8 - 9 September Evans Head

We love Evans Head and have been holidaying here since the boys were babies, so it seemed like the icing on the cake to stay here to complete our journey. We went fishing and Riley caught a big bream. We had a great chinese meal at the bowls club and won a $20 voucher for the fish co op. The number was called out and Jamie went up to collect his prize and the 4 boys went charging up madly after him like we'd won the lotto. It was a gorgeous sight. We played footy on the beach, played in the park, saw a whale, dolphins and a huge turtle. On the last night the boys presented us with a beautiful gift box full of goodies to thank us for the trip ! This brought tears to our eyes. Our journey has been a time in our lives which we wish we could seize forever. Life was simple and the freedom that came with each new day was so relaxing and exciting. It has been such a fantastic family experience and it is with mixed feelings that we head home to Carindale. We do not want this trip to come to an end, and even after 17,000kms behind the wheel Jamie said "It's not the end, only a beginning!!!". It has been an awesome finale to Part 1 of Habbin Family Aussie Road Trip 2010. Australia is so diverse and so beautiful, we cannot wait to discover more. Every moment was part of the journey, whether it was exploring Ayers rock, doing the dishes in a creek bed, or throwing pillows at the snorer or person with too much gas (5 males collectively have a lot of gas) - these memories are priceless.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO FOLLOW OUR BLOG. I HOPE I HAVE ENLIGHTENED YOU, ENTERTAINED YOU AND INSPIRED YOU TO HIT THE ROAD.....YOU WON'T REGRET IT!!!!!!!

Raylene.

6 - 7 September Port Macquarie

We stayed in a caravan park by the Hastings River and had our own private jetty to fish off and enjoy the sunset. We had the camp kitchen to ourselves. The boys had a swim in the ocean and we had a picnic at Shelly Beach with the turkeys and goannas. There were rabbits everywhere in the caravan park and a large bird aviary (the boys know their birds well now). Chrissy has a bout of asthma so he wasn,t feeling too crash hot at night. Port Macquarie is definitely worth a visit.

5 September Norah Head NSW

After the wild weather last night, blue sky started to break through as we zoomed through Sydney. We saw the Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Penrith Rugby League Stadium. Sydney is so horrifically busy, even our GPS didn't know where it was going. Eating our Kentucky Chuck on a footpath somewhere and adding up the many tunnels and road tolls we had been through, we contemplated "where to now?". Jamie is very tired from all the driving and does not wish to see one more museum, aboriginal art painting, vineyard, bridge, mountain, memorial, antique, collectable shop...... We are very lucky he still wants to look at us! (only joking). Our trip has been so fantastic and we have seen everything that we set out to see and so much more, but it's time to wind down at a couple of beachside towns before returning home. Norah Head is a beautiful place. The sun shone, we could hear the waves, see the ocean and we walked to the lighthouse. The Central Coast of NSW is really beautiful.

3- 4 September Canberra ACT

Exhibition Park Showgrounds was our stop for 2 nights. The boys watched the trots and amused themselves in the wide open space. Weather - cyclonic, never the less we got out and about to check out the ACT. The National Australian Museum was a great morning out. It was interesting, fun and interactive for all. We then went to the Royal Australian Mint and watched our own $1 coin being stamped. We saw the door of a volt with $12 million dollars inside !!! We drove past Parliament House and around all the Embassies, saw the War Memorial and the Canberra Stadium. On our second night here at about 8.30pm the wind and rain was absolutely howling and our blue tarp flapping madly (I felt like I was chip in a big chip packet). We decided it was too dangerous to stay out in the open, so in the dark, Jamie and Thomas hooked up the van, (the rest of us sitting in the van - we love adventure) and made our way to a massive shed. Our only concern now was if we woke up in the middle of a market! We would be first there and wouldn't have to find a parking space. P.S. Our van does not leak. The blue tarp is a preventative measure so that the push out ends don't get wet. There's nothing worse than water dripping on your head whilst you are asleep.

Anyway, no sitings of Julia or Tony anywhere. Porta potty nearly came to a sad end in a carpark. What's that scraping noise? We forgot the extra height of stuff in our roof carrier. Porta potty came out fairly unscathed and lives, fresh and clean to see another day!

2 September Gundagai NSW

"There's a track winding back to and old fashioned shack, along the road to Gundagai. Where the blue gums are growing and the Murrumbidgee's flowing beneath that sunny sky.." We had to stay here. A classic Aussie town - we could not miss seeing the iconic "Dog on the Tuckerbox", a tribute to the early pioneers. We saw the historic Prince Alfred bridge and railway bridges and the old railway station which is in a beautiful state, due to a loving caretaker. The timber viaducts are a spectacular latticework of wooden trusses and wonderful examples of early engineering solutions to crossing a major flood plain. The town is also noted for the marble masterpiece of a miniature cathedral (1.2 m high, 20948 pieces) made by mason, Frank Rusconi over 20 years. It is a town of hills and plains and the main street is lined with billowing Australian flags. Unfortunately the unpleasant weather followed us. Driving to our next destination, Christopher and Riley were making this lovely tapping sound in the back seat. They had "borrowed" (STOLEN) two massive bolts from the old Gundagai railway line!!!! (See, Ned Kelly characteristics, it starts from a young age) What are we going to do with these kids? (We stopped in Holbrook for lunch and climbed aboard a replica submarine).

30 August - 1 September Bright VIC

The journey to Bright was on a very bright day. We stopped at Glenrowan - Ned Kelly country and stood right in the area where the last shootout took place. There is great satisfaction in actually experiencing the place of something that has only been factual information stored since childhood, of a man in a 45kg armour who took on the law. Most days I liken our boys to the Ned Kelly Gang. The blacksmith who resided there had a fantastic shed full of Ned Kelly crafted souvenirs and he made the armour for the ABC program. The village itself was charming. Another highlight of the day was the Milawa Cheese Factory. We virtually had lunch there, the lady couldn't cut the cheese fast enough when she saw us coming! We also taste tested jam, chutney, chocolate even chili chocolate. The Alpine region of Australia is so beautiful - the trees, the flowers, the mountains, the rivers, the cottages, the "Bright Lager". The drive up to Dinner Plains, which is a little way past Mt Hotham, was so exciting. The first glimpse of snow on the mountains and by the roadside was unforgettable. The boys were just so excited as we made our way up the mountain and through the clouds, sometimes with very little visibility in front of us. We had snow chains for the car tyres, but did not need to use them. Finally we reached our tobogganing destination, "Scrubbers End", yep that sums us up. We had a ball on the snowfields, ploughing down our fellow skiers. We really enjoyed the little town of Bright. Unfortunately, Bright turned dull, but still had a wonderful appeal. The boys picked bunches of flowers for me - daffodils, jonquils and camellias and some of our best memories have been the 6 of us crammed in the van on a rainy day, stuff everywhere and watching dvds on the laptop. We could actually be the cast of the "Merlin" 2 series if it came to the crunch. We have watched it many times!!!

29 August Shepparton

We stayed in Shepparton for 1 night on our way through to Bright. Cow artwork all around town, looks like a nice place. As soon as we arrived at the caravan park, a 14year old girl, Bethany from Tasmania, rounded up the boys and took them to the park. Thomas, hid, she wasn't his type. There was a free pool table and they took on Bethany. Poor Bethany!

Christopher has learnt many things, but no he is not driving yet, just checking the indicators for Jamie. The boys have mastered the art of putting our little Jayco Hawk up and down now - can this go on their school report?

26 - 28 August Buronga border of Mildura NSW/VIC

A memory of this journey was sitting in the car by the roadside eating about 2kgs oranges so we wouldn't have to bin them before we reached the border. Guess what? quarantine check station was closed. We joked "No officer, no oranges here" we stunk of oranges. Buronga Family Park was such an excellent find - 23 acres, by the Murray River - playground,tennis court,farm animals, park lit up with fairy lights at night, great camp kitchen. We really loved it here. We walked down to the weir and saw all the paddle steamer boats and lots of hungry pelicans. We went to Woodsies gem shop. He had every precious stone you could imagine. The boys took their collections in and with great interest he named the stones and encouraged the boys to keep digging. We paired off and went through a hedge maze. Christopher and Jamie won. The rest of us got so frustrated, we cheated and went through the no entry doors, otherwise we would have been in their until dark. Thomas, Matty, Chrissy and Riley let me off cooking for the night and whipped up fantastic pizzas, drawing the attention of many of the campers. Christopher and Riley were in awe of this square box that sat on the fridge. Ah... the television, but we have not missed it one bit.

24 - 25 August Renmark

We camped at a place called Plushes Bend, which is a lovely spot next to the Murray River. With heavy rain approaching, I can honestly say this is one of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen (Jamie would beg to differ as he was draping our van with a big blue tarp, he says this is a very expensive tent on wheels!) We fished in the Murray River, but no Murray River cod to be caught today. We watched a program at the information centre about the Murray River - the livelihood of so many industries and lives worldwide are at stake if a cleanup program does not take place.
We have seen so many vineyards, minus the grapes though, as fruit picking season is in February and so many rose gardens minus the roses. It would be so beautiful here when everything is in bloom. The apricot trees are so beautiful and orange trees are ready for picking, so many just lying on the ground. I did manage 2 wineries and we all enjoyed Almondco - so many yummy flavours. We poked around at a few antique, collectable shops in Paringa and low and behold, Frank the Chookman brought a massive black stump here in the 1980's, his name rung a bell as we saw him at Daly Waters weeks ago. We met a lovely couple from Bracken Ridge, Mo and Glenda, we sat around their fire (a gas bottle, upside down, bottom cut out) they are kindly making us one when we return to Brisbane.

21 - 23 August West Beach/Adelaide

We are in the "Big smoke" again, not sure if we like all these traffic lights and cars. We stayed at a big 4 caravan park which had a massive jumping pillow and games room. The weather was quite rainy and dreary, but the sun shone brilliantly on the 22nd - Matthew's 11th birthday. We caught a tram into the city and then back to Glenelg (a popular seaside village)for lunch at Hogsbreath Cafe - you couldn't wipe the smile off Matty's face. After a huge lunch, he was presented with a complimentary cocktail. He said the day had started out a "bit pear shaped, but then changed into an apple" - he had a very good day! The tram conductor was the most jovial person I have ever encountered on public transport - he was just jumping out of his skin, a great "Welcome to Adelaide". I had the wonderful opportunity to catch up briefly with an old school friend, which made my visit here very special. The last day here was again raining, blustery (all those adjectives)so I did my time in the laundry(scrubbing those grubby little socks, which really should have run away on their own by now)and had "my time" watching the clothes in the dryer go around and around (how much more money do I have to feed into this thing!)

20 August Auburn / Clare Valley

The desert of Central Australia is now a only a memory, but a vivid treasured memory it is. How on earth did we get to the english countryside so quickly? Rolling hills, vineyards, sheep, antique shops, overcast skies. A gorgeous contrast to "up the road", but we do miss the Red Centre - it is so different and unique. I'll let you imagine how much interest Jamie and the boys have in antique shops and wineries (Jamie does not drink wine). Anyway we had a lovely stay at the showgrounds, the caretakers were wonderful and we were near the Riesling and Rattler Trails (walking and bike trails through farmlands and vineyards). This is very pretty countryside.

18 - 19 August Port Augusta

Goodbye opal fossicking, hello 10 cent return on bottle and cans. Yes the boys have a new focus. On the first morning they rummaged through the bins at the caravan park and became very competitive trying to be ahead of a man with a trailer with the same hobby. They made a total of $7.80, not bad for few minutes work. At Port Augusta we stayed at Shoreline Caravan Park and caught 1 whiting off the old bridge. It seemed odd, looking at grass again and the weather was cold, but beautiful and sunny one minute and raining and blustery the next. We have seen lots of sheep and lakes and mountain ranges.

15 - 17 August Coober Pedy

Wow, what an interesting and unique place - Opal capital of the World. Population 3,500. Coober Pedy, comes from aboriginal words kupa piti which means white man in hole. Shops underground, homes underground (called dugouts), even a caravan park underground (shaded sites???) Mounds of earth everywhere, very colourful. We took an underground mine tour at Toms mine, lots of explosive equipment, you know all the stuff that boys love!! (I hope they didn't look to clearly at "How to make an explosive.") We spent a lot of time in the public opal noodling pits. It's addictive!! Nearby are the land formations "The Breakaways", low colourful hills which have broken away from the Stuart Range. The dog fence can also be seen here. It is a 2m high wire fence stretching for 5,300 km across 3 states to protect sheep country in the south from the native dog/dingo. Our last day here was so very windy, we thought the van might take flight.