Catching you Up To Date

Dawn Surfer


Lennox Head Sunrise


Stormy Dawn


Lennox Franjipani


Here I thought I was just going to regale you with stories of our last week or two, but reading back to our last blog, I see that we left you all on our way to Jenolan Caves. Steve did one since then I just remembered, Phew, so I have only a few weeks to catch you up on.

After spending a week in Lennox Head at the caravan park, we were very lucky to find a holiday let also in Lennox Head, but on the other side of town from the caravan park. This place was Sweet! Yes, it did deserve a capital S. If we had started out our four month sojourn here, we probably wouldn’t have left for our road trip. First, it had a garage to kill for. No three point turns to try to get the car in, you could open the car doors all the way, and be able to walk around them, and it had room to store some of our stuff until the removalists came. And that is just the garage! Downstairs there was a twin share bedroom and a queen-sized bedroom, with a bath, laundry and loo. Upstairs, the kitchen, living and dining area, all open plan, with a huge verandah going all along the front with a dining set. Looking out the windows you could see the headland to the right, where the hang gliders and para-sailors take off from, to the left, Seven Mile beach, and the headland of Broken Head. Also upstairs was our massive bedroom with attached bathroom, also with its windows and door opening onto the verandah. Everyday we would have breakfast and dinner outside, enjoying the sea breeze and the view. It was very sad to turn our keys in after our two-week stay there.

So the removalists came and packed up our stuff to be shipped home. I am figuring that we will see it in four to six months as it is going by sea. It is amazing the amount of paperwork involved in sending things back to the states, or anywhere these days. Twenty years ago, they came, boxed and filled out a few forms. Now it was passport copies, declarations, form after form and then the packers pack it all up themselves so everything is just right. But it is gone, and we are now down to traveling around with what will come home with us.

Now that getting our stuff off is taken care of, Steve could concentrate on getting the car ready to sell. That means getting the windscreen fixed, vacuuming, and scrubbing eleven month’s of heavy use of the outside of the car. It took him three days before it really looked good. Next, selling it. We thought it would be a problem, well, I thought it would be a problem, but it turns out, our good friends in Brisbane who we went to see, needed a good reliable car and are buying it. Yeah! It really works out because they get the car, we get to keep the car until we leave so we don’t have to hire a car for the last few weeks, and Garth will take us to the airport the morning we leave in our old, his now new car. Talk about it all falling into place.

This past weekend we were back up in Brisbane, catching up with other good friends and now we are in Noosaville, up on the Sunshine Coast for our last week. We love this place. This is our third time here this year. It is one of the places we found when we were here two years ago and really enjoy it. Good scenery, good food, excellent digs.

It is hard to believe that our time here in Australia can now be counted in a week. We fly out a week from tomorrow! Yikes!! It has been the most amazing year, we have ‘gone seen and done’ for the entire trip, and still haven’t seen this entire country. We still have to see the northwest of WA, including the Kimberlies and the Pilbara district, Kakadu in the wet (only from the air) and north of Cairns. Hopefully when we return in two years, FNQ will be put back together. Yes, we are returning in two years to catch up with our friends, and see and do more of this great country.

Much of this trip was special because of the friends we have here, old and new, and we would like to thank them, and if I miss you, I apologize. David and Lyn who got us off on the right foot, Greg and Christine who got us organized and put up with us for a week, Kate and Pickle, Christian and Jen, Nick and Janelle, Denise and Garth and oh so many more. Thank you for making the trip all the better with your friendship and generosity.

So, even though our trip is coming to a close, we are going to keep the blog up and running, because life at lottarock farm and are ongoing travels will now keep our friends in Australia apprised of our adventures at home. Stay tuned.

The Eagle Has Landed

Lennox Dawn Agave


Jenolan Caves


Jenolan Cave Stairwell


Lake Ainsworth Dawn


Lennox Dawn Surfers

Yes, we have finally ended our six months of constant travel across Australia. We are in a caravan park in Lennox Head, NSW, just a few kilometers south of our old digs in Suffolk Park. The weather is hot and humid, which I am slowly adjusting to, but the scenery remains as spectacular as ever. We will be here in the immediate vicinity until we fly out of Brisbane at the end of the month. There are numerous loose ends to tie up, the most critical being getting all of the gear and art we have managed to accumulate over the past year back to NH and to sell our trusty vehicle. As much as it would be nice to have it shipped home as well, it is not a model imported to the US and thus would be cost prohibitive to have converted to meet the rigorous specifications required for operation there.

Today we had a moving company come assess the shipping costs for the gear and we hope to have a reasonable quote by Friday. Once we know how much it will cost and when it can be done, then we can get down to stripping Em, the car, of her racks and bits that will be shipped and then the arduous task of cleaning the inside and outside of the car for sale. If we can get half of what we paid, we'll be more than satisfied as she has been well used, going over 71,000 kms and subjected to terrain not for the faint of heart. She has the battle scars to prove it, but she has never let us down.

After those requirements are complete, we will rent a small car and if time permits, take a tour of Fraser Island up in Queensland before we depart. We have already scheduled visits to friends up in QLD and will enjoy some relaxing time before the flight.

Then the hard work comes. Allie will be plunged right into gardening, snow and ice not withstanding. Clients have to be consulted, seed and plant orders submitted, and installation and work scheduled. I will begin the immense task of reviewing the over 40,000 images I will have taken on this epic journey to select those that will make up both a personal book and also the more serious work to be both printed and published. This will be a magnum opus and I intend for it to be the best I have done to date. I already know that many of the images I have shared with you all will have to be redone and that many more will be totally new. Also, I will be writing about each image included, telling the story of what, where, and why I selected these images. I have bitten off a huge amount but like eating the elephant, you do it one bite at a time, so it will be done with as much care and time as it deserves.

Then of course, the farm will demand its pound of flesh as I will be mending fences, installing new posts, and getting down to rectifying the long term electrical fence problem that has plagued us for years. Allie has plans for new trees and plants, a new retaining wall, and other projects bound to keep us quite busy for a long time. So, we won't be off for any travels in the foreseeable future, but will gladly welcome guests.