Janet and Peter On Tour: 2014

After our adventures at Pilliga Bore, we left via a very good dirt track which was better than some of the highways we have been on! Heading towards Coonabarabran and passing through Baradine, we had contact with Sue and David (we had stayed with them on their farm at Ashby). They were heading to Adelaide in their Motorhome for Christmas and wondered where we were. We ended up meeting them that afternoon in Premer and caught up with what had happened in the last couple of weeks since we had seen them. The next morning they headed off towards Dunedoo and we stayed in Premer for another day.
This part of NSW is so green and beautiful. The scenery is stunning and as we traveled through lush farmland and sunflowers, a crop duster was flying along side us! Quirindi, pronounced kirindie, was a lovely town and we walked around for ages looking at the old buildings and reading the history plaques before heading east to Chaffey Dam. We shared the dam with a herd of cows who just munched their way in and out of our camp. While going for a walk around the waters edge we came across a long neck turtle who had probably been laying eggs in dry land and was now heading back to the water. The water was very low so it was a very very long walk for a little turtle and the weather was scorching so we decided to give her a helping hand by carrying her as far as we could without sinking into the mud and then watched her from afar for the next hour until she finally made it into the water and swam away. The next day we left the van at the Dam and went into Nundle where we looked through the woollen mill and saw the antiquated machinery still in use and went through the gold mine replica museum - I soooo want to find a gold nugget! (To go with my Sapphires) Next day we left that lovely peaceful setting and stayed the night at "Burning Mountain" which is a coal seam that has been burning for five thousand years. We walked to the top and you could see the heat vapours rising out of the ground. Apparently the fire moves 1 metre per year. It is very significant to the aborigines and they used to sleep up there on cold nights because the ground is warm.
On to Lake Liddell the next morning, where I finally got to use my little blow-up dinghy for the first time! We stayed for a night and in the morning where bursting with excitement because we were heading straight to Matt and Tracey's! It was so great to see them all and spend time in their own environment, seeing their bedrooms and watching them play in their pool. Brendan took us for a walk on their property and showed us the horses and the dams. Tahlia showed us all her dance moves and Lochie is just a bundle of joy and laughter. We had a couple of really heavy rain falls during our four days and one enormous lightning strike which had us all jumping!
The hardest part of visiting is having to say goodbye.
As I write this, we are in Gulgong at the Showgrounds. We were just going to pass through town but they had a Folk Festival on and there were markets, and buskers and different bands playing on the streets and in the Hotels. It is an historical town and was featured on the old $10.00 note. It is also Henry Lawson country. A local told us that "The Killing Fields" was filmed here recently starring Rebecca Gibney so we might try and catch it online.

so many pretty birds out here

Peak Hour

glad this didn't fall on us!

Sue & David met us at Premer on their way to Adelaide

Our cows at Chaffey Dam

the water is very low - leaving very sticky, squichy mud

One very tired mumma on her way back to water

Our camp at Chaffey Dam

One of Australia's last working Woolen Mills

Burning Coal Seam

Finally, I get my dinghy in the water!

Phew, that's hard work

Lots of rain at Branxton

Me and my boy, Brendan

fun in the van

Lochlain is a treasure

Tahlia, Lochie and me

Our beautiful Daughter in Law, Tracey

Christmas morning

Christmas lunch, yummy

Matt and Lochie going to round up the dog

Had a great time in Armidale. We did the free bus tour which took us all around the town and into some wonderful old buildings and Homes. It is and always has been an educational town with renowned boarding schools, teachers colleges and universities. Our tour guide was a retired teacher who had done her training and teaching in Armidale and had lots of stories and knowledge. The tour was almost three hours long but very good. We came back to "Ellie" (I've decided to name our van that because she is a Coromal Element and we really are in our element)...anyhoo....we came back for lunch and were sitting outside the van when we heard some noises and then from nowhere horses and jockeys were flying past!! We were parked next to a race track. There's never a dull moment! We were staying at the Showgrounds so were also treated to quoir practice, band practice and boxing!
After two nights we left Armidale and continued along the New England Highway through Uralla where we visited the grave of Thunderbolt and then onto the Moonbi Lookout where we watched distant Thunderstorms all around us. The Lookout and park was built in 1938 and is perched upon a huge rock overlooking the town of Moonbi and surrounding district. We stayed the night and in the morning went to Moonbi to have a new element for the fridge fitted. It had stopped working when on power but was still OK on gas. After that we continued on to Tamworth where we had a look around and did some shopping and stayed at a roadside rest area just outside of town.
Travelling along the Oxley Highway we arrived at Gunnedah. We liked the place as soon as we arrived. There was much to see and do and the locals were very friendly. We were having a roast beef lunch ($7.00 plus free drink) when a lady came up behind and gave me the warmest hug - until I turned around and she saw I wasn't who she thought I was! She was a dear thing and we chatted about all the things to see and do in town. We stayed at a free camp on the river which is looked after by locals, not the council. One of the farmers came and introduced himself and after a good long chat he gave us some cherries!
We stayed in Gunnedah for two nights and set off late morning to Coonabarabran and up to the Pilliga Nature Reserve to stay at Pilliga Pottery. We left the van (Ellie) and visited the sandstone caves - enchanting!
The next morning (Monday) we went through Naribri and Wee-Waa before stopping at Pilliga Artesian Bore. It is a natural thermal spring and in 1902 they built a pool around it and a roof overhead so it is a beautiful place to swim. The weather was very hot and the next day clouds started rolling in and the sky became very orange. The wind picked up so we scrambled to put the awning in which we had secured with guy ropes and had the anti flap bars on so it took a bit of dismantling and the wind was getting worse. Finally the awning was away when we were hit by a massive dust storm. I rushed into the van to shut all the windows while Peter chased our chairs across the field. The wind was so fierce and you couldn't open your eyes for the dust. We managed to shut the windows but not before half a ton of dust flew in. We've never seen anything like it! A few minutes later it all settled down and we just stood amongst the rubble inside the van and thought....What the.......? Then we got a small sprinkle of rain which turned all the dust on the car and van into a very nasty sight.
We cleaned everything inside as best we could but are still finding grit in everything. Oh well, back to the pool for another swim...

I probably wont do another blog until after Christmas so we would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Wonderful and safe Christmas. We will be with Matt, Tracey and the kids and are really looking forward to seeing them all. Love to you all. Merry Christmas xx