On the road

Monday ----to Coonamble. We like this caravan park. The caretakers live in a bus beside the kiosk. Everything is old but well kept and clean. The toilets have chains to pull!!! The cisterns up high on the wall are painted with undersea motifs.

We were both glad that we had chosen to turn off the Newell Highway and follow the less used roads, first the Kamilaroi Highway then the Castlereagh Highway. There was more to be seen and different vegetation. We stopped briefly at Pilliga and admired the spa pool but the day was hot and the spa was 37C so we gave it a miss.

We had to take a detour on a quiet, old, dirt side road just before Coonamble. A pair of brolgas wandered across the road and stopped to take a look at us. I whipped out the camera, only to find it had flat batteries. Steve hurriedly took the spare batteries out of the case and put them in. They were flat too. Grrrrrr. The brolgas hung around for a while and I wanted to stay and watch in case they danced. Steve felt that we might have had to camp there for the night, so we moved on. I just bet they danced immediately after we left!!!

Taken from the car

Tuesday ----to Gilgandra. Once again we travelled through more native pine trees. They seem to be very thick, taking over the gum trees in parts.
We spent a couple of hours at Gulargambone, a favourite place. Unfortunately, the little town seems to have lost more shops since we were there a few years ago. The butcher shop closed and never opened again. A doctor visits irregularly but the little hospital is still open. A service station is run by volunteers. In a long row of old shops, there's a hairdresser, a sewing shop and a part time library. The other unoccupied shops are neatly kept and the whole row has all the shopfronts painted with Aussie murals. The locals really try. The cafe, 2008, which used to be the hall, is still open from Wed to Sun, serving lunch. Unfortunately, we were a day too early. We had a great lunch there when it first opened. The Post Office is also the Rural Transaction Centre and a nick nack shop. I took the opportunity to check my email there. The ladies in the supermarket told us all about their lovely little caravan park -- gave us the hard sell. I felt guilty that we weren't staying there for the night, but we had travelled only 50 kms that day!

Gulargambone means place of many galahs. The community won a Recycling Arts award for its creation of galahs made from corrugated iron. These are placed on either side of the town, to lead the visitor in and throughout the town.
Taken from the car.

Note the galahs at the foot of the sculpture!

Wednesday ---- to Peak Hill. Lots more pine trees again. I need Richard, Robert or Roger to name these for me but I didn't take any photos, did I?!! Casuarinas --- that's the best I can come up with. (Why do my botanically informed friends have names that start with R???)

We stopped in Narramine for morning tea --- under a nice spreading gum, opposite the cemetery. As soon as we halted, a car pulled up behind us and a tall man leapt out. He rushed out apologies in case we thought he was the police and explained that he had followed us through town, hoping that we would stop somewhere. For the next hour, Steve showed him around the van and he, John, asked a million questions. He plans to build his own 5th wheeler and when he saw ours, he felt that we had exactly what he wanted. He asked Steve to email him the plans. That was a different morning tea!!!

It was only a hop and a step to Peak Hill, where we arrived in time to have a delicious lunch at the RSL Club, where the same people have run a Chinese kitchen for the last 15 years. I said to the Chinese proprietor that she would probably be there for ever but she quickly denied this and said that she and her husband were terribly tired. Two meals every day except Monday, when they have a half day off, is a gruelling schedule. As she said, in a small town, there is no one to take over if you are sick, so you must press on.

Lleyton gave us the same shady spot in his caravan park that we have had for the last few years. As usual, we were given fresh baked scones, jam and cream for afternoon tea. He has a new addition, a small building containing fish fossils. We shall see this in the morning.

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Leaving

It's 9am Monday and after I make this post, Steve will pack away the satellite dish. There will be no more internet for a while.

Everything is organised and in its place, apart from the washing machine. We were going to leave it here but Steve got superstitious at the last minute. He felt that if we left it here, our machine at home would break down as soon as we got back! He has a point. After the last couple of trips away, that machine was most unwilling to start. Apparently it didn't appreciate its holiday.

We have a lovely NE wind, which will gently nudge us homeward and save on diesel. Sunday's wind wasn't too bad but this is better.

Our last swim yesterday was delightful. Most people had gone home to eat and we had one pool to ourselves. As always, we started off in the cool pool. The sun was still on it and it was delicious! It was perfect body temperature and felt neither hot nor cold. When it's like that, I say that it feels like silk on the skin.

Emily and Carissa arrived up here to say goodbye, before I was out of bed. Both complained about the length of their school uniforms. Although they attend the same school, Emily is in the High School section and has a different uniform. Carissa's green checked dress was too short for her liking. She is not far short of 6' tall and had the biggest size available, which didn't quite cover her knees. She is looking forward to High School next year, when she can wear the skirt that annoys Emily. The skirt is mid calf length and looks very elegant. Em said it was too long and showed how she and her friends hitch it up to shorten it. Of course!!!

We watched the Philip Island Moto GP yesterday and cheered Casey Stoner along. I was sure that Valentino Rossi could have pushed harder if he wanted. With Lorenzo falling off in the very early stages, the final result was just perfect! Casey wins his 3rd Philip Island in a row and Valentino gets the points for the championship.

And so, off we go. The only good thing about leaving Moree is that we know we are getting closer and closer to family.

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Packing Up

Our plan was to leave Moree on Friday, tomorrow. Then the big winds started. Gusting at 60kph, they would not make good towing conditions. The weather forecast shows that they are likely to subside on Sunday, so this is now our estimated day of departure.

Steve was doing quite well with packing up his tools from the shed. These include a big saw, a rectangular thing about 3' by 2½'. Whilst lifting up the bed to store things underneath, he groaned as always, because the struts didn't do their job. (Mind you, it's nearly 18 months since they worked properly!) So, out came the saw!!! Nooooooooooo. But he has made the repair and now the bed glides upwards with one hand and stays there. Next time that saw gets packed away, it can stay there, no matter what breaks!

There were nice "surprises" under the bed ---- presents I bought months ago and had forgotten about. The bulk of my Christmas shopping is now done.

I had my last massage yesterday. Tom gave us a nice bottle of Jacobs Creek Cab Sav and we gave him a framed photo of all of us here when they came to visit. We abide by the Chinese custom of not opening the gift until we get home. This feels uncomfortable for me but I follow Tom's lead.

Lindy planned to take us out for lunch yesterday but I had to cry off. I had a horrible kind of indigestion or something, from the night before. Before she left on Tuesday, Stephanie had given me a fish recipe. It was Basa marinated in sweet chili sauce. I don't normally like fish but this was delicious. I think it must have been the sauce that upset me.

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The October Long Weekend

For nearly 2 weeks, the TV and radio announcers have been telling us that the October Long Weekend is coming up. So here we are now ---- the Sunday of the October Long Weekend.

A few years ago, we heard the announcements and wondered what was the reason for this long weekend.
We asked around and no one could tell us. We asked the librarians and they didn't know. We asked various shopkeepers and they were blank.

So, we turned to Google. There were many entries that trumpeted The October Long Weekend but no explanation of what it meant. Clicking on one, I found, "October Long Weekend Travel Restrictions - Load Carrying vehicles and Special Purpose Vehicles
These restrictions only apply to vehicles carrying or towing Oversize loads, and Oversize special purpose vehicles such as cranes, drill rigs, concrete pumps." No, that's no use.

Then I turned to Wikipedia, the brainy, all-knowing one. It said, "You may create the page "October Long Weekend NSW", but consider checking the search results below to see whether it is already covered."

Create the damned thing??? Not on your life! What could I write about it? There was nothing to write! I suppose I could have said, "It's October. We have that Long Weekend Again."

Wikipedia doesn't give up easily, so I followed its advice and checked the results below under Public Holidays.
There I found a table that required close scrutiny. Finally I found it ------

NSW ---- LABOUR DAY 1ST WEEKEND IN OCTOBER

Why couldn't it be called Labour Day like it is in the other states? Why don't people know that it's Labour Day? If they knew, would they know what it meant?

Does it matter? Who cares?

As long as there's a Long Weekend.

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The Healing Waters Festival

Saturday September 26. When I woke just before dawn, I could smell dust, so I hurried around to shut all windows. Dawn broke but the butcher birds were silent, as they were on Tuesday during the dust storm. We were enveloped in the orange-brown cloud again but not as thick as last time. I smiled to myself when I thought about all the cars that had been washed during the week! (We had decided not to wash the truck!)

By 2pm, we judged that it was clear enough to go to the street Parade. Emily and Carissa were very pleased about the decision! The four of us went in Nev's and Lindy's car and got a parking spot not far off the main street, which was blocked off. The Parade was reasonably good but not as long as last year, nor as attractive. Still, we applauded the efforts and had a good time. As always, each of the Princesses rode on the float of their sponsor.

Next was the Carnival and the inevitable argument about money. Every year, Lindy gives the girls ample money and we try to get them to spend it sensibly and have some left over. Every year, Steve says, "Give it up Laurie. They aren't your kids!" Old teachers never die!! This year, most of their money was spent on food! We had Maccas for our evening meal. Oddly, it was the most nourishing food we could find!

The Rodeo commenced at dusk and the wide metal bleachers filled up quickly. We all cooled down quickly, so Steve and Emily drove home for warm clothes and blankets. Our butts were freezing!! They returned with an extra child, Jackson, the girls' cousin. He had just arrived from Brisbane.

I'm ambivalent about rodeos. I want to say that I dislike them because they are tormenting, frustrating and cruel to the animals. Yet, the atmosphere and action excites me and I'm caught up in the enthusiasm engendered by the spruikers. They spoke frequently about cruelty to animals and some of the calf roping contestants were disqualified on those grounds. There were all kinds of events ---- bucking bulls, bucking horses, with and without saddles, two different kinds of calf roping and a terrific barrel race. A program explained exactly what was involved in each event, but as it all happened so quickly, it was a bit hard to see. Fortunately, Steve gave me a running commentary.

As the evening wore on, the kids became more and more restless and there were numerous visits to the toilets, trips for food, play fighting with those big plastic bats, general teasing and a lot of texting and exchanging of ring tones and photos! There was no bad blood, even though I delivered a couple of lectures! They were all high on sugar and no longer interested in the rodeo, so we headed for home. We had promised sundaes at McDonalds to finish the day, so that was our last stop before home, around 10pm. How did they fit in more food????

It was difficult to take photos of the rodeo and most of them have the metal bar of the safety fence across the middle. I haven't put any captions on the obvious photos; you'll work them out for yourself.

I have embedded a slideshow here. Click the arrow and it will run automatically.




Another method to view the photos in a larger style is to click on The Healing Waters Festival title at the top and then click on slideshow on the new page.

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Dust 2 Dust

Everyone is cleaning up after the big dust storm on Tuesday night and Wednesday.

Steve went outside late on Tuesday night and reported to me that there was a fog. If we had only realised that it was dust, we would have battened down the hatches!
It was unmistakable when we woke on Wednesday ------ a thick layer of dust covered our world, inside and out. I still haven't decided what is the best way to clean the venetians. They look as if they have been commercially sandblasted.

The sad part about this terrible dust storm which blanketed much of NSW, ACT, southern Queensland and northern South Australia is that many farmers have lost their top soil and the growing crops. Broken Hill farmers report that they will have to sell or agist their sheep, as there is no food for them.

The media made a big thing about reporting it in Sydney but ignored it in the rest of NSW. If I see one more photo of the Harbour Bridge or Luna Park shrouded in the golden glow of dust, I'll be sick. That is so typical. The Victorian drought was ignored for the first 5 years until Melbournians began to feel the effects.

Looking towards the Highway

The hidden Airport

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Massage

When I went for my massage at 3pm on Wednesday, Tom greeted me with just about all the English words he knows, "Baby, sleep, Wednesday 3 o'clock". I understood. He has a wall of photos and I've watched as his baby granddaughter grew. His daughter and granddaughter were up from Sydney on a visit and I had suggested that he might bring the little one to the massage room so that I could meet her. It was quite understandable that the baby was napping in the afternoon.

Tom kept repeating, "Thursday, 11 o'clock." Ah, he wants me to come in on Thursday and he'll have the baby there at 11am, I thought. He handed me a piece of paper and a pen and asked me to write ........ what? So I wrote my mobile phone number. Although I couldn't see why he would want that!! At that point, Steve left, believing that he understood all that was happening!

Tom made it clear that the phone number wasn't what he wanted.
Eventually, after much pantomiming and the repetition of, "Thursday, 11am", I got it! Or I presumed that I did. So, I wrote down the address of the caravan park and our site number.

Right on the dot of 11, their car pulled up. What a nice surprise! I had hopefully set up tables and chairs outside in the dappled sun but I wasn't totally certain that I had understood the arrangements correctly!!

Tom's wife Annie and her daughter, whose name we never discovered, hurried across, carrying little Belinda, pointing at me and repeating the Chinese word for Grandmother, which sounds very much like Nana. (Pronounced Nanay.) Eventually, the little one, about 18 months, was calling me by that name! I felt quite honoured!

Annie speaks a little English and Tom speaks very little. We thought that their daughter, being young, would be very fluent. Wrong! Inexplicably, after 15 years here, she speaks none. Bang went my plans for asking some of the questions I hadn't been able to get through to Tom or Annie.

Despite the language difficulties, we had a lovely hour or so together. They were thrilled to look through the caravan, darting here and there with sudden expressions of delight, like excited kids. Maybe they had never been inside a caravan before.

I had got some Textas and paper to entertain Belinda and was a bit worried about her getting the colors on her skin and clothes. I stopped worrying when Annie drew a watch on Belinda's arm!! She is a really lovely, relaxed Grandmother.

It's hard for me to imagine being forced to have just one child, with the possibility of having only one Grandchild.

Tom had handed Steve a bag on his way in. After they left, I investigated the contents. It was 2 packets of Chinese cigarettes, named Eighth Happiness!!!!!! Oh my!

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