After spending Christmas with family in Newcastle, we returned home to finalise our preparations for our upcoming six-month trip in our van. We completed some last-minute shopping, flushed and refilled the water tanks, and loaded our van in preparation for our journey south in early January.
Initially, we had planned easy driving days over the next nine days, covering minimal distances; however, that changed after our first day of driving. On the first day, we travelled south along the Pacific Highway with the plan to either camp at the Bulahdelah bowling club or the RV park, but both were very busy when we arrived, so we continued further on, passing through Raymond Terrace, where significant roadwork was taking place to bypass the bottleneck at the Hexham Bridge and connect with the Pacific Motorway. After crossing the Hexham Bridge, we turned onto John Renshaw Drive and the Hunter Expressway before joining the Golden Highway to camp at Jerry's Plains Rec Reserve.
Talk about extremes of temperature. On our first day camped at Jerry's Plains, we sat outside till well after dark, with the temperature hovering around forty degrees. That night, sleeping with all hatches and windows open was exhausting. Then, on our second day, we encountered rain for the entire journey. We camped at Jaron Park, in the small settlement of Ilford just over 50 km south of Mudgee, beside the hall for a small donation. The temperature had plummeted to just eleven degrees, so it was on with the warm clothes. It continued raining all night, and I envisaged that we'd be using 4WD to exit the area, but all we ended up with were very muddy tyres.
We had planned to camp on a property just south of Parkes, but we changed our route because the annual Elvis Presley Festival was happening then.
Today was a short drive as we continued south along the Castlereagh Highway for just 55 km to our next campsite, Lake Wallace, about 12 km northwest of Lithgow. It's a free camp with 48 hours allowed, and the area is vast. The weather has remained overcast and cold, with occasional drizzle. We ventured into Lithgow today as we needed a few things from Bunnings, but it's not the usual store on steroids—it's just a very small one. We planned to stay another day here, but the owner of the fuel outlet in Wallerawang mentioned the weather would remain like this for several more days, so we decided to pack up and leave.
Today's route took us further along the Great Western Highway to Bathurst, where we stopped at Bunnings to purchase a weather station and the hose fittings I needed, which we couldn't buy in Lithgow. Then, it was through Cowra and Young looking for an outlet selling cherries, but all farm gate outlets were closed. Luckily, there were cherries for sale at a rest stop south of Young, along with nectarines and peaches, so after the usual taste tests, we bought all three fruits. We passed through Cootmandura on our way to Junee, where we camped behind the RSL Services Club for free and, that night, enjoyed dinner and a few ales.
We were now heading towards Griffith, passing through Coolaman and Ardlethan. It's sad to see the decline in these smaller towns, which have just a garage or a post office and nothing else to hold them together. We planned to stay at Lake Wyangan outside Griffith, but the area was arid, dusty, and unsuitable for caravans because of the sloping ground, so we rang ahead and booked into a caravan park for the next three nights.
Griffith, Like Canberra, was designed by Walter Burley Griffin. It has those distinctive radial-pattern roundabouts and tree-lined streets that we remember after living there for forty-odd years.
On day eight, we left Griffith and headed further south through Darlington Point, Jerilderie, and Deniliquin to bypass the Newell Highway. This highway is busy with trucks but, more importantly, needs repair. We spent the evening free camped behind the Mathoura Bowling Club, enjoying lunch and a beer.
Heading further south, we crossed into Victoria, passing through Echuca, Rochester, Bendigo, and Maldon before spending the evening at the Newstead Racecourse. This was our second visit to this site. The fee is $10 per night, and there are showers, toilets, and gas BBQs. Newstead is a small community of over one thousand people with a general store, a pub, and several cafes. We were here to visit Margaret and Paul, our dear friends from Canberra who now live in Castlemaine, just 15 km away. We also caught up with Margaret's daughter Sam, my goddaughter, and all enjoyed lunch at The Mill in Castlemaine, where the food is to die for. It's so good, in fact, that there will be a return visit.
I also enjoyed a run in Paul's "bucket" with a 350 Chev V8 to power it along.
We took another short drive, just 162 km, on the road that passes through Daylesford, Ballan Anakie, and Geelong. We spent the next three evenings parked at my brother's place at Point Lonsdale. If you think Queensland roads are bad, I suggest you drive into Victoria.
