Anne's ART Site

2: Adventures to Cape York and Back Again!

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 14:42:10 -0700

I'm back again to finish off our Willow Tree farm stay and add another week of travel!

The owners of the farm where we stayed over the next four days, were people who we all knew from when we went to Norfolk Island on a John Wilson painting trip some years back. Robbie also came to Albury a couple of times to attend the John Wilson art workshop's in Albury that Peter always organised.

Robbie is passionate about her art practice and set up a community art space in Willow Tree a few year ago calling it "Random Rural Art Gallery". Local artists exhibit and meet there to paint together. We met her there in the late afternoon on 22nd May and after having a tour of the gallery we followed her out to the farm, 15 kms from town. Robbie also rents the lawned area on the art gallery property to some wonderful produce and plant stall holders a few times a week and we bought some beautiful produce while there.

Being on the farm was a beautiful restful stopover for us. Maybe not so restful for Peter as this was where he repaired a few issues that were causing him concern with his van. He installed the new bike racks onto the roof of his car (see photo below) and fixed his diesel heater among other things.

The studio barn where we camped for 4 days. (Robbie and Phil's home was just through the trees behind my van.)

Our hosts were a delight and so generous as we had full use of the studio which included a kitchen, a bathroom, a loft dining room, and a huge lounge/studio area with a big Coonara wood fire.

Here we are sitting around the Coonara fire chatting... Robbie must have been over getting another bottle of wine 🍷

I could post many more photo's, but I won't bore you... Loved this one because of the cloud formation. It just didn't look real!! It was taken from the studio.

Robbie and Carol looking surveying the property...

Sunday we took off...Read More

29: Where Will I Park My Van Tonight

Wed, 28 May 2025 21:15:06 -0700

Back in October 2020 I wrote another chapter of the blog, but never got around to posting it. Because it was written over 5 years ago I've updated with some recent info, but decided I'd post it as a memmory of where I was at at that time.

I'm back for a short update...Did I tell you? My van's name is...Bobby. The name was inspired from two things: a song title and it's singer!!! Anyone want to have a guess what the song is called, the singer's name and the connections that drew me to it 😎

Since arriving home to Albury in April 2020 after doing the loop, Bobby was parked on my front nature strip for around 4 months while I worked on getting a special home made for her. A great project to do through COVID lockdown.

Looking very at home there Bobby!!! I was pretty chuffed with the end result 😅

Once completed Bobby was backed into her new parking spot and just as she was settling in she was whisked off by my brother and his wife on a short trip up to Bateau Bay on the Central Coast of NSW, then out to Capertee Valley, Mudgee and Sofala on the Turon River. They had a great time and apart from my brother wrecking one of my new tyres by taking a corner too sharply over a gutter there were no other mishaps...well at least none as far as I'm aware of 🤪

Carol looking very at home on the Turon River at Sofala

The other project I did during the first few months of the COVID 19 lockdown was to rejig the layout of my home and separate it into two spaces. A large private space at the front of the house for rental, and a large private space at the back of the house for me!! I put it in the hands of a local serviced apartment agent and called it "Cullalo ArtHouse". Bookings opened at the end of October 2020....Read More

1: Adventures to Cape York and Back Again!

Wed, 28 May 2025 05:18:44 -0700

I'm back on the road again in my gorgeous little van Bobby travelling with my brother Peter and his wife Carol. We're travelling up to Cairns to take a 9 day fully accommodated tour of Cape York Peninsular with 9 others from Albury, who are flying up and will join us for the Cape York tour. Originally two other couples were set to travel by van with us, but they couldn't leave as scheduled, so are planning on joining us later.

My journey started at noon on Thursday 15th May...woohoo!! I drove through to Cootamundra and settled Bobby into the caravan park. It felt great to be back heading off for a three month van trip. Pete and Carol left a while after me so when they arrived and had settled in we walked into town and ended up having dinner at the Central Hotel on the recommendation of a local we got chatting to.

The next morning we took off in slightly different directions. Pete and Carol went to Bathurst to meet up with friends and they camped at the showgrounds. I went to Orange to meet up with my (ex) sister-in-law and stayed at Orange Caravan Park. I got an early start the following day and we met up again on the way through to Megalong Valley near Katoomba.

I'd have to say, the drive down into the valley was an experience I'll remember for a long time!!! The road was very narrow, steep and windy and the traffic 😱 both ways, was horrendous. Pete and Carol were ahead of me and by the time I reached the Megalong Valley Tea Rooms, (were we had arranged to meet) my legs were shaking and the heart rate was peaking...I needed coffee or a stiff drink. I got coffee!!

Unknown to us the "Ultra trail marathon" was on. This year there were over 8000 entrants with categories ranging from 1km to 165km running through extreme mountainous terrain. If you're...Read More

28: Where Will I Park My Van Tonight

Sun, 12 Apr 2020 05:08:12 -0700

Well this is it folks...I'm home and in the process of moving all my furniture and belongings back into the house... I miss my little van!!! I'm sure I'll take off again in the future, but in the meantime here's the promised summary of the 12 months travel.

During the trip I spent around $400 on at least 80 magnets covering many of the towns and tourist spots where I stayed and/or visited. The following is a photo of the main magnetic board in the van. Another smaller magnetic noticeboard has the remainder. 😱 and I love them all, they're a great keepsake.

Here's some Statistics...

Travel Dates 15 March 2019 to 19 March 2020

Distance travelled by car 35,000kms

Car Statistics,

Car was filled 132 times with 4824 litres of fuel used.

The petrol price averaged 149.0 c/L

Most expensive petrol was on the Nullarbor, 198.9c/L

Cheapest petrol was in Melbourne when I left to return home at 111.9c/L

Distance the caravan has been towed 22,753kms

The number of parks/camps I stayed at - 137

Average daily accommodation cost $45 (the most expensive accomodation was $75 per night and the cheapest were a few free camps!! Anytime during school holiday season and at all the major tourist hot spots and grey nomad hot spots (eg. East coast and west coast holiday resorts such as Exmouth) were expensive.

The most asked question I get is...What was the highlight of your trip? All I can say is…I can't answer that as there were too many!!! Highlights came in many different ways...To try and give you an idea I've listed some of the most memorable, fun, exciting and fascinating things I did over the 12 months.

The preceding number on the list indicates the Blog number...Read More

27: Where Will I Park My Van Tonight

Mon, 06 Apr 2020 05:27:42 -0700

Well my journey is getting very close to the end and I’m not sure how I feel about that. I can’t believe it’s been almost 12 months. I get a surreal feeling when I look at the map and see the distance I’ve travelled and the places I’ve stayed. Just the fact that I made it home in one piece without any serious mishaps is amazing to me!!!
I'll give a breakdown of the statistics in the final following blog
This next episode documents the journey around the South Coast of Victoria with a detour through Albury to surprise Peter on his birthday 😎 I arrived in Portland around 3pm and parked my van at the Portland Tourist Park. After setting up the van...it only takes me 10 minutes these days😃 I drove out to Cape Nelson Lighthouse about 20 minutes south via the tourist drive. The drive along the coast had some great views.
Cape Nelson Lighthouse
Scene from the tourist drive looking towards one of Australia's largest wind farms at Portland
On the way back I detoured past the Point Danger Bird observatory to see the Gannet Colony. This is the home to the only Australasian Gannet Colony on Australia's mainland. More than 6000 pairs of Gannets nest on Lawrence Rocks and 300 pair on the mainland. Every surface on the rock is covered with gannets!! They've been coming here since 1996.
They were a magnificent sight, but you had to have binoculars, which thank goodness I had, to really appreciate the sight. When tours are available you are taken through the gates to a much closer view of the mainland colony.
http://www.visitportland.com.au/gannets/ will give you a better view of the birds and...Read More

26: Where Will I Park My Van Tonight

Thu, 26 Mar 2020 18:54:15 -0700

This edition documents the rest of my South Australian experience to the Victorian border.
The date is Feb 16th and I'm on my way to Whyalla. I called into Arno Bay and after walking the jetty I then walked along a 700 metre boardwalk through mango groves to the river inlet where I met a couple from Melrose who I chatted with for some time.
Arno Bay mangrove tree walk at the river inlet.
Next stop was Cowell to eat my last Eyre Peninsular oyster lunch before arriving in Whyalla and parking my van at the Foreshore caravan park. There's a fabulous wetlands in Whyalla with a cafe, walking tracks, lots of bird life and gardens. The cafe is meant to be one of the best cafe's in Whyalla ,but it was closed (Sunday evening) so I walked around the lakes and gardens.
I liked Whyalla. It’s an attractive city with a stunning lookout from Hummock Hill despite all the mining infrastructure around the pier and on low tide the ocean views are quite stunning. People walk all over the firm sand and shallow water during low tide, but at high tide all the sand flats are covered.
One of my favourite photos.
This photo was taken from out the front of the caravan park.
When the tide is in, it is completely covered in water.
The following morning after getting the other two tyres fitted on my car I drove out to Point Lowly and had a dip in the water at the wharf beach. The weather was superb.
Point Lowly Lighthouse
Wharf beach at Point Lowly
I was back in time to visit the Whyalla Maritime Museum and do a tour of the...Read More

25: Where Will I Park My Van Tonight

Tue, 25 Feb 2020 02:13:02 -0800

It was Feb 2nd when I left Kalgoorlie and headed south again. I had one more place to visit in WA...Esperance. I stopped off at Kambalda to play the next golf hole and then drove on and parked my van at Esperance Bay holiday park for 3 nights. I was excited to revisit Esperance as during the time we lived in Perth we had holidayed there a number of times and always loved it....
Whilst setting up I got chatting to my neighbours and they were off to have a drink at the "Lucky Bay Brewery" so I joined them...as you do!!
Lucky Bay Brewery...great beers👍
The beaches around Esperance are as stunning as I remembered!!! Squeaky white clean sand, rolling waves, beautiful coastlines...love😍 love😍 love😍... If it wasn't so remote from everywhere else in Australia I could live there!!! I spent the following day out at Cape Le Grande National Park east of Esperance sightseeing and this is what I saw!!
Magnificent Cape Le Grande beaches to drool over 😂walk along and swim at...
Top left-Hellfire Beach,
Right-Cape Le Grande campground beach, Bottom left-Thistle Cove😎
Kangaroos on the beach at Lucky Bay
Frenchman's Peak, which I DIDN'T climb...this time!! It's quite a strenuous and at times precarious climb. Sara tells me she, John and the girls climbed it and she remembers us all doing it when she was about 8 years old and I have a photo at home to prove it🧗‍♀️.
Just west of Esperance there's a beautiful coastline drive with lookouts over lots of other great swimming or fishing beaches including Twilight Beach...ah!! this was just as beautiful as 38+ years ago!!!
Twilight beach and Eleven Mile...Read More

24:Where Will I Park My Van Tonight

Thu, 20 Feb 2020 16:04:36 -0800

The night before we left Boat Haven CP Leah made a special fire pit for "Meerkat Mascot" and the clay toy she had made. I thought I'd share it with you as I thought it was very creative and gorgeous.
It was beside our fire pit ... so cute! 😍
On our way through to Albany we stopped off at The Boston Brewing Company and bought 8 cans of beer. Over the next few nights we had our own beer tastings. With three of us it was a great way to experience some new beers and they weren't bad either.
By early afternoon on Jan 21st we'd set up our vans at the King River Palms Caravan Park. We then went to Albany's forest sculpture park, which you drive through. All sculptures are carved into the wood often using parts of the trees that are still attached. It's quite unique and quirky!! The three girls took a heap of photos as we drove around. Here's just a few!!! The variety of sculptures were amazing and they were often hidden in the trees or ground so it was easy to miss them. You weren't meant to leave your cars, but Leah couldn't resist hopping out and sitting on the trunk throne!!!
The following day we headed out to the historic whaling station at Frenchman's Bay. The last time I had been there was 1981, about 2 years after whaling was banned in 1979 . The museum had just opened and was very basic. Now it's a huge tourist attraction with many of the buildings and tanks displaying historic equipment and processes with theatres and video presentations as well as a whale skeleton museum.
Left to right - whale oil tanks, a whale playground slide and swing, Cheyne 1V being the last whaling ship to work out of the port, Sara and family in front of a Blue Whale skeleton, me in front of Cheyne 1V
On the way...Read More

23: Where Will I Park My Van Tonight

Thu, 13 Feb 2020 14:28:45 -0800

HAPPY NEW YEAR.
It's been many weeks since I posted a blog and I apologise to all those who keep asking when is the next update coming!!! It's been hectic and there's been very little time to sort photos or write a diary!!! Christmas, New Year, spending time with family and friends and travelling with Sara, John and the girls...
It's now February and I'm heading eastward ....About 4 weeks from now I'll be almost home!!!
Back to the BLOG...to where I left off....Dec 15...I spent the week with Lyn Lewis, a friend who I first met back in 1979 when I was living in Perth. I parked my van in her driveway, but didn't stay in the van for the week...it was a luxury to sleep in a queen bed and have my own bathroom...Thanks Lyn!!. We spent the week catching up on family, going out for lunches, visiting old haunts, shopping, getting a hair cut etc. etc..
A favourite beach...Trigg Beach...No wonder we spent every summer weekend swimming at this beach when we lived in Perth. We only lived 10 minutes drive away 😃😍
On 22nd Dec I hitched up the van and drove 35kms north to Yanchep National Park to spend Christmas with Sara, John and girls. Fires almost stopped us having Christmas together. The NP was closed for 10 days, but fortunately the campground and surrounding area was untouched and they opened the park to campers a few days before we were due to arrive. It was a very relaxing quiet Christmas. I was with three very excited little girls wanting to get ready for Christmas day😍
The girls decorated a white chocolate mud cake for our Christmas dinner.
They also painted and decorated our Christmas tree table centre ....
....as well as helped make these mini Christmas puddings.
We took a guided...Read More

22: Where Will I Park My Van Tonight December

Sun, 15 Dec 2019 18:28:50 -0800

This next episode takes my travels further south along the "Turquoise coast of Western Australian. Geraldton, Jurien Bay and Cervantes
After leaving Geraldton I called past Greenough, where I had a look through the old historic homestead (and gardens) that are now owned and managed by the National Trust of Australia . There is also a historic River Gum purported to be 800 years old and as you can see is still growing, albeit along the ground, as is most trees in the area.
An indication of how windy it is...and this tree is still off the ground. Many grow along the ground 🤨
Then I did another stopover at Northampton as I wanted to see. "Ewe Turn For Art". It was a 2018 project to attract people to Northampton and is now a fabulous installation of hand painted fibreglass sheep spread around the town...and it's obviously doing the job as I stopped off to check them out. It gives the town a lovely atmosphere.
Next stop was Oakabella Station, which is an historic home, farm and caravan park. The homestead is known for it's supernatural encounters....ghosts!!! There are tours through the original homestead, which I didn't do as the next one was too late in the day for me. Or was I scared!!😱🤣 Anyway, I called in to have coffee and scones, which it's renowned for...Date and wattle seed scones...mmm... that was lunch!!!
I ate inside the restaurant under air con, but if the weather hadn't been so hot 😅I would have been outside. It had a great rustic character.
Mid afternoon I arrived in Geraldton and parked my van at the Sunset Caravan about 10 minutes north of the CBD. The park is right on a beautiful beach and has a small but delightfully cool pool😎.
The CP's are almost empty at the moment and that's because it's out of holiday season, it's hot, and it's windy, which is normal for this time of the year. Although it will still be windy and HOT in December...Read More