the brain and spinal cord being affected and not the central nervous system. Not much, if anything, can be done for it so I have to just manage the pain when they ache at night and ensure I look after my feet and never go barefoot when walking. So … it could be worse. I have a few more blood tests he wants done to rule out a couple of other things plus a glucose test for Diabetes.
From here it was a little shopping, a coffee and on to Sammy’s place where we had a drink and a natter and then to Sammy’s favourite Thai restaurant for dinner. Swapped cars (hers was sold) and it was back to Freeburgh.
I had painful legs last night so it was a very restless night. Geoff slept in the Luton Peak to get away from me and get some sleep of his own.
This morning Geoff made a Mexican Shepherds Pie for dinner and I cooked a Lemon Meringue Pie. Geoff spent the rest of the day working on Sally and Martin’s new website which he is doing from scratch.
Sally came home from Wangaratta around 5.30 pm and dinner was well on the way to being ready. It was an early dinner as she was off to another meeting.
And that was it for the day!
Wednesday, 12th March 2014 - Freeburgh
Lots of rain overnight.
It was a very frustrating morning for everyone concerned. Sally and Martin were due to leave, towing their caravan, to Apollo Bay with friends Ron and Jan. Martin had checked all the caravan lights the night before and they were working fine. Today, of course, they had decided not to work. Martin and Geoff worked on them until 11am but to no avail. They just could not trace the problem. To compound the issue, Sally was taking Sam’s car down to the new owner, Martin was to tow the caravan and meet her and then they were both going to look over and buy Sam’s new car. They were quite frustrated by this time and decided they would still have to take Sam’s car down and leave the van and, hopefully, come back and fix the lights in the next day, so off they went. Geoff continued working on the lights and needed to go into Bright to buy some more globes and fuses. Whilst we were in there we popped in to see Bob and Kay who had just come back fromhouse sitting in Port Macquarie. We spent about three h0urs with them and they both looked very well.
Back to Freeburgh where we worked on the wiring until dark. Geoff decided it was probably the wiring in the van that is at fault but Geoff says he is still very confused as to what the previous owners have done as all the coloured wiring is wrong.
Time to play ball with Bella, put the chooks to bed and catch (wonders will never cease) and feed Celine, Sally’s aloof cat.
Thursday, 13th March 2014 - Freeburgh
I spent quite a time watering Sally’s EXTENSIVE garden, 2.5 acres. Sally finds watering therapeutic , not me, boring!!!!! Then I updated her Camps 5 book from our Camps 7 book. Then I tried to get the chooks in as Geoff had let them out much too early and they do too much damage to the garden.
Geoff spent all this time working on the wiring to the caravan and he finally got it all working about 3pm so we went off on the scooter into town for a while. Then we headed off again just before 6pm to meet up with Sue and Arno at the Chinese Restaurant where Linda and family did us ‘proud’ again. Great meal, great company and we made tentative plans to meet up in Tassie in February next year.
Sally and Martin came home late as they had approved of the new car and organised payment, picked it up and taken it to Albury for Sammy.
Friday, 14th march 2014 - Freeburgh
This morning I realised we had owned the motorhome for over a year but had not had a reminder from Apia, our insurance company. Went on the web and saw it was due on the 21st February. Wow … so I rang Apia and organised payment. Our correct address was on their website when I logged in but they had the old address of Kalkie as the address so the reminders went there. Bumma, but it is all fixed now.
Whilst I was fixing this Martin and Geoff were doing the final touches to the brakes wiring. All the wiring colour codes were wrong so they were having trouble working it all out. Once it was done they had an early lunch and they were off … only two days late!
We took Sally’s Beamer into town to get a few supplies and to catch up with a few more people.
After dinner I moved into the house to keep Bella company and Geoff slept in the motor home. At least we could have a bed to ourselves for a little while!
I had a disturbed night as I always do when I sleep in a different bed for the first time. Up at 8am and shower and make my way to the motorhome for scrambled eggs on toast … thanks little hens!
I made a potato salad and fiddled around until 11.30 when we left to go to Colleen and Norm’s where they were hosting a BBQ lunch for us with the Parks Victoria crew, well those that were available and not at fires or burns). Dear Michelle drove all the way up from Melbourne for it which was really nice of her. So who else was there … other than Col, Norm, Moo and us? There was Jack and Gill, Charlie and Robyn, Rob and Colleen E. Rosemary (flying friend) also popped round and PJ rang so all was good.
Before we left Colleen gave us three quilts that a lady from Victor Harbour had donated to us and any other flood victims. Because she didn’t want to trust them to the mail system she drove all the way to Bright from Victor Harbour in SA. What a fantastic thing to do, to deliver them personally. Thanks! I chose the most colourful one and it looks great on the bed and it will remain dear to us as we know the story behind it. We all left around 4pm after a great afternoon. Thanks Col and Norm for organising it. Michelle came up to Sally’s later that night so we were able to spend more time together.
Wednesday, 19th March 2014 - Freeburgh
I was up just after 7am, shower and up to the motorhome to rouse Geoff. We were off into Bright to get to the doctor’s surgery by 8.30. In by 9.10 and drink a very sweet glucose drink. I then had to wait an hour and they took a vial of blood. I then had to wait another hour and give more blood. If you want to catch up with people, then a doctor’s surgery is the place to to do it. We met heaps of acquaintances whilst we were waiting so it wasn’t a waste of time. I still have to have one more blood test done which has to be done in a lab in Melbourne as it needs to be kept at blood temperature which they can’t do in Bright.
From here we went down to the Bright Sound Shell, now called the Sibley Soundshell (has Ron Sibley died?). We were there to see the Mary Mackillop College orchestra play as we had met them when we went to the Bright Chalet. We then went to the Riverdeck Café for wedges and coffee as we could still see and hear them from there.
We then popped round to Brian and Barb’s place but they were not there so we stuck a card in their door in the hope we could catch up. Next stop was out to Wandiligong to catch up with Malin but stopping on the way when we saw Ted of Alpine Paragliding at the landing paddock. Paragliders and hang gliders fly off from the nearby Mystic Hill which Geoff, as club president, was one of the group that was instrumental in the leasing of the land those many years ago. Since then the club has managed to purchase the land. On to Malin’s for a cuppa and a lovely chat. Fred and Aaron were in Albury at the dentist, yuk, so we missed them. We looked at the new extension to the house, met their new black Labrador, Kuma, and then we were on our way.
We were half way back to Freeburgh when we got a call from Barb so did a U-turn and went back. We caught up with them at the ‘Ginger Baker’ café where Barb and Brian treated to us to a cuppa. They also had a new dog, Mali, so pats all round. It was really great to catch up as Geoff was Brian’s second paraglider student back in 1989.
This time we made it back to Freeburgh to relax.
Thursday, 20th March 2014 - Freeburgh
I was up around 8.30 and up to the motorhome to ensure that Geoff was up as he was off to get his flu jab at 10 am. He was back within 45 minutes and said you can now get a pneumonia jab but he has to contact Brisbane Royal Hospital to ensure he hasn’t already had it. Rosemary and Greg arrived just after 11am and we showed them the motorhome and then we went down to the house for a cuppa.
Col and Norm also popped in to deliver the quilts that had been donated and PJ also rang up and it was a shame we were unable to catch up … next time.
After they had all left, and as it was no longer raining, I did the mammoth task of watering the 2.5 acres of garden. Whilst it had been raining I have only had to water the plants that were under cover. Sally’s new trees that are still in their bags don’t look too happy even though I have been paranoid about watering them. Hope she plants them as soon as she is back.
Around 4pm Ian and Yvonne Huggins arrived to also have a look at the motorhome and have a cuppa.
I then fed Bella, Celine and we headed off to Yvonne and Ian’s to look at their new 5th Wheeler. Wow … it’s about 29 ft long for the 5th wheeler itself and then you have the vehicle length to add on. It is HUGE with 2 large slide out sections in the saloon area. It is like a small unit and not a RV. Very, very comfy but I think I would be very scared to drive it.
Nice dinner, nice company and then back to put the chooks away.
Friday, 21st March 2014 - Freeburgh
I was up early to strip the bed and motor home bed and get them into the wash and onto the line to dry before it rained again. Swept up after the messy but cute chooks and generally tidy up … not that it was messy.
I have chosen the really bright multi-coloured quilt (donated after the floods) for our bed and it looks really nice and, luckily, I had a couple of purple pillowslips that match it. The other two quilts are stored under the bed.
About 11am we walked over to visit Chris and Paul’s with Bella accompanying us. Checked out their enterprise of manufacturing felting machines and looked at the plans for the motor home they are planning to build on an old truck chassis they have bought. We also checked out the two .306 bullet holes in their ceiling which were caused by an irresponsible shooter from a property nearby at 1 am in the morning. How bloody dangerous! After lunch a storm came through, quick and dramatic! Sally and Martin got home about 3.30 to a tumultuous greeting from Bella. Then another storm came through so Geoff decided to put our awning away. Martin asked if he needed any help but Geoff said no. Of course, the awning got stuck with nobody there to help him so the poor bugger got absolutely soaked and cold.
Sammy arrived around 5.30 and we oohed and aahed over her new BMW and then we all went into Bright for our last dinner. Kay came too and we had the gourmet pizza and it was really nice and which was Sammy treat. Whilst there we caught up with Narda from the shop ‘Star of the Elms’. We used to walk her large but sooky Newfoundland dog, Nelson, when we no longer had a dog.
Saturday, 22nd March 2014 - On to Wangaratta
It is now Tuesday so I had to wrack my brain as to what we had been up to.
I think we left Sally and Martin’s about 10 ish and we popped in to say our last goodbye to Sue and Arno (we didn’t take any photos of them whilst we were there, how slack is that).
Next stop was to pick up some money from the gun smith who was selling Geoff’s guns for him. Then it was on to Wang and arrive at Denny and Terry’s in time for lunch … once again, good timing. Denny and Terry are friends from our teens in the UK so we go back a long way. They followed us to Oz a year later and lived with us for a while until we both managed to get the money together to build houses. This was a chain reaction as her mum and dad, brother, aunt and uncle, and friends and their kids soon followed.
Over lunch we yacked and yacked. They have been storing a lot of our stuff after our garage sale in 2009 when we realised we wouldn’t be taking up to Qld. We had forgotten what they had and what they had bought off of us. There was our leather lounge (probably on its last legs) and our dining table and chairs that they had bought. On the walls were three framed photos they are keeping for us. I also got my piggy bank that Geoff had bought me when I was 15 years old. It is all glued together from when I dropped it years ago. It is my most useless but priceless sentimental possession! I also picked up Hualapai which is a soft Indian doll I bought at the Grand Canyon and was actually made by reservation Indians. She must be getting to be about 40 years old. Nice … very happy.
Later we went off to have dinner at the local pub with their other good friends Dawn and Peter. It was so good to catch up.
Sunday, 23rd March 2014 - To Mt Evelyn
Bacon and eggs for breakfast cooked to perfection by Terry.
We were on the road by 9.30 heading to Melbourne. We went down the Melba Highway and got to John and Gail’s about 12.30. Casey, their daughter, hubby Chris and the kids were there so we had a quick chat. John and Gail were also good friends of Denny and Terry when we were all in our very early twenties and we had some great camping trips together which were hilarious as we were young and stupid in those days. Everyone had a look at the monster then it was chat, chat, chat again. Later we went out for a meal at an Indian Restaurant … yum!
Monday, 24th March 2014 - Mt Evelyn
Gail left at 4am as she was going to Wangaratta/Albury area as she does stocktaking for Woolworths. John wasn’t far behind as he leaves around 5.30 … not a time we would like to get up every week day.
After brekky we borrowed Gail’s car and went down to the Chirnside Shopping Centre and changed our Telstra plan so we can get more data. I also managed to get my eyes tested at OPSM and the new prescription is way different from my previous one which I have never thought was right. I didn’t get any glasses at this time as Norma and Wayne get all of theirs from the online website Zennioptical in China. I wouldn’t normal trust a Chinese website for prescription glasses but, for the price she said, it is worth giving it a go. She says she has always got a good product for more than a quarter of the price. Down the road a bit we saw a Rivers store which was having a huge reduction sale so I grabbed two knitted tops at $5 each. Back to Mt Evelyn for an easy dinner.
Tuesday, 25th March 2014 - Mt Evelyn
We got a call from the RV repairer this morning saying that our back moulding will not be ready till, at least, the 1st April. This is a real bumma as it means we will have to go to the house sit in Bermagui and then drive all the way back. Ah well … not much we can do about it.
We continued on to the Knox Private Hospital where I was able to get my last blood test done. In and out within half an hour. Tried to find other friends, Maureen and Dirk, but they were not in the white pages phone book so we can only guess that they have moved. Shame.
Back to Mt Evelyn where I did my last Centrelink report and catch up on my blog. Geoff installed a couple of new downlights in the saloon area and they give out a lot more light. I then cooked dinner for the three of us.
26th March 2014 - Mt Evelyn
My arthritis in my foot played up last night and was very painful. It must be the colder weather.
We had been in invited to Cath and George’s (my dads sister and her hubby) for lunch at Boronia so we left the house at 11am. We stopped on the way at Bunnings to get a ‘swap and go’ gas cylinder. We arrived at Cath and George’s at midday and it was a really lovely family get together. Also there was my cousins Jenny and Linda, Linda’s hubby … Ron, Vicky (my second cousin-in-law … married to Jens son, Andrew) and her son whose name escapes me but is my third cousin. We had a lovely lunch and it was really great to catch up. We had never met Vicky and her boy before and it was absolutely ages since we caught up with Linda and just ‘plain ages’ since we caught up with the others. Jen and Linda have just come back from the UK where they caught up with my dad and sister Kay but couldn’t make it up to Glynn. Never mind. You will have to go back again ladies!
We left about 4.30 after a really great afternoon and I was pleased to see Cath and George looking well. Soon we were back at Mt Evelyn to relax for a while before heading out to my other cousin Michael and Dianne’s place which was also in Mt Evelyn. We put the address into the GPS turned right after a few yards and then turned left after a few more yards and we were there. This made us really chuckle as they were so close we could have walked. More nattering ensued and we re-met their two boys (men) and daughter who we last saw somewhere in between 1994 and 2004 (don’t ask me when but I know we had the backpackers hostel).
Thursday, 27th March 2014 - To Paynesville
John crept in at 5.30 to say goodbye. Once we got up we packed the motorhome and Geoff walked to Michael’s to pick up his camera, which he had left behind yesterday. Before we left we wrote a thank you note for John and Gail and got going about 10.30. We stopped at Warragul for lunch and got into Paynesville around 3.30. Time for a cuppa and relax.
Geoff then fiddled around looking to see if he could modify the motorhome door so it locked electronically when he locked the cab doors.
Anita and Laura came round for tea as Ari was away in Melbourne. After they left we watched the movie ‘The Butler’ which was ok but more like a documentary. Interesting but not enthralling!
Friday, 28th March 2014 - Genoa Wayside Stop (near Mallacoota)
We didn’t get up early but neither did Wyn and Ann. As we were fiddling around we got a call from Sarah and David, friends from the boat ‘Baybird’, saying they were on their way to Paynesville to take some French friends over to Raymond Island which is just opposite Paynesville. They came round for a quick visit to catch
We said our goodbyes to Wyn and Ann and headed off up the east coast. I tried to ring Ali on the way but the mobile coverage was abysmal and both the phone numbers I had didn’t seem to work when I did get coverage. We stopped for the night at the Genoa Wayside Stop and then I managed to get onto the White pages phone web and found the correct numbers for Alli and Dasha so rang and arranged for them to come out in the morning. We also got in contact with Glen and Suzanne between Pambula and Bega who were also old sailing friends from way back 2006/07 who had a boat called ‘La Boehme’. We arranged to catch up with them at their place late Sunday afternoon. The house sit people are not leaving now until Wed/Thursday so, maybe, we could have stayed in Melbourne to see if our back moulding would arrive. Pain in the ‘A” but it’s no good crying over spilt milk, is it?
I then made up a beef and veggie homemade soup so that we, mostly Geoff, gets to eat some extra veggies. It was very yummy too! Plus we had a very easy tea then watched the movie ‘Snowtown’ which was based on the Snowtown murders. What a badly made movie and we couldn’t recommend it to anyone.
Saturday, 29th March 2014 - Genoa Wayside Stop
We were up just after 8am. Geoff had spent the night in the Luton Peak as he said I was noisy … who me?
A quick tidy up and then Dasha and the two boys, Finn and Cade, turned up, quickly followed by Ali. They had a look around the motorhome and we chatted for a while before Dash and the boys went off to collect firewood. We went off with Ali into Mallacoota. First stop was to say hi to her Staffy, Ned, and to have a look around her lovely house. The house was architecturally designed to encompass the view and is interesting in its many angles. Lovely house, lovely views. Ali made us lunch and then she became our tour guide and showed us around Mallacoota. There’s more to Mallacoota than first meets the eye. The foreshore council run caravan park is extensive and cheap. The scenery is to die for and the beaches are great. Not so sure about the bar though! She took us as close as we could get to the new controversial new off shore boat ramp and then took us to the WW11 bunker which was a major advanced operations base used by the RAAF during the war. Alas, it is only open on Tuesdays so we will see if we can come back then as the bunker looks large and comprehensive and just up Geoff’s alley.
Back to 2AB2 around 4 pm.
Sunday, 30th March 2014 - to South Wolumla (near Bega/Pambula
Another leisurely start to the day as we didn’t have far to go and had time to waste. Geoff got chatting to the neighbours and then a couple of guys on bikes from the Ulysses Club came in for a pit stop. On the back of one of the bikes, in his own rectangular tub, sat a Kelpie complete with his own doggy dryzabone and sunnies. He looked very content sitting there and we were told that when his sunnies fly up from the slip stream of a large truck he just tosses his head and they just flip back down. Clever dog!
After a bite to eat, we were on our way. We spotted a cheap RV Resort at Pambula with prices from $5 and up. Maybe businesses are starting to realise that RVers don’t need fancy facilities these days. It was also right on the beach so we will try to remember it for next time.
We got to Glen and Suzanne’s about 4 pm, after a little front wheel drive skid on the hilly and loose gravel road, and they arrived soon after. We caught up with their lives and they caught up with ours over a cuppa and bikkie. Later we showed some old photos and a couple of the movies Geoff had made. They invited us to stay tomorrow as well, which was nice of them.
Monday, 31st March 2014 - South Wolumla
Around 10am Suzanne took us into Pambula and then onto Merimbula where we stopped for a coffee in a café overlooking the barred entrance. The entrance was very shallow and narrow but the seas were benign and it was interesting watching the boats, large and small, navigating in and out. After our guided tour we went back to the motorhome for lunch and then mid afternoon we headed off to Bega to pick up their dog ‘Spice’ from their son, Elliot. Boy, has Elliot grown up, he would have been around 12 or 13 years old when we last saw him and now he is a young man and just about to become a fully qualified chef. Spice, the dog, was much more rotund and less agile than she was those eight years ago, as you would expect.
Once we left Elliot’s we popped into the Bega Cheese factory. There was not a great variety of cheese there but I did get a kilo of butter for $6.25, a bargain. Upstairs was a small museum showing the early days of the dairy and cheese industry. A compact little museum but interesting.
Before we headed back to South Wolumla Suzanne took Spice to the $2 dog wash as Spice was, according to Suzanne, “a bit on the nose!”. Poor Spice!
Back to the house and later we all met up for a lovely BBQ tea. After tea Geoff tried to fix some solar sting bud lights for them, but to no avail. Said goodbye to Glen who was leaving for work at 7.30 in the morning and we weren’t too sure if we would be awake by then. Sometimes we would, sometimes we wouldn’t.
Thanks for your hospitality guys!
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