2948.7 km!!!

Last Wednesday at 5.30am Granny Loz, Tracey - Oz Country Quilting Mum and The Chocolate Cat headed off on a road trip to Nundle for GDITC! For the last few years we had all wanted to go and in a moment of craziness this year we said 'why not' and booked in!!! It was worth every single km but boy oh boy I am hoping next year to do it slower, yes I am planning to go again!!! How could I not go to meet up with this incredible group of likeminded women.

Here we are setting off.....

On the first day we drove from Victoria to Wellington in NSW to stay with my Aunty Judy for the night. We were very happy to arrive there and have a comfy bed for the night. We wondered what we would come across on the trip given the recent flooding but we only had one detoured road. We were amazed though at the water from Jerilderie to Narrandera and then to West Wylong, it looked like inland lakes. How devestating it must be for the farming communities along here.

This road was closed due to flooding and just past these trees just disappeared into the water. 

On day 2 we drove from Aunty Judys to Chookyblues home stopping along the way. I think she had almost given up on us arriving as we took so long. We found so many little townships though that were fun to explore and yes a little retail therapy may of been done!!!! Had a great cream bun with coffee at a bakery along the way, glad I don't live up there all the time, they would be far too tempting!!!

Along the way we found these trees with 'weird' things in them, they turned out to be 'sacs' of bugs hanging from the trees. This photo was taken when I stopped to let Tracey and Lorraine out to take photos on the side of the road!

I was VERY brave and stepped outside my comfort zone and drove on a dirt road for some distance to the farm even going through water!!!! I am such a 'townie' that I found this terrifying and although I felt sick in the stomach and quite teary doing it, afterwards I was so proud of my achievement!!! I think it also provided some entertainment to my travelling companions!!!

Our stay with Chookyblue was so good, we chatted and laughed like long lost friends. There may of been a glass or two of bubbly and we did manage to fit in some stitching!!!

Day 3 we headed off from Chookyblues to Nundle via a mountain range, a stop for supplies of cheese, dips and bubbly and a stop at a dress shop which once again provided some retail therapy!!!!

This photo was taken of small sunflowers along the side of the road.

Nundle is a gorgeous town. We had lunch at the pub where we met a lot of other bloggers, sure the locals wondered what was happening, the noise was amazing , lots of meeting and greeting and 'you are just like I imagined'!!!

We visited a quilting shop in the afternoon as well as the other shops in town before all gathering on the lawn at the cabins we were staying for drinks and nibbles and even some show and tell!!! The weather was perfect and the company even more so!

After dinner at Mt Misery we attended a trunk show at the hall to give us an idea of what was to come in the morning!!!

The excitement on the morning of Day 4 was twofold! Firstly there was to be no travelling today for us on the road trip and secondly it was finally here - GDITC!!!! What a day! We learnt a lot from our tutor for the day 'Sue Daly' but more on that in another post. More importantly we shared the day with friends from all over. We were lucky enough to have Suzie and Dawnie on our table. They are SO lovely and it was so nice to spend the day with them. There were many giggles and a lot of chat.

Here is Dawnie, Chookyblue and Suzie.

That evening after a meal at the pub we gathered to stitch together with coffee and chocolate!!! There may of been some raucous laughter but what happens at Nundle stays at Nundle!!!!!

Here are Cardygirl and Anita working hard!

Tracey drew the top bunk, here she is all snuggled up managing a page or two of her book before sleep!

In the morning we packed the car - AGAIN!! Somehow our amount of luggage had grown, it may or may not have had something to do with the retail therapy we had enjoyed. Cardy decided to stow away in the boot, oops, no room there!! although we would of loved to have brought her home with us!!!

Day 5 and we left Nundle and travelled back to Aunty Judy for lunch, stopping along the way for more photos!! After lunch we hit the road and made it a fair way down the highway to spend the night.

Day 6 saw us cross the border and the driver finally stopped for breakfast in Echuca on the river. The weather was once again perfect and it was a lovely spot to refuel.

We arrived home late in the afternoon exhausted but so happy we had made the effort to go. Deb R you were a great roomie to share our cabin with, Chookyblue you are a treasure and I just wish we lived closer, Cardy I feel like I have known you forever, can't wait for the next time we get together, Dawn and Suzie it was so nice getting to know you on our table, glad you were able to source the knitting needles Dawn so I can stop feeling guilty!!! and to all the other wonderful women and bloggers I met at Nundle - it was a pleasure to meet you. It is certainly a special community that we belong to!

As great as the trip had been when we arrived home after 2948.7km it was lovely to see my family and sleep in my own bed!!!