And so the adventure begins......

Finally set off on our journey, a week later than expected, but off never the less. Lachie went with his Nan to the Central Coast to his cousin’s place so we started with one less child. We will pick him up on the way through!

Cresent Head was our first stop. What a place. It was so hot that the beach was a welcome relief. We didn’t waste much time getting into the water and swam until late.

Not having Lachie with us meant we could have fish and chips for dinner...certainly enjoyed that given it will be one of the few times over the next year I’ll be able to have it. Lachie is anaphylactic to fish and shellfish so seafood is not allowed on our menu. The fish and chips from the club where fantastic!
Our first storm experience in the van that night was a little scary and freaky I must say, but it cool things down a little which was very welcome.

Overcast but nice morning the next day. Luke and Emily went for a walk with Shane to check out the surf before a play in the park. They had lots of fun having running races on the skate ramp. Emily and I borrowed a couple of noodles and had a float on the incoming tide down the inlet. That was so much fun. Had to organise a later check out so Shane could go for a surf...the managers of the park had spent a number of years travelling around with their grommies so were very understanding of this!

Left at lunch time to head to Budgewoi on the Central Coast. Set up camp then off to Aunty Bec’s for dinner and a catch up with the cousins, Nan, Mimi and Aunty Bec....and Lachie of course!!

Next couple of days we got some quality time with our beautiful nieces Rachel, Ally and Kasey. Even got to go to Ally’s and Kasey’s swimming carnival. That was a treat to see them go so well.

Caught up with the lovely girls that I used to work with as well. Fantastic to see them all again.
By Thursday we were ready to head off again and after having to find an auto electrician for the van brakes...which suddenly decided not to work we set off for Sydney to my cousins place....this time with Lachie!!

Our arrival at Penrith coincided with my cousin Jon’s Birthday so we were treated to a Birthday BBQ. The Austin Resort was open!

Friday morning we set off to the Blue Mountains. We went via Richmond so we could have a different route to come back by to make the trip even more fun. We started driving past Apple Orchards. Made a decision to drop into one to buy some apples...great decision. It was so interesting. The kids were shown how the apples get sorted by size by a machine then hand packed into boxes ready to go to the market. We got to buy a huge bag of freshly picked apples for a few dollars. They were so yummy.

On the road again...stopped for a morning tea picnic at one of the many lookouts over the Blue Mountains. Spectacular. Then onwards to Jenolan Caves. If you haven’t been there before, it is quite an experience driving down the mountain to the Caves. We were so glad that nothing was coming up from down the bottom. It was only when got to the bottom that we found out that the road is closed for returning vehicles from about 11am till 1 or 2pm. This is to accommodate the buses coming from Sydney to come down during that time without having to worry about sharing the road with other vehicles. Thank goodness, because there would just not be the room for anything else on the road!
If you get down there, it is worth your while looking into booking into a cave tour before you go. We couldn’t get into a cave tour until 2pm as earlier ones were booked out. We went on the Lucas Cave tour (or the New Cave as it was initially know as). Loved it....they really are something else.
We came back to Penrith via Katoomba. No visit to the Blue Mountains is complete without going out to see the Three Sisters. We had run out of time so didn’t get to go on the scenic railway down to the floor of the mountains or on the sky rail. Given I have a bit of a height issue; I wasn’t too phased by this!

Next day was spent recouping at the Austin Resort!