Friday, 9 May 2014

Just pokin’ along!

Following the KOG Gathering at Easter, the original plan was to take a two week break and drive up to QLD to catch up with Dad and Denise, and and our friend Nelly. And then return to Elands for another month while Allan took a trip to Thailand with his brother. Due to a couple of circumstances , we had to drop the 2nd part of the house-sit and head to QLD directly after Easter. It was unfortunate and we both felt really rotten about it, but couldn't be helped. We didn't leave Allan in the lurch though, as his son had expressed an interest in coming up to the property for a little while, so it was all good.
So, we hit the road on Anzac Day after a frenzied few days of packing and cleaning, we headed north along the New England Highway to the QLD Sunshine Coast.

Sommerville Valley Tourist Park, Stanthorpe, QLD

Looking across Storm King Dam at sunset

Blatherarm Creek Campground, Torrington State Conservation Area, NSW

Whilst passing through Brisbane, we dropped the van into Kedron for a big service and then headed for Lake Cooroibah. Nelly had very kindly agreed to put us up for 3 days before we headed back to pick up the van. While travelling north, we had been offered a spot on a Kedron Owners Group trip to the Corner Country. This trip was due to leave on the 21st May from Tibooburra, NSW, so the van service was very timely but we needed to head west without too much delay.
We had a lovely lunch with Nelly, Dad and Denise at Sippy Downs (D&D's local) and thoroughly enjoyed the visit and the catch up.

Then we were on the road WEST!!!

Thursday, 24 April 2014

Comboyne NSW, Elands KOG Easter Gathering April 2014

Comboyne is a village on the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales. It is situated on the Comboyne Plateau about 50km east of Elands Village, some 60 km south-west of Port Macquarie, 35 km west of Kew and 54 km north-west of Taree. It is an attractive agricultural area with fertile soils and a high rainfall. The word “Comboyne” is a corruption of the local indigenous people's name for “a place of kangaroos”.
Previously, the area was covered in sub-tropical rainforest which has almost all been cleared by the early 20th century. The early explorers originally sought the valuable timber of the Australian Red Cedar. The second oldest natural reserve in the state is at nearby Boorganna Nature Reserve which preserves a remnant of sub-tropical rainforest.
The village contains some very attractive murals and a lovely coffee shop which is well worth the visit.

Mural

Mural

Mural

Mural

Coffee Shop

KOG Easter Gathering April 2014

Camp ground @ Elands property

Lazy afternoon

Working hard on the firewood

All ready for happy hour

Happy Hour in full swing

Now THAT is a fire!

Views from Blue Knob on the Bulga Plateau

Friday, 28 March 2014

Elands, House-sit February – March 2014

View from house across the old milking shed to the forest

State forest

Sunset effects with showery weather

If the little one gets any bigger, she wont fit!

Gus the Goanna (annoying the birds)

He went straight up the nearest tree when Rick arrived with the camera

Gertrude the Goanna (different colours!) - very interested in the BBQ remains

She can certainly "smell" something interesting

View up the driveway past the old pine trees

We don't know what the flowers are, but the native bees just love them!

Green grass and blue sky - just a beautiful day

And here's our little camp spot

THE FUNGUS COLLECTION

The weird device on some of the fungi is a van "bubble" level - just for size comparison.

Lazy, relaxing morning

And now for the nose results

2 days after surgery to remove a large BCC from the tip of my nose - 28 stitches to put it back together again afterwards

3 weeks after surgery the results are just amazing. The doctors and staff at The Skin and Cancer Foundation at Westmead in Sydney were just fantastic. I can highly recommend the expertise and helpfulness, but have no intention of repeating the procedure ever again.

Monday, 27 January 2014

December 2013 - January 2014 Lake Cooroibah, Boonah Showgrounds, QLD

After Standown Park we returned to Lake Cooroibah to look after Nelly and Terry's home while they traveled to visit family for Christmas. We had a lovely five weeks, including several visits with Dad and Denise. The only downside was the weather - ranging between dry and warmish to dry and damned hot! The maximum temperature we recorded at the house was 40 degrees centigrade. Not as bad as WA and SA, but for south-east QLD it's very hot. And did I mention DRY! We were lucky enough to get about an inch of rain, which is well short of the norm, but compared to the conditions in western and northern QLD where districts have been drought declared, the coast has done pretty well.

We left Cooroibah on 22 January to spend a night in Brisbane at Pine Rivers Showground. The van made a trip to Kedron Caravans for a new TV antenna which was fitted by Tom and Boydie with their usual good humour and help. We've had our van now since March 2008, and have nothing but good things to say about all the staff at Kedron Caravans.

Next stop Boonah Showgrounds, QLD for the Australia Day weekend Kedron Owners Gathering. We've had a great weekend and thoroughly enjoyed the company. Boonah is a nice little town with several good cafes and hotels. On Sunday (which was the official Australia Day), we all had lunch at Simon's Tavern. The Chef had prepared Rump Steak Pies (tender, tasty, huge and with very good pastry), with Pavlovas for dessert. Great meal, and we all staggered back to the Showgrounds with very full stomachs. Nanny Naps were definitely on the agenda and happy hour was a little late. Late, but still happening of course.

Tomorrow, we're back on the road - destination Sydney. I have to have a basal cell carcinoma removed from the tip of my nose, and the closest surgeon to where we will be house-sitting at Elands is Sydney at Westmead. I was lucky enough to get an appointment for 4 Feb for the initial consultation. At that stage I will find out how the surgery will be performed and when. Whoopee! We will stay at Lane Cove River Tourist Park again (where we stayed for the International Fleet Review last October). From there to Westmead is 23 km - fortunately not through the city. Tomorrow night (Tuesday) is Armidale in NSW. We'll spend a couple of nights there and catch up with the washing before making the run to Gloucester and then Sydney.

Watch this space for nose news!