Australia zoo

When Carol suggested for us girls to spend a day out at the Australia Zoo I wasn't really keen, we've seen the croc shows at Hartley's and at the Tropical Zoo, you cant get much better than that, also have done Dubbo zoo and Melbourne and Adelaide Zoos so, you know, what would be different here?
I am so glad we went, WOW.  I don't think we went past any enclosure where a handler wasn't in there hands  on with these wonderful animals, whether it was patting the rhinos ( a new born in there) or changing the the leaves for the giraffes and zebras, walking the cheetah, or cleaning up after the dingoes and wombats, everyone was so hands on and so passionate about what the zoo was about, conservation of these endangered species.

The Girls were doing it for themselves.

NSW was a new challenge, Les flew home from Merimbula for work commitments and it was up to the girls and I to tow the van home.  Les and I have always taken turns in driving with the van so I wasn't concerned with the towing or parking, but being such a heavy caravan I'm not confident in un hitching or re hitching, so with a bit of forward booking to drive-through sites so no unhitching had to take place, Northwards we headed.


Camp site at Nowra.
First stop

Hampden Bridge, Kangaroo Valley

Site seeing was near impossible with a caravan on the back but never the less what a great time we all had.  The girls were able to play their music at full bore, 1D, Abba, anything Les wouldn't normally tolerate, even a bit of Robbie Williams:)

The last time I drove up this coast  was 25 years before hand, most of it is unrecognisable. Batemans Bay a sleepy fishing town no longer, and Coffs Harbour has a major shopping centre on the 2 lane highway passing through.















Kempsie  and Yamba were lovely spots, still small towns compared to the others, I considered taking the girls to Nimbin but thought twice about it and just kept heading North. Jessica's navigating skills were excellent as she directed me through the Sydney motorways and into the Parks each night.

 

There are so many places we need to revisit. Next time.  Kangaroo Valley along the Nowra to Moss Vale Road is one such spot, with Australia's oldest suspension bridge, also enjoyed Narooma and Yamba and  would love to have a better look around there.

 It took us a week until we arrived at our very good friends, David and Carols's new place in Benarkin, just west of Brisbane, near Blackbutt

It was great to see them both again, its only been 18 months since they had left Cairns, so a few catch up drinks had to be had.

From here I  drove into brisbane to pick up Les, who has flown back down to us to complete the final run home.  The end of our adventure is nearing.

 

 

From Snow to Coast

-8 degrees Brrr..   Enough of that, we had icicles instead of condensation on the ceiling, We're out of there.
Have to say it was really pretty to wake up to see all the trees and scrub glistening with ice.

It is time to hit the coast and blow this chilly weather, Merimbula here we come.
Les' sister and brother in-law Keith manage the Beachfront Units on Ocean Dve in Merimbula so the caravan park across the road was perfect for us to set up camp.
It has been too long since seeing Trisha and Keith and it was fantastic to catch up over a few drinks and home cooked meals, Thanks guys.  Les' Mum and Dad also made the trek up from Melbourne so we got to see Nanna and pop again too.
As first time Merimbula visitors, it was beautiful, what a unique seaside community, surrounded by waterways.