Christmas in July in the middle.

[strugglebrook]

Looking forward to catching up Monica, anybody out there ?? the Shagnasty site may be still available.

JD.

[Shagnasty]

REPLY TO DEAR JOHN.
English school boy Eaton/Harrow voice over now. Golly gosh I say old boy steady on you are being a bit of a rotter you know change my forum name to Shagently never. Me now wash your mouth out with soap and water John. I was fondly awarded that nick name when yacht racing in the 80's by my fellow rivals/adversaries. We all had nick names in the Bar. Back then it was Captain Shagnasty. No longer yachting it has become Lord Shagnasty who resides at Shagnasty Hall, Port Stephens. I agree with you John I am getting a bit long in the tooth and the older I gets the better I was. But I am happy to be a has been rather than a never was. I hope when I finally kick off I go out with a BANG not a whimper and if the old heart won't give up perhaps someone could give me a BONK on the head ooooo I like the sound of that. OK enough enough no more. I was thinking Lady Shaggers and I have been in the 50's car and caravan movement now for many years. We having owned 5 Sunliners, still have 2 and numerous other vintage vans. Still have an 18 foot 59 Jones Dolly 3 wheel Millard van to restore if I ever get the puff to be towed behind a 67 Pontiac Bonneyville also waiting some restore. So I may be down at the moment but definitely not out (Arnies voice now "I'll be back" Very nice of Monica of Bluebird fame to wish me well. We thank you Monica for that and great to see your sense of humour John. Humour beats sadness every time. I would love to know how other forum members came up with there unusual or shall we say bizarre usernames probably some great stories to be told around the camp fire at Murrurundi. Perhaps some of you could post name reasons on this thread to share with us. Hope you all have a great get together. Am envious. Luv from us Lord & Lady SHAGNASTY.

[strugglebrook]

Long term forecast, we have grown a degree to 15 for Saturday and Sunday so things are looking up.
May I suggest the big bag of marshmallows.

JD.

[memories1]

Hi JD, Unfortunately Ray & I will not be able to attend Xmas in July, I recently broke my wrist so am out of action for awhile,
pretty disappointed, we will catch up with everyone at another event...enjoy yourselves "Merry Christmas" everyone. Sandy Green.
We will let the Caravan Park know of the changes.

[strugglebrook]

Sorry note from doctor`s not good enough, broken wing only necessitates light duties.
Being married you like Pam have a doting husband that waits on you hand and foot,
that`s what us married fellas do, it`s our lot in life.
You are depriving a brother from a get together of the down trodden.

Please consider.
JD.

[Little Lucy]

Jun 28, 2016 13:09:17 GMT 10 memories1 said:

Hi JD, Unfortunately Ray & I will not be able to attend Xmas in July, I recently broke my wrist so am out of action for awhile,
pretty disappointed, we will catch up with everyone at another event...enjoy yourselves "Merry Christmas" everyone. Sandy Green.
We will let the Caravan Park know of the changes.

Hi Sandy - sorry to hear about your broken wrist. How frustrating. Time to put your feet up and let Ray do all the work!
Best wishes
Jane and Justin

[memories1]

Hi Jane and Justin, yes not good and very frustrating, I have to have a fair bit of therapy on the wrist so keeps me around home for awhile...yes Ray has been pretty good

with the cooking...my apprentice!! We will catch up with you both somewhere around..looking forward to seeing you both. Thanks for the wishes. Take care. I feel like "Driving Miss Daisy"!! Bye for now. xx Sandy

[strugglebrook]

Well people the thermometer says Minus here at Muswellbrook in the middle of the valley this morning whilst at the top Basks at a balmy plus 5 degrees.
How good is that!!!

JD.

[memories1]

Hï JD, I have to work out what the word "doting" means..but he is learning..I think Pam may have a few words to say about that one.
We won't be spending time with you all but have a great time...take your woollies! brrrr.
Sandy.

[strugglebrook]

Have packed my winter t shirts and footy shorts. Shellharbour will roll around soon enough,hang in there Ray.
It`s just the burden we carry.

JD.

[humpty2]

Those winter footy shorts.....they are the ones with the fur trimmed cuffs right?
Wish we were there.
Pip-pip old boy

[Franklin1]

Meander to Murrurundi - Day 1

G'day All, I set sail (...or should that be 'I set caravanning'?) from home this morning, taking the long lazy route to Murrurundi. Tonight, I'm here in Crookwell, NSW, - about 40k north-west of Goulburn and 160k from home (...I told you it was a 'lazy' trip ). Crookwell is the town where a number of universities conduct health research, because half the town is 'crook', and the other half is, err, 'well'.

I've set up residence in the Crookwell caravan park, a nice little park on the north side of town, complete with a camp kitchen and wood fire (which is where I'm typing this story)...




Crookwell is also the place where the last remaining sock-making factory in Australia resides. This factory has been operating since way back in the middle of last century, and is currently operated by the sons of the son of the original owner...




The town is in the sheep and wool industry, and has been around for yonks, as many of its fine buildings show...




There are a couple of eye-catching murals painted on the side wall of the Visitors Information shop. Here's one of them...



(...and doesn't that dog look real?!)


You can also top up your philosophy tank here...




And I also noticed that "strugglebrook's" franchises have found their way to this place...






Tomorrow I head off again, following the back roads and visiting places I would never normally go through. This is my little adventure to stay off the highway and see what else is out there in this great land. Back tomorrow night for the Day 2 update.

cheers,
Al.

[BlueBird]

Good on you Al, loved update number 1. It's great that your exploring more of this beautiful country and sharing it with us. Drive safe and see you Friday, Monica and Shaun 😄

[strugglebrook]

Well done AL, wish we were traveling with you. You may get a little bit wet over the next couple of days but should be settled down by the time you get to Murrurundi.
We may get a little sprinkle on the weekend but the upshot is temperatures will be a little warmer.
I will be arriving in Murrurundi Thursday before lunch.
Stay safe.

JD.

[Geoff & Jude]

howdy al

it seems that you may have wired the positive and negative in reverse on your sat-nav - you're heading in the wrong direction.

hope you can get back on track and we'll see you up there (maybe).

geoff 'n jude

[Franklin1]

Hahaha, Mr Geoff 'n Jude , this is the long, long version of a trip to Murrurundi!

Meander to Murrurundi - Day 2:

Woke up to a miserable wet day at Crookwell. No fun packing a van up while it's raining, hey?! Had to go up to the Visitors Information shop and buy some knitted fingerless gloves from their gift shop, to try and get the circulation back into my hands...



At least now only the tips of my fingers will snap off in this freezing weather, rather than my whole hand cracking at the wrist.

I left Crookwell with the intention of heading towards Cowra...and missed the turnoff north of Crookwell. I didn't realise until I'd gone another 20k past the turnoff, and it was then too late to turn back. On the basis that "wherever the car is pointed is where we're going", I've ended up here in the Bathurst showground for the night...



The back road between Crookwell and Bathurst is in pretty good nick, except for the unsealed bits they are digging up and resurfacing. With the rain and the muddy road surface in those sections, the van has a nice coating of dirt all over it. Fortunately another downpour closer to Bathurst washed some of it back off. During the 100k distance of this backroad, not a lot happens - all the small towns/villages are only a shadow of their former selves. About the only thing worth taking a photo of was the old single-lane bridge over the Abercrombie river...




Tomorrow, I'm heading for Gulgong (the town on the $10 note) via Mudgee, so hopefully there's some interesting scenery along the way.

JD - I'm booked in at Murrurundi from Thurs night, so I'll be there some time Thurs arvo.

Geoff n Jude - If you consult with cobber, you'll be told that using a GPS to guide a vintage van is not "True Blue". I'm using my faithful 1988 ("Updated"!) BP Road Touring Atlas of Australia to navigate my way to Murrurundi. The only problem I've found is that some of the roads that are shown as dotted lines on my maps, are now (30 years later) four lane highways...

cheers,
Al.

[cobber]

G'day Al,

I had better jump in here to defend myself before Geoff gets out of bed, because he knows I had my 12 volt Navman working in the original unmodified six volt FJ Holden towing poor old Driftwood to SWR.

Nobody is more capable than me of getting lost, missing a turn off or taking the wrong turn when touring ( although you seem to be doing pretty good  ) so as long as the GPS is kept hidden out of sight, volume turned down low and you never admit to committing the sin it's OK, better than getting lost all the time.

Try not to miss finding Gulgong, she's not a bad little town, great museum, Reddo and I found an old van rotting away in a back yard on the outskirts of Gulgong during some damn tour or other    ,wonder if it's still there ?

Cobber.

[strugglebrook]

Not to late Mr Cobber to grab the bride, hook up Driftwood and cruise on up the valley.There will be plenty of tucker and good company.
JD.

[cobber]

G'day JD,

It's not easy to resist the temptation because I know how good these runs can be. How could I not remember the run when Reddo and I saw the old van at Gulgong 😠 ... It was Reddos first spring tour to Coledale in 2006 ( not many photos have survived on that thread but there are still some of early Coldale days HERE  )

But these days, as the old bones get older, I reckon Christmas in July is a dumb idea 😉😝😛😜😄😄😄 but I hope all you  dummys have a great time and create memories that last at least ten years 😉

Cobber.

[Franklin1]

Meander to Murrurundi - Day 3

G'day All, and greetings from Gulgong...




I left Bathurst early this morning, about 7:30am, to escape the freakin' cold weather there. I headed off towards Mudgee, and stopped to stretch my legs at Sofala on the way...




Sofala is an old gold mining town, and is supposedly the oldest surviving gold mining town in Australia...




It certainly doesn't take very long to do a quick detour through the town, for a squiz of what's still there...




Then it was on to Mudgee for morning "smoko" of cuppacino and pancakes with maple syrup. Yummm!! A bit of shopping to do, and then hit the road again for the last 30k to Gulgong. I'm now set up in the Gulgong showground...



Plenty of space here, if anybody else wants to come and join me...



Camping here at the showground is great value! - $16 for a powered site, or $12 unpowered. Amenities are top-notch, and way above what Bathurst showground was offering, which I paid $25 for.

Gulgong just oozes history, as a selection of photos will show...










And a magnificent rotunda in the main park in town...




If you've never been to this part of Oz, I would highly recommend you put it on your list! (And stay at the showground if there's no special event on in town that week. )

Had another great meal at a local pub in town tonight, complete with the mandatory wood-burning fire. Gosh, this country living is giving my belt notches a bit of a hiding.

Tomorrow, I do the last leg to Murrurundi - a whopping 211 kms! (says he who has averaged about 160k per day so far ). Will he get lost? Will he take the wrong turn?? Will he succumb to the same level as others have done, and pull his GPS out of the glovebox??? Pah! NO, I say!! He will faithfully follow his BP road maps, even if it means he gets to Murrurundi just as everybody else is packing up!

WE'LL see who's "True Blue" and who's not!

cheers,
Al.

[No longer vanless]

I'm very sorry but we are no longer able to attend due to work commitments. Very disappointed to be missing out on seeing the other Supalites. :-(

[Franklin1]

Murrurundi - The Event:

Well, we're here! A bit chilly, and a bit damp, but we're all having fun!

Tonight is the big Xmas get-together, so more photos will be loaded tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some photos of the park and the vans that have attended...




(the park's letterbox )






















(missing from the line-up is reddo and his teardrop. Unfortunately, he had to leave early this morning and head home for some medical treatment for a back ailment.)


Also snapped these couple of vans in the backyards of the streets nearby...






The weather is starting to fine up, so hopefully we get a bit of sunshine for the remaining time we are here.

More photos to come tomorrow...

cheers,
Al.

[Franklin1]

Murrurundi - The Event - Part 2:

Firstly, I need to add in another van that snuck into the park just after I'd posted all the photos in my previous post...




I also wanted to mention that we had asked the park management if they could set aside an area for the usual Olympic Alley, but it seems that Olympics don't come out in winter ...




Late this afternoon, we had the Xmas get-together. Our park management/owners, Doug and Carol, have been absolutely fantastic in accommodating us and showing us great hospitality! They even arranged for a local cake maker to make a special cake for our celebrations...







You would have to search far and wide to find a similar level of customer commitment, I reckon!


Before the afternoon festivities could begin, it was important to make an offering to the fire gods, to ensure the fire burned continuously through the night. JD-strugglebrook took it upon himself to assume the appropriate begging position...




He's obviously done this sort of thing before, because the fire was away and the party could begin ...















Apologies if I missed anybody. Send me your photo and I'll Photoshop it into one of the photos above.

A great time was had by all - lots (and lots) of food - and lots and lots of laughs. AND you actually get to meet people face-to-face that you would normally only talk to through a computer screen. What a great idea!!

A big thanks to JD for all the effort he put into organising this event.

cheers,
Al.

[burnsy]

Thanks everyone for a great weekend,Loved all the Deserts Yummo PS Thanks Al for great photos

Cathy & Greg

[Franklin1]

Murrurundi - Finale:

Well, here it is Monday morning, and I've been abandoned by my so-called 'mates'...






Here's the evidence of some of them high-tailing it out of town before they've settled their bills ...










I'll be leaving tomorrow morning, to start making my way back home, and giving the van a good clean-up in readiness for Shellharbour in October. See you on the road...


Postscript: I went for a drive the other day, about 50kms west of Murrurundi into the Liverpool Plains area. Not much out there except farm after farm after farm. And then out of the blue I came across this little old church on the side of the road, miles from anywhere...



It was for sale!! I immediately thought of all the Qld State-of-origin fans who might like to buy a "tree change" property. No need to repaint it in the appropriate colours! Plenty of room for Mr & Mrs sutcac's collection of caravans!

cheers,
Al.