Low bridges and Vampires! - oh the joy of being on the road again!

We packed up in Goulburn this morning - although it started out really foggy it was a beautiful day so we managed to dry everything out before packing away.  It took us a good 5 hours to pack up - amazing how you make yourself at home so quickly....

We punched in the coordinates for our free camping destination in to the GPS and had only travelled a short distance when we hit our first snag.  Came round a corner and saw a sign saying low bridge 2.7 metres with the actual bridge just in front of it...great warning signage - NOT.  We came to an abrupt stop and hopped out to see if the caravan would fit...it was touch and go!  A very friendly motorist coming the other way got out and helped Mal decide if the caravan would fit while I went back round the corner to warn any cars coming that there was a caravan stopped in the middle of the road.  Inch by inch Mal pulled the caravan forward and miraculously it fitted - there literally must have been millimetres in it.  Good thing is that we now know 2.7 metres is our height limit LOL.

We are heading initially to Queanbeyan to a camp ground there as a base to have a good look around Canberra.  The showground in Canberra allows dogs and is apparently an awesome place to camp but unfortunately they have a big show over Easter so thats not available.  Chip is booked in to the Vet in Queanbeyan for his blood tests to get back to NZ and I have a dentist appt to get my troublesome tooth looked at as well. 

We arrived at Warri Camping Reserve just after lunch - its a lovely little free camping spot alongside the Shoalhaven River about 13km away from Braidwood. 

There are a few other motorhomers and caravanners along with people in tents camping here.  The river is just lovely and Mal and Chip had their first swim for months.  Apparently there is even gold in the river and a few people had their pans etc out prospecting.  Here are a few photos of the camp and the river

Tonight after watching the movie Real Steel with Hugh Jackman (good movie) we were getting ready for bed - I was in the bathroom and Mal was washing the cups and saw what he thought was a very large moth flying round.  Infact it was a Vampire - well okay a small bat - flying around inside our caravan.  I did what any normal woman would do - stayed behind the door in the bathroom laughing hysterically while listening to Mal thrashing around in the caravan trying to get rid of it.  We think it flew out the door - we have searched every single nook and cranny in the van and can't find it but Mal didn't actually see it fly out the door...so just like not being happy unless I can see the actual squashed spider I am a bit hesitant to hit the sack as I sure don't want to wake up to the thing sinking its teeth in to my neck!  We have no idea how the thing got inside our van or when....yeek.

Daylight savings finishes here tonight so we get an extra hour sleep - I think I am going to need it!

The steam train ride that wasn't!

We had planned to be part of Goulburn's history this weekend - taking a steam train ride aboard an old carriage first class from Goulburn to nearby Marulan.  Unfortunately there was no steam - instead a diesel engine pulled us along - not quite the same! 

It was interesting seeing Goulburn from a different angle however while sipping a cup of tea and eating sammies and cakes - but I did miss the sound of a steam engine....

here are some piccies

Mal sitting in on the train

Looking out at the prison complex - this is super maximum, maximum and minimum security for men!!!  AKA BAD people...

We only have 2 weeks left here before we move on.  The weather has improved over the last week or so and we have had some lovely sunny days.  We brought a generator so we are now better set up for free camping and have plotted a path from Canberra to Sydney along the coast in free camps - it will be lovely to be by the beach once again!

Paranormal activity and all things old!

Both Mal and I had the weekend off together - the first in the 8 weeks we have been here...so given the weather has been awesome we got out and about in Goulburn.

Last night we did the Goulburn Brewery and ghost hunting tour - has it converted us in to ghost hunters?  Short answer - No!  We had dinner first at the Brewery and tasted some of the beer brewed there which was very nice.  We chatted with the others who are very involved in paranormal activity while having dinner - the theory of ghosts and paranormal activity is all a lot more involved than I had ever thought.  Anyway then we headed off in the dark around the many parts of the Brewery - which wasn't always a brewery.  Infact it was once upon a time the first industrial complex in Australia and included the brewery itself, a maltings, a steam powered flour mill, cooperage, tobacco curing kiln, as well as a mews of stables and workers' cottages. 

They gave us little paranormal activity gauges to hold and mine kept going off - supposedly we talked with a ghost or two who answered us by setting off the lights on the gauge.  They also used a 'ghost box' - basically an altered radio which uses white noise which the ghosts can use to 'talk' to us...supposedly a ghost who called himself 'Tom' spoke to us and said that he didn't want to 'talk'.  We didn't feel any hairs standing up on our backs, hands on our shoulders or see any appartitions or 'orbs' although they showed us that they had captured some 'orbs' on their camera in one of the rooms we were in.   As you can tell we are both sceptics.  It was an interesting night however having a look around the buildings and hearing the history of the place and Goulburn itself.  Here is a photo of the place in the daylight that I took today.

We went to an antique show today at one of the historic homes in Goulburn called Riversdale.  They had antique cars and machinery and various market stalls set up.  We had a look through the house which was lovely - its an old colonial house built in the 1840s.  I really loved all the old dresses on display - a few of them would look just as trendy if worn today.

We then went and had a look around another heritage home called Garroorigang.  Its a home that was  originally built as a pub in the Victorian period. In 1868 the stables were converted to a school for the sons of gentlemen and the pub was converted in to a home for the headmaster.  It was then brought by the Hume family who still own it today and actually live in it and do guided tours through the property.  It has all of the original furniture and the stories behind it all is really interesting particularly when told by the family who grew up in the house and still live there.  The gardens were lovely - here's Mal enjoying his tea and cake!

Rain, rain and more rain!

Well the last couple of weeks have been shocking - there has been a huge amount of rain here and parts of Goulburn were evacuated due to flooding.  Fortunately for us we chose the right place to stay as we are on higher ground, although the camp ground sure got muddy!  We had prepared for the rain and dug a trench around the annexe which helped to 'route' the run off from behind us down past us instead of through our annexe!  We can certainly say that our caravan is weather tight.

Here are some photos of our rain soaked site

Below is an aerial view of Goulburn flooded 



The last two days have been clear and we have even seen the sun - though areas around us are still in trouble with the water heading their way and causing the worst floods in over 100 years.  The rain is supposed to return later in the week though not heavy to the same extent thank goodness.
We only have another 4 weeks left in Goulburn.  Mal is still busy working at the hotel doing handyman work and still enjoying it.  My work has been very busy lately - seems the wet weather has caused a lot of woman to go in to labour!  Luckily only a couple of staff were unable to come in to work due to flooding - they don't have near enough staff to cope with shortfalls. 

We have a few outings planned over the next couple of weeks - sadly a few things we were planning on doing last weekend were cancelled due to the rain.  This Saturday night we have a ghost hunting night at the local brewery so will post again and tell you all about that!