Day 4 saw us make a FIFO visit to my Aunty Margaret’s family in Wagga.  We camped out on their acreage and got a few errands run and sewing jobs done (thanks Margaret!).

The next morning we enjoyed a quick bike ride around Lake Albert before heading off to visit my grandmother Gladys for afternoon tea.  Then it was off to Greenacres.

Day 1 –  3:  We woke on Sunday to discover we had drained both batteries overnight (oops) by leaving the caravan fridge hooked up to the car.  After we solved that issue, we got away in heavy rain, arriving in Canberra to stay with my Aunty Janet. We headed out on Sunday night for a treat and had an excellent meal at Beluccios in Dickson.  It was a slow night for them and James managed not only to charm his way into a full tour of the kitchen but also into 4 free tickets to an Asian Cup football game for Tuesday night!
We were awakened in the early hours by the noise of James scratching his head. Luckily, we had the foresight to bring the nit comb. Unluckily, we had to use it! Six hours and several extinguished cooties later, we hit the shops for supplies, had an early dinner and turned in with any plans for sight seeing delayed for another day.

On Tuesday we headed off to visit Parliament house – we had somehow managed to miss this on previous visits and thought seeing as though we were about to circumnavigate this great country of ours the boys better see where it is all run from.  It was much better than expected – the tour was great!  We even had a picnic lunch on the roof under the flag.

Then home in time to scoff a quick dinner and make it to the soccer.  It was great seeing an international game even in the continuous drizzle. After a soggy 1:0 win by South Korea over Kuwait, we spent time catching up with my uncle Steven and family who were also calling through Canberra.

great-aunty Janet

Let me preface our year away, our “Big Lap”, our “trip of a lifetime”; by stating without reservation that the final week of packing up was one of the most stressful things Kris and I have ever gone through together. The kids were summarily ignored by us (but luckily cared for by grandparents and neighbours) as we processed what was to be kept for the tenants, what was to be split into the three storage areas, and what had to be packed into the van.  Add on finishing caravan and 4WD mods, finishing the dozen or so odd jobs around the house, redirecting mail (only took Australia Post three goes to get that right), cleaning the house and managing utilities. Oh, and then there was Christmas and finishing up at work.  This whole kerfuffle resulted in later and later nights, and earlier starts each day. Kris’s PB was a 02:30 finish, followed by an 06:30 start the next morning. But… Phew, we made it, we’re on the road, and we’re finally doing what we’ve been talking about and boring the socks off friends and family for at least the last 12 months (some may say years . . . ).

So, onwards and southwards.

Day 0 – Saturday 10th January: We meant to leave on Friday the 9th, but that proved to be somewhat ambitious (a kindly neighbour actually asked if we had delayed because of the floods in central Australia and fires in SA, ‘No’ I answered, we’re just disorganized and nowhere near finished!).  Instead we wisely advised all parties of a 24 hour delay, and continued packing like buggery!  Saturday dawned cool. Perfect weather for a frenetic final and very stressful pack-up, clean-up, and lock-up. We were f-i-n-a-l-l-y on the road at 5pm, heading into drizzle towards Sydney, a lovely dinner party with family, and a well-earned glass of champagne (which I think I inhaled).

We rounded out our trip with a visit to Kristen’s sister Erika and her husband Peter in Sawtell. The kids were super excited to spend 3 days with their cousins Leroy and Audrey. It was a quiet few days with walks to Boambee headland, the local river inlet and the beach. The kids had a ball, playing lego, making dams, playing in the sand and talking about Minecraft!

Kids at Boambee Beach

Kids at Boambee Beach

Erika and the boys at Boambee Headland

The final packup was quick (because we hadn’t really unpacked), and we were away by 10. Back on highway 1 heading home, the speed slowly increased as we found our sweet spot towing the Jayco. Kris had her first drive towing – and even managed to negotiate a petrol station with the van in tow! We arrived home about 4, and spent Sunday afternoon unpacking. Monday was the ‘big clean’, with over half the day spent washing the van from top to bottom, bringing it back to as new.

Sep 30 – Oct 1
Today we packed up and headed out the back way to Moree.  It was plain sailing along 96 km of straight, recently graded dirt roads – a shortcut to Collarenebri that was the outcome from a chat with a fellow camper.

Lightning Ridge to Collarenebri

Once we selected a nice easy drive through spot, we unhitched, setup, went to the tourist info, went shopping, and went back to Kirkby Park, complete with a 10m high awesome rocket slide! The kids splashed in the caravan park’s thermal springs until dinner and bed, then it was our turn to warm up in the 36 deg water before turning in.

Moree Rocket Park

The next morning we were off to Washpool NP, where we had stayed BC (Before Kids) and thought, like MacArthur, that ‘I Will Return’. The climb up the Gibraltar Range was about 800m, with some curvy roads. Washpool has some pretty areas, and our campsite was nestled amongst a grove of shady trees. Whilst we set up and got Kris’s divine slow cooked lamb shanks ready for dinner, the boys quickly ingratiated themselves with some fellow campers with some quite remarkable children, whom we would end up chatting to till late that night. Their 10-year-old recited pi to over 20 decimal places (‘he’s right too, we checked’ – chimed the other siblings) before discussing astrophysics and memes, the other sibling thought we were really cool because we knew all about Dr Who! The eldest ‘just’ wants to be a doctor – low achievers I’m sure!

Bellbird Campsite

The next morning we walked along the Coombadjha Creek trail before scrambled eggs and toast on the fire, then a quick pack up and an exit through more pretty forest towards Sawtell via Grafton.

Coachwood Pool