Day 12 to Day 16

OZ day 11 Plus

Day 11 August 7 Thursday.

Well I checked out of my room and headed for Travelers Auto Barn. I went through all the paperwork and test drive and finally got out of there at 12 noonish. Managed to find my way out of town through down town to the M4 freeway to the Blue Mountains. Baptism of fire for me, new car and driving on the other side of the road. The van seemed to work ok except it pulled to the left a bit and not sure whether it was due to road, wind or alignment. Drove from M4 to hwy 32 into the Blue Mts.. Spent the night at Blackheath Caravan Park. They had snow showers just before I arrived. Whee.

Day 12 August 8 Friday USA Win a lot of gold in the Olympics.
Got freezing cold last night, yes near the freezing point of ice. Got up and headed for Lithlow further west on Hwy 32. Got some groceries and some other supplies I needed. A flashlight (torch) and extra batteries, a blanket, clothes line, matches and lighter and a heater/fan. No freezing tonight.. Now I am set for a while. Had breakfast at McDonalds and headed back to Blackheath to see the Blue Mts. Drove to Govetts Leap to see the OZ equivalent of the US Grand Canyon in terms of size but not depth. It still was impressive. Headed to Katumba to see Echo Point, the most famous place in the Blue Mts. There were five buses of tourists there. It too is a very pretty view. Both of these sites are on cliffs and outcrops the go straight down. Went to Leura Cascades which was a walk down a canyon following a creek before it plunges over a cliff. On my way out, hit a bump and my spare tire popped out and the hold was bouncing on the ground. I got it back ok. Getting late so headed back to Blackheath and went up Evans Lookout which also looks out on OZ grand canyon. The sun was setting so it was great. Went back to the Caravan park I was at the night before and got a powered site. Made dinner of chicken with noodles in a tomato sauce with garlic. Yum. Cookies and tea for desert. Now for a warm night sleep.

Day 13 August 9 Saturday
Froze outside again last night. Burr but the van was warm. Added water to the radiator overflow for two days in a row now. Called the place where I bought the van about fixing it. Will see how it goes today. Decided to take the Bells Line of the Road (hwy 40) through the Blue Mts. from Lithgow to Wilson. Very pretty drive with lots of curves and hills. Went to Mt. Wilson and looked around there and saw Du Faurs rocks and an old aboriginal cave with paintings and tool gouges in the sandstone. The rocks are very odd shaped sandstone. Very nice since nothing was mentioned in the guide books. Then went to Mt. Thomah Botanical gardens which has colder climate plants from around the world. Some plants were blooming but it is still winter here. Nice place for lunch. Headed to Avena Van Village just south of Wilson on hwy 2 to spend the night. Got space 159. The owner came by and talked for 15 minutes and told me to go look at his paddocks for birds. While one my way he brought me a blue tongued lizard. After dinner he came back and we talked for another half hour or so. Nice man. Checked the water in the overflow and it had gone down very little. Whew! Will check again tomorrow and if it is ok then will not got to Sydney.

Day 14 August 10 Sunday.
Water in overflow looked good so do not plan to go back to Sydney. Went bird watching before breakfast. Saw four pink breasted “parrots”. I drove b ack to Windsor and bought more butane for stove so I do not run out. Also a charger for AA batteries (mine did not work with adaptor?) From Windsor too hwy 69, aka Putty Road, to Singleton . What a very pretty drive through the mountains, good views, twisty up and down road. At Singleton turned onto hwy 1north and stopped for the night at Tomago Village Van Park space 56.

Day 15 August 11 Monday.
Left Tomago and headed north on hwy 1. Lots of construction. At Buladelah, headed east on hwy 6 through Booti Booti NP Stopped a Seal Rock light house. Very pretty beach there. In a little town of Forster, talked to man and he says there are lots of places to go look for opals that you do not have to pay for especially around Lightning Ridge where I plan on going. Got back on hwy1 and turned east at Kew onto hwy10, the back road to Port Macquarie. Stopped in town and got a few groceries then headed to Aquatic Caravan Park space 45 on the Hastings River, Nice and clean and cheap. Saw some Australian pelicans and “little black “ cormorants in the river.
Day 16 August 12 Tuesday
It was relatively warm overnight, the warmest so far. Left Port Macquarie and took hwy 34 west over the coastal range. The drive was through tropical forests and the road was the curviest yet. Lots of 25 or 35 kph curves. And it was cold but the forests were spectacular. Hwy 34 ended at hwy 15. At Tamworth headed west again on 34 to Gunnedah where I spent the night. Gunnedhah Tourist Caravan Park, space 27. Lots of the pink breasted Galah parrots here around the park. Going over the coastal range is like going from western Washington into eastern Washington. Completely different scenery. No live ‘roo sighting but lots of dead ones along the roads. ‘roos kill a lot more people in OZ than all the snakes, spiders, jelly fish, and snails.