Geoff & Marg Ritchie

gr8traveller

Geoff & Marg Ritchie

Living the life befitting the grey nomads that they are. Geoff is a keen driver, Margaret a keen organiser of Geoff. We have done 'the big trip', but it only served to remind us how much we did not see. We are busy rectifying that situation. Loving life and our wonderful country while we can.

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Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Tewantin May 3rd 2018

We continue our journey through NSW and Qld, and 3 weeks after leaving Melbourne we still have not come across any rain. Dust is getting into the van and covering the car, although that could be a result of choosing some very dodgy roads to get to our (unplanned) destinations. Before I get to far into bringing you up to date on some of the places we have been to, I have to take you back to Shaws Flat on the Murray and tell you a story about an uninvited passenger in our van. As we were setting up on the bank on the river, we of course needed to get out the camp chairs which are stored under the bed. Marg’s chair was handed to Geoff, and as he proceeded to unfold it he found ... read more
Goobang N.P  and our welcome party
Warrumbungle N.P
Siding Spring Observatory - Warumbungles

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Lake Cargelligo April 18th 2018

Times and circumstances are changing and it is now appropriate that we review our travel arrangements. This year’s trip has started a lot earlier than previous years due mainly so we can get a reasonable time away while we can. Our middle daughter, Niki, was married to a great young man, Ross, on Easter Saturday and they have headed off on a motor home honeymoon around South Aust, middle NSW and Qld before heading home. Ross will be heading off to Houston shortly thereafter and Marg wants to be home to be able to help Niki with all the packing etc. before she heads over to Houston and returns to work. So, there we were a week ago hitting the road without a plan again. We headed north to the Police Paddocks just out of Rutherglen; ... read more
We were all alone in this lovely spot.
 Middle Beach
Middle Beach

Oceania » Australia » Victoria » Dandenong June 27th 2017

Noosa/Tewantin was a welcome break from watching the water tanks, checking the batteries and emptying the cassette. It came with the added bonus of Marg’s sister and brother in-law Alan having just arrived back from the gulf where they had been fishing – very successfully. We did our best to empty their freezer of the freshly caught barramundi, ‘finger mark’ trout, and of course the gigantic mud crabs, and Geoff even got to the point of asking when he was going to see meat again. The hospitality was great and the fish ...well, something you don’t get in Melbourne very often. Oh, I forgot to mention the prawns! Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and we were back on the road again heading south, as SWMBO was missing the girls and the central ... read more
Borumba Dam
Noosa River at sunset
Noosa River

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Tewantin June 7th 2017

Having exhausted the attractions around Nundle and Chaffey Weir it was time to move on, but not before doing a trip up to Hanging Rocks. This feature can be found at the end of a twisty, rutted dirt road off the main Nundle to Barry (no, it is a place, not a person). The view was spectacular, although Geoff and his fear of heights was not happy having a 1000’ drop at the end of his toes. He got the photos, but they do not convey the depth of the sheer drop from the lookout. As we were in the area, Geoff had made contact with the fellow in Armidale who is still building his GBS clubman (same as Geoff’s). We set sail for Armidale and checked into a caravan park. The car builder had moved ... read more
Our welcoming committee at Redcliffs
From the headland at RedCliffs camp
Not a bad view to wake up to in the morning

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Tamworth May 28th 2017

We ended up at the Cassilis bowls club camping spot because we drove into a tremendous downpour and the free camp we intended to use was awash, despite being on top of a mountain! Apart from the day that we left Melbourne, this was the first time we had run into any real rain on the trip, so we cannot complain too much. Certainly we have had some very cold mornings and the odd day, but generally the weather has been fairly kind. It was a bit of a surprise however to find the day after arriving in Cassilis that we could do some sightseeing around the area in good weather. Cassilis is a very hospitable hamlet, but has very little else to hold ones attention. We popped into Merriwa, which unlike Cassilis has a larger ... read more
Burning Mountain South of Willow Tree
Quirindi  & Bobs shed
Bobs shed

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Denman May 21st 2017

The caravan park at Deniliquin was extraordinary. It had obviously developed over many years and we were lucky enough to be in a new section. The sites were big nearly enough to park 2 caravans and cars on comfortably and the ‘extras’ for families seemed endless. There was a jumping pillow, huge water slide and an even bigger swimming pool – actually there were 2 pools... It fronted the Edward River and had a large number of ‘on-site’ vans that dated from 40 years ago lining the first rows back from the river. As owners moved on, these establishments were being progressively replaced with new elevated units that would be at home in most suburbs around the country. The town of Deniliquin does not seem to have a lot for the tourist, other than the annual ... read more
Deniliquin City Centre Memorial Gardens
Deniliquin City Centre Memorial Gardens
 Narrandara - Old Brewery camp

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Deniliquin May 9th 2017

Getting underway... It was all about the olives. This year, our young olive tree excelled itself with fruit the size of footballs, well not quite footballs, but certainly the biggest olives we have seen anywhere. Our neighbours tree’s fruit had nearly all ripened into that dark aubergine colour that they do, but our tress steadfastly resisted showing any signs of colour/ripeness. Then we found one (or two) that broke ranks and that was good enough for Marg. “We will have green olives this year”, and with that frantic picking took place. It was a mixed blessing that not only were the fruit large, they were more than plentiful, yielding 4 full 10lt. buckets of fruit. All the fruit had to be slit and then soaked in brine, changed daily for 12 days. Marg struggled with higher ... read more
Police Paddocks Rutherglen
 Police Paddocks Rutherglen
Stantons Bend near Rutherglen

Asia » China » Yangtze River October 21st 2016

The bullet train was all we expected. It was super quiet, super smooth and quite quick at 304kph. Think of that between Brisbane/Sydney Melbourne. The carriages were fitted out with plane seats. Staff walked up and down selling fruit, noodles and drinks. There was free hot water and western style toilets – thank heavens. The stations at either end were more like international air terminals; lots of retail and spotlessly clean. After 5 hrs and 2 stops, we arrived in Shanghai. We were told to meet our new guide at the North Arrivals exit, but unfortunately the train bought us in at the South Arrivals end of the complex so we had to navigate our way to the other end of the station some 300 mts away with not a single sign mentioning anything connected with ... read more
Watertown - Shanghai
Shanghai night lights
Tribe of the Three Gorges tour


The first couple of days... Sorry this is a long one, and there are more photos at the end. We were up at 6.00am and were heading for the airport parking by 7.00am. The traffic was bowling along and we could not believe that we had arrived at the off-site parking in Tullamarine in 55 mins! Off to the airport and we were through the check-in in a very short time and so with nothing else to do, we headed into the Departures/customs area. Apart from the serial international terrorist, that little old lady otherwise known as Margaret, managing to entrap Geoff into the dangerous chemicals test area for a swab, we were off to join our first queue for the day. It seems obligatory that they swab Margaret at every opportunity – not sure what ... read more
Forbidden City
Forbidden City
Forbidden City

Oceania » Australia » Victoria » Dandenong August 23rd 2016

As some of you already know, we are home; arriving on Monday 15tharound noon. Yes, it was quite a quick trip Eastward. Once Marg sets her sights on home, wild horses will not stop her. Our stop at Kalgoorlie was at a free camp just outside the town at a place called Lake Douglas. It was a very pretty spot, although due to the threatening weather, we needed a bit of imagination to see it for its best. We did meet a lovely couple from Bundaberg who invited us over for drinkies and a chat around their little raised fire. It was good that the fire was raised as the rain came in, but we were able to pick the fire up and move it to a spot that was not in the rain – Geoff ... read more
Gwalia 'ghost town'
Gwalia open cut
Hoover House - Dining room and ante room




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