19th
February
Wow time sure is
flying. I will quickly recap what has
happened since the 18th December.
December 2016
We had helped Beckie
and the children move to Toowoomba and try to get them settled into the rental
home before we headed down to Taree to visit Darryl’s family. Neville and Shirley were well and Samantha
was too. We spent four nights at the
showground and caught up with Colin and Nathan also.
We left there and
travelled to Condobolin via the Golden Highway to spend Christmas with the MENZ
clan. We arrived on the 22rd
of December and set up the van in the driveway.
Family started
arriving on Christmas Eve and it was great having the time with 18 members of
the extended family. It was ultra hot
and it was cooling sitting outside with our feet in a puddle of water from the
garden sprinkler.
We got word whilst here that a certain cousin
was to have a SURPRISE birthday party for her 60th on 30th
December. Well we couldn’t head back
home without attending 😁!!! Most of the
family headed back to their homes on Boxing Day and then we made preparation to
head to Wagga for the party. We awoke on
the morning of the 30th with Darryl having Rigors and suffering from
vertigo – so that was it – I would stay with Darryl and Ian, Wendy and Holly
would go. BUT Wendy said she would stay
home and care for Darryl so that I could go.
Darryl was in the van with the AirCon on and resting. So off Ian, Holly and I went. We arrived at Jenny’s in the afternoon and
got ready for the party. What a great
success it was. PAM MOORE had NO idea
what was happening and for the first
time ever – she was speechless.
She even shed a tear or two. It
was a great night.
all Pam's Nieces and Nephews and their respective children
Pam and I
Pam and her Children and Grandchildren
Whilst this was
happening Darryl was not improving. His
temperature was still fluctuating and he was comfortable in the caravan. Wendy had been into Condobolin and got an
antibiotic script filled and started him on the pills. On the morning of the 31st Dec
Wendy said his right leg was VERY inflamed and swollen but he wanted to wait
for me to get back to assess it!!
Mmmm. I rang Wendy and told her
that if she felt he needed to go to the hospital, then to take him as it would
be a good 4 hours before I was back.
Darryl's leg on 31st Dec
The
siblings were going out to have Morning Tea with Mum at the Cemetery on her 84th
Birthday. We then headed for Condo. Wendy had taken Darryl into the hospital and
he was being admitted with cellulitis of his right leg which was almost up over
his knee!!
Darryl then went on to
spend 8 nights in the Condobolin Hospital and being treated with a variety of
intravenous antibiotics. It wasn’t until
the 4th of January that we started to get some improvement and his temperatures
finally stayed in the normal range. He
was discharged on the 8th January and then on the 10th
January we left the van with Ian and Wendy and I drove us up to Toowoomba. We were needed to help Beckie on the 12th
and to assist with looking for a new home as the one they moved into was now up
for sale and she needed to find a place for her and the children. Disappointing but nothing she could do about
it.
On the 15th
January Darryl and I drove to Crestmead to stay with our friend Sue. She was welcoming us to her home so that we
could have the car serviced on the 16th, drive to specialist
appointments on the 18th and then go to Jimboomba for GP
appointments before heading back up the mountain to Beckie and Children. Thank
you Sue 💗
We arrived at Beckies
at about 7.30pm because as we were leaving Sue’s to go to the GP, she noticed a
BIG pool of oil on her driveway and a trail where we had driven out of the
yard. Once we arrived at the GP’s we
checked oil in the engine -ooops none on the dipstick 😟 We contacted the Mechanic – Paul – and
arranged to go back there after the GP.
Darryl put more oil in the engine.
Got the doctor to
check my left knee as it felt ‘full’ and hard to bend. Nothing found on physical examination but if
it continued to bother me I could have it ultrasounded to see if there was a
Baker’s Cyst. Well we left the doctors
surgery, walked around the corner and up 6 stairs when SOMETHING went POP in my knee and I was unable to put weight
on the knee. Damn. Managed to get back to the car as we needed
to be on our way BUT I couldn’t depress the clutch pedal – so Darryl drove us
back to Paul’s. So glad Dr Rod said he
was able to drive again.
Mechanics checked the
car and NO problem discovered. Unsure
what the cause 😟 No obvious oil loss
next morning at Beckies so we headed off for Condobolin as we needed to be on
the road to Melbourne to catch the Tassie Ferry on the 28th. Stopped at Narrabri the next morning – no oil
seen on ground.
Headed to Condobolin and
stopped at Dubbo to visit our friends Jenny and Doug Peisley and catch up with
them on our way through. My knee was
really painful and felt better with some strapping on it. Darryl was coping with his compression
stockings (better than I thought in the heat) so his leg was continuing to go
down and the redness was almost gone.
The general discolouration of his leg is still there as it will never
disappear BUT he had non-swollen legs.
Yay.
We were to head
towards Melbourne on the 24th BUT as we were idling the car to hitch
up the van there appear a HUGE oil patch under the car. We couldn’t find a cause and neither could
Ian. 😖 Ian rang a chap in Wagga but he couldn’t see us so we unhitched the van
and contacted Nissan in Forbes. They
could see us that afternoon. So off we
headed and our friend Chris followed behind – Just in case!!!
We arrived and the
mechanics checked the car over – and NOTHING.
They could not find a reason for it.
The washed the whole engine and checked for any leaks – but NONE found. So Darryl got some more oil – JUST IN CASE –
and we headed back to Condobolin. Got up
the next morning and hooked up ready to go.
A small/medium patch of oil on the ground and you could see it dripping
from underneath the car. We started off
and drove the hour or so to West Wyalong.
Pulled up and had a coffee and checked the oil. All good and only a little on the
ground. We headed down the Newell
highway and made it to Tocumwal. Now it was Chris’s turn for drama. When we arrived she had NO 12volt power in
her van. Minimal on the voltmeter from
the battery. She managed with a head
torch for lighting.
Next morning there was
nothing on the ground and the oil level in the engine was fine. Off to Seymour for the night. Power for the night so Chris will be fine.
OOPs her gas has run out……. Thankfully our
hosts can refill gas cylinders so that is good. :D Got the washing and drying done before
heading to Werribee for the night before the sail. On the way we stopped at Battery World and
got a new battery for her and all was good.
Got an sms message that
night from Spirit of Tasmania to say due to road works near the terminal, could
we please arrive from 6am. So up just
after 4.15am and ready to roll just after 5.
Arrived at the terminal at 6am and joined the queue to go through
Quarantine before lining up to board the ferry.
We thought we were good but for some reason they confiscated our Redhead
Firelighters. No-one else had theirs
done – so unsure as to the reason why they took ours 😟 Whilst this was all happening a cruise
liner had come in to dock SOOOOOO we sat on the wharf for an hour whilst they
got it moored before we were allowed to progress further. On board and settling in and we were under
way by 8.45am.
We have decided that
next time we travel on the Spirit we won’t book a recliner seat. There are so many lounges and so many seating
options that it really was not necessary.
If you wanted to go and have a wander of the ferry – there was nowhere
secure to leave your belongings – so one person had to stay and keep an eye on
things anyway.
It took 2 hours to get to the “heads” and out
into the Bass Strait.
Farewell Melbourne
Our escorts near the Heads. 2 jetskis and a boat all doing faster than the Ferry.
We had an
uneventful crossing and arrived in Devonport at 6.30pm. Off the ferry and headed to Port Sorell
Caravan Park where we are booked in for three nights.
Sunday 29th
January we were up and off before 8.30 so that we could drive to the east and
to Bridestow Lavender Farm. We were
hoping to be able to see the lavender in full flower but harvesting had begun
and we only had a ‘lilac’ tone to the Lavender.
Apparently if we had been there between Christmas and New Year we would
have seen it at its most ‘purple’.
Lavender as we arrived.
Chris and I in the Lavender
Looking past the Elm tree over the fields of Lavender that were being harvested
Beautiful Hydrangeas at Bridestowe
Lavender ice-cream
me and Bobby from Bridestowe
We had
a lovely day going over the distilling of the lavender and the smell was Sinus
clearing – but ohh so nice. We went and
enjoyed some lavender scones and Darryl had pancakes. We checked out the shop and then had to have
a lavender ice-cream before heading back to the car and then back to Port
Sorell (2 hours away). Part of our
journey took us back over the BATMAN Bridge which crosses the Tamar River.
Took 4 years to build at a cost of 3Million
POUNDS from 1964 – 1968.
Mon 30th
January we were up and off by 9am as we were heading u the west side of the
Tamar river to Beauty Point. We went
straight past and went as far as West Head (We did the 250m climb up to the
lookout and couldn’t see much as the rain had come in with a lot of mist).
Back to the car and through Greens Beach to
Beauty Point. Stopped for a coffee at
River Inn Café and had lunch as well.
Homemade Mushroom soup – YUMMO!
We then went across the road to the Platypus House
very friendly Echidnas that can smell a Pregnant woman - even before the woman knows she is.....
and then Seahorse
World
Potbelly Seahorses. The female sits on the males belly, lays her eggs in there, the males fertilises and then carries them for four weeks before giving birth. He can then fall pregnant again that day.
before heading down the road to Beaconsfield.
the mine is collapsing
original building
We toured the mine site and museum but the
tower where to two survivors came out is collapsing and we were told that if it
falls further then there will be a 70metre exclusion Zone enforced and the
museum will have to close. It was very
thought provoking.
On our way back and through Exeter we found this guy
trying to get into the Butcher, looking for his mates.
Greens Beach
Agapanthus
Tuesday 31st
we set off from Port Sorell and travelled down past Latrobe to the Ashgrove
Cheese Farm. It is a building in a
paddock of the farm. Darryl and I had been
here in 2005 and found it interesting with about 12 different flavoured
cheeses.
painted Cows
Chris had been here in 2012 and
was eager to get more cheese. We were
all disappointed in the small choice of cheese available. From here we headed back up towards Devonport
and past the BIG Spud at Sassafras. Well
Darryl doesn’t think it is too big.
Then on to the
Axeman’s Hall of Fame in Latrobe.
Darryl and I with the Big Platypus at Axeman's Hall of Fame
We had
been told that we MUST go. It was an
interesting read about the different Axemen and their accomplishments. There was supposed to be a makers market here
also but one lady was trying to watch what was happening at the five that had
items for sale. Apparently on a Saturday
there are up to 20 stalls there. The
‘café/restaurant’ was priced right out of our league so we returned to the vans
and made our own.
From here we continued
up to House of Anvers – Chocolates.
A
decent sized park out the back for vans and Rv’ers and inside it was
interesting watching some chocolate Easter Eggs being made.
Out on the road and up
to Turners Beach Caravan Park. 2 nights
here. They only have 14 tourist sites
and we were positioned in behind the Office with Chris parked in front of us.
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