Blogs from Eastern Creek, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania

Muscle Car Masters : Motor Racing...the Carey McMahon story. There is something about the smell of high octane fuel...the screaming throaty sound of racing car engines pushed to the limit...the adrenalin rush that only phenomenal speed can provide...man versus machine...dicing with danger at every corner, every pass, every manoeuver. The difference between winning and losing usually comes down to the skill of the drivers and the maintenance of their racing machines. Many of the best have teams of mechanics, engineers, racing specialists that they cannot do without. Others race without teams because there is something inside saying that they must. Each have their story. And each successful racer has a story where the common thread is a mixture of determination, bravery, amazing skill, willingness to risk, a big dose of luck...and TMFM. Too Much F***ing Money! ... read more

Well today started with a bang at about 4.00 am. As usual I had to get up to go to the toilet. I had just shut the window as I could hear it raining outside and didn't want it to come inside. I put my thongs on got the Ladies key and my torch and opened the door took one step and whoosh landed on my butt at the bottom of the stairs. It was like something you would see on funniest home videos. I can tell you though it wasn't very funny at the time. I have a masive bruise on my arm and back. Thank goodness it wasn't any worse than that. I went back to bed and woke up later feeling not too bad just a bit sore. We went for another lovely ... read more

What a great relaxing day! We did a fair bit of walking though. We walked into the town centre. We then walked up this steep hill to see the Australian Standing Stones. They are granite stones placed there by the community in a circle representing the 24 hours of the clock. They include the Southern Cross and N, S, W & E points. There is a real Celtic heritage here. You see lots of info about the different clans and there is tartan everywhere. After that bit of exercise we went back down the hill (much easier) and had some lunch. We headed back to the campervan for some R&R, had a nanna nap and then walked back into the town centre for a coffee. We just had dinner at Harry's Snack Shack which is also ... read more

Grafton to Inverell via Glen Innes along the Gwydir Highway We were up, packed and ready for breakfast by about 8.00 a.m. Terry again provided us with a delicious breakfast - the same fare as the day before - and we again shared it with our cute green frog. We then chatted to the other guests and promised that we would be back to share this beautiful part of the country, and especially the fantastic B&B and all its many trimmings! There are three words we would use to describe Clarence River B&B: Quality, Generosity and Hospitality. We've stayed at a lot of wonderful B&Bs but this really was the classiest in all aspects. We were on the road again by 10:00 and headed off to the Gibraltar Ranges National Park along the Gwydir Highway. The ... read more

Day 65 With our lunch box packed we headed off to the Gwydir Highway and the Washpool and Gibralter Range National Parks. First stop was Boundary Creek, about 400metres walk down some steps there is a spectacular tropical looking lagoon with a waterfall. Something about it look perfect, even with the old deadwood that was lying in the lagoon as if it had been placed there deliberately. It may have been for all we know, however a common occurence here is that trees fall over and they are left on the landscape for its natural decomposition. Walking back up to the truck, this was a very short walk but very steep, we met a couple from Grafton who were just having a day trip in the Parks, they were photographing a Ground Orchid, a solitary Orchid ... read more