Sunday - Day 5 - 30 April 2023

We had travelled to Canberra so Sooz could see the autumn colours, and we weren't disappointed with the display!  When we came out of the motel, Ravi's top was littered with leaves, as was the ground. 

I had a vision of eating breakfast and sipping coffee, reading the paper, by the shores of Lake Burley Griffin - and we were able to find the On-Lake Cafe at Barton which served good coffee and great food - so tick, tick ... and while the smart phone isn't a newspaper, it does allow access to newspaper content - and ideas of what to do around and about Canberra.  

Alas, it rained most of the day so we didn't do much in in the way of sightseeing.  We did go for a drive to the top of Mt Ainsle, which gives a wonderful overview of the city, along Anzac Parade to show off The War Memorial and Parliament House ... but not today.  I've posted a picture of what it looks like on a sunny day as well as ours of ... tree tops and fog.

On the way to breakfast, and to Mt Ainsle, we drove along Anzac Parade - which gives a magnificent view of Parliament House in one direction, and of the War Memorial in the other.  Along either side of the Parade are Memorials to/for the various conflicts in which Australia has taken place.  Our favourite was the Boer War - with horses and riders - and one day, when it's dry when we're in Canberra, we'll be able to stop the car and have a chance of getting an image.  In the meantime - here's one we found on-line. 

Sooz has wanted to go to an Autograph (the one in Orange has permanently closed) so we took a trip out to Westfield Belconnen to Autograph there - and the sales person was very pleased with our purchases, and we were very pleased with the discount she gave.  Sooz is the happiest of all with her new jeggings and jeans, and puffy coat.  Not to restrict the trade to Autograph, we both popped in to Lowes and Sooz left with a beanie and flannie coat (with detachable hood) and I finally found some yellow polos - and two of them have come home with me.  

We didn't know what to do with it raining so much - 10% of Canberra's annual rainfall has falled since we arrived here! - so we went for a bit more of a drive - around ANU's campus - which Sooz says has changed a lot since she went there.  It has grown bigger than she imagined and is now not as "pretty" as when she was studied there.  

We headed back to Dickson for lunch, and ended up at the Pho Phu again - and had different dishes this time - just as yummy!  Then, sated, we made our way back to the motel to listen to the rain fall, and to look out the window from time to time to see if the rain had stopped:  it didn't. 

Saturday - Day 4 - 29 April 2023

We didn't have far to go today - just to Canberra - so we allowed ourselves a late start.  The decision was made easier because it was raining.  We were in a ground floor room so we were able to reverse the car in so we could pack up without getting saturated.  That would have to wait until Canberra when we pulled in to the motel and then the heavens opened.  I had packed a couple of umbrellas but (note to self) they need to be a bit more accessible next time if they are going to be of any use - and it has to work, first time*. 

The drive down from Orange was okay - wet but okay, and there were a few sections of roadwork along the way.  What's the rule with roadworks when there's no actual roadwork taking place - when there is no roadworking equipment, no workers, just signs saying "60km Roadwork".  Do you have to slow down from the otherwise posted 100km/hour to 60km?  I am still confused. 

Our first stop - where we thought we were going to have breakfast (bacon, eggs, sausages and toast were on our menu) turned out just to be a stop at a small curio shop which seemed to be a cafe but only had toast or raisin toast out of a kitchen the size of a broom closet as their breakfast offering, and then another stop at a cafe recommended by them - but the best they could do was a bacon and egg roll.  So we set off for Cowra;  although we almost went back for the couple of things we hadn't bought in Shop No. 1 - a Fred Flinstone wooden doll, a large green frill-neck dinosaur (the name of which escapes me) and the Pinocchio wooden dolls (one large, one small).  And let's not even talk about the T-Rex pens they had at the counter. And from Shop No. 2 - the Turkish Delight and Pashmak!  Who knew? 

Because it's so soon after Anzac Day, the Cenotaph in Canowindra still had flowers and wreaths from their services. 

The drive into Cowra was uneventful except for the Learner driver who insisted on driving at 80km/hour (good for them) except when there was a viable stretch of road for them to be overtaken, and then they sped up to at least 95km/hour.  It didn't bother me because we all know I would rather sit behind someone than risk overtaking - especially in the wet, and raining - but the cars that banked up behind us were less than patient.  I know, I know, sometimes it's safer to overtake but given how predictable Learner driver was, I just pulled back a little to make sure those following cars had room to pull in front of me if they needed to while they were overtaking. 

The cafe we'd been directed to (by Shop No. 2 in Canowindra) was not where Waze said it was - so we drove on - and were almost ready to eat at a Cafe in a service station but were saved from that because they had no seats.  We went looking and happened upon the Rose Garden Cafe - which was wonderful - except for one tidy, minor, inconvenience - when we fronted the counter to place our order they had just that moment run out of sausages.  Nooooooo!  But the bacon and eggs and toast were yum. 

Next stop was the Yass Service Centre which, surprisingly, is not really anywhere near Yass.  It is colder here than we're used to I have a feeling it's going to get a little colder on the way. Just as well we have flannies and woollies on board. 

We found our motel in Canberra easily (thank you Waze) and as we were ready to unpack the car the rain started falling, quite heavily. We took the electronics in with us, and left the rest of our goodies (including the coffee machine and wonderful milk frother) in the car until we came back from dinner.  It was still raining but we needed to bring things in - in retrospect doing it in one trip may have been a folly, but you do what you need to. 

Dinner was wonderful.  The motel is only a few minutes' drive from the Pho Phu Quoc Vietnamese Restaurant.  We've been there before and it was as good as we remember!  

Back at the motel, we had an early night.  Our lights were off and there were snores from around 8:30pm - for me at least, which is why I'm finishing this blog at 5am. Have to love being on holidays! 

*Update:  The black umbrella died - it wasn't opening or closing properly so we left it in a bin in the car park near the restaurant. That's one less thing to pack! 

Friday - Day 3 - 28 April 2023

It was nice to know that we didn't have to pack everything up and load the car today.  We are in Orange again tonight so that gave us the opportunity to have a bit of a sleep-in before we set off to explore the Sculptures in the Bush at Blayney and Newbridge. 

But first ... breakfast.  We decided to try Maccas - because Sooz loves the Hot Cakes.  And I have to say it wasn't a bad choice.  The Hot Cakes were yum, the Sausage & Egg McMuffin was full and not paper-thin, and the coffee was drinkable.  I'm calling it a win/win.  I'm not sure when Maccas changed their coffee blend but now that we know that it is okay (as opposed to their orange juice which just isn't to our taste/liking) we may drop in on them again on our Road Trip travels. 

Blayney is about half-an-hour's drive from Orange, so it didn't take long to get there.  The first big sign we saw when we arrived in town was that a map of the Sculptures was available on the Council website.  (They had a paper version as well, but they had run out of them at the Information Centre.)  So between the online map and Google Maps, we were able to find just about all of the Sculptures, except the one at the local High School that had been vandalized on the second day of the Festival, and the one at the Retirement Village.    It wasn't a total loss though because when we were at the High School we saw students working on their vegetable garden (with some minion "helpers") and others working on the native garden. 

The sculptures were of various levels of complexity and accomplishment ... and good on them for having a go!  It just showed me how spoiled we are on the Gold Coast with the Swell Sculpture Festival.  I do like Hay Bale Art though and when we get home, I will see if there are any festivals a bit closer to us there.  For more pics from in and around Blayney, check out this link.

The only thing we didn't like about the motel on the first night was that they didn't have a microwave.  I have been looking/searching/trolling the internet looking for a milk heater/frother with a variable temperature - and I don't know why it is that I've never been able to find one before, but there it was - the Breville Milk Cafe - in the search results yesterday.  They had them at Harvey Norman Orange, so on the way home we called in to pick one up (no need to put one away for you, said the gentleman on the phone when I rang through earlier to check stock availablity - we have four!).  I tried the BMC this afternoon and for the first time I have hot enough milk from a milk heater/frother - with the option of setting the temperature even higher  - to 70+ degrees - although I'm not sure how much the "+" is.  That will be a job for when I get home - checking the temperature in my thermometer milk jug. 

Poking around in the different drawers at the motel tonight, I found something I haven't seen for a while: a telephone directory - combining White Pages and Yellow Pages.  What I didn't find was a Gideon Bible - remember how they used to be in every motel/hotel room.  Maybe they're still a feature - just not here. 

Thursday - Day 2 - 27 April 2023

We had planned for a bit of a later start from Bulahdelah this morning, but at about 2:30am when we were both awake at the same time, I asked Sooz if she would mind if we set off a bit earlier - since we had another 6-hour drive in front of us.  Not a problem ... which was good because when we were getting the last of the bags into the car (at about the time we would have been getting out of bed on our original timeframe) , the Motel owner came over to tell us that the crane working on the property next door had just smashed the pipes, and they had had to turn off the water.  Phew!  I don't know that we would have wanted to start the day without our "wake-up" showers.  

Driving out of the Motel, with the Motel owner smiling and waving madly to see us on our way, we were greeted with clear blue skies, singing kookaburras, and fog on the nearby hills. It was a fantastic way to start Day Two of the Great Southern Road Trip.  We were planning to drive to Orange today (which we did) via Sofala (which we didn't).  I'm not sure at which stage I decided I'd rather do the drive on major highways - which is how we found ourselves heading south rather than turning right at Raymond Terrace. 

It's a while since we've been on the freeway into Sydney and while it's familiar, it was also quite strange - especially when we veered left on to the NorthConnex toll road and found ourselves in a tunnel!  We loved it, particularly the two sections of the tunnel where the roof was bordered with blue lights and had "stars " (seen here) or "stripes".  Hmmmmm, having just written that about "stars and stripes", I'm wondering if maybe there was a US construction company involved and they left a message for drivers who would use their tunnel.  The tolls through the various roads came to $23.07 - an odd figure we thought. 

We stopped in at Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains, to have a look at the Three Sisters.  They have fared better than the Twelve (now really less than 8) Apostles in Victoria.  As I was walking from the car to the viewing area, I realized there was a helicopter nearby and it was hovering with a rope which had weight on it, and then  ascending and moving towards the nearby hill - then flew off with the rope, now not weighted, before coming back with the rope with a big white bag on it.  I've tried to check the local news to find out what was happening - but couldn't find anything.  While I watched the helicopter hovering, I did notice the cable-car that stretched over the top of the valley -  it was hard to miss it as it traversed just above the height of the helicopter.    

ABC Radio is good to listen to on Road Trips, and once or twice Sooz mentioned that she thought she had heard some of the stories before.  This is entirely possible since she is an avid Educational Radio (National) listener. 

We reached Orange just before 5 and were happy to unpack the car and settle in for two nights now.  Alas, the motel doesn't have a restaurant on site so I zipped out to collect our dinner.  The good news is they do have a microwave oven in the room  - so I will be able to heat the milk for our coffee (yes, the pod machine is travelling with us) in the morning. 

Wednesday - Day 1 - 26 April 2023

Day One of The Great Southern Road Trip.  We had an early start and managed to get most of everything done before we had finally packed the car, the cat, said goodbye to M (who had dropped in with crossants to say goodbye) and headed out.  First stop - Aunty Rosemary's Cat Kennels to drop off Nigey. She will be trialling a new feature - a cat tower - and when I left her there, she was busy examining and sniffing the one in her area.

It's good to be out on the open road again  - except for some of the drivers "sharing" the road with us. How do these people keep their licences.  We decided that the worst offenders appear to be tradies - who know their local area and are keen to use that knowledge.  One roared past us at, we estimated, 50km over the limit.    What the?

I am trying to capture images of interesting things we see along the way on the dashcam with the "photo capture" gesture - alas, I'm not always fast enough to get the image - I missed the multi-coloured bus towing the trailer shaped like a hamburger, but I did get at least one decent pic of the images that now adorn the overhead roads on the way down the Highway. 

The food at Service Centres has improved.  We were on a mission to reach Bulahdelah today so didn't venture off the highway at all, except for the Chinderah and Kempsey Service Centres, and Taree but that was a comfort stop and a quick drink.  They were having a special at Chinderah so we had a choice of sausage rolls or .... I know our server said something else but she had me at sausage rolls - to go with our coffees for 50 cents extra - including free tomato sauce!  Kempsey was better - we could have had a selection of salads, fruits or sandwiches - we went with sandwiches and a dessert (green jelly for Sooz, trifle for me!). 

I had wanted to do no more than a 6-hour drive today so we had aimed for Bulahdelah and we pulled into the motel just before 5.  Perfect!  And it was fantastic that their restaurant was open and we were able to secure a table for 7:30, which gave us time to have a relax before dinner.  Sooz realised (from the albums on the wall) that we have eaten there before - and I am still trying to find the original photo (recreated here).  The meal was amazingly good ... pork cutlet for Sooz, lamb cutlets for me.  I don't think we are going to be able to find better on the trip ... talk about peaking too soon!