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Published: December 20th 2006
The grandkids!
Hannah, Sam, Maddison, Jack and Zac with Nanna Jo and Grandpa.So here it is Wednesday 2oth December 2006 and we are in residence in Gerroa. Arrived back in Sydney on Thursday and spent the next four nights parked in Kate and Brett’s driveway. It was just lovely to be back and welcomed so wholeheartedly by Jack and Hannah. They have grown so much but are just as delightful as ever. I had my first cuddles with little Sam and he has stolen my heart. He is just starting to smile and gurgle so we had some great conversations. Also caught up with Zac and Maddison on Sunday. They have had a very busy year with Zac completing Kindergarten and Maddison starting to look like an Olympic swimmer. They had a new pool built over the winter and are really looking forward to the Xmas holidays when I think Janelle will have to bribe them both to get out of the pool for meals and sleeps.
Caught up with everyone at Toni and Keith’s on Sunday at their early Xmas lunch. Toni always dresses up as Santa and we have a great time watching the kids getting their presents and then having a ball in the pool. They are both looking
Wake up Grandpa!
Jack and Hannah were early visitors our first morning home. forward to Toni finishing work at the end of December and starting a new life in the New Year. Tim and Janelle are really well and looking forward to having the whole clan over for our traditional family dinner on Xmas night. Michael and Leigh were saving a surprise for our return - Leigh is 4 months pregnant with our 6th grandchild, which is due in May 07. She looks sensational and they are both delighted at the prospect of parenthood. Kate and Brett are coping well with being parents for the third time - they make it look easy! We had a few wines with them over the nights we were there and it was just like old times. Ryan managed to make it for the day too. He bought flowers for both me and Toni, what a sweetheart! It was so good seeing him. He is sharing a flat in Pyrmont close to work so doesn’t see anyone much unless it’s a special occasion. He has a few days off over Xmas so will be able to participate in all events including the Stubbs’ Cup. For those of you who have never heard of it this is a
Leigh, Brett and Sam
You can just see Leigh's gorgeous bump. Golf event run annually on Boxing Day at Beverley Park Golf Club. It is invitation only but you have to be a Stubbs’ family member to be a winner. I don’t play golf so I get to play with the grandkids for the afternoon. Kate may have to take Sam in a sling this year - she is the official handicapper so needs to make an appearance at least.
As promised in the last blog we will both add a bit of a summary of the trip. As you know we both loved every bit of it. We had no trouble adjusting to caravan life. John drove 99% of the way, I towed the van a couple of times but he enjoys driving so much he was happy doing most of it. We will definitely do more caravaning but will sell this one and buy a smaller van (still with a shower/toilet combination) capable of doing more off bitumen work and with more capacity to go without power for longer periods of time. We weren’t able to go into many National Parks - firstly we didn’t have the time and secondly the capability. As we have said to so
Hannah
Where did that silly joke go? many of you we thought we would have heaps of time to sit around under a tree and contemplate our navels. We found that this country of ours is so big we have barely touched the sides and we really hoofed it compared to some. Basically this was a ‘Highway One’ trip that was about 36,000 k’s long. Our plan for the next 5 or so years is to set up home again in Sydney and watch these grandkids grow whilst doing shorter trips to some of the quieter parts of the country. Carmel and Ian Feebrey have been travelling on and off for a number of years and have seen some amazing places so we will be taking a leaf out of their book next time by getting a bit off the beaten track. Have met so many fellow travellers that are willing to go on some of the more adventurous trips with us so we may team up with some of our new friends.
Everyone asks, “Where was your favourite place?” Well it’s very hard to pick one place. We both loved WA, especially Coral Bay, Cape Leveque, the Pilbara and the Kimberleys. I know - that’s
Santa Jack
I didn't realize he was ready to shave. most of WA but as I said it is so hard to choose. John was really impressed with King’s Canyon and of course the trip to Cape York was a highlight. We made a point of looking for places for family holidays in the future and my standout favourite is Yamba on the NSW north coast. It has it all. A great little caravan park right next to a couple of terrific surfing beaches and smack in the middle of town. Yamba is really growing but is still a very pleasant, unhurried place to be.
We took twice as much stuff as we needed particularly clothes. Well my clothes anyway!! We wore the same things until they got dirty. No one was there to see and in the overall scheme of things - who cares? Because we were going to be in the Territory in winter we needed warm clothing but once again we needed only half of what we took. My most important bits of warm clothing were my winter “jammys” and warm bed socks!! Caravans can be very cold places in the middle of the night in winter. Is that too much information??? We only watched about
2012 Olympic Swimming Team
Hannah, Maddison, Jack and Zac 3 or 4 of the 20 or so DVD’s we took but read so many books we had to start going to book exchanges to keep up the supply. I only used the sewing machine a couple of times to do running repairs and doing this blog took up time I would normally have used to do some sewing. All in all a really amazing learning curve.
Now for John’s thoughts on the past 12 months.
Where do you start after a year like we have had!!
After a 2005 that included the sad passing of my sister Anne, the termination of my association with John B. White, Surveyors after 34 years and the surveying profession (at least for the time being) and the successful sale of our home in Carss Park (the Party House) we were both ready to take on the “great unknown”.
Having never towed a caravan before the first few days and weeks were a little harrowing. However, like most things in life, the fear of the event is usually greater than the event itself and, although you can’t afford to lose concentration, the fears diminished as we rolled along.
I
Gerroa sunset
Our first BBQ back home. This truly is one of the most magical places in Australia. am looking at a map of Australia which is highlighted to indicate where we have been since 30/1/2006 and it is truly amazing. For many years I have harboured the idea of travelling this country of ours and I know we bored many of you with our “5 year plan” but now that it has happened my foremost comment is - “If you get the chance - DO IT”
As we got closer to our home base (Sydney) Jo and I discussed the obvious question that we will be asked - “What was the best part?” I am no closer to an answer as the combination of people, places and experiences makes the question too difficult.
We have camped on the shores of Lake Albert at Meningie, dined at Henley Beach (with Mike and Jeanette), parked our van in Rob and Anne’s Barossavale vineyard and sampled their wonderful wine (and watched Michael Crawford at “Barossa Under The Stars”, touched the Flinders Ranges at Melrose, visited the tuna fleet (and Makybe Diva) at Port Lincoln, camped at Nullabor Roadhouse, overlooked the Great Australian Bight, swam in the incredibly clear and aqua coloured waters at Esperance, walked in the treetops
Whale shark
One of the best days we had. Coral Bay WA. of the huge Tingle trees in the “Valley Of The Giants” at Walpole, watched the Western Force V Capetown Stormers rugby at Subiaco (with Michael and Leigh), spent a wonderful week at Busselton with Kate, Brett, Jack and Hannah (and Sam), enjoyed the food, wine and surf of Margaret River, celebrated Easter at Boyup Brook with a mature group of Square Dancers who showed everyone how to enjoy life, viewed the gold mines, Superpit, “ladies of the night” and the fabulous buildings of Kalgoorlie, met the bizzare Prince Leonard at Hutt River Province, played with the dolphins at Monkey Mia, swam with a whale shark and snorkelled the Ningaloo Reef at Coral Bay, met fellow travellers Wayne and Jill at a roadside camp outside Tom Price and shared experiences on and off to Cairns, were blown away by the colours and beauty of Karajini National Park in the Pilbara and all of the Kimberley, watched a 2.5 Km long train haul iron ore through the Pilbara to the coast for export, spent time with a host of “grey nomads” at Barnhill Station (of ”60 Minutes” fame), were enchanted by the pearls of Broome and the stunning beauty of Cape Leveque,
Our Landcruiser and Roadstar Van
Just in case you have all forgotten what it looks like! paddled and snorkelled with an Aboriginal Leader at Lombadina, visited the Horizontal Waterfall, were amazed by the 10 metre tides in Derby, saw more fresh water than this country can use in Kununurra (when will our politicians have the balls to make a big decision), spent two nights in El Questro visiting magnificent gorges (needed a week), had a drink in the Daly Waters pub, camped in a river bed east of Alice Springs with Barb and Lowy and a group of Jo’s mates, walked the rim of Kings Canyon, visited Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria after surviving outback Queensland “development” roads and “huge” roadtrains, reached the “green” of the Atherton Tableland (where we crossed paths with Ian and Carmel), spent 3 nights in “5 star” luxury at Palm Cove with Bill, Marg, Trevor and Ann, enjoyed the company of Jan and Robin in Cooktown and look forward to visiting Padthaway, were taken to the “Tip”(talk about history and isolation), marvelled at the beauty of the North Qld coast and the Whitsundays, were surprised by the buildings and history of Charters Towers, travelled to Longreach for “Qantas” and the “Hall of Fame”, reacquainted Jo with her roots in Dalby and Toowoomba (and the many Smythe’s), were delighted to revisit Denyse and Ian, Chris and Marg and more of Jo’s old mates in Brisbane, spent a wonderful few days with Larry and Mary in Grafton and Yamba, stayed o’night at the home of fellow travellers Bruno and Irene in Coffs Harbour, gatecrashed Steve Sawtell’s 50th birthday party along with the Sawtell clan and called in on Rob and Dee Pike at Wauchope - all before returning to Kate’s front lawn on 14/12/2006.
My lasting memories will be the vastness of this country, the colours of the Pilbara and the Kimberley, the amazing coast line, the remoteness of many parts of WA, the enormity of the resources boom (particularly in WA) and the associated shortage of labor and accommodation, the character of the people (both black and white) and the fellowship of our fellow travellers.
We have been away 10.5 months, still very much enjoy each others company, are hooked on this lifestyle but for now want to spend time with our family, will hopefully do a lot more travelling (but in small doses and to selected destinations), are looking to the many experiences that older age provides (with friends) and are incredibly grateful that we have been given the opportunity and health to have completed this journey.
For those interested in statistics here are some as food for thought:-
Vehicle ---- 100 Series Turbo Diesel Toyota Landcruiser
Caravan --- 19’6’’ Roadstar with shower/toilet
Distance Travelled --- 36,170 Km
Towing Distance ------ 21,550 Km
Total Fuel Cost ------- $7,518
Av Cost Of Fuel ------ $1.37per litre
Cheapest Fuel ------- $1.12 per litre (Brisbane)
Dearest Fuel -------- $1 .70 per litre (Nullabor)
Fuel Economy ------ 12 litres/100Km (car only)
Fuel Economy ------ 17 litres/100Km (towing)
As we approach this wonderful Xmas season we hope that all our family and friends are blessed with the best of health and enjoy the celebrations and companionship that is part of this time of year. Xmas cards are not on our agenda this year so our apologies to anyone expecting something in the letter box from us. We would both like to thank you all for coming along for the ride and sharing our blog. It's been a lot of fun to do and we have been tickled pink to get your comments. This will probably be the last blog, it will stay on the net for a while and we will check regularly to see if there are any more comments. We will base ourselves here in Gerroa until after Xmas when we will find a rental place in Sydney. Then we will decide where and what we will or won't buy!! Until then -
Our mailing address will remain
123/119 Mulga Road
Oatley, NSW
2223
Our phone numbers will remain
0418 462 738 - John
0418 640 351 - Jo
Our email address will remain
jos@jbwhite.com.au
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Take care everybody and God Bless.
Jo and John
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Gary S.
non-member comment
Wonderful blog
I have really enjoyed travelling with you on your journey. You have made so many places real and more interesting than any other blog that I have seen. Nice to see information as opposed to the younger folks blogs. We are Canadian, have visited Australia on two separate occassions, one month each time. I am hoping that we can get back in the next 9-15 months for about 3 months. Will certainly not be able to see as much as you have, but I want to see WA and NT. Maybe a combination of car, train and plane. Again, THANKS for such a great blog.