Author: Catherine Anderson

Catherine loves painting and photography as well as the great outdoors. Cycling, kayaking, pack-rafting and hiking are favourite activities as well as scuba diving when the location permits. A self confessed geek, she’s the reason details are included in our stories!
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12-14 April: A weekend with the HOGs in the pork pie capital

Author: Mrs A

Location: Melton Mobray and Eye Kettleby, Leicestershire, UK

When we first purchased our Hymer motorhome – back in mid November last year – we joined the Facebook group – the Hymer Owner’s Group. Our experience with the Zone (our caravan in Australia) owner’s Facebook group has been so positive, we hoped the Hymer group would be similar. We haven’t been disappointed.

We hadn’t long signed up to the group before we saw a weekend away advertised with fellow Hymer Owners Group members (or HOGs!). Knowing we would have only picked up our truck just over a week before, we thought it would be a great opportunity to get some tips and meet some other motorhome owners. We booked in.

We arrived on Friday afternoon to Eye Kettleby Lakes, an adults only caravan and motorhome park on the outskirts of Melton Mobray. Our first impression on checking in to reception was that this is no ordinary campground…it was more like a ski resort with warm log cabins decorated with modern artwork and furnishings.

We settled onto our site, with a view across fields of sheep and a lake with a large fountain…the only thing missing was the weather! With a top of 7 degrees centigrade and a bitterly cold wind, we were not encouraged to hang around outside.

The Truff-mobile looking small amongst the giants

At 6pm there was a meeting of the HOGs to welcome us all to the weekend. We chatted to a few people but didn’t join them at the pub. After the past few weeks of dinners, lunches and drinks out we decided to stop in for the evening and cook our first meal in Truffy. We felt bad being unsociable but figured we had done our social quota for the time being.

Wooly hats the order of the day at the evening catch up

Saturday morning dawned cold and we were treated to our first sight of frost in a long while. I think we were in the depths of central Australia at Uluru when we last had temperatures this low at night.

The blue sky looks far warmer than it is

We bravely decided to wrap up warm and jump on our bikes to ride into Melton Mobray. As we departed we bumped into the couple from the Hymer in the next site over, also riding their eBikes into town, so joined them for the ride.

By the time we had arrived in the town centre it felt like we had frostbite on our fingers, toes and noses, the windchill absolutely cutting. We decided to invest in a fan heater, having discovered one of our gas bottles had emptied already. A call to Fuller’s Leisure, where we purchased Truffy, advised us they hadn’t fully filled the gas tanks, something we hadn’t realised.

We had a quick look around Melton Mobray, a scoot through the market and brief explore, before heading back to camp.

Melton Mobray looking pictureque…
Melton Mobray is famous for pork pies and Stilton cheese

Most of the cycleway was via country lanes and an off road bridleway. We were not far from being back and I realised it was suddenly really hard to cycle….puncture!

Walking back pushing a heavy bike with a flat soon warmed me up, I can tell you! Mr A and our neighbours wasted no time in getting the tyre off and a new inner tube fitted, and I was back in action.

Mark’s daughter Hayley, son in law Phil and grandchildren Luke and James had also come to Melton Mobray for the weekend. They brought their huge caravan and were parked up in a brand new campground on the other side of town. Hayley and the kids came over and joined us for a hot chocolate at our campground cafe, regaling us with stories of the alpacas, donkeys and sheep at their farmyard camping area.

A herd of Hymers?
Sunset over the fishing lakes

We had an early dinner in Truffy and headed up to the pub to join other HOGs for an evening beverage and socialise. Lots of tips were shared and travel stories recounted. A lovely bunch of people.

Mr A very excited about his first pint of Old Speckled Hen in a long while
Enjoying a drop of Argentinian Malbec
Some of the HOGs we met

Sunday was another cold blustery day, so we spent the morning going through our instruction manuals before joining Hayley, Phil and the kids for a BBQ at their caravan.

All in all a great weekend – though we are feeling the novelty of cold weather starting to wear off…we wish it could have been warmer so we could have socialised more, but as it was we really enjoyed our time. We hope to meet more HOGs on the road as we travel.

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2-5 April: Sun, rain, wind, hail, sleet and snow – welcome to the UK in springtime!

Author: Mrs A

Location: Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire & Hastings, East Sussex, UK

Tuesday morning started wet and cold, a shock after our first couple of days with brilliant sunshine, but it was a good day for driving. We farewelled John and Catriona and headed south, aiming for a little village in Hertfordshire, Little Gaddeston, where my cousin lives.

It was not as smooth a journey as it could have been. We did not yet have SIM cards or any internet data, so we were reliant on our in-car sat nav rather than our more trusted friend, Miss Google. Our lack of trust was justified when it kept directing us off the main roads and onto winding country lanes. I eventually found that ‘motorways’ were turned off in settings! The software was quite out of date too, with several roads missing. I managed to get onto a free wifi signal at a service centre and set up the route via Google Maps on my phone. Much easier!

Other than that, the journey was fabulous. Truffy-the-truck (our newly named motorhome) is so comfortable to drive and with fabulous visibility. We were soon parking up and joining Karen and Iain for a cup of tea before Hannah and Ella came home from school.

Half Burmese kitten Loki shining

Young Loki spying over the stairwell

Wednesday all too soon our visit was over, and after a morning debating storage solutions with Iain, drinking endless cups of herbal tea and watching Karen try out my ebike on their local hill (it got the tick of approval!), we pulled away and continued our journey south, heading to Hastings.

Iain and Mark whizz down first

Big smile on Karen’s face as she rides back down the lane
Cousins reunited

As we travelled through Kent and into East Sussex the temperature gauge dropped from 9 through to 4 degrees centigrade, and the brown looking clouds soon revealed their contents to be sleet and snow. Not far from our destination we found ourselves driving through snow slushy roads lined with white roofed houses – amazing! It’s been a long time since we have seen scenery like this.

Dramatic skies accompanying dramatic weather

Welcome to Kent!

We made it without incident to my mum’s house and parked up outside.

We had a great couple of days there, getting our first lot of kit shopping done for Truffy (we have to completely set up our new home!) as well as joining up with a local doctor. Marmalade, their young ginger cat, got lots of attention and cuddles, particularly from Mr A in the early hours of the morning (jet lag o’clock!).

On the Thursday evening we treated mum and Barry to dinner at a restaurant in Hastings as a thank you for all their help with our return…taking receipt of many parcels, sharing letters and even receiving nuisance calls in the early hours of the morning from Vodafone robots…

Mr & Mrs C

Mr & Mrs A

L’Instant Truffier Malbec – had to be our choice of wine and it was delicious too!

Friday morning we packed up Truffy again and headed off towards Brighton, with a slight diversion to catch up with a lovely lady, Karen, who has idiopathic subglottic stenosis and lives just a mile from home. I spent a good hour chatting with her – she’s a GP and is really keen to raise awareness of the disease. There will potentially be a presentation for me to do when we come back from travelling in Europe…I’ll be keeping in touch to hopefully organise that.

We were excited to finally be spending a night in our new home!

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25-30 March: Ticking off our final days in Australia

Author: Mrs A

Location: Sydney, Australia

We’ve had a busy week getting our final tasks completed in Sydney and saying a few farewells to our lovely friends.

Monday night saw us treated to an absolute gastronomic feast, delicious wine and food prepared by friends Cathy and Scott and hosted by Donna and Andy – we were incredibly spoilt, and it was so great to see them.

Tuesday was a little dusty after the excesses of the night before, but I headed off early to see my Gastroenterologist in St Leonards to hopefully be signed off to continue travelling. Thankfully I got the tick of approval, and Dr Smith also organised for all my notes to be sent across for me to take to the UK, should anything go awry.

In the afternoon, I had a bouncy blow dry to add that little bit of glamour before we headed to drinks with friends at King Street Wharf. Despite it being a Tuesday night we had a great turnout with about 17 friends joining us.

A little bit of bounce….

Wednesday was a great day to pack – we both are currently Qantas Frequent Flyer Silver – probably for the last time ever, so have plenty of luggage allowance – 42kg each! Still it was a good practice to get it organised and bags weighed in advance to settle any nerves.

In the evening we met up with more friends, Clive, Aisha, John and Eveliene for dinner and drinks in Circular Quay.

Thursday was the birthday of one of our kind hosts, Jenny, who is currently working her socks off closing down one of her framing shops, and upgrading another. She came home to a well deserved glass of champagne before we all jumped in an Uber and headed to a fabulous Asian restaurant in Coogee Beach, Sugarcane. Highly recommended if you’re looking for somewhere new to eat and are in the area.

After a crazy week, Friday was much quieter. Mr A and I went into the city for a few final tasks (Mark’s shaver broke, but thankfully within warranty and exchanged swiftly) and I had my final medical procedure – steroid injections into my airway. They’ve been working really well, and my Otolaryngologist (ENT, head and neck surgeon) showed me he was delighted with how the scar tissue is drawing back and opening out my trachea. We just hope it keeps on working. Again, he has given me notes and videos to take with me to the UK.

We had a quiet night with Jenny and David, all of us exhausted for our own reasons after a busy week.

Saturday morning finally arrived, and after a walk around the neighbourhood we packed up for real and did a final weigh in – thankfully all within our allowance still, despite a total of eleven bags.

Our Uber XL arrived on time and we loaded up the boot….

All piled up outside Jenny and David’s apartment block

We are finally off!

Enjoying the final breaths of Sydney air for a while

We have checked in seven bags, and are hoping we will see seven again at the other end. We have a kind friend who is driving through the early hours of Sunday morning in the UK to pick us up…not sure we are prepared for the 2 degrees centigrade forecast for our arrival though!

This will be the first time in 20 years we will spend more time in Europe than here!

Farewell Australia!

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22-24 March: Meanwhile…in Bris-Vegas….

Author: Mrs A

Location: Brisbane, Australia

While Mr A was off on his explorations on two wheels, I was off to Brisbane. Regular followers of our adventures might recall that I met with a couple of otolaryngologists (ear, nose, throat, head and neck doctors) last September as we passed through Brisbane on our journey back to Sydney. They invited me to talk at their conference this year and had found sponsorship for my flights and accomodation from a pharmaceutical company, Smiths Medical.

This was the weekend of the event. I flew up to Brisbane, took the train into the city and over to my hotel at North Quay. Checking in, the clerk proudly announced I had a room upgrade to a river view. And indeed I did. A fine view from my window, should I be hanging around to look.

Brisbane knows how to do a good sunset!

I had a quiet Friday night, opting for a laksa in a local food court before returning to my room for some final tweaks on my presentation.

Saturday morning was a bright and early one. I woke regularly throughout the night having panics that I had slept through my presentation, and finally got up about 5.30am. The conference centre was on the other side of the Brisbane River, so I headed over in the hope of attending some interesting sounding sessions starting at 7am. I met up with Dr Liz Hodge and Dr Hannah Burns, relieved to see some friendly faces, and Dr Daniel Novakovic, my surgeon in Sydney was opening the morning’s session with the first presentation.

My venue for the day
The conference

Throughout the day I chatted with a few doctors and a number of industry providers – it was really interesting to understand more about their world. Before long it was time to present.

I was part of the ‘Adult and Paediatric Airway Stenosis’ session, with five other presenters. Third one up, I was the only non-doctor on stage. I was really pleased with the turn out with standing room only in the auditorium. Feedback suggests it went well, with several doctors following up with me afterwards to ask more questions and thank me for the presentation.

As the doctors disappeared to their AGM and gala dinner, I headed back to the hotel to shower and change. Libby and Phil (friends we made this time last year through our common ownership of Zone caravans), had invited me to join them for dinner. They collected me and we headed up to Brisbane’s highest point, Mount Coot-tha. It’s a popular location for its lookout and walks, and it was busy with people admiring the night view of Brisbane, a bushy haven just 7km from the CBD. Mr A and I visited last Easter, barely able to see the city through the torrential rain! It was much drier and clearer this evening.

We were joined by more Zoners, Greg and Therese, and Darryl and Natalie. We had a lovely evening – predominantly the company – the restaurant seemed to be having some issues cooking, and our food arrived 90 minutes after we ordered it! The views were spectacular, and we took a moment before heading home to pick out the sights we could recognise.

L-R: Phil, Libby, Catherine, Therese, Darryl, Natalie, Greg

The Brisbane city skyline sparking under a nearly full moon

After a good night’s sleep I awoke on Sunday to another fine day. I packed up my case and left it with reception while I headed over to the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art. A 34 degrees centigrade day, it was ideal for escaping the heat, a beautiful building with some inspirational exhibits.

Love the vibrancy of these landscapes by Aboriginal artists

Before long it was time to head to lunch. I had booked a table at Chu The Phat, an Asian restaurant, for a meeting of Queensland ladies who, like me, suffer from idiopathic subglottic stenosis. Dr Burns and Dr Hodge joined us for half an hour before they headed to a networking lunch, and then we enjoyed a fun couple of hours sharing our stories and chatting over food. I cannot emphasise how good it is to meet with people who understand what you’re going through, particularly when it’s a rare disease. I was particularly excited to meet Joanne, with whom I have exchanged messages with for around 10 years and never met – she was one of the first members in my now 3,300+ people strong support group.

L-R: Lana, Dr Hannah Burns, Dr Liz Hodges – listening to our stories
L-R: Rosemary and Tammy
L-R: Kerry, Lana, Tammy, Catherine, Christine, Rosemary and Joanne

I flew back to Sydney later that evening – the flight leaving late plus the hour’s time difference meaning I finally crawled into bed around midnight. A great weekend!

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10-13 March: Back into New South Wales

Author: Mrs A

Location: Boydtown & Tuross Head, NSW

Sunday: Driving north from Lakes Entrance it wasn’t long before we were back in southern New South Wales, pulling into Boydtown for the night. Boydtown was the original settlement in Twofold Bay, settled by Benjamin Boyd in the mid 1800s.

This is the area where Thaua aboriginal people had developed a special relationship with killer whales, which would herd humpback whales towards their spears. The first Europeans learned of this and recruited the Thaua people to help them with their whaling activities, There are still the remains of whaling stations and a whale spotting tower in the area.

Today, the settlement is home to the beautifully refurbished Seahorse Inn and a growing community as land is sold off around the pub. There is also a 40 acre campground at reasonable prices and beach access.

Not crammed in at Boydtown Camping Ground
Miss Tassie wondering where her Victorian haven has gone!

As we pulled into the camping area we saw market stall holders packing up outside the hotel, and several coaches parked up on the lawns nearby. Apparently the hotel had just hosted a couple of hundred people on a P&O cruise calling in at nearby Eden for afternoon refreshments. All very nice but sadly no oysters left for the likes of us!

We set up camp in the spacious grounds, and headed off for a walk on the beach. The cloud was rolling in, threatening rain, but very little fell after all.

Beautiful views across the ranges
Prancing along the water’s edge

We had a special sunset however.

Best sunset in ages
A fabulous sky show you just can’t stop watching

Monday: From Boydtown we called into Eden to complete a few tasks at the post office, before heading to Pambula Lake to the fabulous Broadwater Oyster shack there. We last visited about 12 months ago, and our memories of the delicious shucked oysters were still fresh. We were not disappointed – a dozen each and two dozen to take away. Fabulous and well worth the wait!

Our destination for the day was Tuross Head. We last stayed there about 2 years ago, having had to smuggle Miss Tassie ‘the wallaby’ in, as pets were not allowed. This time she was fully permitted, and enjoyed a bit of an exploration around the grounds (full of rabbit smells!).

Cat walking does not burn many calories…

Tassie proving to be a poor hunter – didn’t even notice the skink in front of her nose!

Tuesday: Tuross Head is a lovely settlement – not really much there in terms of entertainment, with a handful of small shops, a Chinese restaurant and a combination Thai and fish and chip shop.

But that doesn’t matter – it is surrounded by white sand beaches, sparkling turquoise waters and a shared pathway which explores the coastline. It’s perfect for those who enjoy peace and quiet as well as outdoors activities like kayaking, cycling and fishing.

After a lot of car time the past couple of days we were determined to get out and explore under our own power, and did a 13km cycle around the coast, following the pathway around to Coila Creek and back.

Mr A peddling off along the quiet cycle ways
Coils Bar behind me – the border between ocean and lake
Riding alongside Coila Creek which is currently a lagoon, closed to the ocean
Still perfection – Coila Creek behind the dunes
Dead tree provides a sculpture alongside the creek
Mr A enjoying the day!

Our afternoon stroll took us in the other direction, to a lookout overlooking the Tuross River and Horse Island. There are so many opportunities to explore this area by boat, we are certain to return again with our big kayak and a longer booking at the campground.

Looking out the tumultuous mouth of the Tuross River

Hold onto your hats! The wind picking up in lieu of a change in the weather
Enjoying the view from the lookout
Beautiful tree-lined streets

We’d been able to nab ourselves a beachside campsite, having booked in just after a long weekend, the perfect location to set up our chairs and enjoy our take away oysters with a glass of Chardonnay.

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A home with a view…couldn’t get much closer to the sand

Wednesday: We moved on again, initially planning to visit Ulladulla, but finding the campgrounds either ridiculously expensive ($50 a night) or allowing dogs but not cats – even mostly indoor ones which come out only accompanied on a lead. We bypassed the town completely and moved on to Milton, camped up on the showground.

The blue sky has left us for a few days, with the coast expected to receive some very welcome rain. It was much cooler today with heavy overcast skies. We took the opportunity to start our packing for our next adventure – in 17 days we leave Australia and head back to the UK to begin travelling there and in Europe. We continue up the coast tomorrow to Huskisson on Jervis Bay…we’re expecting to use our rain coats!

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1-4 March: Wilsons Promontory National Park…almost…

Author: Mrs A

Location: Yanakie, Victoria (just outside Wilsons Promontory)

With a forecast of 39 degrees centigrade on Friday we decided to head away from Marysville and drive to the coast, Wilsons Promontory National Park our ultimate destination for some hiking amongst spectacular scenery. As we are travelling with Miss Tassie we were unable to camp in the park itself, but we checked in to a caravan park in Yanakie, just 30 minutes drive away. The temperature was much cooler beside the water, a great relief.

Saturday morning dawned clear and blue, with the mercury climbing early. We moved into a site right beside the beach with uninterrupted views over to the Prom.

Amazing sunrise over the water
A Zone with a view…

As the water was so still, we decided to take advantage and inflated our pack rafts for a paddle, planning to head for a walk in the national park in the afternoon.

Mirror-like perfection on the bay
The water is quite shallow in Corner Inlet Marine & Coastal Park

It was while we were out paddling in these serene waters that we suddenly both received messaged on our mobile phones:

Bushfire Advice from Parks Victoria. Wilsons Promontory and surrounding areas. Stay informed re park closure. Check local radio or www.emergency.vic.gov.au

I checked the website. It turned out the whole national park was being evacuated due to an out of control fire…so no walking for us. The evacuation included all campers – so it was fortunate we were not staying in there after all.

Yanakie sits on the edge of the Corner Inlet Marine National Park, part of Bass Straight, the waterway between mainland Australia and Tasmania. It’s a critical waterway for migratory birds and has been designated a wetland of international significance under the Ramsar Convention.

After lunch we took a walk along the beach to see what birds were about.

Strolling along the beach, dead trees standing out like sculptures
Literally dozens of black swans and ibis fed on the sea grass at low tide
Copper grasses blowing in the afternoon breeze on the dunes
Wispy clouds crossing the sky

Black backed gulls, silver gulls, black swans, ibis, egrets and herons were the main bird life, enjoying the mudflats at low tide. It reminded us of our time in Omokoroa in New Zealand, the peace and quiet, punctuated by the occasional bird call.

Nature’s artwork

After a couple of kilometres we came across this twisted wood, standing up out of the sand like a marker for something….we had a look and behind it was a footpath. We followed it for another couple of kilometres and wound up right back at the campground. Perfect!

Heading off down the mystery path

As we turned back, we could see the bushfire smoke spreading across the hills, the afternoon wind fanning the flames and increasing its impact.

By wine-o’clock the fire was quite large and easily visible from where we were camped (at a safe distance).

Sunset starting to reflect on the smoke haze

Sunday morning’s sunrise was quite dramatic as a result, with the air quite obviously smoky. Despite the fact I am breathing quite well at the moment, my throat began to feel the effects of inhaling the ashy polluted air, burning and sore.

Sunrise provides a dramatic start to the day with the absolutely still water
A juvenile gull floats on the still water
Lake or ocean? I bet most people wouldn’t guess this was Bass Straight!

We decided to drive over to the other side of the peninsular where there was some breeze, meaning cleaner air.

We checked out Waratah Bay which looked like it had not changed in about 50 years, the main landmark on Google Maps being the Telstra Payphone! It had a lovely beginners surf beach and plenty of sand which stretched on for miles.

From there we had a look at Shallow Inlet, where the tide was going out and kite surfers enjoyed catching the breeze across the water.

We returned for another stroll around ‘our’ beach and then to enjoy the sun set as the wind changed direction and cleared all the smoke.

A little drama as the weather changed during the afternoon, bringing a few meagre drops of rain but not enough to douse the fires
The sun setting behind us reflected on the clouds over the water giving us a lovely show

We checked the Parks Victoria emergency site as soon as we woke on Monday morning, and found the fire was still raging and the park would be closed for the foreseeable future. So, as our last day here we decided to get the pack-rafts out again and explore another part of Corner Inlet.

We rolled our boats up into our backpacks, and hiked a couple of kilometres down the beach before we inflated them.

Can you believe there is a boat in here?
At not much more than 2kg our boats and paddles are easy to carry

We then paddled down further into the bay, a very picturesque area full of old boat sheds and unofficial camping sites. There were plenty of birds down here too, mostly not used to seeing people paddling. I imagine most people who visit here stick to visiting Wilsons Prom and rarely make it in to the bay here – I know we probably would not have explored it this thoroughly had the national park been open.

Inflated and ready to paddle!
Looking at some of the old boat sheds on the edge of the water
Our crafts awaiting captains
Mr A on very calm waters
Heading back to camp, not wanting the adventure to end
Nervous terns on the beach

After 7km paddling we are both aching tonight – we are definitely not paddle-fit, and the pack rafts are not as streamlined as our fibreglass double kayak we’d have loved to have brought with us. But we’re so pleased we had these little boats to give us the option to explore the water, their weight and portability giving them a unique benefit.

Our visit to Wilsons Promontory has not quite been the one we planned, but nevertheless has been surprisingly gorgeous. We have really enjoyed the peace and quiet of this location, which has probably been exacerbated by the fires, keeping other visitors away.

We definitely plan to put this area on our wish list to return to in the future (hopefully fire-free next time!), and would recommend Yanakie as a base to explore from, especially if you appreciate bird life and the serenity of the water. Off to pastures new tomorrow…

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24-26 February: Our Melburnian adventures continue

Author: Mrs A

Location: Melbourne & Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

Sunday began with a visit to South Melbourne Market to gather supplies for the evening’s dinner. If you’ve been following our adventures for a while you will know Mr A and I love a good market, and this was no exception. So much choice available, and soon we had the ingredients for a feast.

Seafood and sausages ready for the evening’s BBQ

We dropped off our supplies at the apartment and then headed off on our next adventure. This time we were headed out of town to the Mornington Peninsula to Point Leo to do a bit of coastal walking.

It was just over an hour’s driving, amazing us how quickly the buildings of the city disappeared, replaced by farmland and forest. Point Leo Beach was quiet and full of bird life, with views out to Phillip Island and beyond that (out of sight) towards Tasmania.

Mark and Owen strolling along the waterfront
One of many white faced herons fishing in the low tide rock pools
Boat launching at Point Leo
Restricted ourselves to apples for lunch in anticipation of our evening feast!

After walking about 9km we called into one of the many breweries that have popped up on the peninsula for a cold beverage (apple juice for me at least!) and then drove over the other side of the peninsula to admire the view back towards Melbourne.

Arthur’s Seat where cable cars offer an eagle’s eye view of the coast
Looking south down the peninsula towards Portsea

From here, we returned to Melbourne for our feast of oysters, BBQ tuna, sausages, roasted sweet potato and a choice of salads. Just delicious. What a great day out.

Monday again was bright and sunny, and with temperatures predicted to soar into the mid to late 30s we decided to make the most of the cooler morning and head off for a cycle. Owen had to go to work, so we borrowed a couple of bikes. Unfortunately the brakes seized on the bike Mark borrowed, so we delivered it to a repair shop and hired one instead.

Mr A’s seat is feeling a little hard at this point!
The city’s skyscrapers behind me seem incongruous to our surroundings

First of all, we cycled down to Acland Street to catch up with an old colleague of Mark’s for a cup of tea. From there we rode down to the waterfront and followed the cycle path along. I just love being by the coast – the sense of space afforded by the water is so calming, and the freedom of riding on dedicated paths away from traffic is second to none.

We clocked up about 20km all up, much faster in one direction with the wind at our backs! Our destination was the Brighton Beach Bathing Boxes – wooden changing huts that have been here since the 1900s.One of these huts (which have no power or running water) sold last year for almost $340,000, and they attract an annual fee of nearly $900 plus council rates. Crazy!

Our day concluded with dumplings from a local restaurant and admiring the night view one last time from the rooftop.

Owen’s apartment block has fabulous views over to the city
The lake in Albert Park offers some fabulous reflections

Tuesday was a cooler day and we decided to jump back on the bikes and explore in the opposite direction.

We rode down to the port where cruise ships come in and the jumping on/off point for the Spirit of Tasmania. In our ever changing plans, we are thinking that maybe later on this year we will be boarding this ship to head over to explore Tasmania over Christmas.From here, we cycled down to Princes Pier, restored and renovated in recent years.This is the second largest timber pier in Australia, and the 380 metres of turpentine piles left at the end of the pier represent the extent of the original structure, making for a unique sculptural view.From here we rode back through Albert Park and off to find somewhere for lunch.

Being dairy-intolerant I was excited to try my first dairy-free Magnum – delicious!

Before long it was time to pack up all our things and head back out to Marysville.

We’re so grateful to Owen for driving four hours after a long day at work on two occasions within a week to escort us to and from Marysville and for being such a gracious host. The past five days in Melbourne have given us a real taste of what it’s like to live here. The eclectic mix of people, shops, bars and cafes in St Kilda offer a variety of entertainment options alongside the safe cycle network and easy escape from the city.

Melbourne, we’ve had a fabulous visit and hope one day we will return…back to the slower country life now!

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21-23 February: Mooching around Marvellous Melbourne

Author: Mrs A

Location: Marysville and Melbourne, Victoria

Thursday morning saw us pack up and head off on our way south through Victoria. Beautiful scenery guided us along our way, and soon we were feeling peckish.

Anyone who has ever watched the Australian cult film ‘The Castle’ will have heard of Bonnie Doon, a village on the banks of Lake Eildon. ‘How’s the serenity?’ Mr A couldn’t resist asking as we pulled up for lunch.Soon we were off on the road again, heading towards Marysville. Marysville is literally a town which has risen from the ashes, and as we drove through spectacular woodland you could not believe the horrors of the fires that shot through here a decade ago. Over 90% of the town’s buildings were destroyed and 45 people killed. I can remember sobbing as I watched the news and saw the devastation to human and wildlife habitats and lives.

Today Marysville looks vibrant and modern, particularly the architect designed home of our hosts Terry and Sharen at Dalyrymples Guest Cottages, fellow Zone caravan owners who had invited us to park up at their property for a few days while we head into Melbourne. They welcomed us into their home for a cup of tea once we were parked up, and told us the story of how the community had stuck together and revitalised the town post the fires. We’re looking forward to exploring the area further when we return from Melbourne.

Our friend Owen drove up the two hours from Melbourne after he had finished work, and after a delicious meal in the local pub, loaded the three of us into his car, and drove us back to his apartment in St Kilda.

Friday saw Mr A and I negotiate the tram into the city, a fairly painless experience. There we did a little shopping before lunch, Mr A buying a new sling bag from his favourite luggage store, Crumpler, and I found some sandals that are both pretty and comfortable for strolling around all day in at The Walking Company.

We had a great afternoon exploring, then returned to St Kilda, and Miss Tassie, the most adaptable cat in the world. She was enjoying her new Melbourne pad, welcoming the sunshine and comfortable balcony.Owen returned from work early evening, and took us for a spin around the Albert Park Grand Prix track in his Mercedes AMG GT R (correct me if I’m wrong!) – a great ride…

Dinner that night was at a local Japanese Misuzu’s in Albert Park – absolutely delicious food and not a grain of rice to be seen. Highly recommended. Mr A and Owen continued the evening with cheese and wine at a local bar…I still am in need of my early nights post op and retired to the apartment.

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny, and after the boys had consumed their recovery egg and bacon rolls we set off to explore the delights of St Kilda. First along the waterfront of Port Phillip Bay……and then up into the bustling Acland Street. What a great atmosphere – plenty of interesting boutique shops and an eclectic variety of eateries and bars. Simply people watching over a cup of tea or coffee would be a great way to spend an hour here.

I then left Mark and Owen to head to a pub to meet up with an old friend, Dirk, while I went back to the waterfront to meet up with three strangers who belong to the idiopathic subglottic stenosis support group I run. Allison, Jo and Leanne turned out to be lovely ladies and it was fabulous as always to compare experiences and meet rare people who have gone through similar things to me.

Saturday night, Owen had a pre-booked (six months in advance!) dinner with some friends at one of the world’s top restaurants, Attica, leaving Mark and I to our own devices. We had dinner at a local Indian restaurant, Babu Ji. The food was delicious (Pani Puri, Aloo Baingan and Fish Moilee) but it was a shame about the ambience of the restaurant. With concrete floors, walls and ceiling, the sound was deafening and we could hardly hear one another talk!

We returned to the apartment to watch the sun set from the rooftop pool before heading to bed. Melbourne is certainly putting on the fabulous weather for us!

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4-18 February: Back on the road again

Author: Mrs A

Location: Sydney and Cowra, NSW and Chiltern, Victoria

The first week of February saw me admitted into hospital for surgery on my stomach. Four days at North Shore Private Hospital with a fabulous view, and I was released into the care of Mr A and our friends’ home in Forestville, a leafy suburb near the Northern Beaches area.

Fabulous sunrise crossing Roseville Bridge on the way into hospital
A room with a view…better than most of the hotels we have ever stayed in!
The morning after surgery wearing my XXXL gown! It was soon replaced with a more suitable size…my liquid diet wasn’t much cop!

Forestville’s a lovely quiet location, on the very edge of Garigal National Park. John and Eveliene’s house has gorgeous views across a valley of gumtrees, filled with squawking cockatoos and rainbow lorikeets by day, and the soft calls of the boobook owl at night.

While I slowly healed and learned how to eat food other than clear liquids again, Mr A took himself off on an 8km hiking adventure with additional paddle, taking the pack-raft on his back. He hiked from the house down to Carroll Creek, and from there paddled under the Roseville Bridge. He even found his way home again without too much trouble…

Mr A’s pack – hard to believe there is a boat in here!
A waterfall along the shallower part of the creek
The boat all inflated and ready for further exploration by water

After about a week of good rest and soft food, I felt ready to get back in the caravan, so we farewelled our friends in Forestville and headed off to Matraville to collect Tassie. Our departure was only delayed by dead batteries on the car – the problem with leaving it parked up over Christmas and not charging…ah well, a learning for the future. $650 and two new batteries later, we were finally away, and this time really ready to explore.

We left Matraville and Tassie’s foster parents, Jenny and David, on Saturday morning and headed up to Canowindra to collect the Zone.

Tassie had a great time exploring the barn, but was soon passed out once we reached the van park in Cowra for the night.

Miss T exploring the farm machinery
On to Cowra for a couple of nights
One tired Burmese cat…though she seems happy to be back in the Zone

We stopped in Cowra two nights, an opportunity to get the car and caravan cleaned up and stocked up with food. The van park is lovely and leafy, though we were pleased we had access to electricity (and hence air conditioning) as the temperatures rose up in to the 30s. We even were treated to a surprise visit from Tassie’s other foster parents, Rosemary and Richard, as they passed through Cowra on their way to lunch with friends.

And so this morning we set off, heading on our way south. Our first destination was to be a pub on the outskirts of Albury, but with temperatures reaching the late 30s today we decided to find a caravan park again, and enjoy the comforts of air conditioning.

We crossed the border into the Victorian High Country, and headed for a little village called Chiltern.

We’re camped up tonight beside a water bird filled Lake Anderson…no relative.

Lake Anderson

Despite the warm temperatures we went out for a stroll around this very picturesque little village. It was initially a gold mining town, but now is a service centre for the agriculture providers surrounding. It has a couple of pubs, one apparently serving boutique wine (not on a Monday night though) and the other boasting ‘real Thai food cooked by a Thai chef’…we were almost tempted.

This very closed bar claims to sell boutique wine…

The centre of everywhere you would want to be…apparently

The local mechanic collects old bikes

The village has an enthusiastic historical society and a large museum (also not open on Mondays), several antique shops and the buildings painted in heritage colours and preserving many of their original features. It’s very pretty and inspires authors and artists according to the local tourist literature. The National Trust has a hand in ensuring the preservation of many of the buildings here.

Dow’s Pharmacy boasts original fixtures and fittings from colonial times, including products, records and pharmaceutical equipment

The Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park is not far from here, though the temperature today hasn’t tempted us to get on the mountain bikes for an explore (and I’m not sure my surgeon would advise that 2 weeks post op!). Maybe we will get there tomorrow – it’s meant to be a bit cooler.

It’s great to have my operation behind me and to be back travelling again. Mr A is doing all of the heavy lifting for this trip as I can’t do any for 6 weeks, but he doesn’t seem to mind the extra exercise. We’re both pleased to be back on the road seeing Australia with our adventurous fur child.

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30 January – 3 February: Exploring new areas of Sydney

Author: Mrs A

Location: Matraville, Sydney, La Perouse

After a few initial culture shocks of being back in Sydney (lots of traffic, very warm, and a lot of time spent complaining to Telstra!) we have settled back in with our generous ‘flat mates’ Jenny and David in Matraville. We have had a busy few days ticking off the usual medical appointments – a biopsy and 90 minutes in a dentist’s chair for Mr A, an airway procedure with an ENT specialist for me (with tentatively great news about how my airway is looking – nice and wide open!), plus a few nice experiences tossed in for luck – hairdressers and a catch up with friends at a new restaurant.

Saturday Mark and I decided we needed to get some fresh air and headed off a short drive from where we’re staying to the coast, just a 5 minute drive to Kamay Botany Bay National Park.

Ever wondered where Matraville and Botany Bay National Park is?

We have both lived in Sydney for more than 20 years, and could hardly believe we are still being introduced to beautiful natural areas such as this as we set off to explore somewhere new.

Dramatic skies accompany us as we walk along the cliff top

And not a breath of wind to stir the waters…

Our destination is Cape Banks, and the ‘island’ we reach via footbridge. We had no idea this existed before today and the grey humid skies only added to the mysterious atmosphere.

Mr A takes the bold step off mainland Australia onto the bridge to the island
Despite the calm winds the surf crashes over the rocks
We find a little rock shelter to watch the water from
More sculptural rocks…

Once on the island we have fabulous views over to the mouth of Botany Bay
Container ships constantly enter and leave from Botany Bay…
The Minmi – a ship wreck from 1937 – It was originally built in Glasgow, Scotland and is gradually disappearing into the sea
More of the Minmi wreck – two crew members died when it ran aground here

We continued our walk a little around the bay, driving around to Little Bay where we took to the beach and followed the soft sand around to Yarra Bay. We had never heard of Yarra Bay, but found out it is a nominee for the best beach in Australia. We called into the Skiff Club for lunch.Oysters and calamari sustaining us, we then decided to inflate our peak rafts (handily stowed in our backpacks) and paddle back to the start of the walk. Perfect!Our day concluded with a delicious barbecued roast lamb dinner with Jenny and David, simply delicious.

Sunday morning saw us joining Jenny and David for another new experience, strolling along the Hermitage Foreshore Walk from Vaucluse to Nielsen Park. Just a short 1.8km each way, it links several little bays alongside Sydney Harbour and provides some gorgeous views.

Our first view of the bridge, helping justify the high price of property in this area
Jen, David & Mark set off along the walkway

A lovely crested bird – a Shrike-Tit perhaps?

My favourite view of all, through a sculptural tree creating multiple windows…

We farewelled Jenny and David after a swim and returning to the start of the walk, and headed off to Sydney’s north shore for a catch up with two more friends, Donna and Andy.

They treated us to a couple of delicious gin and tonics – including a non-alcoholic one for Mark as he was driving. Together with a delicious platter of cheese, biscuits and pickles and a great catch-up, it was as ever, lovely to spend time with our friends.

An exotic selection of gins and tonic waters

Soon though, it was time for more farewells as we drove to our final destination for the night and the coming days, Forestville with more friends, John and Eveliene.

I’m about to head into hospital for an operation and they have kindly offered a bed for my convalescence. It’s a strange feeling being ‘homeless’ in what has been our home town for so many years, moving from destination to destination with a car full of cases and possessions. We couldn’t do this without the kindness and generosity of our friends here in Sydney, and for that we will be forever grateful.

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