Merry Christmas from My First Housesit

This is my penultimate day, housesitting in glorious green Conondale, a rural setting in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.  I've also been dog sitting, chook sitting and (more stressfully) pregnant heifer sitting.  But more of that later.  Housesitting has been something I'd used but hadn't considered doing myself until I realised that it would be quite a comfortable way to explore different places.  And as a first housesit, this has been relatively easy although I had to leave Maggie at my brother's in Brisbane since one of the dogs was labeled as aggressive.  And as a bonus, the Dunlops are just up? down? the road in Maleny.  Win win!

The property is a stud for Lowline Black Angus.  I'd never heard of these before but basically it means black angus with very short legs.  They are VERY pretty cows and since many of them are show cows, they are incredibly friendly and affectionate.  Most afternoons, I spend some time scratching their backs and when I stop they try to lean on me for more.  They have the biggest eyes and eyelashes and, according to the book Australian Lowline, they are meant to look girly ... they do!

Syl, Rhythm & Radiance (Shhh ... Rhythm is my favourite)

Unfortunately for the owner, Tracey, her holiday was poorly timed with 9 cows yet to calve, three of them heifers.  So I have the rather frightening duty of checking up on everyone at least twice a day.  The heifers have been moved into a paddock near the house since they are the ones who might have trouble (a calf got stuck and died the day before I arrived).  They were too young to be in calf but the bull jumped the fence and ...

The butcher birds - letting me know it's time for their breakfast

The dogs are Maggie, an old roo dog, and Luna who is a young loopy kelpie ... hyperactive, ball-mad, scatterbrained but loveable.  Not aggressive at all.  But I'm glad I didn't bring Maggie since she is VERY comfortable being spoiled and cosseted at Simon's.

Aleera and Maggie - yin and yang

So my days have a routine: check on cows, walk dogs, feed dogs, feed chooks, feed butcher birds/magpies/parrots, drink coffee, drink more coffee, read a book, go for another walk, check cows, get bored so weed the garden, drink another coffee, etc.  Whoops! I was nearly forgetting the collection of avocados, macadamia nuts and eggs.

I don't think I could do this housesitting for a long period of time unless there was more to do - a week or so is perfect but longer could become tedious.  I now understand why so many housesitters are working from home - they can fill their days.  It's different when it's your own home since there are always projects on the go so you are always busy.  But I am getting out and about, exploring some walks and taking in some beautiful views.  However, this is my third visit to the area in the last six months so there's not much that is new.  Perhaps that is the secret of good housesitting - new places, new experiences.

So I hope you all have a lovely Christmas holiday and that the threatened heatwave in Victoria isn't too bad. I'm going to Brisbane for a few days before dodging potholes on the way home.  I've heard the roads inland are dreadful!

I think that look is "Come and rescue me ... NOW!"

2000 plus kilometres later ...

Today, I arrived in Brisbane!  Phew!  It seems a much longer distance when you aren't taking your time but travelling to a schedule (the dentist's and mine).  The appalling road conditions might also have something to do with making some of the driving quite tedious and yet tense.  I'm really not sure how NSW is going to be able to afford to fix all the massive pot-holes and destroyed surfaces ... they are trying, and the ensuing endless roadworks also tended to take some of the shine off the trip.  So I haven't been doing the diversions and unplanned stops that I usually enjoy and C-roads (if they are open) are out of the question!  

I shopped up big in the Cobargo - the ice cream was a must (the christmas pudding flavour was my favourite), thanks for the recommendation, Jenny Dunlop - and then Maggie and I explored the streets, made all the more colourful and cheerful by the art on all the power poles.  The local artists had got together with the Cobargo version of Made in Mansfield to decorate each pole with something positive - many paintings had a storyline of rebirth and community.

And then it was off to the coast to Mollymook to visit Merran and Warren who were housesitting at Fisherman's Paradise (Warren says this is NOT the right name since he doesn't seem to be catching any fish).  I had booked into a caravan park in Mollymook which ended up being quite awful (due to the swearing, fighting and frightening neighbours) so I stealth camped out the front of Merran's place.  Maggie, of course, was in heaven!  Beaches, balls (only into the water - remember, she has a bad back), sand and more beaches.  Her fur has turned even curlier from all the salt water.

We all went out to Bendalong Beach, which is a favourite place of the two dogs, Jasper and Milo, that Merran and Warren are looking after.  Apart from a beautiful beach, there were big stingrays in the shallows.  Merran said they wait there for the fishermen to clean their catch.  Unfortunately, they weren't coming in too close and the water was a bit murky but Merran has some amazing footage of them ... it's worth Googling.

Beach? Now? You really don't need that cuppa!

Jasper, Merran & Milo

Then I started on my marathon drive, into the Blue Mountains, around Sydney, up through Singleton and onto the New England highway.  I loved some of the names ... Aberdeen, Scone, Willow Tree ... as I trundled past.  I was also enjoying finding some delightful free camps - the camp behind the Royal Hotel in Murrurundi was made even better by the huge Christmas market, free music and massive schnitzel for dinner.

The Royal Hotel in Murrurundi was established in 1863 and was a Cobb & Co staging post.

I did a little detour to Werris Creek to visit the Railway Museum (closed) but discovered a rather beautiful monument to the more than 2000 workers who had died on the railways since the 1850s.  There were six impressive sculptures and an honour board with the names and occupations of the dead.  It was a very moving place.  There was also a plaque commemorating Ben Chifley, who was an engineman on the railways for 26 years before entering politics.  There were two quotes from him on the memorial.  I would hope that all present politicians also believed in these words.

The Light on the Hill

"I try to think of the Labour movement, not as putting an extra sixpence into somebody's pocket, or making somebody Prime Minister or Premier, but as a movement bringing something better to the people, better standards of living, greater happiness to the mass of the people.  We have a great objective - the light on the hill - which we aim to reach by working for the betterment of mankind not only here but anywhere we might give a helping hand.  If it were not for that, the Labour movement would not be worth fighting for ...

Silo art at Quirindi

Then more and more driving until I got to near Warwick, finding another free camp out the back of Sandy Creek pub.  I chatted with the other campers (well, I listened ... a lot) and then settled down for a quiet night when a HUGE thunderstorm hit the van.  Thunder and lightning, very very frightening!  The van rocked in the gale and Maggie and I cowered in bed as the huge raindrops hammered the roof.  In the morning, surrounded by water, I discovered my chipped windscreen was now a cracked windscreen.  Oh well.  Sigh!

So I'm in Brisbane.  I've organised a new windscreen, confirmed the dentist and have plans to spring clean the van.  For some reason, it's full of sand!

We found the dog beach in Brisbane ... more sand!

Back in the van & going North

After a hectic couple of weeks working on the Early Voting booth, it was with a sense of relief that I packed the van and set off on this trip that has a variety of purposes.  Firstly, it was to go to Bairnsdale and help friends Phil and Liz celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.  Then I planned to visit friends, either living or working along the NSW coast before heading to the Sunshine Coast hinterland to do my first ever housesit.  And let's not forget Christmas with brother Simon and family.  A month of delight!

BUT ... I probably should have packed with more care, forgetting warm clothes (it has been quite cold!), the Christmas and anniversary presents, various toiletries and (shock! horror!) Maggie's food.

AND ... I hadn't travelled more than 100 km when a truck threw up a stone and chipped my windscreen.

THEN ... I stopped to get some lunch and coffee, bought a sausage roll and promptly broke a tooth.

I'll spare you the list of dentists I've approached.  Let's just say, they don't have any available slots until January./February ... April OR they're not taking any new patients OR they have Covid.  I've finally found a dentist in Brisbane who can fit me in and, in the meantime, little bits of tooth occasionally add some crunch to my meals.  Strangely, I'm starting to eat a lot of soup! 

The anniversary party was great and Maggie enjoyed (a) the attention, (b) the food and (c) the sight of three enormous cats.  But then we were off to Cape Conran for a night before joining Phil & Liz and George & Ruth at Bemm River.

Campsite 86 at Cape Conran

Bemm River is where I discovered I hadn't packed enough warm clothes - my! it was cold!  We lit fires and I walked briskly ... a lot! ... but it was still cold.  The lake had recovered from the blue-green algal bloom but there were rather unattractive growths in the water and a very unpleasant smell.  I'm not sure I'd be happy eating fish caught there.  But that didn't come into the equation because the pub was shut and the shop had bait and lures and all things fishing ... but not fish.

Maggie meets pelicans

An incredible number of black swans on the lake

We went out to Pearl Point where there was a beautiful long sandy beach, crashing waves and various bits of fauna and flotsam and an appalling amount of plastics.  In a very short time, we had filled Liz's rubbish bag with bottle tops, broken bits of plastic and foam and discarded fishing line - and all in 100 metres of beach.  Shame, humans, shame!

A pregnant (male?) seahorse

But time to move on.  This morning, we all packed up and left Bemm River ... Phil & Liz returning to Bairnsdale, George & Ruth back to Canberra and I have hit the road, making it as far as the free camp at the back of the Cobargo pub.  The place is heaving (it's Bingo night) so Maggie and I will take it quietly.  Off to Mollymook tomorrow!

The Cobargo Op Shop (unfortunately closed) but I did manage to go to the butchers (bones for Maggie) and the 2nd hand book shop.  Tomorrow ... bakery and shop.

The Mundi Mundi Bash!

What a great festival!  I have now been to my first bash and have experienced the interesting phenomenon of a campsite holding 9000 people, probably 500 dogs, every version of camper or caravan ever made and some of the most lethal prickles I (or rather Maggie May) have ever encountered.  Hence the embarrassing boots ... everyone was wearing them ... which she came to appreciate!  In fact, she was very reluctant to head off on a walk without them.  Carolyn Jerome (in the Yellow Peril) and I (I had even bought Van Morrison lights to make him more jazzy) joined the queue into the Mundiville campsite on Wednesday, 17th August.  It was surprising efficient with volunteers directing us to the dog section and our enormous site.

The campsite was huge!  There were streets and paths and composting toilets on many corners.  Then down to the plaza where there were food stalls, information booths, artists and (most importantly) the Merch tent!  I planned to spend a bit of money on the merch ... merchandise for those a bit confused.  

The first night, we took our chairs down to the stage area and watched the movie Paper Planes before the ABBA tribute band, Bjorn Again, rocked us.  It was a gentle introduction to the next three days with a few lessons.  Firstly, saying "we'll find you" to Robyn and Simon Price was just plain ridiculous!  Secondly, location, location, location!  We were in Row 5 and had a great view as well as good sound.  So that's where we ended up for the rest of the bash ... it might have taken some queuing to get 'our' spot and maybe a bit of a dash across the concert area, but it was worth it.

I could go through the lineup band by band, listing and critiquing each performer, but let's just introduce some favourites and some new (well, new to me) ones.  The very first band on Thursday was Leroy Johnson & the Waterbag Band, which wowed me with their combination of double bass, didgeridoo and great harmonies, blending traditional music with a bit of country.  Then Ash Grunwald was a dynamic favourite before the talented and very musical Busby Marou.  Unfortunately Richard Clapton hadn't realised that he REALLY should have retired years ago but who cares ... because the last act of the day was Midnight Oil ... and they were FANTASTIC!  Let's just leave it at that.

Unfortunately, the Eurogliders were just awful, as predicted by my new friend in the mosh pit the previous night.  He also told me to look out for Joe Camilleri's teeth ... they are perfect!  I asked him if he was a dentist, but no, he just admired his teeth.  And he was right!  Beautiful teeth and the Black Sorrows showed that you can be an older band and still rock 'n' roll with the best of them.  As did Russell Morris the next day.  Great voice, wonderful music.  The Pierce Brothers were dynamos (I bought some albums they were that good) and the Rolling Stones Revue was fun although it showed that aging rock stars really shouldn't take off their shirts!

I've missed out heaps but you get the drift.  Would I do it again?  Absolutely!  But, I'm sorry to say, not to see Jimmy Barnes.  Two hours of him screaming into the microphone was too much to bear, although the sound improved immensely if you put your fingers in your ears!  Sunday morning came and all the vans started leaving.  Again, it was a measured and well organised exit.  I left Mundi Mundi to head to Cockburn and a shower (!!!!) only to discover that the park was closed on a Sunday ... so I travelled on to Olary and a camp in a rest stop.  At least there was a pub!