Author Archives: Kiwihobos

This post is about Rowan’s family and their hunt to find ancestors, please feel free to skip if it doesn’t interest you.

After two nights and a day in Sydney, the three of us head over the Blue Mountains to Mudgee. Mudgee is where Rowan’s maternal grandfather Peter is from. We are meeting Joanne’s cousins (Peter’s, brother Jack’s children), Kaye & Lynne. Kaye has come from Perth and Lynne from Stillwater, Auckland.

We leave Sydney around 11am. A late start because we want to eat breakfast before we go. Our first stop is a few op shops in Richmond. We end up buying a few goodies, some nice jewellery. On our way back to the car we pop into the antique shop. I fall in love with this 18kt gold necklace with carnelian and turquoise. It is a mere $6,800 and I am sorely tempted to buy it. It is worth half of that in material value. I want it so bad, but my better half tells me I am not earning any money and I don’t really get to spend $3k on a luxury. He is right if I had to sell it tomorrow quickly I can get hold back but I cannot really afford to lose that much money. Oh how nice is it to dream a little.

Our first chance to fly the drone is at a viewing platform once we are in the Blue Mountains. A pop into Kurrajong for a quick bite to eat. A quick stop in Bilpin for a cider tasting. Next on the agenda something sweet for an afternoon snack. Then another mandatory drone flight before heading down towards Lithgow. By the time we reached Lithgow the sun was setting, we rang the girls to let them know we will be in Mudgee late and not to wait for us to eat dinner.

We arrive in the dark at a wonderful historic bed and breakfast. This is run by Joanne’s childhood friend Robbie. Robbie purchased it 23 years ago, but it was built by her great grandfather. Robbie’s g/pa, son of a chemist was the first surgeon to practice in Mudgee. In 1900 he commissioned the house to be built by architect Harold Hardwick. Over the years he added dentistry to his tool belt. Forgandenny house was run as a doctors/surgery/midwifery/dentistry. In 1924 his wife became ill and they headed back to Scotland to see family. They put a locum in place to manage the patients while they were gone. Dr Lester was 6 days late from the contract he signed with the locum. Unfortunately the fine print was missed and this meant Dr Lester was to sell the practice and the building. Dr Lester moved out to Sydney and 5 years later his wife Mary died. He went on to work on ships as a surgeon. In 1930 at 65 he died just as the ship reached Wellington Harbour. His descendants stayed on in Mudgee. 76 years of being out of the family Forgandenny House came up for auction and Robbie & Errol purchased the home. Amazingly some of the furniture and equipment from the days of Dr Lester were kept on a family farm. So a lot of those things came back to Forgandenny House.

After a recommendation from Errol we head off the the pub for dinner. Lynne & Kaye meet us there for a drink and to watch us eat dinner. It is fantastic getting to know Kaye & Lynne, Rowan hadn’t met them before either. We say goodnight with a plan for tomorrow. Let’s see what we can find out!

Wednesday morning, wow the breakfasts here are fantastic. We started with poached pears in cinnamon and orange. Then scrambled eggs, avocado, tomato, asparagus and salmon. We have 3 more of these wonderful breakfasts coming. The first mission is the local Mudgee Museum, we start chatting to one of the volunteers and he tells us to come back on Friday, that is when one of the historians are around. With plans to come back we go house hunting. First to find is the house that Jack built (literally). Lynne & Kaye spent their early childhood in this home. Lynne remembers baby Kaye coming home from the hospital and holding her for the first time in this home. There is a wheelchair ramp that is not original, the front fence is missing, the garage is missing and the cladding is newer. The place looks near abandoned, we try knocking on the front door. Lynne tells me when she was last here the elderly lady who purchased it of her parents remembered her. Lynn was 5 when they left Mudgee, how on earth did she recognise her 50+ years later? Rowan noted a supermarket trolley inside the house and we took a good look around. The back door was ajar, don’t mind if I do! We all enter without breaking. The kitchen is absolutely original, it is rather remarkable. Actually the whole house is near original, the only change is an additional toilet with wheelchair access. It has commercial signs about, like exit, fire extinguisher etc. Rowan finds an exit plan from NALAG (National Association for Loss and Grief). We need to make our way around some ciggy butts and condoms, our guess is teenagers hangout. At least they are semi polite by putting them out on an upside down kitchen drawer. They also left a window open to air it out. A chat to the neighbour brings us to a conclusion we guessed, it hasn’t been used in months. The back of the property is missing, it is now overtaken by a large green fence. A sleuth around the block and we assume the property is owned by the nursing home. I think the only reason it is still standing is the house next to it is heritage listed so the land is rather useless to them. Rowan thinks the boundary fence has been put up with no actual subdividing. That is why the property is just sitting.

Next home, Lynne & Kaye’s maternal grandmothers home. Looks the same but it has had a freshen up and is currently for sale. For $790k this 2 bedroom cottage could be yours. Rowan takes the drone up for some pictures of the home.

Last on the list is Richo’s (Rowan’s great grandmas) second husbands home that they lived in for many years. This one is a lot harder to recognise as the home has had additions and changed quite a bit. A nice young man helps answer some questions and tell us it is okay to photograph.

With an appetite worked up we head out to a winery. There is a lot of them around to choose from. Joanne chooses Lowe Family Winery, her and I do a wine tasting. The others just eat food and Rowan tries a sip of mine so he can drive. Well the wine tasting goes on and on, we get forgotten a little and it ends up being a 3 hour event. I wasn’t complaining as it had beautiful views and the wine was very tasty.

With a boot full of chiming bottles we headed off back to Forgandenny House. Rowan and I had the car alone, of course we took a sneaky detour on the way back to the Salvos. Sallies had a nice silver and pearl necklace and a nice heavy silver chain we picked up. At the B&B we poured over the family tree, correcting mistakes and putting two and two together. This tree has been made by another branch of the family so quite a few details were incorrect.

Dinner was at a local restaurant. We walked back in the cold, I was just in a dress. The cousins had puffer jackets and beanies. It was hilarious. We have been having beautifully cold evenings and sunny warm days.

Thursday, off to the family plot. There is a large family plot in the Mudgee Cemetery. 6 people are there, with another 3 ashes to be put in soon. We end up wondering up and down getting ideas for the plot as it is looking rather neglected. They want something that looks good with low maintenance. There is an idea of what everyone wants so we head to the funeral stone mason to have a chat.

They tell us there can be 24 people in the plot. This is 6 bodies and the rest ashes. That doesn’t mean you can’t put more in on the down low, just 24 can be registered with the council. Which is a great idea for when someone a hundred years later comes to find you. We cannot find Lynne & Kaye’s family the Chambers that are here somewhere.

From there we head back to the cemetery as they told us where we can find Kaye & Lynne’s grandparents. We don’t spend that long this time and it is 1pm now. We make the trip to Gulgong for lunch and to visit the museums. Gulgong is a historic mining town. Nearly overnight it went from no one to 20,000 people. The famous Holtermann’s gold nugget was found here, the world’s largest specimen. 1.5m long and weighing 290kg, 93kg was gold the rest quartz. We went to the Holtermann Museum to see the photos taken by Beaufoy Merlin & Charles Bayliss. There are some 3,500 glass slides. They took a lot of these photos prior to Holtermann being their patron. Some of the slides are incredibly large. They documented the gold rush incredibly well. It is an incredibly interesting museum and I could write for several paragraphs but I won’t bore you.

From there we went to the most unmuseum I have ever been to. It is actually hilarious and we were in fits of laughter on the way back to Mudgee talking about it. If you can get past Margery’s collections of dolls and kitsch salt and pepper shakers you can find the odd museum worthy piece. There is a lot of crap in there and instead of one example there were several of each. The collection of someone’s old mobile phones was my favourite. Rowan liked the typewriters locked away in a cage so you can’t steal them. I think everyone just takes their old relics here so they can see their name on a piece of paper to say kindly donated by….

We visit an old commercial building where the family owned a jewellery store. Kaye & Lynne remember sleeping on the balcony and throwing water onto shoppers below. Peter, Rowan’s grandad also slept on the balcony as a kid. The owner Byrnes Jewellery was kind enough to take us down memory lane. Her mother purchased the story from the Richardsons.

Off to dinner at a place called Cade. It is quite a late dinner compared to normal and Kaye doesn’t join us, she would like to rest. We go upstairs and we end up with a really funny waiter. Tom and I start a banter straight away, he apologises for interrupting and I make him go onto his knees to take our order. Before we know it we have him bowing constantly while he takes our order. For the rest of the evening we had a bowing waiter. We were in hysterics, the food was delicious and we were well entertained.

Friday – Back at the Mudgee Museum as soon as it opened. Unfortunately the genealogy lady wasn’t there but we had a nice man John help us find all sorts of files. We even found an original gold claim, unfortunately it ran out in 1973 so we were a bit late. It turns out the Lovetts line that is still in Mudgee are related to them. We dug out some good photos of the original plot of land in Grattai. The lovely John allowed us to go get the files scanned so we took them to the local print shop to be put on USB sticks. While we waited for that to happen, we ate lunch and checked out the town hall. This is now the local library but a long time ago it had the Richardson Jewellery store started by John Kaye Richardson which was started by Rowan’s great great grandfather. It was carried on by Rowan’s great grandparents and eventually sold it in the 70’s. I am not sure what year they moved from the town hall to the location across the street with the balcony.

Joanne calls the retirement place and talks to the manager. The manager has agreed if the property is going to be taken down that Lynne & Kaye can take any original fixtures they want. She also confirms Rowans guess about the property boundary.

After we picked up the files and got them back to their folders in the museum we headed out to Grattai. We found or think we found the land that they owned. Back then they just went to local council and said I want this plot and it was granted to you. Hundreds of aboriginals were shot when the white settlers arrived, it is pretty horrific what was done. Not one of the museums had any of that history about. Also in Grattai we found the local CWA (Country Women’s Association). The first treasurer was Rosa (Lovett) Nicholls, who helped start the local Grattai club. That is Rowan’s great great grandmother.

From Grattai we head to Hargraves in search of a church. This church was in Grattai but was moved in the 90s to Hargraves. Rowan’s great grandparents Edith & Harold got married in the church. They are the only known couple to be married in that church. We find the church it is right next to the school. We take lots of photos and ringing the church bell. We see an old sign and ring the Anglican Church number to see if we can see inside. Then Rowan pull out his phone and tells us it can’t be this church it doesn’t look like the one in the photo. Off we go in the car and find a second church. We look at it and Rowan and I think it can’t be that church. The neighbour comes out and asks us if she can help. We get chatting to Judy and she explains how she went to the church as a kid and it was definitely moved to back at the school. A little confused but we accepted her explanation. It wasn’t until we chatted for several minutes and came back to the subject that she realised we were talking about two different churches. Judy explained that the church is in the school grounds not next to the school, it has been turned into a home economics room/teachers lounge. Judy is president of the historical society in Hargraves, we are lucky to have run into her.

We head back to the school, it currently has no one there. We find out from one of the parents that they have had an excursion which they do most Fridays. The school is only 13 students so they all go together on Fridays. The rest of the week they are split in two. We sleuth around and realise that the church is unlocked. We let ourselves in and take photos. Just as we decide to leave the bus pulls up with the principal in tow. We explain who we are and what we have been doing. She takes our details to pass on to the old principal who put the church there. A good success.

On the way into town I noticed a cemetery sign and said we should go there on the way back. After talking to Judy who confirmed some Lovetts are in there, we decided it was well worth taking a look. What we weren’t expecting was to find Rowan’s great, great, great grandparents plot. What a find! Frederick & Elizabeth Lovett just there waiting for us to find them.

We booked back in to Cade’s for dinner so we could get another round of bowing from Tom. Well it turns out we got every staff member taking bows and curtseys when greeting us. We are all buzzed and excited from our day. It was the perfect ending for the trip. We made plans to meet up for a quick coffee before heading our seperate ways.

Saturday, our final big breakfast. The stay at Forgandenny House has been spectacular. Big hugs for Robbie as we leave.

A quick coffee with Lynne & Kaye so we can say goodbye. Rowan and I will go see Lynne next time we are in Auckland as she lives close to my Nana. We think it is a good idea to come back and do this again some time soon. We go off to the Saturday market and don’t find much. From there we head out of town and see a beautiful old church. It appears to be a part of a large estate called the Havilah House. It has been in the same family for 150 years.

We went back to Sydney via the Capertee Valley. Which is a really scenic drive through the worlds second largest canyon. It is quite wide. We took a good look around and found an old abandoned town. It was a really interesting drive. We also went past the Three Sisters at Katoomba. Rowan sent the drone up and got some awesome footage. I was nervous as there is no way you would get it back if it crashed.

I am awake at 4am, I beat my alarm. Today we are leaving the Kimberley Coastal Camp. But before we do, we fish! We pack our bags and head out to the main camp area. A coffee and a small amount of time and we are walking out to the point to reach the dinghy. The tide is way out and the easiest way to get to it is along the rocky point. Tubs kills a brown snake, two snakes I have seen in the wild now.

We head in more towards the rivers and the mangroves. We are looking for a Baramundi none of us care if we catch a fish we just want to have one last experience. The new comers Sam & Phil head off with Tubs for the day, Joanne, Rowan and I head out with Joel. We don’t get far when we get told that we have the other groups breakfast wraps. Turns out we ate one of theirs as Joanne misunderstood and thought the watermelon was for all of us not just her breakfast. Luckily she did eat one because she would have gotten hungry with only watermelon. So we gave them back a wrap with a bite in it and Joel’s breakfast wrap also half eaten, along with all of the watermelon.

We all had a lot of fun even though we didn’t get close to catching a fish. The incoming tide along with winds really stirred up the water and it is really muddy. The croc spotting is superb. One after another, the smallest Rowan spots is only a foot and a half. At 9 we head back, the ride is incredibly fun. We are getting splashed and swaying all over the place. Time for a quick shower to remove the sea salt. Now we just wait for our helicopter to arrive. The lovely Jacob has come to pick us up again. I think wow he has remembered my name, before realising that he has my name in his manifesto, doh. Rowan rides shotgun this time, I am in the back with Joanne.

I captured more on the action cam being careful not to let it fall out of my hands to its death haha. The action camera hasn’t been used much, the battery is stuffed which I didn’t realise. So it dies really fast.

Jacob tells us the group arriving to KCC are overloaded and haven’t stuck to the 10kg rule so he will have to go get more fuel before getting Sue & Jan. They also booked a scenic flight over Mitchell Falls. We waited well over an hour for the other two to arrive. In our waiting our pilot arrived in this tiny plane. Even smaller than the one we can in on. Gee Jan is going to hate this flight haha. Our pilot is Juliet from Auckland. We get chatting away and she said she couldn’t find work in NZ after training and has been here nearly 2 years. she sets up some chairs and makes up very comfortable. We talk to the pilot of the new group and they are on a two week excursion. They have hired two pilots for it for a mere $200k. There is about 8 guests so not a cheap holiday!

I ride shot gun! Just don’t expect me to drive this thing Juliet!

We arrive in Kununurra after lunch. I am feeling pretty hungry now, we all are. We get dropped off to the big plane terminal. Unfortunately the cafe operator is not there. We can see sandwiches and food but we can’t eat it. I considered taking some out of the cabinet and leaving some cash. We won’t be in Darwin for a few hours and dinner will be likely 7pm. We are at that annoying timing of we can’t leave the airport to get food. Hungry it is. Rowan and I are handling it well. The last year has taught me to chill in situations when I am not the happiest. Joanne however gets hangry haha.

We asked for window seats and end up in business class. You don’t ask, you don’t get. I am happy sitting up there with more room than normal. This isn’t a big business class just the small upgrade you get. The view out the window is fantastic. I am a bit tired luckily this is our last flight today.

We decided not to get a rental car as we are only in Darwin 5min. But we do have half the day tomorrow and decide it is a good idea. As we ask how much a taxi is and find out car prices Joanne loses it. Next time we travel I shall bring nuts for hangry emergencies. Rowan tells her to go over there and count to 10 like you would to a toddler. For an extra $30 we can have our own car. Much better than a taxi.

We get out to our stay which is out of the city in Palmerston. We are in a quest hotel. Joanne goes to check in and work out where the car goes. I can see she is getting upset as she can’t find anyone. I go in and ring the bell, someone comes out straight away. After she checked us in. We go to park the car and bring up the bags. We just dump ourselves and go down to eat dinner. Quick thinking Rowan orders bruschetta to share as soon as we order drinks. This gave us time to work out our meals. After dinner we go back our room. It doesn’t take long and I am out. Tonight Rowan has the pull out sofa and Joanne and I are in the main bed.

A new day, we don’t dilly dally. Off for breakfast in a really cool cafe. From there we went to anaconda to get Rowan’s jandals replaced. The guy felt so bad for him they let him pick any pair of crocs he wants. So he ended up with the top of the line and went for covered in shoes. From there we went out to East Point. It is a beautiful spot away from the city. I noticed the lovely crapes I couldn’t fit into my belly at the markets. So we go there for a spot of goodness.

It was time to head to airport and get on the plane. Now we have to transit in Brisbane before heading to Sydney. We go on different planes from Brisbane as we wanted to save a few hundred dollars. We were in Brisbane a few hours. I got into the Qantas lounge with Joanne and Rowan later outside like a hobo. By the time we got back to Sydney we were tired.

Down at the camp by 5.15am we said goodbye to 3 of the guests as they went out on a fishing trip. We meet up with them at lunchtime. Same group today as yesterday. Rowan, Joanne, Sue and I. We are heading out where Rowan and I got the drone yesterday but we vere off the track. It is bloody hot! We are all sweating very hard, the walk itself is actually fun and a little challenging in places because you need to think about your next steps but the hot does make it harder. But look at the view.

We reached the rock art, this time we landed straight on top of it and had to climb down to see it. Definitely my favourite rock art, all the wonderful kangaroos.

When we got back to camp we jumped in the pool to cool down. It was strange seeing the ocean and not being able to jump in for a swim. Once we cooled down we got on a boat to go crabbing. There is 6 crab pots. We need 6 crabs for dinner.

It took a few runs up and down to get enough large ones. Tubs pointed out that they have a larger pincer for cutting and the smaller on is for grinding their food. We waited between checking the lines by driving the boat into the mangroves for parking and shade. That was when the beer started to flow.

Once our quota was filled we had a little time to fish before lunch. I caught a fingermark and Rowan caught a blacktip reef shark. I am glad I can say I caught a fish in the Kimberley even if we put him back.

From there we went to Malcolm Island for lunch. We rejoined with the others who caught us four beautiful fish. Jules made a salad and we ate till we couldn’t eat no more. The food was wonderful. I stayed in the water for most of the time. Tubs checked out the area for crocs and it is very unlikely to find one here but it does happen.

From lunch we had time to go for a fossick. Rowan had asked Tubs about a green crystal called an epidote which is found in a certain spot. So we headed there for a good beach combe. We got some amazing pieces to bring back. A few larger pieces to leave at camp.

We got back to camp around 3pm. Another swim and a drink in the pool. I go off for a shower and do some filming. I get back to see the sunset and before I know it dinner is ready.

We don’t stay up long after dinner. We have an even earlier start with a quick fishing trip to get in before we fly out.

A day of firsts

The day starts with an adventure even before coffee! Rowan told me he had taken the drone through an arch, he thought he was recording but he wasn’t. I asked if he would do it again, he agreed. Well of course he lost signal and the drone tried to come back to base (which we set it to rise 50m and come back) but hit its noggin in the arch. So we ended up on a near hour walk to retrieve it haha. It was actually great fun. It turns out it is not an arch it is just the way the rocks are laid that it looked like one. I did get ants in my pants (literally) and the nasty buggers bite!

When we got back we had our coffee and breakfast. All fuled up but we had to wait till 8.30am for the tide to be high enough. On the boat we head further into the harbour towards Minjau. We see two crocs on the way. That is the first time I have seen crocs in the wild.

We arrive at our destination and make a beeline to the rock art. It took about an hour to get there, it was incredibly hot. I was thankful to be in the cave and in the shade by the time we got there. There was just no shelter from the heat.

On the way into the cave we got mobbed by green ants, which bite. I swear everything bites in Australia. In the cave we’re some interesting images. Tubs found the spearhead which can’t be from the people around here because they never knapped their spears they just grinded them.

Then we headed off back in the direction we came. There were two Brolga birds flying, we weren’t fast enough to capture them on film. We got to have a swim on the way back which was well received. It was glorious.

We got back to the boat and had lunch. On the way back we saw two more crocs and Rowan got some good footage with the drone. It was risky landing the drone on a moving boat but he managed.

Once back, we didn’t do anything. To be honest we were hoping a more packed itinerary. In the afternoons we have filled them in with doing stuff we can but I was hoping we would have a full itinerary. However I am glad I am not exhausted.

Jan didn’t come with us on our walk today, she went fishing with two new comers. With the scraps from the fish they caught we got to feed the tawny nurse reef sharks.

We had a lovely Moroccan style dinner with the fresh fingermark fish they caught earlier.

We just chilled by the fire. As we got up to go to bed I spotted a hermit crab and then another and then another. They had such a variety of different shells it was awesome to see. Sorry I was too busy experiencing and forgot to take a photo. Then as we walked Jan back to her hut I walked past a snake. Jan yelled out there is a snake. I came back to have a look. It was a small brown snake, I kept my distance and it was neat to finally see a snake in the wild. Talk about a day of new sightings.

5am start, I got dressed and gave Rowan his pills to get him up. Last night I had a good sleep, it wasn’t too hot and the beds are extremely comfortable. Down at the camp living/kitchen area we watched the moon set. There was a good colour to the sky from the sunrise. Unfortunately the sun rises behind the camp so you can’t fully see it come up.

Jules makes us breakfast and Jack makes us some coffee. Today we are going on a 5 1/2 hour explore to see some aboriginal rock art. I have never seen any before, I am pretty excited. Not so excited about walking in the heat though. I think I need a month to try and acclimatise to this weather.

Once Jan was ready (not an early riser), we headed off. The walk was stunning, the heat wasn’t too bad either. We come across some green ants and Tubs tells us how they are eaten and gives me one to try. It is really a lovely citrus taste. The first art we hit is around 1200 years old.

From there we got to some older art, around 25,000 years old.

From there we went to the most significant cave on the walk.

The walk continued from there, we must have gone to four or five different areas. There was also evidence of a kitchen, trenches worn from thousands of years of spear sharpening and crystal shards from spears made to kill humans.

We found a shady spot for lunch. The last hour was the hardest as it just got super hot. We got around 1.30pm.

We chilled for the rest of the afternoon. In and out of the pool. Tubs & Jules have a date night tonight so all the food is already prepared for dinner.

After dinner we sat by the fire chatting before heading off to bed. It is way hotter today than it was yesterday. Going to sleep will be a bit more difficult.

An early start, we need to be at the airport at 6am and return our car rental. We get to the airport with plenty of time spare. Rowan and I leave Joanne with the bags and go to drop the car off then walk back. I have never been on a plane this small. We have 3 to a plane but the planes can take 6 passengers. We are taking two because two groups need to be picked up. Joanne, Rowan and Sue go in one plane. Joel (guide), Jan and I are in another plane.

The plane takes off pretty smoothly. Views from the plane are wonderful. There is a part where you are just over the ocean with not much to see, I read my book for that bit. The view below kept me entertained, no inflight entertainment or service on this plane. The flight is roughly two hours long.

After a fun wonky landing at the Mitchell Falls air strip, we arrived at the departure/arrivals lounge. Everyone was ready for a wee by then.

Another first, a helicopter in to the camp. What an amazing experience. I got to sit shotgun and had a wicked view the whole way. It really was spectacular. I can see why people like to take scenic helicopter trips.

Once we landed safely we were greeted like old friends from Tubs & Jules. All the staff are friendly and welcoming. Jules made us breakfast, I was really hungry by then. After a chat around the table we jumped into the swimming pool. It felt around lunchtime, but it was only 10am. Joel, one of the guides took us out on the water for a few hours. We went right out near Dog Rock and had a go at Trolling. After a few circles we caught a Trevally. Jan, one of the ladies reeled it in and did a great job. A catch and realease as there is a lot of fish back at camp. The group before us was fishing mad. We have a wrap for lunch on the boat. We ask Joel if we can go for a swim.

Malcolm Island is a safe enough place to have a swim. Not a long swim as the salt water crocodiles are around. It is not their normal habitat but they do wander. Rowan got the drone out and took some amazing photos and videos. That last minute purchase was a great choice. I am glad I thought about it.

On our way back into camp there was a pod of dolphins. We needed to be back before the tide really gets low. There is an 8m tide difference. I really want to do a time lapse of it. I will see if I can work it out without being able to ask Google for help.

Our new home for the next 4 days is pretty cool. A really nice spot with a fantastic loo with a view.

We jumped back into the pool for another cool down. As I type now (5pm) the temperature is very civilised . Rowan is croc spotting with the drone. I better go see and watch the sunset. I shall return.

Turns out the croc was a log. I hope we do get to see one. The sunset was lovely. We start the fire and sit around it like in the movies. Before we know it dinner is ready. We have delicious crispy skin barramundi, with a pomodoro sauce and arancini balls. For dessert we have a polenta lemon cake with vanilla cream. Rowan gets fritters for his dessert. Jules has a cookbook called cooking in thongs and the dessert is in the recipe book.

Back to the fire after dinner. Then Rowan and I head to our hut for showers and bed. I plan another early start, but I am very happy about getting 8 hours sleep.

Sunrise from the deck! That boat is actually part of the Land Cruiser that went underwater for 7km.

After some early morning faf we head to breakfast at a place called Laneway. They had delicious food and coffee! There was so much greenery you felt like you were in a secret garden.

From there we headed to JBHIFI to buy a drone. We have wanted a drone since the start of the trip. But with no drone policies on all department of conservation land it was a no brained to not bother. Now we are heading on a once in a lifetime camp on the coast of the Kimberley and I really want to make the most of it. On the plane I said to Rowan, I think we need a drone. Now we have a Nikon P1000 Coolpix, a Canon X3000 action camera and a DJI mini 3 drone. There should be some pretty incredible footage.

The Darwin Museum & Gallery is next on the list. We spend quite some time looking at it all.

Well worth a visit. We worked up an appetite, off to the marina for lunch. There was an array of fish swimming next to us. They were great entertainment.

Back to the apartment to get this drone charged up. While we wait we have a swim in the pool. Then we head off to a spot that you are allowed to fly drones. There is no SD card in it yet, Rowan wants to get used to the controls. Here is one picture that is sent straight to the phone.

Once the battery is flat we head back to the apartment. A few drinks and nibbles at the apartment before heading to the Zen Hotel to watch the sunset.

After the sun disappeared we head to dinner at the Hilton. The food was really nice. Joanne and I shared our meal as we were feeling quite full. A very smart move as there was room for desert.

Tomorrow we have an early flight to Mitchell Falls then a helicopter ride to the Kimberley Coastal Camp. There is no signal so you won’t hear anything until we get back.

Happy Birthday to Skylar my niece who is a big 4 tomorrow!

Off to the airport, we are heading to Darwin!

A pretty scenic flight. I really haven’t seen Australia. It was great to have such a lovely view the whole way. We landed in Darwin around lunchtime and headed out to the boat club. We hired a car for 2 days and got upgraded to this brand new fancy af Ford Ranger. This thing has all the bells and whistles.

Bellies full, we head to Anaconda to get Rowan some new sunglasses. From there we hunted down our airbnb. It is the top apartment in an older block, there are new blocks around us much higher. Once we figured out where everything is we jumped in the pool to cool down. The heat is not bad, I feared a lot worse.

For dinner we are going to the Mindel Sunset Markets. There is a great variety of food. We shared a delicious tuna, avocado, mango nachos, while watching the sunset.

Once the sun goes over the horizon the strangest thing happens. I promise I am not making this up. The 5 thousand or so people clap. Yes clap, like at the end of a show. It made me laugh, the three of us looked around these people are all crazy. I find out later that it is a thing, they always clap haha.

After the sun has set we wonder around in the dark sampling food around the markets.

Once we are back at the apartment I jump into bed. I am absolutely pooped!

My grandpa, G/Pa, Fred, Woolfy, Allan sadly passed on Matariki aged 93. Grandpa got through his open heart surgery like a champion. But unfortunately when in respite care an infection set in and it took him swiftly. Now those who are reading will already know the amazing life my grandfather had. Grandpa was married to Colleen nearly 72 years and they went forth and multiplied. They had Sue, Deb, Jane (mum) and my late uncle John. From the three girls came 12 grandchildren, 23 great grandchildren and one great great grand child. I mention this as he was a family man. Importantly he had another family, a huge community of support and love with his motor racing.

I am sad to see my grandpa go and I have prepared myself for this day. That may sound strange but we really don’t know how long we have with our loved ones. Even knowing my grandpa is not immortal I found his passing hard. The selfish side of me wanted him to live forever. I will miss him immensely but my Nana even more. I can’t fathom what it would be like to lose your partner in crime after 71 years. Like losing a limb? I can only speculate. I have many memories of G/Pa that I will cherish. He really was a true role model and we are all lucky to have him in our lives.

I came back to NZ on the Monday to help in any way I could. Rowan followed on the Friday. The preparations for the funeral were overwhelming at times. The whole family came together to make it happen. Some did a lot more than others like my sister Sarah & cousin Dean who had a spreadsheet to keep us all on track. We did videos to try help keep the ceremony as quick as possible, even then it was one and a half hours long. There are parts he would have approved of and parts he didn’t. But hey, funerals are for the ones left behind so you will need to forgive us Fred. My favourite part, was watching him leave at the end and all his friends and family waving. We had car engines revving, finish flags flying, horns honking and people cheering.

I am thankful for Rowan for being my rock through the entire ceremony. He stood by me throughout. When I gave my dad a big hug at the beginning my tears began. By the afternoon I felt like I had cried 10 litres of water and my tear ducts hurt. An incredible amount of people came to say goodbye and celebrate his life. Rowan thinks over a thousand. Everything was filmed and it was live for those who could not make it. If you want to watch I will put the link at the end. After the ceremony we went to my cousin Dean & Maria’s home. I am not sure how long we were there but it was good being able to chat and see everyone properly. My cousins son Kortez got a bit of a raw deal being his 9th Birthday. He was a champion, knowing today was not about him. By the end of the day, we were all exhausted.

On Sunday we went up to the shed for a drink for grandpa. It was nice to see everyone and say goodbye to those flying back home or going away. It feels strange being in the shed with no grandpa, it will take time. Rowan and I are back in Australia, we came in early yesterday (Tuesday). We will be here till the end of August as we have a few adventures booked. So watch this space!

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Wow it has been a year, I am not surprised that our journey isn’t quite complete. It just feels like a long time ago that we set out with heavy backpacks and heavy hearts. We needed healing and this adventure was our way of starting fresh. The year has taught us to be comfortable being uncomfortable. I won’t lie to you and pretend I love being cold, wet or hungry, but I can accept it. Some days mentally are just more miserable than others, but I look back on them and I don’t regret pushing through. Some of the parts I loathed at the time are now fond memories. Thank you for joining us we have a bit further to go. There are a few side trips coming up that I promise to blog about.

A little overview of what we have been doing in. Sydney so far. Bette is having her big 93rd Birthday this month. I have taken over the food for the party and I have been practicing my skills. It has been 6 months since I baked, I have been feeding up the 3 neighbours on her apartment floor. They seem to be happy to take my extras. There is a Pink Champagne theme (I made up). I am enjoying trying to master champagne cupcakes, I feel the flavour is not as prominent as I would like. Baking must not be as big here, or where I am in Sydney. The supermarkets have limited options. Rowan of course has been cooking up a storm and feeding us all well. I have a few recipes for the party for him to do.

I have been doing a bit of a Spring clean here. The silver is shining, I think I may attack the chandeliers next. Bette has cleaners once a week, but of course it is all the extra stuff that never gets done. Rowan and I have a list of jobs to complete. We have taken some chairs to get the cane replaced. There is a chiffonier in need of some minor work and another cabinet needs a new pin for its escutcheon.

We are heading to Dungog to see Heather, Katy, Huntah & Ben.