On the road! Day 1

 Our departure day dawned clear and still, one of those gorgeous autumn days at home, making us appreciate the temperate climate of the mid north coast. The sky put on a fabulous sunset the night before, for our last night at home until spring.

Mike and Lesley, our housesitters, and who we are sure will become firm friends when they move into their new house out of town, arrived for the handover,  and final instructions for the care of Barney and Toby were shared. As soon as the caravan is parked out the front, Toby’s tail wag slows as he knows we are leaving him for a while. But they are in excellent hands! Barney opened one eye and promptly shut it again as he snoozed on his chair in my office.

We left early afternoon and headed for Iluka, to the Anchorage Caravan Park, on the Clarence River, one of our favourite parks. We settled in quickly for a short overnighter. The Venetian red Isuzu with my decals on the side is distinctive and I received a message from my friend. Susan Dube when they passed us on the Harwood Island bridge. 

A quick set up and Ian settled in for a Pa nap and I took my laptop to the outside table overlooking the river and worked on Her Christmas Star, the novella to be be published in a joint boxed set this year. As well as researching my Cooktown book I have four books to write while we are away, so a little bit every day makes a difference

I caught up on my email and was excited to receive the blurb for Osprey Reef and advice that the cover proposal should arrive soon. This book is a suspense mystery set on the Great Barrier Reef and will hit stores in November. 

So the sun lowered in the cloudless sky, the midges arrived and I scurried inside for the Bushmans and my camera. Once again the Clarence River put on a show.

We headed out to the local  bowling club for a fabulous dinner, partaking of the yummy and huge local prawns (Garlic Prawns and Prawn Carbonara) We supported the local club raffle and were delighted to hear our number called  out as we toasted the first day of our trip with an excellent Sauvignon Blanc

Prawns for dinner tomorrow night! Off to the Sunshine Coast tomorrow to catch up with friends and rellies over the next 4 days before we head further north. We were very comfy in our home on wheels by the Clarence River.

Signing off on day  one of our adventure!