To 18-Dec-06 (Yackandandah Vic to Cherrybrook NSW)

THE LAST MAP
Well, we’ve finally made it home and praise God for keeping us safe and getting us home OK. We’ve had a wonderful adventure, met some great people, seen some amazing places and driven heaps. Here is some info for those (like Spencer) who like a few details - we’ve been on the road for 305 days, driven 41,500k in the Pajero, towed the van 25,500k, averaged 18.2 L/100k (that’s 15.5 mpg for us older set) and stayed in 129 different places – phew! Here’s the final route map:



Another pretty neat version is the following mud map (courtesy of friends Ross & Barbara):




GUNDAGAI (Gundagai Tourist Park)



Some roadworks and a new service station made this little fella a bit hard to find – but not for us!! He also looks a bit more like a pig than a dog from this angle. He looks OK in real life though. A little booklet about the dog suggested that he may have done more than just sit on the tucker box and this might account more for his fame – who knows?






YASS (Yass Caravan Park)
We enjoyed our 3 nights here and did some serious checking out of Yass. A nice place (hot though). We also raced back to Sydney for an overnight visit so that we could attend Troy’s graduation. A great and wonderful night. We are very proud of Troy.



QUEANBEYAN (Queanbeyan Riverside Caravan Park)
It was great to check out old haunts and to discover just how much things had changed since we had lived in Canberra during the early 80’s. The mandatory check of our old house showed it to be in good repair and looking OK. We also caught up with good friends Angus and Joan, checked out the National Gallery (didn’t find a real lot of hope there!), drove around the lake and did heaps of other stuff.


BATEHAVEN (Pleasurelea Tourist Park)



This is Pooh Bear’s Corner on the way to Batemans Bay - a place our boys really liked many years ago. We thought we would stay a few nights at the Bay, one of the favourite holiday places for the Canberra set. It was great and a delight to stroll along the beaches – a bit too cool for swimming though.









We also took time to visit the Mogo Zoo and the only white lions in Australia – they are not albino as we’d originally thought, they are just missing the “lion-colour” gene. There were two 3 month old cubs and this is one of the beautiful lionesses.









KIAMA (Easts Van Park)
We stayed our last 4 nights here and did some serious relaxation. We also enjoyed a very pleasant evening with friends Ben, Natalie and Cameron in Dapto.



The big blowhole was pumping and brought back many memories. A short stroll from the van park brought us to the Little Blowhole which was also sending huge spouts of water skywards.









CHERRYBROOK (Home)
Phew, by the time we wrote this, we’d managed to move all our furniture back into the house, Rhonda has put everything away and the place looks pretty much as though we’ve never left. However, the big white box in the driveway and Rhonda’s 7,500 photos are great reminders that we’ve really been right around Oz.

It’s been a little sad to come to the end of our big adventure and to realise that return to suburban and working life means that we won’t be able to be together 24 x 7. However, it has been marvelous to see family and to catch up with friends in person. It has also been great to admire how little Alesha has grown (she is now 11 months old - a delightful age). We’re very impressed with how Alesha can wave, clap, stand (well, when she is holding onto something) and dance. She is also trying to talk and sing. Sound like doting grandparents?? You bet!!

This is our last planned entry in this blog series. Thank you to everyone who has joined in our adventures via the blog and for your encouraging feedback. Who knows, we might even do another one if we succumb to the temptation to hook up the caravan and take off again.



AND NOW FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL
We received this poem out on the track and Spencer really liked it so we thought it was worth sharing (the author is unknown and wouldn’t mind we’re sure). “Caravanning Bliss” might just bring back a memory or two for anyone who’s sampled the delights of caravanning:

There was movement at the Station
So wrote a famous man –
But how did Banjo know this?
P’haps he towed a caravan.

Perhaps Banjo had been woken
In a ‘van park’ from his sleep
Some two hours before sunrise
By strange noises from the deep.

All the ‘erk, erk, erk’ of van legs
Being screwed up in the dark,
As the first nocturnal trav’ler
Starts to wake the sleeping ‘park’.

Then, just like a feral mating call
Some others answer back,
With their ‘erk, erk’ flaming chorus
As the first start down the track.

Now, it’s best to warm the motor
If you’re leaving in the dark,
Especially if it’s diesel
And jackhammers all the ‘park’.

Because now it’s time to hook on
And you hear the circus start –
‘Move left, NOT right, I said THIS way
You pig-headed, deaf old fart”!

And ‘how dare you call me brainless,
You ungrateful, senile drone –
If you don’t want my directions
Do it on your bloody own”!

Because now it’s almost daylight
And the ‘camp’ picks up the pace
As these geriatric gypsies
All begin their morning race.

For the next ‘park’ is their target
Where like metal ants they flock,
For the first in gets the best shade
And close to the ‘ablution block’.

You can’t beat ‘em so you join ‘em
In this hyperactive spree
For the laundry’s now in full swingThrobbing like a DC-3!!!



With best wishes & may God richly bless each person reading this. May you have a safe, happy new year and a marvelous 2007.


Spencer & Rhonda


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The Eagles have Landed

This is a very quick note to let you know that we arrived home safely late on Mon 18-Dec and have been totally immersed since then in moving our furniture and belongings back into the house. Whew, what a huge task!

We will post the next (and possibly final) update next week with some more info on the last leg of our big round-Oz adventure.

Best wishes to all for a happy and joyful Christmas.



Spencer & Rhonda

Prov 3: 5&6

To 4-Dec-06 (Melbourne Vic to Yackandandah Vic)

MELBOURNE Vic (Apollo Gardens Caravan Park)
We enjoyed touring the City, checking out the Yarra Valley (where Rhonda found some excellent cheese) and caught up with friends Paul and Murray & Christina and Ken & Tricia. We also found time for some warranty work on the van and a little good, old-fashioned resting.



We saw a promo picture of these natty beach boxes at Brighton and just had so see them in person – they took some tracking down! But as the old saying goes, they can run but they can’t hide!!.








BALLARAT Vic (Shady Acres Caravan Park)
Ballarat must have been an impressive & wealthy town back in them old gold-rush days because there are still heaps of grand old buildings in the town centre. We checked out the Eureka Centre – those were tough times!



The drought is sure evident here! This is the (dry) Lake Windouree where they held the rowing events for the Melbourne Olympics (yes, those are boat sheds!). Would have a few problems running rowing events at the moment and might even need to adopt some rules from the Todd River Regatta to get a result.

We also went to a delightfully old-fashioned church on Sunday morning – it took us back years.



BENDIGO Vic (Robinley Caravan Park)
A short drive took us to Bendigo, which seemed to have a more modern feel than Ballarat. We enjoyed our time here and found a really impressive cathedral. A local told us that the cathedral had no cracks (unlike some more modern buildings in the town) – because they really knew how to build in the “good old days”. We also discovered that the van needed to go back to Melbourne for a little extra work and so we travelled to Seymour via Epping, Melbourne.



SEYMOUR Vic (Highland Caravan Park)
This was a delightful park owned by Hughie (a former Qantas aircraft engineer) and his wife Marie. Hughie had had enough of the rat-race and decided to try something different. We enjoyed a long chat.



Plenty of water here in the Goulburn River. Spencer discovered this park on an early morning run - which included meeting and then following a huge sheep along a bush track.












Here is Spencer doing his “let’s clean up Australia a bit at a time” thing while Rhonda made some delicious morning tea.









SHEPPARTON Vic (Big 4 Shepparton East Caravan Park)
Wow! Factory outlets are everywhere here in Shepp (that’s what the locals call it) - SPC-Ardmona, Pentel Soaps, Campbells Soups and the Nut Man to name but a few. We had a great time cruising for bargains (and still managed to squeeze our treasures into the van). We also really enjoyed catching up with friends Ken and Ruth – the almost three years since we had last met seemed to vanish into nothing.



This is the Ovens River at Bright (on the way to Mount Beauty). There seemed to be plenty of water flowing here and it looked cool and beautiful.









MOUNT BEAUTY Vic (with friends Jan & Don)
What a beautiful place (like the name says) – although the Tawonga Pass road from Bright to Mount Beauty was very steep (both up and down) – the car was very glad to arrive at Don & Jan’s.



This is Lake Guy with the mountains near Falls Creek in the background. It’s just below the little township of Bogong and a really pretty place.











YACKANDANDAH Vic (Yackandandah Holiday Park)
A short 63k drive brought us to this delightful place and a peaceful, friendly van park. We enjoyed another delicious meal at the Star Hotel and it was as good as our previous meal there over 2 years ago.



This is our own private seat just behind our van and beside the flowing creek. There were birds singing and playing around the water – it was very pleasant.










With best wishes & may God richly bless each person reading this,




Spencer & Rhonda

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