Ballarat
to Surfers Paradise
May 15 to June 5
We're on our way but we're not on
our way: Why
you ask? Well
we were all packed on time, all the last minute jobs done even though it
was a late night (1.15 am) and it was all systems go.
That was until 5.30 AM when I (Rob) was woken up with a severe pain in
my left side. Excruciating pain, much worse than childbirth!
Having a very high tolerance to pain I put up with it for a couple of
minutes (no 3 hours) before going down to the Ballarat Base Hospital Emergency
Centre. It's ironic that Bendix sponsored the refit of the Triage
lounge four years ago and I never used it until the day after I finished.
Any way after several hours in the Base Hospital,
a couple of shots of pethadine, blood pressure, pulse, temperature, having
a drip fitted to get fluids into me and then finally a CAT scan, it was
diagnosed as a kidney stone. The good news was that by the time the
CAT scan was done the stone had nearly completed its journey into the bladder
where it is pretty well harmless.
I was sent home around 11.30 AM and advised by the
doctor that there was nothing preventing us from leaving whenever I felt
up to it. Given the weather on Saturday 15 I don't think
we missed much. We finally departed around 7.30 AM on
Sunday May 15.
Sunday
May 16, We're on our way: At
Last! Our
first stop was for breakfast at Bill & Liz Binns. They
put on a good breakfast so anyone travelling through Glen Waverley any
morning call in for breakfast. $20.00 a head with discounts for groups
of 15 or more so it's great value.
Lunch on Sunday was at a roadside rest area about 10 km east of Stratford.
The photo to the left is Liz feeding the birds which as you can see are
very tame. We continued on from Stratford to Metung.
A very pretty little town but with a crap caravan park so we made the decision
to move on to Lakes Entrance. Overnight at Lakes Entrance then the
following day on to Merimbula. We spent 3 days at South Haven
Caravan Park in Merimbula. Weather has been absolutely perfect for
the last three days. Cool at night but warm sunny days with
not a breath of wind. We have walked into town and around the
beach and spent some time just winding down after a hectic few weeks.. 
South
Haven Caravan Park is a great spot with lovely cabins overlooking the bottom
lake. Well worth a few days and a game of golf. We caught up with
Noel & Maureen McCardle (ex Ballarat) and Roger and Robyn Hill (ex
Email). Roger & Robyn have a 25 acre property 2 km out of Candelo.
No house yet but they have a large shed with a caravan stored inside for
sleeping. And yes that is a cocky sitting on Roger's shoulder.
They have two cockies, the one sitting on Roger's shoulder is called Merlin.
They other cocky is called Cameron. Both talk and are very
tame. That's the cockies, not Roger & Robyn. We had a great afternoon
walking around their property and learning all about what they are doing
in the way of improvements.
Thursday May 20 was spent leisurely travelling up the coast from Merimbula
to Nowra. On route we took our time as there was
a very bad accident blocking the Princes Highway south of Batemans Bay
and it was not expected to clear until late afternoon. 
We stopped in at Cobargo ( see photo) and Central Tilba. Both are
tourist towns and well worth a look. Lots of art and craft
but very quaint. We arrived at Nowra around 3.30
pm and drove out to Shoalhaven which is on the coast about 15 km from Nowra.
We have a caravan site overlooking the river. The park is deserted
so we pretty much have the run of the place.
Sydney for the Weekend:
The weekend was spent in the La Mancha Carapark, in Berowra, 35 km
north of Sydney. We arrived there about 9.00 am on Saturday
morning having driven from Bulli which is about 16 km north of Wollongong.
Saturday was spent sailing on Sydney Harbour with friends.
What a day. We sailed from Northbridge around to the Opera House,
under the Harbour Bridge and then round to the Fish Markets. 
Lunch consisted of 2 Kg of Tiger Prawns, a few crabs and some delightful
wine whilst moored on Sydney Harbour. A great experience.
On Sunday we travelled by train from Berowra into Sydney and spent the
day doing some last minute shopping. A great weekend.
Onward North. To the Warmer
Weather: We thought!
Monday we departed Berowra and .travelled north to Forster with the intention
of staying overnight but the weather when we arrived around 12.00 noon
was terrible so we had a quick lunch and moved on to Port Macquarie.
Port Macquarie is certainly worth the detour off the Pacific Highway.
It is a spotlessly clean town, beautifully landscaped with great shops,
lovely beaches and many waterways which are a boating paradise. 
It will certainly go on our list of places to return to for an extended
stay. The photo is the Port Macquarie Council Caravan Park.
Great location right on the foreshore, large sites, well grassed, spotlessly
clean and very well presented. It is a couple of minutes walk
to the town centre through a nice foreshore reserve which has a boardwalk
along the waters edge. Note the blue sky in the photo. One
day out of Sydney and the weather improves.
What a Contrast: Or
don't believe the travel brochures.
From Port Macquarie we proceeded to Coffs Harbour for
an overnight stay. After Port Macquarie this was a big disappointment
and frankly a waste of time unless we missed something. The
contrast between Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour was hard to believe seeing
they are only 160km apart. It is certainly a stark contrast between
an efficient and inefficient city council. Sorry, no photo.
I was not even prepared to take a digital photo of Coffs Harbour.
Wool
What !!!!!!: The following
morning we departed Coffs Harbour for Woolgoolga. Where's that
you ask. Well it's a 25km drive from Coffs Harbour.
This was a big travel day for us retirees. A whole 25 km and we didn't
even stop for a morning tea break. Why did we stop at
Woolgoolga you ask. Well there is always a good reason for
everything we do. It was to catch up with Liz's Uncle Tom &
Aunty Doreen who are now both in their 80's and live in a portable home
in the caravan park. They are both as fit as fiddles which say's
something about the mild climate and the sea air. Woolgoolga
is a nice spot with a great beach and a few shops. If your
looking for the bright lights and the razza-a-mataz then by-pass Woolgoolga.
The Best Laid Plans: They
were made to be changed anyway.
Our next planned stop was Byron Bay but in talking with the grey nomads
at Port Macquarie we were advised that we would be better of staying in
Ballina as Byron Bay was becoming a bit of a problem with the young unemployed
people with drugs, theft and the usual. We changed our plans accordingly
and proceeded to Ballina. Hey wait a minute. What's
this Yamba place? Never heard of it! Well neither had we.
Better go look see. And we did. For two days. 
What a surprise. This has to be one of the undiscovered places
on the coast between Sydney and Brisbane. A resort style caravan
park (The Blue Dolphin) located right on the Clarence River.
Two great swimming pools, camp kitchens, lots of BBQ areas, playgrounds
for the kids, a restaurant and boat launching ramp. The town centre
of Yamba is not unlike Queenscliffe but Yamba's claim to fame are the fantastic
waterways and surf beaches. Fisherman must go there and think they've
died and gone to heaven. Liz and I hired a small boat
and demonstrated our fishing prowess to the experienced locals.
That night we had chicken for tea but we had a great time catching the
babies and then throwing them back to their mothers.
I caught a banjo shark but decided there was not enough room in the boat
for him and us so we cut the line and let him go with a very sore lip.
We Achieve Our First Goal:
How Far East is East.
In travelling around Australia
we want to be able to say we have been to the furthest most point in Australia.
Well I'm sure everyone else new this but we learnt that Cape Byron is the
eastern most point in Australia. So to Cape Byron we went.
A few photos of the coast line and the natives (very attractive and not
wearing much) and then on to glitzy Surfers via the coast road as much
as possible. 
The main home page has a photo of Cape Byron if you want to know what the
easterly most point in Australia looks like.
Surfers & Celebrations:
We spent a week in Surfers.
A BBQ at Steve & Lyn's place on the Sunday night. The next
couple of days Liz was ill and spent a day in bed with a virus.
By Wednesday I knew she was getting better as she started yelling at me
again!!!!!!. Photo inset is from left to right; Les Jackman,
Lyn Paterson (Rob's step sister in law), Liz Jackman (taken down by the
virus or alcohol), Steve Paterson (step brother) & Margret Smith (friend
of Lyn & Steve's) at the BBQ. Friday night is the big 80th
birthday celebrations for Dad. We are going to the Tudor Rose
in Merrimac. Joining in the celebrations will be a number of friends
and relatives from Queensland and Victoria. Anyone that wants
to send Dad an e-mail to wish him happy 80th Birthday can do so by e-mailing
to Les Jackman at [email protected].
His birthday is on June 4, 1999.
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