Wednesday 25th July 2012 - Eden to Bruthen

I was up just after 8 this morning (Bill had been up a while by then).  Had breakfast, and then we packed the van and got ready to depart.  We left the park about 10:10am in beautiful weather.  The weather has been quite good the whole time we've been here.

Cann River Bakery

An uneventful trip home.  We stopped at Cann River again for petrol at Lob's Garage - the lady remembered us again.  Had lunch at the Bakery instead of the Pelican.  My salad roll was very nice, although it was tending to the soggy side as it was pre-made.  Bill had a pie.  Wish I'd had the camera with me, because they have got a lovely display of dolls houses and fairies and things, and old mother hubbard shoes made of lollies.  Photos were welcome for a gold coin donation to the SES.  I should have got Bill to go back to the car to get the camera.  Next time.
We arrived home about 2:15.  Bill unpacked most of the van, except for the clothes I think.
A nice relaxing holiday again.  Verdict re the caravan?  Money well spent.  I slept well every night.  The extra length in the bed, thanks to the extension and the bolster, plus the inner-spring mattress (which we kept out of the Roadstar since we had only just bought it) meant my legs weren't always cramped up.  The couch is comfortable to sit on, esecially with the addition of the firm chair pad / cushions we bought (ended up with three altogether) as it makes the seats just a little bit higher.  We are thinking of getting a quote to have the foam in the seats replaced - will depend on how much it is going to cost whether we do it or not.  Bill is going to repaint the trims on the cupboards, because they are showing a little bit if wear, and he will modify how the pop-top vinyl is attached to the roof because it appears to be coming away in some places.  All in all we are very pleased with our purchase.

Tuesday 24th July 2012 - Eden - Merimbula

Bill Roberts and Tony Sullivan 'chatting'

I knitted, and we chatted to Tony and Shirl till about 11:30.  We then drove to Merimbula.  We had lunch beside the bridge, watching the workers strengthening the bridge supports.  I had left-over poizza from last night, Bill had a pie and bread roll from the bakery.  He also had an applae and cream pie, while I had a vanilla slice.
We went down to Short Point to see if we could spot a whale, but no such luck.  Although I did say to Bill we would be sure to spot one today because we had left the camera in the van!  Didn't though.
Decided against going to look at Everything Earthy again because I would probably want to spend more money!
Back to Eden and the van.
Went back to the Fisherman's Club for dinner tonight.  Bill had a whole John Dory, I had roast lamb.  Both very nice.
Spent a few dollars on the pokies again.  I won back the $10 I had put in.  Bill lost his.

Monday 23rd July 2012 - Eden

mini washing machine

Another lazy start - that's the point of these holidays Bill tells me.  But then again, I usually have lazy starts to the day at home too.

Portable clothes line

I knitted and stitched some more.  Bill tried out the new washing machine.  He set it up in the en suite so he could run the outlet hose into the shower drain.  It worked a treat - he is so pleased with himself for buying it.  We first saw one in Aussie Disposals in Sale, on sale for $199.  Bill liked the idea of it then, but I wasn't so enthusiastic, so he didn't buy it.  But he kept thinking about it, and finally looked them up on the internet.  He found this one for $104, with free delivery.  (Have since seen the same one for $86 with free delivery!)  So we ordered it, and it arrived quite promptly.  In the meantime we had asked about them at Aussie Disposals in Bairnsdale, and were told the rice was $199.  The man photocopied the page out of the Companion Catalogue for us.  Bill was convinced they were exactly the same machine.  When ours arrived, the instructions were in Chinglish - very funny and very confusing.  So Bill downloaded the instruction manual for the companion washer  and he is even more convinced they are one and the same machine.  Bill washed a shirt, several pairs of undies, a pair of pants and a t-shirt in one load - washed everything beautifully.  He had to spin in two loads, but the clothes were very dry after the spin.  Silly man hadn't brought our portable clothes line, so he had to go over to the laundry to hang out the clothes.  His reasoning behind buying the washer is that it costs up to $10 a time to wash and dry a load in the park laundry - OK, he could hang clothes out instead of using the drier, but it would still be $6 or $7 dollars to wash.  In a few trips the washer will have paid for itself.

We had rolls agin for lunch. Then we went down the street to go to Art on Imlay.  I bought another leather sculpture - a boy and a girl with a dog.  Quite expensive at $80, but very clever and exquisitely done by Sue Spink.  We also bought a dog coat for Salty for $18 - it is a lovely thick (two layers of polar fleece) with a tiger stripes print on it.
For dinner tonight I had a lovely Hawaiian Pizza and Bill had a Baked Spud.  We bought them in the town, and took them back to the van to eat.  Also had a herb Pizza Bread between us - very nice also.

Sunday 22nd July 2012

Another lazy start to the day.  I knitted and stitched bears.
Made rolls for lunch at the van.

Wrapped scarf

Unwrapped scarf

Went down the street again to have a sticky - looked at the ethnic shop (can't remember the name) - some lovely, but expensive, pottery and bead work items.  Bought a silk scarf made in India.  it is bright tie-dye colours - wrapped into a rope-like bundle.  It took quite a while to unwrap, but looked very pretty when it was unwrapped.

Great Southern Inn

Went to Essentially Eden at the Great Southern pub for dinner.  Bill had fish and chips again.  I had crumbed prawn cutlets.  Both were very nice.  No luck on the pokies, although the lady next to me had nearly $700 up when we left.

Saturday 21st July 2012 - Eden

Great White Bite cafe

A late start to the day (for me anyway).  We went down the street and had lunch at the Great White Bite - food lovely as usual.  I had wedges with sour cream and sweet chilli sauce. Yum!  Bill had fish and chips.
Went to the $2 shop again.  Bought a square cushion for the seats in the van, and a few other things - as usual.  We always manage to find something in this shop, no matter how many times we go.
I knitted, Bill pottered around the van to see if anything needed doing or changing.
We went to the Golden Ocean Chinese restaurant for dinner.  Yummy spring Rolls, so-so Thai Noodles.  Bill's T-bone steak was good.

Friday 20th July 2012 - Bruthen to Eden

Our new Regal van

Well, owing to the fact that we bought a new caravan we are on the road again.  Just for a few days this time. Got away from home about 11:00am.  Stopped at Cann River as usual for petrol and lunch.  Had lunch at the Pelican again - not really impressed with their food.  Bill had a pastie again, which seemed to be nice.  He enjoyed it asnyway.  I decided on scones with jam and cream - the scones were huge but they were cakey rather than like a real scone should be.  I could only eat one, but as they came spread with jam and cream it made it difficult to take the other one with us.  However, I put the two sides together and the lady put them on a plastic plate and wrapped them it in foil.  As it happened I didn't end up eating it.

We arrived in Eden about 2:45 and made our way to the Eden Tourist Park at Asling's Beach.  Bill picked up a business card and noted the name of the owner? / manager? - turns out he is related to people knew in Wonthaggi.  And I noticed that a recent guest book entry was from Ken and Bron Siacci, brother and sister-in-law of our friends Col and Wyonne Siacci.  Then, when we went to ur site (en suite site 4) I noticed that the van next to ours had "It's a SULLI-VAN" painted on the back.  Of course, my maiden name was SULLIVAN.  The couple were Tony and Shirl Sullivan, from Wynyard in Tasmania.  Beneath the Mk6 there was a quote which I presumed, but didn't ask, to be Welsh.  I meant to ask Tony about it, but didn't.  I wondered what signifigance it had.  I've just looked it up on a translation site, and seems it means "No More".  In other words, this must be the last van he is going to make!
Bill was convinced that another van in the park had an annexe of the same configuration as ours would be when we put it up.  Even took a picture of it.  But I disagree - from my memory of the photos of the annexe that came with our van it's nothing like the one in the park, but is just the same as the one we had on the Roadstar.
We went to the shops to get some coathangers as Bill thought the ones we'd had in the other van were too bendy.
The van is lovely.  It towed well, the couch is comfy, there is plenty of storage.  TV reception was good, using the aerial left int the van byu the orevious owners.
We went to the Eden Fisherman's Clubh for dinner.  Very nice lamb roast for Bill and a yummy char-grilled pork cutlet (huge) for me.  We put a few dollars through the pokies.  Bill didn't do too bad for a while, but ultimately lost it again.

Saturday 30th June 2012 - Tathra to Bruthen

We were up fairly early this morning, for me anyway.  I did what I could to help Bill pack up.  As usual he did most of it.  We were ready to leave at about 9:30.
Nothing noticeable on our return journey.  We stopped at the Pelican at Cann River again for lunch.  I read in someone's blog from about four years ago that when you sat down inside the prices sky-rocketed.  I have to agree, we always sit inside, but I'd never noticed the difference between take-away and eat-in prices.  Bill wanted a pastie and I decided I'd have one too, however, she only had one so I looked at the board to see what I would have instead.  Saw that pasties were $3.90 ( I think, from memory) and sausage rolls were $3.20 or similar.  The lady told me I'd been looking at the take-away menu and that the eat-in version came with salad, which neither of us wanted.  She said she could do them without.  When we were at the table I looked at the table menu and noticed that pasties and sausage rolls were $4.00 dearer as eat-in with a bit of salad!  Thankfully she had only charged us take-away prices.  I'm glad we didn't order off the eat-in menu and get salad and not eat it.
We arrived home about 2:30 - and twenty minutes later it poured rain.  So the food and some other things made it in from the van, but the clothes were still in it.
Oh yes, stopped for petrol at the same place in Cann River - the lady remembered us because of the Coles hand in the back window!  She and Bill were talking for ages about the bird, the dog and goodness knows what else, including cancer and just how many people have it!  She was very nice.
While Bill was unpacking the food from the van he found the missing aerial connection - in the food box where we had both looked, and where I would swear I took everything out of!
The end of another adventure - and as it transpired, the last in this van as we will have the one we bought a few days after arriving home by the time we go away next.

Friday 29th June 2012 - Tathra

Tathra Wharf

We went to the Tathra Wharf for a late morning tea.  Boy, has it changed.  The building is obviously the same as always, but inside the "museum" (which we had never actually looked at) was not accessible, the knick knacks and fishing gear were gone and the objects for sale now were all up market and very expensive.  It was a psuedo art gallery as well.  The counter space had been 'glorified' so the food was displayed to tempt you.  Seemed to be run by two young women.  The menu sign at the entrance had "No fish and chips" added to the top.  Bill had his usual latte - I had a lemoncello drink.  No run-of-the-mill coke and solo here!  He had a piece of pineapple and coconut cake - without the yoghurt on the side, and I had carrot cake.  Both very yummy - served on cardboard 'bowls' with wooden spoon for Bill and wooden fork for me.  My lemoncello even had a paper straw.  I guess they were into eco-friendly or something.
After our morning tea Bill fished off the wharf for a while.  I sat in the car and stitched and knitted.

9 Bears ready for Melon's Cottage

We went back to the van - I stuffed two more bears before I ran out of stuffing.  I've done 9 now.  Very glad to get them out of the way.
I made tuna sandwiches for lunch.
There were no pizzas tonight because they were short staffed.  Michelle and Frankie were away on holidays, and so were a couple of others.  That was a pity, because the pizzas were yummy.
We both had a snooze this afternoon.

We went back to the pub again for tea.  Both had fish and chips again.  Just as nice this time as last.  The Jed Rowe Band was setting up ready to play at 9pm.  It sounded as if they would be good - just two men playing guitar and double bass, possibly harmonica and a strange version of a steel guitar.  However, it was a fairly small room and they had the usual amplifiers etc. so I figured they would be too loud.  Also, we were finished dinner by 7pm so we'd have to kill time until they started at 9.  However, we did buy their newest album (which they signed) and it was very good.  We were talking to Jed for a while before we actually left.

Home tomorrow!  It has been a good few days away, with perfect weather, but it will be good to be home.

Thursday 28th June 2012 - Tathra - Bega

We weren't sure if there would be morning tea, as there weren't many in the park.  Diane told Bill there was, and that we had to come because there weren't many.  Michelle was there, but not Frankie - he was in Broome.  There was one other couple who delayed their departure to have a cuppa - he was a right pain - he'd been there, done that and spoke in such a drawn out way you wanted to wind him up to get the sentence out!  Also two older ladies who didn't have a great deal to say. 
We came back to the van.  Bill went fishing on the beach.  I finished another bear, then sat outside in the sun and knitted.
I made sandwiches for lunch, then I had a lie down.  Bill took the annexe down because it was dry.

We decided to go to Bega for dinner, to the Club Bega.  It was at the Bowling Club, but a brand new building.  We'd been to the Bowling Club a couple of years ago, but then the dining room was like a big hall - nothing fancy at all.  We asked the waitress, and seems the old RSL was "acquired" for the new shopping plaza, and the RSL took over the Bowling Club and rebuilt it.  So we were actually at the RSL.  Bill had fried whiting, which wasn't - and was very ordinary to boot.  Bill reckons it was hake, and bad hake at that, straight out of a box.  My lasagna seemed to be minus the lasagne sheets.  It was cooked in an individual bowl.  The chips were yummy though.  I had specified no dressing on Bill's salad, but it had dressing on it.  We did have sweets - Bill had a lemony bread and butter / custard pudding and I had a chocolate mousse.  They were both nice.  I got my $10 pokie stake back.

Wednesday 27th June 2012 - Tahtra - Merimbula

A bit overcast to start the day, but with a promise of fine weather to come.

Friendly Butcher Bird

Bill fed the Butcher Bird that seems to be fairly tame.  It even flew down on to his arm at one point.
Went for a drive to Merimbula.  Got a pillow in Go Lo to use for bear stuffing.  Had sushi, and Bill had a pie, for lunch.  We ate it sitting by the lake.  I fed the seagulls.  Bill fished for a little while, and I knitted.  We stopped at Tura Beach new Safeway - right outside a discount chemist where I would probably have got my MagMin cheaper than the $39 I paid at the supposed discount chemist in Merimbula.  I only pay $34.99 at home at a non-discount chemist.
Back to the van.  Bill went to the beach for a fish.  Threw back what he caught.  I sewed and stuffed two bears - six finished all up.
Back to the pub for tea.  I had chicken schnitzel.  Bill had Lamb's Fry.  Both very good again.

Tuesday 26th June 2012 - Tathra - Bega

A sunny but cold day.  We went to Bega again to return the slacks I bought - unfortunately they didn't fit, and besides they were hipsters.  Who in their right mind would make hipsters in larger sizes?  We also had to get a script for Bill.
We bought Mark's birthday present, after ringing Janine to make sure he still wanted what we got.  I tried a few pairs of slacks at Miller's, but they didn't fit.  It was a nice touch that the fillting rooms had a high pouffe to sit on.  I thanked the ladies and said how nice it was to find somewhere to sit when changing clothes.
We had a drink and a lamington at the little cafe we went to the other day.  Not sure what it is called.
Went to the Discount chemist and got Bill's script.  I asked the chemist for a printout so I could give it to our chemist for our Safety Net record and mentioned that we were nearly at the limit.  Next thing he was ringing Terry White in Bairnsdale to ask what our status was and discovered that this script would hit the limit, so he got Terry White's to fax him something and proceeded to give us our Safety Net card.  We had to pay for that script, but no more this year.  About the same time we hit it last year I think.  We also discovered that the fridge tablets (Irritable Bowel Support) were cheaper, so we bought them too.  Got an even more pleasant surpise because they were on special at $39.99 instead of $49.99.  I should have checked the price of my MagMin because I later realised I need them in a few days.

Tathra Hotel

We had dinner at the Tathra Pub tonight.  Dinner was lovely - $10 for ling and chips.  Chips were yummy, fish was nice, salad light but nice - all by a lovely open fire.  Not sure if they still have a dining room, but certainly at this time of the year they just have tables in the bar.  But as I wasn't keen on the meal we had last time (a couple of years ago and Bill liked his meal) it was a change for the better.  No luck on the pokies.

Monday 25th June 2012 - Tathra

Cloudy today, but fairly light cloud.  Quite a few people who came in Saturday or Sunday leaving this morning.  Later it fined up and ended up being a lovely day.
Bill fished on the beach, but didn't catch anything.
I finished off four bears - ran out of the stuffing I'd brought with me before I could finish the 5th.  I then knitted a bit.  I have to finish at least that side so I can use the needles to do the paws on the other bears not yet stitched up.
I also slept for a couple of hours.
There was a little bit of rain and wind in the afternoon.

JJ's on the Green

We were going to go to the Tathra Pub for dinner, but it looked very quiet as if there were no meals available, so we went to the Bowling Club instead.  I had an entree serve of Crispy Chicken, Bill had lamb cutlets.  Both were yummy.  We also had profiteroles with chocolate ganache for sweets.
Did no good on the pokies.

Sunday 24th June 2012 - Tathra - Eden

Sunny for most of the day.  I didn't get up until 10:00.  Had breakfast and then we went to Eden to look at the van again.

Inside Jayco Heritage caravan

We soon changed our mind about the Majestic.  Despite being described as in excellent condition we soon saw that there had been patches added to the pop-top vinyl, some unrepaired tears where the vinyl meets the wall, and quite a few spots where there had been water leakage and the ply was actually soft.  We looked at a Jayco Heritage which was quite nice, for $22,990 - no reasonable offer refused.  We still hadn't had a phone call from the man who checked out our van on Wednesday, and when I rang yesterday to see if they were open today the man I spoke to said he would see the other man that night and ask him about it.  Yet when we arrived today he didn't even acknowledge that I'd been speaking to him the day before (definitely the same man though!) and even when I asked how the work Christmas party had gone last night he didn't say anything about having spoken to his off-sider.  He tried to ring him while we were there, but he had to leave a message so we waited for a while, and had a cuppa with the man (John).  Eventually we left because we could have been waiting for the rest of the day.

Paintings at Great White Bite

Went down to the wharf and had lunch at the Great White Bite - our favourite food place in Eden.  This is a great place with lovely food.  Plenty of it too.  Bill had a Mega Burger and chips - the chips were the best ever, really yummy and crisp - and I had a baked potato with coleslaw, sour cream and bacon.  Yummy!  I also had a delicious hot chocolate while Bill had the usual latte.  Saw some lovely paintings for sale - at $495 or so.  The one I really liked was only $850 - so we passed on that.  It was a painting of the big red and white fishing boat, with a number of other boats including the Pilot boat, at the wharf.  A nice bold, bright painting.
We went up to the lookout - but no whales even though they are being seen in Sydney at the moment.
We then stopped at the $2 Shop as usual.  They have a lovely display of their wools - all stacked neatly in colours so it looks like a kaleidoscope - the colours are gorgeous.  We bought a few bits and pieces, including some wool!
Finally got a phone call from John - $15,000 changeover on the Jayco van.  Only about $5000 more than the maximum we are prepared to outlay.  It means they were only allowing about 6 or 7 thousand for our van - if that.  Not near enough.  So we gave him a resounding NO!
Because it was Sunday we didn't get to go to the Art Gallery in Eden.  I would have liked to look to see if there were any more leather dolls.
Tea was ham sandwiches in the van because we'd had a latish and big lunch.

Saturday 23rd June 2012 - Tathra - Bega - Merimbula

Bega Sapphire Mall

Today was another lovely day.  We went for a drive to Bega.  Found a whole new shopping mall with Big W, Dick Smith, Woolworths and several other stores.  We bought a pair of slacks and a top for me, some trousers for Bill, a green sheep cushion at Homeart for Bill, 2 16GB USB sticks for me and a new aerial fitting at Dick Smiths.  Had a coffee at a little coffe shop in the mall.
Went back to the caravan for lunch.  I had yummy cold pizza left over from last night.  I really do love cold pizza that has been in the fridge.
After lunch I finished off one bear.  Bill was out gossiping with fellow campers up the road.

For dinner we went to Merimbula RSL.  Found out that Bill's Service membership to the Victorian RSL allowed him in without signing a temporary member form, but my Affiliate Membership did not give me the same rights.  I was more than a bit annoyed at such discrimination.  I pay exactly the same for my membership, it is an Affiliate membership of the RSL, not just a social / gaming membership of the Bairnsdale sub-branch.  No, this is not me in the restaurant (well I think it's the coffee shop actually) but I guess at a push it could be - except I don't wear hoodies, even without the hood up!
We had to wait for a table as they were very busy, but didn't have to wait long.  I had a lovely lamb roast.  Bill had flatty fillets.  I got back our $20 stake on the pokies.

Friday 22nd June 2012 - Tathra

It was Mick Bills' funeral today.  Bill would have liked to have gone, but we had already booked our time away, it was too far into our planned time to delay the start of our trip, and too far to go back for the day.
I slept until 10:30.
It was actually quite windy today.  It started out overcast, but ended up being sunny.
When we first booked in, we booked 8 nights - but that only took us up to leaving Thursday morning, so today we booked the extra two days so we could leave on Saturday morning.

Mudlark at Bega River

We made a picnic lunch today, and went to the Bega River to eat it.  It was quite warm there as we were protected a bit from the wind - either that or the wind dropped while we were at the river.
My leg has been giving me a bit of trouble - my left knee sort of collapsed on me this morning, and several times during the day. (Might have been yesterday that it began.) It has also been giving me a little bit if trouble at night, but not like I was experiencing in South Australia.  So I went to the chemist and bought some Panadol Osteo to see if that helps.

Friday nights are Pizza Night at the park.  It costs $12 each for a 9" pizza, made by the park staff and cooked in their wood fired pizza oven in the camp kitchen.  Tonight Michelle was assembling the pizzas, Shane was cooking them.  Frankie was chatting with the campers.  The pizzas were very yummy.  We asked Frankie for one of the autographed photos he had - they had already been signed, but he added a wish that he hoped we enjoyed our stay.

Thursday 21st June 2012 - Tathra

Thursday morning is Morning Tea day at the Tathra Beach Tourist Park.  Frankie J and Michelle were both there, along with other park staff including Dianne.  About a dozen people all up I guess - some first timers, some old faithfuls.  Frankie and Michelle are both very nice, and not at all stand-offish given that they are so well known.  They live at Pambula Beach, when they aren't gallivanting aroound the countryside doing "What's Up Downunder?" and other filming commitments.
After morning tea Bill put up the annexe - only to discover that he had left three poles at home.  Thank goodness for Bendy Kates, a little general store just around the corner.  Bill bought three new poles, at a more than reasonable price - I expected they'd be very expensive.
I read for most of the day.

We went to the Country Club for dinner.  They still advertise Australian and Chinese, but in fact they only serve Chinese.  However, it was very nice.  No luck on the pokies again.

Wednesday 20th June 2012 - Bruthen to Tathra

We left home about 10.15.  There was lots of evidence along the road of where the trees blew down in the storm a week or so ago, especially between Orbost and Cann River.

We had lunch at Cann River, as we usually do, this time at the Pelican.  The Caltex across the road has closed down.
Bill got petrol next to the Pelican, at $151.9/lt.  The lady was nice though, and even filled the tank rather than Bill having to do it.
We went on through Genoa and then into New South Wales.

Next town was Eden, where we stopped at the ARV caravan yard to see what they had.  Saw a nice Majestic for $22,00 - no reasonable offer refused.  The man had a look at our van so he could work out a trade-in price, and said he would ring us.  As we drove away I realised I'd given him a wrong mobile number.  Would ring him later when we got the number from a phone book.
We arrived at Tathra about 3:30.  We'd been given site 6, just opposite the amenities because their two en suite sites were out of action at the moment due to renovations of the sites.  However they gave us a separate key to the Disabled Bathroom, which as it turned out I had virtually to myself.  They also gave Salty Dog a dog biscuit wrapped in a cellophane bag tied with ribbon, and two heart chocolates also in a bag tied with ribbon for us.  Very welcoming.
Bill started setting up, then got to the point of putting up the television antenna.  Oops, he'd lost part of the connection to the aerial.  Lots of frustration as he tried to search for it, but then managed to get it to work.  We had intermittent reception though, although it did get better after he adjusted the direction of the aerial a few times.  Didn't put up the annexe as it was getting too late thanks to our later than usual start to the day, and our stop in Eden.
Decided to go for tea at the Bowling Club.  There are new owners, and the adjacent outdoor area has been closed in and made  part of the restaurant proper.  The result is a nicer looking restaurant.  Meals were quite a bit dearer overall, but Bill had a nice Blue Grenadier and I had an entree Asian Nibbles Plate.  Very nice.  Tried the pokies, but no luck.