Joanna Becker

We stayed at Arakoon near South West Rocks for a few days and oh-my-word, it was soooo amazing. Within the first hour of setting up the caravan there were kangaroos all around us giving Dusty a chance to take close up photos... It turned out that Australian wildlife are EVERYWHERE at Arakoon, so the place had a real personality about it. That, and the Trial Bay Gaol, which (as we read) plays a massive part in the history of the region not only as a Gaol, but as a bakery for the town, a life-saving service for ship-wrecked boats, and a full German cultural hub and safety respite during WW1. The building remains are stunning, it is everything I anticipated it would be (I had been dreaming of visiting this historical landmark since I read about it in the Gold Coast Sun 6 months ago).  It didn't matter where we went in Arakoon, it was just darn pretty all the time. From the rocky headlands and beaches in between...  To the fire-red sunset on the beach...  ... The bush trail w...

Dusty and I were feeling restless and homesick this morning. I didn't want to go home, necessarily, but I did want to make use of our time away by travelling and sightseeing instead of being at the caravan - the small space we have set ourselves up in really felt crowded for me this morning.  Dusty had also said that he wanted to go home to his BIG house, with a sad sigh. So, Tim suggested our first Toowoomba-area tourist destination, Jondaryan Woolshed.  The Woolshed museum features over a dozen buildings from Australia's earliest days, when Jon Daryan and surrounds were used for Merino Wool production - the first place in Australia to farm Merino Sheep.  It's more than just a sheep museum though. There are all kinds of relics, which were brought here from all around The Darling Downs, including a dairy/cheese factory, school room, tractor shed, railway line, a tea, stew-and-damper hut, and a yard full of farm animals including freshly hatched geese and baby goats. Shrie...

This is it - our big day of our life on the road, turning nap times into driving journeys.  It has been a seriously big project, packing up an acre and 35square home with 2 young little ones and not just a move across houses, but a massive and complicated change in lifestyle. Every single thing we owned and all our little ways of doing things were evaluated (with lots of stuff sold, packed, modified) so we can live on the road instead. Feels amazing to be here on settlement day!  And our Bluebelle house looks beautiful after all the fixing and polishing, inside-and-out and especially the gardens. I've felt a little teary, walking around acknowledging every step of our journey here ... Every seedling raised, the hard work we both put in (especially Tim with his constructions) and remembering good times with friends and family here - especially when they all helped us pour concrete. What was once scrub is now a stunning property and we will want to return in a while to see how t...