Week Twenty-Three: Westward Ho!

Stunning Head of Bight cliffs on the Nullarbor

Home sweet home! There is no place like it. We hightailed it through South Australia and across the Nullarbor to arrive home safely on Monday afternoon. With 20,243 kilometres travelled through five states and the Northern Territory, we had plenty of time on the journey home to reminisce and relive some of the many highlights and the odd lowlight we experienced. We have had the most wonderful time and Australia never ceases to amaze us with its spectacular beauty. 

The Cubby de Wheels MKII dwarfed by the Bunda Cliffs

When I quizzed GK on his top five picks he named people rather than places that were the most memorable to him. It was wonderful catching up with family and friends on our travels as well as meeting new ones on the way. The weather can make or break a holiday and we were truly blessed to have very little rain to dampen our spirits although the freezing inland morning temperatures leave a lot to be desired! Minus 4 degrees in Gympie sent us scurrying to buy hot water bottles for the five days we spent free camping at the Muster. Brrrr!

All rugged up for the Gympie Muster

Check out the legs. Sigh.

We have now been around Australia four times. Our first trip was in 1975 when we were footloose and fancy-free. We bought an ex police paddy wagon, raised the floor where we slept and shoved our worldly possessions underneath. I don’t know how we did it as I now have claustrophobia and would get the screaming meemies if I had to climb back in there to sleep. The fact that I wouldn’t fit is beside the point. Being young and in love and at least ten kilos lighter obviously helped. 

We set off up the west coast with retread tyres and the wrong set of spanners. Some things never change as GK’s mechanical skills haven’t improved. His talents lie in other areas. By Sydney we had run out of money and had to get jobs. Luckily great mates from Perth, Steve and Marg Buck, were also travelling around Australia and were flatting in Meadowbank. We moved in with them for six weeks and saved enough to continue our trip. They were six of the happiest and most carefree weeks of our lives. When we get together these days we still reminisce about the great times we had. 

Steve and Marg - 1975

By the time we got to Melbourne the paddy  wagon was belching blue smoke so we decided to sell it and go to New Zealand on the proceeds. When we returned to Melbourne we met up with other friends from Perth who were also on the road travelling in a Kombi. They invited us to go to Tassie with them and we jumped at the chance. The four of us (plus their dog) spent two weeks travelling around the Apple Isle with us sleeping on the roof and Chris and Ali in the van. Again being young and in love (read stupid!) and ten kilos lighter was helpful. 

We then tackled the unsealed Nullarbor and limped back into Perth with no car and $28.00 in our pocket. Agh! The good old days! Roll on thirty-five years, three kids, eleven houses (true!) and buying and selling our own business, we set off again in 2010 to retrace our original steps. We travelled in style in the very swish Cubby de Wheels MKI. What luxury! We had so much fun we did it again in 2012. 

Touring Tassie in style - 1975

We had a hiatus of five years before our itchy feet returned and we went ‘up the guts’ in 2017 taking in the Flinders Ranges, Wilpena Pound, Coober Pedy, the Macdonell Ranges and Alice Springs before heading back down the West Coast to home once again. This year’s mammoth 20,000 odd kilometre adventure hasn’t cured our wanderlust but we will take a break before returning to ‘do’ South Australia justice in a couple of year’s time. It is one of the most underrated states in Australia and we want to spend quality time travelling up and down its Peninsulas and exploring its famous wine regions. We ran out of time this trip plus I was getting homesick. I missed you all!

The Nullarbor isn’t as daunting as it seems and the long straight road is a pleasure to drive on after some of the shuddering rollercoaster rides we have been on. There are some very scenic vantage points for photo opportunities and safe free camps to stay the night. It is a shame we were hell bent on getting home as we could have stopped more often to break the journey and enjoy the sights. Too bad, too sad - we are home now and loving it. 

Beautiful mural on the wheat silos at Kimba in the middle of Australia

What a hunk!

The garden is glorious thanks to all the rain you have had and great mates, Michele and Boj, who cared for it so well. The lawn was freshly mowed and everything trimmed and manicured when we pulled up. Jenny and Terry collected the mail and kept an eye on the house so it was a huge relief to come home and find everything ship shape and in one piece. Thank you so much to everyone. The drinks and dinner are on us!

GK has hit the ground running, or I should say limping, as he has made appointments for his knee to be replaced and to find some answers as to why his unsuccessful eye operation to relieve his stinging watery eyes didn’t work. I am not game to push the hearing aid situation just yet but will slowly work on him. In the meantime I will have to stop mumbling and enunciate more clearly. It seems I am the one with the problem. Whatever.

He has still got it!

We hope you have enjoyed our weekly reports on our shenanigans. We loved getting all your feedback and can’t wait to catch up with everyone over the next few weeks to hear all your news. Until then, this is the Krazy Kents signing off till our next great adventure. Hope to see you on the road! xxxx

Here are some highlights.

Snorkelling at Turquoise Bay

Loved catching up with Kelly and Grace in Broome. We will be back! Lots of love Mum and Dad xxx

One of our favourite places - the Sunset Bar in Broome.

Cruising on Lake Kununurra with Peter and Sue Stubbs. A Magic day.

The Sunset Cruise up Katherine Gorge was sensational with Jenny and Terry.

Our Queensland mates Ross and Sue Thomas - another great catch up.

It was such a bonus to meet up with our old mates from Melbourne in Noosa.

Our time in Mildura was too short with the Calamity Cleggers

My idea of hell - sleeping in this caravan.

Week Twenty-Two: Winners are Grinners!

Can't stop smiling!

What a fantastic Grand Final and what a fantastic result! GK can’t wipe the smile off his face after the nail-biting finish and then the follow up win of his NRL team the Roosters the next day. It has been a terrific week with the footy wins being the icing on the cake. There have been so many highlights (and the odd lowlight) we don’t know how we can top it next week. 

Still smiling with great mates, Ron and Marg Clegg

Catching up with our great mates Ron and Marg Clegg from Perth was an absolute highlight as we always have a lot of laughs with them and we have missed them while we have been away. The boys go way back to their rugby playing days at North Beach and Margie and I had our first babies six weeks apart making us firm friends over the years. We were so glad we could catch up with them on our way home via Mildura as they have just set off on a six-month holiday of South Australia, Victoria, NSW and Tassie. Three days wasn’t enough but we managed to cram a lot in and the laughs, wine and beer flowed all weekend.

Enjoying lunch and the entertainment at Trentham Estate Winery

We were in Mildura for the 32^ndAnnual Mildura Country Music Festival. It was fantastic! Former workmates of Ron have been several times and recommended it as a ‘must see’ stopover while in Victoria in spring. It turned out to be a fabulous rendezvous destination for us on our way home. Ron’s mates, Justin and Chris and their wives, Elaine and Diane were so helpful guiding us through the Program of Events as we didn’t know the drill and were confused as to what to do and see.

Fantastic talent at the Festival

Over fifty bands and country artists descended on the town for the ten-day Festival where they perform free at over twenty venues around Mildura and the surrounding towns. The performers are unsigned recording artists and count on the audience buying their CDs. We were blown away with the talent we saw and heard. It was as good and even better as anything we saw at Gympie. Australia definitely does have talent and we can’t believe that some of the artists aren’t household names. 

After the great footy win, the eight of us went into the Globe Hotel to listen to seven artists with the most incredible backing group we have ever heard. They hadn’t met the performers before they stepped on stage and were handed their sheets of music. We were gob smacked by their talent and really regretted not learning a musical instrument when we were kids with the exception of Chris and Di who play the guitar and piano accordion. They entertain the cruise ship passengers who sail into Adelaide. We were lucky enough to be treated to an impromptu jam session on Sunday night. Again another highlight.

Brilliant backing band at the Festival

Faithful pooch waiting patiently for his owners

Sunday morning was an early start, as we had to travel across the border into Buronga in NSW to the Edge Hotel to listen to the Bush Poet’s Breakfast. What a hoot! There was more outstanding Aussie talent on show with poets and storytellers recounting hilarious stories and anecdotes. We wish we could remember some of the jokes but were laughing so hard as they came thick and fast. One memorable song was “Who Hit Fanny on the Freckle With a Frankfurt?” You had to be there. It was a fantastic way to start the day releasing endorphins and laughing until it hurt.

Great entertainment at Trentham Estate

More great entertainment!

The appeal of Mildura is it is situated on the banks of the Murray River on the border of NSW and a short distance from South Australia. It has a population of around 60,000 and provides Australia with 98% of its dried vine fruit, 75% of its table grapes and 69% of its almonds. We thought we would sample some of its ‘grape juice’ at a boutique winery at Trentham Estate, 15 minutes from Mildura. We had lunch on the banks of the river where another four very talented artists entertained us. The weather was glorious, the backdrop sensational and the company brilliant. It doesn’t get any better than that. 

Fantastic day at Trentham Estate Winery

After lunch we crossed the border once again into NSW and headed to the Coomelalla Club in Dareton to watch another group of talented artists. With the help of the brilliant backing band I mentioned before they finished with a rousing rendition of “I Am Australian”. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house and we left on a very high note. 

GK and I realized that three days at the festival wasn’t long enough to see and do everything we wanted to so we tried to book another day at the caravan park. They had two vans coming in the next day, which wanted to be side by side on our site. We could pack up and move to another site but we didn’t want the hassle of doing that so decided to push on as planned. We will definitely return in a couple of years and do Mildura and the Festival justice. We can’t believe that the first class entertainment is free! We highly recommend it. 

Old and new friends

We hate goodbyes and it was particularly hard saying ‘goodbye’ to our old mates Ron and Marg and our new friends, Justin, Elaine, Chris and Diane. Another few days would have been terrific but wasn’t to be. We will keep in contact with the Cleggger’s news via Ronnie’s blog over the next five months so that will have to do until they return to Perth in March next year. Thanks for the fabulous few days we did have and a special thank you to Justin and Chris for looking after we Festival Virgins so well. We would have been lost without you. XOXO.

I mentioned we had a few lowlights last week and a major one was breaking down in Swan Hill before the Festival. We hadn’t intended staying there but GK saw a huge Bunnings store and decided to stop to buy another washer (we have a friggin’ drawer full of them!) for a leaking tap. We love listening to Richard Fidler’s program ‘Conversations’ on Podcast as we drive along and we were listening to a really interesting one when GK went in for his retail ‘hit’. Big mistake. The extra amps required for the Podcast (with the car engine turned off) and the amp hungry fridge in the van chewing up the rest was enough to flatten our battery. We thought the worst and imagined it was some major computer problem with our new fandangled car. The gorgeous RACV guy, Anton, wasn’t sure either and recharged our battery long enough to get us to an auto electrician. Problem solved and lesson in batteries etc learned the hard way. All good now.

Another big Australian icon - the Big Cod in Swan Hill

Free horse and buggy rides in Swan Hill

After the tension of the battery incident we decided to stay two days in historic Swan Hill and chill out. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we got some jobs done (tap fixed – yeay!) and did sight seeing around town. The Pioneer Settlement is a ‘must see’ destination and we spent a lovely afternoon wandering around the true to life historical recreation of a township from the 1800s. It is virtually an open-air museum and we were very impressed with the buildings, machinery and characters in the shops and blacksmiths etc. Well worth a visit if you are staying in Swan Hill. 

We loved the Pioneer Settlement at Swan Hill

A woman's work is never done!

We have mixed feelings about the next few days. We can’t wait to get home but are dreading the ‘big push’ across the Nullarbor. It has to be done so we will do our homework and find some great free camps to stay. The last week has proved how isolated we are in WA as it takes three days to cross our border where it takes five minutes in Mildura! They are certainly spoiled for choice in the Eastern States as far as holiday destinations go. Having said that we wouldn’t live anywhere else and can’t wait to catch up with family and friends next week. Love to everyone and keep safe. xxx

Solved our caravan's heating problems. This one comes with its own chimney!