The adventures of Phyllis and John in their A'Van

We did another interesting walk (3/7) that took us out over a sand spit between the northern end of Fingal Bay and Point Stephens. In order to reach the sand spit we had to climb over a very steep sand dune; every step saw us sliding backwards by half a step so it was slow going and heavy exercise. Last year Point Stephens was virtually an island as it could only be reached by foot at low tide. A lighthouse built in 1862, still operational under solar power, is located at the far end of Point Stephens. Unfortunately vandals have got to the lighthouse keeper's residence so they're now lying in ruins. We understand the Parks & Wildlife Service plans to restore the building.

Another Sunday Market today (4/7) situated on either side of the bike path we use on the way to Nelson Bay. It was mainly craft, only one produce stall from which we bought a few fruit and veggies.

Port Nelson has so many small beaches, bays, coves and small settlements we could not get to all of them during our stay. Access to some of these places would require us to make a day trip; however we drove to many of the adjacent places to Shoal Bay. It really is a fascinating area, with a temperate climate, only about 55km north of Newcastle and 230km from Sydney.

We noticed several signs bearing the letters "RSCDS". The best interpretation we could put on this was "Recycled CDs". On Monday 5/7 we discovered the real meaning when we went to lunch at the RSL Club as hordes of people from the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society also lined up for lunch. On Monday they run a Seniors Special: pay for one meal and get one free. We both had soup and a roast for a total of $9 (best deal so far on this trip)!

Tuesday 5/7/04 Gulgongfor two nights. Gulgong is an historic gold mining town and a scene from the township was featured on the original ten dollar note together with a portrait of Henry Lawson—Gulgong is where Henry Lawson spent his childhood and youth. There are many old buildings dating back to the late 19^th century, either restored, or in their original state.

Wednesday 7/7 was the day we became re-acclimatised for our return to winter in Melbourne! We faced a bitterly cold wind with light showers and only a few brief periods of sunshine. The weather forecast was 13^o maximum for Mudgee (30km away). Not to be put off, we set out for a bike ride after breakfast but as soon as we turned into the wind, we scuttled back to add another layer of clothing and thick gloves. We could easily spend more time here taking in the history and riding the many quiet roads—maybe some other time; however despite the number of coffee shops and bakeries, we couldn't get a decent cappucinno!

Thursday 8/7/04 Cowra for one night. Since we stayed here for a couple of days two years ago, there was no new ground to cover. We took to our bikes after lunch but had difficulty finding a good course where we felt secure in mixing it with the road traffic—there are no off-road cycle-ways here and the sealed shoulders peter out after a short distance from town.

Friday 9/7/04 Wangaratta for two nights to visit family and take a one day break before returning home. We were expecting below zero temperatures overnight but in fact it was quite mild and no frost.

Sunday 11/7/04 Home!

We hope you've enjoyed reading about our 2004 Winter Trip. Although it was much shorter than we had originally planned, both in duration and travel distance, we had an absolute ball. It was packed with memorable moments, many of which we captured on "digital film". It's too difficult to name one place that we enjoyed above all others, on the other hand there are some that were quite okay as one-night stopovers but not places where we'd want to stay longer. The warm climate, and the exposure to so much sunshine, was fantastic. We're not looking forward to spending the remainder of winter at home; on the other hand it'll be great to see our children and grandchildren again and it'll be a relief not having to constantly send postcards and letters to the Grandchildren. At no stage did we get wet setting up or breaking camp (but we came close now and then)—we couldn't believe our luck! We have to admit that our cappuccino habit has got somewhat worse; on most days we had one in the morning and another in the afternoon. We actually run five "Coffee Club" cards and while in Shoal Bay we got through five free cappuccinos. Now that we're home we'll try hard to dry-out (but not kick the habit entirely!).