All the way around Aus

[dai sensei]

Well it's getting real close now and I'm heading off for 13 months to discovery Australia on a clockwise route, or at least most of the coasts anyway :2tsup:. I will be travelling in my Mazda BT-50 6x4 with slide on camper and trailer full of fishing, woodworking and milling gear :wink:. I am self sufficient in the camper, with toilet/shower/kitchen etc etc so will be staying at free camp sites where possible, friendly forumite's driveways/blocks/street :rolleyes:, and the odd caravan park. I have house sitters organised to look after my place, and keep a close eye on my wood stash .

I have no real timetable apart from leaving here on 3 Oct, 10-14 Oct at Muswellbrook for Camper get together, Perth start of April for my daughter's 30th birthday, and early November at Procerpine for the woodturning get together, then back home by end Nov 2014 (although I may then just head straight off again down south, depending on how sick I am of the confined quarters). I also will be calling in to Melbourne/Adelaide/Darwin (not Sydney).

I have planned the first part of my trip down to Canberra/Cooma (see map), but from there I may head back over mountains via Tumit and inland to Melb, or down the mountains via the coast. It will depend on the weather, offers for catch-ups and family/friends requirements.

I will be giving regular updates in this thread on where I am and where I am going next, as well as a few photos of sites and people :U. If anyone would like me to call in for a cuppa, feed or even provide some where to pull up the rig overnight, please post here and send me a PM with contact details. I am also happy to provide demos of woodturning (small things), casting and milling.

Cheers

[Chief Tiff]

Fantastic...... except you're heading in completely the wrong direction. :no: Why on earth would a Queenslander head south? You do know that in rural NSW they throw rocks at the moon and Victorians still eat the first-born child? And South Australia was populated by Tasmanians that learned how to swim!

If you'd gone in the proper direction your first stop could have been here in Bundy; the distillery tour can't be beaten and you could sleep it off either somewhere in my 1acre back yard or the Granny Flat.






Still jealous but. :(

[BobL]

Good luck Neil, make sure you post plenty of pics.

[Timless Timber]

Ditto - make the most of it!.

Should be interesting to follow.

Pics of the rig would be good...

And anywhere along the way takes your fancy.

Lots of discrete camp spots in WA once your out of the citys, but its getting harder and harder to find them nowadays.

The caravan park owners don't like missing out on revenues so they ge via their local business assoc / chamber commerce and pressure the councils to pass no camping ordinances and get the rangers to fine people and move them along....until they comply and stay in the van parks and pay their fees! :rolleyes:

The good ol days of discrete camping in the bush in Oz are fast declining....

That said the grey nomads can sniff out a few spots without too many problems.... and have a few favorites all up and down the WA Coastline for camping / fishing etc.

If your at all traveling alone - PLEASE take extreme caution with strangers....

It seems that some of these 457 visa backpackers might bump you off for your vehicle soon as look at you - if your remote camped alone - so as to use your vehicle to solve their immediate 'transport' problems if this recent example is anything to go bye.

The car of a man reported missing in February has been discovered in another state - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-11/missing-man-breakthrough/4950566?section=wa)

Just can't be too carefull these days is all!

It seems things aren't quite what they once were, in this fair land... unfortunately...

Fore-warned is fore-armed. (If it were me I'd be packin' heat)! :wink:

Good luck.

[fineboxes]

So are your house sitters open to bribery?:q

Have a great trip Neil and a safe one.

Cheers mate.

Steve

[Scott]

Safe trip Neil, you lucky bugga! I think you've already have an abode in Melbourne to stop at however if you ever need a place to park, give me a PM etc.

I'm currently sitting in a caravan park in Deniliquin wnjoying the milder weather and cooling my feet in the water.

[Cliff Rogers]

See ya next year.

[Fuzzie]

Enjoy the trip. I expect by this time next year we will see a road train coming down the M1 with three extra trailers piled high with slabs?

[Old farmer]

Have a great trip, mate. Would love to do something similar but too late now. Any pics would be welcome. Take care, Bill.

[Ashore]

Sounds like a great trip Neil , give us a yell if your in the Newcastle area there's room for a camper in my back yard if you need a night or two stopover to catch some of the newcastle group.
Russell

[dai sensei]

Fantastic...... except you're heading in completely the wrong direction.:no: Why on earth would a Queenslander head south?

Because Queenslanders know how hot it gets in the wet :U


See ya next year.

yep :U


..Lots of discrete camp spots in WA once your out of the citys, but its getting harder and harder to find them nowadays.

The caravan park owners don't like missing out on revenues so they ge via their local business assoc / chamber commerce and pressure the councils to pass no camping ordinances and get the rangers to fine people and move them along....until they comply and stay in the van parks and pay their fees! :rolleyes:

The good ol days of discrete camping in the bush in Oz are fast declining....

Yeh know what you mean, if there are any caravan parks, unlikely to be freestays although usually no issues away from cities or beaches. I did find quite a few in Vic/NSW on last trip though and hopefully they will stay. There are a number of books/mags by campers/grey-nomads etc giving locations of freestays.


So are your house sitters open to bribery?
No :~. They have photos and full details of dodgy forumites too :U:U


Safe trip Neil, you lucky bugga! I think you've already have an abode in Melbourne to stop at however if you ever need a place to park, give me a PM etc
I'm currently sitting in a caravan park in Deniliquin wnjoying the milder weather and cooling my feet in the water.

Plenty of offers in Melb, but thanks for yet another. Deniliquin is a nice spot and brings back some memories of wild country girls when I was a teenager :rolleyes:, unfortunately usually with even wilder boyfriends :o


Sounds like a great trip Neil , give us a yell if your in the Newcastle area there's room for a camper in my back yard if you need a night or two stopover to catch some of the newcastle group.
Russell

Thanks for the offer Russel but I was that way at the start of this year, hence why I am heading inland to Melb this time :-, although if I do extend my trip and head south again I will be heading your way.

[Timless Timber]

There are a number of books/mags by campers/grey-nomads etc giving locations of freestays.

Yes - the van park owners - get the lists of places from the books and start in on their councils to close them down! :~ :no:

When you get to WA - you have to pay 'discrete camping fees' to stay even in national parks (down southwest) etc by the river (usually something token like $15 a night) and the park rangers come round and collect it and give you a receipt at your camp spot usually.

BUT

Its free to camp in "state forest" which has just as many nice spots if you hunt them out they just aren't publicized well. :wink:

When you get up to the north west of WA - the Nomads all hit cleverville and balla balla etc - some good fishing and free. :)

Cheers

[DavidG]

Have you seen Independent Camping (http://ozcamps.net/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=29)

[dai sensei]

Have you seen Independent Camping (http://ozcamps.net/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=29)

No, so thanks David, yet another bookmarked :U

[Big Shed]

Have a good trip Neil, sounds wonderful, you're welcome to pop in if you are in the neighbourhood.

On our recent trip to FNQ one of the apps we used, in addition to Ozcamps above and Camps7, was WikiCamps (http://www.wikicamps.com.au/).

Still some rough edges and because it is user generated some errors, but overall quite useful for the $2.99 cost.

There is also a PC version I believe, but I only used it on my Android tablet.

I also made extensive use of the digital version of Camps7 (actually I still have the Camps6 version) in conjunction with my GPS. They sell as et of POI files that you can upload to your GPS.

[tdrumnut]

Have a good trip Neil, looking forward to updates & pics.

[dai sensei]

Have a good trip Neil, sounds wonderful, you're welcome to pop in if you are in the neighbourhood.

On our recent trip to FNQ one of the apps we used, in addition to Ozcamps above and Camps7, was WikiCamps (http://www.wikicamps.com.au/).

Still some rough edges and because it is user generated some errors, but overall quite useful for the $2.99 cost.

There is also a PC version I believe, but I only used it on my Android tablet.

I also made extensive use of the digital version of Camps7 (actually I still have the Camps6 version) in conjunction with my GPS. They sell as et of POI files that you can upload to your GPS.

Thanks Fred

[Trav]

Hi Neil

There's a few of us that get together on a semi regular basis here in Canberra - you'd be welcome to join us for a catch up - let us know when your in town and we will see what we can do. Nathan (delbs on here) is organising a pen turning fiesta at some stage, so it could be that it could coincide with that. Hopefully he'll jump on here and update the details.

Trav

[Trav]

Just realised you and delbs have already been talking about this. I'm only a few days off the pace...

[dai sensei]

Hi Neil

There's a few of us that get together on a semi regular basis here in Canberra - you'd be welcome to join us for a catch up - let us know when your in town and we will see what we can do. Nathan (delbs on here) is organising a pen turning fiesta at some stage, so it could be that it could coincide with that. Hopefully he'll jump on here and update the details.

Trav

Nathan is apparently thinking of doing a 2nd get together when I'm there :U. Look forward to meeting up. I lived in Canberra back in the 80's working as a structural engineering consultant, it's where I also used to run numerous martial arts classes, mainly on the south side.

[Trav]

mainly on the south side.

All the best people live on the south side. You couldn't pay me to live in Tropical North Canberra!

Hope to catch up with you when your in town. I may be a shag o a rock at the pen turning party, given I'm not a turner.

Trav

[delbs]

Nathan is apparently thinking of doing a 2nd get together when I'm there :U. Look forward to meeting up. I lived in Canberra back in the 80's working as a structural engineering consultant, it's where I also used to run numerous martial arts classes, mainly on the south side.

It's getting closer for me to post a date shortly. Are you staying in a camp site already Neil? I'd offer to host your camper mate but i dont have any room in our driveway sorry :( I'm not sure of any campsites on north side but pretty sure there's a few south side. You may have a better idea than me living there in the 80,s lol i havent been that way for a while :)

That should be good timing with you carrying your casting gear as I'll be looking at getting my own casting molds and a pressure chamber :) looking forward to catching up

[delbs]

All the best people live on the south side.

I call shenanigans! Lol

[mach70]

Hi Neil,

A few tips from a local
Up north you need to be aware some of the area's you may want to visit/camp require permission from the local aboriginal groups/councils/corporations etc.
Crocodile country...sleep on top of your vehicle even if you are miles away from the water holes/beach, really only applies to a tent...but
If you plan to go off the beaten track tell the local cops where you are going and for how long and advise them when you get back / reach your destination. They will look for you if you are overdue.
Mobile phones are useless outside of the major towns. If you dont have a Telstra phone get a pre-paid one as all the rest are useless outside of Perth.

WA side of the border pretty much to Perth, if you get stuck/breakdown etc I can help. Will pm my contact details.

If you plan to stay in the Kalgoorlie/Goldfields area for a bit let me know I can suggest places to see/go/stay/explore etc.
One warning though, a lot of people come to Kal for a holiday and end up being here 10yrs later. Not sure why, the closest beach is 400+kms away.

Travel safe.

Shawn

[dai sensei]

Thanks Shawn.

I was in the NT for 10 years and know all about those cheeky crocs :U. Not sure if I am going via Kal at this stage, I was thinking of doing the loop to perth via Albany (+ Dunn Rock & Kau Reserves maybe) then Bunbury/Mandurah.

[dabbler]

Safe travels mate. Looking forward to reading your posts from the road.

[dai sensei]

Well I am still here :~, but have finally finished packing the trailer and doing the odd jobs around the house. Now just need to pack camper, load up and go, tomorrow hopefully :rolleyes:

[Big Shed]

Stopping off at a weighbridge first?:D

[dai sensei]

Stopping off at a weighbridge first?:D

Nah, car would be Ok, not sure about the trailer :fingerscrossed:. I cut back on tools but packed a fair bit of timber blanks for turning that will push it to its 1.5t capacity.

[RETIRED]

Safe travels and take it easy.

[dai sensei]

Well I finally left home. Various delays I won't go into, but then needed to head off to Coffs Harbour directly to meet up and stay with FiremanSam (Andrew) to travel up mountains for Dorrigo show

[dai sensei]

For such as relatively small club, the Dorrigo Show was very impressive, plenty of items on show and for sale, plus a heap of quality timbers for sale cheap.

[dai sensei]

As Dorrigo was on the Waterfall Way, I couldn't help but stop at a few of the beautiful waterfalls (small on on way up Dorrigo Mountain, Dangar Falls and Ebor Falls), and I am currently set up to stay at Ebor Falls.

[rsser]

Good to be footloose and fancy free.

Cooma heading south with Melb in sight, there are more interesting options than the Snowy Mtn Hwy to Tumut. Look at Bonang to Orbost, or Bonang to Mackillops Bridge and then south.

Hope you have a great trip.

[Sawdust Maker]

nice
love waterfalls

If you pick up too much timber I'll be only too happy to look after it for you :D

[Fireman sam]

Hi Neil
great to have you stay next time you will have to stay a bit longer so we can get the lathes going and show you a bit more of our area Have a safe trip and i am glad you enjoyed the water falls
Thanks Andrew & Michelle :fireman:
:U

[Rod Gilbert]

We are a long way of yet but on the homeward stretch call in and see us we manage a campground caravan park in Imbil near Gympie. We can catch on the early days of the gold coast wood turners I realise we are only a few hours away from being home again but if you are looking for a stop before home we would be glad to have you here.
Regards Rod.

[turnerted]

Some nice looking work there.They should have plenty of raw material in that part of the world.
Ted

[dai sensei]

Currently in Tamworth after a day looking at gorges and waterfalls (although most dry) around Armidale. Here's a couple of panoramic shots of Wollomombi River. Would have been amazing if the rivers were flowing, the waterfall picture is at the junction of a number of rivers consisting no doubt in flood of numerous waterfalls, the other shot is if the gorge that extends for miles.

[smiife]

hi neal,
didn't get to have a look this year,working late:~
so thanks for the photos glad you had a good time
hope you have not pinched all our supplies:no::no:
the whole of the new england area is very dry
cheers smiife:2tsup:

[Sawdust Maker]

nice waterless falls

[dai sensei]

hi neal,
didn't get to have a look this year,working late:~
so thanks for the photos glad you had a good time
hope you have not pinched all our supplies:no::no:
the whole of the new england area is very dry
cheers smiife:2tsup:

Hey Smiife, you are from Armidale, wish I had known I would have called in. I didn't see any timber worth crabbing, mind you I have a full load already, although I did pick up a little bit of forest sheoak from Dorrigo (that looks exactly like the Rose Sheoak we get down my way) 1.8mx400mmx40mm that is now tied up under the trailer :-

I have looked at the pamphlets on Tamworth, but as I'm not into country music or horses, not much to see. Someone told me about a underground mine and a wool spinning mill I will look into.

Off to Scone tomorrow to catch up with AWORKA (Alan).

[RETIRED]

Even if you are not into country music the Hall of fame is worth a look.

I'm not but enjoyed it.

[gmoss]

I lived in Canberra back in the 80's working as a structural engineering consultant, it's where I also used to run numerous martial arts classes, mainly on the south side.

Hi Neil,

When in Canberra why don't you drop into the Hall Men's Shed where we have an extensive museum of old tools. You can also see some of the work we do. We are open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings from 10:00 to 12:30ish. We are in Palmer Street Hall. Our paths may have crossed previously as I retired from GHD in 2008 where I worked as a Civil Engineer for over 20 years.

Graham

[dai sensei]

Graham Moss, now that name does ring a bell. Calling in to the men's shed sounds like a good idea Graham, I'll post when I am down that way. Please PM your ph no. so I can make contact.

[Cliff Rogers]

:2tsup:

[dai sensei]

Left Tamworth this morning and headed for a little town called Nundle just out of town where the old wool spinning mill is. It is free to see and very interesting, even a guy working the components more than willing to explain what he was doing and why, plus overall process. They had a shop with some beautiful stuff in it to buy :cool:, and I almost bought a jumper :2tsup:, but I already have a few packed and can't really fit another one in :rolleyes:.

Across the road literally was the old mining cafe with an old working mine to walk through, with exhibits and plenty to read along the way :2tsup:. Took a photo of a very old press drill I thought a few may appreciate, plus an old mummified cat, probably the mother/father of most of the ferals we have these days :-. The town was the centre of a gold rush way back when.

I then travelled out of town a few kms to Hanging Rock lookout, you could see for miles, so I just sat and took it in for a while. Took another panoramic as I left.

Decided to stay at a free-stay overnight at Wallabadah, right next to the river amongst the river sheoaks, plenty of other grey nomads also here.

Scone tomorrow.

[smiife]

Left Tamworth this morning and headed for a little town called Nundle just out of town where the old wool spinning mill is. It is free to see and very interesting, even a guy working the components more than willing to explain what he was doing and why, plus overall process. They had a shop with some beautiful stuff in it to buy :cool:, and I almost bought a jumper :2tsup:, but I already have a few packed and can't really fit another one in :rolleyes:.

Across the road literally was the old mining cafe with an old working mine to walk through, with exhibits and plenty to read along the way :2tsup:. Took a photo of a very old press drill I thought a few may appreciate, plus an old mummified cat, probably the mother/father of most of the ferals we have these days :-. The town was the centre of a gold rush way back when.

I then travelled out of town a few kms to Hanging Rock lookout, you could see for miles, so I just sat and took it in for a while. Took another panoramic as I left.


Decided to stay at a free-stay overnight at Wallabadah, right next to the river amongst the river sheoaks, plenty of other grey nomads also here.

Scone tomorrow.

hi neal,
sooo... you had a picnic at hanging rock............mmmmm should make a movie
out of that:U:U sorry couldn't resist that....
sorry to have missed you on your way through armidale
but i had only just seen your thread yesterday,maybe next time
you would be more than welcome anytime
take care and keep safe.....
p.s. you must be the only traveler that didn't take a photo
of the big guitar:o:o
cheers smiife:2tsup:

[dai sensei]

Well just spent a couple of days at Scone with Aworka (Alan) whom I also knew from Q-Turn. Spent many enjoyable hours just yakking about timber, turning and pens :2tsup:. Then I discovered he also makes hand made fishing rods, something I touched on in my younger years, but I felt a bit embarrassed with my multi segmental folding rod I'm currently travelling with :-.

Thanks for the hospitality Alan :2tsup:

Now at Sandy Hollow for a Camp-out, a get together of 56 slide on campers by the same maker as mine (he has 2 models), a yearly event held at different locations each year. Starts tomorrow, but there are already 6 other campers here, ends Sunday but I am here till Monday. Pretty hot here, but hopefully the nights will still be cold.

Cheers

[Old farmer]

A handy looking dog there, mate, brings back golden memories, Bill.

[gawdelpus]

Hey Neil, everything holding up ok, nothing come loose or fallen off along the way , nearly a week now hehe, Enjoy the Hunter,and stay away from the liquid grapes :) cheers ~ John

[Uncle Al]

Enjoying your updates Neil.
At the rate you are going, this thread will end up being huge, you are up to 4 pages already, and the journey has just begun, as they say.
Take plenty of photos, drive carefully, and have heaps of fun.

Alan...

[dai sensei]

Hey Neil, everything holding up ok, nothing come loose or fallen off along the way....

Nothing yet, touch wood, all holding firm. Although I did find the microwave door needed a bungie on it to keep it shut, lucky nothing fell out.

Alan did suggest I invert my trailer axle, ie put it under the springs rather then over as it is now, which will give me another 4" of clearance under the trailer. Great idea, not sure now why mechanic didn't do that when he installed the bigger axle/wheels, I had to do some panel beating to the wheel guards to avoid clashing. I'll just have to wait until I have access to someone with some decent jacks/stands to put under trailer, hmm 's sure to have heaps, even a fork lift :rolleyes::U.

[Jim Carroll]

Not sure if Robbos forklift would be strong enough to lift the weight you have :D

[Scott]

Not sure if Robbos forklift would be strong enough to lift the weight you have :D

Should be okay when he gets out if it :D

[dai sensei]

Cheeky :U

Ok here are some shots from the Camper-out. Bit hard to photograph 57 (so far, some still due tomorrow) spread out, so did 3 panoramics
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plus another panoramic of the group after the official welcome,
289029

and one of the escarpment behind the camping ground with a lookout (if you are into a long walk/hike).
289030

[RETIRED]

Looks like a gathering of butterflies.:D

[dai sensei]

Well most left yesterday, but myself and a dozen or so stragglers left this morning. I headed out via the Bylong Valley Way, a sealed road adjacent to Wollemi National Park. It has huge sandstone escarpments, winding rivers and green valleys, so very pleasant driving especially with the cool change that came through). Shame my legs aren't up to climbing anymore, I'd love to explore the escarpment, there looked to be heaps of caves.

Heaps of traffic on this back road though, mainly petrol heads returning from Bathurst :rolleyes:. I ended up just passing through Bathurst, looked like the town was spent after a heavy weekend :U. Now stopped for at least one night at Cowra at roadside stop just before town.

[DJ’s Timber]

I'll just have to wait until I have access to someone with some decent jacks/stands to put under trailer, hmm 's sure to have heaps, even a fork lift :rolleyes::U.


Not sure if Robbos forklift would be strong enough to lift the weight you have :D

Dunno about 's f/lift but my crane will lift it clean and have trestles that will take the weight :q :U

[dai sensei]

Sounds like I might have a few options for the trailer :2tsup:

Spent the morning sight seeing in Cowra this morning. The info centre that has a fair bit on the town's history and the prison camp, then I visited the Japanese garden, and finally the world peace bell (replica) in town :cool:

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Now at Young after spending a while at the info centre and the fudge shop :doh::U. Might have to miss dinner to make up for pigging out :-

[dai sensei]

All around Cowra I noticed a lot of eucalyptus trees with burled trunks. From the distance the bark looked tight, but on close up inspection and photo, it is quite rough to first branches. No flowers or nuts that I could see, and as the sun was straight up when I took this photo, couldn't really take a decent photo of upper areas anyway. These were big trees, so a silent attack during the late hours was out of the question :rolleyes:, it would take a big chainsaw and quite a few hours.

Coolibah?? Not sure of they grow down this way.

289514

[KBs PensNmore]

Sounds like I might have a few options for the trailer :2tsup:

You might want to think about raising the coupling on the towbar as well, otherwise the trailer won't be sitting level.
Enjoy your trip:2tsup:
Kryn

[Christos]

.....Now at Young after spending a while at the info centre and the fudge shop :doh::U. Might have to miss dinner to make up for pigging out :-

Just consider going for a walk. Yes that's correct I said walk. :)

[RETIRED]

The Japanese gardens are very nice there. We had a fantastic guide that gave us the history.

[dai sensei]

Just consider going for a walk. Yes that's correct I said walk. :)

My knees limit how far I can walk, and it is not far :-


You might want to think about raising the coupling on the towbar as well, otherwise the trailer won't be sitting level.
Enjoy your trip:2tsup:
Kryn

The trailer is already running smidgen low at rear when fully loaded, so the few inches I'll gain should level it out, but it means it will ride a bit high when not loaded but that's Ok with me.


The Japanese gardens are very nice there. We had a fantastic guide that gave us the history.

Yep, I stayed there for quite a while, needed the rest walking around the trails up and down, lucky there were plenty of seats. Today I went to the Chinese Gardens at Young, these were free and to me almost as good.

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Well I am now at Hall an outer suburb now of Canberra. Met with GMoss at Hall Mens Shed this afternoon, but going back again tomorrow so have stayed at roadside stop.

[RETIRED]

Well I am now at Hall an outer suburb now of Canberra. Met with GMoss at Hall Mens Shed this afternoon, but going back again tomorrow so have stayed at roadside stopThe one across the road virtually? Stay there when I visit my daughter.

[Sawdust Maker]

Susan and I had our first date at a fancy little restaurant in Hall. A few years ago now

[dai sensei]

The one across the road virtually? Stay there when I visit my daughter.

Across from the road yes, the one with a brick BBQ, is that the one you are talking about?

[dai sensei]

I spent the morning with GRoss (Graham) at the Hall Mens Shed. It is located amongst the old primary school complex.

289847 289849

The school was closed down so the local community has worked hard to turn the classrooms into a museum for the local region
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[rsser]

Coolabah grows near water or on river flats.

Burke (of Burke and Wills infamy) died under one on Cooper Ck.

[RETIRED]

Across from the road yes, the one with a brick BBQ, is that the one you are talking about?Yep.

[DaveTTC]

Glad you for those pics on. I was there back at the Canberra show and was meant to get some pics up but life happened and have only just got back to posting with the Melbourne show.

[Chief Tiff]

I spent the morning with GRoss (Graham) at the Hall Mens Shed. It is located amongst the old primary school complex.

The school was closed down so the local community has worked hard to turn the classrooms into a museum for the local region

I love small town museums; sometimes I drive my family nuts because when we're travelling and we make a stop if there's a museum I'll skull-drag them into it with me! I love the way that the little ones tend to have no real division or seperation of artifacts; they tend to be collections of "stuff"! And the staff are often volunteers who love nothing better than to expound upon the proud history of the region.

The Chinchilla museum near where I work is a beaut example; there's a large collection of early agricultural vehicles many of which they are trying to keep in running order, cars, a room half filled with "stuff" and the other the story of the Prickly Pear Plague, half a railway station, a jail, a church and a schoolhouse; all of which have been lifted off their stumps from wherever and relocated.

The schoolroom still has cupboards full of readers etc from the 60's, 70's and 80's jammed into cupboards for storage when they were replaced by newer books, and I even found boxes of brand new never used slate pencils! The curator at the time was happy to let me have a bit of a rummage around, trusting me to treat everything with care and respect.

[gmoss]

I love small town museums; sometimes I drive my family nuts because when we're travelling and we make a stop if there's a museum I'll skull-drag them into it with me! I love the way that the little ones tend to have no real division or seperation of artifacts; they tend to be collections of "stuff"! And the staff are often volunteers who love nothing better than to expound upon the proud history of the region.

The Hall Museum is exactly as you describe. :U dai sensei did a great job creating panoramic views from his phone camera.

There is in fact 5 museums at the old Primary School:

the original one teacher School House which has been reformed to represent the time when it was first opened in 1911 with original desks, furniture, books, slates and stories of the children who attended;

a creation of the main street of Hall as it was in 1913 (for the centenary of Canberra) with original artifacts from the various stores operating at the time;

Memory Lane, a collection of memorabilia of times past which would have found in many homes of the time, and a recreation of the original picture theatre in Hall and the local church;

An exhibition of the 16 one teacher schools which existed within the boundaries of the ACT when it was proclaimed in 1913;

The exhibition of old tools and trades including woodworking tools, sheep shearing equipment (including a 150 year old fleecing table), bush tools and garage equipment.

For any Canberraites, the Museum will be open on Saturday 26 October and Sunday 27 October. On Saturday there will be a display of Vintage and Historic vehicles and on Sunday, the Village of Hall has been designated as the site for the official opening of the Centenary Trail by the Chief Minister.

Graham

[dai sensei]

Well today I spent with Corbs (Andrew) for a BBQ casting/turning day :2tsup:. I got to try out my oven last night to make some chocolate and chocolate/banana muffins, but as others were too late for morning tea, we got to polish them off :U:2tsup::roll:

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More photos of event etc are here: http://www.woodworkforums.com/f69/lets-have-another-party-canberra-177788/#post1708824

Decided to stay another day in Canberra, need to do some washing :~

[corbs]

I won't say exactly how many muffins I ate but it was more than one and less than three :rolleyes:

Thanks for the visit and lesson in casting Neil. By the time I get all the gear I need to cast myself I figure your visit is going to cost me about $200 :2tsup:

When's Supercheap Auto's next sale, I need a pressure pot :D

[dai sensei]

After the BBQ at Corbs I decided to stay another day in Canberra to do some washing :rolleyes:. The next day I decided since it was my last night to have a meal at the local caravan park diner, a hamburger with the lot & chips, but developed a stomach bug/food poisoning by 3am :C. I had to extend my stay and spent the next 2 days curled up in the camper mainly sleeping. Today I was 80% so headed off south through Cooma and stopping at Jindabyne.

Well what a weird day weather wise. Plenty of wind but lovely and sunny, except for a few clouds every now and then, dropping small showers of snow south of Cooma! I spent most of the day just in a teeshirt as each time I put my jumper on I got too hot. I pulled into the caravan park at Jindabyne for a few nights as the local fishing shop recommended, due to my knees, the lake is probably the best spot to try fishing (straight off the bank). Guided tours and boat tours were also booked for the next few days. A couple in a van beside me said they had been up to Charlette's Pass this morning and it was –3 and snowing (light). Melts as soon as it hits the ground, so still no issues driving, but I will take extreme care.


I did a bit of shopping and they had the heaters flat out, it felt like 29 degrees and made me feel quite sick, so couldn't get out of there fast enough. I managed to get a site on the bank of the lake with the view in the picture. The fences are there as they are doing some work on the footpath around the lake. My stomach is still playing up so might have another snooze before debating what to have for tea, its a tough life :U

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[dai sensei]

Tried a few spots fishing yesterday around the lake riding my Aldi folding pushbike. The best spot with a drop-off and no snags, where I also saw a decent trout, was the last to try but I didn't catch anything. Today I went back only to find another couple "in my spot" :~:U. So frustrating as I watched them pull in 4 beautiful brown trout whilst all I could were snags :doh:. They felt so sorry for me they gave me one of the fish :2tsup:, so guess what I had for dinner :U. They were also using just "scrub worms" for bait whereas I was using lures & plastics. Guess what bait I am buying tomorrow :rolleyes:.

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Note the beautiful Snow Gum in background of photo.

[Scott]

They felt so sorry for me they gave me one of the fish :2tsup:

A good fisherman would of lied and said he caught it! What about the ones that got away? :D

[RETIRED]

First law of fishing: Always ask a local what bait they are using. :wink:

[dai sensei]

First law of fishing: Always ask a local what bait they are using. :wink:

They weren't locals, the local recommended the lures and plastics I was using :rolleyes:

[Sawdust Maker]

They weren't locals, the local recommended the lures and plastics I was using :rolleyes:

he just wanted to sell more lures

[dai sensei]

Went up to Perisher & Charlette's pass today with a fellow camper. Plenty of snow but beautiful sunny day ~10-15 degrees, so I was only in my teeshirt since I was walking around.
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Some beautiful trees with burls and wild figure. Even the boardwalk was made from boards with amazing fiddle.

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View of Jindabyne Lake from lookout on way home

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[Old farmer]

You are giving us wonderful photos. Thank you, Bill.

[dai sensei]

Well I will be coming back here sometime that's for sure, absolutely beautiful, with plenty to see. I'd seen the snow the previous day, so didn't bother going into the Thredbo Village, and instead headed straight for where I camped for the night at Tom Groggin's Camping Area. This camping area is on the banks of the Murray River where it starts in the highlands.

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There was a mob of kangaroos (~100) to meet me and the river was flowing beautifully from the snow run-off. I tried my luck fishing, but without waders to get into the middle of the river, my baits/lures travelled quickly from upstream to downstream so pretty hopeless. I took some photos of a few kangaroos that came up to my camper for a feed, obviously used to being fed, plus one of a wombat hole. You had to watch where you walked as there were heaps of wombat holes and no doubt they too would come out after dark.

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There ended up being a few other campers for the night and so after dinner I joined them around a roaring fire talking about where we had been and what we had done. Very pleasant night and not that cold at all. One of the couples came from Adelaide and offered to have me stay there when I got there. They also had a small 80 year old olive grove on a 20ha property out of town they no longer made use of, and they offered a tree or two if I wanted them for the timber :woot:. They even offered to push them over for me with the backhoe they have on the property :2tsup:

The next day I headed off to Geehi Flats, another camping area along side the Swamp Plain River, but decided not to stay. Then I went to Olsen's Lookout, a view over a number of the surrounding mountains, the panoramic photo just doesn't do it justice. There were also a number of fern tree gullies on the way that looked spectacular.

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Then I went to Murray 1 Power Station visitor centre that gave a display history of construction of the hydro schemes in the area, including a good video of over the years of construction (dams, hydro stations, tunnels, pipe works, towns, roads etc).


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I am now camped on a roadside stop, next to another beautiful mountain river, near Tallangatta. I'll try my luck again fishing, but not holding my breath to catch anything, I have a small pork steak ready for dinner anyway.

[Sawdust Maker]

Ton Groggin doesn't look to have changed in 30 years

and a promise of some old olive, you lucky ....

[dai sensei]

Well I have arrived in Melbourne, a bit earlier than planned, but my mother is having an op so I wanted to be here for her. I'll be here for ~6 weeks or so, but as usual, just using my mother's East Ivanhoe address as a base and travelling outwards

[RETIRED]

Welcome back.:D

[dai sensei]

Yesterday I was asked by my sister to help do a few repairs on my niece's unit (she is overseas for another 18 months) after the old tenants moved out. Some curtain rail supports installed, shelf supports fixed, door fixings fixed, mirror fixed etc etc. Whilst there yesterday to check out what was required I noticed the door's lower lock, a simple knob twist mechanism, didn't have a key (door locked via additional deadlock on door). So after talking to my sister she agreed to avoid someone locking themselves out, the lock should be replaced.

So on the way there today I picked up a new cheap door set without a lock. Simple I thought, take off old set, install new one simple :rolleyes:. After removing the old one, it had a long catch mechanism, door handle ~6" from face. The new one is the new standard of a few inches, also with square hole for door handle shaft, old one is half circle thingy. So back to hardware to find one that suits, but no, not available (at bunnies anyway). So I thought, put a plate over old hole, then drill new hole for new door handles at lesser distance from door edge. Found some splashback samples of malemine that were the perfect size and colours (sort of anyway) for door.

Back to the flat and started to glue on malemine, but they were not completely flat, so used some screws in corners to ensure it glued on flat/sq etc. Then drilled new 54mm holes for new handles. Installed the new handles and closed door, yep opening in door jam was in wrong spot, so removed old one. But the door jam was steel, and the hole was made using welded plate, so I'd have to cut it out to make a new hole. Then I noticed the door had a large seating plate, or whatever it is called, the plate that the door closes against (and stops people from using credit card to open door etc) made out of SHS steel. So the new door handle is too close on the outside and there is not enough room to use your right hand to open it :doh:. So I have installed a new door handle set that does not suit the door, plus the catch doesn't work anyway, although it does work as a handle for the door. The malemine plates also don't match the door colours exactly (green on one side off white on the other).

Then tonight talking to Gawdelpus I could have just drilled a hole next to the locking knob on the inside door handle, then insert a self tapper to lock the lock in place, ie so it can't lock. Now why didn't I think of that :B:doh:.

So tomorrow, after taking my mother to the docs, I am going back to flat to remove everything I've done and reinstall the old lock set. But because I have screwed and glued the malemine plates on, plus drilled new holes, I'll have to fill up/repair my work, sand and repaint door etc etc etc :~

At least I did manage to do the other jobs I was asked to do :-

[A Duke]

:oo: Some times you have a day like that.
Regards

[gawdelpus]

Sometimes things just get over "engineered" lol. cheers ~ John

[Chief Tiff]

Overly complex solutions always remind me of the PaperMate pen history

During the 60's NASA needed to make a pen that would work in the weightlessness of space. They had to develop and ink of just the right consistency that allowed it to flow without clogging but be rapid drying, and then invented a pump in the refill so that every time you pressed the nib onto the paper it developed sufficient pressure to force the ink onto the paper. These pens were beautifully made but to offset the Brazillion dollars invested in this technology they went on general sale to the public. I still recall the PaperMate TV adverts from the 70's where a pilot in a biplane was using one to write upside down.

The Russians used pencils.:D

[DaveTTC]

Don't you hate that


Dave

The Turning Cowboy

[Christos]

I think you have done a great job on the door. :innocent:

[dai sensei]

I ended up just getting keys cut for the old lock, then removed plates and filled in the holes with bog, and repainted the front and back of the door. Just to add another twist, just after I bought paint to match the existing door, my sister decided to change the outside :~ to match (only when door is open) the carpet inside. A dark grey in lieu of the green-grey so close enough to the other flat doors.

What a drama :doh:, hope I never see the flat again.

Off to 's soon, I'll look at trailer axles whilst there, plus hopefully he will have something I can do for him :rolleyes:

[Sawdust Maker]

Make him a steady supply of cups of tea :2tsup:

[RETIRED]

:2tsup:

[Sawdust Maker]

:2tsup:

damn, agreed with me :rolleyes:
btw can I have a dollop of Ross' honey in u cuppa?

[Allan at Wallan]

Well I have arrived in Melbourne, a bit earlier than planned, but my mother is having an op so I wanted to be here for her. I'll be here for ~6 weeks or so, but as usual, just using my mother's East Ivanhoe address as a base and travelling outwards



If you are travelling in this area feel free to drop in for a cuppa. Plenty of space
to park overnight if you wish. Some interesting timbers in this neck of the woods
if you have space.

Enjoying your photos of your travels - well captured.

Allan

[gmoss]

If you are travelling in this area feel free to drop in for a cuppa. Plenty of space
to park overnight if you wish. Some interesting timbers in this neck of the woods
if you have space. Allan

I remember as a young kid in the early 1950's going to see the gliders taking off from the top of Pretty Sally from the old Hume Highway.

Take Neil to the top of Pretty Sally. He will enjoy the fabulous views.:)

Graham