Homeward Bound 2008

We left Melbourne on 27th December ready for our 1600km trek back to Brisbane to park our van and fly home for a few months. Friend Wendy and her Mum Molly fed us on a good old Aussie all day breakfast and loaded us up with the Christmas food leftovers of ham, turkey, mince pies and Christmas cake (delicious). We had also spent an enjoyable Christmas with her and her family where we had been treated to a roast turkey and all the trimmings dinner, even if it was over 30 degrees.
Our first stop was a visit to Allen's xSNZ work mate Neil, who has recently moved over to Melbourne with his wife. They seem to have settled in very well and we enjoyed sitting in their air conditioned flat as it was a very hot day. After we hit the road again we drove along the Hume Highway to the NSW boarder and camped at a scenic spot along the Murray River once again. There were quite a lot of campers here with various boats out on the river enjoying the early evening cooler weather.
Next morning we hit the road early as it was Sunday and we thought there would be less traffic for us to hold up. We headed into Ned Kelly country once again, Jeralderie Bank being one of his holdup places. We also ran into more locusts here and they look horrible as they splatter on the windscreen. Next we headed to the old gold mining town of Forbes then on to Parkes which is famous for the 'Dish' and the movie of the same name. This was an interesting place to visit where we also took an interactive flight to the moon. From there to Dubbo where it was very hot and I decided my life would still be complete if I did not visit the zoo although it was on my list of things to do.
Tuesday 30th December and we decided to put a few kms (480) in today and 1300 since Melbourne, so as to get to Casino for New Years Eve. We swam in the hot pools at Moree where it was 39 degrees in the pools and out! Tonight we camped along side a young couple with 3 children who had been living in a camping trailer for 8 months while they traveled about. The kids all seemed so happy and content.
We arrived in Casino at the retirees camping village at 3pm so in plenty of time for the New Year bash tonight. This was in the form of a concert put on by the people who live mainly permanently in the village. Everyone seemed very friendly and a good time was had by all . The weather has been very hot for days so its great to be able to laze about here in the pool for a few days. I am reminded of the movie Cocoon where all the old people are jumping in the pool to regain their lost youth. I doubt if I have seen anyone under he age of 60 here, but these Golden Oldies seem to have a great lifestyle and we met people who live here in permanent housing and those who have been camping here for 4 months or so. We decided to squeeze in one more day here before we hit the road again only to be hit by a severe electrical storm in the middle of the night. We had left our awning out and it was rattling around so we jumped out of bed to put it down before any real damage was done. This was in our semi naked state so was not a 'good look' . Next day we found others who were not so fortunate and had suffered ripped canvas or bent frames.
Back on the road again for a final swim at Surfers before heading to Brisbane and friend Eileen's for a couple of nights before we fly home. Allen took the van to Eumundi and sorted out the storage whilst Eileen and I followed in the car. We spent some time at the Eumundi market but it was too hot to be bothered. We drove back to Brisbane and spent one more night before Eileen dropped us at the airport for our trip back to NZ.
It was a very interesting and enlightening trip and a great start for a life of retirement. Eight months cooped up in van might not be everyones idea of bliss, but reality it is not like that at all.You met so many different people and see so many places that everyday is something new to look forward to. We are looking forward to going home for a while but are also looking forward to coming back when the weather gets colder in NZ. Watch this space!