Moon River

Huon River

Moon River wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style someday
You dream maker, you heartbreaker           Wherever you're going, I'm going your way
(Andy Williams and others)

When I think of Tasmania
I think of water.
Her rivers dark with tannin
Moody as the sky
Pristine, peaceful, perfect
Reflecting the life that dwells nearby.
Rivers criss-cross the countryside and
Meander with stealth through rainforests
Filtering through land and soil

Bush camp near Geeveston

Gushing through gullies
Brimming with birds and fish
Calling for us to come
Sharing her resources
Asking that we care.

Swans at Huonville

Old Mill at Deloraine

Liffey Falls

Alum Cliffs

Mersey River, Latrobe

Derwent River Hobart

Bubbling brook through town

Dove Lake, Cradle Mountain

Bridge at Campbelltown

Bush camp at Oatlands

Bruny Island

Causeway to Dodgers Ferry

The Huon

Dodgers Ferry

Russell Falls

Lake Claire

Crossing a river on the way to Lake Claire

Dams are full

Bridge over Tamar River

Rainbow after the rain

Just some of Tasmania's rivers.

                                                                                                                            

Roam

All in a day's journey
Melbourne to Devonport, Tasmania.

Roam if you want to
Roam around the world                                      
Roam if you want to                                             
Without wings, without wheels
Roam if you want to
Roam around the world
Roam if you want to
Without anything but the love we feel.

B52's

As we wait for Snowy
We wander back in time
To another place
Another trip
In this wonderful country of mine.

Aboard "The Spirit of Tasmania"
We ventured across Bass Strait
Arriving at Devonport on "the apple isle"

Swimming in The Bay of Fires

By approximately half past eight.                                      

For a month we wandered
Winding round the countryside
Highways and byways unravelled
Exposing her beauty bona fide.


Beaches
Farmland
Forests
Villages quaint
Mountains in snow
Rivers in flow
Sleepy city upon the River Derwent
Pristine wilderness
You've gotta go!                                                    

Cosy Corner Camp



to be continued...................

Hop step and jump from Cosy Corner

Everybody Knows

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling like their father or their dog just died
Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows.

Leonard Cohen

Tomorrow is eleven weeks since the bottom fell out of Snowy....is there anybody out there who remembers?

And for eleven weeks we have been waiting, waiting, waiting.
For the assessor's reports
For the car to be moved elsewhere
For the mechanics to scratch their heads and make a diagnosis
For the mechanic to have a cup of coffee
For the insurance broker to follow it up
For the mechanic to order parts
For the parts to arrive from Japan
For the mechanic to change his diagnosis
For the mechanic to scratch his bum
For the insurance broker to call
For another week....

And so it goes, everybody knows.

Yes, I see you now nodding your head in recognition of the incompetence of insurance companies. Do they honestly care about their clients?
Not my bloke.
He wouldn't start the claim until I faxed him a Claim Form. Never mind that I was in a tiny Queensland town with a broken down car.
Hmm, where can I go to get my hands on a fax machine?
Sorry, I have no credit card for the hire car to get me home. 
What's that you say? Can I ask a friend for a loan of their credit card so I could hire a car to get home? 
Oh, I wonder if I can make friends quickly in this little town. Do you think they will lend me their credit card?
Well thank you, Mr Insurance Man for finally agreeing to pay for the hire car.
And for your kind words of reassurance that you will look after us.
What's that you say? The insurance will only pay for two days to get home? 
Okay, we had better start driving as we shall need to cover at least 700km a day to make it to Melbourne by Saturday.
Lucky we are seasoned travelers. What would I do if I were not able to drive that distance? 
Where's the insurance broker's phone number? I have to keep ringing him to find out what's going on.

Well, we don't know what's going on. Didn't even know where my little camper was for a while. Still not convinced it is where they tell me it is...and now they say they are going to return it unfixed....on the back of a truck....with a stop over in Sydney....and it could take a week to get here....that's if it doesn't get lost in transit. Ho Ho Ho, we may get it by Christmas.

Good on you CMCA
I love your motto
            "Laugh more
                    Live Longer"

I'm trying real hard not to cry.

Snowy in Tasmania 2009

For some reason the creative juices aren't flowing.
No rhyme
No verse
Just a curse.

Thank God I'm a Country Boy

A road to excellent adventures

Well life in the scrub is kinda laid back
Ain't much a young ringer like me can't hack  
Got a 4 wheel drive and a red dust track
Thank God I'm a country boy.
(Australian version by Lee Kernaghan)

O little towns of Aussie Land
How different you all are
You dot the wide brown countryside
Beneath a wide blue sky. 


Leaving Deanna & Juris in Brisbane, we drove out the highway through the Lockyer Valley, up and up into Toowoomba, and into the Darling Downs. A beautiful drive through rich countryside. Small towns bordered rivers, dotted the hills and cheered the roadside. Throughout the valley and onto higher ground, farms stretched beyond to a far horizon. Distant hills, with varying shades of blue, circled and protected the undulating plateaus textured with agricultural patchwork.

Rudd's Pub. After author Steele Rudd.

A coldie from the bar

We stopped at Nobby to see "Dad and Dave's" historic Rudd's Pub.
Many stories of the old radio dramatisation, "Dad and Dave", were penned here by author, Steele Rudd, who lived in the district.

The town also has a memorial to Sister Kenny for her treatment for children afflicted by polio and infant paralysis.

We watched the kids stroll to school as we ate breakfast in the free camp opposite the pub. A couple of school buses dropped a handful of students off and parents drove their kids in from nearby farms. Galahs screeched overhead and the occaisional crow "carked". That was peak hour.

Steel Rudd sat here and penned his stories

A warm fire and a glass of red at the end of an eventful day. We couldn't eat a thing after feasting ourselves on Deanna's chicken casserole.

Which one is Bill?

At the old historic railway station we met a couple of old swells.

Our last camp at Nobby

This is the last camp we had in Snowy. After pulling out of Nobby town, we headed for Inglewood. Our grand entrance to Inglewood...on the end of a chain behind an oversized "tow" truck...was very sad.


The country folk were friendly and helpful:

The truckie from Melbourne who towed us to safety off the highway

The cheerful tow truck driver who drove up to Inglewood to collect us and then drove us 100km down to Goondiwindi

The happy lady at the Information centre

The ladies at the motel

The friendly couple at Avis rent-a-car

We had a pleasant experience at Goondiwindi. Even the joggers smile and say "hello"...now would THAT happen in Melbourne?
We enjoyed a bbq on the McIntyre River and fed sausages to shy magpies...love those birds.
Tomorrow we say "goodbye" to Queensland. When we cross the river just down the road, we enter NSW.  Down the highway to cooler days.

A 700km day ahead of us should be enough for day 1.
A second long day of similar distance should take us home.

Snowy? We must leave her in Goondiwindi to await the assessors decision.
We hope she can be fixed and returned to us.

Our days here have given us time to reflect upon the accident. It points out the importance of truck drivers doing their maintenance. We were lucky. When 65 litres of petrol gushes onto the highway as two heavy steel truck shoes bounce and ricochet underneath, things can certainly liven up. Lucky for us the result was subdued.....THANKS TO NOBBY, WE CERTAINLY HAVE THE LUCK OF THE IRISH.

Good Friends

Waiting

Good times are worth more than money any day
That's what I always say
Good friends are worth more than money in the bank
That's what I always say
That's what I always say.
     (Adam Brand)
Well, since the Irish folklore at Nobby
Where we wished for lots of luck
The chips fell down and by crikey mate
Bill could have nibbled old Nobby's nuts!
But, turning bad luck to good we remember
What treasures we have at our reach
Our family and friends who support us

Looking to Moololaba

Are better than any Sunshine Beach.

Fishing on the Maroochy River at sunset

Resident pelicans

We Are Family

Juris, Shirley, Deanna, Bill

We are family                                                     
I got all my sisters with me
We are family
Get up ev'rybody and sing.
    (Sister Sledge/The Pointer Sisters)

Well, I didn't have all my sisters.
Jackie was at home.

Into Brisbane town we drove
To see Deanna and Juris
We knew we'd have a mighty feast
As Deanna's cooking is purest.
Juris and Mark were away at first                      
They had a special event
A pug party! Oh, if it were missed 
Would not make Remus content.
That porky pug bounced into the room             
All happy for his morning romp
A cheery reunion by all accounts
Without any fuss or pomp.
Tis always good to see my sis                            
Talking non stop all the while
So much to say before we forget
Telling stories to make you smile.
2000km is a long way away
As Oz is a big big land
But when we're there it's always fun
Yes, a visit is always grand.
..........See ya next time sis...........

An English Country Garden

How many kinds of sweet flowers grow
In an English country garden?
We'll tell you now of some that we know           
Those we miss you'll surely pardon.
                         (Jimmy Rogers)

Bromeliads, orchids, ferns
Tis mainly what's on view
At this Open Garden Day
A visit to inspire you.

Sunshine, coffee, views...
....The Blackall Ranges again....

From a motel room in Goondiwindi                            
I sit and write a blog
With forlorn heart for a good mate down
I update this travelog.