RV rendezvous hookup at Newcastle

After celebrating all the birthdays on both sides of our families, it was time to hit the road again.  MB was up in Southwest Rocks somewhere so I flew into Newcastle and MB had to double back to pick me up.

The sun was pelting down and as I stepped out of the plane it was glorious.  I was glad to leave the doom and gloom of winter behind in Melbourne and hook up with the RV.  MB was late picking me up but he had a valid reason, so he got away without getting into trouble!!!  Fancy keeping me waiting when I have been waiting so anxiously to ride shotgun in the RV again.

All is good, so we headed towards Port Stephens.  This is one of my many favourite spots along the East Coast.  As usual, we do not have an itinerary so we were just driving around.  Do not know what happened but I came up with this outrageous idea of chasing Migaloo and that we did for the next few days.  (see blog on Migaloo Chase for more details)

Anyways, after the Migaloo chase we just cruised around and took driving down to first gear to enjoy the rest of my days just chasing the sunrise and sunsets and basically was just happy to be parked somewhere for a few days and not drive anywhere!!! 

I just wanted to relax and soak up the sunshine and do as little as possible and perhaps squeeze in some outdoor cooking.  

MB cooking outdoors

That night we camped by the bridge at Brunswick Heads and this is a "secret" spot.  So secret that it took MB more than an hour to find it in the dark!!!  Enough said, but it was good to be back again in this exact spot which I thoroughly enjoyed for a few days a couple of years ago.  Tthe next night we were in Wooli.  MB tried casting his rods here whilst I kept busy by making curry puffs to fill in the time.  That morning, I found some sea sponge and was so foolish to just pick up one instead of all 6 which washed up to shore when I was combing the beach I had all to myself at the wee hours of the morning trying to catch the sunrise and also sighted a pod of dolphins which was an added bonus.  

Seasponge

Tried washing dishes up with this sea sponge and because its so organic - something that has lived its whole life in the sea, it was definitely strong but yet so soft when you squeeze it.  It was really nice washing and scrubbing the crockery with it as it is nothing like using the green stuff you get from the supermarket.

We started heading south towards Newcastle and this time round we stopped at Port Macquarie as we had to go to Whalers Wharf to have mud crabs which we missed the last trip.  Although this is a seafood restaurant, we did not have seafood for mains and my lamb was so yummilicious and the seafood chowder, I will stop by and have it again and again when I next pass by!!!

Not in any order, but we were back in Yamba to get the fresh Tiger prawns, Southwest Rocks, Trial Bay Goal, Laurieton, Bulahdelah etc and this time, I actually hiked up all the way to the Tacking Point Light House. 

We were in relax mode till we chatted with KM and SF.  One phone call is all it took and we found ourselves racing down the highway again and we were to meet them in Pokolbin for lunch on Sunday at the winery.  It was like a meeting of "united nations" across the table as all 5 of us came from different countries and different parts of Australia!!!  Throughly enjoyed lunching with the Chans and it was really good to see my lifelong friend SF again. 

After a fully belly, they did the usual wine tasting and took away more than 10 bottles home and we parted ways.  Nice short and sweet and it was just as well we met up even for a few hours, as KM bought her first home and SF came over to oversee the big move and is now seeing to renovation works etc as KM is busy with deadlines at work.  No ho-haaing in the RV with them on this leg of the RV trip!!!

We went to the Stockton Sand Dunes and like every other place we have been to recently, it took us ages to find it but we got there eventually.  Not everything is about speed I am guessing at our age!!!  The last tour was at 3pm, so now I had to do my own tour on foot and am proud to brag that I made it to the pinnacle of the highest sand dune before sunset.

These sand dunes are on Worimi Conservation Lands and spreads out to 4200 hectacres, 1800 of forest 32kms of longest moving sand dunes in the Southern hemisphere and some slopes reach heights of over 30 metres up to 60 degrees.  Its majestic alien-like moonscape which was more like sandscape was worthy of my climb.  This is also where the sand dunes meets the ocean.

Sand dune meets the ocean

We stayed till after the sunset and left before the mozzies ate us for dinner.  The next day it was time for me to head back to Newcastle.

10 days have just flown by but it was jam packed with lots of fun and I am still enjoying RVing but we are getting to a stage where we are running out of new places to discover!!!

Here's a very unique pix you do not get to see everyday on the road, so I am posting it on this blog.  We saw it somewhere along the way on this trip, but don't ask me where!!! Get into your car/rv/motorhome/caravan whatever mode of transport, and make it your mission to find it and remember please stay safe on the roads!!! 



At the most Easternly tip of Australia



Mini Vic/NSW Outback RV Adventure - June 2016

Just got dropped off (6/7) and the RV has taken off this afternoon mozzying its way up to Sydney for MB's grand daughter's lst birthday party this weekend. 

We had almost one month (short of 2 days) on the road since MB came across from Tassieland.  I had to stay back in Melbourne as I have a party to throw myself for family and close friends on the 15/7.  I guess I will most probably rendezvous with the RV again at some stage when the coast is clear!!! (tentatively flying up to Newcastle on 23/7 to continue where I left off!!!!!)

In a nutshell, we revisited some of our favourite spots, but this time round, the weather has been wet wet wet and no matter where we went, the rain just followed us.  I guess it is typical of Victorian winter!




Life on the road - LEFT = way to travel       RIGHT = Fresh basil for my pasta sauce

Flock of Emus

We started off on a "tour" I found on the internet tailored for oldies and it sounded exciting as there were a few places that intrigued me.  Namely Lake Mungo, the Mutawinji National Park and the Corynnia cattle station. Well, we did not quite make it to all the ones I fancied as the road and weather conditions were not suitable for the RV.  Never mind, am sure we can find things to do and places to go!!! 

Tour route

As you must know by now, outback Australia is soooooo huge you just cannot comprehend its size - although there is nothing out there, but if you are attentive enough and not racing down the highway at 120mph, there is always something and this time round, we were lucky enough to capture a flock of emus on video and this pix I posted, I have been told it looks like a painting!!! 

No matter where we went, it rained and all that time we were on the road - be it spitting, drizzling or pouring down buckets.  I can say we only had 2, stretching it, 3 lovely sunny dry days. 





No Caption Required!!!

Outback roads and rain is not the best combination, so by the time we were in Lake Mungo, most of the red dirt roads were wet, slippery and muddy and some roads were even closed.  Yessss, being me, I just had to defy the closed signs and yessssss the RV got itself into a pickle again... not just once, but we got bogged down again and was towed out 3 times!!!

As usual, MB is not a happy chappy as I am always unreasonable with my touring routes - go off track and go bush and get RV stuck in mud, but this time round the mud was like concrete!!!  Our wheels were cemented and we could not possibly dig ourselves out!!!  I guess I am off the hook as the 2nd pickle was MB inflicted so he only has himself to blame!!! 

All in the fun I say, so we just roughed it out in the RV sleeping at an awkward angle that night tipping over to the side at a slant!!!  Next morning, a local farmer came with his dog to tow us out and we were on our merry way again!

Endless dirt roads...

We spotted some wild koala bears down the GOR way around the Cape Otway Ranges, countless ferial goats along the highway to Cobar.  Lots of kangaroos and when in the Grampians, they were everywhere, so if you cannot see kangaroos in Halls Gap, you must be blind!!!  There was a couple of echidnas, and even a black wild pig crossing the road which I did not have enough time to fire up the camera, but I was lucky enough to capture a pix of 6 kangaroos crossing the road and this the most I have captured in one happy snap!!



Not 1 but 6 kangaroos crossing the road in one pix!!!

Could not make a big RV trip this time round as I have medical commitments as well as family, so this is it for the time being till I join the RV again.

Not only did we have rain, it even snowed or we had heavy frosting in certain places one morning when I stepped out of the RV door!!!!  It was so pretty to see everything covered white and reminded me of my winter days in Canada.  One good thing about snow in Melbourne, you go to the mountains and play with it, but you leave it there and go home.  No shovelling and scrapping it off your car or driveways and no mess when it starts to melt.

Small section of Lake Mungo

We went through some spectacular landscapes at Lake Mungo - it looked more like moonscape. 

Opal mine shaft



Opal mines - looks like volcano craters!!!

White Cliffs was interesting too and it was more fun for me compared to Cooper Pedy.  Managed to strike up a conversation with two local opal miners and his dog Timmy, and we were chatting away like old buddies and there is nothing like local knowledge as he gave me a quick insight into the community and a run down of the history on White Cliffs.  This pix does not do it justice.  I have seen aerial shots of it taken from the air, and it looks like an amazing spot from outer space!    



Timmy the Keeper of the Opal mines

Whilst driving we had a phone call from KM.  From where we were, we had to start driving all night if we are to get to Sydney in time for the auction at 11.00am.  So Sydney here we come!!!  Yessssss, another adhoc adventure to make it up there in time to attend an auction that KM was interested in and just to give her some moral support as it is her first time bidding at an auction. KM then joined us for the weekend in the RV and we had a few games of Frustration.  KM did the cooking so I just laid back and put my feet up!  Over dinner, we just chatted and chilled before heading down towards home the next day.





Me relaxing with my feet up in bed whilst KM takes over the kitchen!!!

We were in Mildura and also at Dunkeld, so we seized the opportunity to try out the town's finest culinary delights and both restaurants certainly did not disappoint and lived up to our expectations.  At other times it is alaSim's or alaBoofer's RV cuisine on wheels, but on this day, I managed to set up my own table on the water!!!

Restaurant AlaSim on the Mighty Murray!

Some might think that life on the road can be "hard",  but every day its a different scenery and the freedom that comes with RVing is priceless, so its entirely up to you to make your own fun and I certainly do!!! 



Migaloo Chase

Drive  drive  drive and we drove more than 1000kms chasing Migaloo.  MB even coped a speeding fine in the process of our amazing race to catch Migaloo.

Migaloo meaning the "White Fella"

Who is Migaloo?  He is supposedly the infamous only albino (white) humpback whale in the world (till a few years ago another all white baby calf was spotted and they call him MJ (Migaloo Junior).

Anyways, Migaloo is protected under Australian law.  He is part of the Australian East Coast Humpback Whale population.

When we spotted him, he was migrating up the east coast from Antartica to the warmer waters of Tropical North Queensland.

The chase started after MB picked me up from Newcastle Airport on the 23/7 but we were always just lagging behind him.  When I was in Port Stephens, Migaloo was spotted there earlier so we missed him.  Then Migaloo was spotted at Seal Rocks and as the days past, we got smarter and with Instagram, I was tracking Migaloo through postings of other keen whale watchers of his latest sightings.

This lady has been waiting to spot
 Migaloo for 3 years!!!

MB took my "Migaloo Madness" all in good stride!  He eventually built up some whale chasing excitement all by himself as the days went by and inbetween waiting for Migaloo to show up, MB enjoyed watching the normal black humpbacks and dolphins which put on a good show here and there to keep our Migaloo spirits high!!!  Our chances of spotting Migaloo was 25,000 to 1 but I guess we did get lucky afterall.

We needed to be in a whale watching boat to see Migaloo up close and personal, but because we were chasing in the RV and by road, we realised if we did spot Migaloo, he will only be a small white speck in the ocean!!! MB calculated our travel time versus Migaloo's and towards the end, we made up speed and was well ahead of Migaloo.  This was such a relief - at least we know he has not gone past us yet!!!.  Even if we see a tiny spot of white in the distance, it will be well worth the 3 or 4 tanks of fuel and our time.  We did not have a travel itinerary and now we had a mission!!! We want to hunt down Migaloo.  

My excitement built up when we were in Woolgoolga as someone there spotted Migaloo approximately 36km away so he raced up to Woolgoolga and texted his family to be there.  By our calculations, even if Migaloo did pass by, it would be around 7.30pm and would be too dark to see him.

Lighthouse - Cape Byron

So, yesssssss you guessed it - so we got back into the RV and decided we will drive up to Byron Bay and from the lighthouse, we will be able to see anything that passes by.  2 days at Bryon Bay and when we left, Migaloo rocked up but we waited for him at the next most strategic point which was suppose to be Cabarita Headland and instead we went to Hastings Point.  This spot is great for whale watching or just to soak in the sunshine and fresh sea air!!! 



Happy Whale Watchers



When we pulled up, we knew something was happening as there were so many people, and the parking spots were all taken but we got really lucky and after about 10 minutes, we managed to repark and scored the best park in Hastings Point.  Just sitting inside RV we could see just as good as on the outside.  It was the most beautiful winter's day to be outdoors and knowing that Migaloo will be passing by soon made it even better!!!



My whale tail legs inside RV dashboard with
the best view in the house

Whilst waiting, MB rang G & B and they raced down from Brisbane to join us.  It was a nice short and sweet meeting of friends whilst on the road, and it was G's first time seeing whales in the wild!!!!

Well, Migaloo passed by us and we were told by another whale watcher with long zoom lens camera.  So at least we were there when Migaloo swam past us.  MB was not having it, so he decided we will drive up further and wait for him at Point Danger.  Yesss this meant we are going across the border into Queensland and MB is not counting how many more fuel tanks of diesel its going to take to see Migaloo!!! hahaha

So we found ourselves going further and further up the east coast and now we are in Point Danger!!!  I could not remember this place, but when we drove in, I recalled the restaurant where we ate before and went back there again for late lunch.  One lady lunching there too had a friend working as a hostess on one of the whale watching boats, so they were texting each other and we were lucky to have that information, so we took our time over the yummy lunch and then walked across the road to join the crowd in hopes of seeing Migaloo. 

The Migaloo entourage was 3 boats and 2 jet skis.  We managed to see a speckle of white when he blew, but he was a good 2-3kms out from land from where we were, but we were happy to be there with the rest of the crowd to welcome and bid Migaloo goodbye and a safe journey on his travels.

Live long and well you magnificent gentle giant sea creature and stay safe Migaloo.  We had a whale of a time tying to catch you in vain, but knowing you are well and free we are very happy even if we did not get to see you up close and personal.  Another time Migaloo and we might get luckier!?!

Great Winter Escape to Sorrento



Turning 60 has its perks.  Charlie booked the Beach House at Blairgowrie down the Mornington Peninsula.  We had a girlies nite at BPD on Friday night.  The norm, I cooked and the girlies came for dinner and bashed in front of the telly like 12 year olds and crashed for the nite. 

First thing Sat morning we drove down in time to get to there to collect the house key. 

The Sorrento Food and Wine Festival was happening over that weekend, so we proceeded to the main streets in Sorrento to check out the action.  Best find would have been the freshly picked pine mushrooms and we sampled most of the stores selling food on both sides of the street.  

Marching one by one into our Beach House for the weekend

After settling into the Beach House, we just chilled and was in relax mode and just chatted the late arvo away feasting on an antipasto platter which was a joint effort put together by the 4 of us.

It was spitting rain, but we still went tracking round the Beach House and made it down the back beach to take a few happy snaps.  On the walk back, we kind of lost our way, but thankfully we remembered we saw a "bear in the tree" on the way, and now we did not pass him again, so we back tracked and it was a relief when we spotted him again and he pointed us back on track as it was getting dark now and Ahalya was freaking out!!!  We quickly cleaned up and went back into town for dinner at the Continental Hotel.  Came back and just chilled in front of the open fireplace and I bashed out in front of the telly and slept there after the girlies went into their respective rooms.  Next morning, I cooked the pine mushrooms and we had it with bacon and eggs... it was soooooo yummy and wished I had bought more!!!

Alasim's big breakfast with wild pine mushrooms!

We then checked out of the Beach House and went to the Hot Springs.  A soak is always a treat especially for our tired muscles and it was so relaxing and enjoyable as always.  We did not stay as long as we normally would because Ahalya did not join us so we met up with her for a late lunch back in Sorrento.  We all ordered different dishes but the mushroom chicken pie was a stand out from the norm, and the desserts were surprisingly good too.



Me and my Girlies!!!

All in all, we did nothing except eat and chill and chatted away to catch up with everyone's news and happenings.  It was indeed a short but very nice break for everyone and thank you again so much Charlene for organising this breakation for all of us.  Let's do it again soon!!!