Sunday 2nd March was the day we planned to make the trip around Sydney.  We hoped the traffic wouldn't be quite so bad on a Sunday morning!   The drizzly rain became more consistent as we got closer to Sydney.  We were amazed at the road construction of the Pacific Highway and the blasting that had been necessary to get through the mountain range!  This is something this couple from the 'West' hadn't thought about until we travelled the road!  Our decision to travel on this day did prove to be another wise one!  Our fellas thankfully said "It wasn't quite as bad as they thought it may have been"!  We were all relieved when we were on the Hume Highway heading to Moss Vale.  This was the town in the Southern Highlands that was the closest  to Bowral, with a caravan park.  And we have made the phone call and paid our motorway tolls!  A first time for that as well!  Peter and I first visited Bowral in 2000.  It was the year of our 30th wedding anniversary and we had booked a cruise on the Sea Princess to celebrate it.   Our first ever cruise and it was going to be on the ship we referred to as the 'Love Boat'!  Only trouble was it never sailed and that is another story!  Anyhow we also decided to have a few days in the Southern Highlands and came by train from Sydney to Bowral.  Good thing we decided to do this before the cruise and did at least have a little holiday!So in 2014 we have enjoyed another 3 days in the area!  Especially the Bradman International Cricket Hall of Fame.  In 2000 we visited the Don Bradman Museum and the famous Oval in Bowral, where Sir Don played his junior cricket.  Another visit was a must as Bowral now has a magnificent new building, which was inspired through Sir Donald Bradman's vision.  The Bradman Foundation has expanded upon the original Bradman Museum and built a state of the art building.   It is the home for a wonderful collection of cricket memorabilia and interactive displays that truly interpret 'What is Cricket'.  All of the Don Bradman memorabilia is in the Hall of Fame and the statue of Sir Don, that was sculptured by Ms Tanya Bartlett is excellent.   It was unveiled in February 2002 and is so 'life-like'.  It was also very moving to read the plaque at the rose garden, where Sir Don and Lady Bradman's ashes  have been scattered.  The Bradman International Cricket Hall of Fame was officially opened in November 2010 and we spent most of the day there.We also checked out the statue of Mary Poppins which is in the park nearby.  The towns of Moss Vale and Bowral are very close together and both were settled in 1863.  In 2013 many events were organised to celebrate the 150th anniversary.  The final one on the 8th December was the unveiling of the 'Mary Poppins' statue.   The following is a snippet from the internet that tells the story of the statue:  Mary Poppins was welcomed back to her 'birthplace' in the Australian town of Bowral where the author P.L. Travers lived as a child and teenager.   Appropriately, the fictional character of Mary Poppins is now immortalised in the town.  She was created as the finale event in Bowral’s sesquicentenary (150th) celebrations with the unveiling of an exquisite life-size bronze statue.

Moss Vale Caravan Park

Mary Poppins is now a 'permanent resident' of Bowral in Glebe Park, adjacent to the Bradman International Cricket Hall of Fame and Museum.  This is only a block from the cottage in Holly Street where her family lived from 1907 – 1917.  The statue was crafted by well-known sculptor Tanya Bartlett, who was also responsible for the nearby statue of Sir Donald Bradman 'The Final Salute', that stands in the museum’s courtyard.  The unveiling of the 'Mary Poppins Birthplace Statue' was performed by dozens of children and supporters, sponsors and dignitaries tugging on three long ropes. The unveiling was done in the presence of the Governor of New South Wales, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, who gave the command signal by raising an umbrella.
On our second day in Moss Vale we went to yet another waterfall.  This one was called Fitzroy Falls and due to the recent rain there was a reasonable amount of water flowing over the fall.More exercise for us all walking to the number of lookout points.  We even saw a lyerbird!  Fitzroy Falls is a 81 metre waterfall, so less than half the height of the Ellenborough Falls.   Travelling home we went via Mittagong and we travelled on Sheepwash Road.  How about that Barbara!!  We checked out "The Hill" where a number of famous people like Jimmy Barnes have a country home.  The higher you get up the hill, the more private and larger the homes become!  They are their country hide aways!  We had great views from Mount Trafalgar over Mittagong and Bowral. It was good to leave the coast for a bit and see more countryside, but it did mean we had to travel back through the mountains, to get to the coast!  This time we went via the town of Robertson, which does get quite a bit of snow in the winter time.  Morning tea was enjoyed at the bakery there.  Then it was through Macquarie Pass.  Eight kilometres of twisting and turning and switchbacks!   The most we had encountered.  It could be referred to as quite exhilarating and yet another achievement for our two fellas.  They got those vans safely through Macquarie Pass!  We are looking forward to a week in Shell Harbour.Can't finish this blog without sharing photos of the van jacked up at the Moss Vale Caravan Park!  The ground was so unlevel Pete had to do this!  And if he hadn't we would have been playing "Slide" the whole time we were there!   But we really should not have had to do this!  I think if we cannot get a more level site in the future, we will have to find somewhere else to stay!

I also caught up with a boy I went to school with while we were in Moss Vale.  Harry Cockram.  He just happened to be travelling with friends who were parked next to us.  We actually lived next to the Cockram family in Massingham Street, Kellerberrin, for a few years.  Small, small world.  18 photos