April 19 2021
Teddy and I left Kogarah, Sydney at 1035am. We stopped briefly in Eastwood, and then for lunch the Roadhouse Café, which is before the Hexham Bridge.
We arrived in Karuah at the dog friendly Big 4 Caravan Park at 235pm. Teddy enjoyed his trip –lying on the car seat in such a way that allowed him to capture the sun. He had his seat belt on as required by law. The traffic travelling north was not heavy. I noticed quite a lot of cars pulling caravans, and the usual semi- trailers.
Karuah is an under-rated destination. From here you can travel to Port Stephens, Dungog, Gloucester, Taree , Forster or the Hunter Valley. Karuah RSL has wonderful food. And Karuah is known for its oysters. I have stayed here on a number of occasions en-route to Coffs Harbour or Port Macquarie. There are a number of motels in Karuah as well.
After our long car drive, we enjoyed a late afternoon walk, and had dinner in our cabin. A busy day!
April 20 2021
Teddy and I left at 950am for Tea Gardens. I called into the Information Centre to ask for an Upper Hunter map, which I need for a future road trip.
We took a walk on the board walk and watched the Nelson Bay ferry arrive. The oldies, who were on a bus trip from Forster for the day, asked ‘could they hijack Teddy and take him home with them. “One lady from the tour told me that “she had owned a tri- coloured Cavalier”, and asked if she could have a pat.
Teddy had many pats on Tuesday ….He must have felt like a celebrity!
We went to the dog friendly Seagrass Café, formerly the Mangrove Café for lunch. A group of ladies arrived for lunch. One said that “she had had a Cavalier like Teddy” and could she pat Teddy.
The man sitting at the next table asked me” if i was a local.” I indicated that “I was a visitor from Sydney.” He said that “he and his wife had lived in Kellyville, Sydney and had moved to Tea Gardens some years ago. He had been a building teacher at Granville TAFE in his final appointment before retiring. “I indicated that i had been a Local Government Councillor for 17 years, so had dealt with Development Applications. We then talked for some time about the decline of apprenticeships within Tafe, building standards and private certifiers.
After lunch, i had to meet with Sue and Penny to collect my rug. This will be the subject of a further article, which will detail the events surrounding the making of the rug to ultimately the finished product . It had been a kit for 30 years, so i was delighted to see the finished product.
We had afternoon tea in the garden at Sue’s retirement village, and then Teddy and i left with my wonderful rug for our drive to Karuah.
Again, an afternoon walk and dinner in the cabin.
Wednesday April 21 2021
Teddy and i set off at 10a for Stroud, and then Gloucester. On my last visit to Stroud with Lillian in late November 2020, i had bought a doorstop at the Craft Shop. This time i bought two doorstops. I noticed that there were a few shop closures from my last visit at the end of November 2020.
Lunch followed at the dog friendly Crepe Myrtle Café in Stroud. I chatted to two men on the next table to me. They were from Nabiac, and were on their way home on their high powered motor bikes. They told me that there were some road works on the road to Gloucester, and that it may take 45 minutes to Gloucester. I soon discovered the road works!
The scenery was lovely. It reminded me of the countryside around Berry on the South Coast. The countryside was green after the recent rain, cows were grazing in the paddocks, hay bales were stacked up in the fields, and the hills in the background set the rural scene. A timber truck passed me – I have memories of these trucks when driving in Tasmania in the early 1990’s.
Gloucester is a town of 25,000 people, and is the entrance to the Barrington Tops. I visited the Information Centre to ask for a brochure on pet friendly accommodation in the area.
I ordered an iced latte and joined two men at a table at a local café. One gentleman had his dog, Scarlett with him. We had an interesting chat – they had lived in Surry Hills, Sydney and had moved to Gloucester ten years ago. They now live on a small farm. We chatted about the country life style as opposed to the city lifestyle. They had to return to work.
After our coffee break, Teddy and i returned to Karuah. We had a walk to exercise our legs, a lovely day.
Teddy decided to snore all night long on Wednesday night. Most of my previous seven Cavaliers have snored on occasions. William was also a good snorer, and Lizzie would dream the night away at times.
Thursday April 22 2021
Teddy and i left Karuah at 9.40am. We had a good journey south. The plan was to catch up with Kathleen for lunch at noon, at the Wyong Milk Factory. She lives at Umina, so it was a 30 minute journey for her to Wyong.
I eventually found the café, which was dog friendly. It was lovely to see Kathleen again, as i had not seen her for some time. We had a lovely lunch, and Kathleen had a look at my rug. She said that it was lovely – she is a former textile teacher, so has an astute eye for design, texture etc.
Teddy and I travelled south into all the heavy traffic, arriving in Kogarah, Sydney after 4pm .
Teddy behaved himself impeccably and he travelled well . We had a great time away so he deserves another road trip.
My next trip with Teddy is to Scone, so that I can do a stud farm tour. (Teddy will have to go to doggy day care). There are more than 200 thoroughbred stud businesses in the Upper Hunter. It is the centre of Australia’s multi- billion dollar thoroughbred area. The origins of the Hunter Valley stud industry dates back over 200 years, and is the second largest concentration of thoroughbreds in the world- alongside Kentucky in the USA.
Anne
April 30 2021
