Back on the road again.

Well we have finally made it back on the road again.  After leaving Alice Springs in November 2012, we arrived back in Brisbane to spend Christmas with family.  Australia Day 2013 saw Bundaberg inundated with it's worst flood ever.  As a result our unit in North Bundy went under. 
12 months later we are back to normal, whatever normal is.
We were caught in a hail storm whilst staying at Kurt's place, causing $26,000 damage to the van.  All fixed now so we are on the move again.
Friday 4 April we headed to Bundaberg to do a house sit until 14 April when we head towards Townsville for Easter.  Whilst in Bundy I was able to perform at the Bundaberg Country Music Club monthly play out.  It was good to catch up with some old friends again.
Looking forward to heading off again Monday morning.
Until next time.
Keep the rubber on the road
All the best
Colin & Helen
"Old Farts on Tour"  

On our way again.

Budrem house sit complete, we headed to the thriving metropolis of Brooloo, Qld, to visit an old friend. I must say that it was the hardest place I have ever had to set up our van and Helen was very concerned about how far from the ground the rear near side of the van ended up. We had a great stay with Kym and Jai, however, had to move on. Wednesday, 30 Mar 11, we camped up at the Cabulture Showgrounds for the night before moving on to Capalaba where we will have our van (on and off) until mid July. Acting on some bad information (or was it a bad April fools day joke) we attended Morgan and Wacker motorcycle shop for the pre release of the new 1600cc BMW. Upon arrival we we informed that the showing had been the previous evening. After speaking the Mark Wacker, we were given a private showing of the new bike. At only $39,000 on road, it is BMW's answer to the Honda Goldwing. Saturday saw us attend the Breakfast Creek Hotel where our kids had organised a surprise 60th birthday party for me. A great night was had by all. (will not need to buy any Bundy rum for a while as every one seemed to think that I was partial to a drop of the sugary liquid). Until next time. Regards Col & Helen Old Farts on Tour. Keep the shiny side up.

Still on the road

Well here we are again.
After spending Christmas in Ballarat, we headed to Kangaroo Valley, NSW, to house sit for seven weeks. What a lovely area of NSW. Located in the valley in the hinterland between Mossvale and Nowra, NSW, it is a bike riders dream place for a ride. No matter which way you intend to approach it from, you have a tight, winding and hilly road to travel before arriving in the village. Weekends are very busy with visitors dropping in for the day. The local pub does a roaring trade with meals.
The house we were sitting is located seven kilometres out of the village on the way to Tallowa Dam, on 20 acres of undulating lush green bushland. We were visited, at night, by wombats and kangaroos and occasionally by the odd red belly black snake.

We departed Kangaroo Valley on Sunday 20 Feb with the intention of staying at a free camp at Bendeela camp and picnic ground, however, we had time on our side so we continued out of the valley and onto the dreaded trek through Sydney.

Our first stop was at a wayside stop at Ourimbah, about 10 km south of Wyong. It was a popular overnight stop with vans, motor homes and camper vans everywhere. A late start on Monday morning saw us make our way to Bulahdelah where we stayed in the noisiest park I have ever been in. ( Mental note: don't stay there again). We continued next day to Clybucca, 20 ks north of Kempsey. Very clean truck stop with free camping. If you think of staying there, be aware, it is a truck stop and is busy 24 hrs per day. Wednesday we decided we needed a break for a couple of days, so we headed to Grafton where we camped at the Grafton Greyhound Racing Club Complex. Discount for CMCA members. The following day we found ourselves in a busy car park as the Greyhound races were scheduled for that day. Never having been to the greyhound races before, were strolled over to the track and had a great time. Friday morning were headed to Ballina to spend the weekend with the Ulysses RV Group. Spent time with old friends the left for QLD on Monday.

We set up camp at the Samford Show Grounds and was able to catch up with more friends before driving north to Budrem on Thursday to begin our house sit for the ensuing three and a half weeks.

Departure from Budrem is on Friday 25 March when we will head for Brooloo, Qld.

Until next time.

Keep smiling and don't forget:
Keep the shiny side up

Love to all

Helen & Col.
'Old Farts on Tour'

Ballarat at last

Hello again. We left Brisbane on Tuesday 16th Nov stopping over night at Coffs Harbour then Golbourn via Sydney. On Thursday we decided to head for Victoria not knowing just where to spend the night. As we approached Albury Helen asked about the wineries at Rutherglen as she had some fond memories of some "white port" from days gone bye. We located Morris's Winery, however, upon asking about their white port we were informed that it only came in 20 litre containers. A bit out of our league. Not to worry, a successful port tasting was had and bottles purchased. On leaving Morris's, we headed into the town of Rutherglen and successfully got lost. Thank heavens for the GPS. We punched in Ballarat and were directed back out on to the Freeway. With Melbourne in our sites, we decided to turn of at Seymore and find an alternate route to Ballarat. As we drove along some back rodes, Helen's faith in the GPS began to wain until we arrived in Daylesford, familiar territory at last. After 700 km for the day we arrived in sunny Ballarat.

After a couple of days rest the bike got it's chance to hit the road again. It had been almost four months since we had been on a ride and we were chaffing at the bit. Through Ballarat and out on the highway to Creswick where we checked out the old woolen mill before lunching at the Farmers Arms Hotel. A quiet ride back to Ballarat via Dean and out to Buninyong to visit some reatives before heading back to Mt Helen and dinner with mum.

That's about it for now.

Keep the shiny side up.

Col & Helen
'Old Farts on Tour'

Back in Brisbane (again)

After leaving the tranquility of Kangaroo Valley, we arrived in North Haven on Friday night 22 Oct, in preparation for the Ulysses RV club AGM on Saturday. The happy hour on Friday night was an eye opener, the amount of people present was amazing. We were told of a club member, believed to be in his 80's, who had stepped out of his van and broke both ankles. (Three plates and seven screws later). The club members from Mudgee organised for another club member to fly his plane up from Mudgee and bring a driver with him so as to be able to fly the patient and his wife back to Mudgee whilst leaving the other member to drive their rig home for them. That's what I call club comradeship.

Sunday morning after Saturdays AGM, we hit the road for Qld. After eight hours and a bit over 600 km, we arrived at Burpengary to yet another house sit. This time for a week, just to help out a mate who decided to go to Phuket (Thailand) at the last moment, for a holiday. Monday, 1st Nov, saw us back in Brisbane with our beloved Honda Goldwing. We had been without it for so long, thanks John for looking after it for us.

Another house sit, this time in Warner, a northern suburb of Brisbane. We are looking after two Long Legged Jack Russel Terriers who are spoilt to bits by their owners. This two weeks in Warner will allowed us to catch up with old friends and most importantly, with our kids. On completion of the sit, we will be headed for Ballarat to visit family and spend Christmass with Mum.

That's about it for now.

Love to all.

Don't for get to "keep the shiny bits up".

All the best.

Helen and Col.
"Old Farts on Tour".

Narrabri still.

Our one night stop in Narrabri extended out to two nights. After severe storms over night combined with gale force winds, we were lucky enough to have sprung a leak in the roof. We checked out various avenues for van servicing or repairs but had many a door slammed shut in our face. Nobody was interested in helping us with our problem. After talking to the manager of a van park, she pointed us towards a motor body repair shop. They spent about two hours checking things out to end up with them securing black plastic over the effected area. Cost, a massive $30. Apart from that, no assistance anywhere else. Friday night saw us still in Narrabri laying in bed listening to the heavy rain wondering if the plastic would do its job. Saturday morning we woke to a nice sunny day and still dry in the van so we headed to Dubbo. Great day for the drive even though it was bloody cold over night. We camped next to a lovely couple who had a small (14 ft) Jayco Freedom whiched the used for sleeping and storage. They still liked the idea of camping out, so all the cooking and eating was done outside.
Sunday we took off for Forbes. Changed our minds after stopping at the Radio Telescope in Parkes for a break. We diverted to Cowra for the night. The van park is owned by a Queensland family and was very well looked after. We spent the evening sitting arround a camp fire with some other travellers, swapping lies and stories, and having a few drinks. Monday we moved on to Bungendore where we camped out of town in the very depressing show grounds. We previously had asked at the council offices in town for assistance in where we could camp and were basically told that if we camped anywhere but the showgrounds the police would be required to move us on. Another place NOT to stay again.
Tuesday awoke to a beautiful day as we headed for Ulladulla. We ste up camp in a beachside van park and the strolled down to the boat ramp. Threw a line in but the fish weren't playing the game. Not even a bite. Ulladulla is a lovely little beach town which has still to be invaded by the hob-nobs from Sydney.
Wednesday, the final leg of this van trip. We arrived in Nowra and immeadiately knew that we were getting close to Sydney. The traffic was very anoying and heavy. We placed our van in storage to have some work done on it i.e. service and check out the area of the water leak.
Late afternoon saw us laying up at a lovely little homestead in Kangaroo Valley which is owned by my cousin Jill. It is on 8 acres and about 7 km from the actual village. The property has its resident group of kangaroos and wombats and numerous variety of bird life. Unfortunately we are only here until Friday as we have to be in North Haven on Friday night. We will, however, be returning here at the end of December for a house-sit until mid February.

I think I have waffled enough for now so remember to keep the shiny side up and stae safe.

Until next time.

All the best

Helen & Col.

Hi All

Well we are on the move again. After a great couple of weeks house sitting we moved back to friends in Bundaberg proper and had 170 watts of solar and a second battery fitted to the van. This will help us be self sufficient when we 'free camp'.
We left Bundy on Tuesday and made our way to Kingaroy for the night. Wednesday saw us arrive in Bogabilla, NSW, where we stayed in a dodgy, but clean, van park. We were camped near and elderly gent who has been there for the past 16 years. Today, Thursday, was a relatively short drive to Narrabri where we have set up camp in the Show Grounds. I think we need to upgrade our vehicle to something a bit heavier and with a bit more grunt. The Landrover is doing a great job, however, the fuel consumption has sky rocketed due to the van. We have gone from about 800km per tank to roughly 500km per tank.

Thaks about it for now.

Stay safe

Col & Helen.