Sept 21
Well we did it – we got ourselves up and on the road by 10:30am and off to Dubbo. This is the first leg of our September test run. A two week trip around northern NSW to see how it all works in the caravan and see what changes/improvements etc are needed and just to give us a better idea of what to expect before we head off on the BIG TRIP as it is now known in our house.
We made it to Dubbo by 5pm after rest stops at Sandy Hollow and Dunedoo.
Our site at the Big 4 Dubbo Caravan park is tiny but directly opposite the jumping pillow – we’ll see how noisy THAT is tomorrow morning. We are off to the Zoo tomorrow by bike. It’s only 2 km away.
Sept 22
Today we woke early – no surprises there, but had a not so early start as I managed to doze again. During their early morning escapades around the caravan park both children were thoroughly terrorized by the resident Magpie. Both have been ambushed repeatedly to the point of tears. Sam is now taking a proactive approach and is ready to take it on with his “Magpie” stick, James is just rapidly developing a phobia and spends a lot of his time on high alert scanning the skies.
The ride to the zoo was fairly easy – apart from another aggressive Maggie and a flat tire on James’ bike. Luckily at the Zoo, the lovely bike hire repair men were happy to fix us up with the required patch to solve that problem. We spent the day admiring the animals. The cheetahs were a real highlight.
Back to the Caravan park by 3:30pm and it was straight into the pool for the boys. Being heated to 26 degrees meant it was 5:30 by the time we managed to drag them out.
Nice photos. Unfortunately it is magpie season. At least the kids have helmets. We used to walk around with a broom to fend them off at school. Hope you enjoy Lightning Ridge. Are you going to dig for opals Sam, or just relax in the heated spa?
Hi Grandma,
I found some plain silica (called ‘podge’), but none with colour
Last night we went to the thermal artesian baths. The hottest pool was 41 degrees. I hope you’re all well in Sydney, lots of love.
Sam
On the road and the adventure begins…was in Sydney minding Sophie without a phone but I did send telepathic wood wishes.
Did you know there were 6 seasons in Oz.
Indigenous people used them on Black Mountain and now CSIRO has named the extra two….
One is called
Sprinter
Ps did you see the portable solar panels at Aldi?
Love from your Great Aunt who does Surprises not
Birthdays
Btw ….
That was meant to be good wishes but wood wishes also seems to fit with your travels!
A request: I have just started a blog called FatPossum which is about my daily and nightly relationship with the possums of Parkview!
It is the journal of my Possum War and Peace and I am looking for more possum stories….
You are past Day Three now so are already becoming seasoned travellers. I have clicked on the tell me when there is a new post option so that I can be in contact while I am at work…
Love to the adventurers..
Janet
Did you try the draw big eyes on the hat trick?
Umbrellas?
Walk backwards slowly….they won’t attack if they see you watching them?
I was reading the magpie book by Pamela Allen to Sophie where these methods are tried so that the people can get past the territory of the tree. She immediately came up with a solution….Car she said CAR.
But we had a big scare from a very fat blue tongue lizard that looked like a snake under the Agapanthus bush. There are red bellied black snakes in the bush next door so early education was just in time.
Dear Aunty Janet,
Yes, the boys now have BIG scary eyes on their helmets, but James has not yet tested his because; a) the Currawongs in the Warrumbungles scare away the maggies, and b) too hot at Lightning Ridge to scare little boys on bikes! Sam tested his at Big4 Dubbo and has claimed victory over tears.