2. Home time then off to Canberra. 20/3 - 2/4/2019

Entry 2                  Home time then off to Canberra. 20/3 – 2/4/2019

We thoroughly enjoyed our time away back in our caravan on Yorke Peninsula and were keen to get our medical appointments over and done with back at home, enabling us to resume our Australia travels asap. First there was the doctor whom decided to change some medication requiring a return visit in a month, to assess the medications performance. Then we had what we thought was a quick dentist visit which resulted in an additional three return appointments. Grrr.

In between the above visits we did get away for 5 nights with Steve’s parents accompanying us to Normanville Jetty caravan park located about 75 kilometres south of Adelaide with our parents staying in a cabin. It was enjoyable family time, reiterating how delightful time could be, away from the everyday home life routine.

The weather was exceptionally nice with regular dips in the cool ocean waters and plenty of relaxing strolls along the Normanville beach. Sunsets were delightful with a different setting each night.

It was always good to be at home where we were able to provide an address for delivery of those item’s we were unable to source locally for improving our lifestyle comfort, like a set of x-chocks for the caravan to go between our wheels, a special clock for Steve’s mum and we did spend plenty of time shopping around town for other useful items.

We did have to be firm with our dentist and doctor when they requested more return visits. Basically, we politely pointed out they had been given an opportunity to address our “supposable,” needs and now would have to wait for a return appointment when suitable to us.

With our imminent departure almost upon us we did enjoy our immediate family time.

We assessed the benefits of several route options for travelling to our first planned destination, Canberra. One route via low NSW where we thought it would be nice to catch up with Mick & Jen whom we met during our caravan travels 2013 and have crossed paths many times since.  A phone call with them showed they were crabbing at Wallaroo about 170 kilometres north of our home. There you go, some where different to resume our travels with our first 3 nights at Wallaroo Caravan Park in a site next to Mick & Jen as the previous occupant had kindly exited a few hours prior our arrival. The caravan park was quite small which may have contributed to the happy environment with most people making eye contact greeting one another. It was one of our best caravan park atmospheres we had experienced with all our Australian travels.

What a delightful three days we spent with Mick & Jen. There were the crab sessions, extracting the meat from freshly caught crabs complements from fishermen - Mick & Jen. And naturally there was the happy hour gatherings chit-chats with other park occupants.

There was the constant banter of conversation including discussion of each other’s proposed travelling routes for the year. It looked like we could be within 1,000 kilometres of one another at some stage over a 3-month period where we may need to rendezvous with one another.

Heading east our next planned destination for a catch up with one of our groomsmen, John who lived in the Riverland region near Berri. We were still travelling quick for us, taking two days to travel about 225 kilometres to the Riverland. There is always something interesting to view along you’re travelling routes, like the road between Port Wakefield and Kadina with a kilometre plus stretch lined with many varieties of teddy’s and Waikerie’s new silo art still getting some finishing touches by the artist who was on site.

It was wonderful catching up with John where the conversation flowed freely. It was grape harvesting season and John was working afternoon shift at the local wine processing facility during the two nights we stayed. While John was missing, we continued our social activities with his partner Kath, experiencing a shot’s session and some Yoga exercises one night and Pilates the other.

Prior to leaving home whilst considering travel routes we had initially hoped to catch up with another nice couple we met caravanning in 2015, Anne & Brian with a phone call showing they were going to be away over the week we were hoping to cross paths. Due to our Wallaroo visit we were nearly a week in arrears and we wondered if Anne & Brian had returned home. A phone call showed they were returning home that same day and yes please come. It felt like we were zig zagging around the country side acting like social butterflies, quite unusual for us. Though we were socialising with good people.

Two days later we arrived at Anne and Brian’s home about 100 kilometres south of Shepparton in Victoria. On arrival we were promptly sat at the kitchen table with Anne producing a freshly made sponge cake for our arrival.

The cake tasted divine and Steve thought it would be appropriate if we started our yearly travels via Anne & Brian’s if Anne continued with her treats providing freshly made sponge cake? We had a wow of a time chatting freely, driven around the farm in the farm buggy - Polaris, meals like roast goat from their own meat bred goats and Brian took Steve for a country side motor bike ride with Brian on his classic Ducati and Steve riding his other motor bike a Royal Enfield.

We spent 4 great nights at Anne & Brian’s, moving on with our next night spent at a scenic setting overlooking the Hume Dam nearby the Albury Wodonga region. The ambient air temperature had dropped with a tiny bit of rain about, hovering most of the day around a chilly 13 C. It was autumn and all the areas we were travelling through were in need of rain to rejuvenate the country side. It was 350 – 400 kilometres to our sons home where initially we were thinking of two days to travel the required distance. Day two at Hume Dam the sun was out early, warming the ambient air temperature to comfortable low 20’s. It was such a nice setting we decided to stay another day and see how we would go travelling to Canberra in a single day.

We were mobile early in the morning making good time helped by the incentive for our own family time, arriving at Canberra around 1.30 pm. Steve got busy with the saw removing a few tree limbs in our son’s front yard and we were in.