Homestay: A New Experience

Normally when I travel free and easy I like to stay in hostels. It is because staying in hostel can have the chance to mingle with other travellers and enhance our experience. After all most of the time during the day I will be out roaming the place, so a clean room with clean toilet and comfortable bed will suffice. One of my favourites is the YHA hostel. I have stayed in YHA hostels in China, New Zealand and Cambodia.
When I was preparing my self-drive tour in NSW Australia recently, YHA  came into my mind naturally.

For example in Armidale I was looking at this :

For Byron Bay I was looking at this :

Before I left for Australia I have renewed my Hostelling International membership . Membership fee in RM40/yr. HI members can get a 10% discount on room rates in YHA hostels and entrance fees on certain tourist attractions worldwide.

But there is no YHA hostel in the area of my first night stop over,  Mudgee and Gulgong. So I have to scout for other options.

After some browsing I discover this website :
Airbnb

As listed in the web page :
Travel
From apartments and rooms to treehouses and boats : stay in unique spaces in 190 countries.

Host
Renting out your unused space could pay your bills or fund your next vacation.

Airbnb is like a social media community where registered members can rent out any free space that they have and be a host to some travellers . The guest may be staying in a room in the same house as the host, in a cabin or detached unit in the same compound of the host's house or even in a unit where the host is not there. Of course there is a quoted room rate and the Airbnb charges a service fee as well. An interested traveller sends in his/her request and it is up to the host to accept or reject the booking.

There is another social media community, Couch Surfing. But this is a voluntary service where members host guest for free.

So I gave it a first trial at Airbnb.
When I keyed in Mudgee as my destination, I found these options :

Among those options I chose a farm house in Menah, Mudgee, hosted by the couple Craig and Janelle.The host has written a very comprehensive description about the place and surrounding area. Previous guests have given very good reviews too,

On the day of my trip , this is the scenery seen from my driver's seat when I was approaching the entrance of the farm house

Passed the entrance od the 25 acre farm and approaching the gate of the house

The house already in sight

Pressed a button on a pillar and the auto gate swings open

I was fascinated by this solar-powered auto gate.

After a bout 30 sec the gate swings to close behind you

The farm house

The host is a flying school instructor as well

The lady guest relaxing in the back yard

Sheeps in the farm

And a horse too

Close-up shot of a parrot in the cage

Three more parrots. Too bad they didn't talk to me

The friendly dog

Another pet in the house

It's meal time.

The hosts went to work. We have the whole lounge to ourselves.

On the night of our stay, our hosts fired up the fire place to warm up the lounge expecting us to join in the TV session. But we were too tired and went to bed immediately after dinner. Sorry Craig and Janelle, wasted your kind gesture :)

Nice and comfortable setting

Cosy room and comfy bed

Our hostess Janelle prepared this awesome egg and toast for us

Smiling faces after a nice morning chat at the breakfast table

This was our first go at homestay and I would say it was a fantastic experience. We were lucky to have Craig and Janelle as our first host. Thanks for the warm hospitality, Craig and Janelle.

Self-drive tour in NSW Australia

In May this year we travelled  to Sydney and stayed for a month. Other than touring the various places of interest around Sydney we have planned a self-drive tour to a few towns in the state of New South Wales.
Our original plan was this:

Day 1 : Sydney to Gulgong ( 294 km 4 hrs drive)
 Gulgong: is a historical gold rush town in the 1860s. Today is home to several fascinating museums. Take a short stroll along the main street to admire ornate facades, broad verandahs and the elaborate wrought ironwork of the Victorian era.

Day 2 : Gulgong to Armidale ( 366 km 5 hrs drive)

The Armidale region boasts spectacular waterfalls, gorges, world-heritage national parks, cool-climate vineyards and a fascinating and diverse cultural heritage.

Day 3 : Armidale to Byron Bay  ( 392 km  5 hrs drive)

Byron Bay is a beachside town located in the far northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales

Day 4 : Byron Bay to Coolangatta ( 68 km  48 min drive )

Coolangatta is Queensland's most southerly coastal town, the gateway to the Gold Coast. Located on the border near ite twin town of Tweed Heads 100km south of Brisbane and 900km north of Sydney , Coolangatta is the perfect spot to enjoy a relaxing holiday tempered with the excitement of the Gold Coast just minutes away.

Day 5 : Coolangatta to Port Macquarie  ( 453 km  5.5 hrs )

Port Macquarie is the vibrant coastal city at the heart of the Greater Port Macquarie area. The rural communities in this beautiful coastal region of NSW are packed with stunning natural attractions - beaches, lakes and rivers, rainforests, national parks and nature reserves 

Day 6 : Port Macquarie to Sydney  ( 388 km  4.5 hrs drive  )

But when we landed in Sydney , we found out that the sun sets quite early( about 4.30pm) during this time of the year (Autumn). So when we reach a destination after few hours drive that includes some pit stops, we will only have about two to three hours of sunlight for sightseeing. That defeats the purpose of the trip. Futhermore going to the Gold Coast in pre winter time seems a bit weird.

So we changed plan and reduced the trip to  3D/2N that includes overnight stays in Mudgee ( few km before Gulgong ) and Hunter Valley only. All the other destinations are cancelled and maybe keep them for self-drive round 2. :)

So here we go.....

Day 1 : Sydney to Gulgong 
We left Rhodes, Sydney at about 8.30am . According to the GPS  we were supposed to enter the M4 Western Motorway just after a few kilometers . But I took a wrong turn that led us through some town traffic and many traffic lights . I managed to enter the Motorway only after an extra 30 mins drive. What a way to start our adventure.

After about 45 mins, this was our first pit stop, The Hartley Historic Site . But it looked like an abandoned tourist spot.

Beautifully restored historical building

Drove on for another 30mins and second pit stop for breakfast. This is the joint that we have been about 2 weeks ago while on a fishing trip to Lake Lyell.

Beautiful blue sky

Senior superbikers. What a wonderful life!

Chanced upon this nicely restored MB classic.

Long and winding road.

Passed through a lake, but forgot to take note its name

Another pit stop. Supposed to be an Information Centre, but it turned to be just a few posters on a Notice Board

After driving for about 4 hours  we reached the place that I have booked for a night's stay. It was a farm house in Menah, about 12 km from Gulgong. I will talk more about this homestay experience in my next posting.

Entrance to the farm house for 1 night homestay

New experience in homestay

After meeting our host Craig and checked into our room, I drove on to explore the classic gold mining town, Gulgong. To my surprise the town was deserted even though it was noon time. Not that many cars or people were seen in the streets. But walking along the streets here made me feel like turning back the clock and I was in one of those cowboy towns in the movies. The difference is I was "armed" with a camera, not 2 pistols on my belt around my waist . :)

Deserted town

 The buildings here were beautifully preserved and restored to its original look. A very worthwhile experience coming to this town. No regrets.

Only 1 ah moi walking along the pavement,

Historical building

Look at the beautiful cast iron Victorian verandahs 

Originally I planned to stay here. Luckily I changed my mind and opted to stay in Mudgee instead.

Actually the Gulgong Pioneer's Museum is a must-see here. But I was told we need to spend at least 3 hours to fully explore the exhibits. We just didn't have the luxury of time to justify the cost of the entrance fees.

Just made do with snapping a photo through the window of the museum.

If I would have come during the first weekend of June 2014, I could witness these happennings.

We can't even locate a suitable place for our lunch in Gulgong. So we back- tracked 25kms to Mudgee. At least this was a more happening place.

The clock tower at the Market Street is a landmark of Mudgee.

This is the Mudgee Walk suggest by the local tourism authority for visitors.

Mudgee is a very ancient town , with some of its building dating back few hundreds years. Too bad we didn't have enough time to carry out the Mudgee Walk to explore all the old buildings.

This Post Office was originally built in the 1860's but added to several times over the years
in such a way that it is difficult to tell the originals from additions.

Government Offices erected 1885

The local authority has set the ruling that all cars must reverse park at 60 degrees to the kerb.

Church under renovation

Chinese Food, but closed on Monday. : (

Late lunch in Mudgee : Fish and chips pack AUD 8 , Calamari and chip pack AUD10

About 5 pm the sky was already getting dark

Since the sun was already starting to set, we packed a pizza and some chicken wings from the Domino outlet for dinner and then drove back to the farm house and called it a day.