Stones and rocks are interesting. They can be things of beauty such as Uluru, they come in all sizes and shapes. Some are rough and rugged and others smoother than silk. Stones have many uses, whole stones are used as a feature in some of the most amazing gardens, crushed stone is used for many things including the making of our roads, which in our travels have been everything from major motorways and good highways to goat tracks that only a mad man would call a road. Stones have been created over millions of years by the various activities and movement of our lovely planet Earth. They are a wonder of time and motion.
So if it takes millions of years for the earth to make a stone, how does the human body manage to do the same thing in a much shorter time? Believe me, when the human body makes a stone it is not a thing of beauty nor is having one (or more!) something to be pleased about. The pain caused by stones in a human is indescribable. The intensity is breath taking. Without medical intervention they can be life threatening.
Just before we started our travels, I needed surgery for a 19 mm gallstone. Not a lot of fun.
Last week I thought I had another dose of shingles as the pain was of a similar intensity and in the same area and was excruciatingly persistent. But no, it is only kidney stones. So far I am only producing gravel, but give me time I am sure I can work my way up to another big one. Lucky me. This will make our travels just that little bit more challenging!
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Friday, May 30, 2014
Friday...30 May 2014
After unseasonally wonderful winter weather, we have woken up to pouring rain this morning with the forecast saying it will continue for three days. Right now it looks and feels very much like winter!
Yesterday we went to have afternoon tea with some very dear friends at Glasshouse Mountains. On the way we stopped off to watch the eldest grand daughter play tennis for her school team but sadly the team from the other school were very late arriving and we only got to watch the first five minutes of play before we had to continue to our original destination.
It was lovely to catch up with our friends and to see the photos of their recent trip to Borneo for Anzac. Himself's father was fighting in Borneo when WW2 ended. Coincidently so too was our dear friends father. From the pictures I saw yesterday it is obvious that Borneo is a beautiful country with some breath taking scenery.
After returning to base and having a quick dinner we were off again to watch our daughter and her family play mixed netball. I suppose I should have taken a photo but I was so enthralled watching them all out there on court together I clean forgot the camera!
After the game they and their supporters went home to a lovely log fire in the outdoor entertainment area fire pit. Sitting around a log fire anywhere is always nice but I am becoming a huge fan of outdoor fire pits, they create instant atmosphere where ever they are.
Yesterday we went to have afternoon tea with some very dear friends at Glasshouse Mountains. On the way we stopped off to watch the eldest grand daughter play tennis for her school team but sadly the team from the other school were very late arriving and we only got to watch the first five minutes of play before we had to continue to our original destination.
It was lovely to catch up with our friends and to see the photos of their recent trip to Borneo for Anzac. Himself's father was fighting in Borneo when WW2 ended. Coincidently so too was our dear friends father. From the pictures I saw yesterday it is obvious that Borneo is a beautiful country with some breath taking scenery.
After returning to base and having a quick dinner we were off again to watch our daughter and her family play mixed netball. I suppose I should have taken a photo but I was so enthralled watching them all out there on court together I clean forgot the camera!
After the game they and their supporters went home to a lovely log fire in the outdoor entertainment area fire pit. Sitting around a log fire anywhere is always nice but I am becoming a huge fan of outdoor fire pits, they create instant atmosphere where ever they are.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Wednesday...28 May 2014
Leaving Blackall we motored further north to Barcaldine.
Outside the local railway station is the Tree of Knowledge. It was under this tree that striking shearers founded the Australian Labour Party in 1891.
The original tree was found to have die-back in 1991 and a vandal also poisoned it, so it was removed and a memorial has been made on the site of the remains of the original tree. Must be hot in Barcaldine, we noticed five big pubs in a row in the main street!
Moving on we turned east and headed back toward the coast travelling through Emerald where we again turned, this time to the south and spent the night at a little town called Springsure. As we were leaving the next morning Himself noticed that one of the tyres on the caravan, which he had had his eye on for a few weeks, was now critical, so off we went to the local tyre dealer and bought four new tyres for the ute and had them put the partly used ones onto the caravan. After all that excitement we continued east to Biloela. Next morning we got up and had a pleasant drive through the hills where we had a gander at Gayndah on our way south east to Gympie.
At Gympie we went shopping for spare parts for our caravan and then spent the night in a small caravan park attached to a roadhouse just out of town on the road south. What a lovely little park. We were parked on the back fence and had the most magnificent country views I have seen in a while. The paddocks were green and the country was gently undulating with the Mary River tree line in the distance. In the foreground were cattle and horses grazing quietly while we watched a beautiful sunset. Perfect.
From there we have moved to Caloundra and are enjoying time with the daughter and her family.
Outside the local railway station is the Tree of Knowledge. It was under this tree that striking shearers founded the Australian Labour Party in 1891.
The original tree was found to have die-back in 1991 and a vandal also poisoned it, so it was removed and a memorial has been made on the site of the remains of the original tree. Must be hot in Barcaldine, we noticed five big pubs in a row in the main street!
Moving on we turned east and headed back toward the coast travelling through Emerald where we again turned, this time to the south and spent the night at a little town called Springsure. As we were leaving the next morning Himself noticed that one of the tyres on the caravan, which he had had his eye on for a few weeks, was now critical, so off we went to the local tyre dealer and bought four new tyres for the ute and had them put the partly used ones onto the caravan. After all that excitement we continued east to Biloela. Next morning we got up and had a pleasant drive through the hills where we had a gander at Gayndah on our way south east to Gympie.
At Gympie we went shopping for spare parts for our caravan and then spent the night in a small caravan park attached to a roadhouse just out of town on the road south. What a lovely little park. We were parked on the back fence and had the most magnificent country views I have seen in a while. The paddocks were green and the country was gently undulating with the Mary River tree line in the distance. In the foreground were cattle and horses grazing quietly while we watched a beautiful sunset. Perfect.
From there we have moved to Caloundra and are enjoying time with the daughter and her family.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Tuesday...27 May 2014
Well we made it to the Charleville show. It had the usual assortment of games in side show alley and the smell of manure pervaded the air where ever we went! We spent the biggest part of our day watching the sheepdog trials. The intelligence of these dogs is astounding.
Leaving Charleville, we went to Blackall which is 302 km further north.
Blackall has the only fully intact steam powered wool washing plant left in Australia. The Blackall Woolscour operated from 1908 to 1978 and although it is out of service the machinery is as functional now as it was then and runs from May to October each year as a tourist site.
Jack Howe, Australia's most famous shearer, shore a record 321 sheep in one day with blade shears at Alice Downs Station near Blackall in 1892. His record was finally beaten in 1950 but that shearer was using the modern electric driven shears!
This statue is outside the Barcoo hotel which Jack Howe owned at one time.
Now the other thing that Blackall is famous for is the legendary Black Stump.
Way back in the early days of our country, surveyors often used existing tree stumps to sit their theodolites on as they were more stable than portable tripods and therefore gave more accurate readings. The Black Stump is now petrified and it is considered that any country west of it is "beyond the black stump".
Leaving Charleville, we went to Blackall which is 302 km further north.
Blackall has the only fully intact steam powered wool washing plant left in Australia. The Blackall Woolscour operated from 1908 to 1978 and although it is out of service the machinery is as functional now as it was then and runs from May to October each year as a tourist site.
Jack Howe, Australia's most famous shearer, shore a record 321 sheep in one day with blade shears at Alice Downs Station near Blackall in 1892. His record was finally beaten in 1950 but that shearer was using the modern electric driven shears!
This statue is outside the Barcoo hotel which Jack Howe owned at one time.
Now the other thing that Blackall is famous for is the legendary Black Stump.
Way back in the early days of our country, surveyors often used existing tree stumps to sit their theodolites on as they were more stable than portable tripods and therefore gave more accurate readings. The Black Stump is now petrified and it is considered that any country west of it is "beyond the black stump".
Friday, May 16, 2014
Friday...16 May 2014
We left Bourke yesterday with plans to go to Cunnamulla for the night, but we got away so early we were in Cunnamulla before lunch and thought we might as well keep going. So here we are 200 km further up the road in Charleville.
On the way up here yesterday we were passed a few times and each time it was a large truck or someone towing a boat. This area of Qld is in severe drought and has been for quite some time and water is in short supply, so seeing so many boats left us wondering if they knew something we didn't. There are lots of clouds in the sky and I have no doubt the locals are hoping they will fall, but it is unlikely. No idea where the boats were headed but it surely was not Charleville. No large bodies of water here. It is showtime in Charleville and I have been told that if I am a good girl I might just get a show bag, lucky me!
We found a caravan park 8 km north of Charleville, lovely and quiet out in the country and the hosts are very welcoming. Happy hour had entertainment from a guitar playing easy listening singer. He did Slim Dusty's song about Charleville of course! Also at happy hour, surprise surprise, was my sisters friends who left Bourke two days ahead of us and are apparently in the same caravan park. They probably think we are stalking them now........
Just before we got to Charleville, about 50 km south, I was looking at something out my side of the car when we hit an unexpectedly rough patch of road, it was so rough it threw me around like a rag doll even though I had my seat belt on. I ended up with a very sore breast from the sting of the seat belt locking. Sore shoulders, very sore neck and a blinding headache. When we got here I needed to lie down and last night I had a bad night tossing and turning trying to get comfortable with my aches and pains. Today I just ache across the shoulders. Note to self: watch the road even if I am not the driver!
On the way up here yesterday we were passed a few times and each time it was a large truck or someone towing a boat. This area of Qld is in severe drought and has been for quite some time and water is in short supply, so seeing so many boats left us wondering if they knew something we didn't. There are lots of clouds in the sky and I have no doubt the locals are hoping they will fall, but it is unlikely. No idea where the boats were headed but it surely was not Charleville. No large bodies of water here. It is showtime in Charleville and I have been told that if I am a good girl I might just get a show bag, lucky me!
We found a caravan park 8 km north of Charleville, lovely and quiet out in the country and the hosts are very welcoming. Happy hour had entertainment from a guitar playing easy listening singer. He did Slim Dusty's song about Charleville of course! Also at happy hour, surprise surprise, was my sisters friends who left Bourke two days ahead of us and are apparently in the same caravan park. They probably think we are stalking them now........
Just before we got to Charleville, about 50 km south, I was looking at something out my side of the car when we hit an unexpectedly rough patch of road, it was so rough it threw me around like a rag doll even though I had my seat belt on. I ended up with a very sore breast from the sting of the seat belt locking. Sore shoulders, very sore neck and a blinding headache. When we got here I needed to lie down and last night I had a bad night tossing and turning trying to get comfortable with my aches and pains. Today I just ache across the shoulders. Note to self: watch the road even if I am not the driver!
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Wednesday...14 May 2014
Sunset last night back of Bourke caravan park.
Tomorrow we will continue our journey. We will stop at Cunnamulla and say g'day to the Cunnamulla Fella. I am sure I put a photo of him in this blog last time we came this way. He really is an awesome statue.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Tuesday...13 May 2014
A funny thing happened on our way to .........where ever it is we are going!
The last caravan into the park last night, just on dusk, was people from Victoria that we have met several times at my sisters place. Could not believe my eyes when I saw them. I followed them and said hello and they came to our caravan for a short happy hour once they had set up their camp. It really is a small world. Like they said, you would not be able to find anyone way out here if you were looking for them but we found each other just like that! Today Himself will try to help them fix a small problem that needs a soldering iron which of course we just happen to have somewhere deep in the bowels of our under van storage!
You meet all sorts of people in caravan parks from all sorts of places.
Our mail did not arrive as expected so we have booked for two more nights here. There are worse places to get stopped. Here we have sunshine and warmth and lots of things happening around us.
I have another of my nasty headaches so will appreciate not having to sit in the car all day bouncing down the road.
The last caravan into the park last night, just on dusk, was people from Victoria that we have met several times at my sisters place. Could not believe my eyes when I saw them. I followed them and said hello and they came to our caravan for a short happy hour once they had set up their camp. It really is a small world. Like they said, you would not be able to find anyone way out here if you were looking for them but we found each other just like that! Today Himself will try to help them fix a small problem that needs a soldering iron which of course we just happen to have somewhere deep in the bowels of our under van storage!
You meet all sorts of people in caravan parks from all sorts of places.
Our mail did not arrive as expected so we have booked for two more nights here. There are worse places to get stopped. Here we have sunshine and warmth and lots of things happening around us.
I have another of my nasty headaches so will appreciate not having to sit in the car all day bouncing down the road.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Saturday...10 May 2014
According to Google Maps, Condobolin to Bourke is 419 km and should take around 5 hours and 40 mins. Given that we are towing a caravan we were not too far off their estimate, we took just over 6 hours to complete the journey and my aching muscles felt nearly every last km of the trip today.
The scenery was rather nice. We passed through Tullamore, Tottenham and Nyngan on the way. On the road from Tottenham to Nyngan we saw a type of tumbling grass that was so thick it actually blocked our view of the bitumen road making passage through there rather eerie and odd.
Just out of Nyngan we passed a property letterbox that was shaped like an extremely tall Road Runner. Himself rather liked it but as it had been raining we could not stop on the side of the road to take a picture. Such a shame really, it was quite spectacular. The letterbox was about five metres tall and they had used a fifty litre farm drum as the body and that drum was the actual letter box. Some farmers just have way too much time on their hands!!
We are parked up in Bourke enjoying the warmer weather. After a brilliant bright red sunset we are now listening to gentle soft rain on the roof. Tomorrow is Himself's birthday and we are expecting a lovely warm 26 degrees.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Friday...9 May 2014
Our time here has come to an end and tomorrow we will move on once more.
Yesterday we returned to the farm and I shuffled the playlist for the aunt on her music stick while Himself did all sorts of mysterious stuff down the paddock. We spent a quiet afternoon while the aunt rested as she is still not well. The cough she has is wearing her out. We were late coming back into town but thankfully we only saw one kangaroo as it crossed the road ahead of us on one of the many bends.
Today Himself went back out to the farm to finish a couple of jobs and I stayed in camp and wore myself out doing the washing and cleaning ready for our departure. When he came home, we went down town and met up with the aunt for afternoon tea and after we had all completed our shopping we had dinner at the hotel and then the aunt and uncle went home early to get out of the cold night air and we came back to our caravan to finish our departure preparation.
Once again it will be sad leaving as we are very fond of this particular aunt but we expect to see her again on the return journey in a few months time.
As the next part of our trip will take us into the outback of NSW and Qld, we may not have internet reception for the next couple of weeks although we have noticed that it is often available in the most unlikely of places.
Yesterday we returned to the farm and I shuffled the playlist for the aunt on her music stick while Himself did all sorts of mysterious stuff down the paddock. We spent a quiet afternoon while the aunt rested as she is still not well. The cough she has is wearing her out. We were late coming back into town but thankfully we only saw one kangaroo as it crossed the road ahead of us on one of the many bends.
Today Himself went back out to the farm to finish a couple of jobs and I stayed in camp and wore myself out doing the washing and cleaning ready for our departure. When he came home, we went down town and met up with the aunt for afternoon tea and after we had all completed our shopping we had dinner at the hotel and then the aunt and uncle went home early to get out of the cold night air and we came back to our caravan to finish our departure preparation.
Once again it will be sad leaving as we are very fond of this particular aunt but we expect to see her again on the return journey in a few months time.
As the next part of our trip will take us into the outback of NSW and Qld, we may not have internet reception for the next couple of weeks although we have noticed that it is often available in the most unlikely of places.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Wednesday...7 May 2014
We took the meat tray out to the farm on Saturday and Himself's aunt cooked us a lovely roast lamb lunch out of it. Very nice. Himself replaced a broken door catch and I tidied a couple of cupboards in return. Then on Sunday we went out to the farm again and Himself downloaded music onto a stick for his aunt to use in her new car. In the middle of that he was called out to the shed to do a spot of welding on the air seeder. It is crop sowing time so the air seeder takes priority. While he was gone I continued the music download.
Monday we had lunch at the club with the aunts grandson and his partner and dinner at a local hotel with the aunt and uncle who had been to Parkes to the eye specialist.
Tuesday we went out to the farm again and Himself and I took the farm work ute and a chain saw and headed off into the paddocks to get fire wood for the old folk. It is bitterly cold in the mornings and their wood heap was very very low. If there is time we will get a bit more for them but at least now they have enough until the grandson finishes sowing the crops and can organise some more if needed.
While we were fetching the wood Himself was called out again, this time to something not working on the air seeder a couple of paddocks away. He was able to fix that much to their relief and then it was back to the chain saw! Quite a busy day.
The aunt wanted us to stay for dinner but she is not real well, she has a nasty cold, and I am not happy returning to town in the dark because of the kangaroos. So off we went, four kilometres later just as we came off the dirt road onto the bitumen, we hit a kangaroo! No damage to us but I think the roo probably has a serious headache!
Today is a down day. It will give the aunt and uncle a chance to rest up with their colds and we can do a few bits of our own.
Monday we had lunch at the club with the aunts grandson and his partner and dinner at a local hotel with the aunt and uncle who had been to Parkes to the eye specialist.
Tuesday we went out to the farm again and Himself and I took the farm work ute and a chain saw and headed off into the paddocks to get fire wood for the old folk. It is bitterly cold in the mornings and their wood heap was very very low. If there is time we will get a bit more for them but at least now they have enough until the grandson finishes sowing the crops and can organise some more if needed.
While we were fetching the wood Himself was called out again, this time to something not working on the air seeder a couple of paddocks away. He was able to fix that much to their relief and then it was back to the chain saw! Quite a busy day.
The aunt wanted us to stay for dinner but she is not real well, she has a nasty cold, and I am not happy returning to town in the dark because of the kangaroos. So off we went, four kilometres later just as we came off the dirt road onto the bitumen, we hit a kangaroo! No damage to us but I think the roo probably has a serious headache!
Today is a down day. It will give the aunt and uncle a chance to rest up with their colds and we can do a few bits of our own.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Saturday...3 May 2014
Griffith is a lovely town. The main street goes forever! Just the thought of having to walk along there left me breathless. One would not want for anything is this town. The number and variety of shops is astounding. From what we saw, most of the area surrounding Griffith is planted to grapes with every second gateway being another little winery. Some of the better known labels also call Griffith home. We stayed out of the wineries. Way too much choice and my liver is just not up to that these days!
Yesterday we travelled out from Griffith along the Yenda road or to be a little more precise, Burley Griffin Way which eventually connects with the Newell Highway.
Once out of town we were back in open country with views for miles around us. There was a lot of activity as the farmers were taking advantage of the fine weather to either plant their crops or harvest them depending on what part of the growing cycle their particular farm was into. Some were planting wheat, some were harvesting cotton and rice. It was so nice to have the open country around us again, even if it did come with the dreaded kangaroos!
At Barellan we found the big tennis racquet which is a 45 foot long exact scale model of the wooden Dunlop racquet used by Evonne Goolagong who was born in Griffith and grew up in Barellan and went on to become a World Number One Ladies Tennis player.
Barellan is a small wheat town with characteristic silos and functions primarily as a service centre for the surrounding agricultural district.
Right beside the big racquet was a statue of Eric Joliffe's Saltbush Bill cartoon character.
In the background of both these photos is the Commercial Hotel which is impressively large and was built in 1924.
Back on the road we came to Ardlethan which is located at the intersection of Burley Griffin Way and the Newell Highway. Ardlethan claims to be the birthplace of the Australian Kelpie.
The kelpie is a dog much admired for its ability at mustering and droving with little or no command. It is a medium sized dog and comes in a variety of colours. The famous Western Australia Red Dog was a kelpie.
After all that learning we continued our journey via West Wyalong to Condobolin where we parked up at the caravan park and went to dinner at the local RSL club with Himself's aunt and uncle. So lovely to see them again and all the other folk we have met and got to know in this town over our years of visiting. We even got lucky and won one of the meat tray raffles for the night! It began raining while we were in the club and it rained all night.
Yesterday we travelled out from Griffith along the Yenda road or to be a little more precise, Burley Griffin Way which eventually connects with the Newell Highway.
Once out of town we were back in open country with views for miles around us. There was a lot of activity as the farmers were taking advantage of the fine weather to either plant their crops or harvest them depending on what part of the growing cycle their particular farm was into. Some were planting wheat, some were harvesting cotton and rice. It was so nice to have the open country around us again, even if it did come with the dreaded kangaroos!
At Barellan we found the big tennis racquet which is a 45 foot long exact scale model of the wooden Dunlop racquet used by Evonne Goolagong who was born in Griffith and grew up in Barellan and went on to become a World Number One Ladies Tennis player.
Barellan is a small wheat town with characteristic silos and functions primarily as a service centre for the surrounding agricultural district.
Right beside the big racquet was a statue of Eric Joliffe's Saltbush Bill cartoon character.
In the background of both these photos is the Commercial Hotel which is impressively large and was built in 1924.
Back on the road we came to Ardlethan which is located at the intersection of Burley Griffin Way and the Newell Highway. Ardlethan claims to be the birthplace of the Australian Kelpie.
The kelpie is a dog much admired for its ability at mustering and droving with little or no command. It is a medium sized dog and comes in a variety of colours. The famous Western Australia Red Dog was a kelpie.
After all that learning we continued our journey via West Wyalong to Condobolin where we parked up at the caravan park and went to dinner at the local RSL club with Himself's aunt and uncle. So lovely to see them again and all the other folk we have met and got to know in this town over our years of visiting. We even got lucky and won one of the meat tray raffles for the night! It began raining while we were in the club and it rained all night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)