Home Sweet Home

Narromine to Kingscliff, NSW

 January and February 2017

It's taken me a long time to put this final blog together. I didn't want to admit that our wonderful trip around Australia had come to an end. There will be shorter trips, for there is still much to see, but the grand tour - The Big Loop as it's referred to on the road - is over.  We travelled 70,000km in 20 months and, Garry would say, explored every gorge, climbed every mountain and marvelled at every waterfall along the way. We've had the best time of our lives, an experience that will remain with us forever.

Now a new chapter opens in a new home with a new family.

The welcoming committee: our pea family.

Before I introduce them properly I'll mention a few special spots on our trip north from Narromine.  First stop was the Apsley Gorge Campground in the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park near Walcha.

Apsley River: Not such a wild river at this time of the year ...

... and sadly too dry for the water to fall

But an impressive camp spot nevertheless. It even had free firewood!

We dropped down to the coast at Port Macquarie, a favourite haunt over the years.

Flynns Beach.

Hippie on the breakwater.

Yamba beckoned for a brief stopover.

Almost missed this fella suspended in the bush.

And then we landed at Kingscliff. On January 28 we moved into our new home at Duranbah on the hinterland above Kingy.  It seems appropriate to post my last blog after being here a month. It is a beautiful spot. We have 3.5 acres of rainforest with sweeping views across the valley to the sea. 

Glorious sunrises ...

... amazing moon rises.

From the letter box we look west to Mt Warning. 

It's a modest older home with lots of charm .... and the promise of lots of work.

Garry is impressed with his new office space ...

... and the equipment he discovered within.

Not his usual bike attire. This was just a test run down a back road.

Our new family continues to delight us, however sadly our chickadee didn't survive. A snake, a fox, a cat? We don't know, but mum searched and keened for a day, the saddest sight and sound.

So we are back to Priscilla and Andrew II (there was an Andrew I in Greenwell Point).

Priscilla spends hours admiring her reflection in the glass doors.

Andrew has lost his long tail. It will grow back later in the year ... and then the fun begins.
With any luck we will get some babies in the new year and will be better prepared to help them survive. 

Good night: Settled for the evening in the Macaranga 

More "wild" life pics.

A diamond python at our back door.

A tarantula on the ceiling, about 15cm in diametre.

There's much more, of course - cane toads, jumping red ants (ouch), geckos, a myriad crawling/flying bugs, lorikeets, cockatoos ... Welcome to the tropics.


So that's it. A map of our "Big Loop" follows.

It's been marvellous, all 70,000km.
Thanks for being part of the adventure.