Not Before Time

Today we got up early (well, I’m usually up early anyway, but David got up early today too) and we joined the 7am (that’s right, 7am!) walking group.  They meet every morning for a 45-60minute walk and vary the route each day.  Now, these people are older than us, so I must admit, I thought it would be a leisurely stroll.  No way!  These guys are serious walkers, and obviously because we’ve been working really hard over the last 2 weeks we are really, really tired, and they are really, really fit from all the walking they do, so I’m sure by the end of 3 or 4 weeks we won’t have any problem keeping up with them!  Although David said he is going to alternate the walking group with the water aerobics group (which also meets every morning at 7am).  Not sure how long we will keep this up, but our intentions are good at the moment!

Since we were up and at it so early this morning, I kept the momentum going and cleaned and vacuumed the inside of the van (we really need to get a name for it, I can’t keep calling it the van, it’s so much more than that! – any suggestions people?) which took all of, oh, 1 hour, then we went for a drive in to Casino and then to Lismore.  It’s very pretty country around here – everything is quite green, and being beef and pastoral country, there are lots of rolling hills and trees (and of course cattle!)

This  afternoon we also played a new (to us anyway) game called Disc Bowls – think of lawn bowls with a turned wooden Frisbee shaped disk instead of a ball and you’re pretty close.  It was good fun, and Josephine, our “coach” did a good job teaching us the rules and how to play.  Apparently, CMCA (Campervan & Motorhomes Club of Australia) members play this often at their rallies.  So anyway, it was a good day all round, we met some nice people  and we learned some new stuff along the way.

Now it’s time for a drink.  And after that, well, I might just need a nanny nap!

Sunday, November 5, 2006

We arrived at Casino Village (in Casino, NSW) today.  When we arrived the weather was beautiful – sunny, warm and clear skies.  By 3pm it was bucketing with rain, there were thick grey/black clouds everywhere and it had cooled down quite a lot!  Like I’ve said in previous posts, we’ve been taking the rain with us everywhere we go (although to be honest, they had really heavy rain the previous day/night.  In fact, a couple of vans in the grassed area were in the process of moving because the site they were on got about 3 inches (5/6cm?) water in their annexes).  However, I still think we are rain makers, and since we were only 100 km down the road the previous day, then we can take the blame/credit for the rain, and I’m sure most country towns would love to have us visit them!

Now, some info about the park (just in case you are thinking of heading up this way) – this park is still in its infancy, but there are some good things happening here, in fact we really like this park.  Casino Village advertises itself as “the destination for all RV travellers”, and I think they are pretty spot on.  The staff are really friendly and open to questions about the park, the town etc. 

The park is partly a village with villas which are purchased by residents for permanent housing, but also has sites for small to medium motorhomes or campervans; drive through sites for big rigs, 5^th wheelers, camper trailers etc; cabins, long term ensuite sites (not sure what they mean by long term in this instance), and long term storage for rigs in a secure compound.  We’re staying in the grassed (powered) area.

Because the park is young (just 4 years old, on the site of an ex airfield), the trees are still getting established, so it can be hot and windy, (although since we arrived it has rained quite a bit) but the sites are good level sites and the amenities are excellent.   The village also has a bbq hut and offers free use of wood and gas bbq’s (there is even washing up facilities with them).  There is also a club house where seminars are run on subjects such as satellite TV and GPS (usually with a specialist on the subject), and self help groups run sessions on such subjects as digital photography, computers, and cameras (these are informal with no lecturer).

There’s the hangout, where movies get shown twice a week and art and craft groups can meet; there’s an internet kiosk (there is also an independent company which offers good pricing on wireless broadband access,) art classes, games, walking and water aerobics groups; and lots of other activities.  The park is also pet friendly, but there are conditions attached, so you should really check with the office first.  But wait, there’s more … there’s also a 12 hole golf course (more of a chip and putt, no trees, and very flat, but hey, it’s somewhere to play golf!)

As I said earlier, we really like this park, and obviously the guests do too, as quite a few of them have been here repeatedly over the last 4 years.

We went to ‘happy hour’ this afternoon and met some of the local park characters, some who have been here for several months others that live here and like to mingle with any new guests and talk sh1t and fix all worldly issues.

This is going to be a long post as it’s been longer than I thought since we last updated! We’ve been on the road now for nearly 4 weeks already and are now in Coffs Harbour.

To bring you up to date, we left Melbourne on October 11, with our first stop being Euroa to stay for a couple of nights with our friends H & G who we hadn’t seen for almost 3 years! It was really great catching up with them, and hopefully it won’t be nearly as long until we see them again.

The next 2 nights we spent with our brother in law T and nephew P in Wodonga. The guys are batching while David’s sister M is overseas on holiday. Thanks guys, it was really good staying with you.

After Wodonga we headed for Forster, on the mid north coast of NSW where we had work lined up for 2 weeks. On the way we decided to stop overnight at a truck stop rather than finding a caravan park – this was the first time we had stayed anywhere other than a park and it worked out fine. After grabbing a coffee from the shop we sat and talked for a while then went to bed and I think we were both sound asleep before our heads hit the pillow – at 9pm! This travelling is tiring. I’m glad we went to bed early though as we were woken a few times through the night by trucks coming and going – the downside to stopping at truck stops!

We got to Lani’s Holiday Island at Forster about lunch time on Monday and met the owners Russell & Robyn, their son Josh and his fiancée Tiffany. (Josh and Tiffany were getting married the following week, which was why we were there, – and the park would be left in the hands of Sue and Steven the assistant managers, with David and myself helping out). We also met Sue and Steven, and Glen who looks after maintenance, then we found our site and got set up. I didn’t have to start work until Wednesday so we bummed around, checked out Forster Tuncurry and settled in, then it was time to start work! The next 2 weeks (for me) were spent working initially with Russell, Josh, and Tiffany, and once they all left to get organised for the wedding, I was working with Sue. The job involved a variety of work including reception, housekeeping, , laundry, etc. It was very busy, and physically tiring, but I really enjoyed it. David didn’t have to work the first week, so he did stuff to the truck and the van, took photographs of the area, grocery shopped etc. I think he was glad to finally report in and do some ‘real’ work. He worked mainly in the park with the guys (Steve and Glen) doing men stuff – building annexes, general yard duties and maintenance, driving around on the bikes, helping caravanners get on site – and he really enjoyed the week. The 2 weeks working at Lani’s went very quickly, but we had a great time working there and would love to help out again in the future if the opportunity arises. Here are some photos of the park –

If you are going to be in the area, this is a lovely park – 4 star and a Top Tourist park.  The setting is great and there is also a 100 acre island attached to the park for camping (unpowered, and tents only).  Here’s a link to their web site – http://www.lanis.com.au/ – details of all their accommodation and rates are there and you can also book on line.

The day after we finished work, we took a drive to Wingham for lunch. Wingham is a lovely federation town about 30km north of Forster. We had a wander around the town and lunch at one of the pubs. They also have a shop there call Bent On Food which is a café that has a really good selection of gourmet produce. Worth a visit if you’re in the area. (I’ve just read that this is where Di Morrisey is from and her new book “The Valley” is based on Wingham.  She will be in Taree later this month for a book signing and promotion of her book).

When we left Lani’s we headed for Coffs Harbour where we had booked in to Darlington Beach Resort for 3 nights. This is a nice park, rated 4.5 stars, however, it’s fairly expensive (it’s a Big 4). The reason we came here was that friends of ours stay here every year and we have been talking about meeting them here next year, so since we were in the area we thought we’d check it out now. The park has lots of big sites, it ‘s on the beach and it has a nine hole golf course. We had planned on playing golf here, but once again it’s been raining the whole time we’ve been here. At least it’s not cold! We both needed new sneakers so we spent the first morning in town shopping and sightseeing, and that night we had dinner at the restaurant attached to the caravan park (Spinifex), and it was really good. The staff were great and the food was excellent. We went in to Grafton today as the Jacaranda festival has been on this week. I think the rain had an effect on attendance figures as it seemed really quiet to me, but maybe the parade which was scheduled for later in the day would attract more people. There was a market at the local TAFE College, but the ground was really boggy and with people tramping all over it, it didn’t take long for it to turn into a quagmire. It was quite amusing watching everyone trying to tiptoe through the mud. My new sneakers held up pretty well! The jacaranda trees are really stunning, especially when you see avenues of them as you do in Grafton. Check these out –

Since the weather is so bad and all we would do if we went back to the van is sit and watch tv, we went for a drive instead. We found a couple of nice villages off the highway and ended up at Minni Waters and then Wooli on the coast. Beautiful country – rolling hills, rainforest and the beach – just gorgeous! We also saw an emu – according to some literature I was reading, this is the only coastal area in Australia to have an emu population. Here’s a photo of the one we saw –

At Minni Waters there’s vehicle access on to the beach, so of course David didn’t hesitate – here’s a photo (which is already our new screen saver)

We picked up some fresh seafood from Wooli (which is known for its oysters) and David barbecued a feast for dinner. Tomorrow we head to Casino. Not sure how long we’ll stay there as yet, but will let you know as soon as we know.