Year off around Australia

Arrive here in time for Helen and her gorgeous young daughter Pippa, to give us a very warm welcome, and show us where we can park our caravan. Then tell us to stay in their Brucedale Cottage, before they have to leave at 2.30pm to collect Hudson from school. While they're off doing this, Roger and I settle ourselves into the cottage. What a magnificent set up Helen and Ben have here with this property. Helen and the children return, and show us about their home - everything is spacious and gorgeous. A huge 5 bedroom house with plenty of living spaces. Ben arrives home from work to take Hudson to footy practice, and Roger happily goes too. Helen kindly let's me go off to the cottage for a relax, while she gets on with her day - and spoiling us with dinner. While at the cottage, I check my emails and I'm very happy to have received confirmation that my request for extended LWOP has been granted. When the fellas return from Hudson's footy practice I head back to the main house to join them all. We have a lovely evening in the company of the Woodhouse family, Ben and Helen feed us a lovely tea - BBQ steaks, chops and sausages with roast potatoes and a chopped salad. We enjoy a cuppa before returning to the cottage. Roger has a shower and heads to bed, I'm writing this up, and then I'll be to bed too.
16/05/25 Friday. Roger gets up first, 7am....I sleep in to closer to 8am. I get up and make my breakfast - Roger has had his and gone over to the main house. This cottage is fully set up - and includes a washing machine out in the garage, so I get our 1st load of washing going before I have a shower. Roger has returned, he tells me there was fun and games getting Hudson to the bus stop this morning - the mode of transport to get there (a children's quad bike/car?) ran out of battery along the way - not sure exact story, how this was rectified - but Hudson did catch the bus! Ben left for Melbourne early this morning - going on a shoot somewhere (quail) and won't be home until tomorrow night. Helen is offering to take Rog and I for a drive about in Wagga Wagga - show us their workplace, and go do some grocery shopping. We're happy to do that, so off the 4 of us go - Pippa too of course - in Helen's lovely Prado at around 10am. Before we left, I got the 2nd load of washing going and Roger's hung the 1st load out on the line to dry. We return in time for lunch 12.30pm. Helen and Pippa go do their usual routine with their lunch and Pippa's nap time, while Rog and I come back to the cottage. I get the 1st load of washing off the line, then hang out the 2nd, before making open toasties for my lunch. Roger has made himself a meat and salad sandwich. We enjoy these outside at the table under the veranda. We tidy up and relax for a while. Roger disappears back over to the main house - he ends up staying with Pippa (still napping) while Helen goes and gets Hudson, on the after school pickup. In this time, our 2nd load of washing has dried, so I've brought it in and folded and put it away in the caravan.
Helen has invited us to go checkout Wagga Wagga's main playground and river beach area with her and the kids - we happily do this. Get back in for tea. Helen continues to spoil us - we have her homemade lasagne with a salad for tea. Enjoy the evening over in the main house with Helen, Hudson and Pippa, relaxing, chatting - while the kids play on their ipads after their shower. Roger and I return to the cottage to let Helen put the kids to bed, and have her time to herself.
Roger has his shower and heads to bed - I sit up and watch TV - a Netflix movie 'Nonna's' - which I really enjoy (based on a true story of an Italian restaurant). Now to write this up and go to bed.
17/05/25 Saturday. Roger is up first, I get up at 7.30am. Have breakfast - then go for a walk - beautiful morning.
Return, and have a shower and get ready to go with Rog for a drive into Wagga Wagga for a look around.
Return around 2.30pm - I finish off (reheat) the remainder of my takeaway Chinese lunch. Helen and Hudson call in at the cottage while Pippa is having her afternoon nap. Roger goes out with them to light a small campfire to toast some marshmallows. I remain at the cottage and get my Thermomix to make a batch of Anzac biscuits. While these are cooking, I get a call from Barb - great to have a catch up - Barb in Darwin with her granddaughter Kya, very sad to hear that Adrian is having a tough time with some 'set backs' in his stroke recovery - I'm trying to get a handle on the long time with Rehab, it's so much more involved than just that! As Barb explained, he's got to get well enough to be able to even start on that journey....fingers crossed that his care providers are 'on to it' and Adrian starts feeling better soon. After this call (biscuits over cooked - they'll be right), I go and join Roger over at the main house. Helen has cheese and nibbles on the go - while cooking up the pork from Aldi we got today, along with some fried rice. Have another lovely meal and evening with Helen and kids, before we head back to the cottage so they can continue with their night time routine.
Roger has his shower and goes to bed to read for a while, I'm writing this up before I head to bed too.
18/05/25 Sunday. We get up just after 7am. We want to be ready by 8.15am to go to Hudson's Auskick morning, following Ben and Helen and family to get there. We have our breakfast, I have a shower and tidy up and get organised to go. We're set on time - and convoy with Woodhouse's to North Wagga Wagga Recreation ground.
After Auskick has finished, we drive in convoy again to the Botanical Gardens. To spend some lovely 'family time'. The day is cool but fine.
We return to Ben and Helen's in time for lunch. Helen invites us to their main house to enjoy eating lovely 'leftovers' for lunch. Roger and I more than happy to accept. Lasagne and fried rice for me, cold pork and salad sandwiches for Roger. Helen's intending to go for a walk when Pippa has her afternoon nap - I'm more than happy to keep her company on this walk. Helen comes over to the cottage to collect me when she's ready (Pippa to bed, washing hung out and general tidy up), I get changed and hang out a load of washing we've done too. Have a beaut 8km walk, return to let Helen get on with her routines- while I catch up with our budget books and spending app. Then I decide to bake a batch of yoyo biscuits - I make mini ones, thinking of the kids. Roger has spent his afternoon with Ben and Huddy, he put our ute up on Ben's vehicle hoist to check a noise coming from a back wheel. To discover the ute needs some repairs - a spring has come off within the wheel casing and bits and pieces are rattling around! Thank goodness - realised before we hooked up our caravan to leave in the morning! Ben contacts their mechanic - he will have a look at our ute 8am tomorrow - how lucky 🤞 The boys light a fire in the outside fire pit - friends of Ben's turn up returning Ben's wood splitter they borrowed, so a few drinks enjoyed around the fire - and extra children around as well for Huddy and Pippa to play with. After the friends leave - it's dinner time. As usual, Helen is spoiling us, having us over for another meal. Ben cooks up chops to go with the yummy salads Helen has made (a pumpkin one I really like!). We have another lovely evening there, and retire to our cottage when it's time for the kids to head to bed - leave Helen and Ben to do what they need to do, to get ready for the working/school day coming up tomorrow.
Once back at the cottage, Roger goes has his shower, and I ice the yoyo biscuits together - will leave these as part of our 'Thank you' gift. Relaxing before bed - I put on the 'Nonna's' movie for Rog to watch, while I tidy up and write this up. Bedtime next.
19/05/25 Monday Roger's up before 7am to be ready and organised to have the ute into Ben's mechanic by 8am. I get up as well to take this opportunity to go for a run. I do a 6km route along the nearby gravel roads. When I return and start to prepare my breakfast I get a call from Roger, the mechanic suggests that we stay another night, it may take some time to track down the part that is required. I call Helen to let her know we'd like to stay another night (so lucky this is happening while we're here) - not a worry, stay as long as we like/need, and Helen offers to pick up Roger when she goes into town shortly. Wonderful. I now settle to a leisurely breakfast, followed by a shower. Roger has returned, and we happily plod around tidying after ourselves to insure when we do finally leave, that we're leaving this lovely cottage in good order. Roger tells me Helen has now got jelly (I offered to make a jelly slice - but neither of us had jelly lol) so I go over to the main house to collect the ingredients I need - including a slice container- to make one for Huddy and family. I also offer to cook dinner tonight - Thermomix creamy tomato and chorizo pasta. I've taken over our Thank you gifts as well - card, Junee licorice and chocolates gift pack, Hearts card game and the mini yoyos. I return and get into making the jelly slice. Lunch today is leftover chops and sausages that Helen has given to us to use up. I get a load of washing done - good day for line drying too. Roger has been helping, on duty with Pippa's afternoon nap, so Helen can go and collect Huddy from school without waking her. Roger has been contacted by the mechanic dealing with our ute - it's all good to go again, so we'll be back on track to leave tomorrow. Ben gets home from work, with a small excavator on a trailer, which he unloads and puts to work doing some trench work re their new pool set up. We all get together at the main house to have drinks, cheese and biscuits. Time has got away from me (indecisive on my timing grrrr) and Helen let's me off the hook on dinner. Such a beaut hostess - gets the kids some pasta cooked, and organises T-bone steaks (Ben cooks perfectly on their BBQ) served with steamed vegetables. We barely have room to eat any veg - the steaks are huge. Now the routine of the kids having showers, we help tidy up, then have cuppas. When it comes to Hudson and Pippas bedtime we say our goodbyes, so their family can do what they need to do. Back at the cottage, Roger has his shower, then we watch a Netflix movie The Dig - not bad. Roger goes to bed, I'm relaxing writing this up, then bedtime for me too.
20/05/25 Tuesday We're both awake so we get up around 7am. All systems go for heading off this morning - so while getting breakfast we're onto tidying up Brucedale Cottage so we don't leave a trace that we've been - so cottage ready for next guests. I've stripped the bed and remade with clean sheets. Helen, Hudson and Pippa call in to say goodbyes before Huddy goes to school, Pippa to daycare and Helen to work. Such a gorgeous trio! After they've left, I finish my breakfast and go have a shower. Once dressed, get stuck into helping Roger with cleaning to leave the cottage as spick and span as we can - it was lovely when we arrived so want to leave it the same or better! We are underway at 9.30am.Read more