OUR GREAT OCEAN ROAD

With Camera fully charged
it is time to get this long awaited part of our trip underway!

So excited are we to be here!

On our way along the great ocean road, we plan on doing some free camping,

as we feel most places may well be booked out, as the 

Easter holidays are in full swing!

We decided on taking the short cut
across Port Phillip Bay on the Queenscliff / Sorrento Ferry
This means we will dodge Melbourne & its congestion!

We drove on the ferry, parked the car & then headed upstairs!

The water so calm & so still over the bay and for

that i am happy, as i am not a fan of the water at all!!!

We had a cuppa, cake & sat back & enjoyed our ride and scenery!

We arrived safely across the bay @ Queenscliff  40 minutes later!

Once off the ferry we headed for our free camp spot, down near

Apollo Bay along the
Great Ocean Road

It is always a bit tricky going into free camps & caravan parks for that matter, sight unseen!

We haven't done much free camping as yet, so this will be good.....We hope?

The spot we choose was in our camps 5 book is beside a river, & looks good in the picture!

We are thinking as this is a busy time of the year, we need to get there by 2 in the arvo,
that way we would have a better chance of getting a good spot???

We stayed at one last year & everyone started pulling in about 3pm!

Well i just looked @ the time & it is already 1.30pm & we still have a

100 odd kms to go!

The rain just keeps on pouring down

 this is definitely not a good day to drive along this

Spectacular World Famous Road!

Our Eta is 3.25 & we still need to get milk, bread & onions for our BBQ tonight,

plus we need to get diesel for the truck, otherwise we wont be going anywhere!

We just passed a sign

Bells Beach!

Mark said how far away is it??

I estimated about 10 kms off the Hwy
 No we'll keep going he muttered,

I then said........No!

 We should go & have a look we may never be back here!

 Plus, the pro surfing classic is on there right now, which is a pretty famous event & would be so good to see a bit of!

So that is what we did!
Well, i should say....That is what we tried to do!
We got to the intersection to

 Bells Beach & a sign read.....This way to pay & enter the event, otherwise turn right

if you don't want to enter the event!

  Well, we definitely did not want to enter the event.....

I cant surf & Husband didn't bring his board!

We only wanted to go to the beach to have a quick look,
we didn't want to spend the day there,
and getting caught up in the crowds towing a caravan
would not be a good option!
So we took the right hand turn, we thought this would still take us to the beach??With no signs to guide us & the navman off, we followed the next road on the left

Bells Beach Road

Oh No!!!!

5 kms of dirt & we are lost!
Yep trust us!!!

On goes the Navman, & we are back on track!

Well so much for

Bells Beach

It was not meant to be!

This amazing road stretches for over 200 kms & was built by return soldiers, 

in the early 1900's, using nothing but picks & shovels!

No fancy machinery back then, just physical back breaking hard labour!

It was a dedication to those lives lost in

World War 1

The dismal misty day did not detract from the magnificent beauty of it all

It is everything we read & dreamed about & this was just the beginning!

The Scenery as we travelled along was so spectacular,

as the road hugs the rugged coast line of

Bass Straight

So breath takingly beautiful!!

It bought me to tears!

Beauty unfolds @ every turn, as you wind your way slowly around the coast line

with the beautiful beaches & unique townships dotted all along this magical drive!

My favorite little town is

Lorne!

We arrived at our free camp about 4.30 & as we thought,

it was pretty packed!

We parked the van & set up for the night!

I nearly died as i glanced above my head & to my surprise was this darling little Koala!

Such a rare sight to see! 

 I just love camping, even though this is cheating a tad,

 with the luxury of the van & thank the Lord for porta potties,

but it is so good to get back to

basics & nature & to top it all off it is free!

We left our picturesque little camp & headed not far down the road to our next site,

 We planned to stay here for a few days as it is central to the

Twelve Apostles

& the quaint little sea side town of

Port Campbell!

The London Bridge

Apparently in in the 90's this arch to the mainland collapsed & there were people trapped on it for hours waiting to be rescued by helicopter....No Fatalities!

Us @ The Loch Ard Gorge

This Gorge was named after the ship that went down here!

There were 2 survivors, one was Tom Pearce the ships apprentice & the other an Irish immigrant Eva Carmichael

Poor Tom floated for hours in the ocean, when finally the tide turned,

 he was swept up bruised & battered into this gorge,

here he heard the cries of Eva!

He struggled for hours to get her to the beach, he sheltered her in a cave & revived her on a

bottle of brandy he found washed up on the shore.
 He then made his way up the bank for help!
Well there, their story ends!

It was a fizzer for me!

I was hoping for a fairy tale romance & a happily ever after!
Oh well!
 Maybe they just forgot to add that bit!!!

Well from here we are heading to Adelaide!

We have a few problems & it is there, where we will get them fixed!

Firstly.........

Our waeco fridge in the van stopped & will not go, we are living out of the

car fridge & that is a pain in the bum, let me tell you!

Then after washing the van the other day

Mark discovered a crack in the caravan rim, these rims are not even 2 years old!....Meaning we only have 1 spare!

Then the water filler, hose connector, pressure reducer thingy carked it........This means we cant

even use the tank water!

It's filling kettles from the outside tap from now on!

We thought as most things come in 3's that was the end!

Not.... Now our tv areal is broken & wont pick up Chanel's!

We are really roughing it now!!....Hahaha!

 We have been on the road for just under 12 months now,

so i suppose we are pretty lucky, that is all we have to complain about!!!

Cheers till next time!

ENJOY!

 

LAKES ENTRANCE to PHILLIP ISLAND VICTORIA

From Eden we headed down to Lakes Entrance where we stayed a few nights

Lakes Entrance was lovely.....Where their lakes meet the Southern Ocean!

We stayed in the Silver Sands Caravan Park

which was right in the heart of the town & very close to clubs, shops & eateries!
It is a Top Tourist Park, which we were members of, but our membership had expired!
So i decided to join up again & enjoy the discounts! 

This caravan park is the tidiest & pretty park!

It was a tad bit tight though!

That is not a problem parking the van as the manager guides you in to your site!

Wow!! I wish he could come around oz with us!....He makes it look so easy! 

He is a character & has owned the park for 33 years!

They have the best amenities i have yet to see on our travels!

Air conditioned Stylish & oh so clean!

Dinner @ the local Bowlo was not great!!!!!

It is so hard to find good food anywhere, this we can't understand as every where

we go it is just ordinary & that is sad because we don't dine out that much

(for that reason)

so when we do we expect it to be

Yum!  

Home cooking is definitely the go!
Goodbye Lakes Entrance

Hello......Phillip Island

Weather Beautiful clear Sykes & a pleasant 22 degrees

We stopped @ Yarram a small town along the way at the Country Club
for some Lunch, Vino & a Beer

Then back on the road & it is straight for Phillip Island!

What a beautiful drive as we wind our way through Valleys 

along the edges of the bottom of Eastern Australia!

The roads though are not that good very bouncy most of the way....

Oh well you cant have everything!

Our original plan was to go to Wilson's Promontory, as this is the most
Southern Tip of Australia

We were going to camp down there, but a few weeks ago the caravan park got flooded out!

 It is now closed until they clean it up!

We pulled over @ a scenic lookout to view the spectacular scenery over
Wilson's Promontory

Flood waters every where around here!

We crossed the bridge @ San Remo & here we were on
Beautiful Phillip Island!

Wow i cannot wait to see the penguins!

We booked in to our park which was right on the beach, & also a top tourist  
the owner of the park asked where we had come from....
Lakes entrance i told him, oh which park did you stay at?
Silver Sands, he straight away said oh.... With Terry!
I went on to tell him how i had just renewed our membership with him back there!....
Well to our surprise he continued on to tell us that Terry was the founder of the Top Tourist Club! What a modest man Terry turned out to be, as he never mentioned a word of this to either mark or i on our numerous conversations we had with him!
Apparently he had got quite a few parks together & had it wrapped up from
Merimbula down to Lakes Entrance,
 but there was a void @ the other end of the coast,
 so he approached 
this Phillip Island caravan park
 to join in, they did & that was the begining of the
Top Tourist Club way back in the 80's
Fascinating stories & people you meet along the way!

Well this time 6 months ago we were sitting at
 The Top of Australia
on Punsand bay about a 100 mtrs from the beach!
Here we are now at the bottom of Australia on
Phillip Island about the same distance from the beach!

 As we sat & unwound after our long day travelling
I reflected on the absolute beauty of Victoria's Gippsland
So Beautiful is this part of Australia!
It absolutely leaves me marvelling @ how lucky we are to see nothing but
beauty around us so much of the time!
Most of the trip down, had the sun shining over the rolling hills
as they enveloped each other in layers, so lush & green, fence lines
determine the colours, all coming to life with.....
The most stunning back drop  
Bass Straight! 

Today we did some sight seeing around the Isle
First stop to check out the penguins & book our ticket for tonight's parade!
The sad part though is there are no cameras allowed as the flashes scare them!  
The cost of tickets started at $28.00 for general viewing & went up depending on what you wanted?
Some could view the penguins in your own little group of 10 sheltered in a viewing box, then there was another package where you had your own Eco tour guide & then there were the
 photo & dvd packages with the penguins one on one!

We decided on the cheapie one, along with the majority of people!
With the general viewing, you sit on like a grandstand in front of the beach or
you can sit directly on the beach!
 This gets packed the lady informed us so to get a good viewing spot you should
get there about 1/2 before, which will be about 5 pm as the sun starts to set!
Husband then asks the lady......So you can guarantee they come in every night?
Yep!... She says with great conviction!
They are creatures of habit, they have been out fishing all day in the water & come in to go to bed for the night in their little burrows which are all around the
 grass land areas of this park!
This will be soo good i can't wait!!!!
After that was all sorted we headed to
The Grand Prix Track!
This was very interesting!......Mark enjoyed it very much as he slowly made his way
 (well behind me) taking in all the memorabilia of 
past olden day cars, motor bikes & the history & beginnings of the race track!

Husbands Old Torana!

That was a fun way to spend a day!
We left there & did a bit more sight seeing @ Nobbies Rock & Seal Rock!
Seal rock has one of the largest Fur Seal Colonies in Australia!

Seal Rocks is to the left of me.....
We were not lucky enough to sight any even through the noccies!

The day was now drawing quickly to an end & it was home to grab a bite & get rugged up ready for the big finale......

The Penguins of Phillip Island!

We arrived early as the lady said, along with.....

 15 thousand five hundred & ninety five other people!

Lucky we had pre purchased our tickets & could dodge the queues!

We wound our way along the boardwalk

headed straight for the beach & the viewing platform! 

We were greeted by one of the parks staff who was there

to keep control of what could end up in disaster!

 Also it was school holidays, so you can imagine the people, many from all over of the world!

Mark counted bums along the rows & calculated that

each row was worth about ..........

A Thousand Bucks with excess of about 20 rows all up!

That did not include the ones sitting on the beach or the special ones!

We plopped ourselves down in a good spot & waited~~~~~

As the sun started to set, i spotted the first cluster through our binoculars, they were sitting

 about 200 metres off shore waiting on the waves til it gets dark & then they

waddle their way across the beach to their little burrows, for the night! 

They are scared of being taken by predators such as dogs & foxes!

I looked over & spotted two early birds, straighten themselves as they got out of the

water & off they waddled along!!.....So cute they are!

I was fixed on them, although sadly i had to share the binoculars with mark!

I patiently waited again till it was my turn ......My goodness, they were so funny to watch

as they made their dash up the beach, then out of the blue i lost one & the one i could see had turned back & was heading to the water????......

I think his mate had decided to return to the water, as it was too early to come in???

So i continued to watch this lone Penguin sit on the beach!

I was worried he was a sitting duck......Sorry, sitting penguin!

Before we knew it there was about 10 all riding the waves in to shore & out they came all following each other, probably eager to get this last leg of their day over!

They kept on coming out of the water, some groups bigger than others,

 all so fascinating to watch!

As the last of them waddled out of the water, we decided to walk down around the boardwalk, cause there you can see them clearly walking along the path ways, finding their beds for the night & meeting up with their people they may have lost throughout the day........

Now this was good, as they were now close enough for us to touch!

We didn't, as the guide informed us earlier, they are wild animals & will bite!

They are classics to watch & mesmerising!!

 All chittering & chattering amongst themselves as they walk along so

awkwardly, one stops they all stop!.....There was even a blue, this poor lone penguin

 stuck on the path trying to get up the hill to his home & these bullies would not let him in!!

Loudly they protested at him till after about 15 minutes of persevering,

 he some how got his way & snuck in!!!

Too funny!

Funny how they are use to people & are not one bit perturbed by us & all our

Oohs & Arrs!

These beautiful little creatures have not been trained or tamed

this is them in their natural environment!

How lucky we are to have been a part of this!

  

Old Tom of Eden!!!

Eden is located about 480 kms Sth of Sydney on the Sapphire Coast,

The temperature here just beautiful & such a pleasant relief

from the cold that had just began in

Queanbeyan!

                      Today is the first day of the holiday part of our travels & we started it off with a

with a bit of a sleep in ( which went till 6am instead of the usual 4 or 5am)

followed by bacon & eggs, showers & now it is off to do some sight seeing!

Eden was once a thriving whaling town & is also known for its excellent deep sea fishing!

As you wander around the port you may be lucky enough to see the

fisherman unloading their catch!

We set off & our first stop was

Southland Fish Supplies, here you can view their processing rooms!

As we parked the car we noticed a group of Rotary Club People

gathered out the front.

When we went inside their tour had begun & the lady @ the desk said

we were welcome to tag with them, which we did!

Anyway after listening to this very well informed Speaker,
tell us why some fish are not around or have not been seen

 for long periods of time,
it is not always, because they have become extinct

it may only mean that they have moved away out of that area!

Fish could be there one minute & gone the next & it is all because they are

chasing food & go where there is an abundance for them to eat! 

He also made a point which pricked my ears & woke me up!!

All farmed seafood are pumped full of antibiotics & any farmed products

sold outside of Australia have no regulations on the amount of Antibiotic added!

Yuck!

This is not good!!!

Now for one i would never buy any seafood that was not caught in our waters & for two 

i can not even remember the last time i had antibiotics!!!

 This then turns me off buying farmed fish as they have antibiotics pumped in them!

When we really do need some 

they will not work cause our bodies have had their fill of them???  

Freshly caught Fish or Co-ops ocean fresh are the only way!!!

We were then led over to the viewing window where we could see how the catches of the day were cleaned gutted & filleted & then sent up to Sydney fish Markets!

Wow!!!!

These men were very experienced, fast, extremely precise & so quick!!!!

Next the lady put a movie on about how the trawlers catch the fish, i didn't go in for that, as

i was happy to stand, watching the workers do their work

 i loved it, i could of stood there happily all day watching the process!

Some of the fish they were doing were~~~

Mowong, Flathead, Mirror Dory & the

 Worst fiddliest one of all to fillet~~~ Whiting

 Beautiful Rainbow Trout
Marks boss back in Queanbeyan caught this @ Lake Jindabyne & was good enough to give it to us!!
YUMMMMMMMMMO
 It was so Good!!!!

We left there & headed of to meet

Old Tom @ Edens Killer Whale Museum!



The Story of Old Tom goes something like this~~~~
He was the leader of a pod of killer whales, he weighed 6 tons & measured about 22 ft
He would heard the Baleen whales into Twofold Bay with his pod,
Old Tom would alert the local whalers by thrashing his tale on the water!
Out the whalers would go in their boats & harpoon these poor defenceless Baleen Whales!
In return for his good work, the whalers would allow Tom & his pod to feast on the lips & tongues
which was a delicacy to these killer giants of the ocean!
This became an agreement known as
The Law of The Tongue 
In 1930 Old Tom was found dead in
Twofold bay
He was thought to have been 80 years old, his skeleton hangs proudly in
Edens Whale Museum

There was this other little bit of fact we read whilst wandering through the museum
A boat got hit by a whale & somehow the whaler on board got swallowed & ended up inside the stomach of the whale~~~~Now the strange bit is, when they caught this
whale & cut it open out came the man~~~~
 ALIVE!!!!!
His body was bleached white from the whales stomach acids!
He told of how there were live fish flapping around him for the 15 hours he was trapped in there!!!
He remained alive because, apparently before whales dive down they take in a lot of oxygen!
How strange was that & how lucky for him!!
His time was not up yet!

From there we headed into Bega to the
Famous Bega Cheese Factory
This actually was a bit of a disappointment, i thought we would see the cheese being made,
 well we didn't!
 It was just a shop/cafe with a few cheese on offer to taste!
 It also incorporated the Bega Information Centre
Upstairs was a bit of history of the company & another little craft shop!
After our coffee & a few purchases it was back home to enjoy our
 Tranquil Setting!





Mark wet his lips & line while~~~
 I Sipped on Wine!










We are heading off in the morning not sure to where exactly just yet but,
one thing we do know is we will be in
Victoria!!!
Cheers till next time!

Queanbeyan to Eden!

We left Queanbeyan exactly 3 months & 1 day after arriving there!

It has now been just under 1 year since we started out our travels around oz,

& we have yet to even touch the sides of this big country of ours!

Well today we are headed to Eden via Cooma, it is getting pretty cold down here now!!

1st stop is the weigh bridge, Mark wants to check the weight of both the truck & van!

This will be good???~~~~I have tried not to shop & buy unnecessary things, but being a

Woman that is hard it is like asking a man not to~~~ Fish, or have a Beer!

My name is Sharon & I am a shopaholic!

Every time I come home with new shoes or clothes,

Mark says, well now you need to get rid of 3 things, so as to compensate!

Yes Husband No Husband 3 Bags Full Husband!

I have already sent home about 6 Beer boxes full of clothes, shoes, sheets & anything else

we really didn't use or wear!

Now back to the big weigh in & we are just hoping she weighs under??~~~Well here goes!

NOT GOOD!

The van is 40 kgs over & the car 60kgs!

We are carrying ten ton of food, plus we just stocked up on Boags beer as it was on special,

plus both water tanks in the van are nearly full!

Plus both fuel tanks chockas! 

With great concern, I said to Mark, so how do we fix this~~~

His reply well we will have to get rid of you, how much do you weigh??

Hahaha Very Funny!!! 

We need to have a big clean out of the truck, as we haven't really done this yet!

As for the van, in the future we need to completely empty the fridge, freezer also the pantry, of it's jars & tins of food as they weigh a ton!

If necessary I could go through my wardrobe once again & chuck!

All that aside, as I write this, the truck is towing the van beautifully in 4th, up a steep incline!!

Mark had a chip put in the truck & is very happy with the result!

The scenery yet again does not disappoint!

 Even though the day is dismal, the magnificent colours of the Autumn leaves

on the trees that line the highway are just a spectacular sight

 as they fall softly in the breeze in front of our eyes!

We arrived in Cooma, Population 8,000

The Beginning of  Snowy Mountain Country!

Well it showed, everyone was walking around through the main street all rugged up

We decided not to stop & continued on along the

Snowy Mountain Hwy.

It will be so nice to get back on the coast & our beautiful beaches, we

picked a good time to leave Queanbeyan / Canberra!

We travelled along happily listening to beautiful sounds of Snow FM on our radio!

We stopped @ this quaint little town Nimmitable Mark wanted to stretch his legs,

he opened his door & OMG it is freezing!

I would say 5 degrees~~Brrrrrrrr!!!!

Then back on the road & all of a sudden

we started down this steep decent, down a mountain,

the sign indicated this would go on for 10 kms!

Mark informs me that we are winding our way down

The Great Dividing Range!

Wow!

This was a moment to behold & so beautiful, with glimpses of the East Coast 

 through the trees canopy, as we wound our way down this

 Famous Mountain Range!

I opened my window to take some photos & the temperature

had changed, it felt warm again!!

All of a sudden i smelt the burning smell of rubber,

I said to Mark~~~Is that us?

He said, probably the brakes!!

Oh no that cannot be good?

As we were discussing this, a bit further on in a pull over bay were 2 caravans,

the people were checking over their tyres!

Oh good it was not us after all!!

I just love the South Coast of NSW

So Beautiful with it's ever changing Landscape, 

Rolling Hills, Lush Green Grasses, Ever Eating Cows, Stunning Shaped Trees,

Beautiful Old Homes & the Classic Old Rusted Vintage Truck / Tractor
All  proudly Australian!

Marks window remained down for the last leg  of our trip, something that

could not have happened back in Cooma or QBN for that matter!

We passed through some pretty towns, some more picturesque, & quaint than others!

I could almost smell the Ocean & hear the rolling waves now!

Well before I knew it, we were on the Princess Hwy & there before us she was~~

The East Coast of Australia!

We were in Merrimbula, very much your typical beach side town.

With it's Cafes, Bars, Surf Shops, Souvenir Shops & all things Beach!

I like it!
My mouth is watering for
Oysters, Prawns, & Lobster!

Funny here we see nothing but girls, guys & most people
walking around in shorts, cozzie tops & very little!
 It is a strange country we live in, considering that we just left everyone behind us approx
4 hours back up the road inland, wearing everything they possibly could,
so as to stay, warm, cosy & snugly!!

I had checked out a lot of caravan parks, in the many books we have & decided
the first to look @ would be the big 4 @ Pambula.
It sounded good in the book with its~~~
 Restaurant, Bar, Tennis Courts
 all on site?
Anyway, we pulled in & the kids were swimming in the pool!
We then proceeded in to the office we did our usual, asked could we please go for a walk
around the park first before deciding!
With that I asked~~How much is it for the night?
55 Dollars was her reply
Mine~~~ Oh Ok Thanks, we will go & have a look!
Once outside I said to Mark~~~Did she say $55.00
That is what I thought she said was his reply!

As we walked around the park it was clear, this park was all for kids & families,
Even though it was right on the beach~~~
Poor Husband said it would drive him batty & I agreed!!!!!
So it was then we decided to head to Eden
There are many parks in Eden & some of which I put into our new Navman.
Now us being us & having no faith in new found contraptions anymore,
Well for a moment we both thought it stuffed up & sent us to the wrong park?
All our doubts proven wrong, we happened to fluke this fantastic park right on the 
Lake & inlet to the Ocean! 
Lovely people, Lovely Quiet Park, & The Perfect Spot & all for $28.00 p/n

Goodnight for now!

 Tomorrow we are off to the 

Whaling Museum where the story of

Old Tom Lives.

                                  THE STORY OF OUR

                      NINETEEN SEVENTY EIGHT RENO

(Which will probably take me as long to write as it did to build!)

When i first met mark, (my now Husband) back in 2001, after about our second date i said to him lets buy a caravan & travel around Oz ~~~Well @ the time i didn't know it but, the seed i had planted was about to sprout out in his head!!! ~~~~Although this would take time as anyone who knows Mark, knows he does not like to rush things & being the research king he is! ~~~That is exactly what he did for the next 6 years!!!!
Now i must add or Mark has told me to add! ~~~There were a lot of things also going on in this time, like building a massive garage & carport to house our project & store our furniture for when we ever get on the road! ~~~~~Work coming out of his ears (his words! hahaha) ~~~Renovating my Home, Our Beautiful Wedding, Trips Away, & everything else that goes on from day to day! 
                                                                 
NOW BACK TO OUR STORY~~~
After searching caravan yards & chasing ad's, we decided to buy an old van
& do it up....As none really took our fancy @ the ones that did were way out of our price range!

SEPTEMBER 2003~~~~
Mark answered an ad in the local paper 1978 Millard Caravan & Boat ~~~$5,000 no offers?
We set out to look @ her, as we turned the corner, there she sat all alone on the road!
We met the owner & it turned out Husband knew him!
After stepping inside Milli we knew she was the one!
The deal was done for $4,500 & home she came, where she sat & awaited her new look!

NOVEMBER  2003~~~~
We started her Reno!
Milli is 25 years old while she looks good on the outside, on the inside she was
really showing her age!
We started ripping everything out including the old wrought iron bed, we were shaking our heads,
this van would be well over its legal limit as the bed alone weighed a ton!!!
We pulled off the old tiles from the floor, we thought we may be able to sand it back & polish.....Now that would look good?
Well that was our first day of rebuilding our dream! It was fun!!!
Now it's time for ~~~~
Prawns & Beer & talk over what we plan to do next!
Cheers Till Next Time!!
P.S I nearly choked to death today on an ice block in the water bottle!
Mark was not good in my crisis~~~~~~He just stood there with this blank look on his face as i gasped for air!!!
I dived out of the caravan for real help & as i did the ice dis-lodged!!!
                                                                   Phew!~~~I live Again!!!

Milli Before Her Makeover!

Inside Before!

SATURDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2005~~~~
Well here we are finally, after 15 months back working on Milli!

Wow! What happened to 2004 it flew!

Mark & I travelled heaps, some of the places we visited were~~~~Port Stevens, Mollymook,

Pt Plomer, Bucketty, Kangaroo valley, Fitzroy Falls & our biggest trip yet~~ Beautiful Tassie!

Mark also built the garage in this time!

Today we decided to get rid of her eye brow, so as she would be more aerodynamic & also we will pick up some more room in the interior!
We also decided to paint the cladding & change the colour from yellow to blue / grey, to match the color of our Land cruiser! 

Before being plucked

 & now with her newly shaped brow!

SUNDAY FEB 6 2005~~~~
Another beautiful day on the Central Coast & it's back down with Milli!
While the cladding @ the front is peeled back, Mark is going to insulate her with poly styrene he got on the cheap!
I sawed pieces while he fitted them~~~~So far we have yet to have words!
Ooops!~~Spoke to soon, trust me to ask stupid questions!!!!

JUNE 12 2005~~~~
Wow, here it is another 4 months later!
We haven't worked on our girl in so long, Mark has been busy finishing off the garage & the weekends just fly by!
Well today he is going to cut around the wheel arches making them bigger to accommodate her new off road wheels which match the land cruisers!


She is now ready to go off to have her brand new galvanized chassis & heavy duty off road suspension, which will be fitted by our local welding mob.
Her new alko axle will mean she can carry 1600kg instead of 1200kg!



When she returns we will be able to start putting her back together & watch her take shape, & our dreams turn in to reality!
The years have flown by since Mark & i first talked about travelling Australia in 2001!!
Till Next Time!
Cheers!

JANUARY 6 2006~~~~
Well it has been yet again another big break between working bee's!
Christmas over for another year & It's back to our baby. We have both worked heaps with little time to spare, but this is our year 2006' let's hope it sees us finished & out the drive way heading to our dream of ~~~~~Peace, Happiness, Fish, Laughs, Fun & Beautiful Memories!!!
                                                But above all Good Health!
Today is Friday, we both have a few days to spare so it's down to Milli we go!
She came home last week from the fabricators where she was fitted with her new chassis & axle.
Mark spent most of the day fitting the brakes.
I spent mine ripping off more of the wall panelling inside!
That was fun!! Have Hammer Sharon will Bang! Wow she really looks nude now!
Mark also strengthened the frame with extra aluminium channel, also re sized & moved the windows so as to fit her new dometic ones which i must add come @ a cost of  $500.00 per window!!
They are fantastic though & have the blind & screens all in one!
Days end & we both sat inside Milli enjoying a beer & trying to work out the best lay out for her interior????
                                               We Will & She Will Look Beautiful!


 

JUNE 15 2006~~~~
We have now decided on brand new cladding for the outside & new panelling on the inside!
I chose white for the walls & ceiling ( even though Husband says it will get dirty )
Lucky i am a good cleaner!!!
Today we put her new ceiling in. Mark built the frame & constructed it in the garage, it has aluminium channel strengtheners, glued & screwed to the timbers.
The ceiling looks so beautiful & shinny & new!
The four seasons hatch cut out & moved down a tad & a cut out for our new Dometic hatch is also done. We decided to keep the four season's as they have not dated in 30 years or more! We will
( or i should say Mark will, seeing as he doesn't trust me with a paint brush! ) clean it up & give it a fresh coat of paint!
He also finished cutting out the step so we wont have to get a ladder to climb up to her!
With her new wheels & rubber suspension, she looks like an off roader!
By moving the door space & dropping the door down means better clearance for our awning & will also give us more room in the bathroom!
The awning i must tell you Mark got on the cheap from a couple of Lesbians who were buying a new roll out one~~~~~ What a bargain it is an Omnister which are not very common, they are similar to a fiamma, we put it up on the side of the house, to check it out, it looks brand new & works beautifully!  They also threw in the privacy screen all for a bargain price of $300.00~~~~~Good Boy Husband my Research King!!

Since our last entry we have made  a few purchases from Camec, one of which was our beautiful Smev Stove Top & Grill! I am sad not to have an oven though!~~~ Oh well the Cobb will have to do trick?? The stove was in the seconds pile, a bit of the stainless steel @ the top was bent, nothing mark couldn't fix! We got a couple of hundred off the price of that!
We also picked up a near brand new Camec Tripple Locker Door, it was in an accident & had a couple of dents @ the top! Now, that was a bargain @ half price!

The roof hatches...That is the carport roof showing through!

Me so excited after arriving home from work to see such progress!

                                        Roof under construction!








New step cut out

12th July 2006'~~~~
Beautiful Day ~ Cold though!
Husband has a few days off so it is back to Milli...... He wired up for the tail lights, put in coaxial
cable for the TV, but the most exciting thing happened for me, was the interior walls went up!
Mark knows how many pop rivets are in her so far...3,000 to date! Oh not to mention she also has glue for extra strength!
At the caravan show in Sydney, we bought our Truma Dometic ducted air conditioner, Truma gas electric hot water system & our Midi Dometic Hatch!...We love Dometic!
We even have a new double bowl stainless steel sink which cost us a whole of $40.00!!! Bargain!
Mark has been busy putting in all  new wiring for solar 12 volt lighting, using thicker 4mm wires, plus new wiring for the 240 appliances, which will be connected by our electrician!









Friday 14th July~~~~~
Well today our beautiful brand new windows went in! They look fantastic with the white walls!...Mark is so clever & such a perfectionist!
There is not much for me to do except to provide sustenance's in the form of scones & tea or
beer & conversation, depending on the time of the day!!! I am also videoing & keeping a diary of this whole renovation, it will be great to read & watch back!....Many a laugh we will share!
It is so good to know that she will be built solid & strong!
                                 Thanks to the Best Builder in this Whole Wide World!

Mark Proposed to me on Christmas morn 2006'
How romantic it was!!!
Anyway enough of that mush!!
Well wedding plans took up most of 2007 for me anyway!

Mark continued to plod on down with Milli!


BEDROOM BEGININGS~~~~~ Wow this is the start of putting her back together!!!






 The Bathroom has begun & is looking fantastic!
The bubble plate floor & walls went in with a lot of hard work!!!
Most of the plumbing came from camec, we also bought an outside shower which will come in handy as it has hot water, i picked up a really good shower cabinet from Howard's storage world for $6.00!
For Marks 50th Birthday i bought him a Porta Pottie!!

OUR BATHROOM BEGINS~~~~~









" Days & Years Just Fly By"

                     Mark & I were married in 2007~~~We continue to live happily ever after!!

Now Back to Milli~~~~Afternoons & most weekends sees mark hard @ work on our project!!!
Doing all those little things that need to be done which go unnoticed, for instance~~~~Setting up water tanks, water pump, air con, gas bottles, hot water systems & batteries. Not to mention all the wiring, plumbing, lighting & then there is the measuring, marking, cutting, sawing, gluing, screwing, stapling, pop riveting, & the work & lists go on & on!!!
Wow she started out with getting a bit of a refurbish & pretty up to what has now turned out to be a major renovation!
The only original thing left on the old girl is the floor & aluminium frame, even that has changed! Oh & the four seasons!
                    I love the feel of her, she is small but spacious, i think it is the white interior!

Starting to Look Good!!!~~~~

















Well here it is August 2008'
So so much has gone on~~~~We went to the caravan Show @ Rosehill Sydney, as we have done every year for the past 5 years (my favorite thing there are definitely the Kransky's on a Roll)
This year we bought our Led 12 volt 19 inch TV combination DVD, we also bought a hideaway safe,
C-tec battery charger, extra rhino roof racks to carry the boat & a morning star 25 amp solar regulator.
Mark bought a jvc dvd car stereo & good speaker system after the show!
Well all those bits & pieces that needed to be done on Milli were nearly complete. She had her cladding put on! Wow what a job that was, firstly she needed to be fully insulated on the outside, before the cladding goes up, So fiddly it was & the messiest part was wiping off all that excess
Polyurethane!



Anyway she looks FANTASTIC!!!!~~~~The windows also had to be put in properly, which they were after they had a good cleaning! Now they sparkle!!

The outside lights all hooked up & working & looking beautiful! I love my glass handle @ the door, which has tiny led lights in it, so pretty!!

September 4th 2008'~~~~~Raining & Cold
Well Spring has sprung, with dynamic lifter on the garden , new tomato plants planted & my beautiful potted colour blooming, it is time to get really motivated!
Milli is now ready to get her interior finished off! The other day Mark & I went up to Bennett's Green motor home showroom to look @ a table leg we had sen there previously, it was fantastic it the way it swiveled around, well i rang around everywhere trying to find where we could get one of these, no one seems to be able to help me???
We also looked @ lounges, to get ideas on how we will  have ours made!
Today I scanned the photos of the elusive table leg & faxed it off to a couple of caravan accessories places, to see if they could track one down for us??????
Well no, was the answer none seems to know where we can get it, although some one mentioned that this guy in Melbourne was making them in his back yard....Who knows looks like we will  have to design our own @ this rate!!
I am also on to upholsters for our lounge @ am getting quotes next week!!!!!
Now the real fun stuff starts for my part anyway~~~~~~Decorating!!!!!

September 12-13 2008~~~~
What a beautiful Spring Morn, temps are going to be around 28 on the Coast!
Well today Mark is going to put in the black trim around the edges on the outside!~~~He just told me after sick of listening to my begging, he will put up our little roller blind for the door & our nifty little cup holders for the bedroom, as we have no shelves in there we needed somewhere to rest our morning or evening coffee! Also he wants to fit the water pump back in, it just stopped working the other week for no reason, we have only used it 1/2 a dozen times anyway bias boating took it back & fixed the problem no charge! which was really good of them as it had just gone passed its warranty date!
I have another upholsterer coming today for a second quote, big decision which colour to choose??? I think we will go the neutral tones & jazz it up with bright cushions!
I can't wait to see the finished product she has been so long in the making our girl! Mark has done such a wonderful job & now she is nearing the end he has decided to name her or should i say the name which will be sign written across her front ~~~
                                                            "Nineteen Seventy Eight"
Next is her big weigh in Fingers crossed she weighs in UNDER 1600 kgs??????????

September 29 2008~~~~~~The Big Weigh In Day
Milli finally got on the road! Mark pulled her out the driveway with ease, I followed behind with walkie talkie in hand just in case something went wrong???
We laughed that she is so strong & glued & screwed everywhere that she will just snap & fall to bits!!!
Our local re-cycling mob have a weigh bridge so that is where we headed! the approximate figure needs to be 1300kg empty so as to allow for clothes, food & everything else you need to live comfortably!
                            I was sitting in the car & I thought I heard the guy say 1680
                                                    I heard correctly~~~~~~Oh NO!!!!!
                                                    We now need to order a bigger axle!

October 5 2008~~~~The Start of Daylight Savings
Tonight Mark & I decided to work out how much bigger the new axle needed to be?
We made a list of everything we were to take & then started to manually weigh everything we possibly could, like TV, lap top, toiletries, shoes, clothes, food, cutlery, pots pans, etc~~~
Our list of accessories was long! the total amount of extra weight came to approx 500kg!
We then decided on a 2300kg axle!
                                                              Back To Alko We Go!

October 15 2008~~~
Well this year again has flown by so fast, it is nearly Christmas again!
We have done so much to Milli (or should I say mark has)
The new axle has been ordered so have the cupboard doors & drawers 27 in total!
The poly-tec doors we want will have to be routed out @ the back so as to keep the weight down!
Never ending work for poor Husband!
Today we are putting on the awning for good! We have had a couple of quotes for our lounge & I decided on a local upholster, the design I want is a modern plushy sort of look?
So far he has been back for 2 test runs to check on the comfort & size before the vinyl goes on!
Hopefully it will look & feel great!
I want black & white cushions with hints of burnt orange for our interior colour, the lounge is just off white, wow that was hard deciding on the colour, we had lots of vinyl to choose from~~~~I wanted light, Mark wanted dark~~~The final choice was for lighter toning, it was the only choice, as nothing else would look good!~~~Says Me!
                                                                    Lucky I am the Cleaner!

24 October 2008~~~~
We arrived home yesterday, from spending a week in the Beautiful Tranquil Hunter Valley, celebrating our 1st Wedding Anniversary!
Alko sent through a fax yesterday telling us the axle was ready to be picked up, so that is where we are heading first thing this morning!
                                                               Navman set & we are off!
Back home & wow it is heavy to lift off the trailer~~~~We did it!
After Mark had a good look over it, he has just told me he has to drill new holes in the caravan chassis so as to fit it! More dramas for poor honey!
We are so close to the end & now it seems harder than in the beginning, maybe because we are just so ready to go now!
I have long service booked for 2 months in Jan 09
That is when we are hoping to go on our maiden voyage for a couple of months!!!
Here's hoping!

January 2nd 2009~~~~
We finally got our lounge in after too many dramas to mention~~`What a disaster he turned out to be!! Grrrrr!!!!
Anyway we got her registered only days before Christmas!~~~~Because the old chassis number was put back on to the new frame, the RTA registered her as a 1978 Millard, even though the only things left original are some of the frame & the four seasons~~~`She really is a 2006-2009 Model!
Next is insurance & every company I rang said they can only insure her for $3,000?????
We Need to take her to a caravan dealer & get a written valuation before they will insure her for her true worth! This is becoming very frustrating now as we are so ready to get her on the road!!!!

January 8 2009~~~~
My 2 month long service leave began yesterday & Mark only has a couple of days left of work!
We need  need to get her up to Bennett's Green Motor home on Friday for her valuation!
All the finishing touches are now being done, I am in the middle of down loading all  our music onto our I pod so as we don't have to carry 1000's of C/D's!

Friday~~January 9 2009~~~
                                                  Well we took the old girl up for her appraisal
                                                                      ~~~~$40,000~~~~
                                                                        








                                                  Tuesday 13th January 2009~~~Hot 30 Degrees!
                                                           The Day Before Our Maiden Voyage!
                                                                    Now This Is So Exciting!!
We spent the last few days doing final touches, little things like paper towel holder on, television bracket up, hanging paintings, (which i painted) on the wall or should i say Velcros them onto the walls!~~~I spent the week slowly packing the cupboards with everything we need for our 2 month adventure! Mail organised, house secure, families fare welled!
Well the boat is on the rood of the car the caravan is hitched up in the driveway!
                                                                We are ready to finally go!

With all our Labour, Laughs, Arguments, Hard Work, Millions of Hours, Many Sleepless Nights & Far Too Much Money To Mention!
                                                           It's Now goodnight To Our
                                                    Nineteen Seventy Eight Renovation
                                                                           Wow!
                                                             What An Achievement!
                                                                       We Did It!
                                                                       

Let Our Adventures Begin!