Wednesday – we call the doctor and pharmacy first to make sure all is in order before walking into town. We head off down river and bump into some locals and a fly fisherman. Thirty minutes later with a close catch from the fisherman we head into town. The walk is really nice and the water is much nicer further up.

Along the way we find some yummy blackberries. We get into town and first things first get the pills. Then we head to the warehouse for some underwear for Rowan. I am well overdue my 6 monthly blood test. The wait it long, an hour but it needs to be done. We go to the Asian supermarket and realise we have done over 10,000 steps, so much for a rest day. Rowan is struggling with sleep and is really tired. I am finding my small toe extremely painful. We make the decision to have a real zero day tomorrow. This way we can have an early start and make a day of it!

Thursday – I am up early, most of the camp is asleep. Rowan wakes fairly early too and we have a chill morning with some eggs for breakfast. We head down the the river and spend a long time there. Rowan fishes and I read my book. No luck with the trout but not surprising when we have a spin rod not a fly rod. The water is cold but it is really nice and we enjoy a swim. We eventually get hungry and head back to the campground.

After lunch we get a couple of jobs done. I have a fair bit of sewing to do, I take up my dungarees, they are way too long. I also fix up the tent with some minor seams and Rowan’s dungarees also need a little love. Rowan cleans out his water bladder which has grown some gross friends while it wasn’t is use in Australia. It takes him ages to clear it all out. By the time we do all that and have an hour long conversation with Eddy it is time for dinner. It is amazing how fast the time flies.

Our stealth camping went well! If anyone caught us they didn’t say anything. Today we are on a mission there are a few things we need to do. It is a pretty hot sunny day which is not nice. Both of us are not as tired as yesterday but the heat sure hits you. My blisters are getting bad so every step is painful. We meet a lovely lady and she tells us there is a camping ground on our way out of town. Perfect, I thought we would be hiding out again tonight. First stop is the pharmacy for Rowan’s pills. We called yesterday both the pharmacy and his doctors to make sure it will be ready. Well we get there and only one script was written for his ADHD meds but none of his other 3 have been sent. Incredibly frustrating the pharmacist calls the doctors and ends up passing over the phone. Rowan’s doctor has gone for the day and won’t be back till tomorrow. We try to get one of the other doctors to send them but they say no it has to be his doctor. The pills are for sleeping and for his blood pressure. Unlike his ADHD meds which are restricted and hard to get. Annoyingly we won’t be carrying on tomorrow we will need to sort that out before we continue.

On the bright side we can have an easy day tomorrow and hopefully be all sorted. Next we head to subway for lunch. Then off to the supermarket as we may as well have a fresh dinner with vegetables. We land on chicken tacos with lots of fresh coriander! Next we head to Specsavers to get my glasses adjusted. We do a little op shopping along the way, don’t worry we didn’t get anything. 3km to the campground and we are both tired, Rowan is frustrated. I have the idea to catch a bus and we will walk in tomorrow so we haven’t not done the 3km. We gladly hop on the air conditioned bus. The driver is chatty and the ride goes by fast. Finally at the campground we get the tent pitched and get some water. We are both dehydrated.

I am hoping it doesn’t take long to sort the pills tomorrow. I will try get my blood test done too.

A bit of a slow start, we had to chase up Rowan’s meds and make sure they will be able to be picked up at the pharmacy in Upper Hutt. We both had a terrible sleep, Rowan was up late and I kept waking up throughout the night. Feeling rather lethargic we get going, 500m in Rowan realises we left food in the fridge. I turn around and go back for it. We decide to walk along the river, it doesn’t have much shade which is unfortunate. About 5km in we are both really struggling, we hop on some Lime Scooters and continue on. Even on the scooters it is a struggle my arms and legs are hurting. A lunch stop and a few breaks help. At one point I go into a pot hole and come off the scooter, nothing hurt but my pride. The batteries die on the scooters and we walk the last few km to Trentham Memorial Park. Tonight we are being sneaky and stealth camping in the bush where you are not allowed. There is no campground so we don’t have a choice. We found a spot where we can camp and sat a bit further away and relaxed in the shade. It was 6pm before we both got really cold and I was almost asleep. There were less people around now so we snuck into the bush and set up as quietly as possible. No one has seen us. We had a quick bit of food a wash and into bed.

The day started good. We said goodbye to lovely Michaela & Gareth who I am sure are glad to have the house to themselves. Packed up making sure we had everything to go got our packs in and Rowan asked me “where are my clips.” I had them still packed far out, so packs off and time to rummage. I found them then had to repack both backpacks. Roughly a 4km walk to the ferry terminal which didn’t take us long but man I felt the heat. I thought we would be waiting over an hour as the timetable but we got on in about 10min which I was happy about. We did detour to Matiu Island to drop off and pick up some passengers.

Once off the ferry at Days Bay we walked a kilometre and found a nice pohutakawa and a chance to have some egg sandwiches. I also take off my boots and put blister plasters on, I lost all my hard skin in Australia. We follow the coastline all the way to the top 10 campground. The heat of the day really gets to us and we didn’t have enough water. 6 hours in full sun, even with sunblock and appropriate clothing takes it out of you. We have a few short rests after lunch and when we had 3km to go my feet really started hurting and Rowan’s ankle starts playing up. So we take it fairly easy as we don’t need him with an injury! We meet a lovely couple on the beach Ewan & Susanne and have a good chat. I really missed having chats to people we bump into. A kilometre to go and we find some lime scooters and we attempt to get them going but utterly fail. Wasting our time we give up and walk the last 1km arriving around 5pm. We do our usual pitch the tent and get our boots off. It will definitely take a few days to get into the swing of things again.

We arrived at our friends place early 1.30am, we went to every customs person to check various items. I realise I have left my phone in Gareth’s car and I have left my e-book on the plane yikes! Annoyingly I checked the pockets but I obviously didn’t check it properly. Not much I can do till tomorrow so I sleep.

Next morning I am up around 8am, everyone is still asleep so I read Rowan’s book, I don’t last long and I am fast asleep too. We wake up at 1pm! In fairness that is 11am Australia time but unheard of for me. Once I am up I stay up. Stunned that I have lost most of the day we rush out to do some jobs. The airport hotline isn’t answering messages and I don’t know if they have my kindle.

Gareth kindly drives us into the CBD and waits for us as we shop. First stop Bivouac I need to sort out my inflatable mat. Rowan got a cheap one in Australia to replace his one as it is an overseas purchase (none available in nz at the time) his will take a long time to replace. Also my merino camp pants are worn through and have holes. Icebreaker isn’t what it used to be! The team take both of our camp mats and said they will call sea to summit and see what they can do about Rowan’s one.

Next Macpac, my silk liner is already failing and another pair of Rowan’s underwear have failed. May he has big balls or something lol. Gareth kindly takes us to the airport where luckily there is on Quanta staff member lingering around so we corner her to see if they have my book. Unfortunately nothing is in the log book so she takes my name and number. By the time this is all done it is 5pm! So we head back to Michaela & Gareth’s place.

The next day I wake up at a more civilised hour and we relax and drink coffee. Bivouac call and our mats are sorted. I keep trying to ring the airport with no luck, then aha I finally get through. The lady chats to other staff and finds my book hooray! We steal Michaela’s car and head straight to the airport. I run in, check it is my kindle and I run back out. Success dopey has her book back. Now onto bivouac, we get two new mats. We need to pay $65 for an upgraded version for Rowan’s mat as they don’t import his exact one. We are more than fine with that. I get a new pack liner, just a cheap $6 one as we keep breaking the expensive ones. Rowan needs a sleeping bag since we sold my one in Australia. Unfortunately the one he wants isn’t on the shop floor in Dwights and we can’t hang around till Tuesday to get it. So off to Lower Hutt to a different macpac who can replace Rowan’s underwear and we get him two cheap sleeping bags. 1 down 1 synthetic. The synthetic one is more of a blanket than a bag. I am dubious as our track record with macpac is abysmal. However we will give it a go. Finally our gear is under control now to sort dinner and get some food for the walk tomorrow.

New years eve we stay up and watch the fireworks on the TV which is pretty spectacular, we can also hear it and see the sky light up from the balcony. I thought the 9pm kids show was pretty special but the midnight fireworks were incredible.

The next few weeks are a bit of a blur, Joanne (Rowan’s mum) is back from Europe. We run around looking for shoe laces and other odd things we need to get walking again. We give up trying to find 2m shoe laces and end up buying some rope from a hiking store. My sandals nearly break, another thing to go find. The list goes on.

We get a chance to do a little sightseeing. But I mostly spend these weeks getting Rowan’s business partner Eddy organised. There is a lot of maintenance and additions to do to his building in Labuan Bajo. I also take over social media adding another 6 accounts, 3 Facebook & 3 Instagrams. You may wonder why there is three different businesses well… Eddy’s Adventures is the tour guide business he has had for years. Eddy’s Place is what came of the backpackers when covid hit. Eddy needed income for his family so he set it up as a basic cafe for locals. Now we are getting the property ready to be run as a 7 day a week eatery. Eddy has some reliable staff to run it while he keeps up his tours. Right now is monsoon season so no tourists around. Anakarang is a charity Eddy started years ago which helps with marine life and the local children. I really enjoy doing the charity page.

Before we know it we have a few days before we leave. It is going to be a big change for Bette not having us around. I am looking forward to getting back to it. Our flight arrives in Wellington at 12am so really Friday rather than Thursday. We have a list of shops to get to gear to replace.

The days leading up to Christmas are fairly uneventful. We have friends coming on Christmas eve, Tynan, his brother Blair and his mum Jan. Bette doesn’t want to have a Christmas this year, which Rowan and I are fine with. However we do head up to Dungog for a quick overnight stay just to see Heather, Katie & the boys.

We head off Wednesday morning. It is a four hour drive, which is down the road in Australia terms. We reach Dungog mid morning and grab a cold bottle of bubbles. Knock, knock… Heather & Katie are not home. So we head to their new house to see if they are there. No luck, no one is home. We call them and they are an hour away. Oh well we find a wine glass in the back of the car and drink the bubbles we got. We give ourselves a tour of the new house exterior and before we know it they are home. After a chat Katie heads off to the hairdresser and we head to grandmas land to swim in the river. I entertain Ben while Rowan and Heather swim (Huntah is at pre school). The river isn’t inviting to me, we are spoilt in NZ.

A good cool down and we head back for dinner. They haven’t moved into their new home yet and we get to be the first ones to sleep in the house. I think they want us to check for ghosts. The next day Rowan cooks a big breakfast and we head out to the Commons. The Dungog Common Reserve is 650 acres that was donated to the council to be used by everyone. We all went for a short walk.

After lunch we headed back to grandmas to cool down. This time I got in the water which felt really warm in comparison to NZ rivers. It was a lovely swim and great to cool down before getting in the car and heading back to Sydney.

Chrissy eve is here and I have made a potato salad with edamame beans, mint and no mayonnaise. Instead it has a side tzatziki sauce. I also make a big jug of mojitos and for desert ambrosia. Our guests arrive and we start with the mojitos and some fresh bread with balsamic and olive oil. Then we all head off to the pool. We don’t really have lunch till about 3pm. It is the perfect meal for such a warm day. A few bottles of champagne later we are all quite full. The day ends and everyone goes home.

Christmas day is here and we pretend it is not a thing and we all just settle into a fairly normal day and of course we eat leftovers. The next two days fly by with nothing new to report. New years eve will be another non event. Every first of anything is going to be really hard on Bette and the family. I don’t blame her for wanting to act like it is another day.

Freedom feels great! You only need to stay isolated for 5 days here. First thing I do is get in the pool for a swim. I must say the best thing about getting Covid is being bed ridden for 5 days. It has done wonders for my ankle. It feels much better but not 100% yet.

I finally can help more around the house, so I get to doing odd jobs that I have been wanting to do since we arrived. There are a few things we need to sell on the marketplace so we get those listed. I sell my sleeping bag as it is overkill and warmer than necessary. I will take Rowan’s quilt and we will get a synthetic summer bag for him. I sell it for what we paid for it, so I am stoked. The bags are a small brand so the values stay up high and it is hard to find a shop that stocks them.

The week goes by pretty fast. We get a chance to meet up with childhood friend Tynan and take a long walk around Sydney Park. This was a great test for my ankle, my feet got sore as they are not used to being walked on anymore. Best of all I woke up the following day and I had no ankle pain. Finally my ankle is better. It is still recommended I give it another 2 weeks before hiking.

P.S Happy Birthday Ellery (19th my niece)

Happy Birthday Tynan (20th)

Finally got the Covid, turns out I am not invincible

Blue Mountains – Rowan and I headed to pick up David so they could take me exploring.  Unfortunately due to heavy rainy weather majority of the lookouts were closed.  It made it hard as I didn’t want to walk far.  It became a running joke that the Blue Mountains are closed!  We would turn off the main road and head to a lookout, it wasn’t until we got a few K down the road that we would see it fenced off and closed.  No one has updated the signs from the main road.

We got to the Three Sisters near Katoomba and found a spot to see the view.  Luckily we stopped there as it has become a bit of a tourist trap.  The place is packed and you can’t just do one of the rides you have to do all 3.  So we gave it a miss.  By the time we got to Katoomba town we were starving but everything is closed!

We finally find some Subway at the next town and get back to Miriam’s later than we expected.  Rowan and I don’t stay long and head off home.  We get a chance to chat a bit more with Nathan and get a quick snap of us.

Monday, David flies home.  We get over to pick up David, he heads back to Adelaide today.  Off to get some breakfast before heading out to the Northern Beaches for an explore!  Rowan lived in Avalon for some time when he was young. 

First on the agenda Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.  You pay to get in and it doesn’t cost much $12, and you get to stay the full day.  We get to Bobbin Head and it is pretty spectacular, I can see why there is so many boats around.  We travel right through and get to West Head Lookout, it looks out toward Barrenjoey Lighthouse. As kids they would head into Ku-ring-gai Chase and watch the moon rise.

From there we headed out towards Barrenjoey Lighthouse. In Avalon we found Rowan’s old home. The houses around the Northern Beaches sure are fancy. It costs $40 a day to park at one of the car parks on the beach.

After all this exploring we got hungry. David took us out to the pub for a late lunch, the food was really good. We had plenty of time and got David to the airport on time.

Tuesday, we just stayed around the apartment and Rowan cooked up a storm. On Wednesday I wanted to go op shopping and I made a full plan on where to go. I woke up feeling a bit under the weather but brushed it off. We only got to Maroubra and I started feeling worse. By the time we got to Bondi I said to Rowan we need to go home. When we got back I went straight to sleep. I thought I better take a RAT test, no surprises it came back positive. Rowan got the spare room ready for me and I started my quarantine, I wasn’t really worried about passing it on as Bette & Rowan had it recently. However I wanted to stay away just in case.

Quarantine was rather boring but it was fine. It didn’t feel that bad, just like a flu. I found not being able to get a tea when I wanted the most frustrating. Rowan was good with getting me stuff but it often took longer than I wanted. For instance, one day a tea took 7 hours lol

Heather came to Sydney for a Christmas work do and I was sad that I couldn’t see her. However Rowan came back with a beautiful bunch of sunflowers 🌻 from Heather. They sure brightened up my room. I also took the opportunity to give myself cap highlights and brighten up my hair.

Rowan’s dad David arrives from Adelaide. We haven’t seen him since mid 2019 when we were all in Sicily. Rowan and I were trying to decide on where to go and spend a few nights away with David, we were looking at Airbnbs all over New South Wales. Rowan had the idea to go to Coffs Harbour where there is family that I haven’t met before. Mick (David’s Brother) & Liesel live there.

Monday 29th arrives and we pick David up at the airport and head out to Kevin (David’s brother) & Miriams house. Kevin is hiking in Hobart but Mariam is around. We have dinner and make our plan to head off early in the morning to Coffs Harbour. It will be a good 6 hours in the car so the earlier we leave the better.

Tuesday morning Rowan and I leave early to pick up David. The drive was scenic but very much the same everywhere. However we did get to go through a gorge in the beginning with tight corners and limited sized vehicles can go through.

This is the furtherest north I have been from Sydney. I really haven’t done much traveling in Australia at all, cities is about all I have done. The weather is wet and it stays that way the entire time we are there. It was fantastic getting to know all of Rowan’s extended family, I had heard a lot about them but never had a chance to meet them. Rowan’s cousin Justin & partner Jess are currently living there while their house is being built. It was great to hear family stories and spend a good amount of time getting to know everyone. Three nights we stayed in Coffs and each day we got out and about sightseeing. Well maybe cloud seeing.

One of the days they took a walk of Muttonbird Island and I stayed down low and had a short walk along the break wall. My ankle is getting better but I am not pushing my luck! We took a trip out to Belligen and had a late lunch. On our way there Rowan stopped so we could save a turtle that was attempting to cross the road. The poor thing kept hiding in its shell as a vehicle would pass over. David showed us a beautiful old arcade that we really just went in to see the building. Because Liesel was on night shift (nurse) we made sure we were out of the house during the day so she could sleep. Rowan played chef and cooked most of the meals. One night we visited Dean & Jess, friends from when Rowan went to school in Coffs. We got back a bit late so David and Mick cooked a cottage pie.

In the morning friends arrived and we had a brunch, leaving Coffs Harbour around 11.30am. On our way back I wanted to detour out to Trial Bay Gaol, which is an old convict prison right on the ocean. It was quite busy, lots of people around. We also went out to the lighthouse to look at the view. Apparently you can stay in the buildings.

It was a great detour and break up the drive. At one point Rowan and David were in such a discussion I just put my headphones in and listened to music. We got to Kevin & Miriams around 7pm. Nathan, Rowans cousin was there so I got to meet him. We got back to Bette’s place close to 9pm and feeling pretty tired.