Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Canberra to Tweed Heads

Canberra to Karuah – Monday 27 June 2011
The day to depart had finally arrived, the morning temperature in Canberra was a chilly -5 degrees so we were pleased to be heading north to where we hoped it would be warmer.  After breakfast with the family we headed off at 9:00am, just what we had planned for.  It was a sad time knowing that we wouldn’t see the kids for some time.  Even though they are meeting us in Darwin in 6 weeks.  Poor old Russell was very sad and stayed on his mat pretending it would never happen.
Farewell to the Family
The trip north through Sydney was uneventful, the best thing was it was slowly getting warmer.  Stopped for fuel and lunch on the Newcastle Freeway , then onto Karuah for the night, staying at the Big 4 Karuah Jetty.   

Ken at Karuah Jetty

Marlene at Karuah Jetty
Karuah to Arrawarra – Tuesday 28 June 2011
We woke to an overcast day in Karuah after a fairly cool evening, we had the heater on in the van.  The rain clouds looked threatening and it was not far up the road when the first of many rain scuds came though.  The plan was to move on to Bonny Hills, a nice little place just south of Port Macquarie, as we motored up he highway we looked at the weather and decided to keep moving on up the coast as it was more comfortable in the car than in a caravan park in the rain.
With the change of plans we decided that we should go onto Sawtell for the night, we had stayed here 12 months ago and liked the area. It was early afternoon as we got close so we decided to push onto Arrawarra, and stayed at the NRMA Darlington Beach Holiday Park.  A very nice park indeed, it would be 15 years since we had stayed here. As usual the weather was still cool and more rain on the way.
Car & Van at Darlington Beach - plenty of green grass about

Arrawarra – Tweed Heads – Wednesday 29 June 2011
Another day and another overcast, wet and windy day ahead of us. We headed off about 9:30am, as we motored up the coast things got a little brighter with the rain showers starting to get less and less.  We stopped in at the ‘Rod N Reel’ Hotel in Woodburn to catch up with the owner and a friend, unfortunately  he was away for the day, so we had a coffee and headed onto Tweed Heads. 
Arrived at the Big 4 Tweed Billabong Holiday Park, South Tweed Heads to warmer but windy conditions.  Set up camp and caught up on the book work and blog for the afternoon.  We are planning on staying at Tweed Heads for a few days to catch up with friends in the area.     

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Planning and Packing all Completed


One more sleep before we head off on our trip, the planning is completed and the packing is all but done. Both the caravan and car are ready to leave in the morning, the plan is to have breakfast with the family and head off north to warmer weather. The first days is an easy drive to Karuah, just north of Newcastle.

We have said all our goodbyes to family and friends over the last couple of days, everybody is excited about the journey and adventure we have ahead of us. The only ones not keen to see us go are, Russell and Mia, our Cavalier King Charles, they have watched us pack for the past couple of days and are not happy puppies.