Wrap-up

Wrap-up

We are so pleased we stayed with Mum and Dad, instead of taking the van, as it turned out to be lovely, quality time. It also meant we were able to support and help them 24/7, especially when Dad was admitted to hospital. If Mum’s sister hadn’t been coming to stay with them after the trip to the coast, we would have returned to Canberra and stayed for longer. However, with Mum’s 80^th birthday coming up in February, we will be back there soon enough anyway.

The Cruiser performed so well all trip and it is a pleasure to drive. Both the Newell and New England are good highways, but the New England is a better road with more overtaking lanes. We never understand why QLD roads, especially just not far from the NSW border, are so terrible. You would think the QLD government would at least make the first 100km or so good to impress the tourists arriving from the South. However, we do have a lot more roads for a smaller population than the other states/territories.

Finishing on a positive note, we had a lovely family holiday and caught up with some great friends.

Day 29: Thu 8 Jan - Armidale to Home, 745km

10-32-26 deg C, cool start at Armidale, warming up nicely, then cooling off a tad as we approached home

WE'RE BAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!

After our buffet breakfast of cereal and toast as part of the room rate, we were on the road by 7:40am NSW time. We stopped for mornos at Tenterfield and had really good coffee from the Tenterfield Bakery, and some tasty treats. Lunch was had from IGA at Crows Nest. One last stop was at Goomeri to refuel the Cruiser.

We arrived home at 4:40pm QLD time, very relieved to be off the roads this time of the year. Bikes were removed and put to bed in the shed, along with the bike rack that performed as described, even on QLD roads. Cruiser was unloaded, cases unpacked and washing was sorted all by 6:40pm. 

Total km: 3,361

Total fuel: 345.56 litres

Total fuel cost: $651.82

l/100km: 10.28

Av $/litre: $1.89

Accom cost 2n: $340

Breakfast room at our motel at Armidale

Drive scenery

Day 28: Wed 7 Jan - Mollymook to Armidale, 758km

21-38-26 deg C, warm on the coast and inland with high humidity, to cool in Armidale

Walk G: 4km; total: 137km

Walk W: 4km; total: 119km

Greg was up at 5am to bid farewell to Dale, Carla, and James. Dale had to work, Carla had basketball day camp and James just wanted to be with his new favourite cousin, Carla. Farewells made, Greg came back to bed for another hour. Wendy said her goodbyes last night.

After breakfast, we started the packing up process and loaded it all into the Cruiser before we could put the bikes on. That job done, we helped clean the bathrooms and kitchen, emptied the bins, etc, etc. We eventually departed about 9am. We had a dream run (traffic was a bit heavy, but there were no holdups nor accidents) on the A1, M1, B88, M31, M7, M11, M1 again then the A15. We stopped for mornos at Wilton, but the bakery was closed, so we bought some half stale sambos, and a cold milk drink each from the BP servo over the road. We decided to eat and drink standing up, and watched as seven other people came to the closed cafe. Mr Google told all of us it was "open now". We refuelled the Cruiser just outside Singleton and had lunch at Maccas Singleton, that was not the best experience we've had at Maccas, but fed the worms. We stopped just north of Tamworth for driver change (last one for the day) and arrived at our hotel the City Centre Motel Armidale not long after 6:30pm.

After unloaded the necessary essentials for the night and plugging in the toothbrushes, we set off on foot, firstly to stretch the legs and then to find food. We chose a Thai restaurant about 800m from the motel. Alas, the only three days it is closed is 5-7 Jan! Just as we were consulting Google Maps, a lovely lady came passed and asked if she could help us find something. Just as Greg found an Indian restaurant about 200m away, she also suggested the restaurant. So, off we went and thankfully, it was open. We ordered our takeaways and 30 minutes later were eating in our room.

As it has been a BIG day, photos will be posted at a later date.

On the road again!

Drive scenery

Parachutist

Traffic on the M1

Saints Mary and Joseph Cathedral, Armidale

St Peter's Anglican Church, Armidale

St Paul's Presbyterian Church, Armidale

Armidale Town Hall

Armidale Uniting Church

Our motel

Day 27: Tue 6 Jan - Mollymook

18-24 deg C, fine and sunny with a cool breeze

Walk G: 10km; total: 133km

Walk W: 8km; total: 115km
Ride G: 12km; total: 756km

What a wonderful day. We started with individual walks after breakfast and returned for morning tea. There was a lunch reservation waiting for us at Bannisters The Rooftop Bar and Grill starting at 12:30pm. This restaurant is part of the Rick Stein (Celeb Chef from UK, married to a Aussie) Empire. Apparently they don't like tardy time wasters so we made sure that we arrived pretty much on time. To simplify things we elected to have the three course group menu (see pics).  There was a variety of meals chosen, and by all accounts everyone was very happy with the results. We were all full after a huge amount of antipasto, so had a break of about 20 minutes before asking for the mains to be sent through. Greg had king prawn linguine (no garlic) and Wendy had the steak. Wendy, and all the others who had the steak, said it was up there with the best they had eaten. You almost didn't have to chew, it was that succulent and tasty. For dessert Greg had the coconut pannacotta and Wendy had the vanilla hazelnut affogato. Copious quantities of wine was consumed as well. Back home for a rest for Wendy. Greg decided after all that food he needed some exercise so he went for a final ride around Ulladulla for this trip. It's such a lovely area we vowed to return one day. 

Greg's morning walk

Ulladulla Harbour pics

The early clouds did not deter the fishermen, it soon cleared to a blue sky

Wendy's morning walk

Black Creek reflections

Lunch location - Bannisters Rooftop

Mollymook beach

Where we had dinner last night

Pre-lunch - Carla, Jojo, Jemmy, Beebee, Pops, Henry, Ben, James

Menu

Bannisters

Half of the entrees

Greg's prawn linguine

Coconut pannacotta

Greg's afternoon ride

Millard's Creek pathway

Day 26: Mon 5 Jan - Mollymook

18-23 deg C

Ride G: 19km; total: 744km

Ride W: 19km; total: 408km

Walk G: 10km; total: 123km

Walk W: 4km; total: 107km

Had a little sleep in this morning. After coffee and breakfast we hit the streets of Narrawallee and Ulladulla on the bikes. We were trying to find the house we rented for Christmas in 2002 at Narrawallee. We think we found it, but it has been extensively renovated so we couldn't be 100% sure. We returned home via the back streets of Ulladulla.

Had mornos while chatting with various family members, then shared some photos of the nephews and nieces on the big screen TV. The kids loved it, more entertained than their mums and dads! While many of them went to the beach, we had lunch. Greg then went for a wander back into Ulladulla and came across Rick Stein (we will be dining at his restaurant, Bannisters Rooftop, tomorrow night). More blogging for Wendy before getting ready to have dinner at the Mollymook Golf Club.

We arrived before the golfers were finished, so ordered and knew we would be waiting a while as the queue was l o n g. The golfers were a tad later than expected but their dinner arrive not too long after ordering as there was a lull in the diners. All meals were good, typical 'pub' type meals, with an exaggerated price. But the view was good. We were home by 8:45pm

We think this was the house we rented for a week in Dec 2022

Dale helping his dad get to the beach

Mollymook Golf Club

The Grandies with their Sundae deserts: James, Jojo, Carla, Ben, Henry, and Jemmy

These were taken by a very helpful lady from the next table who just happened to be Tanya Plibersek.

Henry, Ben, Jemmy, Beebee, Pops, Kev, Wendy, Greg, Dale, Suz, Sammy, Jojo, James, Carla