March 4th to 12th. (Final Post.)

Friday 4^th March.

            Today there was the “Extended Nat-Com” meeting preceded by a luncheon for attendees to this meeting. Each branch is invited to send two representatives, generally committee members from the branch. Being treasurer of our local branch I attended along with the secretary of the Manning Valley branch. This meeting is simply a scheduled National Committee meeting to which representatives of all Australian and overseas branches are invited as guests. It also covers some agenda items which are listed for the AGM which is held tomorrow.

Ironically there are always more attendees at this Friday meeting than there are at the main AGM. I suspect the free catered luncheon has a lot to do with this.

Some of the information which is disseminated at this Extended Nat-com meeting includes for the number of registered attendees at this year’s event. 2,200 is the number for 2016 which is down on recent years. The location for the 2019 event is also announced to the branch representatives. Interested branches tender with their proposal three years ahead and a selection is made after the National committee revue all proposals and visit the nominated locations. The winning tender for 2019 was submitted by a conglomerate of branches from the Mornington Peninsula area in Victoria and will be based entirely at the Mornington racecourse.

Ulysses friends from Coffs Harbour, Viv & Gordon plus Graham & Lenore from Lake Macquarie branches were going to the Harley Iron Horse Grill based on our recommendation so Gail & I decided to join them and dine at this great location for a second time this week. A courtesy bus collects and returns us for the 6 km trip which allows all to have a drink or two and not have to worry about driving.

Saturday 5^th March.

            A lazy morning then a walk to the Albert Hall where the AGM is being held.

As financial members only are permitted to attend the AGM for voting purposes.

Gail elected to go to the nearby shops while I was at the meeting which lasted about 2 hours. The main on-site function for the week is the Saturday night dinner and is extremely well attended.

Sunday 6^th March.

            Gail & I attended the on-site church service in the morning then the volunteer’s luncheon in the main tents. At the lunch, attended by all 474 volunteers there were a large number of “door prizes” and both Gail & I were fortunate enough to win a prize each. My selection from the prize table was a timber key holder constructed from 6 or 7 different Tasmanian timbers with a metal motor cycle forming the multiple key holder. Gail’s number was drawn later with a smaller selection on the table so she chose a universal gift – a bottle of wine.

The afternoon was largely taken up with packing up and preparing to depart Launceston tomorrow morning.

Monday 7^th March.

            We departed the AGM camping site “Glebe Farm” at 10:00am heading towards Devonport. Lunch at the Country Club / Golf Course / Casino, then on to Devonport, a distance of approximately 90 km from Launceston.

We are having dinner and staying overnight in the motor-home with our friends Aafje & Adrian again before departing Tasmania tomorrow evening.

Tuesday 8^th March.

            We were taken out this morning, firstly to the Mersey Bluff and lighthouse with amazing views along the coast then to the Tasmanian Arboretum. We were fortunate to see several platypus foraging in the shallow lake.

Upon returning to Aafje & Adrian’s home we said our goodbyes and drove into the CBD area of Devonport where we parked the motor-home beside the river directly opposite the Spirit of Tasmania terminal where Spirit 1 was already docked in preparation for tonight’s crossing of Bass Strait.

As we had several hours to fill in before we could load we went for a walk around Devonport and had a look at the various shops etc.

At 5:00pm we drove the short distance across the river and lined up for the quarantine inspection prior to driving aboard the NEW Spirit of Tasmania. Departure time was 7:30pm and we pulled away from the terminal right on time. A very smooth crossing of Bass Strait, however we had a bit of a restless night as the ocean recliner chairs are not all that comfortable for sleeping. Consequently, we were both wide awake at 3:30am just in time to see the ship cross The Rip and enter Port Phillip Bay. The lights of Queenscliff were quite visible and soon after we caught sight of the lights along the opposite side of the bay from the Sorrento coastline.

It took almost 3 hours for the Spirit 1 to proceed up the bay to Port Melbourne. The average speed of the vessel overnight was 24 knots, quite a good rate.

Wednesday 9^th March.

At 6:30am we were called to our parking deck to be ready to disembark. An early morning drive to Preston in peak morning traffic where we arrived at Glenices’ at 8 o’clock.

A long refreshing shower then we went to visit Jan at Sunbury where we had an early lunch with her. Back to Preston where we are staying the night with Glenice.

           

Thursday 10th March.

            Raining most of the night and today. Gail has picked up some sort of bug, vomiting on and off during the night. As at 08:00am she has finally dropped off to sleep so left her in bed for most of the day. Nothing to eat.

I went for a walk to Northland shops, saw a nice room divider that we have been seeking for a while. Took photos to show Gail when she is feeling better.

By dinner time she was feeling a little better and got up to watch TV for a short while.

We had intended to depart Melbourne today but in view of Gail;s condition have decided to wait and see how she shapes up tomorrow.

Friday 11th March.

            Gail woke up feeling considerably better so we decided to leave this morning and travel as far as practable. We made frequent short stops for brief rests and eventually arrived at Cambewarra at 7:00pm. A very big day of travel over 12 hours.

Saturday 12h March.

            A leisurely morning at Cambewarra, loaded Velvet into the Motor-home, then we departed around 11:30am bound for Penrith and Madison’s 21^st celebration with family. She had the best ever 21^st birthday present a day or so ago when her oncologist advised her that she required no more chemotherapy. From now on it is regular monitoring by her specialists.

We arrived at Penrith at 2:30pm, a BBQ lunch with salads and bread rolls.

Kelsey is growing up so quickly, chattering all the time.

WE said our goodbyes at 6:40pm and drove as far as the Station Creek rest area near “The Rock” where we settled down for the night

Sunday 13^th March.

            Awoke around 7:30am, light breakfast and then another 1-1/2 hours to Hallidays Point. Arrived home at 10:30am and spent most of the day unpacking.

Prologue:

An amazing seven weeks away in which time we travelled 6,090 km’s in the motor-home, plus an additional 1,000 km’s in the rental car while in the Hobart region.

The highlight of the trip:

Quite frankly there were so many highlights it is hard to single out any one particular place or event. However high on the list is the Wilderness Eco boat trip we did from Adventure Bay on Bruny Island.

Most Memorable Camp Spots.

                        Cosy Corner on the Bay of Fires, east coast.

                        The Nut, Stanley on the North West coast.

                        Queenstown Football ground. Western Wilderness.

Total nights away.

52, of which 39 (75%) were free camping.