Bega River

It was a warm day yesterday but we had to get in to Bega to get a few jobs done so we planned to break up our trip with a dip in the Bega River just up from its junction with the Brogo River. We took some lunch down to the picnic tables under the trees before jumping in the water. After all the rain the river was flowing enough that we could float down in the rapids. 

The kids & J had fun jumping off the bank (& tree) in to the rapids then floating downstream. We imagined people have been visiting this part of the river for as long as there've been people living in that area. What a great way to cool off!

Baby A slept through the whole thing but the rest of us had a ball. 

Tanja

Tanja is situated alongside and within Mimosa Rocks National Parks on the Far South Coast of NSW. The first thing you noticed about the vegetation is the tall spotted gum forest. 

Joel has many memories on Tanja Hall. His dad used to run the local movie night in the hall and he attended other functions there. Back in 1997 I was seeing a gig at the hall (after being bridesmaid for a friend's wedding). Joel happened to be staying just up the road and was also at the gig. We recognised each other and got chatting. We both have vivid memories of this night and it was why we decided to have our wedding reception in the hall when we were married in 2007. The tiny hall was packed with our friends and family and rocked as everyone danced in a traditional bush dance. 

We decided we'd have a fortnight on the farm after we left Sydney just to get out things in order and recover from the stress of packing up our house & finishing work. We needed to replace the leaf springs on the truck, set up the annexe and work out what we can without (& reduce our load) too. 

And this is where we woke up this morning. How's the serenity? Can you see the roos grazing in the paddocks? 

first stop: moss vale

Here I am sitting in my beautiful new home, our caravan, writing this, my first blog post of our trip!

J is sitting on the end of the bed gently playing his Dad's old guitar and singing old tunes. The kids are asleep (and have been since 7pm) while the rhythmic rain hits our awning roof. We're in Moss Vale for the night which is a short trip from Sydney but we wanted it that way as we anticipated a big morning.

       

We'd aimed to leave at 9am from the northern beaches but of course it didn't go completely to plan with a last minute repair of the 12-pin socket on the truck which powers the indicators. Peter from across the road arrived just at the right moment and between him and J they fixed the socket.

Thankfully we had many helping hands in the last fortnight. Friends and our neighbours had the kids over for plays and dinners, my mum came up to help and J's aunts entertained the kids before sending us off down the road this morning. Thank you dear friends. We really appreciate your support.

J and I were both overwhelmed this morning. Our life at Number 14 has come to a (somewhat welcome) end but we'll miss the friends we made in the area and we'll always have fond memories of the children's lives in that home. On the other hand we were happy to farewell the city for the year. Sydney is a vibrant place but the hollow pressure and haste can get too much at times.

       

Bowral was a good lunch spot yesterday and we managed to get to the Bradman Museum where we've been meaning to visit for some time now. The majority of photographs on display were taken by my award-winning sports photographer uncle, Philip Brown. It's worth a look for any cricket tragics. 

                                  

B made our salad last night which we had with a premade lasagne from our local deli. I suspect there'll be quite a few meals like this on our travel days. B beamed as we thanked him for his contribution to the meal. 

Tomorrow were off to the nation's capital for a night. It is forecast to rain for the next couple of days but that's a relief from the humidity we've had in Sydney.

melbourne - sydney

It's been busy busy week for us. We collected our Elite Caravan & stayed two nights in it in Melbourne before heading back to Sydney.

I have to admit that I was surprised that our favourite meal of the week away (including the food around Fitzroy) was dinner at the Snowy Mountains Historic Bakery in Orbost. These guys opened in Orbost a few months ago from the Mornington Peninsula & I just hope they do well. 

When I hear "Woodfired Pizza" I expect gourmet. The seafood was fresh and local and gorgeous! Can you see the sea veg? 

They don't just make bread and pizza. I picked the winner! This was my fritto misto with flash fried prawns, mussels, scallops & topped with sea veg which is farmed locally in Newmerella. I can't describe how satisfying this meal was!

And before we left town the following day we grabbed coffees (great!) and an organic sourdough loaf! 

Orbost is on the Snowy River Cycling Rail Trail. I'd love to hear from anyone who has been on the trail which includes sections of track along the old rail bridges. It would be a beautiful ride.

We had a quick overnight stay on the family farm in Tanja on the way home and stayed with friends further north. And we ate dinner on the van two nights ago because we can't get enough. Ask us if we feel the same in a year after our big lap!

P.S. I have to add that the Orbost Caravan Park was a great spot to stay. Greg was very welcoming. An added bonus to the clean amenities block was a bath (at waist height) for the kids which our littlest boy loved. 

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/MissMayBlossom 

Pinterest  http://www.pinterest.com/MissMayBlossom/
Instagram http://instagram.com/missmayblossom