Travel: July 2010

Day 1 – Perry’s Lookdown - Rain
After visiting Grandma we headed straight for the Blue Mountains. We drove for a few kms down a dirt road to Perry’s Lookdown in Blackheath where there was a campsite at the cliff top of the Grose Valley. Because it was raining we stayed in the van instead of tenting. For dinner I made a chicken and cashew noodle stirfry. Blackheath elevation is 1065m hence the 0 temperature! Thermals, 2 pairs of socks, beanie and sleeping bag over doona kept us warm. But the only spot left to park was slightly slanted and we both woke up with sore backs!

Day 2 – Blue Gum Forest - cloudy
We woke up late. Porridge is very good for cold weather. We walked down Perry’s lookdown into the Grose Valley where the Blue Gum Forest is and Acacia Flats where we have camped before. Then back up, all up about 3.5 hours. A real test on the calves and glutes! We were so tired by the end of it we just ate a can of baked beans straight out of the can for lunch! I can’t believe we have done that walk before with 20kg packs on our backs!

Later in the day we headed to Katoomba for a coffee at the Paragon Café and some shopping for things we forgot to bring, like tea towels.

We drove back up to Blackheath and pulled up at Sutton Park just of the highway and stayed the night. Growing up I had lunch here many a times with my family and 15 years late I’m bumming it here overnight in a campervan. For dinner I made a risotto with Italian sausage that I trialled at home before we left. Feeling a little homesick we hooked up the DVD player, a wedding gift from Hanna and watched a movie (Contact with a young Jodie Foster & Matthew McConoughy).

Day 3 – Grand Canyon – serious fog & bit of rain
We awoke to fog. Thankfully the toilets had been opened by the council at 6.30am. It was just as cold as the day before. Porridge.

We drove to Evan’s Lookout to walk the Grand Canyon circuit (350m descent and ascent). We parked next to a fair size Winnebago- the first of many campervans, caravans and motorhomes we were to encounter.

The Grand Canyon is great because you don’t need to take a wetsuit, do any abseiling or swimming, unlike most canyons (OK Mum?!). It was like a fairy tale with cascades, moss and water pools around every corner. When we finished we had lunch where we started (sandwich with tuna, cheese and tomato with pineapple juice) in on of the little huts at the cliff top.

After lunch we went to Katoomba again for an afternoon caffeine kick, this time at the Common Ground Café, which is really cosy with a fire place and wooden staircase up to an overhanging nook. We got some supplies after drinking the last and best of our honeymoon wine from Hunter Valley – Ivanhoe late harvest shiraz 2008. I got a pouch (1.5L not cask wine) called Bud Naked- a Shiraz Tempranillo from McClaren Vale. Highly recommended. We decided the next day we should head to the Glow Work tunnel. Last time we went there we got a flat tire and after changing it had to turn back out of fear of getting another flat. And for good reason- none of the tire shops in Lithgow had our tire in stock!

So we headed out to Lithgow but it was getting dark and didn’t want to drive on the dirt road, get a flat and get stranded so we went up a bit further, got lost trying to find Sunny Corner campspot (which was next to Dark Coner, bordering Wollemi National Park) and ended up going ½ way to Wellington and stayed at a campsite beside a river called Flat Rock. It was very nice, with 2 other Winnegabo’s already there. For dinner I made a spaghetti bolognaise, and my clothes still smells of it 2 days later!

Day 4 – Flat Rock to Wellington via Bathurst & Orange

We woke up to warmer weather (about 6 deg) and had some porridge and yarn with the grey nomads about road conditions before getting to Bathurst about 9am. Walked up and down for a bit before heading to Orange. Had lunch at Scotty’s Café where all the sandwiches were named after Scottish people and things like Sean Connery, Robbie Burns, Billy Connolly, and the lochness monster. Thankfully there was no haggas on the menu!

After lunch we made a surprise visit to Andrew Baker and old uni friend of mine who is assistant director and violin teacher at the Orange Regional Conservatorium. Luckily he was there and he have us a tour and we had a good chat about Orange lifestyle and the community music scene.

Heading back to the van another Ford Transit pulled up next to us and an old bloke got out and started chatting with us about how good the Transit really is! His was the same model as ours but there were differences. He and his dog had been living in his full-time for the last 7 years… and it was filthy beyond filthy! You could not see the floor. He had made a shower recess and toilet inside. He rigged up some contraption to heat the water off the engine. He watchd digital TV off his laptop by popping a set of bunny ears out of a hole in the roof. He was very impressed with our rig fitted out with red cedar and I felt a bit guilty and embarrassed because I had no idea about anything, including where the bonnet latch was when he asked me to pop the hood! He gave me the names and numbers of repairers in Sydney who “look after Transit owners”. I took a photo to remember the unofficial Transit owner’s meeting. 2 days on, we are still in shock considering his ingenuity and what a character!

Headed off to Wellington. Got there about 4pm . Went for a walk to find the Info Centre. By the time we got there it had closed. Headed to the Caves Caravan park. Did I mention flowing fresh water, hot showers and electricity? Try going without it for a few days. Atleast we have gas. It was our lucky day- a cave tour guide convention was taking place. We set up the van and watched the kangaroos hop around on the golf course across from our site as the sun went down. For dinner I made Butter Chicken with rice (Kan Tong I confess).

Day 5 – Wellington – light constant rain
Had the best sleep so far. But had to burn sandalwood to keep mozzies away because of so much water. The creek near by is so healthy, the frogs croak loud n’clear after dark. Breakfast: Porridge by microwave and tea by kettle! I’ve put the gas bottle away! Today we did the 2 caves and phosphate mine tour. The first tour was with the cave guide convention mob. They were so informative it took 15 minutes to get to the actual cave entrance because they couldn’t stop raving on about the rocks which lined the path leading to! Once in the caves, they almost had a fight about disagreements about how cave coral, moon milk and halligtights were formed. The 2nd cave was much bigger and contained the “cathedral” structure. There used to be church services in the old days and there was a bible placed on the “pulpit” around 1850 and it has never moved since. The phosphate (the result of bat poo) mine revealed some history about early day scams from around 1914. After the tours we had 2 minute noodles, olives and vegemite on vita-wheats for lunch, did the washing and chilled out at our van.

Day 6 – Dubbo Western Plains Zoo

Travel

Day 28, 29

Blog Archive

Friday, July 30, 2010

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Sydney to Dubbo

Sunday, July 18, 2010

China Tour Conservatorium High School