This Adventurous Age

Adventures travelling and working around Australia.

Tag Archives: Easter


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2000 Travels April 20

THURSDAY 20 APRIL     HEALESVILLE

After breakfast, we drove home and did some pruning and gardening. John took the rubbish thus produced to the tip. Refuelled Truck – 81cpl – much cheaper than Tasmania!

The dog enjoyed being around while we worked, and the tip trip – old times!

Had a phone call from friend R and arranged for him to come to tea at the van, after dropping son and friends at the Gilderoy scout camp. He would be bringing John’s new laptop.

Back at camp, I prepared steak, mushrooms, jacket potatoes, salad, fruit and cheeses.

Soon after arriving, R decided to go get H, too, so I added to the food and we ate late – about 7.30pm.

We had to sit outside, of course, and fortunately the temperature was tolerable – just. We had the electric fan heater going under the table.

It was a most enjoyable evening – they did not leave until 1am!

John received the new laptop, but there was only time for a brief demonstration of its operation. There was much software with it, too. John was happy.

The afternoon and evening saw much movement into the caravan park – for Easter. The claiming of territory was interesting to watch, especially as people rushed to set up chairs around the fireplaces, which were soon packed out.

We had decided, once we knew we were able to get a booking, to see out the Easter period at Healesville – especially after the delay with the wood. Better to be there, than battling it out on the roads with the holiday traffic. Also, John would then be able to play with his relatives in the annual Easter bowls tournament at Beaumaris!


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1998 Travels April 9

THURSDAY 9 APRIL     TEWANTIN

Another humid day.

I did a load of washing – $2.

We had a hair cutting session. I used the clippers on John’s hair, which I am used to cutting. As an economy measure, decided he could cut mine and we’d see what the result was like. The ultra short cut I had before we departed in January, is finally too shaggy to bear!  He used scissors and did a good job. I was quite pleased.

After lunch, we drove to the shops at Noosaville. I put film in for processing, then  stocked up with food for the next four days. It is Easter and I do not know yet what shop rules apply in these parts. John bought a box of beer. The place was frantically busy, so I guess that is a guide, if everyone is stocking up. I bought a kilo of prawns that were on special in Franklins.

After putting away the shopping, and getting in the washing, we rode the bikes back to Noosaville to pick up my photos. It was a pleasant ride, but we left it a little late – and it was dark by the time we got back. But there is a cycle path most of the way, so that was ok. Night seems to fall really quickly up here – there is not much dusk. Rode 14kms on the bikes.

I was pleased with the photos.

Tea was steak, mushrooms and salad.

John had a blood nose that lasted a while, possibly due to the heat.  Guess the aspirin thins his blood somewhat.

I have bought some Berocca to start taking, because I heard somewhere that Vitamin B deters biteys.

After tea, peeled the prawns. It took two hours! Fiddly little things. They were not such a great special, after all.


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1998 Travels March 22

SUNDAY 22 MARCH     QUEANBEYAN

Today was even hotter – about 35. Another Total Fire Ban Day.

John bowled in the morning – a fairly early start, which was good, given the heat.

While he was gone, I researched distances and routes north and caravan parks.

We are starting to feel that, with all our delays since departure in January, we need to really focus on getting to Qld, if we are serious about getting up to Cape York in the dry season. Will have to “save” much of the NSW coast for later.

I eventually made some phone calls and got us booked into the place that was my first choice, at Tewantin, near Noosa, in Qld, for Easter. So at least we are secure in knowing we have a place to be, over that normally busy period. That will allow us to spend a week near Kempsey, visiting with John’s much older brother whose health is poor, but we will need to be fast moving, before and after that. It will probably mean only two nights to stay at the Gold Coast, where I want to visit a close friend.

After bowls, John word processed the work he’d done at the War Museum. It was too hot to go anywhere. I read and sewed and just generally relaxed.

During the afternoon, a bushfire developed near Red Hill, which is between here and the Capitol part of Canberra. Lots more regular siren noises. With all the open space and bushland between the clusters of Canberra suburbs, it seems quite fire prone, especially as dry as it is now.

A young guy came up to ask us about the Defender – what we thought of it. He stayed around for quite a chat. He is working for the National Parks and staying in one of the cabins towards the back of the park. He told us that one of the other cabin tenants, a couple of rows down from us, had – on Friday about 6pm – gotten into his car and driven it hard across into the opposite row, damaging two cabins quite badly, including this man’s. He wasn’t home at the time. The offender was blind drunk; he had earlier come into the park the worse for wear and driven into the barrier at the park entrance. The police had come – several of them – and arrested him. He has a drink/drive history, apparently. We had not heard a thing!

About 6pm, when it was getting a little cooler, we went for a walk, around the streets in the vicinity of the caravan park. It seems to be a fairly rough area and rather depressing. I did not feel all that secure.

Tea was leftovers from last night.