The Abbey

I had a wonderful day yesterday.  I visited Sister Agnes at the Benedictine Abbey at Jamberoo NSW. She has been there for 25 years after 25 years as a Josephite. I took along a school photo taken when I was in Grade 7 at Caboolture of me and five of my brothers, which is probably how she would have remembered me. We followed up on mutual friends and I also showed off my 365 Project album.

The Abbey is tucked away on a mountain road at Jamberoo. It is a delightful spot. Because the abbey is closed on a Thursday, I had a personal tour of the public areas. I spoke to the sister who makes cards and came away with a few cards for different occasions. The candle making area was closed unfortunately. I have seen the range online and last year the JAN group had bought a Mary MacKillop candle but could have been tempted. The chapel is open to the public and has huge glass windows looking out over greenery.

Sister Benedetta, the guest mistress, got up early cooked a lovely chicken meal and bread and butter custard especially for my visit - then I was sent on my way with a care package, enough to last me for days. Next time I will stay for a few days and enjoy the serenity of the place. I was made so welcome by everyone that I spoke to.

Although I was invited to stay, I decided to push on to Canberra. An hour or so along the way, I began to regret that decision. It was raining and I was suddenly too tired to drive. I pulled over and had a snooze, so easy to do with the bed made up in the back. After a good break, I was grateful for the meal I had with me, just as nice cold as hot, especially with smooth fluffy mashed potatoes!

Dianne and John were as welcoming as ever and Anthony was also home. We stayed up far later than Di usually does and she is drooping a bit this afternoon. John and Anthony had enough sense to go to bed when they were tired. I've told Dianne that they don't need to keep my hours, especially as I don't get up when they do in the morning. (It is not that I want to stay in bed late! I think it's important not to disturb the morning schedules of the household. Does that sound convincing?)

Tomorrow we are planning to go to the National Gallery and see the Renaissance exhibition. I will leave on Sunday as I have to be at Port Melbourne to catch the Spirit of Tasmania on Tuesday evening.

Reluctant Move

After two nights at Bundeena, I moved on today very reluctantly. It was such a beautiful peaceful spot. A Sydney ferry runs every hour from Bundeena to Cronulla and then you can use other public transport to get into the city. So you could have a restful holiday and still get in a bit of shopping or sightseeing. Apparently the campsites are booked solid during the school holidays but in the off season, it is easy to get in. As I left today about thirty hikers, none looking less than 60 and some considerably older, arrived looking quite fit and feisty. About 10 minutes later I passed two small buses which I assume had dropped them somewhere not too far away.  They might have made a bit of a queue for the facilities.

I had a leisurely drive to Wollongong, stopping occasionally to admire the view but not tempted to take many photos as it was quite overcast. I met several people along the way. There had been four Dutch families at the National Park - none related. Then I met another Dutch couple when I stopped at a lookout area. A trio from Argentina and a Chinese couple from Canberra were admiring the view down onto the Wollongong coast at another viewing area.

As I had arranged, I met Catheryn at a school where she spends some time. After 18 years she has the job under control. I was impressed by the efficiency of her recording. After seeing the half-hearted results at some schools at home, it was interesting to see that kids in her system starting their second year at school were regarded as needing intervention at levels 10 -14. Considering that Cory is probably one of the best in his class at the same stage and is reading 10, it is obvious that our expectations for our prep kids aren't high.

Catheryn and Delyn and I went out for dinner and a few drinks. We popped in to Catheryn's place but I am staying with Delyn as her place is more accessible - and she has a huge comfortable bed in the guest room. (Remember the first rule of travel!) I don't expect to see her in the morning as she leaves for work far earlier than I stir.  Delyn has bought a house and is gradually transforming it from a typical 60s style with pink bath, blue checked laundry tiles etc into a very interesting, modern house. There is still masses of work to do but what is complete is beautiful.  The house is built around an atrium and the whole house is filled with light. Her artistic eye is obvious and, as she says, the house has good bones to make worthwhile all the effort needed.

The International Reading Recovery Convention next year is in Sydney. I wonder if we could get some of the old groups together, for socialising while others work. Some of our old trainers will be presenting. Could be fun!

Bite the Bullet

Yesterday I went a bit further than I planned to and couldn't find a spot to park so I stayed at a caravan park at a place called Raymond Terrrace, quite close to Newcastle. Bad move! The name was familiar but the park was grotty and expensive but I was too tired to go further. Everything was worn and untidy - and they started mowing the next site at 8.30am when that couple moved out.

I decided to bite the bullet and get south of Sydney today. I was surprised at how easy it was. I set the GPS and just followed directions. Somehow I skirted the city and hit the coast south of Bankstown.  Then I looked at my Camps 5 book and took myself to Bundeena which I had never heard of. It is gorgeous - lovely wide beaches and a nice little town. There is even a Toastmasters club but it doesn't meet in the next couple of days. There are some holiday style houses but also some very expensive luxurious homes.

I am staying at Bonnie Vale Campground in the Royal National Park. For $14 a night I have the same view and the same bracing breeze as the owners of the fancy houses on the hill. I regret paying for just one night as it means I'll have to go into town to pay for another night - if I don't get blown away tonight. I have put up my little rear annex and decided not to try for a tarp. It will probably be enough trying to keep the annex attached. There are probably  a dozen campers and vans here and several tents. Because they are spread over several acres, they are close enough for security and far enough away for privacy. The day visitors gates are closed at 8.30 so the local yahoos don't visit during the night.

At lunch time I bought a spinach and feta muffin which will be lovely for dinner tonight. I think I'll go for broke and put a saucepan of water on the barbie and have a cuppa before it gets too dark. All the comforts of home and million dollar views!

Dwarfed

This photo shows my van parked at Clybucca during the night next to a huge truck. I didn't realise how large those rigs really are.  I couldn't capture the half dozen rigs in a row with my Little Lucy (Toyota Lucida) at one end and a couple of campers and caravans at the other. However, it was fairly noisy as most of the trucks left at midnight. I assume their travel times are calculated on a full day's driving. I stayed at a service station rest stop and appreciated a long hot shower this morning. By then it was 9am so I got my usual night's sleep.

Once again I only travelled about three hours in total yesterday, most of it at 80kmh. I shouted myself to some lovely fresh prawns which I had for dinner last night - ten beautiful large tiger prawns for $4 - and some brie to go with bikkies for lunch today. I've had to turn on the fridge for the first time. I probably won't use it all the time unless I am somewhere with power. It seems very noisy at night and I'm sure it has to be draining the battery when the car is not running.

I have done my usual stop at Macca's to write up my blog. I won't stay long as I can't plug in to power. I asked one of the young workers for a power point and he told me that they don't let customers use power. That was how he worded it. I asked him to speak to a manager who still didn't give me power because of health and safety issues - that Maccas might be responsible if I electrocuted myself! It is so good that they are protecting me from myself. How did I ever survive for more than sixty years plugging into electricity grids all around the world?

Nature Arrgh!

I knew it was too good to last. Last night I stopped at a campground in a National Park - Woody Head near Iluka. I tried to do the right thing and appreciate the natural environment. I walked on the beach, well down to the beach! Really, I would have walked on the beach but the tide was in for a very long time! Then I found a shady table and sat there, having no trouble with the birds and the scrub turkeys and the kangaroos in the background but when a couple of furry grubs landed on my arm, I went back to the van and sat quietly at my own table and chair and did some knitting. Nature is so much better in the abstract!

I don't think I've ever seen or heard so many kookaburras all together at the same time. I can understand how the early explorers thought they were being mocked. I'm sure they laughed at me every time something fell from a tree onto the van. In fact, I wouldn't discount them pelting me with seeds and sticks just for the fun of it.

During the night I had the moon roof open. What a brilliant sky! I even got out my iPad at about midnight to use Sky Walk and identify some of the stars. The next time I opened my eyes it was drizzling with rain and I had put my little annex (back door privacy screen) up. By the time I got it down, it was damp so it is rolled up in the back until I can get a good clear day to get it dry.

There aren't many good things about getting old but I found one! National Parks NSW give free membership and day entry to all parks just for registering a government pension card. I saved $7 just last night. Just one problem, they have to post the card to the address on my concession card to ensure it goes to the right person. Maybe I will have it in time to drive back through NSW if I can find an address to have it redirected to.

Tonight I am staying with Tracie and Darryl and their young adult kids Jaz and Gy. I've been told that the first rule of camping is, Never turn down a good bed and a hot shower. Far be it from me to break the rules, especially the very first one. I worked with Tracie at Humpybong, including team teaching for two years. I have brought several photos from that time which I will leave with her.  Tracie and I talked non-stop for about 6 hours. We went through some old school photos and reminisced about our teaching together. We spent ages identifying former colleagues and relating events which have stuck in our minds. I had a pile of snaps and we had fun recreating the events and working through some of the kids where one of us knew their histories. It doesn't seem possible that this all happened twenty years ago. We were thoroughly compatible as teachers, and as friends it has been wonderful just to sit and take ourselves back to those days. She is still teaching as she was newly graduated as a teacher when we shared classes. We will have to be more regularly in contact from now on.

Busy Spot

Last night I got to Ocean Shores. It was quite a pleasant trip with a bit of rain to cool everything down. I went in to a few little towns along the way and then I stayed at a rest area called Yelgun - a busy little place. It is very well set up with a top parking area for big trucks and a lower area for smaller vehicles.

Where I parked were several covered areas and a couple of bbqs and a toilet area - unfortunately no showers. There were half a dozen campers there when I arrived and I parked between a woman from Adelaide and an almost-local couple returning from north Queensland. After dinner, the four of us got together for a cuppa. Later two young French women in their early twenties arrived and provided most of the excitment of the evening when they locked their keys in their van.

By the time we had decided that none of us could help, it was raining. We waited for the NRMA to arrive from Brunswick Heads. Apparently a Ford Transit van is quite difficult to get into and the mechanic, with six of us giving advice and holding torches, took more than half an hour to get the van open. At that stage we had become friends, sharing stories of our own disasters on the road. This all suited me well because it made for a late night (11pm) so it wasn't too much of a shock to my system. I was a bit concerned that travellers go to bed early and also leave early. That did happen, of course. there were twelve vans there last night and only three when I woke this morning.

I'm only planning to do two or three hours driving today. I guess I can't expect that every evening stop will be as interesting as last night so it will take things as they come.

On the Road at Last

In a few minutes I'll be out of Queensland - not something I am usually keen to do. But I am heading for a place called Ocean Shores in northern New South Wales. Yesterday I didn't get far. I hadn't planned to. I wanted to spend the night with my best friend, my cousin Carmel in Ipswich. And that meant probably my last really comfortable bed for a while.

Some people take pets. This little fellow hitched a ride to Ipswich.

This has been the first test of my packing. So far nothing has come adrift or started flying around the van so that part is good. Over the next few days I know I'll find things that should be better located. In fact, I know already that the little space where I usually put my handbag isn't easily accessible but I haven't worked out what to do about it yet. I really want to have everything close but of course that is impossible. With the multi-charger, at least I have the phone, the iPad and the GPS all within reach - and charged.

I had forgotten about Daylight Saving in the southern states though I'm not sure whether I have just lost or gained an hour - not that it matters when I don't have any time constraints. Maybe in a couple of days I'll be ready to jettison my watch and just go by the Lord's time.  In the meantime, I'll hit the road again and decide where to stop tonight.