Day 1. June 20 2022. Off we go...

…and we’re off. Around Australia. Half of it at least. Docklands departure, destination unknown. Well, Lake Hume actually just near Albury about 4 hours down the road, but I mean for the trip. We know what we want to do. We have a pretty good itinerary coming from lots of research from Linda around what to do. The big unknown is travelling with a van. A teardrop caravan. This precious flower wouldn’t camp in a tent, and also refused to tow a big caravan. When looking at accommodation it became clear that we wouldn’t be sleeping in cabins and hotel rooms for three months. It wasn’t practical or economical. We have essentially bought a trailer with a bed and a kitchen on the back. Let’s see how this princess deals with that.

But for the first couple of weeks, we are in relative style as the van has been made in Brisbane, and we pick it up from there. On the way up we are staying in cabins at caravan parks and with friends. That, we are used to. However, we haven’t camped together since before we were married doing a 6 week European trip in a tent. That is where we knew we could stick a marriage. First stop is Seymour for lunch. I have ticked off the first country pie and sausage roll, and we have visited the First Op, we are now underway. Next stop was at Chiltern a couple of hours down the track. Change drivers and stretch the legs, and we are not in a rush for the first time in years.

Chiltern looks like it has been built for a Hollywood set, and there is no filming on today. Old gold rush period style, and very few shops open. Ned’s Antiques is open only Some Days, and today is not one of them. An old servo on the street and one nice gift shop meant it was a short stop. There was one of those secondhand shops with all of the old tools, books and crystal glasses – similar to an op shop but with prices hopefully marked up x3. They had cottoned onto the man shed craze of tin signs, but instead of getting originals, they had hand painted tin ones they made themselves……or by the one guy who has done all the signs in town but had not told him he failed the sign writing course. The owner sat in a corner near the front door, not so much of a word. Everything in the store was ageing faster than time itself, but nothing moved. I had the feeling she was given the role in purgatory for being an unscrupulous sales person in a previous life. Banished to a hell where nothing could be sold, nothing would be sold and her only release out of there would be on a commission.

Last stop, Lake Hume. What a top place, who would have thought? Not us, had never heard of it before. Linda has found a lovely cabin that looks onto this massive lake, and a short walk to the Dam. An impressive structure that is also a hydro electric generator. The water release with the sunset in the background was beautiful. We had made our first step, our first leg, our first night. Lots more water to go under this bridge….