2020 Mystery Tour – Sydney to ?????

Posted on 29/07/202006/08/2020 by patevans

Bonding with Belle/Beaches, buddies and bound northward

2020 has started out to be an unforgetable year for many reasons. In spite of all that is going on, we are fortunate to be able to travel in Belle, our new Explorer Motorhome. Our first trip in Belle in late June was visiting friends in Anna Bay and Rylstone, plus a bush camp in Newnes in the Wollombi NP, where we explored the ruins of an oilshale mine and refinery that operated from 1906-1931. A good explanation of the processes and products produced there (paraffin wax to make candles, lubricating oils and fuel oils) and a reminder of how things change over time. Worth a visit and the campground was lovely, but the time with our friends was especially nice.

On the beach at Anna Bay with Jen and Kevin. The camels were an added feature

Newnes campground in Wollombi National Park.

There is no map of our proposed trip for the next 3 or 4 months as we don’t really know where we will be allowed to go. The theme song for this trip is “Magical Mystery Tour” by the Beatles. No plans aside from heading north and seeing what happens. We realise that being able to leave our home, and our state, for recreational travel at this time is a gift that not many can enjoy.

Just before we left home, we celebrated the exciting news that Amy and Neil got engaged. We are very happy for them and its especially nice to have such happy news to share and celebrate during this time. ❤️❤️❤️

By the time travel to Queensland opened up on 10 July, we were ready to hit the road in Belle, so we left Sydney on 11 July, bright and early at 3:15pm. Only got about an hour north out of Sydney when I lost all power in Belle and had to pull over to the side of the road. Just made it when we stopped completely! The engine warning light came on and it did not look good. The fuel empty light had come on 10-15 minutes earlier and we were arguing about how soon we needed to fill up as the gauge said 1/8th full. Called the NRMA who quoted a 1.5 hour wait, so we sat there tensely watching the darkness roll in, as the big trucks passed closely by. Checked out local Toyota dealers and wondered where we could be towed to and where we would sleep. In less than an hour a service vehicle from the Roads Dept parked behind us with lights flashing. He pushed the button on top of the fuel filter (ie bled the fuel line) and said we were out of fuel. Such a good free service – he put in 10 litres of diesel and told us where the next service station was. Felt we had a lucky escape! After all that we camped in a free camp at the Kurri Kurri Sports Ground. This really is a mystery tour.

After a quick tour of Kurri Kurri, with its giant kookaburra and lots of street murals, we drove to Port Macquarie for our traditional catchup with Anne and Mick.

Port looked lovely and seemed to be a much more relaxed atmosphere than Sydney.

From there we made it to Red Rocks, a bush camp near the ocean, north of Coffs Harbour. Great place for a rest day with a beach walk and some distant whale spotting from the headland. We met a couple from Manly Vale in Sydney and invited them in for a drink, before a quiet dinner and a uke practice.

The beautiful beach at Red Rock – great for walking a few k’s.

Sunset on Red Rock headland. It was named Red Rock headland (Blood Rock) for the red blood from the aborigines who were driven off the headland and into the ocean by white settlers.

In an attemp to be extra careful before crossing into Queensland we drove to Grafton to get a Covid test. They wouldn’t do it as we didn’t have any symptoms. We did a vehicle weighbridge stop and were happy that Belle’s weight is ok. We were heading back to the coast for another night on the beach when we saw on the news that some parts of Sydney were being locked down. Decided to go for the border immediately and seeing a 1.5 hour traffic delay at Coolongatta, we took a back way along the Tweed Valley Way – windy roads through a mountain range. Got to the tiny border crossing and were met with signs that said “ Border closed -$33,000 fines apply”. Our hearts sank but when we got to the policeman at the border, he said it was open and he didn’t know why they put those signs up. We spent the night at the Canungra Sports Ground/Camping area. Realised that we knew people who lived in the area so we got in touch and they visited us the next day at 8am.

From there we drove to Steve and Denise’s. Had a nice visit and even got to join them for dinner out to celebrate Denise’s birthday and for a coffee catchup with some of their other travelling friends. They live close to Explorer MHs and we needed to get a few things checked/adjusted, so that was all good.

With Steve & Denise outside their new home which is almost finished construction. Exciting times for them! [Note their motorhome in the garage.].

We now have lots of friends in the Brisbane/Sunshine coast area so packed in a lot of visits including: lunch with Chris and Joanne at Kawana Island, and a dinner with Alan and Barbara in Mooloolaba and another overnight in Alan’s driveway. Dick even did his Zoom balance class on Alan’s front lawn. From there we had a lovely visit/afternoon tea at Janice & John’s with Gerry there as well. Finished that day at Gordon and Joanne’s in Tewantin and met their neighbours over drinks.

With Allan at his place, our most frequented driveway camping spot.

Had another ‘Noosa lunch’ with Pamela and Rod; this time at Frenchies where we enjoyed good french food. Retired for an afternoon sleep back at Gordon and Joanne’s before having another lovely dinner with them in their resort-style house. We followed up all that socializing with a driving day as we had a window shade problem in Belle and needed to return to the factory for a repair. Luckily we were only 1.5 hours away and were able to get to our next camp spot on Noosa Northshore by 4pm.

This was a beautiful beach and we managed a nice walk at the end of our driving day.

More beach walking followed on our rest day but the weather was not so kind. Took lunch and raincoats!

Had our picnic in the dunes and mostly dodged those big black clouds!

Now for some sand driving —armed with the relevant beach driving and camping permits we drove along Cooloola Beach to find our own camping spot about 30 kms along the beach in the dunes. The header picture for this blog showcases our camping spot.

Even I have to admit that the sand driving was ok. Dick found the driving easy and hopefully got his fix of sand driving for a while. The weather got worse and the rain settled in for the day so we kept busy and warm in Belle. Sort of like isolation; doing puzzles, emails and reading books. At least we didn’t need to worry about disturbing anyone with our loud ukulele practice.

Started the drive off the beach around noon when the tide was going out, and kept going another 5 k’s on the beach and 13 k’s through sandy bush tracks to get us to Rainbow Beach, where we got an underbody wash for Belle. From there we drove to Hervey Bay as we hadn’t explored that area previously. It is known as the whale watching capital of the world and was named the first ‘Whale Heritage Site’ (Oct 2019) by the World Cetacean Alliance, for its commitment to and practices of sustainable whale and dolphin watching. So we booked for a whale watching tour.

What a great day we had – we saw SO MANY HUMPBACK WHALES; lots in each of 3 or 4 different groups.They were breaching, pec slapping, tail slapping, head lunging and they came right beside the boat. We had 15 guests on a boat that normally takes 100 and we had a fabulous guide, plus we scored a rainbow. What more could we want! Hervey Bay is an important stopover place for humpbacks on their annual migration and whale watching goes from July – October each year. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

A humpback breaching. We saw lots of these.

The whales came very close to the boat. The guides would wave at them and as they are curious they would come closer.

Happy and excited at seeing so many majestic whales.

We don’t know where we are going, most the time we don’t know where we are, but this map shows where we have been, and is a good place to end this blog.

3 Capes Walk plus some isolation musings

Posted on 08/06/202006/07/2020 by patevans

In a flurry of enthusiasm last November, we booked to do the Three Capes Lodge Walk in Tasmania with Chris and Bob. We’d been trying to do a trip with them for ages and I liked the idea of doing another multi-day walk with Chris since she got me started with my first big walk in 2008. The plan was to train over Dec-Feb to be ok to do the 4-day, 48 km guided walk, carrying a 9.5kg backpack. There was some trepidation about the backpacks, but we wanted to do this version since the lodges were in the National Park, and the food and lodging came highly recommended by friends. Helen did the walk in December, unguided and staying in the public lodges, and she thought we could easily manage the walking!

So much for ‘BEST LAID PLANS’ – first the heat and bush fire smoke eliminated training walks in Sydney in December. Then we went away for a month, back for a week and then off to the Tamworth Country Music Festival where I fell and chipped a bone in my foot. That should have been a SIGN! – but I worked hard at physio and exercises to the point where I could walk ok. That gave us one week of training where we did lots of 10km walks and got pretty tired before we left. During that time I developed a mystery rash on my back so couldn’t train with a pack (another SIGN that I ignored!)

So many beautiful tracks to walk all around Sydney harbour. This was by the zoo looking at the bridge and Opera House.

It was an easy flight and quite nice to visit Hobart again; staying right near the harbor where our walk started on the 28 February. Day one started out with a bus ride that included some scenic stops before taking a small (ie 15 minute) boat ride to the official start of the walk.

An uneventful short boat ride to the start of the walk. Weather was windy and a bit squally.

We ate our packed lunch at the official start of the 3 Capes Walk.

This is the map of the Three Capes Walk with our lodges highlighted. We landed at Denmans Cove and were picked up at Fortescue Bay.

Day 1 was a 6km/2hr walk on well-formed paths along the clifftop. The lodge (Crescent Lodge) was well hidden off the path and an impressive, comfortable building nestled in the treetops. Even the public lodges were impressive looking buildings.

An easy walk along the clifftops, so it was a nice start.

Our group included 8 other walkers plus 2 guides and the group photo was taken when we got to the first lodge.

Our lodge host greeted us with afternoon goodies and a welcome chat in the scenic lodge nestled in the treetops. Fortunately our fellow walkers were a nice lot of people.

Not really expecting such fancy desserts following an excellant dinner.

Day 2 was sunny and nice and we learned a lot about dolarite rocks and enjoyed lovely cliff vistas. The 11 km walk was ok but I was not comfortable with my pack.

Sunshine and a striking coastline all along the 3 Capes Walk.

Our next two nights were spent at Cape Pillar Lodge, and it was the same quality standard as the previous lodge. Finishing the walk at 4pm meant that Dick had time for an afternoon nap before another good dinner and a good sleep.

Sunrise from our bedroom window at 6:46am on Day 3.

Day 3 was a return trip out to Cape Pillar. Chris and I decided to shorten the walk so we just went to the lookout point where we could see Tasman Island and learn about that history, including the rough and dangerous lives of the early lighthouse keepers and their families.

The first view of Tasman Island on another beautiful day.

Hard to imagine living on this island now, let alone years ago.

Chris and I enjoyed a pleasant walk back to the lodge.

Dick and Bob went out to Cape Pillar with the group, so they did about 18 kms and we did 8 kms.

My back was very sore by this time so I followed Chris’s lead and had a massage. The masseuse found lots of sore places I didn’t even know about. Another good dinner that evening and another early night as we had to start walking at 8am the next day.

A final view from the lounge in the last lodge.

Day 4 was a 13 km trek that started with a climb over Mt. Fortescue (490 m), and it was not optional. My back was very, very sore from carrying my pack so Dick carried all of my clothes to lighten it.

Hiking up Mt Fortescue. We brought up the rear so always had a guide with us.

We did go through some lovely ferns and mossy areas. Dick even found a chair to sit on.

Looking back towards Cape Pillar and along the cliffs where we walked. They are the highest sea cliffs in the southern hemisphere.

We made it to the end of the walk, and needless to say we did skip the extra 4 km return walk to Mt Huay.

We didn’t look quite as happy at the end of the walk and all were certainly relieved that it was over (especially me). My days of carrying a pack are done!

This sums up Dick’s feeling about the end of the walk.

On our return to Hobart we were treated to wine and cheese by the tour company, had a farewell dinner with Chris and Bob, and hurried back to the bathtub in our hotel room. Nice view of Hobart harbor from our hotel room.

As we had half a day in Hobart we visited the Tasmanian Museum and Gallery. In contrast to what we had heard previously, we learned that there were Tasmanian aboriginal people who survived the genocide which wiped out most of them. Another sorry story of death and destruction of indigenous people and their culture.

P.S. – My shoulder pain got worse and was diagnosed as tendonitis and bursitis. PPS – I have been known to use ‘SIGNS’ as a reason or excuse to do something we’re debating on. In future I may need to listen to them when they are telling me not to do something, I really want to do.

ISOLATION, LOCKDOWN, PANDEMIC and a new song.

Everyone no doubt has stories of their time in lockdown due to the pandemic. I made a few notes about our experiences as its so easy to forget about how we passed the time of isolation and social distancing. I summed up much of our experience in a song which follows at the end of the blog. From early March our world started to change and as part of the over 60’s cohort, we basically followed government advice to stay home. By 24th March NSW was in total lockdown and the Queensland border closed on 25th March. Strange how easily our life transformed into online classes, Zoom get-togethers & seminars, grocery deliveries, daily walks and more time for ukulele practices.

Not the best time to be selling a motorhome, but in March we put the Lestervan on the market nevertheless. In the end our new motorhome arrived in April and after various in-person and facetime showings we sold the Lestervan on 2nd of June.

Celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary in isolation with a take away meal and watching wedding videos. After 3 hours even we were bored with the videos!

As restrictions began to loosen up in May we began seeing friends and family again. In June we farewelled our dear Hermy who, as the girl’s nanny and a good family friend, was an important part of our life for over 30 years. In between we have had some long overdue repairs done on our property and caught up all the regular medical appointments; but the big focus has been on getting Belle, the new motorhome, ready for an extended trip north chasing warmer weather.

SOON WE WILL BE HEADING OFF FOR MORE ADVENTURES IN BELLE!

PAT’s PANDEMIC SONG – For some unknown reason the new words to this Skyhooks (70’s Aussie band) song just kept going around in my head. Then I found the uke chords in the SCUM Ukulele songbook, so it was meant to be. I clumsily put them together and then asked my musical friend and physio, Catherine, if she would “tidy it up” for me. The result of all that follows. We play it often now, for our own ears only. This version includes the uke cords in case anyone is interested.

All My Friends Are Staying Home. – (With Thanks To Skyhooks and Scum and Catherine)

INTRO: C/// G/// Am/// //// F/// G/// C/// ////

CHORUS

Well (C) all my (G) friends are staying (Am) home now ////

(F) They’re all doing (Em7) what they’re (C) told /// ////

Zoom (C) facetime, skype and virtual cups of (G) tea

(F) E-ven computer lessons for my Uke and (G) me /// ////

It’s (C) hard not-to-(G) hug n-kiss the (Am) family /// ////

But (F) nec-ess-ar-y to keep all safe and (G) well /// ////

CHORUS

Well I (C) looked into the (G) TV the (Am) other night (the other night)

I saw (C) Netflix, Iview, Apple and SB-(G)-S

(F) A movie, a puzzle, or (G) clean up all this (C) mess? (Ha, ha, ha, ha)

And (C) sometimes I feel like I just ne-ver go (G) out //// ////

I (C) wonder (G) now if this will (Am) ever end (Oh, will it – ever end?)

(F) This great big world has changed, there is no (G) doubt

(oh no, oh no, oh no-o-o)

CHORUS

But (C) I’m all (G) caught up in this (Am) virus

Yes (C) I’m all (G) caught up with this (Am) fear

And this (F) house! I’ll (G) never get out of here (C) repeat x1

So (C) no-one is (G) going out, no (Am) drivin’ about

The (C) air is fresh and the sky is (G) clear

(C)Are we (G) fixing up the (Am) worlds’ woes

By (C) just stayin’ (G) home and drinking (Am) beer? //////repeat x 2