thewills'wanderings

Well not exactly. We felt like we were in the outback but we were only about 300 kms inland. It put it in perspective when we met a couple travelling who said they didn’t live far from here, just 500 miles inland from where we were! Australians really do seem to have a different perspective on distance. It has made us see how tiny our little island is.

I must admit I felt a bit nervous leaving the coast. I love the beach and it’s hard to leave warm water and white sandy beaches and head for colder weather, more bugs and flies and other unknowns. But, Im so glad we did. From the Blue Mountains we took the inland road as we headed back towards Brisbane. We stayed at one caravan park but for 3 nights we stayed at free camping spots and they were awesome. We passed through lots of little derelict towns as well as ones with innumerable beautiful old churches. We spent a morning at a Pioneer Museum in Gulgong and all learnt heaps about the early settlement of inland Australia. I really have learnt so much about Australian history and as part of the girl’s schoolwork they’re being forced to as well! It’s not so hard teaching the girl’s stuff when you’re learning it with them!The last week in the caravan has been awesome. The highlights have been meeting people on the road and camping near them and learning more about Australia through chatting to them . We met a couple who moved here from NZ in the 1970’s with their children. Now, in their late sixties, they’re travelling around in their little combi van. We met them at a lookout and ended up camping at the same spot that night. They came over for a drink and we got to know them a bit. It’s nice getting these little snapshots of people’s lives.

On our last night in the caravan(boohoo!), we found a great spot in our free camping guide. It was down a little track not far off the main road. There was one little old man with one tooth camping there and firepits provided . The downside was the very scary longdrop. I hate to think how many redback spiders were lurking. However, I have got very brave and managed ok, except in the middle of the night when the grass behind the caravan was far more appealing!

At about 6pm, a couple pulled up with their 2 dogs and they soon became our neighbours. We had a great evening around the campfire talking to them. They were semi-retired and come from Darwin. They told us how they think nothing of driving over 1000kms in a day if they have to get somewhere! It really makes you see how the geography of a country shapes people and their lives.That night the girls had a great time cooking potatoes and corn in the fire embers. Michaella(our potato girl) especially loved doing her own creations with garlic and butter. After dinner she baked bananas in the fire with caramello chocolate squares in the middle!

So, Friday morning we said goodbye to our Darwin friends and hit the road again with our familiar theme song once again sung loudly and headed to the sea! It was only a 2 hour drive and we arrived at Cabarita Beach on the Tweed Coast, about an hour south of Surfers. We have a week at Tamarind Sands, another timeshare before we head up to the Sunshine Coast for yet another week in a timeshare. I know, I know, it all sounds far too glam, but we need these two weeks to spruce up the caravan, wash all the bedding and sell our car. We may just find a bit of time to swim in the pool and surf at the beach!

Our time in the caravan was sooooo great! We loved the freedom of not always knowing where we will stay for the night but the security of knowing we had all our food and beds, so it didn’t matter. Tim and I are already planning our next Australia trip, when the kid’s are long gone. We’d love some other couples to join us. It will take us about 15 years for us to recover from this trip, so how about it?? A six month trip in a camper or caravan exploring wild beaches and remote outback spots. You can actually do it quite cheaply, by staying in as many free spots as possible and occasionally going to a campground for showers and washing etc.

We’ve met numerous people who have been travelling for years. One couple had been on the road for 8 years, another for 4!! That’s kind of extreme but quite amazing.

So, here we are, back at the sea. I’m sitting by the pool, typing away, while the girls swim. Tim is fiddling around with the caravan and I’m looking ahead to the next part of our adventure. We’re just sorting out our accommodation in Kathmandu and getting excited about all that is ahead of us. We fly to NZ late on April 3^rd and will spend the week leading up to Easter catching up with family and friends . After the Easter Conference we have 2 days before we fly to Bangkok, where we will spend 4 days before flying to Nepal on April 20^th to meet up with Lynds, Glenda, Mark , Diana and any other Adpecs hangers on? It’s all getting pretty exciting.

Hopefully, we’ll be able to catch up with some of you while we’re in NZ. Love hearing from any of you!!

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 21st, 2009 at 4:06 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.