Don't leave home without a cup of My Blue Tea of course ...
This blog been waiting patiently to be brought to light since last May.
We originally intended to publish this blog in 2021, thinking it would be a good idea to share travelling routes around Australia, do some gold prospecting...plans the Grey Nomads would be keen on, but Covid forced many to shelf their travelling plans.
Now that borders are opening from 1st April 2022, we decided to dust off this blog and give it the airspace it has been eagerly waiting to enjoy. The routes are certainly still relevant, and those who are eager to stretch their legs and do some exploring may well appreciate the caravanning option.
Travel, and Support Australia
Over the Covid period, you may have seen these headlines splashed across social media and the news.
Australia, your country needs you! Do something you’ve never done before!!
Younger generation discover joys of caravanning for Covid-era holidays
COVID caravaners buy up stock with no sign of industry slowing down
One of our colleagues @my.blue.tea decided to take his well-earned three weeks off and create his own Great Nomad Trail with some gold prospecting thrown in and, of course, you never leave home without some Blue Tea in your backpack!
A New Way to Travel
With travel abroad restricted during the pandemic, many have been looking at caravans and motorhomes through fresh eyes. And sales for these vehicles are booming. This is an alternative way to travel, and why not?
Holidays are a time for joy, relaxation, adventure or being with family and friends, but they can also bring stress. Sometimes it could be planning the itinerary and making sure you can fit in all your plans, trying to coordinate everyone´s holiday schedules, or finding someone to look after your cat while you´re away for three weeks. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a whole new level of stress, and a different mindset and approach to travelling.
In spite of that, humans are amazingly adaptable creatures. And the pandemic has made holidaymakers see caravanning, often deemed a less fashionable alternative to camping, through new eyes. The confusion about overseas travel has sent internet searches soaring, while dealerships are struggling to get their hands on enough caravans to meet demand. Buyers face growing waiting times, and rising raw material costs have also pushed up prices.
The upheaval caused by the lockdowns has meant, as is commonly seen in other industries, manufacturers are scrambling to meet the growing demand. Waiting times for new caravans have doubled from the usual 8 weeks to 16 and are heading towards 24 - a delay that is, in turn, boosting demand for pre-owned caravans.
There is a Bright Side
As a result of looking at alternative ways to travel, some allied business sectors are booming.
This includes caravans, caravan parks and even cycling, not to mention the money spent in regional and rural Australia as opposed to abroad.
As an example of how travel plans are changing and how this is affecting industries, we went to BCF because we could not get a removable awning for our marquee. Everything was sold out, and the shelves were actually empty of camping equipment!
Our Mandurah friend has a personal experience to share:
When the pandemic and lockdown hit a year ago, the JobKeeper program allowed his business in Mandurah to keep staff on during an uncertain period. Mr Wiltshire said within six months "it just went ballistic". He said much of the interest came from people who formerly went on cruise holidays, and it also came from young families and people who have traditionally holidayed overseas.
So along with a friend and avid gold prospector, we set off on our journey to discover parts of Australia and come home with pockets full of gold nuggets.
Slide through the photos and spot My Blue Tea!
Caravanning Generates Business
For our next trip to Western Australia, we are already planning for a 6-month holiday on the road.
The City of Bunbury in Western Australia has made a controversial move to offer free caravan rest stops. They are making permanent a two-year trial to allow caravans to stay for free for up to 48 hours. While there is opposition from the holiday park industry, the increase in interest in caravanning is generating business for the local communities.
The City of Bunbury is two hours' drive south of Perth. For a long time, it has tried to capitalise on tourists travelling through to the more high-profile destinations of Margaret River and Busselton.
Bunbury´s Mayor Gary Brennan said the two-year, free-rest-stop trial is achieving this aim - it has generated $360,000 for the local community and attracted 2,500 travellers.
On Sunday the federal government launched a week-long, $5m advertising blitz encouraging domestic travel in 2021.
Campsites such as Guyra
Federal Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister Dan Tehan said the government wants Australians to get excited about holidaying domestically. “Our country is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and this year is an opportunity for Australians to discover why,” he said.
Domestic tourism is worth $100bn to the economy and the industry supports more than 621,000 jobs.
Tourism Australia’s managing director Phillipa Harrison said the “Holiday Here This Year” campaign was about “capitalising on this pent-up demand by providing these people with all the content and inspiration they need to convert this desire and yearning for a holiday into actual bookings”.
CARAVANNING & GOLD PROSPECTING - A MARRIAGE MADE IN GOLD
MAPPING A 21-DAY TRAVEL
Our journey started here on the Mid North Coast but in heading south to Echuca to meet with friends we decided to head inland to avoid the Sydney traffic.
We stayed overnight in a roadside campsite out west, along with about 10 other campers. We encountered some pesky little mice that were probably part of the larger plague of mice and they managed to chew into one of the chairs that we had left outside.
Travelling south via Parkes (we inspected the old aircraft at the airport) and Forbes, we spent several nights on the roadside sipping our Blue Tea and just contemplating the landscape all around us.
Beautiful Australia - top left Echuca
When we reached Echuca, we caught up with our friends and stayed just one night.
In the morning we dropped down into Bendigo’s goldfields and camped for a few nights.
We met an old-time prospector who lived in the State Forest for ‘god knows how many years´. But he was very helpful with advice and had even buried a poly pipe in the ground which he then used to help fine-tune the detectors – so that got us even more excited to start our ‘walks’.
Having found no gold but lots of tin, we decided to head north and after checking out the lovely little town of Wentworth we camped the night at Fort Courage just outside the town and on the banks of the Darling River. This was another lovely spot where we enjoyed our Blue Tea and the spectacular sunsets.
For those interested, Wentworth lies at the confluence of Australia's two most important rivers, the Darling and the Murray, the latter forming the border with the state of Victoria to the south
Moving north, we camped for one night on the banks of Lake Menindee and watched as the flow of water from the recent rains further north made their way down the Darling and into what had previously been a completely dry lake system.
The only disturbance here was the noise of the generator that nearby campers had running all night. Leaving Menindee behind, we made a short incursion into a lovely little weekender spot called Sunset Strip. It sits on the northern part of the Lake, and there is a smallish golf course, library and even drinks and BBQ night weekly.
Beautiful morning and evening shots at Fort Courage. Makes you never want to leave.
It was then a short hop to Broken Hill where we visited the mine site viewing area.
And we encountered a high chair just for me!
With not much gold to find in town, and after enjoying an old fashion milkshake at Bells Milkbar and Museum and topping up supplies, we headed to Milparinka and camped nearby.
We just loved Milparinka with its classic one pub town and restored court house and police cells, but what was most fascinating was the fact there was just one power pole with a single street light and it was totally an underground power connection. Unfortunately, we were not able to buy a beer at the pub and have a look inside as there was no electricity in town that day.
Speaking with the locals, we also learnt that a lot of the gold areas were now in private hands, so prospecting in the area was no longer an option.
So we set off to Tibooburra - the largest town in the Corner Country and our furthest point from home.
We then spent several nights in the Aboriginal Campsite area which was surrounded by a number of gold prospecting opportunities. The only success came when I found a spoon that was originally nickel-silver plated.
As a diversion to gold chasing, we visited the local pub made famous by Clifton Pugh who once owned the pub and had decorated the walls with some of his own handiwork.
It is a lovely little town and well worth a visit if just to spend an evening at Sunset Hill watching the sunset. Collin, who had worked in the town before, was able to reconnect with some former but still local people.
Ebor Falls - The Gumbaynggirr people traditionally called Ebor Falls ‘Martiam’, which means ‘The Great Falls’.
A great stop-off between the coast and Armidale along Waterfall Way, Ebor Falls offers spectacular waterfall views, scenic lookouts and a picnic area.
Here, you can watch the Guy Fawkes River plunge 100 metres over two waterfalls at Ebor Falls. There are three lookout platforms along the edge of the gorge - upper falls, lower falls and valley view - and these give spectacular views out into the rugged gorge country.
From here, we headed to Bourke with our journey taking us on the Cut Line but not before stopping at Wanaaring on the way for what can only be described as a great burger.
On the road again we were surprised to round a corner on a dirt and corrugated road and find six model T cars heading in the other direction – with, I might add, a very large support vehicle behind them.
We arrived at Bingara, and the orange trees lining Finch Street and circling the Gwydir oval are a unique feature of this place. The trees offer a different dimension to the attractiveness of the town - the air is heavy with the perfume of the flowers in the spring, and the beauty of ripening fruit can be seen throughout the autumn. However, it is the fact that they have become a symbol of community pride that has attracted international interest.
Planted as a living memorial to Bingara’s fallen in World Wars I and II, the trees and the annual harvesting of the fruit by the local school children (the orange police) happens on only one day of the year.
Bingara Orange Festival - Costa having fun with the kids and of course, oranges.
In 1998, an annual festival was held to emphasise the importance of Bingara’s orange trees while celebrating Bingara’s cultural heritage. The Bingara Orange Festival provides an entertaining week of festivities for the community, surrounding district and visitors.
We wanted to participate at the Bingara Orange Festival but accommodation was booked out and the closest was Armidale which is about more than 100 kilometres away. That was a pity but perhaps we can consider being here at the 2022 Bingara Orange Festival (01-02 July, 2022) and get our accommodation going.
On the way home, we passed through Burren Junction, Wee Waa and Narrabri (which is full of cotton farms now). We then camped in the Mount Kaputar National Park which had interesting scenic things to do but we arrived too late. It was then onward to Bingara, Inverell, Tingha and Guyra where we spent one night camping by the golf course and a place called the ‘Mother of Ducks Lagoon’ which is contained within the crater of an extinct volcano! We rolled on to Ebor (where we saw a really nice waterfall), then to Bellingen and finally, Home Sweet Home.
Get Your Wheels on the Road
Australia is a vast country so you really do need a caravan to get around.
What is beautiful about exploring Australia is there are so many sights to discover and simply enjoy along the way in between big towns that you really cannot just speed through your trip.
Caravanning is one way to do Slow Travel, where you can savour every single sight, smell, sound and taste along the way.
And of course, never leave home without your trusty, relaxing, healthy Blue Tea!
Give us a ring where to send your Blue Tea order to the nearest post office or a relative or an address you prefer – we deliver Australia wide and of course, world wide.
With Dine & Discover vouchers extended to 31 August 2021, our friends would be hitting the road again, and they will be going to festivals and events with My Blue Tea. Make sure you visit them at the following events and check out their FB Events Page for updates of new events they will be participating in:
EVENTS WITH MY BLUE TEA - That got Cancelled or Postponed to 2022!
(1) 26th June – Tamworth Food Fiesta
(2) 10th July – 1st Camden Haven Festival (postponed TBA)
(3) 24th-25th July – Sarawak Day AU Event
*We missed the above events due to COVID!
(4) 14-15th Aug – Aroma Choc Festival, Hunter Valley
(5) 18-19th Sept - Brisbane Vegan Expo
(6) 25th Sept – Curryfest Woolgoolga (TBA)
(7) 16th Oct – Karuah Oyster & Timber Festival (TBA)
(8) 17 Oct – Lake Mac Food & Wine Festival, Lake Macquarie
(9) 17 Oct – Central Coast Food & Wine Festival Mt Penang
(10) 22-24 Oct – Cake Bake Sweet Show – Sydney Showground
Here are the New Events with MyBlueTea 2022 : Don't Miss Out!
May 1, 2022 - Newcastle Chilli Festival, The Station
May 22, 2022 - Food & Wine Festival, Rathmines Lake Mac
May 27-29, 2022 - Cake Bake & Sweet Show Sydney Showground
June 04, 2022 - Bonnie Wingham (Scottish festival with bagpipes)
June 12-13, 2022 - Smokehouse, Hunter Valley (the long holidays in June)
July 02, 2022 - Sawtell Chilli Festival, Coffs Harbour
July 22, 2022 - Bingara Orange Festival (TBA)
July 23, 2022 - Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Festival, Hunter Valley (TBA)
August 2022 - Aroma Coffee & Chocolate – Hunter Valley (TBA)
Sept 24, 2022 - Woolgoolga Curry Fest (TBA)
Oct 10, 2022 - Lake Mac Food & Wine Festival, Lake Macquarie
Oct-Dec 2022 - Upcoming events TBA
If you live within these local areas of the festivals and are keen to be involved as an assistant, contact us and we'll be in touch. Of course, our assistants, other than the guarantee of having a deliciously good time, will also be compensated with our beautiful products e.g. durian (one of our favourite things to share!!), pandan, butterfly pea tea... Get in touch!
Travel Tip: Stay healthy with Blue Smoothie and Dragon Fruit Smoothie
When you are on the road, it is important to keep your meals light and easy and nutritious. Eat healthy, walk to get your exercise, and drink lots of alkaline water - our Blue Tea has a pH8.4 (your natural alkaline water).
Here are two recipes for you to take with you on your next journey - a simple Blue Butterfly Smoothie and a refreshing Dragon fruit smoothie .
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