Helen and Jim's adventures

Day 38 - There's no place like home

2011-07-13T22:26:00.001-07:00

Each night on our trip we talked about the three best things that had happened today, and during our drive home today we talked about the three best things that have happened on the trip.

For Jim the three best things are:

• going to the tip of Cape York

• Fraser Island’s beautiful beaches and isolation

• the drive and seeing so many amazing places we haven't seen before

• the fishing at Weipa (yes I know there are 4 things, but I couldn’t get him to narrow it down any further).

For Helen the three best things are:

• the natural beauty and wildlife at Fraser Island

• making it to the tip of Cape York

• the spirit of Paronella Park – the idea that if you have a dream, even an impossible dream, anything can be achieved with hardwork, determination and persistence

• and also the spirits at Bundy Rum distillery (well if Jim can have 4 so can I!)

It's great to be home.

Day 37: Deniliquin

2011-07-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

It is 8 hours drive to home, and there was much discussion about whether we could make it in the one day or not. Of course, we can drive for 8 hours, but do we really want to?

We stopped for lunch in Griffith (see the plane on a stick in Griffith) and had lunch with my friend Jackie. Jackie lives in Adelaide now, but was home in Griffith for the week, and it was great to catch up. As it turned out, it was at the Conargo Pub that we realised that we weren’t going to make it home before dark, so we might as well stop for the night! We settled on Deniliquin for our last night away and reminisced about our holiday.

Day 36: Dubbo

2011-07-11T22:07:00.000-07:00

We were relieved to have decided to stay in a toasty warm cabin with the heater on all night, and we got an earlier start, planning a long day in the car and aiming for dinner in Dubbo. Not far out of Goondiwindi, Jim spotted a mate for his mudflap, and this ignited a series of stops to inspect mud flaps that had fallen from trucks. I'm not really sure why, but we stopped another 4 times to collect mud flaps. Please see Jim if you are interested in looking at his mud flap collection!

Lunch was in Moree and we were very entertained by the latest technology in automated public toilets. It was a ‘hands free’ toilet (well not entirely) and you waved your hand over a button to open and shut the door, then a voice tells you that you have 10 minutes and the door will automatically open to expose you to the whole world, so hurry up ( well not quite those words, but you get the idea), then soothing toilet music starts. Today, there was an instrumental version of ‘walking on sunshine’ to get things moving! There is automatic flushing, soap, water and handrying, then you start looking for a button to get out. Overall, one of my most memorable toiletting experiences.

Our stop for the night was in Dubbo, and opted for a motel room. The motel was lovely, and we had nachos for tea in the bar next to the open fire, very nice and toasty. We were thinking of stopping at the Western Plains Zoo, but we decided not to, presuming that if the animals had a cave they would surely be staying in it today, so we will hope to get back here another time.

Day 35: Fraser Island to Dalby

2011-07-10T21:44:00.000-07:00

We were happy to be heading home after a really enjoyable visit to Fraser Island. Helen is homesick and missing her puppies, but Jim is happy to stay on the road forever. Jim got chatting with the campers next to us and found out they live near Bendigo (at Strathfieldsaye). It’s crazy that you can go so far away and still meet up with people from home! It was an early start as we headed off to see the sun rise at the wreck of the Maheno. Actually, we got there at about 8 am and the sun was already up, but it was still spectacular, and as it was low tide we could get around the sea side of the ship.

It was interesting to see the beach at low tide, and there was much discussion about how wide exactly it was, until Jim stopped the car and paced it out. It turns out that it is just on 100 metres, which means we were both wrong! Soon after it widened out to 150 m (another controversial measurement!)

All the roads on Fraser Island are sand, with various textures from soft and sandy (where the car groans along in first gear and you know that getting bogged is imminent), to firm and hard packed and you can zoom along at the speed limit of 80km per hour. As the tide goes out, there is another type of sand and that is the soft, slushy sand that makes you wonder if quick sand is real and could a car and camper trailer really be swallowed up without a trace?

This morning, we zoomed along the hard packed sand, and soon found ourselves back at the trees that held us up when we first arrived. Today, at low tide, there was at least 20m (??) of sand to drive on. It was only a short wait and we were back on the ferry and on our way to the mainland.

Getting off the ferry can be a challenge due to the soft sand, but we didn't have any problems. That is, until the car in front of us got bogged. We stopped to help them, but as we had the trailer on the back we could really only offer moral support. All the other cars from the ferry drove past, and left them there. It took a few attempts but we managed to flag down another 4wd to pull the car out, and then we were on our way, and of course we got bogged in the same spot. The car we stopped to help came back to offer moral support, which actually isn't all that helpful, then 3 blokes from Sri Lanka came along with their max trax (plastic sleds that sit under the wheel, on top of the sand you use to get traction and get moving). It took 3 goes before we were on our way, but we made it out of there and on to the bitumen road in Rainbow Beach for petrol, air in the tyres, and an under car wash. We even had time for lunch at a beachside cafe before heading to Gympie and on to Dalby for the night. The weather forecast was for minus 5 overnight, so we decided it was too cold for camping and booked into a cabin for the night. Somehow we managed to go from 25 degrees at Fraser Island to -5 in Dalby, all in the space of just a couple of hours.

Day 34: Fraser Island

2011-07-09T21:15:00.000-07:00

It was too cold to get up early and we enjoyed a sleep in and another late start which included bacon and eggs for brekky. We saw a dingo wander through the park looking for his breakfast too. The kookaburras were out and came quite close to our camp looking for scraps, but of course there are no scraps as you are not allowed to feed any animals on Fraser Island.

We headed south to Woralie Road, then to knife blade sand blow, where we walked up to the lookout and saw the massive sand dune. Here we noticed the scribbly gums, which are huge curious gum trees, with scribbly markings on the bark.

We continued on to Lake Allom and saw a lace monitor (huge lizardy thing), yellow robins in the picnic ground and turtles in the lake. The drive through the rainforest was spectacular - the kauri trees were huge, up to 2 metres across at the base, and the satinay trees were 3 metres across at the base.

After all this, we headed back towards Eli Creek and met up with John and Helen, who we met on the first day when we got off the barge. They have set up camp along the beach and were fishing for tailor – it was nice to catch up with them and we have enjoyed the company of many interesting people on our travels. There are many freshwater creeks on Fraser Island, and Eli Creek is the largest, pouring 4 million litres of fresh water into the ocean per hour. Eli Creek can be a big challenge to cross at high tide. There is a boardwalk along the edge of the creek, and it seems to be the place to jump on a LILO and float along the creek to the ocean. It was a bit cold for swimming for us today (although there were plenty of people swimming). We enjoyed a paddle along the creek to the ocean where we these fish called jungle perch, very rare and endangered and scientists don't understand how they got to be here, and how they survive in these conditions.

This is the Eli Creek crossing at high tide.
As we headed back to camp and drove past John and Helen’s camp, Helen came running out to offer us some fish. ‘You can't go home from Fraser Island without trying the local fish!’ she said, and so we had the fish (tailor) for tea and it was delicious.

Helen loves sunsets and we parked on the beach to watch the sunset, and it was Helen’s turn to drive back to camp. The sunset was spectacular, but Helen got bogged in the sand on the exit road to the camping ground. It was a good place to get bogged and luckily, three car load of back packers were behind us, and there were soon 12 people trying to push us out. that didn't work, so a quick snatch backwards and we were soon on our way. So far, Helen is the only person to get the car bogged and it is a badge I wear with pride!

Day 33: Fraser Island

2011-07-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

We slept in and had a late start, and it was nice to take our time. Frasers at Cathedral Beach it is a lovely camping ground and we enjoyed the birds, and kept eye out for dingos. We started the day with a drive north to Indian Head and there was a blockage on the road while a couple of cars got bogged – Jim went to help because you never know when you need good unbogging karma. Eventually they got it sorted out and we made it through. By this time, the tide was high and we couldn't get any further north without serious water driving, so we decided to head back south. Helen was very excited when the mobile phone chimed. I got a message - Yay. I managed to send one back, and had to stand on the car with my arm in the air, but I got it sent. Happy birthday Dad.

Fraser Island is a sand island, and that means that there is sand everywhere. Lots of different colours, consistency, softness and hardness but it is all sand. This is a place called The Pinnacles, and it is a big cliff of beautifully coloured sands.
We drove along the beach to Happy Valley resort and saw this small plane and commented on how low in the sky it was. It went past, and I lost sight of it. I was asking Jim if he could see the plane because I couldn’t see it on the left or right or behind us. Where did that plane go? Just then, brrrrr and the plane appears just over the bonnet and landed on the beach in front of us!

We travelled along the rough sandy inland road to Lake Garawongera, where we stopped for lunch. It was a pretty lake, but much too cold to swim (well too cold for us, but there were some kids who jumped in). We continued through the rainforest to Poyungan Valley, which was a lovely drive. The inland track was very challenging, but Jim was in his element. There were rocks, uneven sand dunes, offset holes in the road, soft sandy patches and corrugations. It was a slow drive and we averaged 14 km per hour over about 2 hours, but it was spectacular rainforest that was drove into, through and above.

As we drove back along the beach we saw a dingo annoying some fisherman, trying to get the bait or maybe even a fish. We got some great photos of the dingo and enjoyed just watching him – he was very persistent, but there are very clear warnings not to feed or interact with the dingos and there are big fines if you get caught. We saw many dingos, but didn’t ever feel threatened or notice any aggressive behaviour.

The weather at Fraser Island during the day is lovely at around 22 degrees, with a clear sunny blue sky, but the nights are cold and we did huddle around the citronella candle for an hour before going to bed very early because it was too cold to stay up.

Day 32: Fraser Island

2011-07-07T03:55:00.000-07:00

We left Bundaberg and headed south - our destination today is Fraser Island and we are both very excited and looking forward to it. We have wanted to get to Fraser Island for a long time. We stopped for smoko in Maryborough, and headed towards Rainbow Beach. It sounds like such a pretty place. We decided to get onto the island at Inskip Point because we have our camper trailer and we are worried about the inland roads and we are more confident that we will be able to get through along the beach road. We got our permits and barge tickets and waited for the barge to come back and get us. Luckily we didn't get bogged getting onto or off the barge! I know Jim loves sand driving, but there has been a tendency for this to end up with being bogged in the sand!

The deckhand on the barge told us to drive around the headland, get out our chairs and have some lunch while we waited for the tide to go out. It sounded like a great idea, and as we drove around the headland we realized that we couldn't actually go any further until the tide went out and there was dry sand for us to drive on.

We had some lunch and wandered along the beach - it was so beautiful.

We saw a dugong that had been washed up on the beach and died, and then noticed a sleepy dingo nearby. The dingo kept one eye on us as we wandered past, but didn't seem too interested in us. I think we were safe as long as we left his dugong alone!

After about an hour, we decided to brave the receding tide and continue along our way. It was a spectacular drive, as we crossed freshwater creeks, rocks and the wreck of the Maheno - a ship wrecked in 1930s. As the tide slipped away, we were able to zoom along the beach at around 70 km per hour, and soon we were at our campground: Frasers at Cathedral Beach. We set up camp and settled in. It gets dark early here, because we are the eastern side if the island and very low behind a huge sand dune. The camping ground is behind the first row of sand dunes on the eastern side of Fraser Island and it’s a sandy camp. Actually there is salt and sand everywhere and it makes an interesting pattern with the red dust from Cape York, and the soft white local sand.

Lizard update: The gecko was found today, squished between the canvas of the camper.

Problem: There is no mobile phone or Internet access. For 4 whole days!!

Day 31: Bundaberg

2011-07-06T03:40:00.000-07:00

We set out to tour the local tourist attractions: we went to the barrel where they make Bundaberg Ginger beer – the tour was good and we got to try all their drinks, and some new ones we hadn't seen before.

We visited the cooperage where they make wooden barrel kegs and the highlight of the day was a visit to the Bundy Rum distillery.

The Rum tour was good – we saw the molasses storage, barrels where they age the rum. At the end of the tour we got to try the rum - two drinks each. Yay. Lucky we didn't go on the 9.30 tour! Helen tried the Rum Crisp, a new rum and soda pre-mix drink which was very nice, and a chocolate, coffee liquor. There is apparently a game of football on tonight that Queenslanders are very excited about, and we went to Brothers Sports Club for tea. We walked back to the caravan park, and Jim went to watch the end of the footy in the Camp Kitchen and ended up trying to explain Rugby to a family from Belgium.

Lizard update: For those of you who are interested there is still no sign of the lizard. Apparently it is one of those little geckos so it should be sitting on the roof eating bugs, but we have not seen him since the first sighting. Do they make a lizard trap (you know, like a mouse trap, only for lizards)?

Day 30: Bundaberg

2011-07-05T03:30:00.000-07:00

Helen was very excited about heading towards Bundaberg. We started the day off by crossing the tropic of Capricorn and stopped for a few photos at the marker. They say (not sure who 'they' are...) that you can see crocs in the wild above the tropic of Capricorn, so we should be all clear now!

We had smoko at Spinnaker Park, Gladstone. Gladstone was a pretty place, nice river and a huge wharf which seemed to ship coal to the nearby power station.

We stopped for lunch at Bororen, then called into Rosedale for an ice-cream and 20 litres of fuel to be sure we made it to Bundaberg. The caravan park was lovely and we set up camp, then headed out to explore the town. There are so many beautiful birds, this is one of the noisy ones that woke us up this morning.

It seems there is a lizard in the camper. Jim reckons he saw it run in, I'm not sure why he didn't catch it then, but full bedding inspections are now required before I will get into bed, until the lizard is found. I don't know how big it is. Jim says it's only small, but how small is small enough when we are talking about a lizard in your bed?

Day 29: Rockhampton

2011-07-04T03:19:00.000-07:00

We stopped in Mackay for smoko and lunch at Clairview, which was a small rest area along the coast. It was a great little spot and the local WAGS used a small room near the toilets to sell cups of tea and coffee home made cakes and arts and crafts. ‘What does WAGS stand for?’ Jim asks. The ladies laughed – it was obviously a question they had heard many times and they all had a different answer: Women's action group, women and gentlemen’s society, women against group sex! We had a chat and a laugh with the ladies, and bought a couple of slices of carrot cake, coconut ice, and a chocolate slice.

We stayed at a caravan park in Rockhampton and discovered they had a restaurant. Jim checked it out and it looked like a great option for dinner because it was a stonegrill restaurant, and that is Helen’s favourite.
Helen had ‘Stone of the Moment’, which included Balmain Bug, Tasmania Salmon, prawns and scallops, to cook on a stone grill. Jim ordered crocodile to cook on the stonegrill. It was delicious, although the lady owner was busy feeding 100 teenage softball players, and was a bit cranky.

Day 28: Airlie Beach

2011-07-03T03:11:00.000-07:00

Helen is cranky. She had 31 sandfly bites on one leg and 22 on the other leg. Of all of the creatures that I could have been bitten by (crocodile, taipan, brown snake, black snake, encephalitis or dengue fever infected mosquito), this was probably a good option, but the sandfly bites are unbearably itchy.

It was cold and raining and we were both miserable (well Jim was only miserable because Helen was very cranky). We drove out to Shute Harbour and looked at the yachts and islands in the Whitsunday Passage. The rain finally stopped and we looked for a geocache, and then wandered around the shops in Airlie Beach. We had fish and chips for lunch from the Fancy Fish Shop - actually, it wasn't that fancy, then wandered around the lagoon, and the marina and the day turned out to be sunny. But we didn't really love Airlie Beach and ended up happy to leave.

Day 27: Airlie Beach

2011-07-02T03:02:00.000-07:00

We packed up camp at Paronella Park in the rain and continued our journey south. We gave our Cape York map to a young bloke called Darcy, from Phillip Island and exchanged stories about Fraser Island and Cape York. It's funny the impressions you form about a place from reading the tourist books. Darcy though you needed to navigate via GPS to find the right track to Cape York, and he set us straight about Fraser Island.

We drove to Mission Beach and saw the devastation of cyclone Yasi. Houses either had a shiny new roof, a blue tarp on the roof or no roof at all. It seemed that few houses escaped the cyclone. We could see trees with new growth that had clearly lost all of their leaves, and several big gum trees and palm trees were broken off at the top. We saw a cassowary along the roadside near Mission Beach. They are quite big, similar to an emu, however they have brightly coloured feathers and a blue head.

Smoko was at Ingham, and we had a quick lunch in Townsville. We stopped at the big snake in Ayr, and Queensland has got a lot of 'big' things. The strangest of all 'big' things was the 'Big Mango'.

We had a quick look at Bowen. Bowen was an interesting place, we stopped at Queens Beach, which is a beautiful beach (but you can’t swim because of crocs, sharks and stingers), then drove around to the wharf where the film Australia was made.

We ended up in Airlie Beach and set up camp for a couple of nights. Helen got sandfly bites as soon as she got out of the car. Sandflies are mean. You can't see them, and you are bitten before you even know what has happened. And once you are bitten, they start to itch. It's not too bad at first, but on the second day the itching is almost unbearable.

Day 26: Paronella Park (near Innisfail)

2011-07-01T04:22:00.000-07:00

It seems that each day that we head further south it gets colder and the weather is more unpleasant. Today is another grey day, with drizzly rain, but it is warm at around 25 degrees. And a bit sticky. We headed for Paronella Park, which is a park created by José Paronella in the 1930s. It is an awesome and beautiful park, which we toured by day and night, and we camped in their caravan park.

This is Kauri Avenue, a pathway of massive Kauri trees.

The refreshment rooms.

The day tour was lovely and we enjoyed hearing about José Paronella’s dream to create a Spanish castle in Queensland. He was such an inspiring man, and developed a hydro electric system long before electricity came to the area, and I am sure that it was a park that was enjoyed by many people. The night tour was different, and some areas of the park are illuminated and this creates a spectacular effect. The highlights were the waterfall and the refreshment centre – both beautiful by day, and awesome at night.

Day 25: Cairns

2011-06-30T04:04:00.000-07:00

We backtracked to Mossman for a look around and discovered we had a flat tyre. Although the Goodyear Tyre shop is not normally a tourist destination, there were quite a few tourists there today, and we were happy to get the puncture fixed and to be on our way. It’s funny that we have travelled over 5,000km over very rough and rugged roads, and we get a puncture in Port Douglas.

We travelled back to Cairns and set up camp. Alwyn (the local identity in the caravan park) told us they had 127 mm of rain yesterday, so we decided to just park the camper and head into town, then open it up later. We wandered around Cairns, had a nice lunch at the Banana Leaf – Helen had Prawn Laksa and Jim had Wonton Noodle Soup. We were planning a trip to Green Island to swim and snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef, but there was a strong wind warning and rough seas, so we decided not to go - mainly because Jim gets seasick and being the shark magnet that he is - it seemed a hazardous combination.

The rain had really set in, so we headed back to the Caravan park, and set up the camper quickly and got a pizza for tea before spending the night in the camper – it was good to have an early night.

Day 24: The Bloomfield Track through the Daintree

2011-06-29T03:49:00.000-07:00

Well it turns out that the Bloomfield track wasn’t dusty at all. They have had rain for a couple of days and it was muddy. Slippery, sticky mud. Brown and red mud. And big rocks and fast flowing creeks to cross. It was everything a 4WD adventurer could ask for. Actually, it was a lot of fun.

We left Lakeland and headed to Helenvale, where we stopped in at the Lion’s Den Hotel. It looked like a fun place and we wandered, but it was before 10.30 so a bit too early for a coldie, so we continued on our journey south. The first part of the Bloomfield track was slippery and muddy, but we enjoyed the drive through the rainforest.

We saw our first crocodile of the trip and it was in the Bloomfield River on the other side of the bank. We both agreed that this is the perfect place to see a crocodile! The Bloomfield causeway was washed away in the recent floods, but there is a temporary crossing in place and you are able to get across at low tide, so we timed our crossing well with only a short wait. The next part of the trip involved much rougher, rockier driving, finishing with a long, deep water crossing. Perfect!

We pulled into Cape Tribulation with mud dripping from every part of the car and trailer – it was a badge we wore proudly amongst the shiny rental cars. Just opening a door sprayed other cars with mud. The Daintree rainforest is spectacular and we enjoyed lunch in the forest, and several beach walks. We crossed the Daintree River (by ferry) and wandered through the Daintree Village – very beautiful.

We headed towards Port Douglas and at the very first car wash we decided it was time for the mud to go. I didn’t take long with a high pressure hose for the car to sparkle again, and we pulled into the caravan park at Port Douglas feeling shiny and new. Unfortunately, by washing the car it made it rain and we woke up in the middle of the night to the patter of raindrops on the roof, and had a scamper to bring everything inside the camper.

Day 23: Weipa to Lakeland

2011-06-28T23:30:00.000-07:00

Last night we found the camp cane toad. I had been hearing the rustling in the bushes and panicked everytime and the boys went hunting and found the cane toad. Isn’t he cute?

Here is Owen and his dog Barker. Owen took Rick and Jim out fishing every day and became a great mate.

I will miss the sunsets in Weipa – they were spectacular and different every night.

We departed Weipa and headed south, stopping for lunch at The Bends near Coen on the Coen River. It was a pretty spot and we could have camped here, but it was time to keep moving south. We stopped at Hann River roadhouse for an icream and met Darren who is a truckie who had a problem with his truck. He had hitched a ride into town and was looking for a ride 10kms back to his truck. He jumped in with Rick and both Jim and Rick were keen to explore the broken down road train.

We camped at Lakeland, which for Rick was the end of the dirt road. He pumped up his tyres and went for a car wash, but for Helen and Jim the Bloomfield track is a dusty road that stands between them and a hot shower. We had fish for tea again. I can’t tell you how many meals of fish we have had in a row – I have lost count, but I am ready for something else. Macaroni cheese anyone?

Day 22: Weipa - Monday 27 June

2011-06-27T00:23:00.000-07:00

Another morning in the boat with Owen - Rick caught 5 fish, 4 black bream and one large grunter. The grunter is aptly named because of the noise it makes when it gets in the boat. Jim saw a big shark in the water today that headed straight for the boat – it t-boned the boat. It was alarming to see the dorsal fin in the water, coming straight for the boat (obviously attracted to Jim’s shark-magnetism). Jim caught a leopard-ray – it was massive at almost a metre across, and put up a great fight. But as soon as they worked out what it was, they cut the line because sting rays can be very dangerous when they flick up their tail and try and get you with their barbed stinger.

It was impressive to see two sting rays dive out of the water and fly through the air – very impressive creatures. Rick saw an enormous sea eagle fishing along the river.

We filled up with petrol and it seems very cheap – only $1.68 per litre. Better fill ‘er up!

We are off the Bowling Club for tea tonight. It’s a buffet dinner – Jim’s favourite food! I think I am looking forward to a change from fish for every meal. Tomorrow we head further south, and soon Dad will head off as he needs to make his way home, and Jim and I will continue on to the Daintree.

Day 21: Weipa - Sunday 26 June

2011-06-26T00:14:00.000-07:00

The tides are flat for the next few days, so morning fishing is apparently the best. The boys headed out at around 9 am. Rick caught 3 blue salmon to put in a top rod performance, and Jim caught a big blue salmon, a hammerhead shark, a toadfish and a big stingray that went all the way around the boat. The wildlife was amazing and they saw a pod of dolphins, but surprisingly, no crocs have been sighted.

We have enjoyed our time in a place where bananas are only $5 a kilo. I bought two kilos of these little green bananas and they are delicious, but I wonder if there is a limit to how many bananas a girl should eat in one day. I guess I will know tomorrow!

Sunday night is fish fry night and we had fish and chips by the beach for tea, while we watched the sun set. The sunsets are glorious in Weipa and the colours are spectacular.

Day 20: Weipa - Saturday 25 June

2011-06-25T00:10:00.000-07:00

We decided to try another fishing spot and were amazed that the prawns we are supposed to use as bait are bigger than the ones we eat at home. Hope the fish like them. Jim caught a little rock cod from the wharf, but Rick and Helen had no luck.

Back at camp and Helen made friends with a bloke at a nearby camp. He was walking his dog (Barker) and commented that his wife had hurt her leg and couldn’t go fishing, and she didn’t like him to go out in the boat alone. ‘I can help you with that’ says Helen and ‘let me introduce you to my Dad – he loves fishing’. And that kept the boys busy for the next 3 days.

Jim and Rick went out in the boat with Owen in the afternoon. Rick caught a baby bullnose shark– it sounds so cute! The hook was stuck in the little shark’s mouth, and the fishing line was wrapped around its neck. Jim caught a bullnose shark and a hammerhead shark and a sting ray. It turns out that Jim is a shark magnet and he attracts sharks to both his fishing line and circling the boat. For all family and friends, this should be a lesson to you all. Keep away from Jimmy in the ocean!

Fortunately, Owen caught a couple of blue salmon and we had fish for tea.

Day 19: Weipa Friday 24 June

2011-06-24T00:07:00.000-07:00

Today we went on the tour at the Rio Tinto Alcan mine in Weipa. It was an early start, with the tour bus departing at 8.30am. We had to be there early to get a good seat and Jim and Rick managed to share the front seat. The tour went for a couple of hours and it was good to see the mining operations – including big trucks. I think the boys were more impressed than I was.

Rick and Jim drove out to Mapoon. Mapoon is an Aboriginal township about 86 km north of Weipa and Mark worked there when he was in the Army and built some of the housing out there, about 15 years ago. Jim and Rick enjoyed their drive and also checked out the possible fishing spots along the bridges. Helen stayed at camp and enjoyed a peaceful swim in the pool, until a family with 8 children turned up. Ah school holidays! I reckon I was out of the pool as fast as if a crocodile was in there.

As it is Friday night, we went to the Albatross Hotel for tea and found out it was schnitzel night. The boys got excited when we heard that the footy was starting at 7.30, but it turned out to be a rubgy game so we headed home and had an early night.

Day 18: Weipa

2011-06-23T04:41:00.000-07:00

The weather is lovely – 30 degrees during the day and cool evenings. Last night we even needed to get out the doona! We drove around to try and find a place to catch a fish, and visited the wharf, the airport, and downtown shopping central for Weipa. The shops are good, there is a post office, souvenir shop, camping shop, butcher, bottle-shop, Pharmacy, coffee shop, bakery and a well-stocked Woolworths. So there is everything that we need.

We checked out a few fishing spots near two main river crossings, and will go back croc spotting one night! It’s alarming to think it is a fishing spot during the day and a croc spot at night!

There has been a lot of burning off in town over the past couple of days, and tonight there was a spectacular sunset, that we all went to the beach to see. The park is on the beach, but we got a spot towards the back – the crocs can eat the people at the front first, and they will be full by the time they get to us!

Day 17: Seisia to Weipa

2011-06-23T04:30:00.000-07:00

Today will always be known as the day of the snake. When Helen went over to the shower block, one of the neighbours let her know that there was a snake in the shower block and suggested she wait a few minutes until they removed it. Great idea! Apparently the snake was only a python, so nothing to worry about. Urgh. I was just happy when I saw it come out and was released into the bush. And today is moving day so I don’t have to worry about it coming back.

We got fuel in Bamaga at $2.36 per litre (crikey!), then began our journey south. We crossed the Jardine River via Ferry, and we travelled along the Tele track to Fruit Bat falls and Eliot Falls. Beautiful spots and the water looked very inviting. Helen couldn’t entice the boys in for a swim, so we continued heading south.

The road was quite different here, and included rocks and deep water crossings, both of which the boys enjoyed. But it was slow going, and in some sections we could only travel at 15 -20 km per hour.

We stopped at Bramwell Junction for an icecream, and headed up the Tele Track to see what all the fuss was about with the first water crossing. Jim poked a stick in the water and it soon became clear – while you can see a 1 metre vertical climb, there is another metre to travel under the muddy water, and this is soft and mushy. You could see where people had churned up the track and it was very challenging now.

We continued past Moreton Telegraph Station, then headed west through Batavia Downs Station, arriving in Weipa around 5.30. We found the caravan park, and booked in for the next 5 nights.

Day 16: Thursday Island

2011-06-21T04:26:00.000-07:00

Today we headed off early for our trip overseas. But where are the passports? We left camp at 7.30am for the 1 minute walk to the wharf. The boat trip took a bit over an hour, and Rick has managed to get a spot in the bridge on the way home. The scenery was great and we were surprised at how many islands there are in the Torres Strait. We saw Prince of Wales Island, which was a huge island and is the second biggest Queensland island (after Fraser Island) and we also saw Tuesday Island, Wednesday Island and Friday Island, before getting off at Thursday Island. Apparently there are no islands named after Saturday, Sunday or Monday because the Islanders like long weekends!

We jumped on a bus tour and explored the fort and cemetery and did a lap of the island before being dropped off in the main street. We wandered along and looked in the shops, before finding the Torres Hotel. It was nearly lunch time, so we thought we should stop and check it out. The Torres Hotel, is the northern-most Hotel in Australia. The beer was cold and the food was pretty good too. Helen had a crocodile burger, Jim had a prawn sandwich and Rick went for the Seafood Marinara – all excellent.

Rick enjoyed the boat trip home and managed to get himself into the driver’s seat, while Helen and Jim fell asleep in the air-conditioned lounge. We pack up from Seisia tomorrow and head south – not sure where we will stay, but we will explore a few spots along the way.

Day 15: Seisia

2011-06-20T03:38:00.000-07:00

The plan for today was fishing, but the barge at the wharf has put an end to those plans. The boys went out to get beer and try and find a new fishing spot, and Helen had a day to catch up on the blog and some Uni work. This is the view from our camper – there is Dad’s tent and we are just far enough from the water that the crocs can’t be bothered walking this far.

Jim and Rick explored Injinoo Aboriginal Community, Loyalty Beach camping ground, the local bush mechanic workshop and downtown Bamaga.

They checked out the price of fuel - $2.20 per litre at Bamaga, $2.36 at Seisia so we will save up and get some on the way out on Wednesday. They went to the bottle shop and Rick bought a box of beer. They were also supposed to get Bundy cans for Helen, but the alcohol restrictions in this area means that you can only carry 30 cans of alcohol in each car, so they didn’t get the Bundy cans!

Last night we heard that the squid were running so Rick and Jim have set up squid rigs to try to catch me a squid for tea. We were fishing from the wharf and Helen and Rick saw a shovel-nosed shark about 2 metres long, and only 1 metre from the beach. This makes reason 147 why we don’t go anywhere near the water! And sadly, it was steak and chips for tea.

Day 14: Seisia

2011-06-19T03:11:00.000-07:00

We decided to extend our stay here as it is such a pretty place and there is so much to do. Today was a washing, cleaning and shopping day and we got busy with all of these jobs. Well, there is really not too much to get busy about. Helen and Jim had some cleaning to do as they accidentally left one of the camper doors open as they were going along the road and filled in the inside of the camper with red bulldust. There was lots and lots of red bulldust - micro fine, caking bulldust that has covered every little crack of area that was open. It took several hours to clean up and will be lesson learned! The supermarket is Seisia was good and the boys bought some new fishing gear. Apparently the rods we brought from home are too light and there is a special bait jig used to catch the bait fish that are used to catch the bigger fish. The supermarket is well stocked and had everything we need. Except bananas and they are expected on the barge tomorrow - food supplies are brought in by barge from Cairns twice a week.

We decided to go and test out the new fishing line and headed down to the wharf. The wharf is the central place in Seisia and it is a busy place – the ferry to Thursday Island and Horn Island leaves from here and if you haven’t got a boat then this is the place to be. We haven’t managed to find anyone to give us a ride in their boat yet, so it looks like the wharf is the place for us. Helen tried to catch the bait fish with the bait jigger, but had problems getting them in. Helen is not a good fisherman and even though there were more than a billion little fish around the wharf, and she had 6 hooks on her line, she still could manage to catch one fish in two hours. Sad really. One the other hand, Rick was good at catching the little bait fish and he was handing them to Jim who was busy trying to catch the bigger fish. And he turned out to be very good at it – he hooked a shark (but it got away), then another shark that he reeled in and it was about 3 metres long. I’m not sure what he was planning on doing with it, but fortunately for us all, it broke the line and got away. Finally, Jim brought us home a Spanish mackerel for tea. It was big enough to feed us for a couple of nights, and the bloke in the next door camp showed us how to fillet it and cook it. It was delicious to eat.

We wandered down to the wharf after tea to see if we should drop in a line, and the barge from Cairns came in. So the fishing was off, but the boys were very excited about watching the barge slide in to the wharf. The bad news is that the wharf is closed tomorrow morning while they unload and reload the barge, but I am sure that the boys will be just as interested in that as the actual fishing.

Day 13: Voyage to the top of Australia

2011-06-18T04:38:00.000-07:00

Today is the day for the voyage to the tip of Cape York. We have all picked out a special drink to take – Helen is taking a Bundy can, Jim’s choice is Carlton Draught, and for Rick it is Carlton Mid-strength. Helen is worried that after Bundy before lunch she might need a nana nap in the afternoon, but it was too exciting to sleep!

We drove out to the Croc Tent and met Davida – she is lovely and the boys picked out T-shirts for their next birthday presents. We had an adventurous drive through spectacular rainforest, then the deepest water crossing we had come to. Helen squealed as she drove across and the boys encouraged her to plant the foot! The tide was out at the Tip and we were able to walk around the headland to the northern-most point. It was a squishy walk through sand and a bit of mud, and the mangroves were dark and I wondered what lurked within.

And then we were there. We saw the sign and scrambled down the rocks, before posing for photos. The water races in from the Torres Straight at a frantic pace and we watched some kids throw in a fishing line and hang on as it sped away. We sat on the nearby rocks and reflected on how far we had come and how grateful we were to be here today. We have travelled over 4500 kilometres from home and this is a real high point of the trip.

The tide had turned and the water was rushing back in so we wandered back to the car across the headland, and then had some lunch under a shady native plum tree. We explored the area and found a nearby deserted resort – it looked like it was an amazing place, but now it has sadly been left to the termites. We found the debris from a couple of WWII plane crashes and it is sad to think about how close they were to the Jackey Jackey airfield before crashing in the rainforest.

Late afternoon and a small boatload of Islander blokes turned up in the park with an esky full of local crayfish that they had speared. They wanted to sell them and we were happy to buy them - yay…. Lobster for tea! We visited the Seisia sunset market – a bit like the Mindel Market in Darwin but on a much smaller scale and Helen bought some souvenirs. Back to camp and Helen added the lobster to a stir fry and we had stir fry lobster, vegetables and noodles for tea. Camping food is great!

Day 12: Archer River to Seisia

2011-06-17T04:35:00.000-07:00

We woke up to find it had been a damp night and everything was wet. It was warm overnight, at about 17 degrees, but the dewpoint was 18 degrees, so everything was damp and that made packing up a messy job. We headed north again, not sure what the road would be like and how far we would get today. The one big hurdle is the Jardine River – there is a ferry across the river and it closes at 5pm, so if we are not there by 5 pm, we will have to camp.

We had a mixed morning – Jim hit a kangaroo and that was awful, and when we stopped for smoko and waited for Rick, we realised that he wasn’t right behind us. After a few desperate radio calls, and after checking with other travellers we realised that he hadn’t broken down and wasn’t on the road behind us. A bit of backtracking and we found that he had missed the turnoff. Luckily we all caught up and were able to head off together again.

We stopped for lunch at Moreton Telegraph Station, after crossing the Wenlock River. This must have been an imposing river crossing, but today there is a concrete causeway and it is a simple crossing. We headed onwards, and made it across the Jardine Ferry at around 4.30, and arrived at Seisia Camping Ground at around 5pm. The last section of road between the Jardine River and Bamaga was the worst of the whole trip, and from Bamaga it was bitumen to Seisia.

Our campground is beautiful – it is on the water’s edge and a sandy camp. We originally booked in for 3 nights, but I am sure we will stay longer because it is so beautiful. There are signs about warning of crocodile danger, and I notice that the local kids don’t swim in the water, so I think I will keep my distance too. But it looks so inviting! It’s hard to believe but we are only 30 km from the northern-most tip of mainland Australia and we will go there tomorrow.

Day 11 - Cooktown to Archer River Station

2011-06-16T03:49:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed our time in Cooktown and I could have stayed longer, but it was time to move further north. How much further can there be to go? About another 700 kms! We stopped at Black Mountain National Park – it turns out that this mountain is actually made up of a lot of rocks that are all tumbling down, and it is quite spectacular.
We drove to Lakeland and this is where the gravel road starts, and we stopped to let the tyres down.

It turned out that there were lots of patches of bitumen road along the way, but the lower tyre pressure certainly eases the bounce of the corrugations. There is a big Indigenous dance festival in Laura this weekend and they are expecting 4000 people, so we are keen to get moving out of the way of this traffic as soon as we can. We stopped to help some broken down travellers. They didn’t have a Toyota, but Jim’s advice (next time - buy a Toyota) was welcomed and we hoped to get some good road breakdown karma by stopping to help out.

The roads were pretty good. Many of the roads have been recently graded, but you need to keep an eye out for oncoming trucks and washouts in the creek crossings.

We made it to Archer River station to camp for the night. It was a pretty spot and we opted to set up camp in the campground and sat around a small camp fire with some fellow travellers. The banks of the Archer River also looked like a great place to camp, but we were happy to be at the Station and it was great to share stories about the track and where everyone has been and is going. Petrol was $2 per litre, but we needed to fill up anyway, so just smiled and paid the money anyway.

Day 10: Cooktown

2011-06-15T04:03:00.000-07:00

We had planned a rest day in Cooktown and started with a bit of a sleep in, leisurely bacon and eggs for breakfast and it was nice not to have to pack up and move on. Rick headed out early, and Helen and Jim headed for the Jackey Jackey coffee shop run by a small Chinese man. The coffee was excellent and I can't tell you how much I have missed good coffee since we left home.

We visited the Cooktown Historical Society and wandered through their museum, which was very interesting, then walked along the esplanade to the Captain Cook monument. Cooktown is named because Captain James Cook was wandering up the coast and he got bogged on the nearby reef and had to come in to shore to fix his boat. He was here for 42 days and named heaps of stuff, then he floated off back home to England. Nothing much happened her for another hundred years, then somebody discovered gold nearby and the town boomed to around 40,000 people. Today, there is around 2000 people live in Cooktown. We happily spent the day wandering the streets and exploring museums and shops before making our way back up the hill to the lighthouse to watch the sunset.

Helen cooked a chicken stir fry with rice and it was delicious, and apparently there is some kind of state of origin football on tonight and people in the park are very excited about it. Well, not everyone!

Day 9: Cooktown

2011-06-14T03:55:00.000-07:00

Onwards! We are keen to get started with the next part of our trip and we have enjoyed a few rest days in Cairns and the chance to get out of the car. But today it was back in the car as we continued heading north. As we headed out of Cairns we saw the beautiful beaches in the northern suburbs of Cairns - it is so much nicer than the mudflats of central Cairns.

We stopped for smoko in Port Douglas and it was gorgeous. We looked out at the lookout, and then settled in down by the beach for a cuppa. We continued north to Mossman, then headed inland to Mt Molloy. We stopped for lunch at Bob's Lookout - it was a small cutting on the side of the road near the top of a very steep mountain range. Lunch was a salad roll made by the side of the road - the views of the savannah plains were amazing.

We arrived in Cooktown in mid-afternoon and settled in to the caravan park, then headed off for a drive to the lighthouse at the top of the hill, so we could work out where we are. The lighthouse is at a windy spot, overlooking the Coral Sea and the mouth of the Endeavour River.

We wandered along the wharf area to watch the sun set and it was spectacular. We have the whole day here to explore tomorrow, and maybe catch a fish.

Day 8:Cairns

2011-06-13T03:48:00.000-07:00

Helen and Jim headed off to Freshwater Railway Station to catch the Scenic Railway to Kuranda. We just missed one train and had to wait an hour for the next one, and Jim checked the GPS and there was a cache just 26 metres away! That will find in a bit of time!

It was an enjoyable trip on the train, winding through the hills and we stopped for a closer look at the Barron Falls and Barron Gorge. We wandered around the township of Kuranda and had some lunch before catching the Sky Rail gondola back to Cairns. The Sky Rail was a fantastic way to ride over the rainforest and the views were stunning.

We then headed out to Mareebra to see the Australian Coffee Centre. I first heard of this place when I saw 'The Farmer wants a Wife' on TV. We missed the plantation tour, but had time for afternoon tea, and the coffee was excellent. Jim was pleased to find Devonshire tea on the menu, and is always happy with a scone, jam and cream.

Rick had a great day in Cairns, he visited the airport, marina and I think he even tried to get a ride on one of the yachts. We met up again for tea and headed to the Red Beret Hotel in Red Lynch and we all had fish for tea. Hopefully the next fish we eat we will catch ourselves.

Tomorrow we head off to Cooktown and the Cape York adventure starts.

Day 7: Cairns

2011-06-13T03:28:00.000-07:00

After several long days in the car, we have planned a few days in Cairns with time to relax and explore, do the washing and shopping before the next part of our trip. The weather is nice, warm and sunny and much more comfortable than the past few days. We found a place to buy cryovac meat that will keep fresh in the fridge for a few weeks, and we found a supermarket and stocked up on all we need for the next 3 weeks. No more Woolworths where we are going!

Dad drove us around Cairns and showed us where the rich and glitzy stay (nowhere near us). We saw the Cannonball tree - a very unusual tree with cannonball-like fruit and there are only two in Australia. James and Rick walked up to Crystal Cascades waterfall, and Helen went for a swim in the pool (only just warm enough). We bought a fillet of Barramundi and grilled it on the Barbie for tea, along with a taste of the local bugs (the crustacean variety).

Day 6: Cairns

2011-06-11T03:11:00.000-07:00

With another day in the car, we left Charters Towers around 8.30 and headed for Townsville. There were several delays due to roadworks and there is a lot of damage to the road after the floods. We fuelled up in Townsville and looked for a spot for smoko. We found a nice park but the toilets were closed. What to do?? We wandered around the grounds of the nearby nursing home and made use of their public facilities. It was a really lovely place, with spectacular tropical gardens, pretty flowers and lovely birds. Dad commented on how nice it looked and I warned him to be careful what he wished for!

We continued heading north and saw the devastation and damage in towns like Ingham, Tully and Innisfail. The trees that were stripped of their foliage are starting to grow back, but there are still lots of houses with tarps on the roof and it must be cool for them now with winter here. We have moved from Lee Kernaghan songs to Jimmy Barnes as we drive through the canefields. The cane is starting to be harvested and we saw cane trains along the tracks. It's a wonder we didn't stop and try to get a ride on one!

We arrived in Cairns and settled into a caravan park - we are staying for 3 nights to prepare for our trip to the tip of Cape York. We decided to put up the camper as the weather forecast is for fine weather and no rain, and it is a bit warmer here - about 22 degrees during the day and 15 overnight. Dad decided to opt for a cabin rather than putting up his tent. We had a BBQ for tea in the camp kitchen, and enjoyed a few beers and conversation with our new friends.

It was fantastic to chat with Carol, Meg and Alice on skype and Poppy was very impressed to be able to see your faces and hear your voices - it was very special.

Day 5 : Charters Towers

2011-06-10T03:56:00.000-07:00

It was at first light that we headed off ... well not quite - it was about 8.30, but it seemed very early probably because it was so cold and dark. Yesterday was the coldest day in Longreach in 60 years! How is it that we have travelled over 2500 kilometres and it is still only 15 degrees during the day and freezing at night. We still haven't had a night in the camper because it is way too cold, and tonight in Charters Towers it is freezing cold and raining.

We had another long day in the car today - from Longreach to Winton, Hughenden, and on to Charters Towers - about 630 km. It is a pretty drive through Channel Country and this area is apparently the inspiration for many of Lee Kernaghan's songs. Or so I have heard for the past 6 hours. It is amazing to think that this is the catchment for Lake Eyre. There is a lot of water damage along the roadside and it is obvious that there has been a lot of water through here. Winton and Hughenden are apparently known as 'dinosaur country' but we didn't see any today, just the normal kangaroos and emus.

We are in a cabin at a lovely caravan park and Dad cooked tea tonight -his famous chicken pasta dish and it was excellent. I have left the boys to drink beer and watch the footy and I am enjoying the serenity while the rain patters gently on the roof!

Off to Cairns tomorrow - hopefully we will be able to take off the jumpers and see the sunshine.

Day 4: Longreach

2011-06-09T04:05:00.000-07:00

We stayed in Longreach today and it was nice to not have to drive too far in the car. Jim and Rick booked in for a few of the tours at the Qantas museum and Helen booked in to explore the shops. Jim and Rick had an amazing experience exploring a restored 707 and de-commissioned 747, and walking out on the wing was a highlight. After lunch we visited the Stockman's Hall of Fame, and Jim and Rick drove to the nearby town of Ifracombe, which has a mile of rusty machinery. Not Helen's idea of a perfect afternoon, but it kept the boys entertained.

Back in the car tomorrow!

Day 3: Longreach

2011-06-09T03:46:00.000-07:00

Day 3 started early for Rick, who misread the time and got up at 5.30am. Today is the longest day in the car and we have got a day of no driving tomorrow, which is good because I am just about sick of the car. We filled up with fuel in Cunnamulla and paid $1.58 c/l, then headed north again. The countryside is really beautiful with wide open plains and grassland, and red red sand. Today is t-shirt weather and it is strange to see the news of freezing conditions at home. We stopped in Charleville for smoko and there is a little drizzling rain, but it's still a comfortable 15 degrees. We found a cache in Charleville and continue heading north along the Warrego River - saw a patch of boab trees.

Drove through Augathella, stopped for lunch in Tambo, by the lagoon. Continued our drive north through Blackall (Barcoo River), Barcaldine and on to Longreach. We stopped along the way to inspect a cotton plant and saw many different kinds of wildlife, including bush turkey and Brolgas.

We settled in to our cabin at Longreach - it is still a bit cold overnight for camping, and has been wet all day today. Helen went to the local supermarket for some veggies and we had BBQ pork porterhouse steak and steamed veggies for tea - cooked in the camp kitchen and it was delicious. The IGA supermarket was well stocked and just like the one at home. Driving in Longreach is a new and exciting challenge. There don't seem to be any stop signs or give way signs at the intersections, and whoever gets there first seems to have right of way - makes driving to the shops a new adventure!

Day 2: Cunnamulla

2011-06-08T03:40:00.000-07:00

We got away from Hillston at around 8.30 am and settled in for a long day in the car. We travelled along the Kidman Way and stopped for smoko at Gulgunnia and experienced the first long drop toilet of the trip. Looked for a cache that was supposed to be hidden nearby, but couldn't find it. Only time for a quick pit stop in Cobar, and Jim had the nearby cache in hand. Cobar looked like a nice place to spend bit more time, but we were off to Bourke. Lunch was in Bourke by the banks of the Darling River, and we explored the old wharf. Luckily, we only had soft drinks for lunch because we got breathalyzed on the way out of town.

The road to Cunnamulla was long and had a few little hills to keep us entertained. There was a lot of wildlife, including wild pigs, goats and the expected emu and kangaroos. We pulled into Cunnamulla at around 5pm, just on dusk, and found a bed in the fourth place we called. I thought we might have to put up the camper, but it is still a bit cold overnight, and it was starting to rain, so we opted for a motel bed. The Corella Motel was an interesting place, and could have done with a thorough spring clean. We found the Cunnamulla fella, but didn't realize how bronzed he was! We got internet range and could skype Ellen at home, and it was great to see the puppies vis skype. I think they were a bit confused about how they could hear me, but not smell me! We travelled 664km on day 2.

Cape York Adventure

2011-06-06T03:18:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Helen and Jim's Cape York adventure:

Day 1. We had a slow start after a late night at the Kasey chambers and Shane Nicholson concert. The concert was excellent by the way. We left home at about 11am, excited and a bit sad about leaving our puppies behind. We know that Ellen will take great care of them, and we will miss them.

We had lunch at Maccas in Echuca (last fast food for 2000 kms) and headed north and travelled through Deniliquin - maybe we should come back for the Ute muster in October? We met Dad in Hay, then continued north to Hillston. There is a mouse plague in the district and we could see mice running across the road in front of us. The country side is very flat, with wide open grasslands, and we saw emus, kangaroos and lots of hawks eating the roadkill.

Our first night was as at the Hillston motel, and we had tea at the Club House Hotel. This was the sign on the door of the hotel - great! Toured the township and bounced on the suspension bridge over the Lachlan River. The Lachlan is a green, slow moving river, not at all appealing. Completed 524 km on day 1.

The rains are here

2010-03-13T03:23:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we had a thunderstorm in Bendigo and we had over 5 inches of rain over the weekend. We have never had this much rain at once and as it was so dry the water soon ran across the paddock. The good news is the house stayed dry, the tank and the dams are full and now, one week later, the green grass is everywhere. It looks so green and fresh. This picture is from my front verandah - this is where my front garden used to be!

This is the back of my house - don't need to water the lawn today!

This is across the back yard to the orchardThis is the water that is flowing out of the dam.

This is looking across the paddock and the neighbours paddock (out the front) - there is water as far as you can see.

Bushfire Mosaic in Kyneton

2010-03-13T02:52:00.000-08:00

On Februrary 7th 2010, this mosaic was unveiled on the wall of the Kyneton Town Hall, to commemorate the first anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires. This mural is an artistic expression of the thoughts and memories of the people who were affected by these devastating bushfires. We visited the mural last weekend and it is truly magnificent. Each tile represents a fire affected sight, with black tiles signifying loss and grey tiles indicating a threatened home that was saved. Every tile tells a story and many tiles are made up of treasured finds amongst the ashes.

If you find yourself in the area, it's worth calling in to Kyneton to check out the mosaic on the wall of the Town Hall. I'd love to know what you think of it.

Wimmera Machinery Field Days

2010-03-03T02:26:00.000-08:00

I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days at the Wimmera Field Days in Horsham, Victoria. It was a great experience to see that part of Victoria, and I really enjoyed the Field Days. For those of you who haven't been to a Field Days before it's a bit like an agricultural show that features tractors and farming equipment, seeds, silos and anything and everything farming. I don't know what you would even use some of these tractors for!

It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed wandering through the exhibition sheds and exploring the demonstrations and produce. There was interesting stuff that I just wished I had the money to buy - like this cool crock pot that cooks dinner by itself - it sounds like such a great idea!

I was near an animal nursery and I enjoyed the cute little animals. The little pig was so cute, but made this horrendous squealing noise every time a poor little kid tried to pick him up. Check out the cool dude goat!

Geocaching Flashmob Event

2010-02-27T19:30:00.000-08:00

We attended Bendigo's first flashmob event held at the Bendigo Mall. Don't know what a flashmob event is? - neither did we. At exactly 1pm, a geocacher will appear at the specified co-ordinates with a geocaching container. Geocachers will have exactly 15 mins to grab a piece of paper, sign their name, and place the sheet of paper back into the container. Before 1pm, all Geocachers must act like normal shoppers, looking in shop windows and walking around the mall. After the 15 minutes the cache owner will leave and people must then depart and return to the activities they were doing before.

It was so funny to watch the other people in the mall who were wondering what the crowd had gathered for. Was there free stuff? is someone injured? what are you protesting about? I had to giggle at the number of people who were drawn to join the crowd without really knowing why. And by the time people in the Mall worked out something was going on, the crowd started wandering away.

The Bendigo Advertiser took a couple of photos and the geocachers met up later at a local hotel for a cool refreshment!

Bushfire Anniversary

2010-02-07T23:31:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that it has been a year since the devastating Black Saturday bushfires. We are remembering the day at a memorial service in Bendigo and catching up with people again. It was nice to catch up with Mel, my friend who came from Brisbane for the memorial service - she stayed with us and it was fantastic to chat about how much things have changed over the past year.

Happy Australia Day

2010-01-26T01:26:00.000-08:00

Happy Australia Day - what did you do for Australia Day 2010?

We had a day of geocaching - we walked around Bendigo with our GPS and solved puzzles to search for hidden treasures. We discovered some interesting places that we didn't know existed and we have been living here for 20 years! Then, when we were exhausted, we came home to some traditional Aussie burgers on the barbie. How about you - do you celebrate Australia Day?

Heidenreich Family reunion at Salt Creek, SA

2010-01-18T10:10:00.000-08:00

We travelled to Salt Creek, in the Coorong, SA for a Heidenreich Family reunion. It was great to catch up with my Dad and my sister, as we didn't get to see them for Christmas. It was also nice to catch up with my Mum's family - there was a huge gathering of cousins and aunties and uncles .... 65 of us in total. We booked out the Salt Creek caravan park and it was a great location. Days were spent on the beach, 4WD driving on sand, fishing and climbing the sand dunes. The nights were spent sharing stories and memories.

What do you think of Jim's Mulloway?? And yes it is true that we got bogged in the sand. Twice. But we managed to get out by ourselves with only a little bit of pushing by Carol and Helen, and letting the air out of the tyres. I think Jim gets bogged on purpose because he enjoys the adventure.

If you have never been to the Coorong, it's definately a place to put on your bucket list. It is an amazing place, unlike anywhere else that I have seen in the world. The wind is ferocious, the shifting sands are soft and unpredictable and it's not a place to get lost. But the colours and the scenery is spectacular. Well worth a visit and only 10 minutes drive from Salt Creek.

Do you like Spiders

2010-01-11T01:04:00.000-08:00

One hot summers night, I happened to wander outside and I was amazed and startled to find the plethora of spiders that were busy doing what spiders do on a hot night - make webs and catch bugs. We walked around the house with torches and my Dad was here too - he loved it. I got a few photos of the spiders and the webs and I resisted the temptation to spray the fly spray around (except when it comes to the Redbacks - there's no mercy with Redbacks). I think I can tolerate spiders outside the house, but not inside. Apparently they have been identified as Garden weaving spiders - they are actually quite colourful up close (on the computer that is - not in real life!), and they don't like coming inside anyway. Perfect!

Do you have spiders like this at your place? What do you do about them - is it peace or perish?

Soar with the eagles

2010-01-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

We had the pleasure of a visit from a pair of Eagles. Is there a collective name for a group of Eagles? They are such graceful birds and they are amazing in size - they look like little dots in the sky, but when they are up close, they are quite intimidating. We enjoyed watching them flying around, and they seem to have settled in a nearby tree as we have seen them several times since then.

Enjoying life at home

2010-01-03T11:15:00.000-08:00

We had a quiet Christmas and New Year's Eve and it was nice. We enjoyed the sunsets and had time to catch up with family and friends, and to contemplate the year ahead. There is a lot to think about. And when you have spectacular sunsets like this one - right in your backyard - there is much to enjoy about contemplating.

Geocaching - Hiding our first treasures

2009-12-31T02:03:00.000-08:00

We have been geocaching for about six months and really enjoy the challenge of working out the cryptic puzzles and finding ourselves in new and interesting places. This week, we have started to hide our own geocaches and have released two out there. We have been working on them for a couple of weeks, and researched the locations around the caches. It was fun and turned out to be very interesting.

We have one called Woodvale Railway Hotel and this cache is hidden across the road from the site of the Woodvale Railway Station Hotel - every town has a Railway Hotel, but this one was special. It was established during the gold rush, and the railway line was extended to Woodvale in 1882. It was originally called the Baden Baden Hotel (based on the German bathing / spa town) and the name was anglicised before World War 1. In the gay 1920s, the world had seen the end of the war and the local soldiers were home from London and Paris. A Saturday night dance at the school hall was tame indeed, and many men travelled to the Railway Hotel on a Saturday night where nude table top dancing was the fashion. One local scandal involved a police raid and a well-known respectable Bendigo patriarch bolting naked from the Hotel.

Another is hidden near the site of the old Woodvale Railway Station. The railway line was extended to Woodvale in 1882 and it provided a new opportunity to receive goods from Melbourne in only a few hours, rather than several days. Originally, this area was called Sydney Flat Railway station and was adjacent to the crossing which is a little south of here, opposite the Railway Station Hotel. In 1912, the Railway Station was moved north and is now just near Nuggety Creek. A large mound of dirt, bordered with Sugar Gums marks the site of the old platform. A violent windstorm blew the station down and it was rebuilt, before being closed and removed in 1931.

It's been fun and we have learned so much about the history of the town we have lived in for the past 15 years.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-28T00:22:00.000-08:00

We had a quiet Christmas this year. It was my first Christmas since my mum died and I didn't feel much like celebrating. We had a lot of offers for Christmas lunch, however we decided to stay at home for lunch and have a cold seafood and salad lunch.

It was great. We made phone calls in the morning and caught up with various family members across the country and have a leisurely lunch that needed little preparation. Helen was happy with her fish smoker, and Jim got a fantastic multi-purpose torch/ radio/light.

For Boxing Day we travelled to Point Lonsdale to catch up with Jim's family. We took the dogs and Rocky (the new puppy) was well behaved and slept most of the way. We had a great day and it was nice to catch up with the latest news.

Here is a family photo of us all on Boxing Day, and our dogs - Reggie and Rocky. Rocky was exhausted by all of the excitement!

Introducing Rocky

2009-11-29T17:58:00.000-08:00

We would like you to meet Rocky, our new Puppy. Rocky is a Sheltie, also known as a Shetland Sheepdog. They look a bit like a miniature Collie dog. He is energetic, and a cuddly bundle of fur and was nearly 8 weeks old when we picked him up. He was born on 6 October 2009, which is our wedding anniversary. Isn't he cute?

Helen's 40th Birthday

2009-10-10T04:31:00.000-07:00

This week I celebrated my 40th birthday at Picnic Point on the Murray River near Mathoura, NSW. It's been a difficult few weeks since my Mum passed away and I have not been looking forward to my birthday. Earlier in the year, I had talked with my Mum about going on a holiday together for my birthday and now that's not going to happen. It's also the sign of a change in my grief and the beginning of the firsts - this is my first birthday without her.

My husband, my Dad and my nieces: Meg and Alice, and my friend Ellen came along to celebrate with me. We stayed at the Caravan Park at Picnic Point and we had a really nice time. The River was lovely and we spent the days fishing and wandering along the River, and the nights sitting around the camp fire at the Caravan Park. We spent one day near the Edwards River and another day near the Murray River. We caught a few fish, but they were too small and we let them go. We had a picnic for lunch each day, and my friend Ellen organised a chocolate mud cake for us all to enjoy by the river - and it was a beautiful spot.

I was really grateful to have all of these special people around to share this day with me and on the last day, just as we were packing up, a kookaburra flew in and sat on the nearby picnic table and laughed his distinctive laugh. And I remembered, no matter where I go, my Mum will always be with me.

Remembering my Mum

2009-10-01T03:56:00.000-07:00

My mum, Raelene, passed away in August after a short battle with Cancer. For those of you who have cared for someone with Cancer you will know how it can be an awful disease. My Mum was aged 61 when she died and I remember when I was a young child and I thought 61 was so very old. But today, it seems much too young to die.

I feel her around me, especially when I am in the bush and I hear the Kookaburra's laugh - I remember how she loved those Kookaburras and how she loved the Australian bush. I especially find it comforting to be near the River. I'm not sure why - maybe it is the sun reflecting off the water, or it is the noise or the smell. Or maybe it is all of those things. Being by a river reminds me how much my Mum enjoyed the Murray River and how she liked to spend all of her holidays camping by the river.

It's my birthday next week and I am planning a few days of camping by the river. My Dad is coming along and I'm sure my Mum will be with us, but I am sad that she won't write on the card or give me a hug on my birthday.

My dear Mum passed away

2009-09-18T03:47:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty quiet with my blog in recent weeks as my dear Mum passed away in Port Augusta, South Australia on August 17, 2009 after a short battle with Cancer.

It's been a difficult time for all of us and I will blog more when I am feeling brighter.

Helen

Captain Jim

2009-08-10T04:44:00.000-07:00

Recently, Jim was elected as the Captain of the Woodvale Fire Brigade. This is a position that he is very excited about and looking forward to all of the challenges that comes with this role.

Doesn't he look handsome in his uniform?

Geocaching - Huh?

2009-06-14T05:21:00.000-07:00

We have been geocachers for just a few short weeks, but we are addicted. It is so much fun and a great way to get outside and smell the fresh air. Sometimes, it also involves crawling around on your hands and knees, in the rain, looking under rocks, bridges and trees to find tiny containers hidden with treasure. We are slowly working out the technology and working towards finding a way to be geocachers without printing out reams of paper each time, and if you have any tips or suggestions we would love to hear from you.

When family and friends ask what we have been doing we try to explain geocaching, but I think most of them think we are going crazy. How do you explain it to people? Today, we were searching for a geocache under a bridge near the police station (I know it sounds suspicious, but there really was one hidden there and we eventually found it), when a group of teenagers wandered past and wanted to know what we were doing (interesting because it's normally the adults who are wondering what the teenagers are up to!) anyway, we tried to look like we were taking the dog for a walk, but we spent the rest of the afternoon giggling about the excuses that we could come up with - our favourite is 'tightening the screws on the bridge - they are loose so you better get out of the way'. How do you explain what you are doing if you are surprised by a muggle when searching for the cache? Any ideas or suggestions are welcome.

Geocaching - an exciting new adventure

2009-05-25T23:34:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend Jim and I had our first experience of Geocaching. For all you muggles out there (muggles are what we Geocachers call the non-believers), Geocaching is a treasure hunting game that is played all around the world by adventurers who use a GPS to locate hidden containers (called geocaches) then you go online and share the experience of the search with other Geocachers. It is a fun, outdoor activity that the whole family can enjoy and people of all ages can participate in.

With my friend Ellen, we headed out Saturday to look for the first cache hidden in the Whipstick forest not far from where we live. We had no luck and realised that the GPS that finds the streets was pretty much useless. We had a dodgy old handheld GPS and this was very handy. We had a trip home to get the GPS instruction book, then back out but still no luck and eventually we ran out of daylight. Home for tea and more strategy discussions, then we were out bright and early on Sunday morning. This time, our homework paid off and we found three caches in around an hour. Now we are hooked and searching the website for our next adventure. Have you tried geocaching? What do you do for fun on the weekend?

Helen and Jim

An update on my veggie garden

2009-05-25T23:27:00.000-07:00

I went into the Veggie garden tonight to pick some spinach for tea. Remember a previous post, Success in the Veggie Garden?? Well anyway, this post should probably be titled 'Disappointment in the Veggie Garden'. Bloody kangaroos. They have come in overnight and gobbled up all of my spinach. There were 6 glorious clumps, all full, rich and looking very healthy after a little rain yesterday. I know it was the kangaroos because they left their droppings - I had considered posting a photo of evidence, however I thought that might be in bad taste. Grrrr.

Happy Birthday Meghan

2009-05-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Meghan. Today is Meghan's 9th birthday - Meghan is my niece and unfortunately we can't be with her today for her birthday, but I am sure she will have a fun day and I know she reads this blog. Hey Meggie - please save me a bit of cake!.

This is a photo of Meghan when she was on holiday at my house in December - she was weating a CFA helmet and goggles and looked pretty funny.

And this is Meghan's sister Alice, who is also wearing the CFA goggles and helmet. You look great girls.

Spectacular Fiji

2009-05-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

Jim and I have just returned from a long awaited holiday to Fiji. We have always wanted to visit Fiji and Jim's sister Cheryl is teaching there for a while, so it seemed like a good idea to visit Simon and Cheryl and see Fiji.

This was our first look at a Fijian beach, from the Sheraton Hotel at Denarau. Nice huh!

Friends had recommended that we stay at Mana Island, which was absolutely spectacular. We especially loved swimming in the horizon pool - it was awesome to look out across the pool and see the ocean.
The weather was perfect, the water was warm and teeming with colourful fish- in all shapes, sizes and colours, colourful coral and the most amazing blue starfish. We swam out to the edge of the reef and were stunned at the colour and depth of the water as the reef dropped away. We treasure our time at Mana Island and will definately return.

There is something magical about a Fijian sunset ... or maybe that comes from the rum in the cocktails at Happy Hour! We enjoyed Fiji and had a wonderful, relaxing holiday. The Fijian people were so friendly and kind, and beautiful people.

Where is your favourite holiday destination and why did you enjoy it so much?

Helen and Jim

Easter 2009

2009-04-18T02:52:00.000-07:00

Easter is one of my favourite times of the year. The weather is usually nice, and it is a long weekend - long enough to get together with family and have some time to relax.

This year we went camping at Boundary Bend. It is a beautiful spot and it was a big camp this year as we celebrated Mum and Dad's 40th Wedding Anniversary. My friend Ellen baked an awesome chocolate mud cake, and brought along raspberry's, which was a delicious finale to our traditional camp oven roast for lunch.

The weather was glorious and it was a wonderful weekend.

Ahhh..

Mechanical Cow

2009-04-18T02:35:00.000-07:00

Jim's been busy building a letterbox in the shape of a Cow for his cousin for his 50th birthday. I hope you like it Peter! This is the second cow Jim has made because he also made one for me for Christmas last year. They look great and it was funny to see the cows together. Then, he loaded the cow into the back of the ute and drove it off to live at a dairy near Lockington. This cow has a fantastic way to direct the letter from the front, down to the rear, where they sit on a steel mesh mat and stay dry from the rain. Jim is such a clever boy.

What do you think of it?

Bendigo Says Thanks

2009-04-15T00:35:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went along to the 'Bendigo Says Thanks' concert. It was organised by local musician Kate DeAraugo. Kate organised for some fabulous local bands, and excellent visitors to play for free - amazing. Anyway, Kate's performance was excellent, and so was Emily Williams, Paulini and Venette Fields - I have to say the she is a real favourite of mine. Apparently, Angry Anderson was still singing at 10.30 - I was tucked up in bed by then.
The idea of the concert was for people in the community to say 'thanks' to the Emergency Services volunteers and staff who have done such a magnificent job in managing the Bushfire Emergency in Bendigo.

Jim and I went along with the Woodvale Slip-on Unit and we were really humbled by the support and thanks from the community. There was a special area for Volunteers to watch the concert, with great viewing, food and drinks. One really memorable moment for me was when a little boy, aged around 5 or 6, came up to shake Jim's hand (he was wearing the CFA yellow overalls) and he said to Jim, ' thank you Mr Fireman, thanks for saving my house'. It was a really special moment and one that will stay with us for a long time. It was a great day and here are some photos.

Helen

Update on Reggie

2009-04-04T20:08:00.000-07:00

Reggie is doing well and we have been surprised at well he managed with three good legs. His broken leg is healing well and we are doing our best to slow him down and try to stop him from jumping and running. It must be feeling better. He has has the inside pin cage removed and that has made it a bit more comfortable for him and us, as we don't have the daily battle of trying to dress and bandage his leg, so he can pull it all off the next day.

He still has the outside cage on to hold the pins in place and we hope that they will all be removed after Easter. He's a happy dog and very keen to chase after the cat or a kangaroo ... anything really.

Eaglehawk Dahlia and Arts Procession

2009-04-04T19:56:00.000-07:00

The Eaglehawk Dahlia and Arts festival was on recently and Jim went along with the Woodvale Fire Truck in the procession. This is one of Jim's favourite times - he goes down to the fire station and there is a team of people who polish up the truck and get ready for the procession. It's a fun time and the weather is normally lovley. It was a great day this year and a lot of fun.

Success in the Veggie garden

2009-02-27T21:04:00.000-08:00

With all of this hot weather, Jim has been working hard in the Veggie Garden. - we planted some seeds, mulch with pea straw, and water every day. The results have been spectacular and this year the kangaroos haven't been in to munch on our veggies or seedlings. The rhubarb is doing well. This is the re-growth from the dry shrivelled up crown. There is truth in the notion that if you water the dry crown it will grow back!

The chillis look excellent, the silverbeet is happy and there are pumpkins everywhere. There are a couple of different types of pumpkin - a soft skinned, fast growing orange one (probably has a more technical name) , and the butternut pumkins are looking like they are the right shape. It's been a good year in the veggie garden.

Poor Reggie broke his leg

2009-02-27T20:47:00.001-08:00

We've had a big week. Last week we lost Rosie and this week Reggie broke his leg. We think he was trying to jump over the fence because he was bored and lonely. He has a clean fracture of his leg, so he spent a few days at the Vet hospital and now has 4 pins and two clamps to hold the bone together. We brought him home today and he is looking very sad and miserable. Amazingly, he wants to hop around on his three legs and the Vet has told us to make sure that he rests. For those of you who know Reggie - that will be hard for him to do.

Anyway, for today at least, he has some nice sleeping pills to keep him snoozing in his bed - here is a photo of him today. He will have the pins and clamps in for 8 weeks, then he should be back to normal and bounding around like he was before. I hope so.

Helen

Remembering Rosie.

2009-02-22T01:35:00.000-08:00

This week has been a sad week, because we lost our beloved pet Rosie. Rosie was a Shetland Sheepdog, a miniature Collie and she died this week aged 15. I remember when we first brought her home - she was a ball of fluff with tiny sharp teeth and long, sharp claws. She always hated to have her toe nails cut and I think it was worse for us as we tried to hold her down and she tried to wriggle away.

She was a smart dog, wickedly mischievous and would perform any trick that involved a food reward. As a puppy, Rosie loved the rain and the cold weather and her thick, woolly fur kept her snug and warm. As she got older, the cold winters bothered her as arthritis stiffened her bones - I am relieved that she won't have to endure any more of those bitterly cold winter days.

Over the past year, Rosie wasn't well, with a nasty ear infection that robbed her of her hearing and sometimes her balance. She was sensitive, loyal and friendly and will be sadly missed.

Rainbow Bridge -
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Bushfires in Bendigo

2009-02-10T01:29:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we experienced the worst bushfires we have ever seen in Bendigo. The bush was tinder dry and there was a huge fire storm that raced across the bush and into the residential fringe of town.

The speed of the fire was amazing and the wind was ferocious, leaving a deadly trail of destruction. Here are a few photos of the weekend. There is a smell in the area, of ash and soot, and devastation - it's an unusual smell and once it gets up your nose it's hard to clear it away.

Jim was a hero and travelled to Redesdale to help protect the town, then came back to help out in Bendigo - what an amazing effort. Helen was helping out with Firefighter welfare and making sure everyone had enough food and drink. Here is a photo of Jim on Sunday - he took the media on a bus tour of the fire damage and one of them took his photo at this burnt out property.

There were ferocious fires all around the state and it was hard to imagine what it would be like to face up to a fire front like this. Would you have the courage to stay and fight?

The heat of the fire is so intense that it melts the metal in the cars and it runs along the ground like water over oil. It's hard to believe the intensity of the heat.

This photo below is of Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and Victorian Premier John Brumby. A picture tells a thousand words and I wonder what John Brumby was saying. You can see the pressure and concern on the PMs face - there is much bad news to come.

Please give generously to the Bushfire appeals and if you meet a CFA firefighter, give him or her a pat on the back and let them know how proud you are of what they do.

Helen

Heat wave - it's a stinker

2009-01-27T22:48:00.000-08:00

Urgh - it is soooo hot. When can we move to Antarctica? I love penguins! We are in the midst of a stinker of a heat wave. Bendigo temperature was 42 degrees today - it's too hot to even think, let alone work or sleep. My mum is in Mildura and she had 44degrees today and my sister lives in Port Augusta where it topped 46 degrees. This is ridiculous.

I work inside an airconditioned office, so I shouldn't complain too much. Jim's workplace will be really hot and he does manual work too - he will be tired and grumpy when he gets home. I worry about my pets being outside - I thought about freezing some containers of ice to try to keep their water cool, but it won't last long in this heat. And fortunately, so far, there are no major fires in Victoria.

What are your tips for surviving the summer heatwave? Do you have any suggestions, because I really need them today!

Stay cool

Helen

Clean up day

2009-01-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

Jim and I have both been sick with summer colds and we have felt pretty miserable for the past couple of weeks. I don't think that I have been for a ride on my new bike all year - my focus was just to try to keep breathing and walk to the car without coughing. Anyway, it is all behind us now and I hope that we have built up a strong immunity when those autumn and winter colds come along.

It's clean up day today - time to clear away all the unwanted papers, junk and have a bit of a look around to see what needs to find a new home. I love clean up day - it feels nice to tidy things up and make a fresh start for the new year.

Cheers

Helen

Olive Trees

2009-01-01T03:11:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention that we received a gift of 6 olive trees - they are Kalamata olives and quite big, so we just need to find the right spot and plant them in our garden. They are apparently a few years old and we can expect to have a small crop of the lovely black olives next year.

I have no experience in planting or caring for an olive tree - anyone got any tips to share?

Cheers

Helen

Christmas 2008

2009-01-01T02:52:00.000-08:00

Well I must have been a good girl because I got all that I wanted for Christmas. Of course there were all the material things - Jim and I bought each other mountain bikes for Christmas. I survived the maiden voyage and I am continuing to improve my balance and confidence.

We travelled to Mildura for Christmas this year and celebrated with my Mum and Dad, my sister Carol and her partner Wayne, and her kids Meghan and Alice. The weather was warm (OK it was hot), but we survived. We had a nice roast lunch ( why do we have a hot roast lunch on such a hot day), and on Boxing Day we explored some of the tourist attractions in Mildura - Woodsies Gem Cave and Kings Billabong, before heading to the river for a swim. It was beautiful. We filled up the car with local fruit - watermelons and oranges and made the long drive back down the Calder Highway.

I'm interested in hearing about your Christmas? Did you get any nice presents? What did you do on Christmas Day? Boxing Day?

Hooroo

Helen

Another weekend in the garden

2008-11-03T00:41:00.000-08:00

Another busy weekend in the garden. There is so much to do and it is exhausting but rewarding. It's a nice time of the year to be outside and get some dirt under the fingernails. We finished off transplanting the roses out the front of the house, and moved some pretty geraniums into the entrance to the front door.

We also has some spring cleaning inside - the windows got a wash and we moved the furniture around. The lounge is great

We bought a trailer load of rich mushroom mulch and used the rotary hoe to dig it in to the vegie garden. Last year the kangaroos came in and gobbled up the vegie garden in one night, so we will need to try to keep them away this year. We planted silverbeet, chilli, cucumber, zucchini and pumpkins.

And for those of you who are interested in the lawn - yes - it did come up. It is still a little patchy, but there are lots of luscious green shoots and it is looking great. We are also planting some couch grass runners and that seems to be working too. They are cute little blades and it is more fun than I thought, watching grass grow!

That's all for now. If you are reading my blog I would love to hear from you. Who are you? What do you think? Is there anyone out there?

Helen

Slave Auction

2008-10-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

Last night we went along to the Public Hall to attend a Slave Auction. I haven't been to one before, so I didn't quite know what to expect. I knew that there were lots of good and services donated and would be auctioned and the aim was to raise money for the local Fire Brigade and Public Hall.

Well it was a great night. There were some badly dressed slaves, including ball(oon) and chain, and they were there to respond to your every need, for a price. There were over 120 goods and services available - some really unique like a gold panning lesson or a drive in a 1930s fully restored fire truck, and lots of vouchers. Local residents also donated their time with gardening, sewing, ironing and mending, and local businesses offered car services, meal vouchers and gift pack items. Jim loves the auction and he gets so caught up in the excitement of it all. So we came home with 10 bales of straw, 2 x 60kg bags of wheat and a couple of meal vouchers at the local pub.

Hmm. What to do with all that wheat? Do we plant it, make bread or feed it to our two little chooks. It's never dull around here.

Cheers

Helen

more gardening adventures

2008-10-18T01:15:00.000-07:00

Well spring is here and that is definately time to spruce up the garden. There is so much to do now that the renovation has finished. We have had lots of visitors and lots of advice about what to do and today we got started with one section in the back yard. Jimmy got out his rotary hoe and churned up the ground. We had been watering it all week to try to soften the ground, but it was hard work. This is the first time we have used the rotary hoe, and it was fun, in a hard work kind of way. It certainly was much easier than digging by hand.

Once we raked over the area and tossed some lawn seed about we were ready for watering. With a bit of luck, in 10 days, we will having the makings of a lawn! I'll let you know how we go.

Cheers

Helen

weekend in the garden

2008-10-13T02:16:00.000-07:00

Another busy weekend in my household - after some recent renovations there is work to be done to get the garden in shape for the summer. I have relocated the pelargonium - at least that’s what I think it is. It’s a cutting that I took from a bush on the side of a road, and stuck in a pot and a couple of months later it looks lovely. Let’s see how it goes in a big, grown up pot. It should love this spot and even flower for me in a couple of weeks. We’ll see. The pelargonium is in a special pot, a pot with lots of years under it's belt and lots of sentimental memories.

We are going to try to plant rhubarb again. Rhubarb is an old fashioned plant and I’m not sure if I even like to eat rhubarb, but I had a plant and it died so I am determined to try harder to keep one alive. Rhubarb grows from a crown, and apparently the leaves will die off but the rhubarb will shoot again in the winter rains. My experiment has proven this to be untrue. A dried up, crispy rhubarb crown will not shoot up after the rains. Anyway, I have a kind friend that has donated another rhubarb crown, and I promise to take better care of it this time. And even water it occasionally. I am in need of a miracle and I will let you know how I go.

Next project - lawn and rose garden. So much to do - so little time!

Jim's CFA 20 year long service medal

2008-10-13T01:59:00.000-07:00

Jim received a CFA 20 year long service medal. It’s a real honour to receive the recognition for effort and volunteer service for 20 years. He was dressed in his blue uniform and looked so handsome and proud. It’s disappointing that the organsiers neglected to invite the award recipients to the medal presentation so they could bring along their family members and maybe someone to take a photo, but this particular bushfire brigade is often lacking the organisation skills and forgetting the detail. It’s a shame, because it is an opportunity that is now lost forever - a moment of time that has passed, and can’t be re-captured. Anyway, here is the medal.

A stone cairn

2008-10-06T02:21:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend. The first sneeze and it reminds me that the hay fever season is here. The flowers are bursting out of their buds, the bees are buzzing and gums trees are vomiting their seeds everywhere. It’s spring. I love this time of year – when the sunshine is warm, and the nights are cool. Actually, the nights are still freezing, and that is just the way I like it.

This weekend we were working in the garden, trying to establish some lawn with the hope that we would be able to keep the dust down this year. We got the area leveled off and as I started to sprinkle it with the hose – the water just ran off. It was so dry, almost like bulldust, and the water just ran off and couldn’t be absorbed into the ground. Looks like this is going to be harder than I thought.

We build a stone cairn. We had all of these left over rocks and wanted to find something useful to do with them. We especially wanted to move them before it gets too hot and a slithery reptile decides it is a nice place to set up digs. So we moved the huge pile of rocks (well Jim moved them mostly) and I placed them down, one after the other, to form a wiggly garden bed edge. It looks a bit like the slithery reptile I was trying to avoid. But what to do with the leftovers? We had a few options, then decided on building a stone cairn, like the explorers did in the outback. I haven’t built a stone cairn before and it is harder than it looks. Those explorers must have had a lot of time on their hands, a sense of determination and persistence, and a sense of humor. I don’t have much of any of these, and soon got frustrated. But Jim kept going until the job was done and created an awesome stone cairn. Not sure what it symbolizes yet, but once we recover we will come up with a really cool story to explain it all.

Hooroo

Helen

Welcome to Helen and Jim's Meanderings

2008-10-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Helen and Jim's blog. Our first adventure is learning how to use the blog tools - easy so far and it is an exciting time. I feel quite pleased that I have managed to get this far. Anyway, it's a nice day outside, so I am off to enjoy it.

Helen