TUESDAY 15 DECEMBER

Di likens the caravan park in Griffith as a gaol. It is surrounded by a very large, and I mean very high, concrete wall. No apparent sentry tower but you never know with these inhabitants. We are not sorry to leave this place. Indeed so keen was Garry that he drove their van down the one way street. The wrong way. It was still in the park, and if there is a hidden sentry tower, and if it is manned, then they clearly missed it. Rolling something, or dealing in something I expect.

As we depart Griffith we see the best view of the city. Through the rear view mirror.

Making our way to Cowra we pass through many small towns. Through Yenda, throug Barellan, birthplace of Evonne Goolagong. Not a tennis court in sight. Through Moombooldool. The name is bigger than the town. Through Ardlethan, and past the turn off to somewhere called Ariah Park, which proudly boasts on it’s sign to be “The Home of Bowsers, Wowsers and the Peppercorn Tree”. Go figure. We didn’t bother. We travelled on to Young, in search of cherries, the fruit, not the girlfriend, she was already with us. Not a single sign for cherries, but we did have our picnic lunch in the beautiful Chinese Tribute Gardens.

You will have noted that the sky was ominent but we were lucky and dodged the rain. Here’s a photo of three of the happy travelling quartet in the Chinese Gardens

Before leaving Young we had to make a quick detour to check on business

Having corrected the spelling, we moved on. We like to keep off the main highways, at least one of the navigators does, and so I navigated us up some curious back streets, some even unsealed. But what did we find on our off road journey? Cherries. We purchased a big bag full and continued on our way to Cowra. Eventually the highway presented itself and we arrived in Cowra in time to visit the beautiful Japanese Gardens. An Oriental kind of day you might say.

These gardens are just gorgeous. So manicured, so serene.

Garry was having back trouble and I was having ankle trouble, so we chose the golf cart self drive tour. Cherrie, Di, Sam and Bolly walked.

We saw fish, birds and ducks. Lots of them.

Can you spot the baby ducks on the rock? Look harder. I strongly urge you to squint as you do so.

The squinting may have put you out of focus a bit but I’m hoping you saw all these little cuties.

Garry had not driven a golf cart before and just between you and me it might be best if he doesn’t again. But we made it unscathed and arrived at our Caravan Park shortly after 5pm. This is our last for this trip and is a nice park on the Lachlan River. The only thing between us and the river is a 12 foot high steel fence.

Curry dinner and a few rounds of Rummikub to round off our last night on tour.

WEDNESDAY 16 DECEMBER

We’re heading home. Drive through the lovely town of Boorowa, stopping at Yass for coffee, where Cherrie briefly meets up with a friend. Lunch at Exeter, then down the hill to Kangaroo Valley.

Along Wattamolla Rd we are met by the Holstein family

We toot farewell to the Maccas at the junction of Wattamolla and Woodhill Mountain Roads. They turn left, we turn right. We get home in time to unload the van, do an idiot check (as stage managers say when the bump out is complete), which reveals that the idiots left a few things on board. But, the van is now in the condition in which we picked it up. Except for our passenger. She loved it so much she refused to leave the van. She wanted just one more night in it.

We fed her on board, and then coaxed her into the house. Where she promptly made herself at home on our bed. Nothing changes.

Our grey nomad tour has been wonderful. We have laughed a lot, we ate well, we drank a little, we discovered places we loved and those we didn’t. And, above all, our friendship is in tact. We are already starting to plan the next one.

The only sour note is some feedback I have received from some of my readers. There seems to be disappointment at the lack of misadventure. No flat tyres, no fractured bones, no robberies, no inaccessible furniture. Generally it was a pretty mundane trip for a blogger. For that I do not apologise.

Until next time….stay safe.