Where the flies don’t swarm your food.

Sweeeet home on the Gold Coast,

We’ll be comin home to yoooooo.

We’ve had a lovely few days here at the farm, a good opportunity to begin to get our heads into ‘back to work, return home’ mode.

We are going to the Dubbo Zoo today, since I’ve not been before and it’s only 40 minutes down the road on the way to Sydney. We hire a couple of push bikes and spend a great day leisurely riding around the animal exhibits.

After the zoo, we drive an hour or so and camp late at the Gulgong showgrounds. The caretaker there kindly organises us a lift into town on the RSL community bus, but by the time we have driven the neighbourhood and picked up all the ‘dear old loves’ we have decided to pretend we’re having dinner at the RSL but will instead do a very stealthy back door exit and walk to the Post Office Hotel for what turns out to be a damn fine steak.

This morning, Thursday 17th Sep, we are visiting the famous Gulgong Historical Museum. I stop to take a few streetscape photos of this very quaint little town while Alan buys the entry tickets but when I join him inside, he appears rather too chuffed with himself. Of course he can barely wait to get out of the ‘ticket ladies’ ear shot before spilling that he got BOTH of us in on pensioner’s discount and that I therefore must be looking 60 years old these days. “I don’t think so!”. More likely, (I tell myself) she is thinking how fabulous I look for 60…

What makes Gulgong so famous is the Australian 10 Dollar bill. This gold mining town was recognised for it’s early pioneering days of wealth and prosperity, featuring a collage of prominent local buildings and personalities on one side of the bill.

A few more hours on the road and we hit the big smoke, Sydney, spending the weekend in a small Surry Hills apartment. Sydney CBD roads are incredibly narrow and Alan struggles to avoid the side mirrors of buses and semi-trailors travelling beside us and yells at other stupid motorists who duck and weave thinking we can stop as quick as they can. A truckie from way back, my man manages to keep his cool and resists running over the expensive little sports cars, although scaring the crap out of them with our big intimidating Bushman is kinda fun!

I am paranoid about not having enough battery power to keep the fridge and freezer going, so for 3 days we dance around the city, loitering in sunny solar-charging 2 hour street parks, begging and borrowing a 240V plugin at various commercial loading docks and underground carparks. But all is ok, we now know The Aussie Bushman is well admired and everyone is happy to help out, in exchange for a chat of course.

Alan is attending his 40th school reunion on Saturday evening and in his absence, I toddle off to see a movie in China Town.

It’s Sunday morning and we drive to Alan’s brother and sister in law’s, who have so kindly been looking after my dog Bear while we have been away. Bear’s not exactly impressed to be leaving their very warm and comfortable arms but resigns herself to two days of solid sleeping while we drive back to the Gold Coast.

And we are home… Seven weeks and one day we have been away and what an adventure we’ve had.

Thank you to all of our very enthusiastic followers, it’s been a blast having so many of you join in the fun with your supportive comments and feedback. There are lots of you who have joined our online adventures in the past weeks, having met and shared stories with you over a beer in some remoter than remote part of central Australia.

Spread the word folks, it’s been great having you aboard and we have have plenty of room for more.

Over the coming weeks, until our next trip in December, I am going to spend some time improving the website so it functions a little better, learn how to load videos so I can post the footage I have taken in the last 7 weeks for all to see and finally, add a page of techo detail about the Bushman for the countless number of blokes who’ve asked and asked and asked a million questions.

So don’t leave us, there are soooo many more tales of adventure to come.

Cheers,

Alan and Julie xx