Glen Innes Trip Day 3

A nice leisurely start to the day with breakfast by the campfire while Peter played Good Samaritan and delivered a walk-in camper with a hurt leg to a previous camp back up the road where her support crew were camped. 

Before packing up the van, we wandered down to Boundary Falls picnic area, meeting a large fat black snake along the way. Thankfully he decided to slither in to the undergrowth as we approached. In the picnic area we successfully found an old cache and then descended the many stairs to the base of the falls. It was worth the effort. Crystal clear water, sheer rock cliff faces, several varieties of moss and lichen and general loveliness. 

A bit of a scramble around and a rock hop across to explore the other side of the creek before we heaved our way back up the stairs to the top. 

A quick pack up on our return to camp and we were Glen Innes bound. Arriving just after 11am we managed to check in early, giving us plenty of time to set up the van, do a supply run, get some laundry done, visit the visitor information centre and take a drive around town to familiarize ourselves with it again. 

Sarah soon befriended the kids from two sites down and disappeared until dinner time. Funnily enough they live only a suburb away from Sarah's school. 

The weather has been beautiful during the days so far while we keep reading of storm warnings at home. We sure picked a good time to leave. 

Glen Innes Trip Day 2

We enjoyed breakfast out in the gorgeous sunshine before packing up the van for the day's journey. 

Our first stop was at the big prawn because the kids hadn't come to see it last time we were in the area for a caching trip.

 Obligatory photos taken we continued on towards Grafton. The sugar mills were operating along the way but no aromas of molasses were scented as we passed. 

A bit of excitement occurred as we were forced to stop for the raising of the bridge across the Clarence to allow two yachts through. 

At Grafton we pulled in to the visitor information centre as we had decided to buy an annual National Parks pass. They redirected us to the NSW parks office in town where we had very friendly helpful service. 

A trip to the supermarket for supplies, a quick stop for lunch in one of the many parks, and we were once again on our way. 

Up and over the Gibraltar Range towards Glen Innes with beautiful scenery and diverse biomes as we crossed. 

Our camp for the night is Boundary Falls with fire pits and wood provided. The area was a sawmill in years passed and some traces of equipment and foundations are still present. We used the plate at the firepit to cook our dinner and spent the night outside stargazing and fire gazing.

 Would have been nice to stay here a little longer. 

Tomorrow we will walk to the falls before we leave. 

Glen Innes trip day 1 28/12/15

Headed south from the Gold Coast after picking up Emily from the marina. Arrived after an hours drive at the small town of Billinudgel, where we set up camp behind the pub.  

After the caravan was sorted we went for an exploratory walk of the township. We found an awesome wood place called Billinudgel Woodworks. The owner played a number of handmade guitars as we wandered around the shop. Sarah was very interested in the instruments that he was playing. Stan invited us into his work area which he calls his playground. First of all he showed us how amazing nature can be, by showing us a walking stick which he had found in the bush and some dented wood that he turned into spoons.

 Dad was very interested in what Stan had made around the shop so we stayed at the shop for an hour. Mum finally got tired and said that we should start heading back to the caravan where we got rugged up ready to go up to the pub for dinner. 

Perth 12 January 2015

A return to our youth as we flew across the country in the early hours of the day, minus the kids, with our backpacks, headed for Perth. The Perth YHA was our destination today. Situated right next to the main Perth railway station, walking distance to all the CBD has to offer and serviced by the airport shuttle. What more could you ask? Ok, so thicker walls and double glazing wouldn't go astray but hey, location, location , location. 

 

We left our bags and headed off to explore on foot. The number of old buildings in the city took us by surprise and made for an interesting city scape. The amount of public art was also something we hadn't expected. 

During our wanderings we discovered a free bus and jumped on board to see more of the city. We did a complete circuit, seeing the bell tower, the interestingly designed TAFE building and the aptly named Horseshoe Bridge before hopping off at the museum/library/art gallery precinct and wandering through there, eventually making our way back to our accommodation around 4pm (6pm Brisbane time). 

Our early start was catching up to us so we chilled in our room for a couple of hours until Perth dinner time. The trains below our window timed their horn blasts perfectly with Peter's drifts into sleep causing him to jump awake (and me to almost die laughing after the third time). I may not be laughing later tonight!

Dinner was at a Japanese shop a block away from the YHA, in celebration of the kids imminent departure to the land of the rising sun. It was still light at 7 when we were finished and we decided we hadn't quite walked far enough today so made our way down to the river via a cache. 

When we reached the river the sun had almost finished setting and the view was lovely. 

After what felt like 20km of walking and being on the go for just under 20 hours straight, we fell into bed at 9.45 (11.45)pm. I suspect a sleep in may be happening tomorrow.