Heading for Home.

Wed 20th we packed up and left lovely South West Rocks by 9.30, and got ourselves yummy icecreams at the Kiosk, that we'd promised ourselves the week before! Went south thro Kempsey, to Pt McQuarie where we had another deliciuos fish lunch at a little sidewalk place near the shore - and I was a bit stunned to get a phone call from a bus company, booking in a coach load of people to our Martha's Coffee Lounge on 9/12! I sent out letters to 40 coach companies before i left here, so it was good to get a response, just a bit out of context! Found another little pwk shop, then headed inland over the mountains ... and they sure were mountains!! Was hard for Dad to look and drive, so I drove for a while and he took photos out the window as we drove past ... some good ones too! Certainly some spectacular scenery - one thing we must concede to the NSWelsh - they sure do rivers well!! At Moonbi Hill there was an amazing look-out, and Dad got a photo of the view, and also one of the lookout - it was a HUGE rock, with steps up the side!

At Tamworth Dad chose the Cara Park that didn't allow pets (he doesn't like dogs!) and we were a bit disappointed to discover we had a dry dusty stony patch to put the tent on! We'd been spoilt at SWR! Then as we got the tent up we watched lightning over in the west ... getting closer ... then we could hear the thunder .... and we watched it move right around us!! After our usual tuna and salad tea we went for a walk, telling our neighbours we were gonna make it rain! It wasn't cold - still in short sleeves! We went out thro the gate (radical I know!) back in the opposite direction, then walked around the building right next to our tent along the side fence of the cara park - and discovered that it was the Tourist Office ... and bus station! Oh lovely!! Buses arrived and departed between 4.30am and 11.30pm .... and I reckon we heard every one of them!! Was kinda funny! But back to our walk - it started to rain, so we raced back to the tent and listened to it while we played ONO99! Both read a while too, and the rain stopped and the storm fizzled out, and we slept faily well - buses excepted!

Dad went for a run next morning, and came back very excited as he'd found a patchwork shop for me! What a dear ....! We headed up the street and just browsed, did a bit of christmas shopping, and I bought some lovely earrings and a very pretty little plate (that he gave me for my birthday!) We found a Powerhouse Museum - did you know that Tamworth was the first town in Australia to have electric street lighting??! Neither did we! But we do now ... the guide at the museum was just so passionate and excited and knowledgable about his subject, we didn't have the heart to cut him off!! Was a bit interesting, but more as a study of human nature, rather than of electricity etc!! We had coffee, and lunch (Subway!), and then another coffee and cake .... the pwk shop was also a very classy coffee and gift shop, and was back towards the cara pk, so we were ready for a sit and an iced coffee by the time we got back there, after 4 hours of wandering along the street! When we got "home" Dad had a sleep and I took my chair out in the shade and read. It was pretty windy by then, and very dusty! He cooked us our last steak onions eggs tea and we had with salad .... was very nice! It's become our tradition for Dad to do the meals while we're on hols - I figure I get them the other 11 months of the year (generally!) so is fair enough! Mind you, I usually decide what he'll get, which is half the battle .... !

Friday we packed up again, and headed east again! Lunch at a lovely little bakery at Gilgandra - the Rock Bun bakery! Very nice pie and latte! As we got nearly to Dubbo there was a little locality called Brocklehurst - what a surprise! But we didn't think quickly enough to stop and take a photo! We had a wander around Dubbo, for a break, and even had Gloria Jeans coffee! That's also where Dad realised he'd forgotten that last Sun was the last Sun of the month, so he was meant to be preaching in Renmark - and he'd forgotten to organise it! Ooops! He made a couple of phone calls (Friday afternoon!!!) and one couple very generously offered to help him out!! I think he visited them on Thursday and ate humble pie!! On through Parkes and Forbes, and got to the same very basic little Motel at West Wyalong about 5.30. We went for a long walk, all along the main street and back, then had usual tea, read, watched footy, and played ONO99.

So yes .... we did get to stay in our tent, and it did stop raining! And I really have no idea who won most of the games .... sometimes it went very much one way, and others the other way! Which is a pretty fair thing to happen I reckon! Our Holiday Saga is just about over ... but I might write some more one day! Bye all! Love Mum