Curious. Creative. Living Boldly.
  • Home
  • Journal
  • Fibre Arts
  • Journeywoman
    • Bangkok to London
    • Northern Sea Route Russia 1
    • Northern Sea Route – Russia 2
    • Journey Bhutan – East to West 2016
    • Antarctica 2016
    • Peking to Paris in Penny 2016
    • India and Bhutan in Penny 2015
      • Kolkata
      • ON the Tram…. a bit fish-bowley but lots of waves and smiles…
      • Siliguri to Darjeeling
      • A mountain Drive….. Paro to Thimpu
      • Mongar to Trashingang
      • Trashingang to Sandrup Jongkhar
      • Kale to Monymar… then to so many temples at Bagan
      • Temples in Myanmar
      • Magical Ballooning over Temples in Bagan
      • Bagan to Inlay Lake
      • Inlay Lake
      • Inlay Lake to Taungoo
      • Taungoo to Kyaiktiyo
      • Last day in Myanmar and missing clouds in the sky
    • Greenland 2015
      • Iceberg Gallery
      • Magical Greenland….
      • Julie the landscape
      • Walking the tundra
      • Ymer Island…
      • Zodiacs and Icebergs!!!
      • Ittorqqortoormiit
    • Iceland 2015
    • Antarctica 2014
    • Chile 2014
    • Morocco in Penny 2013
    • Europe 2013
    • Bhutan 2016
    • Journal Categories
  • Photography
    • Biography
    • Arctic Silence
    • Svalbard Ice 2018
    • Svalbard Mountains
    • Antarctica 2016
    • The Shape of Cold
    • The Ice Breathes
    • Greenland 2015
    • Whales
    • Hindsight
    • Exhibitions
    • Books
  • Julie
    • About Julie Stephenson
    • Journeywoman
    • Photography
    • Shaman and Healer
    • Storyteller
    • Wisdom
      • Courage
    • What others have said….
  • Connect
Previous Post
Next Post
Apr 21
in Uncategorized

Road trip – Vauxhall Rally Merimbula

Road trip! On the road again in our beautiful 30-98 E Type Vauxhall on a trip to Merimbula organised by The Vintage Sports Car Club of Australia on a National Veteran and Vintage Vauxhall Rally. This rally was sponsored by the National Trust (NSW).

 

We met with a fabulous group of Vauxhall enthusiasts who shared their passion and commitment to these remarkable vehicles. I wonder whether the engineers back-in-the-day ever imagined how capable and longstanding these machines would be and how much pleasure they would bring to all those who journey in them!

 

Our vehicle is magnificent. She has been amazingly restored and amongst the collection of 30 or so other vehicles – was a stand-out. ‘The J’ – as Max and I fondly call her; is beautiful. Her idle needed a bit of attention – but other than that, riding in her was exhilarating… and yes a whole day on the road and 500kms can be quite arduous.

 

It’s noisy. Max and I don’t really have conversations. Just comments about the smells… the birds… the landmarks… directions…. and when to stop for brunch or a cuppa and cake! We had such yummy food on our road-trip. We managed to score the best cafes – so delicious in fact that we switched to cereal for dinner in our motel room to have an early night after our huge days.

 

The sky reached into ‘The J’ and the sunlight accompanied our shadow until dark. My memories are striped with textured trunks and dappled light as we drove through mountainous forest. The smell of freshly ploughed soil was rich and comforting.

 

Rural life scattered the landscape with old timber and bricks; for sale signs; broken windmills; abandoned sheds and shops. It seemed strange driving a car nearly a century old through crumbling towns of the same era. ‘The J’ is one of 6 or seven in Australia and one of only thirty or so remaining in the world. She is an example of remarkable resilience.

 

History threaded the rally as we visited historical sites around the Eden region – and saw the remnants of the rich nautical history and importance of the ocean and its creatures over the past two centuries. The importance of grazing in Australian history was evident in the 32 room homestead Burnima which is a working homestead yet seems to be displaced and struggling in the path of time.

 

The rally participants were fun. Such gutsy people. Max and I were invited to deliver presentations during the Saturday evening function; and my video on our Bhutan journey was really well received. I think many were surprised at our adventures – a testament to not only our adventurous spirit, but the wonders of the Vauxhall. I reminded everyone about how gutsy they all are to drive in these exposed old vehicles, without the comforts we are so accustomed to. Everyone also loved Max’s on his journey with James through the Amazon in Penny, our other Vauxhall, Penny 23-60 OD.

 

Two weeks, 4,000kms in ‘The J’.

 

Arduous… exhausting… but soooooo much fun!!!!

 

Thanks to Dave Stewart and his team – John Kent and Justin Coxhead for organising this fabulous rally.























Share this:
1628
0
About the Author: Julie
I am a Journeywoman. I live my life as an explorer. An adventurer. An Observer. An Artist. There is no differentiation between how I live my life and the art that is an expression of it. It is through my experience adventuring the unknown, that I learn more about myself. My aim through this connection is to live where my expression is fully in alignment with the essence of who I am. “In the field of Fine-Art Photography, Julie stands apart from others with the way she sees the world and expresses her connection within it. Julie Stephenson’s photographs are sublime. Her work is an expression of her deep connection; and a gift to the world.”

  • brmmmm .. Inverness to Thurso
    From a very damp and cold car park the cranking of engines put some life and Read more
    in Europe 2013 0 comments
    0
  • Living quietly….
    Winter solstice and I'm living quietly.   I looked to the sky today Read more
    in Wisdom and Inspiration 0 comments
    0
  • Not many more sleeps to go now!!!… Peking to Paris Endurance Rally…
    Not many more sleeps to go now before Max and I embark on our next adventure; Read more
    in Peking to Paris 2016 0 comments
    4

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

Journal Categories
  • Fine Art Journal Posts
  • Northern Sea Route
  • Peking to Paris Journal Posts
  • India and Bhutan
  • Antarctica Journal Posts
  • Greenland Journal Posts
  • Morocco Journal Posts
  • Tonga Journal Posts
  • Photography Teaching Journal Posts
  • Inspirations Journal Posts
  • Books

skeinydipping

I looked down and saw my hands. Hands which have t I looked down and saw my hands. Hands which have touched; have loved; have created; have worked; have nurtured. My hands.   

I looked down and saw on my wrist and fingers items from around the world which have so many stories; items which have all been created from the heart and made by the hands of others. 

I looked down and saw beautiful yarn. Yarn which has been handled carefully through shearing, dyeing, skeining, balling; and now being knit in my beautiful hands. 

My hands are one of my gifts. This year I’ve really missed the touch of another with my hands, to feel the heart of another through my fingertips; but so grateful and love my hands which touch and feel; work and play!

What do you see when you look at your hands?

.
.
.
Knitting a fabulous  #slipstravaganzamkal by @westknits .
.
.

#gratitudeattitude #westknitsarethebestknits #westknitsmkal2020 #knittersofinstagram #knittersoftheworld #knittersofaustralia #indiedyedyarn #handmadewithlove #handmade #handmadejewellery #fromtheheart #createeveryday #livetotravel #healing #healinghands #creativehands
My life is wonderful… and I have so many stories My life is wonderful… and I have so many stories. I’ve had adventures on all continents. Slept being rocked by the sea; felt the ice on my skin in both polar regions, and felt the silence of the deserts. I’ve walked stone steps in monasteries at altitudes where each step I’ve taken consciously and mindfully; focussing on treasuring every molecule of oxygen in the rarefied atmosphere. 

COVID has paused those adventures, but I draw upon my experiences as I navigate adventuring my days in a different way, on our ‘home range’. 

I recall my steps in Tibet as I walk through our bushland. I am mindful and conscious of my surroundings. I listen. I feel. I feel happy here. I am content.

My new stories may not hold the same experiences of connection with others; and may not be of extreme challenges or crazy things  (which I am rather prone to doing! 🙂 ) but they are not less wondrous… as I smell the warm eucalyptus waft from under my feet. 

I weave my stories, and this story is of my personal journey on my daily walk through our bushland. 
You can see some of my other woven stories on my website - link in profile. 

How do you express your life’s stories?
.
-
.
-
#weaversofinstagram #indiedyedyarn #indiedyed #rigidheddleloomweaving #ashford #inspiredbynature #contentcreator #emotionalbalance #homedeco #handcrafted #makersmovement #creativelifehappylife #wellbeing #travellerlife #journeywoman #weavingaustralia
“....The Assookinakii cowl was created for those “....The Assookinakii cowl was created for those times in your life when you need a meditative and healing knit. Assookinakii (ass-s-oo-kin-uh-k-EE) means ‘healer’ in the Blackfeet language, thank you to Cut Woods School in Browning, MT for the tradish language support”. –  Candice from @thefarmersdaughterfibers 

Knitting this beautiful cowl by Candice from @thefarmersdaughterfibers for @sistersunitedmt ; WAS healing. 

As my hands gently formed the repetitive stitches I reflected on the word ‘Assookinakii ‘ - healer. I am a healer. I don’t understand it. It’s something unseen. Something within me which has been recognised by Ngangkari and ‘clever men’ here in Australia; and shaman and healers around the world as we travel. This recognition always has caught me by surprise; as I seem to walk a line between two worlds. 

As the stitches slipped from one needle to another and the beautiful colours of @spincycle_yarns revealed themselves; in the pauses between the stitches I heard a voice whispering to continue to seek connection with the natural world and listen deeply. 

What has been healing for you this year?
.
.
.
.
#healingjourney #meditationpractice #dyedinthewool #assookinakii_cowl #knittersofinstagram #knittingaddict #livinglifetothefullest #happydays #shaman #healer #healersofinstagram #listentoyourheart #indiedyedyarn #handmadewithlove #knittersgonnaknit #knittersoftheworld
Follow me on Instagram

 

 

2017 All photographs created by and property of Julie Stephenson.