The current Covid-19 outbreaks have destroyed the aspirations of so many people who planned holidays interstate and overseas this year.
And the cruise industry still has no idea when they will be able to resume cruises out of Australian ports.
The introduction of a COVID-19 vaccine midway through this year will hopefully be the big game changer.
It will give peace of mind to any sensible traveller who has it and, while it may not stop occasional outbreaks in society because it is not mandatory, it will work on aircraft and cruise ships because it will be mandatory for passengers before they can board.
So, Western Sydney residents are now left with a limited choice of places to go – but what a choice!
To the South are the beautiful beaches and little towns and inlets of the South Coast; to the North is the subtropical coast with sparkling blue waters and lush green hills and to the West are the endless rolling hills plains of one of our oldest regions, dotted with little historical towns and villages.
Each destination has its attributes, but if you head West, find places to stay with pools because it is a long way to the beach and it gets hot.
Go to the visitor’s centre
A great circuit drive is out to Jenolan Caves, on to Bathurst and Orange, Wellington Caves, Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo, Dunedoo, Gulgong, Mudgee and home. Stay a couple of nights here and there and you have the perfect holiday with a little bit of everything.
Go to the Visitors Centre in each town because you don’t really see how much there is to do simply by driving through town. Orange has some great little villages surrounding it, as does Wellington, the most beautiful town in NSW.
Old Dubbo Jail is fascinating and at Gulgong visit the fabulous museum and the Opera House. You can even find Henry Lawson’s boyhood home.
Mudgee is another really beautiful place with more wine producing vines than the Hunter Valley.
Caravans have become the “go to” holiday mode this summer with many regular cruise passengers buying or hiring RV’s in place of their normal Stateroom on board a ship.
I happen to be one of those and I have spent the Christmas break in a caravan at the beautiful Budgewoi Caravan Park beside Lake Munmorah.
After trying a campervan and then a motorhome in Queensland last year, I like it so much I came back and bought a second hand offroad Supreme Caravan. The reason I went for the caravan was the fact that you can leave the van parked and use the car whenever you want.
Now, a few tips. Rather than making a goose of yourself while the caravan park watches like I did, take your caravan somewhere private when you first take it out of the dealership.
Get someone from the dealership or someone who knows caravans to go with you to show you the ropes. Find out how to park the van correctly, how the gas works, how the TV works, how the toilet works, how the hot water works, how you put the annex up and how the solar works. Find out all about the electrics and battery and test everything.
These are all things we had to find out from knowledgeable fellow caravanners who took pity on us on the first day at Budgewoi.
After a hard day’s setting up, I said: “No wonder people go cruising”.
While I will keep the caravan and take it away in winter, hopefully to North Queensland, I look forward to the day the cruise ships come back to Circular Quay
