Serendipity

Serendipity........ a "happy accident" or "pleasant surprise"; a fortunate mistake.
Specifically, the accident of finding something good or useful while not specifically searching for it.


I love the word serendipity, it has a lovely sound and a lovely meaning. Out of something that might not be so great often comes something quite extraordinary, life is full of  moments that turn out just like this, if you just wait and trust.

Well everyone heard about our exciting weekend starting with a flat tyre at Ararat, nothing so very bad about this , only the fact that the jack supplied by the vehicle maker, was so appallingly under capable of lifting a big van like this. We scrounged around and found some old tyres lying on the side of the road and thanks to the ingenious of my man we managed to get the van high enough to get the wheel off. Then….to extract the spare we actually had to read the instruction manual, which in itself was useless,

 

 

and after a 2 hour workout under the van, AB manages to break the gadget and get the spare  down...... It is now 4pm Saturday arvo

We were at this stage, trying to get to Hamilton as there was an antiques fair on the weekend, that I thought AB would like to see. A bit off our track, but now that we needed a tyre, would a necessity.

Yes I’m rambling on here but we are getting to the point…......

As its so late now we find the most gorgeous camp spot by a lake and settle in for the night to get an early start. 

 Awake and fed we prepare for Hamilton and me in my wisdom says 'lets just go up here a little bit" to photograph some white birds on the lake.   Welllllllll, we hit a soft bit and went down like a bag of poo and there we stayed. No amount of pushing , pulling, ( with the poor little motorbike)  or placing sticks and sand under the wheels, there we stayed put, not even so much bogged , but spinning on the slippery surface.  At one stage I sight a 4wd further down the lake just heading out, so running down the paddock like a madwoman, arms waving and yelling and whistling, they either didn't see or hear me , or they thought I had escaped from the lunatic asylum at Ararat and quickly left.

Funny story here...while I was running through the paddock trying to attract attention

 of the 4wd, I stumbled on this beauty above. I thought better of stopping there and then to photograph it so whilst AB was away getting help , I snuck back to capture it.

Well and truly going nowhere...............................................................

Finally I suggested AB head off on the bike and get some help or ring the RACV. Upon returning he informed me that although the RACV ute had come out, that as we weren't ON the road, he wouldn't pull us out. But he did call Wally ( yes where 's Wally ) and after a few more hours wait the wonderful Wally did turn up and with the smallest amount of effort we drove out and paid the bill. Wally owns the local tow yard and repair shop so can’t blame him for charging for a Sunday callout. Remind me again why I pay my RACQ bill every year .  Anyway we are now free but its late arvo again so by the time we get to Hamilton, everything is closed and yes ! The fair is over.

On to the story at hand, we decide to camp out at the tyre service and seek assistance first thing in the morning, no worries tyres will be in first thing next day. So we explore this pretty little town, do some washing and shopping and find an Auto Museum just down from the tyre shop. Drop the van off next morning with the very helpful Terry from Grampian Tyre Service and head up to the Campes’ Auto Museum. Now this is where the story turns to serendipity….we meet the lovely Glen . His own collection of vehicles, all of which are registered and  driveable, and memorabilia.  He is such a wonderful host and sits me on bikes ( one a Harley ) and in the most beautifully restored cars and takes photos of us in them.

 

Sitting in a Stutz (1928?) sheer luxury.

Oh yes I want one, and my feet reach the ground

 We have a wonderful morning chatting with him and parked outside the shop is his beautiful 1955 clipper bus, restored and converted into a motorhome. He  has just put an automatic box in it and wanted to take it for a good run so invites us to come on the run with him. Off into the gorgeous countryside, where even at 11am there is still fog hanging around the valleys.

The gorgeous clipper

Glen, chugging along, down the country lanes

After about an hours driving we arrive at his home where his wife has been called and has morning tea and coffee waiting for us. What hospitality, he didn’t know us until that morning and here we are driven around in his pride and joy and sitting at his kitchen table having morning tea with him and his lovely wife Margaret.
What an amazingly wonderful human being , treating us like family. If you ever have the chance to get to Hamilton in Victoria, make sure you look up Glen at his Camps Motor Museum.

 Glen then delivered us back to Terry at the tyre centre and told him to make sure to look after us.  Terry was another genuine person who was lovely to deal with and so friendly. Even gave us a gorgeous pink towel and a lovely black scarf as a token of thanks for using his business. 

So..........if we hadn't had a flat tyre , got bogged and ran late for the fair we would never have got to meet Glen or Terry .  Never got to go for a country trip in an old clipper bus and treated as friends from people that we had only just met. 

 SERENDIPITY.

 

still moving along

yes I'm still alive and travelling. We have been in Melbourne for a week now and really enjoying seeing the city and sights around.
Before I get on with Melbourne we took a small detour on our way here and came across the little township of Euroa. What a little gem.  The most beautiful old building are highlighted on a heritage walk through the township, explaining what they were originally built for, who designed and built them along with other interesting facts, one of which was a bank that was held up by the infamous Kelly gang.

I'm a bit of a sucker for old country churches and will make the driver turn
back to get a photo of numerous ones we see along the way.

Is this not the most perfect country church setting

The country side is just amazing with its autumn colours.

We love to travel the back roads instead or the freeways, and in some cases we get

ourselves in a bit of a back country lane that looks like we might have

to do a 50point turn to go back,

but in most cases we find our way through with the aid of my trusty maps on my Samsung tablet.

It has been a wonderful help and so much easier than a navigator.

 I can see exactly where we are and how, as in numerous cases,  to find the right road again.

A very much used and appreciated piece of my travelling technology now.

a little lane that cut across country from Bonnie Doon, did get a bit hairy further up

the track when the hills were getting steeper and curves were getting sharper.

This is heading up a hillside.............

Before we got into Melbourne we visited the Dandenong Botanical gardens high up in the Dandenong Hills. 105 acres of gorgeous gardens, originally a rhododendron garden built up by a small gardening group. Most of the flowers don't come out till spring , but we walked for a few hours through this amazing place. Another well worth visit.

 

worth a visit any time of the year but spring would be a real delight.

and its FREE

 

It's hard to get the height of these giants in one photo

one bud that didn't know if it was spring or autumn

can you see the tiny hobbit in the tree trunk

the beautiful proteas don't mind flowering in winter.

in a few months this will be covered with blooms

the poor NIT is tiny compared with these giants

from the hills to this..................................never mind it's all fun

 

Next blog Ill show you our visit to Melbourne

cheers for now, see you on the road somewhere.

 

 

 

Finishing off the beach blog

now where was I when the blog decided to do it's own thing and underwrite all my text. Of course it wasn't my fault........

This was a very beautiful headland at Brooms Head, walked out to the edge to be greeted with a brown snake. Back tracked very smartly.

We called into Grafton on the way through and caught up with some lovely friends. A couple of great nights by the fire side and Jo and I decided to coat some bananas with marshmallow fluff....well that turned into a hilarious event with lots of fluffy fingers, laughs and smokey smelling hair. Wouldn't have missed it for the world. What a great couple of days.

We are at Coffs Harbour at the moment and been here for a few days. AB grew up here so it's nice for him to reminisce a bit. We have a wonderful camp here and can see the sunrise and the sunset. The weather has been fantastic so we have been at the beach a fair bit and just chillin' around. Don't know why we didn't do this years ago...oh yes I do...we had to work to save up for this.

We went to a huge fishing shop today to get some new rods and reels. WOW there is so much stuff for fishing. Of course I wanted the pink rod with the free pink hat , but NO, so had to settle for a pullapart one that would fit in the vehicle easier. Funny story...walked out of the shop and stabbed myself in the leg with the very new...very sharp filleting knife. talk about bleed, and we haven't even thrown a line in yet so better stand away from me when I do. 
I had a lovely afternoon at the shops while AB visited a friend. I shopped, had a coffee and a phone call to a friend and now sitting at the camp site.
Better move my behind and get some dinner, till next blog, take care of yourself and loved ones and live life to the fullest. 

TP XX

Beaches

The Beaches and Rivers

I love the beach, I love a river, a lake, any kind of waterway, even a pond so the coast road from Qld to Victoria may be a very loooonnnngggg trip. Every turn off to another little beach side town beckons me to come and have a look.

After leaving home we stopped off at Coolangatta Beach, what an amazing beautiful piece of coast.

 

 

 

 

Byron Bay

We used to drive past this place a long time ago when the highway went right through it, now it is well and truly bypassed but this didn't stop the place from buzzing with tourists and locals. It was still school holidays and there were many children out enjoying the beautiful sunny day as well as the local surfers.

We had a lovely few hours there swimming and people watching. A very pleasant, relaxing day.

We wanted to see the  light house so headed up the steep windy road to be met with a sign stating that as it was part of the National Parks it would be $7 for the vehicle. Well the driver refused to pay that and after a 5 point turn around we headed down the road and found a park. I now know why the sign says no caravans. Would be impossible to turn one around. After a steep walk we made it to the top and had a good look around . This is the most Easterly point of mainland Australia so I'm glad we made the effort. Beautiful views north, south and east. The old caretakers cottage was beautifully maintained. A wonderful place to live.

I know that we have to preserve the parks but really , a charge to go up and park at the top!! Well the walk was great exercise.

 

 

 
 this blog is being silly so I'll publish it and move on to another.
All in all its a beautiful coast to follow.

 





 

 

 

 

The Big Trip
Started  finally........
Friday and delivering my gorgeous JM home to her Mums after a wonderful week with me, a beautiful Thai dinner and sleep stop at Maryborough.
After a return trip to gather forgotten articles, his and mine, we headed south to the Sunshine Coast, calling in to Gympie to drop off some special birthday pressies to some very special people.
Another wonderful meal and 2 bags of goodies to keep us nourished!!! well to satisfy our sweet tooth addiction, and off the next sunny morning to Brisbane.
By now I really have forgotten how to cook and stopping off to visit the Cuz and her wonderful family and a BBQ dinner, I don't want to ever cook again. Well all things must come to an end but after a loooong day travelling ( 100km's at least) stopped off at Ormeau and stayed the night at the Wrights, so with coffee, catch ups and lots of laughs, it was too late to cook ( it was, really )
we decided that pizza was in order. Very nice too.
Well its been days since we left home and we are still in Qld, only about 4 hours from home,
Going past Coomera we call in to see my Aunty Betty in the homestead retirement home. It's a wonderful surprise for her and at 86 she is quite frail but sharp as a tac and wanted to hear all our news and where we were headed. She is a very special part of my life and all my memories from childhood to now have her in them. After promising to send her post cards we head up the mountains to Tambourine where we were hit with an awful storm. We take shelter in a gravel pit and sleep the storm away. Waking up to a beautiful blue sky we head down to the Gold Coast again and a few photo stops later we have called it a day and resting in an off road rest stop.

The view from Tambourine Mountains looking west

Oh and look what he has on,,,,a few minor repairs were needed

The gorgeous Coolangatta Beach

Tomorrow we think we may head to the beach , something we both love and never had time to do till now.

Oh and a foot note

I found the perfect washing machine for the motorhome / caravan industry, I can arrange for one if anyone needs it (him) Lotta love a man who will wash the clothes.