Day 6 - 11

Day 6 – Dubbo

We got to Dubbo in the rain and filled up petrol only to discover the Transit fuel cap lock had given up. With failed attempts to fix it with the Leatherman I decided it was necessary to get a new one. First stop Autobahn. The guy in the shop was so helpful he came out and tried to fit it himself to the Transit but with no luck. So then next to Auto One. This time I decided to fit it myself and I was in luck, also the fuel cap lock was on special for $10. After that we went to Information Centre to see what is to do in Dubbo besides the Zoo. Because of the rain we didn’t wan’t to go to the zoo so we went to see a movie – Killers. After that we found our campsite 10kms out of Dubbo besides a river where 2 other campers were also.

Day 7 - Dubbo Western Plains Zoo

We got up to a bit of sun and headed for the Zoo. It was not busy for a Saturday because of all the rain. They are also doing a lot of work on the zoo and several exhibits are closed. We chose to walk the 5km circuit instead of driving or hiring one of the safari electric golf buggies. The rain held out for most of our visit while Anthea filled the 4gb camera card.

After the zoo we headed for the pub to see a singer songwriter and eat a $6.50 schnitzel. The schnitzel was great but the singer never turned up so we headed for the bottle shop where the young shopkeeper told us some stories about some of his local patrons. When we got back to our campsite for the 2^nd night it was almost at capacity with all sorts of travelers pulled up for the night.

Day 8 – Warrumbungle National Park

We made porridge and got talking to the campervan couple close to us – a grey nomad couple in their 70’s who have invited us to their dairy farm when we pass through Victoria. After 3 hours of comparing our rigs (they had floating floorboards & gas heater) we finally got away and headed for Warrumbungle National Park.

At the Information Centre a young couple came in who we saw in a Kombi camper at the zoo, then again at the campsite. We had a bit of a chat before packing our backpacks and hiking up the mountain for the night.

We got the campsite at about 5pm and set up camp next to the hut. We are in the mountains. Beautiful views. A little cloud, but mostly sun. The hut cost $10 but what a rip-off when we have our new tent we’ve only tried out in the backyard! After pitching the tent we got to dinner- risotto with Italian salami sausage. It got dark. Stars.

7pm a little rain.

7.10pm a lot of rain, a lot of wind, a lot of cold. We moved our tent under the hut’s awning out of the wind. 8pm in the tent.

Next 10 hours- about 2 hours worth of sleep. The wind through the trees sounded like the sea was coming for us. The temperature without the wind chill was officially -1. We had warm sleeping bags. We were protected by the hut from most of the wind and rain and general blizzard weather.

Day 9 – Warrumbungle NP to Warren

We got out when it was light and it had stopped raining but still overcast. We decided to continue the 14.5km circuit up to the Breadknife and Grand High Tops and back down to the van. The views from top were spectacular, minus the fog. It rained along the way. We got back to the van and the orange Kombi was parked next to us. After figuring out where to drive to next the couple turn up and we exchange stories about the walk.

It was late. The nearest town in our direction was Gilgandra. We stopped there at 5.30. The town was shut except for a little supermarket and a Chinese restaurant. The supermarket had no suitable meat so we splurged in the Chinese restaurant. 1970’s décor, TV on in front of the heater we felt at home chowing down on chilli beef, special fried rice, boneless lemon chicken with crown lager and green tea. I passed on the prawn crackers and fried ice cream. It was great.

We drove in the dark past Warren to Sandy Creek. Very quiet.

Day 10 – Warren to McCullough Range

We woke up to sun. A little spring cleaning was in order. Got away at 9am. Got to Nyngan (a one street town) for petrol and shopping. We did some grocery shopping. Anthea being female went shopping and bought a new pair of jeans which were taken up by Dawn. I was in the computer shop doing emails. The computer man was very helpful and was a keen traveller himself. He strongly warned us against even stopping in WILCANNIA. After we picked up Anthea’s jeans, and Dawn herself warned us about WILCANNIA. We had lunch at bakery and headed off. I got petrol at Cobar and stopped 55kms before Wilcannia. Dinner: Vegetables with chicken and cous cous. It was a vegetable special because we are getting close to the border and will have to throw out all the fruit & veg we have. I go to bed waiting to see what Wilcannia will be like! Lots of stars… And occasional B-doubles passing by.

Day 11 – McCullough Range to Port Germein SA

We woke up early, actually 5.15am. Got on the road by 7am. It was freezing. Drove through Wilcannia and onto Broken Hill. Had to stop to throw out all the fruit & veg we bought because of the fruit fly zone. Ended up going to the Pro Hart gallery, which was amazing, His outdoor sculptures were across the road from the gallery. Then filled up petrol again.

During the long drive we entertained ourselves by discussing the etiquette of waving to passing motorists, and scaring goats, birds and sheep with the horn.

Got to Port Germein (about 250kms north of Adelaide) about 4pm and checked into the caravan park right on the water, 200 metres from the longest jetty in the world (1700 metres long). In the warmer months this is the ideal spot for blue swimmer crabs & fishing. Went to the local store to buy some new veges and checked out the pub, which had a nice log fire going. Did the clothes washing. Dryer broken but I twisted the caretakers arm to let us use his own dryer. The caravan park was quite muddy and busy enough with many 4WD’s & their caravans.

Went for a walk to the jetty, then to the pub. Friendly locals, all probably work in the mines close by.

Cooked up a mean dinner in the outdoor camp kitchen - sausages, onion, tomatoes & eggs, & chatted with some other travellers who are cattle farmers. Had a shower and settled in.

More photos Blue Mountains

More photos

Sydney to Dubbo

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

China Tour Conservatorium High School

Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shanghai

Anthea's work (and our old school) asked us to accompany them on their first ever overseas tour. Photo below at the Barbie Store, Shanghai.

Anthea busy at work!

The tour was a great success.- well organised schedule with nice hotels in good locations and plenty of performance opportunities for the students.

Pics above:

A Buddhist inspired haircut / group performance / Jade Buddha Temple

Pics above:

Jeff & Rod outside Expo / Rod has style / The view from our window

Pics below:

Group shot at Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, Welcome to Shanghai, Victoria Peak, Shanghai

Our job was to manage the students in all aspects of the tour- performance, travel, night watch, counselor (Anthea's job!), sight seeing, etc., stage the performances, be tour guides and unofficial photographers..... and BUDDY CHECK!!!

<-- You can get anything in China. Luckily I didn't eat these "special" cookies!

Pics above:

Rod's "special" cookies / Bladerunner freeway / Barbie shopping / Anthea in Barbie Store

World Expo Shanghai - Australian Pavillion

Bicycle Maintenance

Inbetween performances we did manage to get out and explore the cities, particularly in Shanghai were we spent 4 days.

Temple St Markets - Hong Kong
Choir Performance

<-- 007 at Victoria Peak

It proved to be a very nice prelude to our Australian Trip. Now we are planning and buying gear before we get on the road this weekend. Can't wait!

Byron Bay and Bluesfest

We went to the Bluesfest in Byron Bay over Easter. We spent 8 nights in the camper, of which 3 nights we had the luxury of electricity (think cup of tea).

Transit didn't break down or anything, so the problem was all fixed. We'll definitely be stopping off at Byron when we start our trip around Oz in July.

Heres a vid of the photos with bands from Bluesfest as soundtrack.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=antrodwik&aq=f

Our Home on Wheels

In September 2009 Anthea and I were at a bit of a crossroads. We could either settle down & get a mortgage, or we could spend that deposit on a campervan & a trip around Oz. We chose the latter!

We looked around for about a month. We looked at Toyota Hi-Ace (too small), VW Transporter (too expensive), Winnebago (dreaming!) and Ford Transit.

We bought the Ford Transit in a private sale in Copacabana on the Central Coast. It's a 2000 model, auto (Anthea could drive it), diesel (economical), hi roof (standing up in your home is nice), long (more room), white (anonymous looking), 180, 000 kms on the clock and an annexe (even more room!)

In January we went to the South Coast for our first big trip in the Transit. On the way back through the Kiama bends I smelt something bad coming from us! The temperature needle was boiling off the dial so I pulled over near the cemetry. With no NRMA (off to a good start!) I called the parents and they came & rescued us.

Everyone's an expert when the bonnet's open, but only one of us has overalls on!

With his overalls on Dad diognosed the Transit as suffering from a leaking radiator. After filling it up and driving it back to their place close by it remained there for the next two months, waiting on a aftermarket radiator.

After dad pulled out the radiator, he also discovered it needed a new waterpump, and that several blades off the fan were missing, so they had to be replaced too.

Thanks everyone who gave us $$$ at the wedding. We could afford to fix the Transit!

So we got the Transit on the road in time for Easter so we could attend the Byron bay Bluesfest.