Water views and water woes

Our last day in Bright was frosty but with a fair portion of blue sky which augured well for Russell’s social bowls game later in the day.

Whilst he was ‘bending the knee’ I set off on the 7km Cherry Walk which took me along the Ovens river down to a suspension footbridge and then back on the other side. It traversed sections of drier eucalypt forest which abounded with birdlife as well as open river views and I stopped frequently for pics.

Ovens River

The next day we left Bright, our next destination wasn’t that far north and once again was a well recommended free camping spot that I had discovered thanks to Facebook friends. Situated on the NSW side of the Murray at Towong it did not disappoint. We set up in an ideal spot and then went back to Corryong, Man from Snowy River country, and grabbed some supplies and a NSW fishing license. In failing light I got the drone up and took some snaps, there were still some lovely deciduous trees hanging on to their autumn colour and to the north east we could just make out snow capped Mt. Kosciusko.

We stayed here a couple of nights, it was so peaceful (but cold overnight!) I tried fishing while Russell experimented with a vegetarian curry and he had far more success than I did 🤣

On Wednesday we set off accompanied by slightly misty rain along a road that didn’t even qualify as a ‘C’ road on the map but which eventually delivered us safely to Tumut where we had lunch and I purchased a possum fur beanie to replace the one I’d lost on the waterfall hike. Continuing further north we joined the Hume Highway near Gundagai and a little while later arrived at the little township of Jugiong.

Jugiong was initially on the Hume Highway but the ‘new’ road bypasses it and now it boasts a very popular free camping spot at the extensive Showgrounds. Accommodating an arena (used for campdrafting), a polo field, an oval, tennis courts and more, it sits on the banks of the Murrimbidgee River and we were sharing with about 50 other rigs of all shapes and sizes but large distances separated all. I had read about the renovated Sir George hotel across the road and I wandered over to make a booking once we were settled. The gardens have been designed by the owner’s wife, very much in a French style and the whole property was stunning. If it hadn’t been so cold I could almost have imagined we were back in Provence and one of our favourite French rosés at dinner completed the dream.

With a strategic plan to hit Sydney on Sunday and hopefully minimise traffic, the next day we planned to overnight in Bargo, a fairly unremarkable destination but notable for being one of the last Caravan Parks before hitting real suburbia, about 100km south of Sydney and just off the Hume Highway. The caravan park actually surpassed its reviews, consisting of many permanents but was clean and tidy and undergoing some renovations I think. We had a spacious, level site and I had time to get some washing done before we lost the sun.

Despite generous advice from many we opted to get through Sydney via the most direct (if not the most economical) route on the M7, M2 and then through the 9 km Northconnexx tunnel which would spit us out north of Sydney on the Pacific Motorway. It all went according to plan including a quick jump off the M7 to an adjacent BP truck stop to meet friends – although this may have backfired as I seem to have been charged twice for the M7, a dispute is in progress 🤞

We were booked in to the Big 4 Caravan Park at Mannering Park on the bank of Lake Macquarie – not to be confused with Port Macquarie- and arrived uneventfully to be allocated the site next to the Bouncy Castle but with a promise of a waterfront site the next day. Intending to stay a few nights here we were happy with that and the next day moved to a spot with uninterrupted views of the lovely lake complete with a fishing jetty. The next couple of days were a combination of short trips to nearby points of interest and afternoons relaxing with a sundowner or dropping a line into the lake with varied (but all undersized) success.

As I write this, plans for our next destination are a little up in the air tonight… Russell enjoyed another bowls game this afternoon and I dealt with another flood! This time the washing machine overflowed and apparently the water inlet valve is faulty which will necessitate replacing the whole washing machine! With Jayco service centres reporting lengthy delays we are still waiting on confirmation of where and when this can be done…. stay tuned 🤦‍♀️

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