May has been a very full month so I'm only posting the first two weeks at this stage as it's a fairly long read. I'll post the next one in a few days.
2nd May - After leaving the overnight stay in Gerroa on the NSW South coast I drove to San Souci, a southern suburb of Sydney and caught up with friends (Matt and Cuong) to check out their new digs. Nice apartment !!! and across the street from the beach 🏊♀️ I parked my van out the front in the street, but slept in the house...occasionally it's great to have the space to spread out in a big bed, but that said, my van is very comfortable!!!
3rd May - This morning I had to drive across Sydney to Rydelmere in peak hour traffic to get my car/caravan camera system fixed.. It was raining and I was pulling the van...yikes!!.. I was nervous, but took it slow and arrived unscathed...getting more confident each day🤗 It was still raining when I left for Yarramalong 3 hours later and traffic was still heavy, but of course by I'm now an expert😜...NOT! It continued raining for most of the remainder of the day.
I arrived at Yarramalong, just west of Wyong, to stay a few days with Kelly and her partner. Kelly is one of the girls I met at Euroa over Easter. I parked my van on the lawn and stayed in the van but enjoyed a few wonderfully quiet days in a beautiful peaceful garden setting. Kelly and Robyn are serious gardeners being a landscape architect and horticulturalist so the 12 acre garden was superb. As you can see from the photos, the rain cleared too!! Thank you Kelly & Robyn x
If you look carefully you'll see a red barrel amongst the trees...That's where we sat around the campfire
Kelly and I on a short walk along the Great Northern Trail
A beautiful big campfire , a few wines, yummy home cooked soup, great conversation, company and music ... what more do you need on a balmy autumn night!
6th May I left for Morpeth, just north of Maitland to spend a few days with my cousins. I parked my van in the carport at Merridy and Michael's and it was my bedroom once again. Had great fun just chilling out with these guys. Some serious "500" cards were played most nights
This beautiful Eclectic Parrot is a pet of the owners of the Hunter Valley Wine Merchant in Morpeth and talks to you as you enter or leave the shop. Merridy was having a good old chat with him.
I left my van at Morpeth and also had a night in Newcastle with my other cousin Bib and her husband John. It was great to catch up on all the family news and see these guys,
We walked to Merewether beach the following morning for a coffee.
Merewether Beach on a beautiful autumn day..no rain in sight!
11th May - I pulled out of Morpeth and drove north to Port Macquarie and parked my van in a park amongst the canals and a near new housing estate area. Lots of boats, beautiful clean amenities and delightful park managers. I keep forgetting to take photos of my van in it's parking spot, but this was the view from my van door and the weather was superb.
On the cabin verandah next to me a visitor arrived, which I have since discovered through putting it out there to FB friends, is a "Pied Butcher bird". I have seen quite a few since in varying sizes and even different colours.
It was about 2.30 pm Saturday afternoon after I'd set up the van that I took a walk into town and came across a local food festival at the Marina. Woohoo... All the local restaurants were showcasing their restaurant fare and serving tapas so I had to sample the salt & pepper calamari..of course!!! yum 🦑
12th May - I pulled up stakes to drove through to Bellingen. On the way I decided to call in to South West Rocks to see what everyone raves about!!! and thank goodness I did....OMG I fell in love with the place. Meg's sister and husband have a house there and if they had been in town I would have stayed over for a night, but they were't around 😞 This is one place I will need to return to for a longer stay. The beaches looked superb, the the quick walk I took around the town made me understand why people love the place. It was very laid back.
Belligen is a everything you read about. A quaint, gorgeous country town with an old world feel. I had my first experience parking my van in a showground camping site. And what a great experience. I should have taken a photo to show the surroundings I was in, but I'm not yet in the swing of getting photos of that sort yet. There was a small friendly group of other campers at the grounds, great facilities and lots of space. Because of all the recent rain it was quite wet underfoot, but I woke up the next day to horses walking past my door on the way to training. I walked into town to meet a friend who had recently moved to Bellingen from Albury for a drink at the pub and we ended up staying on for dinner....and a few more drinks!! A great night thanks Cath.
Here's me on my way to meet Cath, crossing the Lavender Bridge over the Bellingen River. I've been told I should be taking more photos with me in them. I HATE!! taking selfie's, so here's one that's been artistically modified. It's not so bad after all😎
Me & Cath at the Bellingen pub
A couple of photos of the scenery around Bellingen....autumn is settling in
13th May - My plan was to drive to Yamba or close by, but It was raining so I decided to keep moving on in search of dryer, warmer conditions. All was looking good by the time I reached Ballina South so I parked my van at the South Ballina beachside caravan park. As there was lots of space and I was only staying overnight, I left the car hooked on. It had been quite a big day driving so I immediately locked up the car and took a good long walk on the beach. Got the legs moving again!!. .
If I had a 4WD I'd have been down there driving the beach!!
Richmond River Reserve, South Ballina . More stunning beaches....and I'm sure I'm going to come across many more during my trip! I never cease to be in awe of the sea, the waves, the sand and nature's ever changing movement.
The following morning as I was leaving Ballina I called into The Lighthouse Cafe at Lighthouse beach and had coffee with another ex Albury friend, Fiona Jones. Ken was unable to make it. Great to catch up in person instead of through Facebook!!!
Lovely to see you Fiona.
Fiona then obliged me by taking a photo as I was about to depart her company
14th May - Mullumbimby was my next port of call and I fell in love with the town, the countryside and the camp ground . The Coolaman scenic drive I took to get there was stunning. I took heaps of photos, but I won't bore you with them all, suffice to say when I get a chance to do some painting there are endless choices!!!
I parked my van at the Showgrounds and stayed three nights and it was a great experience. They'd had a lot of rain and it was very slushy underfoot. I was worried I'd get bogged but all good. The Showgrounds were the hub for the production crew for latest series of "Seachange" and so there was lots of activity going on although I didn’t know that at the time when I booked in. They are there for 4 months filming in Mullumbimby, Brunswick Heads and around the district.
If you look closely you'll pick my little baby amongst the campers. Met some lovely people from Perth at this park.
Mullumbimby showgrounds was not a great park for kids. This was the extent of the playground!!
Mullumbimby is a gorgeous little town but I felt like I was back in the 60s. Lots of people walking around barefoot in hippie clothes with dreadlocked hairdos!! There is an eclectic array of shopping choices from beautiful expensive clothing stores to lots of alternative hippie shops & op shop’s.
Sara and John were camping on the coast not far away from me, so we met up for coffee & I was able to get my family fix. Great to see them and they were having a great time.
They're a fine looking bunch, aren't they, except for the one taking the photo of course.....but who is that man with the dark glasses?...Oh that's John disguised. A holiday beard and looking good John!!
I stayed three nights and took a run into Byron Bay and Brunswick heads while I was in the area.
Byron Bay on the way back from the lookout
Brunswick Heads...let me know if you can spot the critter trying to get some warmth on the rocks
Brunswick Heads...Another beautiful beach....just not such a beautiful day and it was quite cold❄️
Each Friday Mullumbimby has a fantastic fresh food and produce market at the showgrounds and after packing up the van to move on I walked over for a morning coffee and enjoyed the market ambience. Lots of beautiful food on offer, some great entertainers spread throughout the market and they provided an ATM machine at both entrances to the market!! Maybe something RCAN could consider for Kiewa Street??
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Where will I park my van tonight?....that is the question