Saxmundham

Now for the work part of my trip.

First step was to take the train to Saxmundham via Cambridge and Ipswich for training for my live-in care work. Harry kindly drove me to Cambridge first.

Saxmundham was a quaint little town and I was able to walk each evening to explore it. The weather reminded me of a childhood nursery rhyme...."One misty moisty morning when cloudy was the weather" etc.

The training was enormously comprehensive and professionally organised. My fellow trainees from Poland, Zimbabwe, Sth Africa, New Zealand, Scotland and Spain soon became friends as we trained and sat exams, hoisted and "manually handled" each other, dined and relaxed together. The tension of studying each evening for the next mornings exams kept us pretty quiet. Two  of our number failed and went home. We all felt very flat that day. We had to have a 75% pass in everything including practical manual handling tests. Nothing but the best. All of the staff there were supportive and friendly at all times. A good company in many ways.

Police checks here are a nightmare though. If anyone who has my name ( I have had 3) or my birth date has committed a crime against a vulnerable adult or child, it would be a criminal offence for me to work as a carer in the UK until further checks are made. The further checks take up to 12 weeks! I was told that I MUST have a plan B.

However, plan B came into effect unexpectedly!

My cycling friend Martin from Birkdale in Queensland emailed me suggesting that I contact his sister in Manchester. Their Mother needed a respite live-in carer and would be very interested to chat to me.

End result, I  have a private  job .Marie and I were delighted with each other from the first and we are both having a splendid time. Once I have "fettled" up some breakfast and we are ready for the day we head off down to Grannies Bay or Fairhaven Lake or anywhere that takes our fancy with me pushing Marie in a wheelchair. Our longest walk was 4 hours so I am getting my exercise.

My Garmin 705 Edge navigator is a gem.  It knows that I am cycling   On  my 2 hour daily afternoon rides, after I have explored along winding tiny farm lanes, taking marked cycle routes or wherever looks interesting, I set my Garmin for "Marie" and it directs me on shortcuts, through the woods and onto cycle ways and quiet roads by the shortest way back. It's great!

I had the weekend off...... SO... an expedition was in order!

Excited to be off on my first overnight independent ride, panniers packed, I set out from Lytham St Annes northwards along the promenade. Even the sand dunes had daffodils growing along the edges!

Blackpool was very colourful with so many beach side old fun parlours, roller coasters and ferris wheels and a general carnival theme. The promenades all of the way are very wide. Loads of room for all.

 A horse galloped along the beach. It was a cold bleak day but people, dogs and horses were out walking or cycling enjoying the beach front. I love my thermals! I am always cosy wearing them and my goretex jacket .

 Up at the ferry terminal at Fleetwood on the River Wyre, I boiled up water an sipped a welcome  hot cuppa. It was my first use of my tiny stove. Waiting passengers with their take away coffees were intrigued at my antics as I sheltered the gas flame from the cold wind. Weird Ozzie!

The tide was very low so it was a challenge wheeling my loaded bike down the steep ramp with its tight turns. The crew helped me aboard and we were ferried across to the other side. It saved cycling the long way around and allowed me to continue on along the quiet  scenic coastal roads

 At Condor Green I found another wonderful bike trail marked 5 miles to Lancaster. Beauty! A good dirt track through the woods. Ripper! More dogs, walkers and horses...I had to dodge the horse heaps :-) .

In Lancaster, I took the bridge over the Wyre and the cycle path took me another 5 mile down to Morecambe bay. It is such an interesting place.  Eric Morecambe the famous comedian who lived there took his name from his favourite childhood home.

Morecambe bays other claim to fame is it's tides that rush in at 9 mile( 14.5 kms) an hour combined with its very dangerous quicksand. The sand is made up of smooth round granules which combine with the water from the incoming tide to form a potentially lethal mix. The more you wriggle the deeper you sink. 20 Chinese illegal cockle gatherers met their death on the beach there one night.

All day I had stopped and chatted to interesting characters and one told me of a bike trail back to Lancaster along the canals. How picturesque! People live in many of the barges. Some are cluttered with bicycles old chairs and all kinds of paraphernalia. Most were brilliantly painted. A gorgeous stretch to ride along with lots of ducks enjoying a swim in the canal.

Warm Showers.

A new and delightful experience for  both parties!

warmshowers.org is a worldwide cyclists hosting other cyclist organization. I had contacted Tim requesting to stay. He replied with a most welcoming and friendly email. I rang him along the way and he met me along the canal pathway.

Tim and Jackie and their daughter Beck live in a flat facing Lancaster Castle across the road. We all were relaxed and laughing from the first moments.I could not have imagined or wished for a more congenial family to stay overnight with. We had such a fun time.

We went out that night. First we arrived at the Hollywood Bar for a fund raiser night for teachers at the school where Jackie is secretary. 2 teachers will be walking the Sinai desert in November to raise money for children. There was music and dancing and  folk enjoying a good night out.

Next we went to a pub where seven talented musicians played very lively Russian and Turkish music. The pub was packed and cosy. The atmosphere was excellent. At midnight we walked around the corner to the flat. It was 1 o'clock when we got to bed and we awoke to English summer time with the clocks now forward an hour. Census night also here.

I went on a guided tour through Lancaster Castle. It still operates a court house and a prison inside its walls although the prison is about to close. It was really fascinating wandering through. An amazing glimpse into a past age. Wow! I must say though that the tour guide, although polite and an absolute font of knowledge did not show a glimmer of a sparkle or smile or even any personality whatsoever.

Tim escorted me out over the cobbled streets and through Lancaster until I reached the A588. He gave me impeccable instructions for the most direct route home but I was speeding along and gazing at daffodils, I took a left fork instead of a right and "oh my gosh, I'm sure I wasn't meant to be in Garstang!"

I consulted the map trying to decide which was now the most direct route home, munched a pear, swigged some water and decided to use the Garmin. I keyed in find "Marie" and off I peddled through a maze of small roads and bike paths as well as main roads. Sometimes I doubted the direction I was taking but I decided to give the navigator its head and Hey Presto I arrived home an hour earlier and almost 10kms shorter than I had expected. Amazing.

One more week here at Lytham St Annes and then I am off to Bath to work for 2 weeks. I have 4 days to get there so will be able to cycle down.

Loving England

Hi everyone,

It is time to report as I am receiving quite a few inquiries as to where and what I am up to.

Kylie and I looked at each other when she dropped me at the airport, heavily laden with Bike Friday in case and panniers chocabloc. We laughed and hugged.  "Can you manage it all?" she said. This was it, my big overseas trip. I would have to manage now. Too late for second thoughts!

Shrink wrapping the Bike Friday at Brisbane airport.

35 hours later I arrived at cousin Harry and Pam's house in st Neots Cambridgeshire. I was ever so glad to spot Harry waving from the crowd of people waiting at Heathrow Airport to collect the weary travellers.  Out into the cold night air, around 1 - 2 deg C. Harry  ran me along the undergound tunnels whisked me down a very steep elevator where I missed getting my 25kg case on the step squarely and just managed to prevent it plummeting to the bottom. Phew! After 3 trains we arrived at St Neots and had to carry my bike case up the stairs over the track to where Pam was waiting with the car.

 Pam and Harry have been absolutely marvellous.in so many ways. I was welcomed into a cosy relaxed home base with delicious home cooking and local knowledge with advice or information on all kinds of things. So fantastic. They even help me search for my mislaid  items of which there have been several.

I have greatly enjoyed their company and that of  all the Hawkins cousins I have met. Pam's 70th was an occasion to meet even more of Mum's family. An interesting and friendly bunch. All good fun and wonderful to discover family that I had never met.

                                         Cousins Harry and Martin with me in the middle

In England I just love:-

The zillions of daffodils and many other spring flowers I see everywhere I go.

The footpaths that interweave the entire country in towns and farmland. They are obviously geared up for lots of walking here.

The compact villages leaving so much farmland to remain as that.

The many collies, spaniels dalmations and terriers romping  happily off lead along the commons in every village with their typically English country dressed owners.

The variety of English accents, especially the childrens.

The friendliness of almost everyone.Whenever I open my mouth they know I am an Aussie.

The old National trust buildings and all of the steeples landmarking every village, town, and city.

Thatched cottages.

The architecture of ordinary homes....no roof over hangs...steep pitch to let the snow slide off. Often attached in rows and you step straight out the front door onto the footpath.

Harry showed me around St Neots and I was soon zooming around on my cycle or walking along the common by myself. He took me on a tour of Wimpole Hall. We enjoyed an open double decker bus tour of Cambridge, an amazingly interesting city with 35000 cyclists riding around.



My son Mick visited and he and I cycled out there 80kms or 52 miles round trip through gorgeous green English countryside. Brisk but sunny except on the way back when we were a bit chilled whilst changing my flat tyre. I managed to lose my new Barclays  bank card in the Cambridge marketplace. After some frantic running around I had it back. In a frantically busy city, some kind soul handed it to the nearby branch. How lucky am I ?

Harry took me into London. Whilst he attended to his affairs, I toured on an open top double decker bus.The frenetic pace was an eye opener. I enjoyed observing it all from my vantage point. An incredible assortment of colourful people, the buses, taxis and places such as London Bridge, The tower of London and so many other ancient and famous places. The cyclists take their life in their hands in London. So dangerous and they don't even wear helmets.

All was okay until Harry and I tried to find each other afterwards.

I went to our arranged meeting place and rang Harry. He asked me to walk back to Picadilly. After accidently bypassing it...well famous or not I have never seen it. I rushed through the crowds and tripped sprawling amongst the commuters on the concrete...ouch! Not a soul helped me up. At least they didn't tread on me. People in London I learnt, are obviously too busy to be friendly.

I stood up and spotted the underground entrance across the road and a sign saying Picadilly. That must be where Harry would meet me. Not so. There are many entrances.We got each other on the phone. "Where are you?" we both said. " In Picadilly Circus" ".What buildings can you see?" We could both see the same ones but not each other! "Can you come to Eros?" says Harry. Is that a Greek restaurant or what? "Oh Never Mind says Harry." How was I to know that it was a famous statue right in the middle of Picadilly Circus!
We eventually found each other and escaped but I don't think I am really a London kind of person.

Much more has happened. I hope to catch up within the week...so much to do! xxx

Bound for the UK and EU

NEWS HEADLINES

I am off on a new adventure. Another chapter in my life.

I am flying out on the 2nd March in the wee small hours bound for good old England.

Luckily for me, Mum's wonderful cousins Pam and Harry in St Neots, Cambridgeshire will be there to cushion my landing.

All being well, I shall be working for approximately 12 weeks contracting for Christies Care, live in care somewhere in the UK.

From June through until early October I have loose plans which I expect will include :-

Meeting up with current friends and making new ones.

Walking in Scotland

Cycling touring in England and Europe

Walking

Visiting my childhood idyllic home; Jersey, Channel Islands.

I am taking my Bike Friday and trailer, even a tent.

I have always been very adaptable over the years, downsizing  from a farm to a house to a large boat to a motorhome and this time to my little BF. This is however a huge step and mixed in with excitement and anticipation I have my share of fears also.

I am in the process of setting up a blogger site but will also email my travellers tales as usual.

If any one of you happen to be in that part of the world, let me know. It would be great fun to catch up on the topside of the world.

It sure will be a drastic change going from a Qld summer to an English early spring.

Layer upon layer they tell me will keep me warm!

Keep in touch,

Cheers

Sue

Motorhome 2010 Just paddling along singing a song.

Just paddling along singing a song.

I flew back into Adelaide after a fun weekend in Brisbane. Great to see everyone again and Sylvia didn’t look any older either. I think 60 is the new 50! She’s going Gr8.

Public transport was cheap and easy in Adelaide. $2.70 had me picked up by bus at the airport door and after two x 20minute journeys I was out at Clarence Gardens to collect my van from Alister’s relatives.

A big day ahead as after rising at 4am to fly from Brisbane I then needed to drive 500 kms from Adelaide to Winnap in SW Victoria to meet friends for a 5 day canoe trip down the Glenelg River..

On the Dukes highway just after I passed Tintinara 3 semis clipped each other and all rolled over, completely blocking the highway! I was about the 4^th vehicle to arrive. Within 10 minutes their was a long lineup of B doubles, road trains, caravans, motorhomes and cars all pulled up. One driver was hurt a bit and the others were ok. Police and Ambo’s arrived. A detour down along the coast was going to be long and tedious.

Imagine all of these huge vehicles managing to do U- turns on a narrow highway with little space. It was happening though. I had the UHF radio on and had just “ done a Uey”   myself when I heard on the radio that there was a way through. A gravel detour. The truckies were all grumbling about getting their rigs dusty.

Arriving in Winnap at Paeston Canoe Hire’s delightful property, I met up with cycling friends Mike and his daughter Jess and Michelle who I met on the bus home to Portland after the Great Vic 2009. We were all very excited in anticipation of our journey. We met Pete and Rose who were great fun and we joined them at several camps.

It was a fabulous week of perfect weather, great company and 63 kms of canoeing through the Glenelg river forest. We camped on the banks each night, swum in the river frequently, bushwalked and saw lots of wildlife.

A copperhead snake swimming beside us aroused my curiosity. We followed it for a closer look with me paddling forward and Michelle in the front paddling nervously backwards until it raised its head for a look at us…whoops… let’s get out of here!

A koala in an overhanging low branch eyeballed us as we paddled underneath him. A wombat stood in mid track as we walked one morning up to view the Margaret Rose Caves. Kangaroos hopped away and echidnas waddled in search of ants. A blue yabby was in a spring at one of our secluded green campsites. Wombats and possums were around our tents at night and the birdlife was varied and prolific.

The scenery was magnificent as we paddled downstream, sometimes crisscrossing the river sometimes singing along and stopping in at little jetties for a cuppa or lunch. Most days, with no breeze to ripple the river, we had a perfect mirror image of tree branches, cliffs and bushland.

On the last day as we neared Nelson we had head winds to challenge us. We shared a drink at the Nelson pub whilst we waited for Ross to collect us. Mike and Michelle unloaded the storage barrels and did a sprint out to the mouth and back getting absolutely soaked in the process but arriving back grinning from ear to ear. A great finish

We weren’t ready to say goodbye and end our journey so we camped one more night at Paeston and shared our second counter meal at the Dartmoor pub where the publican is amazingly surly. His full on grumpiness gave us a few chuckles.

Now it was time for me to head back to Brisbane for a number of reasons. I need to return to some solid work. ( money) I am rapt to have some really good house sits for a 12 month period which will enable me to do that and to join in with friends, family and community again. I need to belong somewhere!

I am in Manly until mid April and then Birkdale after that.

My beautiful van is listed on rvpoint.com.au. I want to have a separate vehicle to drive. I also don’t want it to sit unused for 12 months devaluing and getting grimy.

My next plan is to buy a tray back ute and a slide on camper and take off again further afield next year. Can I sit still for that Long?

Hope to see many of you very soon.

Sue

xxx

Motorhome 2010 Mighty Hot on the Murray

Mighty Hot on the Mighty Murray

I don’t like the extreme weather here!

I also have found SA not particularly “Free Camp” friendly. There are lots of ugly” no camping you will be fined” signs.  Many stop over points do not have toilets.

However…

I enjoyed the South Australian coastline with its spectacular scenery and good walk tracks. There are also very many lovely old stone homes, farms and commercial buildings from the 1850’s onward in SA.

Driving in to Canunda National Park and Coola Outstation was a bone shaking experience I would prefer not to repeat! The stones were large and sharp and I had to straddle the ruts with one wheel in the high scrubby center and one off the track to prevent the low bottom of the van scraping. Nerve wracking and slow!

The Lakeside vegetation, coastal habitat and dunes were lovely .The Coola outstation, occupied from the mid 1800’s to 1950 was still partly standing and gave me a sense of the isolation the outriders must have lived in. Plenty of roos and birds.

At Southend, Beachport and Robe, I walked around the intriguing limestone cliffs where the forces of nature, wind and waves, have created fascinating seastacks, reef platforms and weirdly sculptured cliffs. I perched for the night in my van on a precarious undercut cliff out near the Obelisk Light, surrounded on 3 sides by by sheer drops to wild water crashing on the rocks. No sleepwalking that night! I was completely out of sight of nearby houses. The spot was recommended to me by a gorgeously painted young “hippie” couple traveling with their small parrot.

Leaving the cliffs behind, I drove through Kingston SE and then along the Coorong to Meningie. It was extremely hot again with blasting hot winds. Horrible weather! I don’t find the Lakes attractive but I am told they are currently very low on water.

In the extreme weather I hung out in a shady park at Langhorne Creek (dry) for a couple of days before heading to beautiful Victor harbor.

I really enjoyed my stay, camped outside the home of Alister’s sister Marg and her husband Nigel for Christmas and New Year. I must say I much prefer their quality wines to my “chateau cardboard”.  Christmas day with all of their extended family was a lot of fun. Maybe starting off with a glass of Moet champagne had something to do with goodwill and Christmas cheer!

Over the next few days Alister took me cycling, walking and driving around the very attractive Fleurieu Peninsula. We walked across the bridge to Granite Island. We viewed the mouth of the Murray where it runs into Lake Alexandrina. We looked across to Kangaroo Island. I was fascinated by the “white elephant” modern marina at Werrina with huge hills towering over it. The resort failed and was resold. It is a beautiful but rather remote little harbour.

Time to move on again!

In Strathalbyn I asked for the local BUG’s and found them.I don’t think Kay and then John knew what to think when a perfect stranger rang them asking to go cycling. They did make me very welcome though.   I cycled from Milang to Goolwa with John where we joined about 10 friendly cyclists for a ride to the coffee shop at Middleton and back. John, Colin and I then returned to Milang. It was 90 kms of enjoyable riding in good company.

In Milang, Colin suggested we visit after lunch for a cuppa with him and Angela. I felt so comfortable with them all so when Angela invited me to park overnight in their yard and to join them for a roast dinner…well I couldn’t refuse could I?

Next morning I walked at 7am with Angela and Kay and several other local ladies. We covered the whole of Milang in an hour and with our chatter and a few barking dogs along the way I think we made sure the whole town was well awake!

Lovely people.

I spent a couple of very hot days in picturesque Strathalbyn swimming in the only pool for miles around whilst I attended to a couple of minor repairs to the van. Vibration had broken a catch on my storage box and the springs were creaking quite a lot. They were apparently just suffering from the dry and dusty conditions. I could sympathise! The blokes in the Strathfield garage were very helpful and easy on the purse as was Rhys at the Home Hardware.

In Langhorne Creek again, I met Kathy and Paul from Sydney. We enjoyed a couple of days relaxing under the trees and shared a delightful lunch and wine tasting at a nearby winery of which there are very many around here. Another baking hot day!

At Mannum on the mighty Murray I have spent the last few days just surviving the heat by constantly dipping in the muddy Murray with many other happy campers.

There are lots of ducks swimming about, a snake or two and ski boats buzzing about. We really know about it when the Paddle Steamer comes through as it blasts its loud horn all the way!

We all had cheap seats to the Jimmy Barnes, Adam Brand and Shannon Noll concert (we could hear it all from across the river). There were plenty of wild looking utes there. Friendly cowboys and girls with akubras were horsing around in the murky water. The river bank was packed out.

My gas fridge can’t cope so I bought a solid slab of ice. It is feeling better now.

I have had enough of being blasted by strong winds and grit in 45 – 48 degree temperatures and will be glad when I jump on a plane to Brisbane to join in the fun of my good friend Sylvia’s 60^th this weekend.

Guess what? Today is a gorgeous day, sunshine and a gentle cool breeze.

Motorhome 2009 Merry Christmas

Hello to family and friends,

 I hope that life is good for you all.

 Back at the end of October after I last sent out a news letter, I drove from Bendigo, SW to Maldon and happened upon their annual Folk festival in Butts campsite a beautiful bush gully. You Beauty, I would pay and stay on for the fun. I picked a prime spot to park in the bush. I then climbed up Mt Tarrengower and to the top of the forestry tower from where I had an eagle eye view of the camp, the distant Grampians and the immediate countryside.

Maldon an old gold mining town of great character has 2 km of heritage listed main street shops and cottages. It was a picturesque spot. For four days the streets were vibrant with musicians playing toe tapping music and Morris dancers leaping gaily about. The atmosphere was fantastic. The bush campsite had several music tents using stacked hay bales as sound barriers.

I met many lovely people and chummed up with Vern and Deeanne for the festival. We danced to the old time bush band in the local hall with the 14 elderly band members playing tambourine, penny whistle, accordian and pianoaccordian, mandolin and banjo, brass and guitars. They were amazing and a few of the local men were quick to get me on the floor and teach me the intricate steps of the Alberts and other dances.

Moving South, I camped for a week   beside Lake Colac where I cycled around the lakes beside lush green pastures separated by quaint rock fences and up Red Hill to the lookout. I found myself greeting the cows. “Hello girls”. They looked curiously at me! No wonder!

I worked my last stint with Alister in Coffee a la Carte at the Colac show.

 I also cycled the rough steep forest rail trail to Gelibrand. Roaring flames in the bush frightened me for a bit until I found it was just the firemen doing a controlled burn. I had to detour around that area.

I went down to Lorne on the spectacular Great Ocean road where cliffs and mountains rise straight out of the Great Southern Ocean, my bush campsite  for a few nights was near Wye River up a rough steep gravel track. Once on it there was no turning around so I planted my foot, straddled the gutters and 3.5 ton of low to the ground motorhome made it up to a delightful but isolated grassy clearing complete with grunting koalas for company.

On Gentle Annie’s Berry Farm in Penny Royal valley near Deans Marsh I picked raspberries and strawberries for 3 days. It was an absolutely gorgeous lush setting beside a running stream. I left there with stained fingers and lips, a kilo of plump ripe strawberries and cash in my pocket. The proprietors were a lovely couple.

Big Hill Track campsite, also above Lorne was like a mini league of nations as for 3 nights I chatted with Italian, German, French, Belgian and other backpackers. My bike pump came in handy to pump up the 2 flat tyres on one beat up combi van. The English couple then bolted hoping to make the nearest garage before the tyres went flat again.

I collected my son Mick in Geelong. How lovely to see and hug him. We cycled together near Colac, we camped for 4 days, 2 at Mt Eccles national park, a fascinating volcanic area. We viewed the volcanic lake and explored the cave. Koalas, possums, wallabies and roos and plenty of birds surrounded us in the bush as we relaxed and caught up on the last year. We are however still trying to remove grass seeds from our shoes and socks.

Off we went to Portland together to greet my daughter Melissa as she stepped off the bus and we set up our tents for the GVBR . We joined 4997 riders for 9 days of fun and spectacular scenery along the Great Ocean Road to Geelong. I was extremely delighted to share the cycling adventure with two of my three children.

Catching up with old friends and making some new ones was also good fun. We were proud to make it up over Lavers hill and enjoyed some great rolling hills but the first 2 nights were very soggy. On the first night I was sound asleep when someone fell across my tent at 3am flattened it and broke the pole. I think I over reacted, I copped some rubbishing later for waking up the surrounding area with my shrieks and yells. I spent the last couple of hours that wet night, sleeping on concrete tucked in against the only building nearby.

I also met up with Cynthia. We played in the same hockey team over 40 years ago. Incredible!

Portland was the first place in South Western Victoria to be settled and has many interesting old buildings and a very deep harbour. Nearby Cape Bridgewater was spectacular with rugged cliffs, a petrified forest and a colony of seals. All of this was backed by a great number of massive modern windmills whirling madly around and generating lots of power. I spent 3 days walking around the two places before heading north to Hamilton via Surry Ridge forest camp. It was a delightful peaceful clearing beside a creek.

I really enjoyed my 3 day stay with Bernadette and Lloyd in Hamilton. I first met Lloyd on the Margaret River WA Great Escapade ride. We enjoyed a great social weekend with their friends. They took me driving up to Halls Gap in the Grampians. Wow what amazing rocky mountains!  We also cycled (as you do) and swam some laps.

I received sad news from Tasmania. My friend Rob who took me out on a cray boat last summer died suddenly. He was in his forties I think. I had really enjoyed his company if only briefly. It is the people in my life who enrich it so much.  Goodbye Rob.

I have now crossed over into SA. I hadn’t thought of fruit fly and quarantine again so I stopped on the roadside madly chopped and lightly stir fried all of my newly purchased vegetables whilst squeezing oranges and lemons and munching my way through a small cos lettuce a Lebanese cucumber and a tomato.

I was taught to waste not want not and I wasn’t about to throw good food in the bin!

Mount Gambier Lake was an amazingly pristine blue colour and I walked around that volcanic crater and several others, Mt Schank included. Impressive! I’m so glad they are extinct nowadays!

Today the weather is disgusting! It is 38 degrees and there is a very strong northerly wind. Oh well, I shall just grin and bear it for a day. Tomorrow will be in the low 20’s again.

I shall be in Victor Harbor  SA for Christmas so I wish you all a

Very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful Year in 2010.

Motorhome 2009 The Working Traveller

The Working Traveller.

Thick Red Dust like talcum powder on every surface, including in my lungs is what I awoke to in Forbes. I had anchored in (whoops..moored... whoops again. I regress to my sailing years). Camped in Forbes overnight in horrid winds, I left 3 hatches ajar on the downwind side when I went to bed. Bad Mistake.

It took hours to clean up inside and out. At least over the next week I kept everything securely shut and only the exterior of the van was covered thickly in spattered mud in the next dust storm in Griffith where there was a slight shower with the storm a couple of days later.

I turned westward from the Newell Hwy at West Wyalong. My furthest west so far and into the beautiful Riverina District. I stood by the highway munching fruit that I didn’t want to throw into the fruit fly bins!

Griffith on the Kidman Hwy is an attractive town with orange blossoms scenting the air, orchards and crops looking lush and irrigation channels everywhere. I cycled about enjoying the farmland and did a bigger loop than anticipated when my tiny map led me astray. Sir Walter Burleigh Griffin planned some of the town as is evident by the circular roads, similar but on a much smaller scale to Canberra.

I camped beside Lake Wyanga 8k from Griffith, in the company of other travellers. A resident red pig, donkey, goats and deer also kept us company. We were delighted to have free power, water and toilets and a bar b queue. It was very cold and we all had heaters on and huddled down for 3 days.

Down through Ned Kelly country, Jerilderie and on to Cobargo to camp beside Billabong Creek. Here the “boys” were gathering for the Big Ute Muster next day at Deniliquin.

Huge lines of amazingly colourfully decorated utes were camped in long rows outside the grounds. I couldn’t repeat some of the slogans on the utes but by gosh what a mob of interesting characters they were. I remember seeing Mitch’s Virgin Conversions and I did see a blow up nude doll waving gaily to me and heard about nude dancers on ute roof tops overnight. Swag rolls were to be seen on most utes. No fancy tents for these tough blokes and gals. Old 3 piece lounge suites were commonly toted on the utes and gave them some home comforts around the campsite. One trio of utes had a spa a generator and heater and a water tank. I bet they were popular.

I worked for Alister in Coffee a la Carte at the Muster. 2 x 16 hour days plus a half day. We poured thousands of lattes and cappuccinos, very tiring to the arms and shoulders. It was fun though, interacting with the customers. The music was continuous. It was a fantastic spectacle. 25000 plus people. They made the  Guinness record for the largest gathering of utes and the most blue  “blokes” singlets ever worn in one place. Cowboy hats and dancing in the dirt were in. The rodeo tested some of the bull riders out. I am glad that as a worker I didn’t have to pay the $150 entry fee.

Deniliquin is also a pretty little town .I am constantly surprised at how beautiful these western areas are. I had always envisaged them as brown and barren instead of the lush spring fields that I am seeing. I think that it is only the irrigation that keeps them that way, plus it is the best time of year for green.

Two days later again found us pouring coffee by the thousands to the farming community at the Elmore field days. 15000 people and everything possible that the farming family might use was on display. Another bunch of lovely people to mingle with.

No rest for the wicked, straight on to the Shepparton Show to pour more coffee. By this time we had poured many litres of milk and ground many a bean to fill about 5000 coffee cups, no wonder I am a little tired!

I was at first very disappointed with Shepparton. I saw the most “grungy” part of the population. All of those with hardly a “bean” to their names are out there spending   “mega bucks” on rides and junk food. I am surprised that the rides can cope. The “ban obesity lets get healthy” message had not gotten through to these folks. I was appalled.

Alister looks after his staff very well and has booked my van into a caravan park at each town where I am working. He has also taken me out for a meal at each town that we work in. Shepparton caravan park was a lovely one beside the Goulbourn river.

 I stayed on afterwards and with the help of a little booklet, Cycling Greater Shepparton, I discovered a lot of beautiful countryside as I rode different circuits each day. The bike paths along the Goulbourn are extensive and lovely to ride along. I also swum laps a few days in the local pool, something I have done whenever there is an open pool in town. I meet local cyclists along the way and have ridden with one or two for a while.

I had a really lovely week camped beside the Campaspe river between Elmore and Rochester ( Cyclist Sir Hubert Opperman’s hometown) with many other friendly free campers. I love all of the little fire pots that we sit around at “happy hour”. We used the cleanish river water to bath and for our laundry and dishes. Some heat it on their fire pots. Dawn was watching Rodney one morning as he scooped yet another bucketful out whilst standing on a fallen tree. Suddenly…slip…whoosh…splash and only his head was showing. Dawn and I just couldn’t wipe the grins from our faces as Rodney struggled out shivering to dry off.

 I cycled every day for the week, so far I have ridden over 1300 k since leaving Brisbane. It is the best way to sightsee and the strong winds are at least giving me some resistance training in these flat areas.

 The back roads are set out in neat rectangles and it easy to complete short or long circuits, Apparently it was a soldier settlement area in the early days hence the rectangular blocks of land. The irrigation channels also run in straight lines between the road and the farms.

Now I am in Bendigo, having worked at the show again. I am waiting a day or two for some mail to come through and then will drive further south to explore more of this great country and see what characters I may find along the way.