Onward from Gosford ......

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with Pete and Dawn as always and left on Wednesday morning to travel on towards Armidale. For the first time we can remember we had a visit to Gosford without rain. For those who followed our journey last year you will recall the dreadful weather we had in June last year so we were very relieved not to endure storms this time. We parked our van out in the street in front of Pete and Dawns unit which was much more convenient and enjoyed staying in their unit instead of the van. We will have plenty of time in the van over the next three or so months!
Pete suggested that we travel along the highway and turn off just after Raymond Terrace travelling along Bucketts Way and Thunderbolts Way through Stroud, Strouds Road, Craven, Straford and Gloucester. It was a beautiful drive and the winding and somewhat hilly road made for interesting travel.
We ended the day at a magnificent site called Bretti Reserve which is situated beside the Manning River and truly a great find. We were surrounded by very friendly cattle and a number of campers. We went for a lovely walk beside the River which was flowing quite rapidly. The Reserve is obviously a very busy place during the summer and is equipped with toilets and rubbish bins and well maintained. You can stay for up to a month free of charge and we’re sure it would be a great place to stay again. We met a couple of girls from Sydney who have given up their permanent residence to travel and just ‘live in the moment’! They were great fun and have a huge dog for company who we’re sure would discourage any unwanted attention. The night was a cold one but with our hotties, and plenty of blankets we are much better prepared this year.
From there we went on to Armidale and booked into a caravan park. It seems crazy that we didn’t stay in one of the cabins there on the many visits we made to Armidale when Kate and Pete were students at UNE as the park is a very comfortable one. We met up with Jason Wall and Edwina Ridgeway at Duval College and enjoyed coffee and a quick catch up.
In the evening we had a great dinner at PJ’s, a Thai restaurant, with Edwina and talked for hours over a beautiful meal. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to spend time with Edwina without having to worry about college commitments! We seemed to pick up from our last visit when Pete moved back after finishing his degree without a moment’s hesitation.On from Armidale on Friday morning ending up at a ‘cheap and cheerful park’ in Gilgandra for the night as we wend our way towards Broken Hill.