Road Trip 2017 – Day 5 – Broken Hill to Leasingham (Clare Valley)

Big travel day today so we were up fairly early, packing up the Deluxe Suite ready for our departure. Gary took the car off to the car wash as it had got pretty dirty with the dust and showers combination yesterday. A lot of bugs were plastered at the front and bizarrely he discovered that baby wipes can get them off very well. 

We set off about 9:30am and waved goodbye to Broken Hill, a truly amazing place. We spent a little while dodging goats that seemed to line the highway for the first hour or so, and then we stopped after about 200km at Yunta, a very small spot with a pub and 2 service stations. Luckily we had packed our lunch as the pub was closed and, when Gaz wandered in to a service station to buy a treat or two for us he discovered a wagon wheel was $3.50. Needless to say, we only got one and shared it! (What is the go with the size of wagon wheels these days? They have definitely shrunk over the years…but that’s a discussion for another day.)

After our brief stop for lunch, we agreed to meet again at Burra, a small town about another 200km down the highway. Before we got there however, we were stopped and searched for fruit and plants. Who knew? Not Marion who had stocked up with fruit & veg yesterday. Certainly not us who lost our stash of oranges. Anyway, we surrendered it all. I was confused and asked the guy if this was the border with South Australia. He said, ‘Oh, no, that was about 300km back – they just can’t get anyone to work there!’

Burra was a lovely little town. We wandered around, predominately looking for fruit and veg to buy (lol) but found many stores closed. Adelaide Cup and therefore a public holiday. Once again, who knew? We did find a beautiful coffee shop and enjoyed an awesome afternoon tea – with real clotted cream. Mmmmm.

It was then off on the last leg of today’s trip to the Clare Valley. We stopped briefly at Clare to shop as we found a Woolies open, and then about 16 km on to Leasingham for our caravan park. We ran next door to a Cellar Door at a winery and tasted (and bought) some wine, prepared our dinner – another awesome effort, and then Marion & I took a ride along the Riesling Trail on our bikes. The bike ride was hard work but a good way to end the day.

PS - we finished our audio book as we drove into Burra and both agreed it was a great idea and helped pass the time very well. It was over 10 hours - The Traitor's Story by Kevin Wignall - and Gaz and I both enjoyed it immensely. 4/5 stars! We might start another one tomorrow!

Road Trip 2017 – Day 4 – Broken Hill & Silverton

We awoke to cloudy skies and a cool breeze this morning. Could this be the same town a s yesterday where it was still over 30 degrees in the evening? It certainly was and we were to encounter scattered showers throughout the day – not much though. We set off to the information place to set up our plans for the day and they were very helpful. Our first stop was a miner’s memorial, perched atop old mine remnants right next to the town. Every miner killed in the region was listed, right up to the present time. It certainly was a dangerous job and you can understand why the Trade Unions were so important here to improve safety for the workers. It was quite a sobering monument. There was also some old mining machinery on display as well as wonderful views looking over the town. 

We then took a drive to Sturt Park where, quite randomly, there is a memorial to the band that played while the Titanic sank. It was placed there in 1913 by the bands of Broken Hill – there were four – to honour their colleagues. Wow, they certainly shared something special being band members! We wandered through the (very nice) park and then drove through the streets, passing a few more notable buildings, churches and so on. 

We chanced upon a lookout which gave another view of the town and the Line of Lode – the ridge where the memorial is and where we started our day.

It was then off to the famous Bell Milk Bar, a fifties styled milk bar and museum, where we had a bit of morning tea and checked out the memorabilia. You know your old when you can point to every second thing on exhibit and say, ‘I had one of them!’

After some deliberation, we decided to drive the 30km or so out to Silverton. We first went to the Mundi Mundi Lookout where you look out over ground so flat you can almost see the curvature of the earth…well, maybe you can when it is a clear day. Regardless it was a good view and worth the trip. 

Back in Silverton we spent a pleasant half hour or so browsing a gallery and then stopped in to the iconic (or so the sign says) Silverton Hotel for lunch. Nice pub, good atmosphere and tucker, and a fun game of draughts/checkers. 

On our drive back into town I stopped to snap a photo of the Silverton Creek which is, of course, bone dry at the moment. This place must look so different when the waters come down.

At this point we decided we would split up so we dropped Kevin and Marion back at their car, grabbed a cup of tea, (and a snooze from Gaz), and headed back into town. We first stopped at the Silver Mint Museum and Shop which had A LOT of silver jewellery for sale – oh dear, what is a girl to do? A bracelet and earrings later, and a bit of a browse through the gallery and museum, and we were off to our next destination, the Pro Hart Gallery. I wasn't sure what to expect, but we were blown away. We spent quite a bit of time looking through the gallery and learning all about Pro, his life, and his art. Very fascinating! Gary got a great hat and I couldn't resist some beach towels, one with the famous dragonfly on carpet painting. I really loved his paintings. On the way out we were able to view Pro’s collection of Rolls Royce cars and sculptures – he was a very talented man.

It was time for a brief rest back at the ‘deluxe suite’ and I also managed to have a swim and a bit of time reading by the pool. It was still cloudy and fairly windy but the rain stayed away. We then met up again with Kev & Maz to head on out to the Desert Scupltures, timing our visit to coincide with sunset. Gaz dropped us at the bottom of a big hill and we walked up, meeting him at the top (with the car). It was a great walk but I’m really glad I didn’t have to do it in 40 degree heat! Once at the top of the hill, not only did we have some wonderful sculptures to view, we had a marvellous sunset to the west and a glorious full moon rising in the east. I almost got dizzy switching between the two. Regardless of the difficulty in choosing the most spectacular view, it was…well…spectacular.

Our last night here in Broken Hill. It’s off to South Australia tomorrow.

Road Trip 2017 – Day 3 – Cobar to Broken Hill

Early to rise, packed the lunches, got organised, and then I was off on our Cobar cycling adventure. Kevin, Marion & I set off – Gaz declined on this occasion…clearly not a morning person – to follow the famous Cobar walking trail, but of course, on two wheels. Kevin kept the commentary going (courtesy of the guidebook), as we pedalled our way around town. We saw buildings, an old railway station, parks, memorials, churches, and pretty much every point of interest you could imagine. It took a little under an hour and was a great way to start the day – not too many hills which pleased me no end!

After packing the car and departing the caravan park, Gaz and I called into a cute coffee shop/homewares shop and I spent some time browsing while Gaz had a coffee. It was an awesome shop – who knew Cobar could deliver this stuff? 

It was then time to hit the road. After researching the rest stop options, we agreed to meet Kevin and Marion at a particular rest stop about halfway to Broken Hill…and that’s what we did about 2 and a half hours later. It was very hot, and there were lots of flies, but we still managed to keep the feral goats at bay and enjoy our picnic before heading off again. (Did I mention the book is getting pretty interesting? How great to look forward to long road trips just so you can see what happens next!)

The drive was fascinating – so vast, red dirt, and scrub. Crossing the Darling Flood Plain it was hard to imagine the land covered in water. We crossed over one dry creek bed after another. As we passed through Wilcannia I had to stop and take a photo of the Darling River – long ago memories of primary school, drawing little wiggly blue lines on maps – and here I was, seeing the mighty Darling (though not so mighty at the moment), in the flesh.

Having gained half an hour as we crossed into Central Australian Time, we arrived mid afternoon, unpacked, and went off exploring the town. Unfortunately the tourist centre was closed by the time we got there, so we hoofed around for a while, booked a table for dinner, and then came back to get ready – we had a bit of dust to wash off! It was still 36 degrees – thank goodness our ‘deluxe suite’ has an air conditioner. Kevin is still in stitches every time he sees the lettering ‘deluxe suite’ on our door.

Dinner was very pleasant (though we all agreed not as good as our own endeavours) and we tried to decide on a plan of action for tomorrow so we could really discover all Broken Hill has to offer. In the end we decided we need advice, so it’s off to the tourist centre first thing in the morning. Hopefully we get a good night’s sleep – unfortunately that is not looking promising as the little air conditioner does not blow air around corners and so it doesn't make it to the bedroom from the kitchen/living area. Could be sleeping on the kitchen table…

Road Trip 2017 – Day 2 – Orange to Cobar

It was a chilly awakening this morning – 6 degrees in Orange – that gets the juices flowing! 

Interestingly, within an hour or so the temp had risen to 16 degrees and we set off to explore the main street of Orange. I was surprised how little I recalled of the town, but we did only live there for a year, and it was 32 years ago. Gary did catch up with an old customer that he hadn't seen since we left and I’m sure was chuffed to here “I remember you, you were the only bank manager I ever had who I didn’t hate!”

Having conferred with Kevin and Maz we decided we would meet in Narromine for lunch and headed off for our morning drive. We stopped for petrol at Molong and Gary asked the best way to Narromine. “Definitely go through Dubbo” was the reply. We had planned to go along Banjo Paterson Way, (which does not go through Dubbo), and as we approached that turn off we thought, ‘no guts, no glory’ and decided to be adventurous. When we were soon dodging potholes and then hit the ominous ‘Gravel Road’ sign, we doubted ourselves…but it was short lived. The dirt road was only for a km or so, and the road improved enormously. It was a great trip and we arrived well before our travel partners who left ages before us and went through Dubbo. We felt like driving back to Molong to tell the petrol station lady that she needs to revise her advice.

We had a lovely picnic lunch in Narromine Park, visited the famous (?) Glenn McGrath statue, and then it was back on the road to head for Cobar, via Nyngan. It was a great road too. Straight, flat, 110 km/hr speed limit, virtually no traffic. Luckily we had downloaded an audio book or two and we were kept entertained by our first foray into what I think will be a great way to pass the time – listening to a book.

Arriving in Cobar at about 4pm, we unpacked our stuff and then went exploring to visit a couple of the local sites – the famous Cobar sign and Heritage Museum, a lookout to see a very large open cut mine, and the Newy Reservoir. It was 33 degrees and quite warm, though the locals laughed at us when we said it was hot. By 7pm we were sitting down to another brilliantly put together BBQ and salad, with a glass of wine, or in my case, bottle of Pimms, in hand. (Who has been keeping this stuff a secret? Thanks to my cricket team who introduced me to it!) 

By 8pm, Marion and I had donned the bicycle helmets and were cycling around the caravan park, with a date booked for 8am tomorrow to cycle a little further afield. Big drive tomorrow, so hoping for a good night’s sleep – it’s still 28 degrees at 9pm.

Road Trip 2017 – Day 1 – Newcastle to Orange

This is the story of our road trip with our friends, Kevin and Marion. The four of us are travelling to Adelaide, via Broken Hill, and then back up the Great Ocean Road. All stops are booked with us staying in cabins, and Kev & Maz in their caravan. It should take us a little less than 3 weeks.

I finally got to bed at 1am after finishing off some work and writing the weekly cricket newsletter…still hadn't packed. Woke at 6am and after some dilly dallying around and last minute organising we finally had finished packing and headed down to the basement to try to fit it all in the car. We might want to play golf – put the clubs in. We might go to the beach – umbrella and beach chairs. Let's take our bikes – bike rack on. We really should take some food – add in food tubs, thermos, esky, lunch box thingies. Oh, and some clothes…take some clothes.

Hitting the road a little after 10:30am, we were only about an hour behind schedule, but that’s OK – we promised ourselves we would be relaxed and not stress about time. A short stop for lunch at Maccas Pennant Hills reminded us why we should have packed our lunch and then it was off to Lithgow, our first stop down memory lane. It has been a while, a long while since we had been there…the mid 80s to be exact. We lived there for 2 years – Carly was born there, Alison did her HSC, and James mastered the terrible twos. We walked up and down the main street which is imaginatively called Main Street and found that there were lots of shops and offices that seemed the same. We then drove around in circles looking for our old house, using our defective collective memories, rather than the GPS – big mistake. We did eventually find it and I’d have to say it looked a lot less imposing than I recalled. The roads were covered in pot holes – get your act together Lithgow Council!

It was now mid afternoon and we headed off toward Orange. The temperature in Lithgow was a predictable 17 degrees, it had been about 23 degrees at home, so we were a little concerned that we would freeze, but as we left Lithgow behind the sun came out and the temperature rose, with the mercury once again rising to 24 degrees and a lovely autumn afternoon in Orange where we arrived about 5pm. After catching up with our travelling companions, we drove into town to search for the two houses we had lived in when we lived in Orange in 1985. I could write a novel about that year and our generally sub-standard accommodation. Over 30 years on, I felt it was time to re-visit my demons. A quick drive-by both houses confirmed what I found with the Lithgow house, either I had grown, or they had shrunk!

After a shopping expedition to grab the makings for dinner, we put together a great BBQ meal, that we enjoyed with our friends, and planned our movements for tomorrow. Everyone decided an early night was called for and, besides, it was getting very chilly. Ah yes, we do remember how cold it can be here! Great start to what will hopefully be a fun trip.

Day 7 – Auckland

So as we wind up our holiday, let’s look at Carly’s other journey. She started with a sore throat, then she lost her voice, then she developed a cough, did I mention the headache? Well, to continue on with this wonderful tour of her wellnessless (like that new word?), she has now moved on to the next stage of the cycle – sleeping. I was tempted to take a photo of her propped up on about four pillows as she slept sitting up last night to reduce the whole coughing scenario. This morning she woke earlyish, dragged herself into the bath, back into bed, and then back to sleep. She clearly needed to rest – thank goodness we didn’t have to move on and were spending another day and night here.

By 9:45am, as she was still asleep, I decided I would eat my arm shortly if I didn't get some breakfast so wrote a note and prepared to leave. Just as I was walking out the door, Carly's eyes fluttered open. She assured me she did not want or need anything and urged me to go out and explore…and she would sleep. So, I did (but I did feel guilty!)

After grabbing a quick (non Trip Advisor) breakfast that was very nice, I hightailed it to the tallest building – Sky Tower – because that’s where the bus stop for the hop on, hop off bus is. You didn’t think I was going up in the glass lift did you? It seemed like a good landmark to find – look up and follow the big tall thingy. What followed was a solo adventure of hopping – on and off. I saw views from the top of hills, walked beside the harbour, visited an awesome aquarium, visited the Auckland Museum which was fabulous, and walked through a number of parks. The commentary on the bus was also interesting and informative. I did have some trouble with the Kiwi accent – at one point the guy said “look at the lift” and I was searching around for a lift. It took me a while to realise he said “look to the left” lol! Anyway, I have actually found the names of places (and people) really confusing here – unpronounceable and often incomprehensible – I reckon it is easier in non-English speaking countries!

I  then ended up back at the hotel by about 3pm where Carly had spent the day sleeping. Well, she did also own up to eating a muesli bar at some point, but regardless it would have to go down as a pretty quiet day for her. Keen to at least get out one time in the day, Carly joined me for Linner. I am a little ashamed to say we had McDonalds…but that’s what Carly felt like, and hey, I was starving! We spent an hour or so wandering down to the waterfront, checked out a few shops, and arrived back at the hotel with some yummy cookies in hand for supper later. I just couldn’t wait to get my shoes off! Lots of walking today.

Carly seems a bit better now – hopefully the worst is past. We head back home tomorrow having really enjoyed our short break here in NZ. It was unfortunate that Carly got sick, but hey, maybe that just means we’ll have to come back one day and do it all again!

Day 6 – Taupo to Auckland via Hamilton

It had to happen. We had a day of disaster upon disaster today. It all started with Carly having a shocker of a night with minimal sleep, lots of coughing, some (ahem) vomiting, and ending with sleeping in the bath. Poor thing, she was not operating on all cylinders as we packed up and headed off for breakfast. Make sure you check out the photos to compare our breakfasts – I had smashed avocado & tomato with poached egg and bacon while Carly had plain cream cheese on a plain bagel. Regardless, it was yummy…again…thank you Trip Advisor.

So we set off for our first activity – a two hour drive away. There was no party atmosphere with actions for 90s rap songs today. Carly caught up on sleep – I must admit I felt a bit like the clock had turned back 30 years to her baby years – to get her to sleep, just go for a drive! So it was raining and I was driving on winding back roads. We passed two crashes, one with a car flipped over by the side of the road, so I drove quite conservatively. The Sat Nav finally said we had arrived but unfortunately we were in the middle of nowhere. Hmm. A quick check found we had put the wrong road name in so we were off course…but not too far…so a mere 15 minutes later we arrived at the Glow Worm Caves. Calamity! The glow worm tours were all booked up for hours! So, we decided to do a different cave – we raced and just caught the 10:30am tour. Great! Except as we started to go into the cave, Carly realised that there were heights involved and she decided she did not feel well enough to face that stress so she bailed out and sat outside the cave for an hour and a half! It was a very interesting tour and I took heaps of photos so that she could check it out later. Poor Carly!

After that disaster we decided to head on over to Hamilton to check out their famous Gardens. Once again Carly took the opportunity to snooze and an hour later we were pulling in to the car park. Still not feeling well, Carly struggled but we were able to spend 45 minutes or so pleasantly exploring some very nice themed gardens.

It was only an hour and a half to Auckland. We had originally planned that we would drive to the airport, return the car, and then get a bus with our bags to our hotel. I could see this was going to be too much for Carly – poor thing was still not well. So, change of plan – we would drive to the hotel, I would drop Carly and the bags off, drive to the airport, drop the car off, and catch a bus back to the hotel. We left Hamilton a bit after 2pm, and I got back to the hotel at about 7pm. OMG – traffic jam capital of the world! Anyway, we finally made it, somewhat battle scarred, maybe down, but not out! Tomorrow is another day.

Room service, a hot bath, and an early night me thinks.