Hi to everyone
I almost forgot to finish off our trip on the blog. We are actually already home in beautiful downtown Cranbourne.
We left Goulburn last Saturday morning and headed to the little town of Bombala. It was a fairly long hike again, with the GPS telling me that the trip will take about 4 hours.
Heading out of Goulburn it is just so dry. The route that we took skirted around Canberra, taking in the suburb or Queanbeyan. That is a fairly big town but we didn't have the time to stop. From there it was almost all up hill to Cooma. That town is about 1000 ft above sea level. We stopped there for a coffee and a quick look around the town. It is a lovely place, with plenty of really well preserved old buildings. Got a photo of the post office and the old court house.
They also have a jail in Cooma, which is only about 200 metres from the main shopping area. I thought it was just a tourist spot until I saw a warder walk in through the front door. Probably the razor wire around the top of the fence should have given it away. They also have a really good area set aside as a remembrance zone. They have a small diorama of a battlefield in this area. It is a really good tribute to the fallen.
From Cooma, finally, it was the start of the downhill run. It is a heavily forested area and at one stage a moron on a motorbike overtook us on the down hill run over double lines. Just cant understand why so many of them get killed on the roads. It was almost a case of the Karma fairy striking, as just as he got passed me, a 4ft black snake slithered across the road and went between the motor bike and us. It probably only missed the back of his bike by inches.
Our next stop was in Bombala. This is only a very small whistlestop with a population of about 1500. We stopped at the caravan park which is on the river. Just after setting up, we were just relaxing outside the van, when another couple of travellers walked back from the direction of the river. They told us that there was a snake just near the fence, probably about 10 metres from our van. Not the sort of welcome that we really wanted.
About an hour later we went for a walk along the river looking for the legendary Platypus. They are found in the river at that spot. We actually saw tell tale signs of a platypus on the water, but could not get any photos as they don't come out of the water.
Up bright and early next morning and made a quick getaway, away from these snake infested parts. Drove about 350 k's to Traralgon where we made a quick overnight stay to visit some family. Up Monday morning and headed home.
It was a pretty good trip in which we travelled over 5000 k's in the 6 weeks we were away. I have no doubt that Debs highlight would be swimming with the dolphins at Coffs Harbour. I must say that I had no idea that the coastline of NSW was so mountainous. I think that I would rather travel in the outback area, rather than the coast.
We will be heading off again next year, so until then, keep safe and well.
Our route in red up to Coffs Harbour and back via the coastal route.
Barry and Deb.
Sorry, no church photos today.
Hi to all from Goulburn.
We have been here a couple of days now, after a pretty long trip from Cessnock. It was about 360k's, and apart from the part where you skirt Sydney, it is up and down mountains for most of the trip. Doesn't do the fuel consumption any good.
Now that we are at Goulburn, it is almost back in the outback. The town itself is a pretty good size, with a population around 25000, but it is just so dry. In the caravan park it took ages just to get some pegs into the ground for the awning and the ground matting.
Our first tour of duty here was to check out the BIG MERINO. Of course it is really huge and it is attached to the Big Merino tourist shop. The story of the merino is really quite interesting. The first sheep in Australia came here with the first fleet, but after the first year they were almost all gone, either dying with the climate or as food. It was not until 1796 that a small quantity of Spanish Merino's were brought to Australia and several of these were sold to Captain Macarthur, recognised in history as the founder of the Australian sheep industry, and a Reverend Marsden. In 1804 Macarthur imported more rams from Spain and therein began the start of the Australian wool industry.
The history is very interesting to read, as during both the 1st and 2nd world wars, England bought the entire wool clip from the Australian market, thus depriving the enemy from the important fabric for use in their war uniforms. Wool was such an important fabric to the war effort, that shearers were prohibited from enlisting in the armed forces.
Over the years our wool industry has continued climbing, to the extent that we now export 1/2 a billion tonnes every year to our major buyers, being China, Japan, Europe, the USA and Germany.
After your history lesson we headed down to check out the historic Waterworks. Built in 1885, they were the only complete steam powered water supply in the Southern Hemisphere. It was closed the day we were there, but it is still a pretty impressive site. Deb tried to sneak down for a closer look but decided against it, probably didn't want to find any creepy crawlies in the long grass.
We then headed up to check out the Goulburn Rose Garden. I was actually looking forward to this as I do miss my roses at home. I must say it was very disappointing. It was just covered in weeds, almost as tall as some of the roses, and the roses needed a lot of tip pruning of the dead rose buds. Sadly, I did not have my secateurs with me. It would have been a huge job bringing them back to some sense of beauty.
I know that you have all been waiting with bated breath for it, so here they come. Our next visit was to check out the only church in Australia made from green stone. (Diorite Phoyphryte to the geologists among you). St. Peter and Pauls Cathedral is a really beautiful building, with wonderful stained glass windows. It is currently under renovation, thanks to a $1.5 Million grant, to restore the spire. It also has a mosaic on its side walls, paying tribute to Caroline Chisholm.
Equally impressive was the house next door, which was the home of the Bishop, before the head of the Diocese was moved to Sydney.
We then moved a couple of hundred metres down the street to check out the opposition. I would have to say, it is a very close race with maybe the St Saviours Cathedral just winning. This building is just magnificent. Inside the church, you don't know which way to look. Even up to the ceiling, which was impressive. The stained glass windows were equally impressive, with so many different forms of religious art. The sculpted last supper, just behind the pulpit was so well done, as were other sculpted images everywhere that you looked. High up on the walls were also small circular sculpted images which were just awesome. No, I haven't turned, but it was quite beautiful.
Walking back to the car, as we were parked between these 2 great churches, I had to check out the local Baptist church. I think I know who were Gods favourites when the pecking order was established. I know who takes up the bottom branches of the tree.
As Goulburn is Australia's first inland city, by royal decree, it has lots of great old buildings. I was pretty impressed with the Colonial Mutual Building, as well as the Australian Mutual Provident building in the main street. The Post Office building is also pretty impressive.
We drove out to check out the Historic Riversdale Homestead but decided not to go in. The gardens were pretty sprawling and it would be a full time job to keep them in check. Very pretty gardens but the house was a bit average.
Next stop was to check out the Police Academy at Goulburn and the jail. Not much to report here. Couldn't really get close enough to the Academy to get a photo, and the jail was much the same. I could have probably pulled up and stood in front of the jail to get a happy snap, but the ninjas would probably come out of the trees and arrest me.
We pressed on and went to check out the War Memorial. This building stands like a sentinel, overlooking the town. It has a really strong presence, as you can see it from most areas around the town. A pity the museum up there is closed for renovations. We got a snap of a couple of Howitzer guns that were seized from the Germans, that were on display up there. This is a really commanding building and well worth a visit.
In the interests of my readers, we even went out last night to get some night shots of the churches, merino and the war memorial. The churches and merino weren't lit up but the memorial was. I think the day photos were more impressive.
Went out this morning and checked out the Garroorigang Historic Homestead. This home is 150 years old and is a pretty impressive building and lovely gardens. This home has connections right back to the colonial times and is tied in to the explorer Hamilton Hume. During its life, it has also been an inn on the way to the Goldfields and a finishing school for boys.
We then went to the Bradley Grange and Brewery. The buildings appear to be in fairly good condition, but the gardens are a bit ramshackle. Like everything else in the historic era, you have to pay entry fees to check out inside. We have become a bit selective with those things, as you can only see so many old tables and chairs, bedrooms and ancient women's clothing.
Over all, we have enjoyed our stay at Goulburn and we will be off tomorrow, heading for a little whistlestop out of Cooma called Bombala.
Bye for now.
Barry and Deb.
Hi to all from Cessnock.
We have been here for 2 days after spending 2 days at Tuncurry.
We arrived at Tuncurry on Saturday and set up at the caravan park. It was a huge park but was probably only about 25% occupied. The proper name for the area is Forster Tuncurry. They were 2 separate towns at one stage, on each side of an inlet into Wallis Lake, and it was only in 1959 that a bridge was finally opened connecting the 2 towns and as such, they are now known as Forster Tuncurry. For reason not known to me, Forster has definitely been the town that has taken off. I could not believe the number of 10 - 15 storey holiday apartment blocks in Forster, whereas its little brother of Tuncurry, seems to have only 3 - 4 storey blocks.
We went for our customary tourist drive on the Sunday, with our first stop being the lookout at Second Head. Not that exciting, as you could only see the ocean and the cliffs. We took a walk along a track until we came to an area known as Pebbly Beach. This is pretty typical of NSW beaches, with it mainly used for surfing. It also had a huge sand dune, which, in the right circumstances would have been great for skidding down on a boogie board. Being about 35C already, it was not time to go sliding down a sand dune.
Our next stop was at the tiny village of Tiona. The only claim to fame of this place is that it is the home of the Green Cathedral. This is an outdoor church, complete with ministers stand, speakers and wooden benches for the congregation to use. It is used for church services, as well as for weddings and other church related tasks. To get to it you have to walk along a track through the forest, and when you get there, it has the back drop of the Wallis Lake. One of the photos taken, with Deb giving a bit of a sermon, has a mystical look about it, as if she is standing in the clouds. It is a great spot. Sorry, but no leadlight window photos here.
We then headed to a market at Pacific Palms, a small coastal town. It was typical of all of these sorts of markets, with local produce and arty type stuff. Nothing took my fancy so it was now off to check out Cielo's Beach. This place looked great on the tourist brochure, YES, I KNOW, you idiot. Well, the brochure was half right. There was a nice boardwalk down to the beach, as for the incredible sand dunes and rock pools, well, say no more. The most exciting thing about it was taking a photo of a little blue wren attacking itself in the side mirror of a car in the car park.
We seem to have a bit of a penchant for Lighthouses on this trip, so it was off to Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse, at Seal Rocks. The walk from the car park is about 650 metres, and on the way there is a really cool area about 30 metres below you where the ocean comes through what looks like a small cave. Looks great from above. I wonder what it would look like if I could get down to shore level??
Anyway took some shots and continued up to the lighthouse. It was a great view, and you could see the treacherous rocks out in the ocean that claimed many ships back in the 18 and 1900's before the lighthouse was built.
Time to head back down and had to stop at the earlier photo spot of the water coming through the cave. I couldn't resist and had to make my way down to the bottom, to get you an even better photo. It was tough going through the really steep scrubby side of the sandy cliff face. Deb will allege that at one stage I slipped and fell on my backside, but, I cant remember that happening. There was a pretty rough track, that other idiots had obviously taken before me. I was just hoping not to find their bones down at the bottom, unable to get back up again. After all that, the photos were no better.
It was then back to home base for a rest. I went out again, intending to see if there were any surfers in the water at Tuncurry, but I never made it. There is an inlet about 250metres long where the ocean tries to come into Wallis Lake. At the same time, Wallis Lake is trying to get out into the ocean. The result is, an awesome stretch of water that has huge waves, rips, undercurrents and dangerous rocks. It would not be possible to swim in this area, and I don't know if a boat could even get through this rip. Whilst mesmerised by the water, I was just captivated by a pod of about 8 to 10 dolphins swimming in this area. They appeared to ride the waves into the lake, before swimming underwater out to sea and then going through the same ritual over and over again. I just lost track of time and before I knew it, I had been there for an hour.
Monday morning it was off from Tuncurry and towards Cessnock. On the way we stopped at the small towns of Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest. We didn't look around too much, as we had the van on the back, but there were both pretty little towns on the ocean, with a large inlet going through the middle of the towns. Probably a good place to relax, with mainly water based activities and walking tracks.
We arrived at Cessnock where we were staying at the Showgrounds. There was a contained bushfire in the area, with lots of smoke but nothing to worry about. You choose where you want to set up, with the main consideration being the location of water taps and power boards. We headed up the main street to check out the town, with the main shopping strip very quiet. There were lots of empty shops, with a couple of little plaza type shopping centres. It was a strange set up, as you would have your major supermarket, surrounded by about 10 little businesses. Maybe the 3 plazas we found would explain why the main street is a bit deserted.
Come Monday night, we headed out to check out the Hunter Valley Gardens at Pokolbin. There are 60 acres of gardens, including 10 internationally acclaimed display gardens.
These gardens supposedly had a million Christmas lights spread around the gardens. Our main reason for going was to check out the gardens, with the lights being a bonus. We arrived at 6.30pm and were disappointed to find out, after paying our entry of $54, that about 50 acres of the gardens were closed. The only part being open, was where the lights were. We spoke to several other people there, and they were also disappointed, as we all thought we could see the main gardens before the lights came on. Bit of a bummer really as the lights were just for kids. p.s. I am sick to death of that song from the movie Frozen.
Tuesday morning up bright and early, probably more so because we had a power problem with the van and the temperature was predicted as being 38C today. Just awesome.
After solving our problem it was off on a tourist drive. We headed down to the town?? of Wollombi. There was probably about 20 buildings in the total area. Took a photo of the historic police station, with the prisoners exercise yards on the side of the building, in full view of the passing pedestrian traffic. Just awesome.
Couldn't help myself, as found myself inside the local church. Had a lovely leadlight window at the head of the church, with the other leadlights showing more of local themes, ie cattle, farming. Did take a photo of the Adam and Eve leadlight. On the walls are wood carvings, depicting the last journey of Christ. A very lovely little church.
On the way to Kurri Kurri, we had a detour and checked out a water garden. Took lots of photos of beautiful water plants, before continuing on to Kurri Kurri.
This is the town of murals in NSW. There are supposedly 52 murals in the town. It is a nice little town, with a couple of pubs and a good size shopping strip. The public toilets, in the main street, has a great mural on all sides. The police station even has a mural on its wall, police related of course. In the garden of honour, in the main street, is a GIANT KOOKABURRA, which, of course, I had to get a photo of.
We have had enough excitement so it was now back to home base before heading off tomorrow to Goulburn.
Bye for now.
Barry and Deb.
