DUBBO To SYDNEY 29/6 to 24/8

DUBBO TO SYDNEY - 30/6/2016 to 24/8/2016

Departing Dubbo, we drove through green farming country on our way to Bathurst where we arrived in the early afternoon and set up at the camping area within the showgrounds near the centre of town. We then headed off for a drive up and around Mount Panorama motor racing track. There are great views of Bathurst and the surrounding countryside from the top of the mountain and the road surface is the smoothest you could ever drive on. Admittedly, a lot of money has been spent keeping it in tip-top condition for the racing. It is extremely steep in places (much steeper than it looks on TV) and the corners are tight. Needless to say Frank enjoyed his drive and even turned and did it in the reverse direction to that of the race. That evening we treated ourselves to dinner at the local RSL to celebrate Frank’s birthday.

The following day we set off for the drive to Katoomba via Lithgow. The road was quite steep in places with roadworks happening in various locations. The views of the mountains and valleys were very picturesque. We checked into Katoomba caravan park in the early afternoon and then went for a walk to a lookout, the cascades waterfall and around the escarpment to the Three Sisters lookout where the view was spectacular as the sun was beginning to set. The wind was extremely cold but didn’t seem to deter the busloads of Japanese tourists who were also enjoying the scenery.

The overnight temperatures had been so cold for the past week or so (sometimes below zero) that we decided not to hang around in the high country any longer and hightailed it to Sydney, arriving at the Lane Cove River Tourist Park which is situated within the National Park at North Ryde. We enjoyed a couple of walks in the National Park with tracks following the very pretty river. This would be home for the next few weeks as we awaited the arrival of Janette & Richard’s baby. We managed to spend a week down at Wollongong visiting friends just before Olivia’s arrival, then towed the van back to Lane Cove on the day that she was born. During our time in Sydney we managed to spend a couple of days sightseeing. One day we spent at Darling Harbour and the National Maritime Museum where we looked over some Naval vessels and the replica of the Endeavour which was fitted out as she would have been when Cook sailed in her. We also enjoyed a tour of the Opera House and a ferry trip to Manly and walk to Shelley beach. Most of our time over the next month or so was spent at Janette & Richard’s place in Bondi helping out and enjoying lots of cuddles with our beautiful new grand-daughter, Olivia.

We left Sydney on 20th August and drove to Wollongong for another visit with friends before heading home, spending a night at Holbrook and arriving home on 24th August.

All in all we had enjoyed another great trip to outback Australia and were extremely lucky to have made it to all the places we’d planned despite the rain and road closures which we managed to avoid most of the time. We then enjoyed the added bonus of welcoming our grand-daughter Olivia into the world in Sydney.Read more