Lillydale NSW

Day124 (Nov 17) to Day 145 (Dec 8) Lilydale Home sit.

The couple we were house sitting for cooked us dinner on the Saturday night before they left. A nice B-B-Q and some red wine to go with it. We got the low down on what they wanted us to do while they were away, mainly watering the plants and gardens around the house and feeding the 3 horses, cockatoo, rooster, chook, dog and cat. It didn't rain particularly badly that night but the next afternoon, at about the time we would have been arriving, it absolutely bucketed down so it would not have been much fun getting there and trying to get settled in. 

 

Our Home for 3 weeks

Looking back up to the owner's house

Inside

The Bed

 

The horses proved to be a bit of a challenge, there's 2 mares and an 18 month old female as well. The younger one was pretty frisky and you had to keep your wits about you when you went into the paddock to get the feed bins and check the water. 

The Horses

 The dog and cat were easy to look after, they even came down and stayed with us while we were there. There was also a Lace monitor wondering around, not huge but big enough that you had to keep an eye on it. Basil the cat would chase it if he saw it, never mind that it was about 4 times his size. He chased it into the shed one day and to be honest, I didn't think he would come out again, but he did. Normally the Lace Monitor would head up the nearest tree and hang out there until basil got bored waiting for it to come down.

Lace Monitor checking out the Garden

The place was off grid, the house had it's own solar panels as did the shed we were staying in and the workshop as well. We had a few times when the inverter in the shed we were staying in started beeping, I guess from low battery level but it wasn't too bad. We had an interesting shower and toilet to use, both outside although they did both have a roof and walls.

Shower

Loo with a view

The nearest town of any size was Grafton which was about 35km away. Could be quite congested traffic wise because from the south there is only a 2 lane bridge over the river in and out of town. There's a new one under construction but I was told that it is only 2 lane as well which seems a bit crazy!! We took the opportunity to change our drivers licences to NSW as well as the car and camper registration. It was a relatively painless exercise, although we did have to get both the car and camper inspected and get a Blue slip before we could get 3^rd party insurance. A good job to get done and nice to be able to get it done at a service centre that was quiet.
We didn't do too much in the way of exploring. We did a day trip to Yamba, which we'd been to before 

 and another one to Woolgoolga which we hadn't been to before. 

It seems like a nice place, we went up the coast a bit and had a look at the camping ground at Red Rock . That looks nice as well, with the surf one side and the Corindi River on the other, one to put on the list of possible places to visit for a few nights.

Three weeks was certainly long enough at the house sit and it was good to see the owners home again on Saturday the 8^th. We had dinner with them again, they'd bought us a bottle of scotch duty free which was nice of them.  Not too late a night, they were tired and we were on the road again tomorrow.

Coolamon to Lilydale

Day116 (Nov 9) Coolamon Caravan Park to Canowindra Showgrounds.

On the road by 10. Stopped at the Junee Chocolate and Liquorice factory which is in an old flour Mill and an interesting place. The gift shop is great and has some amazing things in it. 

Bought some chocolates, of course, and fuelled up at $1.459/ltr. Junee looks like a nice place and I think we might be back.

Stopped at a rest area for lunch, then through Young, Cootamundra and Cowra to Canowindra. The countryside looks much greener form Cowra on. Found the showgrounds and set up. 

No one else here so plenty of room. Amenities are adequate toilets and showers. Leftover spaghetti bolognaise for dinner. 255.8km travelled.

Day117 (Nov 10) Canowindra Showgrounds to Yeoval Showgrounds.

Stopped in town after packing up. No one came to collect any fees so a free camp which is nice. Stopped at Molong and had a wander through town and an ice cream. 

Followed the “Animals on Bikes” sculptures, some of them are very clever. Finally saw some eggs for sale at Cumnock so stopped and bought a dozen and had lunch at a park in town.

Carried on to Yeoval Showgrounds, set up by 3. Two other lots here, the amenities are new and very nice and the camping area is right beside the golf course so watched a few groups coming through. Caretaker came and collected the $15 fee about 5. Steak and salad for dinner. 160Km travelled.

Day118 (Nov 11) Yeoval Showgrounds to Willaree Park, Dubbo.

Lazy start to the day, a cooked breakfast before pack up. Stopped in town and went through the Banjo Patterson museum. A really interesting place and well worth the visit. 

Filled up with water at Wellington and stopped and did some shopping. Stopped for lunch a bit further on at Geurie and bought some cherries from a road side stall, which were very nice.

Got to Willaree park about 2:30. It's a private residence, a couple with 4 children on 30 acres that we found on the Grey Nomads site. $25/night, so not cheap considering it has no amenities but still cheaper than a caravan park and much nicer. Set up in a nice shady spot, the flies are pretty bad.

We've seen a home sit position in Grafton for 16^th Nov to 8^th Dec so we sent the people an email to see if it was still available. The lady rang back quite quickly and it is so we took it. Going to be looking after 3 horses and a dog and cat, plus a cockatoo and rooster which will be interesting. Peanut chicken for dinner. 102.6km travelled.

Day119 (Nov 12) Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo.

A day at the zoo. Well set up place where you can take your own car around or walk, or ride a bike or hire a golf cart. Did a bus tour through the lions enclosure, they were playing up apparently so no feeding. 

Listened to quite a few talks on the animals but couldn't do them all so we will come back tomorrow to do a couple that we never got to.

Had a nice chat to the kids after we got back and watched them on their flying fox. They are a lovely family and we are glad we decided to stay here, even though the flies are more than friendly. Leftover chow mien for dinner. 37.5km travelled.

Day120 (Nov 13) Willaree Park, Dubbo to western Plains Zoo, then Spring Ridge Showgrounds.

Breakfast and half a pack up, then back to the zoo to hear the talks on the Black Rhino and the Meerkats. 

Also had a look at the Asian Elephant calf and the giant tortoises.

Back to Willaree Park to finish pack up and on the road by 11:30. Stopped at Elong Elong for lunch, then at Dunedoo to use the dump point. Checked out the camp at Premer as well as the pub but the camp had a few in already and the pub didn't look all that appealing so we continued on to Spring Ridge. Set up in the shade at the showgrounds, only ones here so it will be a quiet night. 

Clean amenities and nice hot showers. Walked up to the pub for a beer, happy hour so good prices. Decided to stay for dinner and had a pizza as well as a couple more beers. Their clock must have stopped because the beers cost the same all night. 

Got back to cap and there were people playing tennis so we watched them while we had a red wine. 274.4 km travelled.

Day121 (Nov 14) Spring Ridge Showgrounds to Deanos Springwater Smoked Trout Farm.

Took our time this morning, checked out the golf course after breakfast, sand greens but looks OK and $4 green fees. We might have to do a tour with our golf clubs once we have settled in to Potato Point. There are some lovely towns with nice courses and I think it would be fun. Went down the highway as far as Willow Tree to have a look at the camp there. Beside the railway line but again a nice set up.

Took the New England Highway to Tamworth and had a wander around town. We decided to stop at the next town for lunch but there were roadworks right where we wanted to stop which was a bit tricky. Managed to find a place in the shade by the river though. Quite a hilly drive, bypassed Armidale and got to Deanos about 3. Turns out today is his 40^th birthday so he was in celebration mode. We are the only ones here and he let us set up right on the lake which was a very nice spot.

Caught some nice trout in the lake after set up using spinners, catch and release but if we catch a nice one tomorrow we might keep it and have it for dinner.

Deanos party was in the camp kitchen which was across the small lake from us and we listened to the music for a while before heading to bed. 

Sausages and sweet potato chips for dinner. 295.1km travelled.

Day122 (Nov 15) Deanos Springwater Smoked Trout Farm.

A nice fine day. Lots of fishing and relaxing. Caught a couple of nice ones and decided to keep one. Took it to Deano who gutted it for us and weighed it. 

Cost us $20 and we bought some of this smoked trout as well. 

Tried a squidgy after lunch and it worked really well, catching quite a few and a good size. Had the trout on the Ziggy for dinner, it just fitted in and not sure it was cooked quite enough. 0Km travelled.

Day123 (Nov 16) Deanos Springwater Smoked Trout Farm to Lilydale Home sit.

Caught a couple of smaller trout before breakfast. Packed up and on the road by 10. A great place to stop and we'd like to come back in a couple of years and see the progress that Deano has made with setting up his camp. He certainly has some good plans.

Stopped in Guyra for fuel, then through Glen Innes. The next bit of road was pretty up and down and going down out of the ranges was very steep! Pleased we were going down and not up, much better for the fuel consumption. Stopped for lunch just over the bridge from the Mann River caravan park for lunch. We were supposed to turn right here but the road had a sign say it was not suitable for caravans so we carried on and crossed the Clarence River further on and came back on the other side. Went through Copmanhurst to the Winegrove camping area, on the banks of the Clarence. There are quite a few others her and we found a nice spot to set up. We were relaxing a bit when a guy in a caravan who was set up just below us nearer the river came and told us a storm was on its way. Check out the radar on the BoM site and it certainly looked like it was heading right for us, so we decided to pack up and move on. Gave the house sit people a ring and they said it was fine to go there. Got a bit lost on the way, Mr Google had us on the wrong road but a couple of phone calls got us there OK eventually. We are going to be staying in a granny flat and it was a bit tricky backing the camper in but eventually got in by going down to low range.

Unhooked the camper and opened it up to get our clothes etc. out. This will be the first night for 122 that we won't be sleeping in the camper. Leftover chicken Penang for dinner. 180Km travelled.