Relationships

I know they are not related and it is such a dodgy shot but here is Stinky in Wilson's Promontory and there is a Wombat just behind him. Fascinating really.  Lots of wildlife in "The Prom".

Well we have been testing our ability to function without external power for a week. As such, I have not managed to post. I am sure if I could work my phone out I could manage it but that will have to wait.

We reorganised in Bairnsdale for a few days, then headed to 90 mile Beach for another attempt at Free Camping. When we turned up in the campground behind the sand dunes at Paradise Beach , we felt like aliens amongst all the assortment of hardened grey nomads and wild looking ute owners clumped together around tarps and generators. However, despite the constant onshore gale force winds, lack of water and eclectic mix of characters, it seemed to work. In fact, to see the kids happily playing cards together and surfing the sand dunes gave us a glimpse of what we had imagined for the trip. Despite my initial fears about some of the dubious looking characters, everyone was fantastic. To make us really feel at home , the people camped next to us were from Kiama. Clive and Sharon were able to provide us with all sorts of insights after 30 + years of camping experience.

Even Mum and Dad can join the fun.

We then headed to Wilson's Promontory for three nights. What an amazing place! Really beautiful, it lived up to all the hype and we enjoyed some lovely bush walks , swimming and some more card games.

Ali mastering the Stand Up Paddle Board.

We made it to the top of Mount Oberon without too much moaning and groaning.

Overlooking Norman's Beach near the Tidal River campground.

Tonight we are on Phillip Island . We have just watched the Penguin Parade  which was pretty amazing . Off to Mornington Peninsula tomorrow which we will use as a base for a few days. 

Don't Speak Too Soon

I should have known. As soon as you think everything is cruising along , something comes along to wake you up.

After some good times in beautiful Mallacoota, we thought we would try out our ability to bush camp a bit. Right in the heart of the Croajingalong National Park, we read about a lovely secluded spot which was included in the "101 Best Beaches of Australia" book we have been studying. Sounded good.

We headed down the 34km rough track to arrive at the campground. It looked ideal and we just managed to squeeze our caravan into a spot. We had ignored the "caravans not recommended" sign at the beginning of the track. I would have complied if it had said not permitted.

We then took our picnic across to the beach to find one of the most beautiful beaches I have come across.

Enjoying Wingan Inlet

So where's the hitch? Well we returned to the campsite to have dinner and go to bed only to find that our water and lights were not working. Fortunately Alison had prepared dinner so we ate and went to bed early with tension in the air. 

We had hoped to spend a few days at Wingan Inlet but without our water system we headed off and are now in Bairnsdale where we have sorted our water problems out which were thankfully not major. All in all not too bad but for those of you who said it would take a few weeks to settle in , I believe you.

Settling In

Several people suggested it may take us a few weeks to settle into the life of the nomad. After one week, we seem to be ahead of schedule.

A few scenes from Narooma and Mallacoota.

These next two are for Wendy. Sorry, we forgot to take Stinky.

Wendy Trainor's Ma and Pa , Rod and Denise Holman.

Who's Stinky

I probably should explain who Stinky is.

Stinky has been with me since early in my life. He was one of those stuffed Koala toys and he did once have hair. Apparently I sucked it all off in my attempts to comfort myself or something like that. Anyway, I began to neglect Stinky in my teenage years , as you do. When I began travelling in my late teens , I decided to take Stinky along and he has been travelling with me ever since. He is usually stuffed in a drawer in my office in between travels and it has been a while since his last journey so he is surely pretty psyched about this one.
You won't hear much more about Stinky but you may notice him in the photos I post here along the way. A bit like "Where's Wally" or whatever that series is called.

So we have made it to Narooma and will be spending a few days here as we gather ourselves and get used to the idea  of following the sun.

Getting started.

Apparently there were bets made about how long after our scheduled departure date we would leave. The second wager was on how far we would make it on our first night.

Well we headed down Willowvale Rd a day and half later than planned.

......and spent our first night at 51 Rowlins Rd Gerringong , about 5 kms from home.

It was actually a blessing in disguise. It became clear after our first night that we had taken too much stuff so we were able to offload a few surplus things.

The Adventures of Stinky

It's been a long while since Stinky's last adventure.

The time has come for him to see some of Australia.

Actually, it's not all about Stinky. The Burgess family trip is really about honouring the memory of our beautiful girl Anna, taking stock as a family and spending some quality time together. We hope that it will be a time of healing and a time for reflection and getting some fun back into our lives.

Join me , Alison, Ruby , Charlie , Ella , Juliette and Stinky for the odd update of where our journey takes us. While we would like to see as much of our amazing country as possible, we are in no rush and realise that it is a big place and if we like a spot, we will stay there even if it means missing some other really cool spots.