It is tricky trying to catch up with posting, especially when I was writing about 2025 happenings and it was really 2026. Here it is the middle of August,2026 and I am starting to write about January happenings......hopefully I'll get up to date soon...I've ordered blog books from July to Dec 2024, and then all of 2025 in one book, and hope to get 2026 in another book while the special price is on??
There has not been a lot of customer quilting to be posting, and trips away have not been so frequent this year. Due to staff illness at work, Barry has been putting in more hours, although we have had some shorter trips. Maybe I'll wait until the end of 2026 for the next book???
On the road again.................
December 30th, 2025 saw us head off for a few days of rest and relaxation. We drove north along the Ngarkat Highway with a stop at Pinnaroo on the way.
Love the see art painted on the side of buildings and this was on the Mallee Tourist Centre.........
It was the lead up to New Year's eve and the public holidays, so we weren't sure if we would be able to find somewhere with not having prebooked......Fortunately we were able to get a booking for a few days at Cobdogla, which is a small town near Barmera, on the Murray River.
This tree has the 1956 flood level marked on it. Parts of the caravan park were flooded in 2022 and are still being renovated. A lot of the town was flooded and levee banks were erected to restrain the water from parts of the town.
This chimney, located in the grounds of the park, is a surviving relic of the Cobdogla Station homestead complex.
One afternoon we went for a drive to Waikerie.......this is the Kingston on Murray Bridge which crosses the river near Cobdogla.........
......and the cliffs on one side of the river..............
Overland Corner was a spot to check out on the way back........we thought it might be a good place to stop for our evening meal.....but no........they were booked out for New Year's Eve celebrations!!!
After Overland Corner, we drove into Barmera, and thought about getting some takeaway there..........but that was another NO! We were amazed that there were no takeaway shops open here at all, and on New Year's Eve too!
In between a few drives around the district, we spent a lot of time resting this trip......it was very pleasant sitting out under the awning...........
Now it is New Year's Day and Kym and Faye came to visit us at the caravan park. We cooked some meat and salads and ate outside. It was a very pleasant day, with lovely weather, good company and the perfect way to start out the New Year.
Another day we went back to the Werrimul Hotel, and enjoyed lunch with Jo and Tony. We love going there, and the food is always brilliant.
After the New Year celebrations, quite a few of the vans in the park left, and we were very surprised how quiet it was, even though it was still school holidays?? We had intended heading home, but after Barry talked to his office manager a decision was made to stay another week!
I thought this sign that we saw when driving around was rather funny...............
The icecream van came to the caravan park one day.....lucky that Barry heard the music...........
It was Tate's birthday, so we made the day trip to the Barossa to celebrate with him.
One day we went for a drive to Renmark. Barry bought himself an electronic monitoring tyre pressure gauge for the car, and I may have purchased a few books!!!
The lovely weather was about to end, and the next 3 days were forecast to be about 43 - 45 deg C!!!!!
I don't think I ventured out of the van for the next 2 days, and managed to do a lot of reading in between snoozes. It was lovely and cool in the van and the air conditioner coped with the heat continuously for 3 days. Very glad the power did not go out. On the 3rd day it was very windy and there were a lot of fires in Victoria and SA. It was much cooler on our 12th day away and we went for a drive to Berri and had lunch at River Jack's cafe by the river.
Then we went to Renmark and did some shopping and drove back to the park via Monash, where there is a playground............
That evening we decided to go to the Cobby Club for a meal, and unexpectedly met up with a few people we knew from home!!! It's a small world.
That evening we decided to go to the Cobby Club for a meal, and unexpectedly met up with a few people we knew from home!!! It's a small world.
Our 3 or 4 day trip away turned out to be 13 days, and we headed for home, through Moorook and Loxton and then south via Pinnaroo and home. Time to unpack and do the washing and clean the van ready for the next trip.
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Barry's 2 Perth grandies came to Bordertown for a visit. On the plane by themselves, without parents. It was good to see them.
The rest of January was filled with the usual appointments, hair, medical, specialist and a day trip to Mount Gambier.
I decided to repaint the pergola chairs.............
.............and there might have been a few customer quilts done, but they seemed to have left the building before I could get a photograph.
That's about it for January 2026. Be back soon with February news.
Blessings, From Jude and Barry
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