We can't thank Wayne & Debbie enough for the use of their property to store our car & caravan. We spent the next week sharing our stories with them and catching up with family news. With Mel & Ben at home, they have a full family again, and we had many fun nights sharing great tucker which the girls took turns cooking, and great wine which Wayne & I took turns opening! After a week, during which time we sorted out the caravan, caught up with mum a couple more times, caught up with family & friends, made some routine doctor's visits, had a lovely lunch with Robyn, and fitted in a game of golf at my home club, it was time to let Wayne & Debbie get back to normal!! One last real treat, was a Saturday night catch up with old friends Mark & Gloria. I had seen Mark a couple of times, but we hadn't caught up with Gloria for way too long. The six of us had a fantastic night at Josephine's Restaurant at the Riverwood Hotel. They say that with true friends, when you get together after a long break, it is as if time stood still. This is so true! It was a great night with lots of laughs & stories from times past.
On Monday morning, we hooked up the caravan, double checking everything to make sure we remembered how, and headed down to Shellharbour for a short stay. Everyone knows it is a favourite haunt when we are around Sydney. Catching up with Bev & Fred took a little longer, as Carolyn had picked up a bad cold with the change in climate. It was a real shock getting back to a cold winter! We did catch up later in the week, and did our usual round of Girls Bingo, dining out and even managed a couple of fishing trips between the bouts of cold & wet weather. Fred & I did have one memorable day. Not only did we catch a lot of good fish to stock up the freezer, but we were treated to a nature show to blow your socks off! We had whales frolicking about breaching and slapping their tails and fins. We had dozens of Dolphins, with one pod chasing us across the bay, diving through the boat's wake. The sea was full of bait fish and hundreds of birds, mostly gulls, terns & gannets, were smashing into the schools of fish from a great height. Just wonderful to watch, and to top it all off on the way back to the harbour, an old seal came by for a look! Quite a day on the water!! On shore, we celebrated their daughter Katrina's birthday, at our favourite Shellharbour Restaurant, "Relish". It was lovely to catch up with Katrina & Malek again. With Bev & Fred, we enjoyed a farewell night of Pizza at the club and even managed to win a couple of meat trays in the raffles!
Next stop wasn't far. Just one hour away at Camden, another favourite and a chance to catch up with Cheryl, Chris, and family and friends. If we thought it had been cold since we got home, it saved its best for Camden!! It was freezing!! We were wearing everything warm we owned, and our heater and electric blanket were in overdrive! Camden really is a nice town. It has managed to keep its country charm despite thousands of new homes being built in the surrounding area. Lovely cafes and restaurants, and very reasonable. The time flew by as usual. We dined on good Thai food with quite a crowd on the Friday night. There was Cheryl & Chris, brother Gary & Pam, friends Bobbie & Alf, and sister Deb & Wayne. The food & company is always good. Gary invited me for a game of golf the next day, with a group of his mates from Campbelltown Golf Club, who were playing away from home at Gerringong due to a club event. I was really glad I took up the offer, and had a great day out. Meanwhile, home at the caravan, Carolyn was locked out of the caravan with her keys, phone, purse & all worldly possessions inside the caravan! It is a long story, but thankfully, Cheryl arrived and saved the day, and the girls had a lovely day out on borrowed money, until John got home with the spare key!!!!!!!
Sunday was a big family day. My little brother Ian was turning 50. Talk about making you feel old!!! to make things worse, his youngest son, Nathan is turning 18! How the years fly by! School Captain in his final year at High School, and starting to make his mark at his cricket at St.George District Cricket Club, following in the footsteps of his Grandpa, Brian Booth, he makes the whole family proud. It was great catching up with all the family from mum at 91 down to her great grandson Marcus, soon to turn two. It is quite a crowd when the Andersons and Booths all get together. Ian had the spit going, and with lots of salads followed by goodies the girls had baked, not to mention the fancy birthday cake, we all waddled out.
On the Monday & Tuesday we had huge downpours. The caravan looked like a castle surrounded by a moat! On these nights we took sanctuary at Cheryl & Chris' place, and Cheryl looked after the dinner. Yummy as usual. On our last Tuesday afternoon, we had a real surprise, bumping into Nancy & Keith's old neighbours, Anton & Marg, who now own a property out at Oak Flats. They have always worked on the breeding side of the horse racing industry, and their son manages a large breeding concern nearby. We used to see quite a bit of them during the Horse Racing part of our life, before retirement! It was a lovely surprise to catch up. On our last day, John took on the elements for one last game of golf at Moore Park, whilst Carolyn had a lovely day out with Robyn, before finishing up by taking mum out to the local Chinese for dinner.
We decided to head north and escape the cold. We didn't have enough time to get way up north to the real warmth, and still be back in time for Christmas, so instead of heading back up the coast road, we mapped out an inland route that would see us take in some places & events, we have had on the radar for some time. So, off we headed, up and over the Blue Mountains. We got to Blackheath in time for lunch, and as the temperature gauge was only showing a single number, Carolyn decided it was soup weather. We found a little joint on the corner of The Highway & Govett's Leap Rd. called "Anonymous". I don't think it will be anonymous for long! Carolyn had her soup, Celery Soup, and it was good, but I trumped her with my sandwich, which was their take on a Reuben. It was seriously good!!!! Nourished, we got back behind the wheel, and as it says on the bumper sticker, set course for, "Somewhere Over the Ranges - Mudgee".
Mudgee is a real old favourite. Our friend's Lynne & Paul lived here for 16 years, and we made countless visits, even contemplated living there and once owned a block of land. In our unbiased opinion, it is one of NSW's best inland towns. It has heaps to offer, so we decided to spend a few days. We set up at the Riverside Caravan Park, as we could walk into town. As the name suggests, it is right on the river, which has had a fortune spent on it, building walking/bike paths, bridges & landscaping. The caravan park has been a big winner from the work, and we were given what the manager described as the best site in the park, right down in the back corner by the river, with a gate out onto the trail into town. It was lovely. Now, Lynne & Paul said one of their main reasons for leaving Mudgee was the cold winters, and we were getting a first hand reminder. I hate it when there is a minus sign in front of the number!!!! The day's proved lovely and sunny, and as long as the wind didn't blow it was delightful. But, one bit of breeze or a cloud and it was frost bite!!!
The town looks beautiful at present. The white blossoms are in full bloom, and the streets are lined with them. When the wind blows, it looks like snow!! We took ourselves to all the old haunts. Some have new faces, but many of the old ones remain. The Butcher Shop Cafe still does great coffee, and Elton's, which has had a change of owner, still maintains a high standard. We also liked a new addition called "Outside the Square", which was casual and did good things. We kept expecting to see Lynne & Paul!! But alas not. Not even a walk through Lawson Park, where we all used to walk our dogs, could make them appear. We took a drive out to Gulgong, which hasn't changed much. We did notice more guys and girls in flouro work gear, which would indicate an increase in mining activity. A drive through the vineyards is quite depressing at this time of the year, as they are all barren and dead looking. Winter just doesn't seem the right time to taste. Our last night, we took ourselves down to The Lawson Park Hotel, which was a favourite haunt, offering great food. It was a Monday, and "Two for One Steak Night". The place was packed, and we were lucky to find a table. You cook your own steak on the huge BBQ's. The steaks match the BBQ's, HUGE!!!!! I saw two guys carrying a T Bone to the BBQ!!!! Anyway, the standard is still excellent, and provided a fitting finish to our Mudgee visit.
Next morning we were out onto the Castlereagh Hwy, headed North West. We passed by Gulgong, then on to Dunedoo and its famous old pub, before stopping for lunch at Gilgandra. The countryside is a picture at present, lush & green from good winter rain. Winter grain crops are sown in vast fields of green, and the cattle and sheep look fat & contented. Good to see our farmers having a good season in these parts. With the temperature hovering around 10, Carolyn was craving soup again. We found a little cafe that advertised home cooked Country everything, and when the answer to the soup question was yes, we took a table. I first became suspicious when the soup choice was so large! My suspicions were confirmed when we heard the rattling of cans! When it came to taking the lid off a can or the top off a jar, old country Maggi could cook anything!!!! I Luv Chicken Tonight!!!!! Still, it was hot & hearty (got that off the label!), and the toast was cooked fresh! After lunch, we walked the main street of Gilgandra. There was a new statue in the park of a Digger shouting the famous Aussie Cooee. I was fascinated to read the story of The Cooee March back in 1915. Apparently, after the disaster at Gallipoli and the stories coming back from Europe, recruitment numbers had fallen dramatically. Twenty Five local boys from Gilgandra, took it on themselves to march to Sydney giving a cooee at each house in town. Eventually 35 marched into Sydney, and the Cooee March is remembered each year in Gilgandra. A local who saw us reading all about, came over and told us the history, and that the Brits paid to have a new church built in Gilgandra after the war, as this tiny town had provided the the most recruits per head of population in all of Australia! So many stories in these little towns!!!!!
About 40 minutes later, we pulled into the Gulargumbone Caravan Park. I had read so many good reports about the hospitality at this tiny caravan park, we just had to stay here. The owners are Dave & Bernadette, two of the most down to earth Aussies you will ever meet. They originally came from Dubbo, not far down the road, and bought the caravan park two years ago. They spent a lot of their life working all over Australia, mostly in the outback, and a lot of the time in remote Aboriginal communities such as Arnhem Land. Every night they have Happy Hour around the campfire in front of the new Camp Kitchen. They bake damper in the coals of the fire every day, and on Wednesdays and Sunday's do an authentic camp oven cooked roast dinner for which we have paid up already!! Tonight we joined the crowd around the campfire for Happy Hour, and true to form, out came the damper. Tonight's was made on ginger beer, and was delicious. We sat and chatted with fellow travellers, sharing stories of our travels. It is such a nice time of the day. As soon as the sun went down though, the crowd either huddled in closer to the fire or headed for home! Another freezing night ahead!
The little town of Gulargumbone is pretty run down, but the 400 or so locals are trying hard not to let the town die. Forty percent of the population is indigenous, but there are no signs of drunkenness or unruly behaviour. Next morning we headed into the main street for our free coffee at the Gallery/Café called "2828" (the local post code!). It is staffed by volunteers and they provide training for a number of the young local Aboriginals, in hospitality. From the way we were served and the quality of the coffee & delicious home made lemon friands, we can confirm that the training is paying off!!! With a full belly, we took a drive out to the famous Warrumbungles National Park. The drive through mile after mile of yellow canola crops was spectacular. The poor old Warrumbungles are still showing the signs of the disastrous bushfires that devastated the park some three years ago. The world renowned Siding Springs Observatory would have been lost but for the dedication of a band of local volunteer rural fire service guys, who spent an entire day & night pouring water onto the building. They are still replacing signage & buildings all over the park, and thousands of charred dead trees are evident. In a strange twist, the sparse vegetation means the incredible rock formations are very visible.
We headed back to Gulargambone to relax and do some reading & blogging before our campfire roast dinner. All afternoon the caravans kept filing in. Seems the grapevine has worked really well, and lots know about the dinner. That night, Bernadette & Dave had 42 of us for dinner, and they didn't disappoint. We sat around the campfire smelling all those great food smells, every time a lid was lifted to check the cooking progress in a host of camp ovens. The dinner was great, lovely tender beef, with roast potato, pumpkin, carrots & sweet potato, plus broccoli & peas, and lots of gravy. And of course, lots of herb flavoured damper to soak up the gravy. Washed down with a glass of red, you would be hard pressed to have a better meal anywhere!!! After dinner, one traveller got out his guitar and sang some songs, and when he took a break, another guy pulled out a keyboard and played some great old favourites. The wine was flowing, the stories were getting bigger, as was the campfire. It was a night we will long remember.
Next morning the caravan park really emptied out, us included, in light steady rain. We were very glad to have made a stop at Gulargambone, especially on Roast Night!
No comments:
Post a Comment