Time Travelling......
Hello Possums,
Reporting to you from a humid and breezy Queensland. Elanora in Queensland to be precise and close to Burleigh Heads. Yes, we've crossed the border from New South Wales into Queensland and the clocks went back an hour so that's taking some getting used to. A trip to Bunnings in Tweed Heads, NSW (B&Q equivalent) means we are officially time travellers. My Smart Watch is being tested ! I'm blaming the delay in blog to jet lag haha.
So last time I blogged we were about to head to Bostobrick to a Blueberry Farm, which, having baulked initially at the $40 a night for no facilities other than a drop loo, we had to wind our necks in having listened to the farmer's story. Also the subsequent two night stay was blissfully quiet and peaceful and we had the place to ourselves complete with swimming holes, Freshwater /turtles and the hope of spotting a Platypus.
The farmer Dave has been doing it tough as have many farmers in Australia; even before the bushfires they had been in severe drought. Dave had decided to diversify by offering camping spots for self contained vehicles, having also a small Air BnB place next to his Farmhouse. He had come very close to having to get rid of his cattle as he was finding it too expensive to feed them with the drought. The Blueberry business had been a sideline initiated by his wife as another means of income. Sadly his wife passed away 18 months ago (in her 40s) and he has been struggling both financially and mentally. So we were pleased to be able to help out in some small way.
The blueberries have also had a hard time of it as he had a contract with one of the big food companies that supply the likes of Woolworths (Asda equivalent). When they were at the green berry stage, the area suffered a large hailstorm and the berries were slightly scarred as a result. This meant the big company then downgraded his Blueberries thus rendering them almost worthless. He then attempted to sell them locally and run a 'pick your own' which has now resulted in him having to appear before a Board in breach of contract!
It does really make you think about when you're in the supermarket and the insistence of perfect looking vegetables and fruit, that actually this has huge consequences for Farmers if they happen to be slightly imperfect albeit still edible. It has certainly made us reflect on how we shop and sourcing of goods.
So that was my story for this blog of an Aussie bloke doing the hard yards.
Anyway back to our travels; we nearly did not get away from the camp site due to the severity of the slope - thankfully Dave's 4x4 came to the rescue. The slope was negotiable downhill and uphill would be ok in dry conditions, but not so easy in our front wheel heavy van in the wet gravel despite my best efforts.
Yes that's right WET Conditions! We had rain and, at times, quite heavy rain resulting in flooding in some areas. Blimey, Australia is most definitely a country of extremes! The poet Dorothy McKellar was not wrong in her poem "I love a sunburnt country........of droughts and flooding rains"(google it).
We continued our meander up the coast having stopped at Dorrigo and Bellingen to have a mooch around. Dorrigo has what potentially could be an amazing Railway Museum...yes, you heard right. It has a huge collection of really old steam trains and carriages literally littered down a track waiting for the Australian and/or NSW Government to recognise the potential. The trains are being preserved at the moment by a bunch of volunteers, a Museum that's not a Museum which seems such a waste. They need $3 Million dollars to get it up and running so no tall order. But very bizarre to see all these early 1900's trains just sitting in a field.
Bellingen was a great little town, full of cafes and shops and a funky hippie type vibe; I imagine how Byron Bay was back in the day? Also had it's own BBC - the Bellingen Brewing Company, purchase was made to sample along the way.
Quite warm inland so the breeze of the coast was welcoming and a stay at a small caravan park, in Mylestom for those utilising a map, which bordered river and sea. The weather was pretty changeable with wind and rain. Dennis most definitely does not like the wind and the awning - he supervised us on the beach instead.
Onward and upward, we checked out a few beaches and viewpoints and honed in on the First BIG Thing (not our first but our sixth !) which started the whole BIG Thing phenomenon; Coffs Harbour's BIG BANANA !
Von had visited here many years ago, as a young backpacker, and it had changed somewhat as its now the frontispiece for an Amusement Park. Photo duly taken we hastened away, given it's still school holidays, but not before purchasing a fridge magnet!
Coffs Harbour also tries to boast, and I'm sure there are other towns that might disagree, that they have the longest Jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. We walked its length and back and exercised Von's umbrella again (she feels justified in packing it now!)
Worthy of a mention, as I'd not seen one before, was a Suncream dispenser at the end of the jetty. Given it was raining we didn't attempt to operate it. Payment was made via an app for various quantities from 10ml upwards. I presume you needed a receptacle or had to be really quick slapping it on...
From Coffs we made our way to the Grafton Greyhound Track which was a bargain at $15 a night unpowered and had what looked like brand new facilities. Great value and treated to a very noisy frog chorus when the rain came down. By the next morning we were glad we had parked where we had as a number of caravans with awnings were in large puddles.
And so to Rous, just outside Ballina which is also the home of yet another BIG Thing, the Prawn! It has to be the biggest Big Thing we have seen so far, it was MASSIVE and, bizarrely, in the Bunnings Carpark entrance. Apparently there had been a Tourist Information place there originally but the Behemoth that is Bunnings took over the site. There had been a hoohah and so the Prawn stayed put. I'm sure the populous that only want to buy a box of screws are chuffed that the car park is full of tourists taking photos of the Big Prawn and, yes, we were those people!
Our next camp for the night was the driveway of an ex- Royal Navy colleague of Von's.....he did know we were parking up. The Tyler family and friends were extremely hospitable and we were treated to a BBQ and home brew beer too! The Tylers emigrated out to Oz as Tracy is an Aussie and they've had an amazing house built. Great interior design which would grace the inside of any House Magazine. We were able to distract Dennis from the Tyler family cat...no incidents to report!
Due to the appearance of much needed torrential rain we made the decision to head straight for Queensland with a couple of soggy sightseeing stop offs. Maclean to again test out Von's umbrella and to spot the tartan painted telegraph poles; didn't find the GRAY one. New Italy which was pretty much a Motorway Service Station but with Italian theme due, in part, to the early settlers being from Italy so it did have a very interesting Museum.
This was very close to being destroyed in the bushfires a few months ago and the car park had a stark reminder with all the trees up to the tarmac being black. What is amazing to see though is already the green shoots springing from what look like dead trees.
So through more rain we finally crossed over the border into Queensland with a toot toot of the horn. (Still not convinced this is actually a recognised 'thing' or whether it's been a huge wind-up from our dear friends Jenny & Ronni who, over the last 15 years, have insisted that when you drive over a Border you need to toot the Horn, mmm).
Jenny & Ronnie have recently sold up in Melbourne and purchased in the warmer climes of Elanora which is a suburb on the Gold Coast. Great parking spot for Cilla, a real bedroom/bathroom, and a Pool so they may well struggle to get rid of us at this rate !
And that is where we're at; enjoying their company, re-sorting and cleaning the van. Sorting out some prescription sunglasses for me and I'm about to take Dennis to his first Australian Vet for his annual jabs.
Von meanwhile is time travelling with Jen to Bunnings so who knows what she'll come back with.......
Reporting to you from a humid and breezy Queensland. Elanora in Queensland to be precise and close to Burleigh Heads. Yes, we've crossed the border from New South Wales into Queensland and the clocks went back an hour so that's taking some getting used to. A trip to Bunnings in Tweed Heads, NSW (B&Q equivalent) means we are officially time travellers. My Smart Watch is being tested ! I'm blaming the delay in blog to jet lag haha.
So last time I blogged we were about to head to Bostobrick to a Blueberry Farm, which, having baulked initially at the $40 a night for no facilities other than a drop loo, we had to wind our necks in having listened to the farmer's story. Also the subsequent two night stay was blissfully quiet and peaceful and we had the place to ourselves complete with swimming holes, Freshwater /turtles and the hope of spotting a Platypus.
The blueberries have also had a hard time of it as he had a contract with one of the big food companies that supply the likes of Woolworths (Asda equivalent). When they were at the green berry stage, the area suffered a large hailstorm and the berries were slightly scarred as a result. This meant the big company then downgraded his Blueberries thus rendering them almost worthless. He then attempted to sell them locally and run a 'pick your own' which has now resulted in him having to appear before a Board in breach of contract!
It does really make you think about when you're in the supermarket and the insistence of perfect looking vegetables and fruit, that actually this has huge consequences for Farmers if they happen to be slightly imperfect albeit still edible. It has certainly made us reflect on how we shop and sourcing of goods.
So that was my story for this blog of an Aussie bloke doing the hard yards.
Yes that's right WET Conditions! We had rain and, at times, quite heavy rain resulting in flooding in some areas. Blimey, Australia is most definitely a country of extremes! The poet Dorothy McKellar was not wrong in her poem "I love a sunburnt country........of droughts and flooding rains"(google it).
We continued our meander up the coast having stopped at Dorrigo and Bellingen to have a mooch around. Dorrigo has what potentially could be an amazing Railway Museum...yes, you heard right. It has a huge collection of really old steam trains and carriages literally littered down a track waiting for the Australian and/or NSW Government to recognise the potential. The trains are being preserved at the moment by a bunch of volunteers, a Museum that's not a Museum which seems such a waste. They need $3 Million dollars to get it up and running so no tall order. But very bizarre to see all these early 1900's trains just sitting in a field.
Bellingen was a great little town, full of cafes and shops and a funky hippie type vibe; I imagine how Byron Bay was back in the day? Also had it's own BBC - the Bellingen Brewing Company, purchase was made to sample along the way.
Quite warm inland so the breeze of the coast was welcoming and a stay at a small caravan park, in Mylestom for those utilising a map, which bordered river and sea. The weather was pretty changeable with wind and rain. Dennis most definitely does not like the wind and the awning - he supervised us on the beach instead.
Onward and upward, we checked out a few beaches and viewpoints and honed in on the First BIG Thing (not our first but our sixth !) which started the whole BIG Thing phenomenon; Coffs Harbour's BIG BANANA !
Von had visited here many years ago, as a young backpacker, and it had changed somewhat as its now the frontispiece for an Amusement Park. Photo duly taken we hastened away, given it's still school holidays, but not before purchasing a fridge magnet!
Coffs Harbour also tries to boast, and I'm sure there are other towns that might disagree, that they have the longest Jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. We walked its length and back and exercised Von's umbrella again (she feels justified in packing it now!)
Worthy of a mention, as I'd not seen one before, was a Suncream dispenser at the end of the jetty. Given it was raining we didn't attempt to operate it. Payment was made via an app for various quantities from 10ml upwards. I presume you needed a receptacle or had to be really quick slapping it on...
From Coffs we made our way to the Grafton Greyhound Track which was a bargain at $15 a night unpowered and had what looked like brand new facilities. Great value and treated to a very noisy frog chorus when the rain came down. By the next morning we were glad we had parked where we had as a number of caravans with awnings were in large puddles.
And so to Rous, just outside Ballina which is also the home of yet another BIG Thing, the Prawn! It has to be the biggest Big Thing we have seen so far, it was MASSIVE and, bizarrely, in the Bunnings Carpark entrance. Apparently there had been a Tourist Information place there originally but the Behemoth that is Bunnings took over the site. There had been a hoohah and so the Prawn stayed put. I'm sure the populous that only want to buy a box of screws are chuffed that the car park is full of tourists taking photos of the Big Prawn and, yes, we were those people!
Our next camp for the night was the driveway of an ex- Royal Navy colleague of Von's.....he did know we were parking up. The Tyler family and friends were extremely hospitable and we were treated to a BBQ and home brew beer too! The Tylers emigrated out to Oz as Tracy is an Aussie and they've had an amazing house built. Great interior design which would grace the inside of any House Magazine. We were able to distract Dennis from the Tyler family cat...no incidents to report!
Due to the appearance of much needed torrential rain we made the decision to head straight for Queensland with a couple of soggy sightseeing stop offs. Maclean to again test out Von's umbrella and to spot the tartan painted telegraph poles; didn't find the GRAY one. New Italy which was pretty much a Motorway Service Station but with Italian theme due, in part, to the early settlers being from Italy so it did have a very interesting Museum.
This was very close to being destroyed in the bushfires a few months ago and the car park had a stark reminder with all the trees up to the tarmac being black. What is amazing to see though is already the green shoots springing from what look like dead trees.
So through more rain we finally crossed over the border into Queensland with a toot toot of the horn. (Still not convinced this is actually a recognised 'thing' or whether it's been a huge wind-up from our dear friends Jenny & Ronni who, over the last 15 years, have insisted that when you drive over a Border you need to toot the Horn, mmm).
Jenny & Ronnie have recently sold up in Melbourne and purchased in the warmer climes of Elanora which is a suburb on the Gold Coast. Great parking spot for Cilla, a real bedroom/bathroom, and a Pool so they may well struggle to get rid of us at this rate !
And that is where we're at; enjoying their company, re-sorting and cleaning the van. Sorting out some prescription sunglasses for me and I'm about to take Dennis to his first Australian Vet for his annual jabs.
Von meanwhile is time travelling with Jen to Bunnings so who knows what she'll come back with.......
Getting ready for Australia Day
Tribute to Terry Jones who died this week
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