On the road again,........well nearly

20 February 2012 saw us leaving home once more for a trip heading south. 

During the 7 weeks we had been at home we had attended to many of those ‘must do’ things like, completing tax returns, having medical checks and the necessary follow ups, mowing the lawn, trimming shrubs and then to make it more interesting we even replaced the treads on the front and back steps (27 in total).  No wonder we once more feel like a holiday.

Lawrie has another follow up appointment for 2 weeks so we decided to just head down to visit family in the Hunter River region of NSW.  Our daughter Deanne has recently moved to Cessnock so we decided to spend some time visiting there before heading back home (without the van) to attend the appointment then head south once again to pick up Destiny and then set off.

Our trip down the Pacific Highway was uneventful on the Monday except for the torrential rain storm just south of Urunga late in the afternoon.  The world around us became white as we used the ripple edging on the highway to help us stay well to the left.   Speed was dropped to around 40kph and finally we found a spot where we could pull over and wait it out like many of our fellow motorists.

During a ‘cuppa’ stop at Halfway Creek (south of Grafton) we were amused at the antics of some of the local residents. 
They had been out in the open but when the sun came out from behind clouds, one by one they headed for the shade.  A couple of the youngsters then proceeded to play ‘chasie’ through the adults.  Didn’t take long for one mum to make them stop.

Our first night was eventually spent at the Clybucca Truck Stop after calling into various ‘rest’ stops and finding them totally unsuitable for a caravan.  The night was noisy with trucks coming and going throughout the night however we did get some sleep and there wasn’t too far to go the following day.

Our time in Cessnock allowed us to attend the local show on Saturday night.  From what we read in the paper seems as though they are trying to revive the show of old and there were handcraft, cooking and vegetable produce competitions being run as well as various horse and sheep dog events.

The highlight of Saturday night was the 36 car Demolition Derby in the middle of the showground.  Last man (car) still moving was the winner.  Needless to say there was lots of crash and bash till victory was finally claimed.  This then signalled time for the fireworks finale to the show.  Well we oohed and aahed along with our granddaughter Lily (and her mum and dad) at the brilliant display.  We were fortunate that the showground was walking distance from the van park so we were able to make a clear exit after the fireworks and not have to worry about traffic snarls.

We went for a drive through some of the vineyard area surrounding Cessnock and visited a few ‘lookouts’ up in the mountains. 

Bison in the Hunter Valley

We enjoyed the drive in the country along dirt roads climbing steeply up into the mountains and then descending once more down into the valley.  The area was settled back in the 1820’s and there are some lovely old buildings still standing in the little villages.  We did not partake of wine tastings or tours, we simply packed the esky and enjoyed the day out in the county.