tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17871795589480904162011-10-06T14:11:59.730+02:00Chronicles of the travels of the Gatt Family from Melbourne (and yes, Bronwen Campbell is a member of the Gatt Family)Bronwennoreply@blogger.comBlogger481100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-61613798501318588002011-08-09T15:17:00.002+02:002011-08-13T08:28:12.328+02:00

We finally managed to purchase the lovely little country church on the block of land immediately adjacent to our farm. Having originally been approached in 2007 to see if we were interested, the church was then taken off the market after a tornado in late 2007 knocked down the local Anglican church and "our" Uniting Church was rented to them. So they have kindly looked after it until we were

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-38046212598452218082011-01-09T06:08:00.004+01:002011-01-09T06:24:08.929+01:00

Had a lovely Christmas in NNSW, with Paul, Anitra, Josh,Kay, Emily and Abbey, with Miranda, Bridget and Judy joining us later in the day. Rob and Anitra did a brilliant job of cooking Christmas lunch, and my pina coladas and strawberry daiquiris went down very well. The day was surprisingly cool - in fact the whole summer has been cry cool, with lots of rain.Kind of felt strange not spending it

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-70701765500618697832010-07-11T01:05:00.007+02:002010-07-11T01:38:06.889+02:00

I can't believe it has already been 6 months. We are in a lovely rented house overlooking our farm. The new phone number is 02 6689 5902. We've had a few visitors - and looking forward to having my Mum over for a month in August and my Aunt in September.We've had some interesting times settling in, and are extremely thankful for the wonderful friends we already had up here who have been a

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-35631472221147904352009-12-05T05:09:00.003+01:002009-12-05T05:19:08.097+01:00

Well, looks like a permanent move for the Gatt family to Northern rivers. And you can see why we love the area - just look at the view we should have when we build our new house on the farm.We have loved being back in Melbourne, and it was a very tough decision. It's been made easier in a way by the decision to keep Chris here in Melbourne, so psychologically it feels as though we aren't really

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-34555176557951475152009-07-24T12:37:00.002+02:002009-07-24T12:45:09.924+02:00

Sitting here with multiple layers of clothing, a blanket over my knees (thanks Kay), and the heater on. Have survived the return to the cold, and enjoying catching up with Melbourne friends and family. The older boys are loving being back at school amongst their friends, even with the 6 am starts some mornings when James has to go in for gymwork / rowing training.We're still not unpacked properly

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-35301524036676846972009-06-18T13:11:00.003+02:002009-06-18T14:12:40.541+02:00

Well, we were very tempted to stay - I was even trying to concoct plans to keep the house here and alternate between the two - after all, I still have full time work up here for another 6 months. The younger two kids were quite happy to stay up for another term and keep me company with the weather warm enough to still be swimming in the sea! They love their school - that's them in the photo on

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-85780170367543911562009-05-14T14:57:00.004+02:002009-05-14T15:09:23.025+02:00

Rob's away in New Zealand at the moment - no climbing this time - doing an audit on a couple of diving schools. He gets back tomorrow - looking forward to having him home again.After a tough start to the week doing our tax returns for last year, I'm feeling a lot better now that I've got them all done - and looks like we'll get a tax refund, so that's good news!Still in denial over our return

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-33834398248570078472009-05-03T14:53:00.002+02:002009-05-03T15:07:49.438+02:00

Well, we said we wanted visitors and some of you have managed to oblige. April/May have been the time for visitors, with June looking good too. Starting with Martin and Ivana and kids from Melbourne, followed by Claire (my sister) and Darryl and kids from NZ, plus Tamsin from Melbourne, then a week with a local friend of the kids, and now Rob's Mum Pauline is visiting from Melbourne.We've had a

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-53023262302313020082009-03-30T06:24:00.004+02:002009-03-30T07:16:54.018+02:00

We had visitors over last night who told us that Easter is traditionally the time for flood warnings in this area. Looks like they were right. I'm sitting at my desk looking out at the effects of the continuous rain we are currently having. The level of water in the dog enclosure is at least 2 inches, and rising. While I am reasonably confident that it will drain away, I think I will continue to

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-35191990281560253382009-03-15T06:25:00.004+01:002009-03-15T06:59:53.868+01:00

We're looking forward to a week back in Melbourne for Charlotte's christening.We've added some time either side of the weekend, and the kids are booked in to go to their old schools for 2 days on Monday and Tuesday - testimony to how much they loved their schools to be going back voluntarily when they didn't need to! They are missing their friends, so it's a great way to catch up with them and

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-39877400684781818172009-03-15T03:15:00.005+01:002009-03-15T06:05:06.548+01:00

Yes, the inevitable happened and one of our chooks (middle one below) has not survived the attentions of a dog. Fortunately for our dogs, it was not one of them, so they are still in the good books.Luckily the other chooks seem to still be okay in our backyard - the tragedy occurred because the chooks had been scared over into the neighbours yard and were then in view of the street and the puppy

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-37979487743570379032009-03-01T01:58:00.002+01:002009-03-01T02:07:01.617+01:00

26th January 2009Yes I know that it's been a while since Australia Day (26th January), but that's about as up to date as I am managing at the moment!We had a really lovely day with Rob's cousin Mario visiting us, and despite some really heavy rain in the morning, it cleared up to a gorgeous afternoon just in time for the celebrations down at the local Sports and Recreation Club.Take a look at the

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-52803532290239789532009-02-06T23:17:00.003+01:002009-02-06T23:19:38.886+01:00

Yes, the exciting news for this week is that our chooks have started laying eggs. Of course, quite a lot of other things have happened such as kids starting school etc. Just heading out to a birthday party for one of Breanna's new friends, so will add pictures later!

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-2274597930621635792009-01-17T11:35:00.005+01:002009-03-15T06:07:14.470+01:00

Our six chooks (hens for international readers) arrived today making us start to feel truly part of the village. Hopefully after a week or two in their coop, our chooks can wander round like the other free-ranging chooks in the street. Hopefully they will survive the attentions of our two dogs, who seem very keen to investigate the new occupants further. I doubt they would, so we will have to

Robnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-18791856082614193102009-01-12T11:13:00.000+01:002009-01-12T11:14:39.086+01:00

January 2009Just in case you haven't caught up with the news, we are up in Dunoon, NSW for a 6 month work contract with the Australian Diver Accreditation Scheme. Rob will be project manager for ADAS, while I continue to work in my consulting role to ADAS - means we might be working together some of the time!We arrived in Dunoon late on 3rd January. We moved out of our house in Glen Waverley on

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-75806928605526341702009-01-08T11:09:00.008+01:002009-01-17T12:21:26.066+01:00

Two separate NZ trips this year - Bronwen and kids at Easter and Rob in DecemberDecember 2008Hi all, well it’s happening again, the travel bug has hit, actually I’m not sure that it ever really left. It didn’t take long after we got back from Europe (in fact the concept was hatched while in Singapore on the way home). The plan was to go to New Zealand and finish a climb that I had tried many

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-33682838575786494302008-04-07T01:57:00.006+02:002008-12-11T15:30:58.254+01:00

27th January 2008 A welcoming committee of family and food in the fridge from generous friends made the homecoming much easier despite no sleep on the flight - too busy watching movies. Aside from the car breaking down on the way home, and the overwhelming quantity of bags to unpack (made worse by all the extra bags we had to collect from friends and family who had looked after the boys before we

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-85826283620688809532008-04-06T23:43:00.004+02:002008-12-11T15:30:58.536+01:00

18th-26th January 2008Normally we don't like to impose ourselves on other people for too long - visitors are like fish, they go off after 3 days! But Colin and Cathy and family made us very welcome and we stayed for the whole 8 days with them, and had a thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing time. Even though we weren't quite home in Australia, being with such good friends make it feel like coming

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-84192822230154757302008-03-15T06:10:00.011+01:002008-12-11T15:30:59.836+01:00

4 January - 14th January 2008Visiting Germany is a little bit like coming home - speaking the language and visiting friends and my host families from my time here as an exchange student. It was so good to see everyone again, and of course I have grand plans to be better at staying in touch than I have been in the past - and I'm always thrilled to have visitors and e-mails, so please visit or

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-32417707905741848872008-02-01T03:23:00.000+01:002008-12-11T15:31:00.339+01:00

1 Jan - 4 Jan 2008Loved Austria (again!) in spite of it being so cold that our waste-water tank outlet froze so we couldn't let the dishwater out (becomes a real exercise in low water usage dish-washing when you know you can't empty the tank!)Innsbruck was an ideal place for the kids to try skiing and ice-skating, so we took advantage of the low-cost baby-lift to have a day of practising skiing,

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-45084989113723330392008-01-21T09:31:00.000+01:002008-01-21T09:42:09.566+01:00

Having heard so many great things about the Cinque Terre from Ron and Joan and Geoff and Dee we decided we had to go there, even though it meant driving in the wrong direction for what should now be our homeward bound leg.So we headed towards Genova from Milan, visited the biggest Aquarium in Europe there, and then on down the coast to La Spezia. Found we could actually drive in with the

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-46721740517396731712007-12-25T21:44:00.000+01:002008-12-11T15:31:00.648+01:00

17th-26th Dec 07Christmas with family - really special. We've been made so welcome in Malta by all the extended family and we've really enjoyed getting to know all our cousins and their children.In between visits to family and enormous meals, we've seen some of Malta and Gozo, which are fascinating islands steeped in history. We've seen the oldest freestanding building in the world, the cave

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-47000641540470801092007-12-19T19:56:00.000+01:002008-12-11T15:31:01.602+01:00

14-16th Dec The Italy leg got off to an interesting start with a mysterious knocking sound coming from underneath the van as we drove down the freeway at 90 km/hr out of the Venice port. "I think we have a stowaway" announced Chris jokingly. "Don't say things that aren't true" I responded and then immediately began to worry that it was true. So we exited the freeway and pulled over. Rob and I

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-2448924152519651922007-12-08T22:59:00.000+01:002008-12-11T15:31:01.926+01:00

Not only do they have great beaches and Tavernas but I (Rob)have since discovered - first hand - that they grow a mean Shiraz as well. Our first stop was a lovely little coastal area called Kavala (where they grow the Shiraz). After a short stop and a very long walk up a nearby mountain, we were off again.We were definitely out of place at our next stop, home of the Gods, Mt Olympus. After

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-46013700736689703092007-12-08T22:33:00.000+01:002008-12-11T15:31:02.380+01:00

Well I’ve been told that it’s my turn again (Rob), so here we go (I was watching soccer on TV - so this entry won’t be very long).Well it seems like so much has happened since I last sat to type. As you will notice we were in Istanbul at the last posting. We had a great time in the relative luxury of a hotel in Istanbul and saw all the sights of Istanbul but without a doubt the most memorable

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-49283186672474376352007-11-25T22:45:00.000+01:002008-12-11T15:31:02.716+01:00

Well, 3rd time for Liam to have an international birthday - his first birthday was the UK, 3rd birthday New Zealand, and now 10th birthday Turkey. So 30% of his birthdays have been overseas! For those who liked the snowman video, we thought you might like this one too.

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-84348550714019047292007-11-19T10:14:00.000+01:002008-12-11T15:31:03.394+01:00

Well, as Rob said in an earlier post, the beauty of having few plans is that you can change them! We had initially intended to head back up through Belgrade, Budapest and then into Romania, but with not having any fixed bookings we can look to the weather and make decisions based on that as well. The weather was really starting to look miserable, so we decided to avoid trying to visit big cities

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-63890192873403250372007-11-19T09:33:00.001+01:002008-12-11T15:31:04.439+01:00

Well, we really didn't expect to visit Bosnia on this trip, but we were captivated by the Croatian coast and wanted to see what the fairly barren mountains were like a little further inland. The Lonely Planet book also recommended the Mostar to Sarajevo road as a scenic journey, so off we went. Well, it certainly was quite an experience. Mostar itself was an education for us and the kids - still

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-3283707285039104612007-11-11T16:15:00.000+01:002008-12-11T15:31:06.342+01:00

Am in Dubrovnik right now - what a gorgeous city - thanks for the recommendation Natasha and the confirmation that we must go down the coast Anitra. It is well worth it. We have loved the coast and have swum every day - the only hardy people on the beach in the water!Will post more when I have downloaded the photos.Okay-here are the promised photos: - First up is one of the Pula Colloseum - an

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-8067358650864240952007-11-11T16:00:00.000+01:002008-12-11T15:31:07.290+01:00

From Austria, took a very brief detour via the top NE end of Italy into Slovenia (as a native and a resident respectively of two countries with no land borders (NZ and OZ), I still find it novel to be able to drive through three countries in the space of an hour!)Drove over two beautiful passes on a superb sunny day with fascinating and totally different views to the Grossglocknerstrasse we had

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-64596453305107484382007-11-04T22:30:00.000+01:002008-12-11T15:31:08.691+01:00

26th Oct-2 Nov 2007Initially Austria hadn’t really featured too largely on our itinerary. However the beauty of having few plans is that nobody notices when you change them. We have decided to go a little further south through Austria before we head further east to Hungary and possibly Romania We were both keen to check out Slovenia (our next entry) so we have headed there now.One of the reasons

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-35538063329288270722007-11-04T19:55:00.000+01:002007-11-04T20:07:10.338+01:00

Rob and the kids had a great time in the snow demonstrating the dangers of smoking with a snowman. Hope the video works - let me know if you can't view it.

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-6384255394257299402007-11-04T13:33:00.000+01:002008-12-11T15:31:10.042+01:00

20th-27th Oct 2007Well it's my turn this time (Rob). I think that Bronwen promised I would write more about Prague and the Czech Republic (CZ). We entered from the North West shortly after Dresden close to Usti. We had spent the night just before the border and it was quite a cold night. I wasn’t at all surprised to see the snow plastered signs at the boarder crossing. Well that started the kids

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-90124174905571163812007-10-29T17:40:00.000+01:002007-10-29T17:46:51.766+01:00

Have just recently arrived in Salzburg - again a beautiful city and nice weather as well! Went to Hallstadt, which has the world's oldest salt mine and Rob has proved the piece of rock we got from there really is salt by dissolving, filtering and evaporating it so we have our very own rock salt.We camped in snow in Hallstadt - kids loved it, but it took us a couple of days to dry out the boots

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-84391777661766821172007-10-22T18:20:00.000+02:002008-12-11T15:31:11.026+01:00

Yes, another internet cafe with Wifi - Prague is so civilised! Just had delicious Goulash Soup to justify my presence in the cafe and now trying to upload a few photos to show a tiny snapshot of where we have been.There are a couple more of the van to satisfy the interest of those who wonder how we can possibly all fit in comfortably. This first one is Breanna doing her diary with the computer

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-51136316269920668832007-10-21T16:30:00.000+02:002007-10-21T16:36:07.271+02:00

Hi all, have finally found an internet place with wireless - and then found to my dismay that having carted my laptop around all day that I only have about 20 mins of battery life - someone left it on hibernate after watching a DVD last night and my battery drains - aargh, the joys of a cheap computer.Weather is cold in Prague, but still dry (mostly!). Got some hail and yesterday the kids got to

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-20451585117668717972007-10-04T23:43:00.000+02:002008-12-11T15:31:11.702+01:00

Arrived in Amsterdam on 30 September, again making things complicated by arriving on different flights as I had to drive back up to Stockport to deliver Grant and Rachel's car back to them and fly out of Manchester instead of Heathrow. A slightly stressful day as I suddenly realised at 11:30 am that my insurance for the car ran out at 12 noon and I still had 3 hours driving to do! So lots of time

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-78941161431893787822007-09-29T23:33:00.000+02:002007-09-29T23:48:22.215+02:00

Well finally my first entry to the blog. I finally feel as though I’ m on holiday now having left the farm work behind (not to mention a couple of kids). Still not sure which of the two is the most stress relieving, sorry boys!As you will have read, I arrived in the UK last week but didn’t spend very long there. Basically one day to get up to Stockport and meet a couple of my nieces and

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-10442167187697198792007-09-29T01:47:00.000+02:002007-09-29T01:57:34.132+02:00

Wow, what a great city. I have been here before, but every time I come here I am overwhelmed by the grandeur and history of this city. Buckingham Palace, Parliament House, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey - all awe-inspiring, even in the pouring rain today. We did eventually escape indoors to the fabulous (and completely free) Science Museum. The kids really enjoy the science museums, so I can see that

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-83140418162604071912007-09-25T00:34:00.000+02:002007-09-25T01:42:46.417+02:00

Rob has done a comprehensive update which we will upload as soon as I get organised enough to find my USB drive. In the meantime, here is a very brief summary of where we are at.Since my last post we have travelled by ferry over to Bergen, Norway and spent a week travelling through the fjords and glaciers east and north of Bergen - absolutely spectacular countryside. Then a quick trip into Sweden

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-4577926043108289942007-09-07T00:02:00.000+02:002008-12-11T15:31:11.976+01:00

Have been away at the Lake District without access to internet, so am a bit behind. Had great weather and stayed in a little cottage with my Aunt from New Zealand, so a good catch up with her. Met up every day with my brother and his family and had a very relaxing time doing walks, seeing a stone circle, and having picnics by the lake.Back to Stockport on 1st September to stay at my brother's

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-54947366501185176002007-08-28T23:17:00.000+02:002008-12-11T15:31:12.416+01:00

Had a very pleasant stay in London with Derick and Renie, who kindly took us to Waddesdon Manor (the Rothschild Mansion) - amazing place, and even the kids lasted the two hour audio tour, with their own version to listen to. Photos can be seen at the national trust website www.nationaltrust.org.uk by searching for WaddesdonNext day went to Polesden Lacey in Surrey - we've had beautiful weather

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-75396516862817927862007-08-20T14:42:00.000+02:002007-08-20T14:54:27.411+02:00

Just got back from friends who kindly had us over to dinner (almost no food left at our place) even though they are both about to get on early flights themselves tomorrow. We will really miss them, and our other friends. But with the wonders of modern communication, we'll probably end up talking even more often to our friends than we do now! I've just been on MSN with Christopher in China (and he

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-5831924132280317262007-08-14T14:21:00.000+02:002008-12-11T15:31:12.547+01:00

I'm sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by paperwork, trying to get all the bills paid and the finances sorted out, with far too little time left. We're also tripping over bags, having taken out almost every bag, backpack and suitcase we own to try to sort out the complicated logistics of three separate travelling parties, and multiple different activities in the lead up. Chris is almost

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-74110298112345423462007-07-23T12:24:00.000+02:002007-07-23T12:45:32.689+02:00

It's been a bit embarrassing to admit that we didn't even know exactly when we were leaving, so it's great to have finally paid for the tickets today so no further changes possible! With several complications coming up in the last few weeks we have had to do some lateral thinking to work around everyone's needs and here's the final itinerary:Bronwen, Liam, Breanna leaving 22 August 2007 for

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-75935890949414581702007-07-11T12:13:00.000+02:002008-12-11T15:31:12.964+01:00

After a great afternoon celebrating my niece's 8th birthday, and then a relaxing evening with my Aunt and Uncle and cousins in Blenheim, managed to get down to Christchurch in time to catch up with my sister, brother-in-law and nephew for a day before heading back to Melbourne. The bus ride down was memorable for the snow nearly down to road level and the huge number of seals near Kaikoura. On

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-83979661170664756702007-07-02T00:06:00.000+02:002008-12-11T15:31:13.124+01:00

Okay, I know New Zealand seems like a strange first destination when talking about a Europe trip, but decided to zip over to see my folks before disappearing over to the other side of the world. I've brought the two younger children, who are having a great time playing with their cousins, while I utilise the opportunity to do a bit of work interviewing project managers while I am here, as well as

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1787179558948090416.post-71626789937977083782007-06-22T02:53:00.000+02:002007-06-22T03:03:24.321+02:00

Yes, we are finally doing it! Taking several months off to take the whole family travelling around Europe in a campervan. Okay, so timing with jobs and school means that we are not going at the ideal time weatherwise, but hopefully it will be less crowded and less costly.We're heading off in mid August 2007, spending the first month with only the two younger children in tow (Liam - 9 and Breanna

Bronwennoreply@blogger.com0