We have slowed down considerably in the past 10 days and it has been a time where we have been lucky enough to catch up with friends and family. Lots of socialising! We left Batemans Bay just a week ago and drove the 150k or so up and over the great dividing range to Gundaroo. The least said about that drive the best. Although the road is in good condition, it is both steep and winding with lots of hairpin corners. Not the best road for towing a caravan! But we made it in good time to Gundaroo. We had told Philips brother that we would not be at their place until mid afternoon and that gave us ample time to stop for lunch at "Grazing". This restaurant has a well deserved reputation for fine dining and it is amazing that they have set up the restaurant inside the old Royal Hotel at Gundaroo and done a beautiful job of restoring the old building. Gundaroo is just 30 minutes drive from Canberra so the restaurant is popular with Canberrean's. Once we were seated, the menu was explained to us. We had a choice of a set menu of either two or three courses (we chose two) and there were also a couple of specials that could be added to the meals. We chose the Duck Liver Paté as our extra and the addition of the apple sauce was a nice sweet touch. The complimentary Olive Oil & Balsamic was also delicious.
For our first course I ordered the Kingfish Sashimi while Philip chose the Quail. Both dishes were outstanding and my sashimi was very fresh, which is never guaranteed but is also a must when you are dealing with raw fish.
Our second course choices were Crispy Pork for Philip and Lamb for me. Both dishes, again, were faultless and the perfect size for me.
Our bellies were certainly full to the brim as we left the restaurant and headed out to "Big Ezi" - Philips brothers place that is around 10km outside Gundaroo. It might only have been a short driving distance but it is one of the worst gravel roads imaginable. However it was great to be able to spend two nights here and it was a bit of a talk fest over numerous glasses of wine and some delicious home-cooked meals. We managed a couple of walks around the property that is about 120 acres. It is quite beautiful.
We said goodbye to the family on Monday and made our way to Bathurst, a town we have always wanted to visit. It was Philips birthday that was very low key however I did make him an improvised chocolate birthday cake......
On our second day at Bathurst we drove the short distance to Mount Panorama, the home of the Bathurst 2000 car race. We drove one lap of the race track before making our way to the museum that holds a myriad of vehicles from cars to motorbikes to drag cars and everything in between. Everything there has been raced at Bathurst at one time or another. It was very interesting.
The Bathurst Showgrounds was our camp for the two days that we were here and it was perfect because directly behind us was a terrific walking track that we walked twice on our stay. The original highway road bridge has been replaced so the old bridge is now a pedestrian bridge that you have to cross to reach the other side of the walking track.
On Wednesday we were back on the road and headed to Denman where we stayed with friends. We took the long route via Mudgee and it was a lovely drive over fairly flat country that made a nice change from the big mountains we have been driving over the past couple of days. We arrived at Michael-Lee and Tim's place mid afternoon and it was once again a bit of a talk fest. They piled us into the car late in the afternoon to take us for a drive around the property. We loved it. As well as cropping they run a cattle fattening enterprise and we loved seeing the new state of the art cattle yards that do not require anyone to be in the yards with the cattle. All gates are opened automatically using an hydraulic system.
It was late in the evening before we sat down to a delicious roast pork meal with the family and another friend who conjured up Profiteroles for dessert! We were all laughing at each other as we dived into them with our hands and all of us had chocolate from one end of our faces to the other. Completely forgot to get photos.....
Next morning we were once again on the road. After talking with Tim we decided to head down the coast towards Newcastle and get on the M1. We skirt around all towns going this way and Philip commented that he loves freeway driving. He can sit in the left lane and drive at his own pace while cars can easily go around him. I tend to agree. The only downside to freeway driving is that it can become a bit boring. Time to crank up the music!
Thursday night was spent at Kempsey. The only place we could get in was another Showgrounds but beggars can't be choosers. We never ventured outside the van on our overnight stay. The temperature soured to around 40 degrees so we cranked up the Air-Con and were very content to stay inside.
Friday we headed to Byron Bay that is where we are now. It is very busy here on the Australia Day week-end but we are staying at the Sun Villas Caravan park again and we asked to be put right down the back of the park where the sites are large, green and shaded. We have been for some long walks since arriving. First day was a beach walk and today we walked to the Byron Bay Lighthouse that is exactly 9km with a huge amount of stairs. Today is very warm and we were grateful that we made the decision to walk early in the morning. Storms are predicted for this evening so I just pray that they are not wild ones!
Tomorrow we once again pack up the van and head to Tweed Heads, a short 80km drive. We will be busy in Tweed as we have to wash the van both inside and pack up as much as we can in readiness to hand it over on Monday and drive away in our (not so new) motorhome. Excited!
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