I think my favourite stopover in Ruby so far was at Cranky Rock. It is a recreational reserve not far from Warialda in North Western New South Wales. The camp ground attached to the reserve is run by a caretaker who each night in the cooler months lights a big campfire and provides nibbles for the campers to enjoy as they socialise together. My husband and I loved meeting other campers, sharing stories and learning more about future travel options. Some campers were old hands and other like us were first timers. It didn’t matter. There were also chickens wandering around and if you found an egg they laid you could keep it.
Cranky Rock is made up of various giant boulders that balance on each other and make an enclosed natural phenonium. It was so peaceful my husband and I spend over an hour down in the valley before moving on to explore other parts of the bush.
We definitely plan to go back to this spot when we are out of lockdown and can travel again.
In New South Wales, Australia at present Delta has everyone terrified. Nine weeks ago it started in Sydney. Eight weeks ago all of Greater Sydney was locked down but the regions were free. Then suddenly last week the virus escaped Sydney. People doing the wrong thing brought it to Newcastle my home town and we were instantly locked down. Delta was free and there is no stopping it. Everyday another part of regional NSW or Australia is infected and instantly locked down as we work at containing it.
Because of the health orders in place our lives are very simple. Stay at home unless you are allowed to go to work, are exercising or attending medical appointments. For me this got me rethinking my priorities in life. While I am currently appreciating what I can’t do, I am gaining joy from the simple pleasures I can do. For example creating a meal from scratch, being more mindful, reading, walking and getting back to my blogging. All of these activities I had lost focus on as my life got “too busy.”
Today while walking for my essential shopping I stopped in my tracks as I walked past a house. I smiled as I remembered seeing the same chalk board last year during lockdown.
Such a simple idea and I love the fact that the kids had invited the community to join in. For me it was also personal. When my father was very sick in hospital as a family we also created a joke of the day on his white board. It gave us something simple to focus on and share with the nurses and doctors – many of whom added a joke of their own.
If we were having coffee I would tell you I can’t believe there is only one more week of summer. This year is going by so fast. Since our last coffee catch-up life has been very busy. It’s lucky that I have begun living a life of semi-retirement as I haven’t had time to work. One thing I have made time for on most days has been an enjoyable cappacino.
If we were having coffee tell you that on Australia Day this year it was 40 years since I started training as a psychiatric nurse. Back in 1981 the stigma attached to people suffering with mental illness was huge and many were too scared to seek help. Fast forward 40 years and with each decade, discussions about mental health have improved greatly. Now there are many options for treatment. One of the things that I am grateful for in Australia over the pandemic is mental health issues have been discussed openly and been at the centre of all government policy and decisions.
If we were having coffee I would tell you about travelling to Tweed Heads for a family wedding at the end January. The wedding itself was on the headland on the New South Wales and Queensland border. (on the New South Wales side.) It was set up so if there was still a problem with the Queensland border closures all guests could get to the wedding. The only problem was that to drive to the wedding site, we had to drive into Queensland and back into New South Wales. This was initially a problem to us as 3 of our 4 members were banned from entering Queensland due to having been in Sydney in the last 14 days. We worked out that we could walk if necessary but fortunately on the day of the wedding the borders opened up to all. So the problem was averted.
From our room in the resort, you could see the border barricades and despite the hotel being in New South Wales it ran on Queensland time. This was very confusing as our clocks would move forwards and backwards an hour depending on where in the motel we were. The front of the hotel also had dividing sections telling us which parts were in NSW and parts QLD. It was very weird for 3 days being able to see Queensland and yet not cross the road into it. On the day the barricades came down it was fun to watch the news being made from our motel room and to drive into Queensland because we could.
If we were having coffee I would tell you that our daughter started her registered nursing career and has moved into regional New South Wales. This has taken up much of our time both before and after the wedding. It’s surprising how much stuff she had in either our house or storage. Slowly but surely her house is coming together and eventually I can reinvent our spare room into my space. I am so proud of her taking a risk and moving to an area she knows no-one to follow her dreams and gain experience not attainable in the cities.
If we were having coffee I would tell you about walking around Sydney seeing the preparations for the Lunar New Year Festival. Throughout the city were various figures of the Chinese calendar. The first one we saw as the tiger which is also my favourite as I was born in the year of the Tiger. He was very cute and his eyes seemed to follow you around the park.
If we were having coffee I would tell you about our Sunday walk today. We went to Dixon Park beach, one of our local beaches, to see rocks and etching from 20 years ago that had been uncovered due to the amount of sand that has been washed away recently. This beach is between my two favourite beaches in the local area and I have walked it many times and never seen these rocks as they were covered by sand. Today you couldn’t walk between the beaches without climbing over the rocks. It was very strange. I was also fascinated that the sand in many parts was a mix of grey (assumedly from the rocks) and the usual yellow.
If we were having coffee I would ask you what has been happening in your world?
I loved the name of this lookout when we first drove past. How quirky I thought.
Who’d A-Thought It Lookout overlooks Quirindi. It is at the top of Ray Carter Drive, and offers 360 degree panoramic views of Quinindi, the Liverpool Plains and the Great Diving Range. The day we visited was clear and you could see for kilometres in each direction.
The surrounding area has some of Australia’s most fertile soil. Crops of the area include; sunflowers, canola, wheat, barley, sorghum, cotton, oats, flaba beans and corn. I love the vivid yellow of the canola just before harvest. You can see it in the top photo.
If we were having coffee I would ask you if you were going to watch either football grand final this week. In Australia, we have two main codes of football. The AFL ( Australian Football League ) and The NRL (Rugby League). Personally, I follow both codes, but neither of my teams made the grand final this year. Last night Richmond Tigers 81 beat Geelong Cats 50. This game was held in Queensland for the first time because of COVID. Tonight the Rugby League grand final is being played in Sydney, its usual venue. In this game I am supporting Penrith Panthers, a local team against the Melbourne Storm. May the best team win!
If we were having coffee I would ask you if you saw the kite surfers at the beach over the last few weeks. The flat surf has been perfect for them. I was mesmerized watching them jump the waves moving in and out.
If we were having coffee I would tell you how happy I was with the gluten- free short crust pastry I made last weekend. I have never made it before. Actually I’m not a confident pastry maker. My last attempt at regular pastry was probably 10 years ago. But necessity is the mother of invention so I am on a mission.
The GF pastry was much softer than regular pastry, which meant it was harder to handle. Initially, this caused me some concern. However, I quickly realized if I cut it to the appropriate size I could hand mold the pastry into the pie maker. Fortunately, this rustic method resulted perfectly shaped pies with an amazing taste. Interestingly, the GF variety also had less fat coming out in the pie maker. Therefore to simplify my life once I have used up my shop bought regular pastry I will used GF for everyone. Simpler and cheaper. All I need now is a GF puff pastry recipe.
If we were having coffee I would tell you my getting organized strategy is working. I have been working on my blog more, although not as much as I would like. I also now write a weekly meal plan. This keeps me accountable and makes life easier by ensuring we have the food needed in the house. I am also walking to work again 2 days a week which I enjoy.
If we were having coffee I would tell you about the purple sweet potatoes my husband harvested a few weeks ago. I roasted them and have enjoyed them with varies meals. It is the first time we have grown sweet potatoes and we were surprised at how many came from one plant. Some could definitely enter a weird shaped vegetable competition.
If we were having coffee I would tell you I was surprised at how much I enjoyed being able to touch my mother for the first time since March recently. She is in residential aged are and to keep everyone safe we have been restricted to window visits. However, recently due to low COVID numbers we are now allowed limited access with permission. Hugging is out, but due to her physical condition she requires help to stand. It was by giving her support in this way, I realised how much I had missed her physical touch. I’m a hugger from way back. So I will be very happy when hugging is on the can do list again.
If we were having coffee I would ask you what is happening in your world. Let me know in the comments.
Last weekend was the 2020 Bathurst 1000. This years race was special because it was the final race for Holden’s factory team. The reason for the change is because the factory closed earlier in the year and the Holden brand has been retired. Thought Holden’s history at Bathurst it was well known that “when Holden cars won on the Sunday, Holden sold cars on the Monday.” To help keep up tradition Holden won their last Bathurst 1000.
Holden’s most successful racing car driver was Peter Brock. To this day his record of 9 wins at Mount Panorama Racing Circuit, Bathurst still stands. For this reason he was known as the King of The Mountain. Since his death in 2006, the winner of the Bathurst 1000 (The Great Race) has been awarded the Peter Bock Trophy.
In celebration of this great Australian race car legend, Bob Kollns created Peter Brock World at Bob’s Shed, Quirindi. Peter Brock was a crowd favourite and nothing was to much trouble for his fans. Kollns states that he had met Brocky on a few occasions and has many signed pieces of memorabilia in his displays.
Above are replicas of some of the cars Brocky raced over the years. I loved learning the stories behind the legend especially from his early career.
Peter Brock died doing what he loved. He was driving in a car rally in Western Australia. A national tragedy, when the country was still mourning the loss of Steve Irwin, (The Crocodile Hunter) 4 days earlier.
I think the following classic cartoon says it all.
The First Fleet Memorial Gardens are a long way from Botany Bay where they first landed. They are nearly 400 kilometres away in the small village of Wallabadah. But why? In true Australian honesty on the entry to the Gardens is a sign telling everyone that they were the only Council who would grant permission to build them.
The gardens are the brain child of Ray Collins, OAM. A stonemason who discovered he was a descendent of the First Fleet. His dream then became to build a permanent memorial to acknowledge all who first settled our beautiful county. The convicts, marines and their families alike.
The ships of the First Fleet were:
Sirius
Supply
Charlotte
Scarborough
Prince of Wales
Lady Penrhyn
Friendship
Alexander
Borrowdale
Fishburn
Golden Grove
To make it simple Ray has listed the members of the First Fleet in two ways. There is a large story board that lists all First Fleeters alphabetically as well as specific information about them. He has also created a winding path divided out separately for each ship. In this space was a list of everyone on the ship.
My husband and I both knew that there were people on the First Fleet with our names. We have no idea if we are related to them but were excited to find our names. We found the Scarborough had both of our names on it and I also had someone on the Charlotte. It turned out that most of the people with similar names were convicts although I think one of my husband’s namesakes was a lower ranking marine.
As luck would have it we actually met Ray Collins while staying at Quirindi. He is an interesting man happy to share his knowledge and experiences.
The past few months have seen my husband and I enter a new stage of our life. We bought a slide-on camper and began preparing to become grey nomads, a much more complicated task than I first realised. So many things to learn and yes we made a few rookie errors.
Over the last fortnight we took Ruby (the camper), on her maiden voyage, travelling around New South Wales. Yes, she is red. Actually she is the only red PUMA slide-on in Australia so there is no hiding. If you see us on the road stop by and have a chat.
On our first night free camping at a truck stop, we got chatting to the young lady behind the counter and she informed us that she had seen us earlier that day parked by the side of the road about 100 kilometres away. She said Ruby had made her smile as she had thought to herself how “cool” she looked.
Travelling in Australia during COVID is a weird experience, because of all by border closures. In New South Wales, we are trapped as you can’t cross the border to Queensland, Victoria or South Australia without a valid exemption, which are nearly impossible to get. Our limited travel options however, weren’t a problem to us. We just found small unusual towns to visit, now we are not limited to finding accommodation enroute.
To celebrate our new life style, I have decided to create a regular new blog feature – Ruby Tuesday – to share our adventures, interesting tidbits and learnings from our travels in Ruby. I hope you enjoy armchair travelling Australia with us.
The Waterfall Way is a beautiful scenic drive from Coffs Harbour on the coast up the mountains for 191 kilometres and on to Armidale. It takes it name from the number of very beautiful and yet very different waterfalls in the area. Unfortunately being a winter’s day it was raining and their was no sunshine to reflect off the water but I am sure you can imagine. There are also many treasured National Parks in the area so if you get the chance it is definitely worth a visit.
DANGER FALLS
UPPER EBOR FALLS
LOWER EBOR FALLS
NEWELL’S WATERFALL — Crossing under the Waterfall Way
