Heading Down Fossickers Way: North West NSW

After our lack luster time in the Warrick fossicking areas a few weeks ago, we decided to head into an area a bit more renowned for this type of adventure - Down Fossickers Way - Gwydir Highway.  

I had done a lot more research before this little adventure on where fossicking is allowed etc and planned the driving route to ensure we took in all the areas I had found on the net, information on the towns, places to go and with all this information on hand off we headed.

Are they hooked on this you may well ask - well the answer is no we are not, but a part of this retirement journey was to try new things, go to new places, see things we haven't seen before and right now is the best time of the year to head into these types of areas.  The days are warm but not too hot and while the nights are chilly they are bearable, and of course the country areas shine in spring but you don't have to battle flies, mozzies, snakes and other little peskies yet.  

We enjoy our country trips and this particular area and route has some wonderful views and quaint little towns, ones that we have either never heard of before or those that we have passed through on our way to Sydney in the days past before jumping on a plane was affordable.

So with all of the information I had gathered on the areas - off we headed - the plan was:  Goldy through Lismore and Casino to Bonalbo - have to say I couldn't see much there and because we had set off so early nothing much was open when we passed through here at around 9am, .  The information I had found on this town was right, it had a small town village with a camping ground, shop etc but we definitely couldn't find any fossicking areas around here and when we asked at the general store they didn't know of any either (or they were not going to share it if they did) and that was OK because already we had gone somewhere we would never have veered off to and the drive was definitely pleasant.  

From Bonalbo we headed back to the

the New England Highway in search of a town called Drake, where again the information I found had said there is a public fossicking area.  Before hitting Drake though we found this beautiful look out in the Mallanganee National Park, where we stopped for morning tea and for Derek a bit of metal detecting and found a 1940's top off a toothpaste container from London.  The views here were fantastic, under cover tables and a loo - so a lovely place to stop and smell the roses so to speak.

So into Drake where everything I had collected suggested there was a public fossicking area, we stopped at the general store, come post office come tourist information center where I was told - in all my years working here no one has ever asked about this, we don't have any and you are the 2nd person today to come in and ask.  It did seem there were lots of retirees out and about looking for this type of adventure.  So no public fossicking in Drake (be warned).  The lovely lady there told me though if you go back about 5kms you will see a turn off to Jensens Creek and people use to go there and camp and fossick and its about 15kms off the highway and you can even take that road to Tenterfield as it goes all the way through.

OK lets go we though and off we headed, lets go discovering its only 11am we have only been on the road for 5 hours , so plenty of time to go there, stop, fossick and get into Tenterfield.  Let me warn you after about 5ks on this turn off it turns to dirt track and not something for the faint hearted check out the videos at the end of the blog.  Don't get me wrong this is an absolutely stunning drive, but mildly graded dirt tracks, on quite steep inclines at times and water over bridges so be careful if you are travelling with a caravan or small car, we don't have a 4WD but Derek has done lots of it over the years so is very confident in this type of drive, also there had been no rain for weeks so while the roads where rough and very dusty at least they were dry.  This drive though takes you through the lower parts of the Clarence River and there are plenty of rapids, water views, creeks, animals of all discriptions - cows, sheep, horses roaming free, some of the biggest goannas I have seen for years, bird life aplenty and dead dingos hanging from trees everywhere so interesting, pretty, and provides a great look at outback NSW.  I will say we absolutely loved it and for a few hours had a fantastic time feeling like we were a milliion miles away.  This track does take a few hours to get you to Tenterfield and is about 80kms so would not recommend doing this too late in the afternoon.  When you finally finish the drive and hit the bitumen once again, you are rewarded by being brought out at the Tenterfield Dam, so big wide water, nice picnic area to stop at before a short drive into town.

It was getting onto 3pm when we finally got to Tenterfield and to be honest we were a bit tired, we went to the Tourist Information and got the low down on the area, things to do, places to stay and they were really helpful, I do find in most of these towns these centers are really great and the staff there passionate about their area - even they hadn't taken the road we had just come from and were very interested in our experience.  We choose the Jumbuck Motor Inn for our stay which was lovely, whilst only $100 a night it was very modern, quite large and extremely clean and I like it when these places value add by having a small selection of wines, beers etc at the reception and they cook a nice meal here as well.  After a coffee and a bit of a relax we walked into the town center - only about 50 meters from the Jumbuck Motor Inn to really feel the town.  They have a great museum which is nicely presented of the town, its history and of course Sir Henry Parks who gave the Federation speech in Tenterfield, I like the way they had the table that everyone sat at and a photo at the end of it showing all who attended the speech that changed our nation.  Of course you can't go to Tenterfield without going to the Tenterfield Saddlers shop, unfortunately for us it was closed for renovations, but in the words of Peter Allen, I am a traveler and now can say and been to Tenterfield Saddlers.

Day 2 begins with a fairly quick trip via Deepwater and Emmaville where once again according to my info I had collected was a small town which is a popular destination for those interested in fossicking and fishing.  Before heading into town we did see a sign for a Ottery mine so we took that turn off grrrr dirt road again - but unfortunately while its signed posted you get there and it doesn't seem to be anything and it did also say Arsenic Mine when we arrived so thought better of it. We headed into Emmaville to see the Mining Museum which didn't open until 10am, and to be honest there was really nothing else around in this area - again from what we could see there didn't appear to be any public fossicking areas, and while if the Museum was open we may well have gotten some into, so TIP:  don't get into Emmaville before 10am.  My question is why not open earlier, we didn't leave Tenterfield until after 8.30 and I fail to see why these country towns don't open earlier to catch the tourist up early.  As we wanted to get to Inverell we took the road from Emmaville to Inverell and after about 10kms in it became dirt road, so we headed back into town and headed into Glen Innes.  TIP why not say dirt road on the signs, we really were not up for another 70K dirt track drive and again I would say these towns would do themselves a favor by having some sort of map of interesting things in the town if they cannot get up earlier so that people can at least find things of interest to them or understand the drives they might well be undertaking.

 So off to Glen Innes and the Tourist Info center were we lucked on with a guy who really knew a lot about the area and the types of things that were of interest to us.  We headed up to The Standing Stones which was quite incredible and had an absolutely wonderful morning tea up there at The Crofter's Cottage - $5 for scones, jam and cream and a great coffee next to a warm and cosy fire place - well done Cofter's Cottage you provided us with a wonderful, economic,cozy stop.  

From here we headed into Inverell, where once again we went straight to the Tourist Info center.  WOW the 2 people here where even better than the ones we talked to in the other towns and by now I was getting a little sick of collecting brochures and maps, so asked can you just give us 1 map with fossicking areas, national parks, things to do and they were just so informative.  We went and found some accommodation (more on that later), had a cuppa and lunch and took a drive to the Pioneer Village just up the road and other places within a 5-10 min drive before heading into the town center for a walk.  Inverell is a big town and I was pretty shocked as it seemed to be thriving which was fantastic to see.  They have a lovely river walk around the town center and the town center is a good 4 streets with lots of really interesting shops, that you don't see much anymore in the cities like independent jewelry stores, lovely clothes shops, army disposal shop still selling guns, lots of nice eateries and on top of that they had quite a few big city shops as well, so a few nice hours of meandering, looking in the stores, having a cuppa and walking along the river the day was gone.  Inverell is a good base as there is plenty in the area and enough places to eat etc.  We decided to stay 2 nights now we had a good fossicking park to go to the next day and some wonderful National parks within 50K drive.

Where did we stay - we selected The Sapphire Motel on the highway (as they all are) and we were not disappointed, again they had a nice wine fridge in reception, prepared their own meals (which were fantastic), where opposite the bowls club.  The club has a bistro a few nights a week   and we were given a couple of free drink vouchers by the owners of the Motel so we headed there for dinner.  How's this:  3 drinks, $5 on the raffle, $10 in the pokies and 2 meals for under $40 and just a walk across the road to get to the warm electric blanket warmed bed.  I would highly recommend this motel, it provided a microwave and toaster as well for those who might prefer to self cater, the owners where lovely and friendly.  On the 2nd night we decided to eat in - Derek had the steak and mash, I had the seafood basket and we shared spring rolls and chilli sauce - it was an absolutely beautiful hearty meal, very tasty, nicely presented and served hot for $50 so for 2 courses pretty good value as well.

Fossicking in Inverell - well we were not disappointed here, the Tourist Info center recommended Billabong Blue about 20K's out of Inverell and WOW what a place, we had suspected we might spend a few hours there and then go off to one of the National Parks but it wasn't until one of the other guests said well it's 1.30 I'm going to have lunch that I thought we have been here since 9am and I wasn't finished yet.  Take a picnic etc with you though.  Every bucket seemed to have something in it and I was just so captivated by it all see the video below, that the day just flew by, it was a lovely property with everything so nicely setup, right on a billabong full of beautiful birds all for $20 a day per person with all equipment provided.  Once we finished fossicking about 3pm, we took a drive around the property which also has camping grounds, sheep roaming around, more fossicking for those with their own equipment and is generally just a lovely place.  They are having loos and shed for coffee being erected there so the next time we go it will no doubt be even better.  Well done Billabong Blue, this is what we had been looking for, and what had sort of been promised in all the info on the net I had gathered.

Day 4 and we are now heading home, with a nice little haul of gems, some sore and tired bones from all that shaking, but feeling fantastic.  The drive from Inverell back to Glen Innes and then through to Grafton has lots of great things to see and the views from the National Parks - Gibralta and Welsh Pool are great, with nice small walks which we undertook a few, stunning views and nice picnic areas - so we drove home slowly, stopping along the way frequently.  

Part 1 of Drive from Drake to Tenterfield

Part 2 of Drive from Drake to Tenterfield

Fossicking at Billabong Blue

The through Billabong Blue

Some of the views on the drive home!  Spectacular! 

Put another log on the fire

WOW how fantastic has the month of  August been here in Queensland but generally it seems like its been unusually warm all around Australia - with the days full of blue skies, warm and sunny although the nights and mornings are still very crisp.  Generally I hate August because of the westerly winds that seem to arrive after a few nice days just when in your mind winter has gone and spring is in the air the winds come in to remind you there is still another month of winter - but not this year - or so far anyway - fingers crossed.  This year though while we have had a few coldish days most have been spectacular which means for us - we have been out and about luxuriating in the warm glorious days and getting that tan back to where it should be.  Yep sure the nights and early morning are still freezing, but you can live with that when the days are perfect.

Its been so nice in fact I have hardly been on the PC at all which is how it should be and not listening to politics which no doubt is annoying everyone in Australia right now.  At long last we have been able to get out on the boat, go to the beach, sit and do some fishing and get some road trips in with a fairly good weather forecast for more than one day.

The beaches have just been so beautiful with little or no swells and from the beach you are able to enjoy seeing the whales meandering past, walk for miles in the sun, feeling the warmth in your bones without getting hot and sweaty, I have even gone for the odd swim - although the water is still quite chilly, you dry off quickly in the sun.

These are the types of days that NINKERS and retirees generally love - because there is so much to do and see without the need to spend a lot of money (which seems like it will become less if the Rudd Government gets in and taxes the banks for deposits - grrrr - as if it isn't bad enough that interest rates are sooooooo  low but then to want to actually make those who have money pay to have it seems incredible).

Weather like we are having makes planning your days so much more enjoyable, as there is an endless amount of things that you can do to enjoy yourself and one of the great things about living on the Gold Coast is that around this time of year we seem to have an endless amount of friends heading north - so it means some great lunches, plenty of  wine and good chatting in the sun.  Once again it seems like we have been lunching a lot lately but none were so enjoyable as a day with Mandi at Burleigh recently - a beautiful warm day, beach front views from the Burleigh Heads Surf Life Saving Club, good chat and a wonderful sense of freedom to be sitting on a Friday with no phones, no emails just enjoying good company - thanks Ladies had a great day.

We started the month off getting all our injections for our South America trip ouch - and we have been keen to start getting fitter by going for long walks every day - beach walks, road walks and now bush walks to ensure we can keep up the pace as well as enjoy ourselves without aches and pains and of course it doesn't hurt the winter waistline any either.  Again this is most enjoyable at the moment - as we begin doing slightly more hill climbs around the great south east in readiness of Machu Picchu.  

So most of the above is pretty standard for us, so whats new, what have we discovered lately you might ask?  Derek hasn't stopped his passion for metal detecting as his finds seem to get better each time we go out somewhere - and now we are even giving general fossicking a go as well - again the right time of the year although out in the country the nights and mornings are significantly colder hence the title of this post - because this week we decided to give this a go - take a road less traveled, and absolutely less luxurious than we are use to and headed out western Queensland way to try our hand at gold fossicking.

Lets just say all that glitters isn't gold, after a few days of net searching, map collection, camping ground info gathering we headed past Warick to Thanes Creek - where the Department of Natural Resources has a fossicking site (no license required - although we did buy a yearly one from the Warick Council - cost $57).  We did take a drive to this area and was very disappointed that the Department doesn't obviously make any attempt to have this kept nicely, provide any picnic areas, loos etc or even attempt to keep the grass cut - boo DNR not good enough.  When we were getting our license they said they had had so many people in that day getting licenses - and most of the people there were in the retirement age bracket, so its something that obviously a lot of people want to do, its the romantic notion of sitting on the side of a babbling brook, in the sun, with the hope of finding something - not about sitting in long grass, in a filthy area with no amenities.  Its a big area and could provide some great entertainment for everyone if it were just kept a bit nicer.

I know I said I wasn't going to travel with Teddy anymore, but given our destination felt it was probably OK so the 3 of us headed off on our first little fossicking trip - only a 3 hour drive from the Goldy and good roads and headed for Glendon Caravan and Camping Grounds about 40 kms west of Warick.

I had pre-booked 2 nights in one of their caravans which I have to say was really very very basic- and while the price of $50 a night was about where we wanted to be, the van was soooo old and dilapidated I was immediately disappointed - but hey we are here lets give this a go and lets harden up a bit, but I did expect just a little more.

The grounds here are very large and have a lot of areas to go mining and fossicking, but the dirt roads are pretty severe so if you don't have a 4WD you are going to be limited - we found their maps of the property hard to follow but for those really into this type of holiday there is heaps to do here.  Given the brochure we had picked up on this camp ground was very glossy, beautiful pictures etc we really did think by booking the van it wouldn't be as rough as camping - but while they tell you to bring your own linen which is far enough - let me tell you bring your own water as well because the water here isn't suitable for drinking.  Generally we take lots of water with us and tend to generally over pack - but given we were only going to be away for a few days and good weather predictions in place for one of the first times in my life we went light - bad mistake! The van had no heating and it was freezing and we really didn't have much in the form of winter clothes , blankets etc with us - so a pretty uncomfortable night.

I will say though that the grounds themselves where pretty and each camp site had its own fire pit outside where you could cook and sit around - which was rustic and this did make up for the state of the van itself as this was good honest fun, sitting around the camp fire having a chat and a laugh.  There was plenty of beautiful bird life, kangaroos  sheep etc around as well and Derek is sure he found a very small piece of gold.  Teddy ended up being a very good camp dog and seemed to enjoy sitting by the fire and keeping all those birds away.  We probably wouldn't go back to this area again, but it was a great first experience, but if we did this would be the best time of year as I could image it would get very hot in summer and bugs would no doubt get the better of you and of course we would ensure we had plenty of warm gear and water.  All in all though if you are a camper and its space, activities (dams, trail bike riding, fishing etc) then this place has it all.

Heading home we decided to take the settlers tourist route which is just past Warick rather than the standard highway and Cunninghams Gap. This probably made the whole trip for me it was one of the more beautiful drives we have ever done and was what we had expected Tasmania to be more like.  The roads were fantastic until the Kilarney to Woodenbong stretch.  We have started to take these tourist routes more and this one is one of the nicer drives taking you through towns that obviously care about the tourist dollar and make the attempt to have some good shops for food, parks, gardens etc.  

Our fist stop was at Yangan - what a beautiful little town this is and such a picturesque drive full of color full of life, well done to the Yangan shop as well which takes you back take to your childhood with jars of cobbers and other old fashion lollies, and they make a great cuppa as well.

From Yangan we continued on this route and took the turn off to Queen Mary Falls somewhere we had always commented on as we drove past at 100kms an hour  everytime we have been in this area - must go there one day! Another fantastic area with yet another lovely shop - which was warm and perfect for a cold mountain area, great bush walks, clean and fantastic views and plenty of beautiful birds.

The road to Boonah was closed so had to back track and head for Kilarney and Woodenbong - as I have already said, this stretch of road is hard yacka, very windy, very narrow and very bumpy and apparently is the Mount Lindsay Highway, but one these roads less traveled, its not so bad as there isn't a lot of traffic as long as you take your time, but the scenery is fantastic.  From Woodenbong (which really isn't much unlike the other little towns on this drive), we headed to Rathdowny where we stopped for afternoon tea and enjoyed their beautiful park and hospitality from the local store - all this and only 1 1/2 hours from the Gold Coast.  This 3 day trip cost less than $200 in total including accommodation, petrol etc.

So August has been very kind to us and we have enjoyed a month of beautiful weather, coupled with lots of great town and country travelling as well as our standard boating and beaching days and it seems to have gone so fast but has been so pleasurable and none of these things have cost much money outside of a little petrol.

Talking road trips

So lets chat about road trips, me I love them because you get to see places you would normally just fly over and never get to experience.  On our recent road trip with Teddy, we decided to go to places we have wanted to stay at for a long time but in the need to get somewhere else we have  just driven past primarily due to the distance from the highway.

For those that travel north by car regularly in Queensland they have probably enjoyed the wonders of 1770 in the past, but for us, we had never been there before - its 60 kms off the highway and for many years when road travel was the main form of transport, the road itself was suspect.

I am glad we made the choice to finally discover this wonderful place, the roads now are excellent and once you get into the Agnes Water and 1770 area (named by Captain Cook himself) you can definitely see why this place is so popular with those in the know.

I was surprised that it wasn't as isolated as I had thought it would be and it's a bustling little township and yes full of NINKERS and all people retired looking for a great beach holiday slightly warmer than its southern beach counterparts, with the added bonus of nice accommodation, good restaurants, beaches and beach walks that go for miles, lovely BBQ areas on the beach and plenty of things to do including boating, diving, fishing etc.  Given its location it probably isn't a place you just drive to and drive back from, its a place to stay for at least 1 night, if not more.  We were there for 2 days and found plenty to fill in our time.  With a great pub come eatery right on the beach, with sunsets to die for - note the sun rises in Agnes Water and sets in 1770 - so depending on your preference choose the side that you will enjoy most. Both areas also have a great array of accommodation styles, from the cheap and cheerful, caravan parks right on the beaches and extremely up market 4 star plus accommodation with it all.  1770 tends to be the lagoon side, with Agnes Water being the surf beach which is paroled  Only 5 or so hours from Brisbane, this place is great for a warm winter beach holiday - I even ventured in the surf as it just looked so inviting and the day was up in the mid 20's so definitely warm enough for swimming in winter. We stayed at 1770 Sovereign Lodge which was a Balinese style accommodation and very pretty, great views, lovely gardens with a good size lounge area and possibly the best bed I have ever slept in.

Heading further up we decided to go to Yeppoon, while we did stop here on our last road trip it was dark when we got in and we did leave first up the next day.  This is another spot that doesn't lack for great wide beach areas with plenty of surfing and situated off Keppel Bay offers a great gateway to the Barrier Reef without the need to driving further up north. We stayed at Kinka Beach which was a quiet little beach area - a Caravan Park and a few older style Motels, but there are plenty of these little beach areas some more isolated than others - Kinka was a little more isolated ie:  not much here but only a few minutes drive to anywhere in the area. I must admit after reading some of the travel apps we were not sure about this motel, as some people seemed to rave about it, and others cast some doubts.  We definitely thought Kinka Palms Motel was nice for an older style budget style accommodation, and right across the road from the beach, very quiet, but with good size bathroom, nicely stock kitchenette and clean and again in the right price range for our road trip.  Don't go past Yeppoon its a lovely little town, with a lot of do and offers some great beach areas, fishing and of course diving and island getaways.

Both of these areas are just a days drive from Brisbane and both have accommodation of varying styles, so for us and possibly other retirees they offer good value holidays we were able to pick up older style Motel accommodation for $100 a night (1770 was twice this amount and the most expensive we stayed in) and while not the 5 star luxury we use to enjoy, were clean, roomy, self contained, close to everything and right on the beach.  The days were definitely that 5 degrees warmer and it was nice to be in shorts and T's all day even at night.

Last road trip up North we went through Airlie Beach but didn't get the opportunity to stay here, so after our Yeppoon visit, off we went up to Airlie for our 3 night stay.  Last October there was heaps of roadworks both up to this area and by the way there still is, so the drive does take significantly longer than it should as you get stopped every half hour or so, and also the main street of Airlie was being torn up, unfortunately it still is and it didn't appear that too much had been done in that time.  

Airlie Beach was the first major tourist destination I went to as a kid, and perhaps my memories of this area are of those days before major tourism and holidays where the standard, but with the main street still in disarray there really isn't much in Airlie Beach or its surrounding areas to do unless you use it just as a gateway to island hopping and reef touring.  It definitely has lost its shine to me  and it has just become a transit center which is a shame.  It was also raining when we were there, but we met lots of people like us up here but not really interested in doing the island boat trips etc who were pretty bored.  Other than do shopping in cheap sourvenier shops, or eat and drink in street side cafes and pubs with the jack hammers going - this in't a place to just come and visit, it really is a place to come and go from.

The place we loved the most was Harvey Bay, again its been years since we had been there and back then it wasn't much, but boy how this area has boomed.  We stayed at Shelly Beach on the main drag only 1K from the main center at the Shelly Beach Motel for $90 a night and while this was again an older style Motel, it has been refurbished and is fantastic value for money. The owners have a beautiful garden area, a nice BBQ area as well and the broadwalk area is fantastic and beaches with lovely sand easy to walk on and enjoy.  There is heaps to do in this area including trips to Fraser Island, diving trips and lots of day excursions around the area so less than 4 hours from Brissy offers a fantastic beach holiday environment. We will be going back in the near future.

Why do we love the road trip though you ask, because we get away, experience new places and can do all of this quite easily on a budget. This is a big country and there is so much to see, and so many places we have never been to.  We take our own food and enjoy exploring areas without the need to be spending all the time, really outside of petrol and accommodation which we have now learnt to be happy in the older style motels it doesn't cost much, but we enjoy the warmth, lovely beaches, we meet nice people and experience new things, without spending a fortune.  They are good fill ins between the big holidays.

Pet Friendly Travel: The good and bad

Like every good retiree we decided to head North for some more sunshine and where the days are warmer, however this time we decided to take Teddy and see what a pet friendly holiday was like.  Why?  We feel pretty horrible leaving him every time we go away - he gets the shakes every time we get the suit cases out, he knows we are leaving him and now that D2 doesn't live at home anymore, it was a case of what do we do with him, so we decided to give it a go, see what it's like and if it works for us.

Travelling with a pet is less spontaneous than we like it and we did have to do a lot of research on pet friendly accommodation in the areas we wanted to go to, and obviously book in advance. Beware though if travelling with your pet because not every pet friendly place is created equal.  There are lots of rules associated with pet friendly travel so ensure you check these out prior to making your booking.

I was amazed though that places that are pet friendly generally don't provide some sort of enclosed  veranda area on the room or fenced grass areas were pets can easily roam in a safe environment unleashed - so while they have the rules for you and your pet, they don't help generally in making this easier to abide by.  Open verandas mean you either have to keep your dog inside even if you are out on the veranda soaking up the sun, views etc while there - obviously making mishaps more likely , or on a lead.  Even taking them for their you know whats in open yards means leads when you have a dog like Teddy who will have a go at anyone, or anything it makes for your well behaved pet rules difficult to uphold. Obviously I also felt more comfortable in places that had tiled floors and not carpets just in case there was an accident.  So I would highly recommend you check out these things with the establishment if they are important to you and they were not things I thought about while booking - as I had assumed the rooms themselves would be more pet friendly.

I must admit I had never really noticed before how many people do travel with pets before, but let me assure you its becoming quite a common thing.  Even Virgin now are providing "Points for Pets" and one establishment we stayed in said they had to restrict rooms for animals to 2 only at any point given the amount of people now travelling with their pets, or otherwise the whole place is full of dogs - interesting.  

Road trips for me should be something where you meander along, stop and take in places you haven't been to before, take that turn off that 40kms off the highway and have a look so the advance booking does make this more difficult, and of course anyone who has traveled the road from Brisbane to North Queensland will tell you, its a long drive at the best of times.

Travelling with Ted though was difficult, and it did seem like all we did when we stopped was to try and get him to pee, eat, have a drink etc - to some extent it was worse than travelling with a baby.  He was excellent I will say and slept most of the way each day, but trying to find the right place to stop where he could get out and wander on his own without being on a lead also made the travelling tedious.

He was much better in the places we stayed at for more than 1 night, as he got use to the conditions, found is little routines and learnt his boundaries, but I would say for a dog like Teddy, the trip was probably more stressful for him than being at a kennel where he might well feel shaky for a day or two but not all the time as he seemed to with the road travel.

After a big morning out on the beach at 1770 where the weather was perfect I found myself needing to take Ted back to the room for a sleep, and again it reminded me of when the kids where babies, so that was somewhat annoying as well.

If you have an older dog and one that doesn't have a need to bark at everything, one that can just go to sleep anywhere it might be OK, but with a dog like Teddy who won't relax anywhere out in the open, who can't help himself from barking and growling at everyone he meets, and who is not keen to leave his scent anywhere it was a hard holiday.

The other thing to take into consideration if travelling with a pet is while the accommodation may well be pet friendly," is the general area?". We stayed 3 nights at Airlie Beach and while the accommodation here was the most pet friendly we came across - the area generally was not ie:  No Dog signs everywhere even on the main walking trail around the foreshores, (we resorted to putting Teddy in a bag which of course he didn't mind at all, just so we could  walk the beach area) something we didn't take into consideration and of course that made going anywhere hard and made the stay far less enjoyable.

You will pay more at each place you stay for cleaning, and that's OK, however none explained what exactly they did extra - which made me a bit suspect, I was happy to pay extra and in fact felt that this was more than fair and reasonable, however when their rules say no dogs on furniture I wondered if they properly cleaned down the furniture just in case, or if they took doonas off the beds and washed these in case.  

Top Tips for Travelling with a PET

• Check out the accommodation prior to leaving - establish if veranda areas are enclosed, if the internal areas are tiled or carpeted if this is important to you
• Book in advance and ensure they know you have a pet and let them know what type of pet you have
• Check out the pet rules and ensure you are happy with these prior to booking
• Be prepared to pay extra for cleaning
• Establish if the general area you are going to is pet friendly

Will we do the PET FRIENDLY holiday again, I doubt it - we ended up paying more in extra cleaning fees than a kennel would have cost, most of the places while pet friendly in so much as your pet could stay, where not pet friendly in their layouts for us and I really do not think Teddy enjoyed himself all that much and it definitely cramps your style if you want to eat out, go to places etc.  If you are just going to one place, and its layout is for you and your pet and you don't really want to do anything but sit somewhere its probably OK but for us we like a bit of action and Teddy was definitely an impediment to achieving a great holiday status for us. 

Getting in the groove

Next week marks our 1 year anniversary to tendering our resignations and the start of our NINKER (No Income No Kids Earlier Retirement) journey.  Whilst we both handed in our resignations the same week Derek was finished up almost immediately in a very ungrateful for your 3am starts and 10pm finishes, 7 days a week for 14 years service while I had a 3 month handover period and a very lovely departure and  presentation/party even getting the Rolex in thanks.  

This milestone however started me thinking of the various changes we have been through over the last 12 months, the emotional changes, the physical changes, the financial changes and of course the mental changes.  While we holiday, while out walking on the beaches , picnicking or at cooking schools etc, we seem to come across a lot of early retirees like us - not the aged 65 plusers, but the 50 somethings who have gone we want to make that change, cross that line and take some chances, however most of us when we have our 10 mins of conversation talk a lot about the changes NINKERING and early retirement brings.

This started me thinking about the various changes our NINKERING early retirement journey has taken us though.

So 12 months ago I was feeling somewhat scared to tender my resignation after 9 years of service, friendships and the change it would bring to my life- for those who know me I am not afraid of change in fact I have always tried to embrace it have always tried to push both family and colleagues to change - after all if we never changed we would never achieve and to quote Price Prichett - "Change always comes bearing gifts" is something I have always truly believed in.  Nevertheless you still get that sinking feeling when resigning, never quite sure how it will be taken so this time last year I was feeling scared, apprehensive and of course a little giddy.

In the first few months of NINKERING you can't help but want to start with a bang, and show the world and all the doubting Thomas's exactly the freedom you are experiencing - you wake up in these first few months ready to go where you have never gone before either via travel, learning, doing nothing - but it seems like everyone generally wants to travel without being time bound, without thinking about work (alas technology has robbed us in the last 10 years of ever getting away from work) and of course without thinking about going back.  You feel foot loose and fancy free and you don't really think too much about finances etc at this point, its about doing and going for it.  You feel alive and free, you feel a sense of satisfaction with your choice and of course you just have a general feeling of happiness.

Once the initial euphoria rubs off and you get into the head space well this is life now as a retiree, I can begin to slow it down a little I don't have to be globe trotting everyday and of course for most of us we can't afford to, so after about 3 months you sort of start going back to some basics and begin to look at your finances.  Everyone I speak to seems to have the 3 month time bomb or bugger me moment when you look at what you spent in the last few months and come to that realization that there is no money or not much money coming in anymore and think to yourself " how do we sustain this?"  At this point you change again and tend to get a little scabby and start looking at the things you can do that don't cost anything, you start looking at your bills and shopping habits (no more I will get that just in case, or I love that dress must have it) and get frugal - again this is what we experienced and what others have suggested was about their time line (obviously it may be less or more). Its a bit like a period of morning I suppose as you grieve for a steady income and at times you feel a little sad as you wonder how do I keep this going for longer - can I keep this going for longer.  Its also about the time people start calling you wanting to know if you are ready to go back to work, offering jobs etc - its seems like the 3 month time period is what people think will bring you back to reality and maybe in our new fast paced world long service leave should be shortened from 10 years to 7 or 8 years so that people can get that break that is needed.  At this point you feel financially you probably should, but you don't feel emotionally its right - so its a time where you have mixed feelings - financially probably should, emotionally probably shouldn't.  Some people do go back at about this time because they can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Don't worry though this period only lasts a short while 2-3 months maybe.

Of course this period  doesn't last forever because after being scabby you go was this what it was about, and of course the answer here is NO, so at about 6 months or so you work out the balance.  You begin to think about downsizing some assets ie house, boat etc to cash up a bit more, up-sizing others ie:  for us we up-sized the car so that road travel would be more comfortable and really started to think of things you wanted to achieve, places you want to go to and begin to start thinking outside the box - finding that fine balance between feeling more comfortable about your lot, what you have and that I can do this - as long as we don't do that.   You start to look for the best value you can get from things and just like a corporate balance sheet you learn how to blend in the important elements into your plan.

So we are now getting in the groove of retirement - some days well we don't do much, other days we don't stop.  We have learnt to be comfortable with what we have and we have become better at stretching our dollar further (that will be another blog) - become better hagglers, better at waiting and being more patient for that travel deal, learning to live on less when we need to so we have more when we want it.  We have begun new thought journeys for the long term and changing the status quo slightly to ensure we continue to mix it up and continue NINKERING and early retirement longer.

Getting into the groove takes a little time no matter what you do, and retiring is no different you will go through change no doubt about that.  You will have ups and downs, and then you will find that happy medium that place where you feel the mix is right for long term enjoyment.

My thought to leave you on is:  "the thing about plans is everyone has one until they take the first punch".

The problem with pets

For those who follow my blog you will know that D1 gave us a dog to begin our NINKER journey - Little Teddy the chihuahua.  Now we love Ted dearly, and to be honest he provides us with a great deal of motivation to often get out when maybe we wouldn't have and of course he tends to keep us active.  He has provided us thus far with so much entertainment and laughter which is good for the soul.  If you haven't watched - The most fabulous adventures of Lil' Ted  One of Teds adventures on youtube, then you should you will see what I mean.

When D2 lived with us, we always had a baby sitter for Teddy when we went off on our journeys and of course we take him on the boat which he loves but now that she has moved out we have to either take him or put him in a kennel, which I am not sure is fair on him, so we have decided to do a road trip with him.

Travelling however takes on a new perspective if you want to take your pet.  While lots of websites have pet friendly accommodation listed (wotif, stayz etc) when you travel with a pet you have to be well organised and do a lot of communication with people prior to leaving to establish exactly how pet friendly they may be - because like a lot of things pet friendly has a wide range of different meanings.

So taking possession of our new SUV this week, we wanted to head North where the days are that 4-5 degrees warmer, try out the new vehicle and we wanted to take Teddy so we understand the process of travelling with a pet.  Generally when we do a road trip we just go and head in the general direction and stop where ever we feel is good for as long as we want to be there - and when its just two of you this is quite easy at this time of the year.  You don't really have to pre-book and generally you can get cheap rates.

It took nearly two days of web searching to establish pet friendly accommodation in the approximate areas we felt we would go to taking into consideration comfort stops etc and the amount of daily travel, we definitely wanted to be on the beach, so Derek could do his metal detecting and I could do some photography, go on walks with Ted and enjoy the beach.  Sounds too easy doesn't it!

I will say after finding the right places, everyone was quick to reply to my emails regarding their particular pet rules and after a weekend of back and forth we finally planned our trip, which ended up changing given there wasn't as many establishments along the journey that where actually pet friendly so while we were planning on going up to Townsville via the coast and back inland there was not much in the pet friendly area after Airlie Beach and nothing inland at all - so my advice would be if you are travelling with a pet and don't have your own caravan 

• check it out prior to leaving - don't just get a list of pet friendly places and hope you can get in as often they only have 1 room that they use as pet friendly, and often they are not allowed inside etc
• communicate with properties and then make your booking
• be prepared for additional costs over what is advertised on websites for cleaning - which I do think is fair enough I wouldn't like to think these places where not properly cleaned after animals had been in there - but it does add to your overall costs

I suppose in a few weeks I will be able to tell you if travelling with a pet is good or bad and no doubt there will be a blog, photos and videos of our trip.  So here is to a new adventure, one I would never have thought I would be doing 12 months ago - but hey nothing we are doing now was in the plan 12 months ago - live dangerously I say and try new things.

Reflection & Perfection

Ahhh week days on the Broadwater in winter - Perfection!  There is nothing better generally than boating in winter, and I say generally because like all things there are the odd moments when things happen, but more on that later.

One of the things I do love about boating in the winter months especially when the days are warm and waters like sheets of glass is that everything is reflected on the water and it just looks so beautiful, I seem to take a lot of photos on days like these because there just seems to be so many beautiful shots to be had and I always want to remember them and of course share them.  We of course have this at home as well on these lovely days which is great to sit back after a hard days laboring work. Even rainbows look better on the water!Click here for the full reflections album

I feel so lucky on days like we have had over the last few weeks when you can find that lovely little spot, not too many people around you, one of the many great things about week day boating,  take a refreshing and I mean refreshing dip (it certainly lets you know your alive) because the days are warm enough to dry off quickly and to meander along the beach.  

We have spent the better part of the last 3 weeks out on the boat to enjoy these types of days, only coming home on weekends to entertain family and friends and put the finishing touches on our building works (like painting and tiling).

We generally choose to go out during the week as the water ways are quiet and you have space unlike weekends and its peaceful.  Our days are filled with our little hobbies and things we enjoy doing that fill in the day - which generally go too fast at this time of the year with the sun setting so early, and we generally hit the sack about 8 pm exhausted for what can only be some of the most restful night sleeps with a gentle rocking.

So what do we do all day? 

Teddy of course keeps us on our toes taking him out for long beach walks and runs but this is good for us as well and if it wasn't for him, there might be days when I didn't get off the boat - but he needs to get out for you know what and the more exhausted he gets the better he is on the boat.

I take photos and can quite often walk and sit on the beach for hours watching the birds, boats and views while Derek of course loves his metal detecting and fishing - he does quite well on these beaches and most days finds up to $10 or more in coins and the odd piece of jewelry.

Having a swim, reading a good book on the back of the boat in the sunshine with a nice glass of wine seems to fill in the rest of the day and feels so decadent at this time of the year to be sitting with your togs on, enjoying the sunshine and totally chilled out watching the magic of nature - birds, fish, kangaroos, sunrises and sunsets and the other funny things you see out on the water - like a flying boat!

Given the last 9 years I have spent working the June long weekend I was intent on staying out over the weekend which started off perfect, we moved from where we had been for the week which generally gets crowded on weekends and decided to get a good anchorage in a channel further up where we are generally well protected from winds etc and lots of other boaties.  Friday was great with one or two other boats moored there, but by Saturday it seemed like every person on the water had decided to join us in our tranquil spot as the weather started to turn a little nasty - the joys of boating I suppose, its part of it. So much though for red sky at night sailors delight.

Saturday night I just couldn't sleep as the winds got up to 60 knots and torrential rains started - while I let Derek sleep about 10 pm our lovely peaceful little channel turned into chaos as boats started to loose their moorings and binamis started to be ripped off - I woke Derek up as a house boat that had come loose charged down the channel collecting 2 other boats along the way and of which we were lucky to have escaped.  All of a sudden boats where going everywhere and by now we had also dragged and where sitting in the mangroves (not a good place to be).  What to do?  Given it was high tide and while in the mangroves we did had water around us at this time so we decided the night wasn't going to get better and decided to up anchor and come home.  Doesn't sound too bad you are thinking, except we had never driven the boat at night before (but we tried to keep a cool head and think of the things we needed to do before leaving like setting the nav equipment to night view, ensuring the spotty was working and we had a Thermos of boiling water for coffee) and getting out the channel was made all the more difficult given boats where now loose and going all over the shop.  With the rain in our faces as we had to have our heads out of the windows to see, freezing cold and especially dark we slowly made our way home and at 2 am we pulled into our dock and tied off, wet, freezing and adrenaline high.  As we pulled in and I jumped off the back to tie us up my only thought was "legs don't leave me now".  The waterways were very dark and with the rain it was hard to get your bearings - but we know these channel well and between us we where able to slowly navigate our way back home for our first night travel.  Now we can truly say we are sailors as we have now been there and done that!

Cooking up a storm (of a different type) last weekend kept me busy for a few days as we enjoyed the company of good friends with a fabulous Indian Banquet all made by yours truly.  Including:

Malibu mango lassies with spicy nuts and poppadoms with cream and mango chutney

Laksa and prawn shooters

Tandoori chicken and beef samosas

Pepper chicken, beef madras, lamb korma, mango chicken curry plus all the good sides

Date and cream crepes

Impi cream and fig ice-cream

This plus finishing off our patio - painting, tiling and major clean up job of the deck and patio after 3 months of it being ripped apart and tradies everywhere kept us busy with honest hard work, but again we did it ourselves to save money something we would never have done in the past as well as keeping fit and rounding off our last few weeks.