western australia : steep point

Overnight J decided that he should have visited Steep Point when we were camped at Monkey Mia and he had to go back. 

I have funny rule that I've tried to stick to. I don't go backwards. By all means I was happy for J to break my rule so he headed out of Carnarvon a happy man with the truck, his kayak and his tent. It's some 360km from Carnarvon to Steep Point with 130km of dirt with the final 30km a soft, sandy single lane 4WD track. J was so pleased he went back and you can see he made the most of time on his own with his truck, his tent and his kayak. 

tassie: cradle mountain summit walk

He was up at 0530 so he could get to the summit and back down again before lunch. 

It was J's third visit to Cradle Mountain and of the previous two he hadn't made it to the summit. I remember the second time J was there because I was too. It was an icy Tassie day and the freezing rain made it bitterly cold. We walked to The Hut but decided it wouldn't be much use trying to get further on. The visibility was bad and the path slippery so we turned back. 

This time everything was in J's favour. We'd had some clear blue skies and there was every chance he'd make it. Apparently it's not too difficult but for the final ascent which requires the walker to clamber over huge boulders. 

Unfortunately mother nature wasn't on J's side as the clouds only parted for a few seconds of the thirty minutes he was at the summit. 

The following day was the clearest we've seen input trip so far. Oh well - he'll just need to come back!

 

first stop: Moss Vale

Here I am sitting in my beautiful new home, our caravan, writing this, my first blog post of our trip!
J is sitting on the end of the bed gently playing his Dad's old guitar and singing old tunes. The kids are asleep (and have been since 7pm) while the rhythmic rain hits our awning roof. We're in Moss Vale for the night which is a short trip from Sydney but we wanted it that way as we anticipated a big morning.

We'd aimed to leave at 9am from the northern beaches but of course it didn't go completely to plan with a last minute repair of the 12-pin socket on the truck which powers the indicators. Peter from across the road arrived just at the right moment and between him and J they fixed the socket.

Thankfully we had many helping hands in the last fortnight. Friends and our neighbours had the kids over for plays and dinners, my mum came up to help and J's aunts entertained the kids before sending us off down the road this morning. Thank you dear friends. We really appreciate your support.

J and I were both overwhelmed this morning. Our life at Number 14 has come to a (somewhat welcome) end but we'll miss the friends we made in the area and we'll always have fond memories of the children's lives in that home. On the other hand we were happy to farewell the city for the year. Sydney is a vibrant place but the hollow pressure and haste can get too much at times.

       

Bowral was a good lunch spot yesterday and we managed to get to the Bradman Museum where we've been meaning to visit for some time now. The majority of photographs on display were taken by my award-winning sports photographer uncle, Philip Brown. It's worth a look for any cricket tragics. 

                                  

B made our salad last night which we had with a premade lasagne from our local deli. I suspect there'll be quite a few meals like this on our travel days. B beamed as we thanked him for his contribution to the meal. 

Tomorrow were off to the nation's capital for a night. It is forecast to rain for the next couple of days but that's a relief from the humidity we've had in Sydney.