Posted on by Cathy

Here, there and home again

It seemed as though no sooner were we here at the very end of June

Time had flown by and we were saying goodbye at the very end of September

We had applied with a tentative date and were finally given the ok to return

As if to prepare us for things to come ‘this’ accompanied us all the way to the NSW border. Things weren’t much different during the long drive through the state

Terms and conditions of the transit permit meant we had to move through NSW (deemed an extreme risk zone) in 24hrs. That’s no problem for those driving big tank like 4 wheel drives ‘pulling their homes behind them’ who can stop and rest when they want…..just a little more involved for those who don’t really want to be on the road in the dark in their ’normal everyday’ sedans that would come off second best in an altercation with an unpredictable big ’roo feeding on the side of the road at dawn or dusk

After deciding we wouldn’t travel straight through (about +/- 12hrs border to border plus about 4 more home) but make an allowable accomodation stop we managed to find a motel at Narrandera ….less than 2hrs from Tocumwal on the border…with late check in (just in case) ….. so opted for a long 11hr drive Goondiwindi – Narrandera (much more than we would normally do in a day) early bed for some well earned sleep and then get away at the crack of dawn to meet the deadline.
There was a lovely policeman standing in the pouring rain just inside the Victorian border waiting to check our permit, welcome us home and remind us to drive carefully ( as well as ’get tested if we didn’t feel well’)

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I’m sure the weather gods have just been trying to humour me since then – there have been brilliant warm Spring days which let the daisies out front show their faces

Then this is what turned up for today – Spring in Melbourne, don’t you love it!

18 Replies to “Here, there and home again”

  1. welcome home – take care, I know you will…and sit about reliving the fine memories you’ve had on your sojourn to the north…

    – much like my region (across the ditch) at the moment, if you want to cross an internal border you need a dam fine excuse and if you want to transverse through this region, you must do it in haste, again with a permission to do so. At 11.59 tonight new rules come in, some of relax model but even those come with new rules! For me basically little change, although if it was nice I could go to a beach or somewhere nicer than my hood…but then so will everyone else no doubt, so keeping to social distancing/masks will not be easy.

    This new thing is called “the road map out of level 3” with 3 steps but no timeline or even date of when we could move from this new Step 1… I now understand it but it “makes no sense, gooblygook at it’s finest”

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    1. Oh those relaxing restrictions road maps are very confusing aren’t they. I haven’t even tried to catch up on what is supposedly going to happen here when certain percentages of people are vaccinated. At the moment I just need to know if I can get groceries and whether I have to wear a mask or not!

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  2. At least your garden greeted you with something more cheerful than an overgrown mess (or all browned off!). That was some drive you tackled. So e people from smaller islands simply do not appreciate the distances in Aus. We drove 5 hours one night for my cousin’s graduation – and 5 hours back! Welcome to a night out in Aus!

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    1. All those years ago when we first arrived I was in awe of the distances from one place to another- even one side of Melbourne to the other seemed ginormous. Slowly ‘things’ seemed to get closer to each other and now we tend to think in ‘how long’ rather than ‘how far’. We’ve done the ‘four day winter sunshine run’ a fair few years now and I’m still impressed when I think we drive 2,500 kms to get there 😊

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    1. It’s a bit of a hike but we’ve done the drive from Melbourne to Bowen each winter for many years now so we’re ‘sort of used to it’. Of course the return journey this year was different due to those pesky border problems because of you know what.
      Lol summer weather in Melbourne can turn out to be 4 seasons in one day…..in fact the weather on any day (never mind what time of the year) can end up being 4 seasons in one day 😊

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  4. It must to be good to be home, in spite of the weather. I am not sure how you were able to obtain a permit when so many Victorians are or were stuck at the NSW border for so long.

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    1. All to do with the traffic light system of covid risk Andrew. Each state, even parts of states, are allocated a colour depending on how (say Victoria for example) views the situation. Qld is classed as a green zone – safe to enter from. Great for flying home direct but a bit of a problem for those driving back via extreme risk NSW so the 24hr short term transit permit comes into play.
      NSW has been classed as an extreme risk zone for quite a while now and that’s the reason those Victorians were stuck there. They needed an exemption (a pretty good reason) to get back over and very few were granted. Even the border bubble was cancelled when cases spread into regional NSW which meant even locals who would be back and forward each day were stuck. Thankfully there’s been a change and the stranded ones and locals can now ‘cross over the bridge’.

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  5. 11 hours, that’s one helluva drive. And what a pallava with permits and policemen. You must be mighty glad to get home. Though that weather is a nasty surprise.
    Now just to do all that washing, get stuff put away. get your house ship shape and then you can enjoy another summer!

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  6. Glad to hear your journey was relatively uneventful, and that you have arrived safely home. It is interesting to hear about how contagion is handled in Australia. Fingers crossed that over the next few weeks no symptoms pop up.
    My Mom always travelled to Florida for the worst of the winter months here in Canada, January and February. Hurricane Katrina put an end to that, as where she billeted was wiped out. She was able to travel south a few more years after that, then she had to stay in Canada with health issues, and now with the Pandemic, and care for my brother who is suffering from advanced ALS. She sure misses Florida!
    In Ontario 76% of the population has been fully vaccinated. Hubby and I still live in complete isolation, masks even for short walks around the block. He is an essential worker and has had to brave exposure at work for the duration of the pandemic, it has been harrowing. We will remain isolated until the numbers dwindle, 511 cases yesterday in Ontario (population 14,789,778).
    I don’t think many people are as cautious as we are, and that is why we continue to isolate. Our neighbours had it, hospitalized and lived, the teenager brought it home and infected the whole family. We live in interesting times.

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  7. Wow, what you went through just for a vacation. I know it was worth it and am so glad the weather was in your favor until the arrival home. Glad you are back safe and sound.

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  9. What a complicated situation. Of course we wouldn’t want to “impinge on peoples’ rights” like that here. We would rather have 700,000 so far people die. So we have.

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  10. What a todo to get home. Glad you made it safely. I hope the foul weather notices do not come true! You deserve a good spring and summer. Do you suppose you will go back again next winter?

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  11. So glad to learn you arrived home safe and sound, Cathy…and I’m glad to learn you enjoyed your holiday in North Queensland….it is a wonderful area up that way.

    I was born in Rockhampton…many years ago!! : 🙂

    Take care. 🙂

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