Blogs from Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania
September 3rd 2011
Day 6 Saturday 27th Aug After packing and re-packing a few times, we were finally ready for our next trip. We got up nice and early to check out and make our way to the train station to catch the 10.05 am train to Tamworth. After checking in our baggage, we found our seats and settled down for the 7 hour journey north. The change in scenery was fascinating as we travelled from the city and into the countryside. We passed through mountians and forests, passed lakes and farmlands and little towns. We even saw kangaroos at the side of the tracks at one point. With so much to see the hours slipped by and we arrived in Tamworth at 4.15pm in the rain. We met James who is a friend of Ifan's from his last ... read more
July 23rd 2011
After 9 months of careful planning, and much more dreaming, the day had arrived: Katrina, Stewart, and their 3 boys off on a journey across Australia in our trusty Kulger, and our Jayco Freedom caravan. We headed out of Sydney and into the wild (OK, we got as far as Tamworth for the first night). This morning we spent packing the caravan – after a quick trip to James’s place to fix the weight distribution hitch, and a quick drop in on Ian to pick up a non-existent camera battery, and cleaning the house. Big thanks in advance to JP for housesitting. It is great to know that we don’t have to worry or be concerned about our house. Thanks also to Mum for doing some washing while we’re away – and for helping us clean ... read more
at the Country Music Capital
Published: March 27th 2011Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Tamworth
March 27th 2011
We're on the road again! We have free time between now and school holidays so decided we'd load the motor home once more and hit the highway. We were held up not far out of Sydney by a long cement bridge span falling from a truck, but after an hour's wait, we could get going again. This time we headed north-west from Raymond Terrace - Morpeth, the beautiful country of Patterson and Dungog, and on to Muswellbrook. The caravan parks were all full, mostly of permanents - miners - there are a lot of coal mines in the area. However, we were able to park at the end of a road in the caravan park for the night, and being self sufficient, we were quite OK with that. Today we drove through Scone, 'the horse capital' ... read more
February 20th 2011
Beste mensen bij deze de blog van mijn Leconfield Cowboy course! ( let op: deze blog kan voor sommige mensen als schokkend ervaren worden!!!! ) We zijn zaterdag met de bus vanuit sydney vertrokken naar Tamworth, hier hadden we een hostel voor 2 nachten en maandag ochtend werden we opgehaald door Tim ( de eigenaar van de farm ) en zijn we nog even naar de 2de hands winkel gegaan om 2 hemden te halen voor te gebruiken tijdens de cursus om vervolgens naar Leconfield te rijden en te beginnen met de cursus! Aangekomen op de ranch hebben we onze bedden gemaakt en hebben we ons omgekleed en zijn we begonnen met een introductie op de farm, hierna hebben we ons paard voor de week gekregen en kregen we uitgelegd hoe ze op te zadelen! ( ... read more
February 10th 2011
Good Day Mates Feb 10th's update. As expected last night's dinner at the farm with Cathy and John was amazing. Great stories were exchanged and all was so relaxed. And the meal itself was of course fantastic. This morning's breakfast was also a real treat ! Hmmmm. Cathy and John had been giving a lot of tips to make sure we would see the best of the Innerland of New South Wales. And we saw some amazing views and sceneries. Destination of today was Tamworth. Along the way to Tamworth we made a few stopps : We stopped in Inverell, Armidale and Walcha. Lovely little towns. The weather has been really great. Hopefully it will be the same tomorrow. We plan to go back to the coast and so we hope to be spending our Friday ... read more
Into the Bush on the Magic Bus
Published: January 21st 2011Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Tamworth
January 19th 2011
Wednesday 12th January – Large Bus and Open Road Travelling from Sydney to Mascot to pick up the camper van – then off into the wild blue (mountains) yonder: Spirit 2 Ultima T/S – This is the future and it is large, white and stuffed full of gadgets we don’t understand. Best to make sure you get your pipes round the right way, but after the briefest of explanations it’s just you and the van, without a backward glance or a manual to refer back to. Setting Up – After shopping for provisions en-route, we try to set up and nothing seems to work! Leads don’t fit into sockets, there’s no gas and the sink doesn’t drain – maybe they have given us the wrong kit? Pasta Bolognaise – A home cooked meal has rarely tasted ... read more
October 16th 2010
On Wednesday morning we said farewell to Coonababran and headed towards Tamworth. It wasn’t too long a journey today, about 200 kms. We stopped in Gunnedah, had our sandwiches and then had a wander into town through yet another very well kept park. We were in Tamworth nice and early and decided to stay in the Top Tourist Caravan Park which was about 4 kms north of the town centre. There didn’t seem to be many easy pitches available but after a bit of indecision and advice from other campers we plumped for one at the bottom of the park near the river. One very pleasant old gentleman whose name was Milton McFarlane gave me a fridge magnet with a scene on of Lake Macquarie that he had painted - I’ve added it to Tiddalik the ... read more
Blog 11 More buns, and Eviction
Published: April 14th 2010Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Tamworth
March 30th 2010
Still catching up with the news. More Buns! Wendy’s name started appearing on the weekly roster at the Buttercup Bakery for 2 shifts per week and she was being called in for one more shift at any time of the day or night. The work is very physically demanding and because our bodies weren’t used to it, all our muscles protested. Peter actually was waking in the early hours of a morning with severe numbness in his fingers, hands, arms and shoulders. When it became unbearable, he phoned the employment agency to inform them. The manager was on our doorstep within half an hour to take him to the doctor. The expert medical opinion was that his problem was work related (NOT something Cate wanted to hear!). The physio named the condition as “nerve entrapment”. Peter ... read more
Blog 10 One a Penny, Two a Penny
Published: April 13th 2010Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Tamworth
March 10th 2010
Here’s some news we prepared earlier. The Easter Bun Rush has started at the Buttercup Bakery, and other employees have told us that we could be working 5 or 6 x 12 hour shifts per week. At the moment, that doesn’t seem to be a reality, because they keep bringing in 4 hour shifts. The regulars aren’t happy - they’d like to be offered extended work opportunities. Peter has had one 12 hour evening shift and one shorter one. Wendy has had a few more, varying shifts. Apparently, most of the production at the moment is for freezing in Sydney, in readiness for the huge demand closer to Easter. We’re already sick of the sight of bread rolls and Easter buns!!! And 60 buns per tray make for heavy work. At least Wendy gets to handle ... read more
Blog 9 Cowboys and Guitars
Published: February 10th 2010Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Tamworth
February 10th 2010
Please note that the first 4 editions of our travel blog (which were created with another program) have now been transferred to this site. If you have missed reading those instalments, or are new readers of our blog, please make sure you get to read them. Christmas has come and gone, January has come and gone, and we had been thinking that there’s not much to write about for this edition. Looking back though, we obviously HAVE done a lot. Being with the family for Christmas was very special. We got to see our mums, and our 3 granddaughters, and were able to take those magic photos of 4 generations on both Peter’s and Wendy’s side of the family with our youngest granddaughter, Maya. Mid January found us wending our way back to Tamworth for our ... read more
