2016 Welcome

We are back on the air after a somewhat eventful end to 2015, and beginning to 2016. Welcome back into our life travels. We haven't gone far, and where we have been was familiar ground, so not much new stuff  to write about since last posting. This year sees us entering our 6th year of exploring this great land we call home. This year we plan to visit some new places (yes there are still new places to go!!), as well as some old favourites to revisit, so it should be another fun year. One thing for certain, it won't include winter!!

Since our last post, we headed back down the Pacific Hwy to the Sydney region. The car and caravan know the way really well now, so it was automatic pilot all the way. With some family issues to attend to in Sydney, it was a faster than normal trip, but we did manage some nice stops along the way to catch up with family & friends. Forgive us if we didn't get to see you this trip. There will be more times soon!!

With Charlie & Marg at Abundant Café.

First stop was Coffs Harbour to get some minor caravan repairs done, and to get our new all in one blinds/flyscreens fitted. We missed out on these by one month when we bought the caravan, but after 3 years of persevering with the old ones, bit the bullet. Carolyn is one happy girl with the new streamlined look and vastly improved functionality. We caught up with Jim & Lesley while the work was being done, and then it was on to Port Macquarie to see Charlie & Marg. We enjoyed a great lunch at a lovely café near Wauchope. It is beside a lake at a nursery, and is delightful. Called Abundant, it is worth a visit if in the area. Always lovely to catch up with Charlie & Marg. Only sad thing in Port Macquarie is the terrible state of the Sundowner Breakwall Caravan Park  we stay at. The owners should be ashamed of the state of the grounds and the sites. In some places the grass was knee high! If you've lost interest, bugger off!

Dinner with Lindsay , Myrelle,
Margot , Adam Alby & Ellie

Mowing the site!

Next we stopped into the farm at Gloucester, to see Lindsay & Myrelle. I have never seen the country look better, so lush & green. I know I'm biased, but it is one of the loveliest parts of Australia. This was our first visit since Lindsay & Myrelle sold off the dairy herd, and it was a pleasant surprise to come over the hill and see lots of green grass where there was usually dirt and mud! They are now building a sizeable herd of black angus beef cattle, and living a much more relaxed lifestyle free from the routine of dairying twice a day, every day of the year. We caught up with all the family, and it was nice to see lots of smiles with such a good season happening. Lindsay has bought a livestock truck, and we took a few cattle over to Taree Saleyards, which was a unique experience, and we also took a few of his remaining dairy cows that had been sold, down to a dairy at Stroud Road.


Lindsay, Myrelle & friends.

Lindsay with his dogs!

With a bit more time on their hands, they plan to spend more time at their Laurieton holiday home. With this in mind Lindsay has bought a boat. Not your average boat! He bought an old Quintrex Slogger, a barge like craft that can float in very shallow water, and hold all the family. It is ideal for fishing & crabbing the shallow lakes and rivers around Laurieton. We took it for a run, and John caught 3 nice flathead. Lindsay had a rare off day!! It was a lovely afternoon, drifting around the lake with a cold beer in one hand and a fishing rod in the other! Takes some beating. On our last night we joined Lindsay, Myrelle and three couples, who are their closest friends, for their annual Christmas get together. It was a great night, as I had met most of these people back in my teens, when they were all just getting together. There was a lot of reminiscing and getting to know each other, all over again! If you set aside a few kilos and wrinkles, we haven't changed a bit!!!

Fresh Prawns with Diane & Peter.

Those delicious lake prawns.

From Gloucester to Forster! The inlet at Forster is without doubt one of the prettiest spots on the east coast. With the sun shining and the blue water & white sands sparkling it is a beautiful sight to behold. The Forster Caravan Park has undergone a big renovation, with all the permanents being evicted. As a casual visitor it has made a huge difference, but as we were to learn from our friends, it caused quite a bit of angst among the permanents, many of whom have been coming here for decades, Apparently they only got pretty short notice. We were catching up with Peter & Diane, friends we met caravanning, who now call Forster home. They are great company. They have had a year of surgery, with Pete having a shoulder reconstruction, and Diane having both knees replaced! They are doing great. They popped in for happy hour at 5.00pm and a new record was set, with happy hour ending at 12.30am!! They brought with them delicious lake prawns they had caught. Pete's fingers were still red raw from peeling the little buggers! But it was worth it as they were so salty & fresh. The next day, we did morning coffee, for a much needed caffeine hit, then headed out to their place to see their renovations which are underway, and out for a nice Italian feed. A whirlwind visit indeed!


Shellharbour Beachside Tourist Park.

Katrina & Malek, Leia & Fred.

We arrived in Shellharbour early December and caught up with Bev & Fred. As you know, this is like a second home for us. We arrived on a rare and lovely still afternoon, but next day was the start of a week of horrible weather where we experienced everything except snow! As usual Bev & Fred make us most welcome, and we really enjoy their company. This year we wouldn't be sharing Christmas Day with them, but we did enjoy a wonderful Christmas Eve, with Leia flying in from Melbourne, and Katrina & Malek arriving for a few days. I even managed to get Malek to give me a haircut ,a unique way to celebrate Christmas Eve!! In the two weeks before Christmas, the horrible weather meant fishing was out of the question!! But then fishing was

A relaxing brekkie by the sea.

far

Hair cut courtesy of Malek.

from the reason we were back in Sydney. John's dear mum, who is 91, has dementia, and it has worsened considerably in the last three months. Determined never to go into Aged Care, she was now suffering severe panic attacks. She now didn't want to be alone, and told us it was time for her to go to a place where she would have company and help. Sad as it is, it is a great relief to the family. We were incredibly fortunate to find a nice facility in the area that had a vacancy. Ferndale Gardens is a very nice centre. It is quite new, very light & airy, and more resembles a resort than a hospital, with a café, gift shop, hairdresser and every kind of medical service on tap. Mum has a large room with ensuite and balcony, and they encouraged mum to make it her "home", so we have decorated it with her own furniture, family photos and a few familiar things. She is now settling in nicely, and the staff are very good.



Xmas Lunch at Jen's

Anderson Clan Xmas 2015.

On top of mum's trials, John's sister Jenny underwent open heart surgery at the end of November, to replace a dodgy heart valve. She is recovering really well, after a successful operation. Obviously she is on very light duties for three months, so this year we joined Jenny, Dave & Jill for Christmas lunch at their home. We picked up mum from Ferndale, and had a lovely day, joined by Dave's brother Doug, and Jill's friends Dot, Brian & son Blake. Jill, aided by Carolyn, put on a great lunch, and we had a really nice day. Boxing Day saw the traditional Anderson clan get together, this year at brother Ian's place. As usual it was a fantastic day. We had started the day by having to move our van out of the caravan park at Shellharbour, up to our friend, Wayne's place at Menai. Consequently we were a little late!

At the Big bash with Gary & Kerry.

New Years' Eve at the Ayerso's.

For the next two weeks, we were the guests of the Ayerso's at Menai. With all three "kids" currently back home, the House Full sign was up! What a great two weeks we had. Each night the girls were taking turns cooking up a storm, and it was one long party. Wayne & I got in a couple of games of golf, one with our old tennis mates, Glen & Albert, who I haven't seen for years. Like all true friendships, it was as if the years hadn't passed. A great day and a few beers to top it off. I managed a couple of comp games at the club, even winning a Wednesday comp to cries of "travelling burglar"!  New Year's Eve was celebrated with a huge party full of 60's music and fun times. The girls kept up a steady stream of tasty tucker, and we couldn't believe it was 3.00am when we pulled up stumps! We also fitted in an overnight stay with Kerry & Gary at their lovely new Inner City apartment at Harold Park. There is always so much to talk about, and with Gary being the world's most travelled sports fan, some sport is usually involved!! This time it was a night at the SCG, for a Big Bash cricket match. We had a great night and day, with some good food and drinks along the way. When Wayne headed back to work, I picked a day with a later start, and joined him for a day on the road delivering bricks. It was a very interesting day, and I must say I don't know how Bluey does it everyday. I understand why this will be his last year.

John & Graeme at Calalla Bay.

Back to Shellharbour we went. There hasn't been a lot of time for relaxing,  with many trips back up to Sydney helping sort out mum's affairs. Brother Neil is doing most of the heavy lifting, and doing a great job. The plan is almost complete!! We did fit in a nice relaxing weekend down at Calalla Bay. Our friends Graeme & Louise, have bought a holiday house there. Calalla Bay is a sleepy hollow, on the northern shores of Jervis Bay and just an hour down the road. Graeme has started doing some renovations, and there are some bigger plans in the pipeline, but for now, it is a delightful retreat on a huge, tree filled block, full of birds. We enjoyed some fantastic food, wine, and on an unseasonally cool night, a warm fire. A morning bike ride around the shores of the bay, followed by a lazy brekkie, and I can see lots of reasons why this place will be a huge hit with family & friends.

Storm damage.

Bev & Carolyn at Rod Laver Arena.

As I write, my wonderful wife is down in Melbourne with Bev, Lynne and a number of other tennis tragics, watching a week of Australian Open Tennis. Sure looks like they are having a great time! Fred & I are batching, and making a fine go of it! The girls knew when to leave! Poor Fred!After dropping the girls off at the airport, I invited Fred down for Happy Hour and a BBQ. Storms were forecast, and as I picked up Fred, it started to rain. By the time I pulled up beside the caravan it was torrential, then the winds came, and came, and came, and it looked like we

At Centre Court with Roger!

could lose the awning. The winds could easily have topped 100kph! Fred & I were hanging onto ropes for dear life, wringing wet through to our jocks! There were tarpaulins and gazebos flying and flapping everywhere around the caravan park, and then there was a huge crack as a number of branches came crashing out of one of the giant Norfolk Pines, wrecking a caravan awning and damaging the caravan & car. Thankfully, it was all over in about half an hour. I took a wet & soggy Fred home for a hot shower, and a promise to do it all again another day - the happy hour and BBQ that is!! No wonder a man drinks!! Well, we have now picked up the girls after their big week in Melbourne, and life is returning to normal. We are starting to plan the year's travels. Those horrible storms just won't go away! Brother Ian had his Garden Shed destroyed, and we have just heard that our friends Cheryl & Chris have had water flood through their house, causing much damage. We hope it is quickly rectified. Every afternoon seems to end with a deluge!!




Dinner with Cheryl & Chris.

Our last ten days of our Sydney region visit, was spent at Camden. We saw first hand the damage to Cheryl & Chris' place. They are currently dealing with their insurance company and all is going well. We had some lovely nights with them and their family, visiting old haunts in Camden, for Noodles and Indian Food. We had a night with Geoff & Mark who travelled down for a lovely Italian meal at Luigi's in Narellan. The food was very good. We also took time to celebrate some family birthdays with a great afternoon at my brother Ian's home. Jenny, Adrienne and Belinda all celebrated the passing of another year, and we were also reminded of how the years march on, with our nephew Daniel, eldest son of Ian & Lynette, announcing his engagement to long term girlfriend, Caitlin. We wish them a wonderful life together. Our last Sunday in Camden was Valentines Day, and we celebrated the day at our

Valentine's Day dinner at Salute.

favourite Camden eatery, Salute. This family run Italian Restaurant, has been serving wonderful Italian food for years. They have moved to larger premises, since our last visit, but the food is still great. It was funny walking into a restaurant where every table is set for two! It was another special night for us. Still plenty of love and romance left in this couple!!


Most of our time at Camden, was spent travelling back and forth to mum's place, packing and cleaning, and helping to get her home ready for sale. It is a great relief to us and to all our family, that mum seems to have embraced her new surroundings at Ferndale Gardens. She is involved in a lot of the activities and is making new friends, which is wonderful to see. The staff are great, and she is interacting with them very well.


It is now time to get back on the road, we are getting a bit restless!  I hope you will enjoy following our travels in 2016 & beyond.