It is not long now until we are home. With a lunchtime booking on Thursday at one of our favourites … the restaurant at the Trentham Estate Winery, Trentham Cliffs, and the forecast for ugly, windy weather, we opted to keep moving in short steps rather than long days in poor conditions. So, one-night stops at Deniliquin, Swanhill, Trentham Cliffs and Renmark before our final destination, the Barossa. This has been a particularly chilly leg of our journey. Trying to head out of Rutherglen over the bridge at Colac we were shattered to find the bridge was closed due to repairs. No detour directions as to the nearest river crossing, so a quick consult with Camps Australia Wide and Google we headed to Deniliquin. Deniliquin Our arrival in Deniliquin was heralded by a phenomenal greeting of ... read more

Canberra – 3 days of culture, democracy, history, education, orientation, law and order, currency, nature and indulgence. Orientation – Finding a location of significance was easy. Many could either be seen or had signage directing you to them from almost anywhere in the city. Good for tourism. However, if you needed groceries or fuel this was another matter. Culture - The National Art Gallery – Not only was the Building housing the National Gallery of Australia awesome it was great to see some artistic icons such as Blue Poles and some more contemporary pieces such as Pumpkins and Black dots. Democracy - Parliament House – The last time we visited Canberra New Parliament House was still under construction. A truly magnificent piece of architecture with so much thought and planning, giving significance to almost every aspect ... read more

It was not hard to tell that we were getting closer to Sydney the more north we travelled. Leaving Bateman’s Bay we crossed the river and immediately came upon kilometre after kilometre of major road works. Massive earth works in preparation for dual carriage ways in both directions, plus preparation for the construction of bridges all pointed to a major upgrade of the Princess Highway. From the end of the roadworks we had dual carriage all the way to Kiama. Easy driving. We stopped for coffee and a visit to an ATM in Uladulla. To live here you obviously have to be very fit. The main shopping street is near a kilometre long and very steep from one end to the other. By the time we had walked it we felt we had earned our coffee ... read more

Today we leave the coast of Victoria and head into New South Wales. The road quality has a subtle difference and the signs are different but still we travel along mountainous roads lined by National Parks of dense forest. The trees are now spotted gums and there are many more tree ferns. The constant tinkle of Bell birds is the predominate bird sound. ‘Watch out for wombat’ signs still appear frequently, though evidence of them is insignificant. Back in Victoria it was not uncommon to see them basking in the sun legs heavenward looking more chubby than normal. The signs in Victoria are a dark silhouette while here in NSW it is just an outline of their shape. Is that a message in itself? A daring black cat taking a risk, raced across the road. We ... read more

As we travel, we ask the locals or other travellers about the “must see”places. Mallacoota has received high praise and having seen it featured on the ABC Back Roads travel program we felt this is a place not to be missed. And we were not disappointed. Our day started early, getting to Wizard Appliances in Bairnsdale by 8.30am for our fridge repairs. Brad was ready and rearing so we were in and out within an hour. All seems to be working ok now. Brad was off to a funeral in Salisbury, SA this weekend. He had no idea where he was heading. Greg was careful not to tell him it was not the best end of town. We took the Alpine Highway which was more direct to Mallacoota than going back to Lakes Entrance. As the ... read more