We visited the June Chocolate & Licorice Factory.....apparently we HAD to do that !!
Not sure if these ladies knew that they were being watched.....
From Junee we continued east and overnighted in Jerilderee in a great little campground next to the Jerilderie Sports Club.
Certainly made the dinner decision easy !!
Next morning we headed out and decided to stop in Gundagai for a coffee.
This was the first time in 4 weeks that we saw another kombi, or 3, on the road.
They looked strangely familiar and as we wandered down the street we bumped into Lindsay, Terese and Mark D. who'd also stopped earlier for a coffee.
The trio were heading to Cootamundra to meet up with other Kombi Club folk for lunch. Unfortunately, we were committed to being in Canberra that afternoon and bid them farewell.
The country in this area was just stunning. The river was flowing and clear, the hills were a verdant green and everything just looked as nature intended. I've travelled a lot around this region and for many years it's been crunchy brown and dry....
We had to do the Dog on the Tuckerbox thing and were lucky enough to jag a park out front.
We rolled into Canberra around 3pm and stayed with my mother for the night.
After catching up, lots of stories told and a good night's sleep, we left my Mother's the next morning and met up with Grant (Grantus) & Carole for brunch at one of their favourite cafes.
We always enjoy each other's company and all too soon we had to say goodbye and headed up the Hume towards home.....which I was not looking forward to.
NSW school holidays were in theist days and I anticipated heavy traffic heading into Sydney.
Fortunately, we had a really good run straight through to the Northern Beaches without a hiccup....doesn't happen very often !!
The next few days were spent unpacking the kombi and trying to get rid of red dust from places I didn't know I had places !!
With everything unpacked and the kombi cleaned inside and out I gave it a pat on the bum and thanked it for the faultless travel over the nearly 5,000km we'd done.
The dirt roads we'd travelled - 500 km in total - were the worst I've ever experienced and I'm amazed that nothing shook loose, rattled off or just disappeared.
I've even checked the engine bay for loose carb. nipples etc. , all good
Our 4 week, 4800km adventure has now come to an end and we have sooo many more photo's to sort through.
A big thanks to Deb, Phil and their Team for pulling this Bus Stop together....it most certainly was not without its challenges but it all came together beautifully.
Thanks !!
...and a very special thank you to a great mate for putting us up at his place when he hadn't really had time to move in himself !!
John, you're a legend buddy and I treasure our friendship....
......now, where to next.........? !
