Still in Bathurst ;-)

Friday August 25, 2017

Vivienne went to her weekly Tai Chi and in the meantime I 'warmed up' in the sun room in company of Audry and Hazel, Viv's two cats.

One of the beautiful Wattles in the front yard

The coaster parked at the front

Sun room

Audry asleep

After that I spent some time working on the blog till Viv came home and the rest of the day we spent talking (as you do) and working on Viv's assignments.

Saturday August 26, 2017

We haven't done a lot of exciting things today.  We mainly went to the shops and worked on Vivienne's course work till her friend Lee came to visit in the afternoon.  And even then we went back to our 'homework' after Lee had left and we had sat down for our dinner.  It was another late night before we saw our bed.

Sunday, August 27, 2017

After a quick shower and breakfast Viv and I get ready to go out.  Two friends will come with us to visit a third friend in Blayney.  Katherine, who I don't know yet, arrives at 10am and we get ready to go.  On the way we pick up Pam and then we pass by the supermarket for Viv to buy a few sympathy cards for two friends who'd lost their mother recently.

Next we're on our way and as Viv asked to search for a few caches on the way to Blayney we stopped now and again, but not too often, because the wind was bitterly cold.  The first one we couldn't find.  What's new?!  With the second one we had more luck and it was actually a very easy find:

#1684 -  A Rocky Outlook (cache)

An easy cache with a, normally, beautiful view, but today was a blustery day with cold wind and patches of sunshine, so I quickly signed the log, took a picture and in the car we went.

As we missed the turn-off to the next cache we kept going and were at Ann's place by 11:30am.  Ann I also knew from last year's visit and I got to admire her new house (together with the others).  As it was a kind of 'house warming' there was a large spread with all kinds of sweets and other goodies.

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking and eating and singing our praises over Ann's grandson, who was visiting.  Such a lovely little boy and one who could still entertain himself, without all kind of modern gadgets.  You don't see that often any more!  Ann served also a lovely, hearty pea-and-ham soup, which went down very well as her house was just as cold as everyone else's.  Electricity and gas have become very expensive and are therefore used sparingly.

By 4pm it was time to go home and on the way back we found one cache, but it was the funniest situation I have been in for a long time.  See a copy of my log below:

#1685 - Kings Plains (cache)

# 1685 - I haven't had such a good laugh in a long, long time! Muggle Friend and I were going to look for this cache on our way to Blayney, and left two other friends behind in the car. We walked around GZ until MF stepped back and the conversation went like this:

MF: Don't go there!
Me: Why not?
MF: I said don't go there! Step back!
Me: What for???
MF: There is a snake!!!
Me: No. Don't be daft.
MF: Well, go and have a look. Wait. No, step back! There is a snake I tell ye...

I walk up to the pointed out spot and look and...... burst out laughing. That's not a snake! I get MF a tad bit closer and than she does the same: bursts out laughing. We really crack up and the others in the car really worry about us. What kind of weird game is that??? I show the others and they just nod their heads.... As you do. 

Anyway, I sign the log when I finely stop the hiccoughs and have wiped the tears from my eyes. It may have been a trifle silly, but boy I will remember this cache for a long time and every time I visit my MF in Bathurst I will ask her: Seen any snakes lately? 

TFTC Chuze. It deserves a FP for the camo and the laughs we had.

And indeed, we just couldn't stop laughing when I discovered 'the snake', because it was a large, plastic cockroach, that, honestly, I didn't even dare take out of it's dark hole with my bare hands!  You know, there could be a snake behind it, or a spider, or.......  Never mind, there are lots of things that can lurk in dark holes!

When we showed Katherine and Pam what we had found and told them why we had been laughing so much, they could only shake their heads at so much silliness.  Ah well, Viv and I had made a find we wouldn't forget in a hurry and will remember this for years to come.  What better than a good laugh from time to time?

And then it was all back to serious work again.  After, yet another delicious, dinner we set out to work on Viv's assignments and there was plenty still to do.  We worked diligently till 12:30am!!!

Monday, August 28, 2017

As last night it was another late night I did not wake up until 9:30am.  Not surprisingly really, when it's -2 degrees C outside and you're in your warm bed... ;-)

After a hot shower to get warm Viv and I sat in the sun room with our breakfast and a cuppa until it was time to go out and do some shopping.  Viv had a few things on her list and I wanted to go to my favourite shoe shop to see if I could snatch a pair or two of shoes on sale.  Not as lucky as last year, when I left with 4 pairs (!) I still was lucky enough to walk away with one pair and with 70% off who was I to complain? :-)  Next we visited the supermarket where I bought an old-fashioned hot water bottle for the cold nights in the camper.

We met one of Viv's good friends who asked us for morning tea tomorrow, so I had to change my plans again, as I had wanted to go home on Monday, had already extended it to Tuesday and now I will be leaving Wednesday!

On the way back Viv asked if there were any caches left in Bathurst to check out and with great difficulty I could find one for us on the way back home.  Most of them we have either done by now, or couldn't find or there is something wrong with them (without having been classed as 'needing maintenance'), so we're lucky to have another go at one.

#1686 -  The Grassy Knoll (cache)

Viv helping with the search

From the description it was unclear where we had to park and it was quite a distance walking that 'grassy knoll' downhill.  Of course, back was uphill!  Not too bad though and in the end an easy find, so that helped. I signed the log and than we were on our way back to have a quick lunch before Viv had to go to her class to show her assignments, which we had printed out first thing in the morning.

In the afternoon I updated my blog and when Viv came home from her class she had the good news that there were only a few minor mistakes that she needed to correct.  Hurray, we've done well! 

A few days more in Bathurst

Wednesday August 23, 2017

Wednesday was a day of 'hard work' at home.  Viv has enrolled in a course at TAFE and it's full on.  As she has just bought a new computer and is not proficient on it she had a real hard time, because the course is completely computer based.  As one may expect in this day and age.  So, the first few assignments and projects were written out by Viv and I typed them for her as there was no time for her to do it all.

On Wednesday though, we started a crash course on using Word and the internet, and it only dawned upon me how much we do know when we use the technology daily.  Cut and paste are common jargon for us, but not for Viv, so imagine all the rest.... But, with a few late nights (12 pm or later) we are getting there. And as a bonus I now know how to do intake, health assessments, and design specialised forms like referrals, surveys, etc.  ;-)

 Thursday August 24, 2017

As it still is very cold out here we don't get up early and wait till the sun peeps around the corner in the sun-room.  There we have our breakfast, morning coffee and chat.

Later in the day we went to the shops for some groceries.  I am amazed (and slightly upset) about the cheaper prices for fruit and vegetables which are of a much better quality than in our shops in SE Queensland.  Strawberries e.g. come from Queensland of all places, and are cheaper here!  We pay $2.50 or more for a punnet, while the same strawberries here cost only $1.66, and that goes for other wares as well.  One sometimes wonders.....

 Anyway, that aside (I had my whinge) we had a bit of time to spare and Viv asked if there were any caches around.  Yes, there were, but..... of course we couldn't find the bulk of them. Again!  I don'tknow what it is with caches in Bathurst, and I said it before, looking at the logs we're not the only ones.

We did find one, though. At last! :-)

#1683 - --- -- ti do (cache)

The cache was hidden near the wast water plant where I had earlier found the dump point.  I didn't know at the time, of course, but it didn't really matter.  Today we were in the area anyway, after having unsuccessfully searched for three other caches, and had a nice walk of approx. 200m to the cache.  It was an easy find, although I still don't know what to fill in at --- -- ti do. ;-)

By then my phone battery was flat, and since I hadn't known beforehand that we were going to look for caches I had not taken my dedicated caching GPS.  So, time to go home.

Viv cooked a delicious dinner, as usual, and the rest of the evening we worked again hard on her assignments.  

Surroundings of Bathurst

Tuesday 22 August, 2017

Today is a wonderful day.  Not cold and not windy.  So, Vivienne suggests we go for a drive.  We take a thermos for coffee and her car this time and set out on a trip towards Mudgee.  The trip takes us through Sofala, Illford, Kandos, Rylstone, Lue, and back to Bathurst again via the Castlereagh Highway and Sofala.  See map below:

It's a beautiful road and part of it I have come down on to Bathurst.  It's the one that's lined with wattle trees and the shine like gold in the afternoon sun.  This time I have been able to take a few pictures, albeit from the car, so not the best ones again.

Hillside full of wattle trees

Further down the road we also see enormous blocks of basalt:

Wildlife we also see, as usual, but again, more dead specimen then alive.  Among the dead ones were two wombats and several sheep and kangaroos.  We saw beautiful (live) correllas and ground parrots and a kangaroo hopping across the road in front of us.

We stopped at Sofala.  I was glad about that, but will probably have to stop there again on the way back home as I didn't get a chance to take pictures.  It's an old town with very old buildings.  Almost an open air museum.  The only photo I have is that of the stream where we saw the birds.

We stop a the pub at Kandos for a counter lunch.  As usual far too much, but we take some of the food in a serviette for afternoon tea...  You don't do it to save money, because a counter lunch generally isn't that expensive.  Viv had crumbed steak and I sausages with brown onion gravy.  Delicious.  I love these simple meals.

Close to Mudgee we stopped to quickly grab a cache:

#1682 - Interesting Info (cache)

It was quite an easy cache. We had wanted to stop for more on this trip, but I had forgotten to download the NSW map on my GPS and in the country I hardly had reception for my phone.  But, I'm happy enough with just one.

We parked the car in Mudgee and did some window shopping.  I also wanted to find a watchmaker, but they are a dying breed.  There were lots of clothing shops.  Surprising for a country town.  The photos are of two churches in Mudgee.

The way back to Bathurst led past Windamere Dam, where we stopped for afternoon tea, and via the Castlereagh Highway.  By 6pm we were back home.  

Staying at Bathurst

Thursday August 17 till
Monday August 21, 2017

The story of my time here with Vivienne will be a bit condensed as we don't do overly much (besides talking!) and it wouldn't be interesting to tell you from day to day what I had or breakfast, lunch and dinner, how cold it was, what time I had my shower or whatever else I would be doing.  You would NOT be interested, I can tell you that! :-)

Let's go back to Thursday then.  It was cold and windy, but pleasant enough in the sunshine, so we scrounged around in the fridge for food and went for a drive in the motorhome, as Vivienne likes to come with me to search for a few geocaches.  Although we're never very successful in Bathurst (and we don't seem to be the only ones, seeing the various logs) we still can have some fun together.  However, as things didn't go to plan we were late leaving and still things weren't going quite to plan!
We had decided to drive to Oberon, but nearly halfway on the road I remembered that I should have gotten fuel, so we had to return to Bathurst (the closest stop), fill up and make our way back again.

In the meantime we had searched for, and found, our first (and only!) cache for the day.

And from here on I am going to be very brief, because my updated failed to save, so I lost all my work and I don't feel like doing it all over again.  :-(

Cache found:

#1681 - More Power

The next cache, called Fordson (brand name of tractors) we didn't find, but I have a picture of myself sitting in the driver's seat.

A bit further down the road we stopped for lunch, which we had in the motorhome because of the cold and windy weather, and went to search for another cache we couldn't find.

In Oberon we walk through the main street, search for yet another cache which also ends up as a DNF and buy a lovely gelato ice cream.  Then we reurn to Bathurst.

On Friday we stay home, save for a short trip to the chemist for me to fill some scripts and for headache tablets.  (Nothing unusual!)

On Saturday we visit Viv's friend Pam and her husband, whom I both know and we had a pleasant afternoon together.

On Sunday it as was a day at home again.  Only another quick trip to the shops for groceries.  After that we started on Viv's assignment for the course she's taking.  A lot of writing involved, including writing a synopsis and designing a number of forms.

As Viv is not very computer literate and has just bought a new computer she needed some help to get her going.  We started briefly, but as time was limited we kept it to the basics.  I started typing and she worked on her forms.

On Monday it was more of the same.  A lot of writing for Viv and typing for me, but by 3pm, when she needed to leave for her class, it was all done.  Upon her return she was very happy with a 90% result for her work.

Travelling to Bathurst

Wednesday August 16, 2017

I leave as early as possible, 8am in this case.  Like last time I like this part of the trip best.  After Coonabarabran you leave the highway and arrive in much quieter country without the traffic, road trains and piloted oversize transport, of which I saw plenty on this trip.

As we are in August now the wattles are in full bloom and if I had been able to stop at the right places I would have been able to show you beautiful pictures.  As it is I could only stop at a spot where I saw a lonely wattle tree (and one further down at the back), but at least I have a picture to show.

By 9.30am I feel a coffee coming on so I stop at a rest area at Dunedoo (S32 0.943, E149 23.931).  I enjoy my cuppa, ring Vivienne to update her on my whereabouts and continue on to Gulgong where I want to find the listed (on GeoWiki) dump point for the toilet.  I drive up and down Salesyard Street, but to no avail.  I cannot find anything that vaguely looks like a dump point, so I continue on my way to Bathurst.  If I need to go to the toilet before Bathurst, too bad, I'll just have to cross my legs! ;-)

Towards lunchtime I arrive at Sofala and stop for lunch at the Joyce Pearce Memorial Park (33° 4.848'S, 149° 41.312'E).  I enjoy a quiet lunch.  I am a bit pressed for time, otherwise I would have loved to walk into town, because it seems a quaint little place to have a look around, but I would probably loose track of time...

I had a bit of rain earlier and the temperature is plummeting, so I change into something warmer before I continue on my last leg of the trip to Bathurst.  Last year this was a testing road for my motorhome, because I discovered months afterwards that the air intake hose wasn't attached and here the vehicle needs a lot of power as this is all hilly and steep in some places.  This time it's a breeze and I encounter no problems at all.

By three o'clock I arrive at Bathurst.  I have already seen the big sign on the mountain, advertising in huge writing (something like the Holywood sign) that it's Mount Panorama, the well-known race track. It's also easily seen on the aerial picture of Google Earth:

Since I have a bit of time to kill, Vivienne is out till 4pm, I search for a dump point.  I am not successful at the first one, nor at the second.  Darn! I find the local information centre where I am pointed in the right direction.  I was close the second time, but I had stopped where I thought the road ended.  I just had to drive a little further to the waste water plant, which I did and could finally empty the cassette.

As I had even more time on my hands I had a look if there were any caches in the vicinity and yes, there was one, which I searched for and found.

#1680 - A Step Back in Time

Luckily I didn't have a lot of trouble searching for this tiny container.  I could sign the log without even being noticed by the busy traffic along this road. I took a few pictures of the old tools, apparently used in the past for asparagus growing, and then I was on my way again. 

I finally arrived at my destination, just before Vivienne arrived.  It was great to see each other again.

Bathurst re-visited

In April last year I had just bought my motorhome and made my first trip to Bathurst to visit old friend and colleague Vivienne.  We were to make a trip together at the end of last year, but it wasn’t to be as she became seriously ill.  It has taken her considerable time to get well again and now I am on my way to pay her another visit.  Unfortunately it will always be a one-way hosting as Vivienne is no longer allowed to fly and so is not able to come to Bribie.

Monday August 14, 2017

I left early Monday morning, although not as early as I had wanted, because I hadn’t done any cleaning up after my modest birthday party on Sunday and I had yet to pack the camper.  However, by 10 am it was all done and I was ready to leave.

The trip doesn’t promise to be an adventurous one, but hopefully uneventful and I will just simply post where I have been and a picture here and there. 

As I had had an early breakfast my first coffee stop was close to home, at the BP Service Centre on the Bruce Highway.  I didn’t linger as I had yet to travel through Brisbane and wanted to leave the city behind as soon as I could.  I could have probably taken the D’Aguilar Highway via Caboolture and Esk, but I had travelled that road so often of late, I’d rather take the route through Brisbane. 

I stopped for lunch at James Hedges Park - #564 (S27 33 04, E152 07 09) near Helidon, where I arrived rather late for lunch as my watch had stopped yet again.  Time for the watchmaker!  Fortunately I came prepared and had my old watch tucked away in my bag, so that won’t happen again.

Next a quick stop a Withcott for fuel and then on to the rest stop for the night, which I had planned close to Goondiwindi.  I didn’t quite make it that far, but Millmerran was close enough and so I stopped at Yarramalong Weir - #660 (S27 50 07, E151 27 02) at approx. 4 pm.  

This was a nice spot on the river.  I was parked close to a caravan and walked across to have a chat with the owners.  They were on their way home to Tasmania after a three month trip to north Queensland and the Red Centre to get away from the winter cold.  On my way back another traveller said hello and when I mentioned that my plan was to stretch my legs another couple overheard me and invited me to walk with them.  They were from Melbourne and were going to meet friends at Agnes Waters.  We walked north across the river up till the farm and back.  A nice stretch and a chat and that was enough to give me enough appetite to make dinner. I had picked up some kale on Sunday and a kookwurst had been waiting in the fridge so I had a nice Dutch winter’s dish!

Note to self: follow up the phone call from the bank.

Tuesday August 15, 2017

This morning it was quite a bit cooler at waking up than at home, but still okay.  I got away after breakfast at 8.30 am, a bit later than planned, but still early enough. Just. 

I forgot to take a picture of the rest area, but the google earth map shows the site clearly if you want to have a go at it. I stopped briefly at Millmerran to take a picture of, what I think was a water tank, which had a nice picture painted on it.

I have coffee at a simple rest area somewhere along the highway and lunch at Tycannah Rest Area near Moree (see Google Earth) and stop later past Narrabri for fuel.

It’s quite a drive today, rather five hours instead of the average four I like to do in one day, but I need to get the extra hour in that I lost because of my late departure yesterday.  Bathurst is approx. a 12 hr drive and if I average 4 hours a day than I am fine.  So hopefully I will arrive tomorrow late afternoon.

For the night I stop at a very simple rest area along the highway.  Nothing special and not too busy with road trains, although there were plenty during the day.  I also noticed I had arrived in ‘prickly pear country’ again and also saw more dead kangaroos along the roadside, a few wild pigs, an emu and an echidna.  No live wildlife save for one wild pig.

The overnight stop is at Gowan Rest Area - #818 (S31 13 05, E149 19 34)

Note to self (again): another call from the bank to follow up. 

A weekend at Dunethin Rock

Friday, 4 August 2017

Today is Stephen's birthday, so first thing of course is to ring him and wish him a happy birthday.  We also discuss a present for him which will take the form of dinner and a movie together sometime later this year at a time that will suit us both.

Next it's time to pack the camper as I will be going away for the weekend.  Dianne and Heather will be coming in Heather's car with the two kayaks and we will meet at Maccas on the motorway near Caboolture.  I have had the power on to cool the fridge and freezer and fill up the tank with drinking water.  Then I'm ready to go.  It's early, just after twelve noon, so I take the camper to Red Beach (just around the block) and park there to have lunch away from home and in peaceful surroundings.

Then I am on my way to Maccas where, after arrival, I receive a phone call from Dianne.  They've missed the turn-off at Caboolture and will be waiting at the next exict, Pumicestone Road.

From there it's plain sailing and we make good time to Dunethin Rock.  Heather has me on my toes, however, as she is really doing the allowed 110 km/hr on the motorway and I need to keep up.  The coaster has no problem with the speed, but the traffic is heavy and I don't particularly like weaving in and out of the lanes.  On my own I'd prefer a more leisurely speed, but we get there without problems.  That's the main thing.

Upon arrival at the scouts campe we're greeted by Ken, who points out where we are to park and after levelling the camper we can sit back and relax.  More people arrive slowly, but the actual event doesn't start until Saturday afternoon, so we take it easy.  Dianne has cooked a nice curry, which we have for dinner and the evening we spend together in the big hall with coffee and some stronger stuff.  Both Dianne and Heather sleep in the camper.  Three years ago Heather and I spent a few very cold nights in a borrowed tent, but not so this year.  No tent, no cold nights either!

---

On Saturday Colin, Patricia's son, arrives as well and in his mother's new camper, which we finally get to see.  A big step-up from her VW transporter: a Toyota hiace.  She's done well.

Heather, Colin and others are going for a paddle on the river, while Dianne and I, not having the strong muscles the others have, decide to go for a walk and look for a few caches in the area.  No new ones for me, as I have already found them, but it's Dianne's first year here, so she'll have a few smileys for her efforts.

The actual event starts a 2 pm and by that time we have gathered quite a group together.  It's Jenny's birthday and we celebrate with a big birthday cake after a BBQ lunch.  The rest of the afternoon is spend chatting and receiving 'lucky draw' gifts and there is also a FTF for a winner.  I am not keen to win that one as it's on the water and I am not planning on going paddling...

You won't think it's winter.  The days are quite warm and we don't walk too far, because it's very hilly.
The night is pleasantly spent around a big campfire and we are actually hot!  Not the cold winter nights that you can expect around this time of the year.  Even during the day the temperature climbs to 26 degrees!

---

On Sunday the others take their kayaks out again and Heather gives us the keys to her car, so that Dianne and I can go a bit further afield to find some more caches.  We have a good morning.  We've found a 'power trail' nearby and come home with 17 finds.  So, the weekend total for us is 18 as it is a geocaching event and we get a smiley for logging the event as well.

When we come back it's lunch time and then packing up time.  Dianne leaves with Heather and I drive home by myself.  By the time I get home the sky is dark and ominous and just after I have unpacked the camper the thunder comes rolling in.  Before the night has started the rain comes down by the bucket load, but it's the right time of the day.  I am inside, unpacked and the rain will do the garden a lot of good.

Following are a few pictures of the caches and that's all for this weekend.

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe (cache) 

Crazy Flying Machines (power trail caches)