The Winter Holiday - the last bit (Lots of Photos)

I had attempted to get the other posts to publish on various dates but obviously I didn't do it properly and so they had to be published the last couple of days when I realised what had happened.  I also thought I had already completed this post ...... apparently not lol so here is the quick run down.  We spent 5 days at Copeton Dam with friends who live just down the road from us.  While the men went out fishing during the day - Deb and I took Lucy and Bella on various walking adventures..........

Lucy & Bella

Wild Goats - We also got to see wild deer and a wild pig

After our long morning walks and rambles through the bush - rest time (play time) was the agenda

Using the tennis court as a lead free zone!

Pete and Dave after another hard day fishing on the dam with no fish!   Evening camp fire was a must and a few evening meals shared before bedtime

Morning!!!

Soooooo many Kangaroos everywhere - Dogs had to be on the leads all the time unless in the little yard at the cabin (or the tennis court we found and used a lead free zone)

And this was how many of our walks went ...... getting huge prickles out of paws/ tails/ fur!! From the below Prickly Pear and below further a most awful looking prickle bush

A great 5 days and then it was time to pack up and go our separate ways ..... we headed to Nundle where I was looking to do the Woollen Mill tour.......

Lots of Solar Farms around the area with solar panels stretching as far as the eye could see in some places

Nundle Working Woollen Mill - the machines are over a hundred years old

Above is the dying area with a close up below

Then onto the cones and into balls ready for selling

13 people died in an aircrash in the area and a memorial is in the park

We stayed in Nundle overnight and then headed to Mudgee the next morning.  A big Cotton Growing Area on the way

I love the look of cotton all fluffy white rolled up into coloured bales lol

Its a little hard to read - but we kept passing signs for Coonabarabran turn offs and I couldn't help but message Chooky to let her know we were passing signs that go within a relatively close area to her lol

 We were meant to be staying in Mudgee for a couple of nights but heavy non stop rain ended up changing our plans and after Mudgee we headed straight for home to try avoiding getting caught in flooded areas.  It was only a couple of hours drive from Nundle to Mudgee and rather a nice drive.

I managed to have a quick catchup with a friend - Lynne - from the 50+ group who lives in Mudgee. It was great to finally meet in person after all these years!  The coffee shop we went to was an old chemist building ....

The cabin at the Mudgee Caravan Park catered well for dogs - even providing a bed inside for them.

This place states it is the home of the "Black Stump" - Coolah 

The trip home was just a tad longer (about 7-8 hours) but we did it in the one day and were pleased to get back home again.  Hopefully you've enjoyed seeing some of the photos.  I had originally planned to do blog posts as we trekked from town to town - clearly that didn't work lol - till next time xo

The Winter Holiday Part 2 - Nambucca Heads to "oh Dear"

 

From Tuncurry we were Heading to Nambucca Heads ...... just 2-3 hrs drive north.  We had been discussing the issues with the Ute which during Day 2 of our travels indicated a decided slowing down when we came to any hills and given all we went through 3 yrs ago with it, decided that once our holiday was over we would sell it and get something else ....... Thus began Pete researching on his phone and calling in at the car yard in Tuncurry to have a look ........  We left Tuncurry driving into better and warmer weather ........            This was our view from our fabulous cabin which had its own separate bedroom, roomy bathroom, lounge, kitchen and this

great deck to sit out on and enjoy the sunshine.  Just to the right of where Pete is standing was a track up to the rock wall.  Whilst you can't access the beach from the rock wall, it does have a walking path that takes you right along the water with a couple of cafes to stop and get coffee on early morning walks which Lucy and I enjoyed. At night you could hear the waves crashing up against the wall ...... I ventured up for a walk and it was rather an eerie feeling with the water flying up over the wall in parts and so dark you could barely see out into the ocean ..... I managed to get a night time photo which I really love with the moon shining down 

Sunset from the  cabin deck which shows all the other cabins around the lake - you can see the park map from my strava walking map

We really enjoyed Nambucca Heads and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at one of the cafes after a morning walk looking for "just the right menu" for Pete who enjoys the old fashioned Bacon & Eggs

And yes ....... I managed to eat all 3 pancakes (minus a little of one for Lucy lol) YUMMY!!!!
I really enjoyed our time at Nambucca Heads and I would go back there for a holiday in a heart beat!!!

On the flip side we had continued discussions about the Ute - by this stage we had been checking out what utes were around the caravan parks and on the highways, what they were towing and how well and Pete had been making multiple phone calls.  We decided it was pointless continuing another 2000kms of travelling up to Queensland and back with the possibility of getting stuck up there.  We cancelled our time in Byron Bay and further north deciding to head home and then re establish the holiday picking it back up at Copeton Dam where we were planning to meet other friends. We made a long haul to Holbrook staying overnight so we could start fresh the next day looking at car yards from Albury, Wodonga and Wangaratta before heading back home. 

It was a long drive and by the time we got over the bridge near the  Newcastle bypass Lucy had had enough and spent from not long after here until around Goulburn sitting with her back to us lol 

Nothing was going to persuade her to turn around until I mentioned we would have a stop shortly lol

In Wangaratta at the Ford Dealership we finally found what we were looking for - and for a pretty good turn over.  Its a 2020 Ford Ranger Wildtrek and they were going to be able to have it serviced, and registered within a week!  Bonus - since it had to be registered in NSW the pick up was here in Corowa!  Bonus!!!

So we spent the next 10 days catching up on things here at home, swapping over the vehicles, unpacking and repacking for the 2nd part of the holiday - working on some labels for my products, visiting dad and FREEZING in the cold weather that was still here and felt so much worse after the T-shirt wearing weather of Nambucca Heads lol