August
August |
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Sunday the 1st of August A warm night and this morning I was out of bed at 6am and drove down to the water and watched the activity around the boardwalk, bikes, trikes and walkers plus those running. The birds were about cleaning up the rubbish bins and any other food that was laying about from last night. Back home and had breakfast, showered and then we were to all go down to the markets at Redcliffe on the waterfront. Parking was at a premium so it meant that we had to go to a back street away from the beach. We were park alongside Humpybong Park. |
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| Humpybong Creek | Water fountain at Humpybong | Market stalls at Redcliffe foreshore |
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We walked into Humpybong Park and stood on
the bridge overlooking the Humpybong Creek, there were plenty of ducks
and other birds on the water and the young children were feeding them
bread and generally enjoying the exercise. The fountain in the creek is
very nice and they told us that at night it was lit up and the colours
changed making for a spectacular sight. In all it took well over an hour to go from end to the other at the markets, we were to buy several products and then purchased vegetables which were very cheap. Again there were no stalls with just men's tools or goods, there were plenty of items available for woman and in  fact
it appeared that it was over stocked. We went along the boardwalk and
enjoyed the wonderful scenery including the new wharf for Catamarans to
pick up passengers to take out Whale Watching. We then went over to Crazy
Clarke's and had a good look at what was on offer and of course bought
a few products.Home and unloaded and then off to purchase a ticket to go across the Gateway Bridge tomorrow, the toll cost $5.45. Up to the car wash and put the Suzuki through, the cost? $18 not cheap though you are not allowed to wash your car at home due to partial water restrictions. On to the K-Mart and Liz bought pair of shoes to make walking a little more comfortable in the warm weather, and then back home for a late lunch once again. We had our lunch and then it was time for Mark and Katherine plus their dog Oscar to pack and leave to go to the airport to fly home to Melbourne. We all said our farewells and they were gone. We then settled in for the afternoon to watch the football with the Western Bulldogs V North Melbourne. Tonight will be an early night with just a small happy hour for we are back on the road tomorrow. |
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| Hornibroook Bridge | Leaving Gateway Bridge |
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Monday the 2nd of August
We both had a good nights sleep considering we we stayed up later than expected watching video's. This morning the weather was excellent with just a little streaky cloud in the sky as we said our farewells to firstly Kerry & Julie and then Glen & Tina who were all going off to work. We decided not to leave until 9:30am to avoid the traffic going to work in Brisbane. Packed and hooked up the car and we were then bound for West Burleigh putting the appropriate information into the G.P.S. First we were to cross the Hornibrook Bridge from Redcliffe which has be recently completed; the traffic was light enough to allow us to view the second bridge and the old wooden bridge which they are now dismantling just leaving a couple of fishing platforms at each end. The mangroves along the edges of the inlet form a nice bbeautiful back drop. It wasn't long before we were in heavy traffic experiencing the same problem again of cars darting in front of you leaving little space for error in braking. The M1 to the Gold Coast took us over the Gateway Bridge and now with all the barriers to stop people jumping off it is hard to see the Brisbane River and the various ports. Climbing was in third gear and coming down the other side was fourth and hard on the exhaust brakes. Then before we reached the Gold Coast highway we went from three lanes to two and it took considerable time in second gear to go the last 4 kilometre's it was really congested with all the road works being carried out. Finally, onto the Gold Coast highway and then it was four lanes each way which allowed us to get into the slow lane and take in all the sights along the way including the Theme parks and Movie World. Then it was back into three lanes at Nerang and then finally back to two lanes as we passed the run off's into Surfers Paradise etc. before we knew it we were on our slip road to West Burleigh and having an enjoyable trip from Woody Point with all we could see as we travelled along. We finally arrived at Dad's and Helen's place setting up for a few days. We had our lunch and caught up with all the family happenings and then after lunch I opted for a poppy nap, which could have had something to do with all the alcohol consumed over the past few days? We had our evening meal consisting of baked chicken and then settled into watch a bit of Television before retiring for the night, We were to sleep inside the house which took a bit of getting used to after the past three months sleeping in the motorhome. Kilometre's travelled 123 |
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One of those tragedies
has occurred for some reason when I saved the diary for the 8th of August
the computer, or maybe me, has discarded the whole of the August Diary
section. Luckily I had backed up August though only to the 2nd of the
month. The photo's for this period were still in the memory so I was able
to start another august page with these, though I suspect that a lot of
the detail has been lost due to so much happening in such a short space
of time. The loss has left me somewhat saddened for there is no way I
could recall each day's happenings from the 3rd to the 8th and now it
will be forever lost. The moral of the story is that I should have backed up daily! |
Tuesday
the 3rd of August As I recall we went to Tweed Heads in N.S.W. for the purpose of finding the Electoral Office to lodge and early vote after that we checked out the two op shops nearby and then went to the headland and looked out to both Tugin where the Desalination plant is being built both the inlet offshore and the very big complex inland that will convert the salt water to fresh drinkable water. We were to go to the Bowls Club for lunch which was great given that the poker machines subsidise the meal for a main course of $5.90 plus $2 for sweets, a beautiful meal. |
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| Tweed River Entrance | Boardwalk Tweed Heads | Looking back to Tugen |
We were to watch the
surfers riding the waves with the skyline of Surfer's Paradise in the
background before returning home. We were lucky to see a Whale broaching
out to sea and it was only the give away of the tail causing such a big
splash that first drew our attention. |
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| Rainbow Beach Point | Skyline of Surfers from Rainbow Beach |
Unfortunately
this section of the diary is forever lost and I am totally miffed (Pissed
Off). |
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| Tree Nursery Mount Tamborine | Mount Tamborine Hinterland | Mount Tamborine to Gold Coast |
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Thursday the 5th of August This section we can recall for it was so memorable. We fuelled the Suzuki and headed off to Mt Tamborine for the day. Placed the coordinates into the GPS and it took us on the Pacific Motorway until we reached Nerang and turned into the hinterland. The climb to Mount Tamborine was steep with grades of 20% and many boomerang corners along the way. On the lower parts we were to see many tree nurseries and vine yards plus wineries. We were surprised to see how many houses are tucked away in the hills and gullies and with all the rain forest around them they could possibly run the risk of fires not unlike Victoria. The whole area is geared to tourism with so many shops, gift stores and boutique accommodation. There were many guest houses, holiday rental properties and bed and breakfast lodgings. We drove around many of the streets and were impressed with the many homes built like palaces and especially those that had the uninterrupted views to the Gold Coast. Even the view at the back of the mountain into the hinterland was impressive. |
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| Skyway over tree tops | Rain Forest | Small Creek in the rain forest |
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| Pathway at ground level | Colourful Scenery | Our lunch |
We then
set the GPS to take us to Surfer's Paradise which then took us down the
other side of the mountain. On the way down we stopped and went into the
Forest Skyway and paid our concession rate of $15 each and went on the
walk. The walk is unguided and you follow the green arrows out and the
red arrows back. We were above the rain forest in the gully which gave
us some excellent views down to the forest floor and then up the steep
hills to their summit. The foliage was to hide the many birds we could
hear. The walk is easy going which eventually takes you down to ground
level to a small creek. The signage informs us that the creek contains
prawns, rainbow fish and crayfish, there is also a long legged spider
that is able to walk out into the creek and catch any errant prawns that
come to close to shore. In all it was a beautiful walk and when we returned
we decided to have a late lunch on the premises and enjoy the rainforest
and all it bird calls. We were to note the sign that stated that the Skywalk
and tracks were privately owned in the National Park. |
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| Mirage Resort Southport | Driving into Surfers Paradise | High rise Surfers Paradise |
Down the Mountain again
with its steep decline and finally we were to come out at Oxenford and
were to drive on the old gold coast highway past Movie world and Wild
and Wet. We came into Southport and stopped to take photo's of the river
and then onto Surfers Paradise where unfortunately due to remedial work
being done on the beach front we could not see out to sea. We drove around
for awhile and were not impressed so we headed off home. |
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| Storm damaged beach front Kingscliff | Pile driving to stabilise foreshore |
Saturday
the 7th of August Another fine sunny morning with a cloudless sky, after all our chores Dad & Helen was to take us for a drive into NSW and down to Kingscliff and various small towns along the oceanfront. We were to note that several caravan parks take up a large proportion of the waterfront; giving what you could say there own private beach. We drove to the entrance to the river and the first thing you notice is the substantial damage caused by the recent storms. The fore dunes and the road that ran along the foreshore have been washed away, they have placed very large rocks to stop the erosion by the sea and in front of the Surf Life Saving Club they are currently placing pilings to stabilise the fore dunes and save the club. There were plenty of fishermen and surfers making use of the good weather. We then saw where they had placed a telegraph pole with an extension on top with a dish where two Sea Eagles were nesting, we can only assume this was done to keep them away from the many radio antennas on the building at the river mouth. We then drove down through Salt and the stopped at Bodangah |
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| Sea Eagle nest | Surfs up | Beachfront Bodangah |
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We stopped at the headland overlooking
the beach and there were lots of surfers riding the waves and we noted
that there was a pod of Dolphins also surfing the waves, it was spectacular. A woman informed us that the Dolphins were a resident pod who stayed in the area all year round, she was to tell us that it was an excellent sight to see the Dolphins teach their young how to surf the waves. We went to the local fish and chip shop and bought our lunch, late again of course we seemed to be getting used to lunch at 2pm or later. We drove back through Tweed Heads and back into Queensland on the Pacific Motorway and then home. We were to watch two games simultaneously. The home tellie had the West Coast V Brisbane which the latter won and I had set up the satellite dish in the kitchen for Liz to watch the Collingwood V Geelong which Collingwood won easily. Sunday the 8th of August It would true to say though even given the beautiful sunny day I am totally pissed off about losing so much of the August diary and trying to think and recover what occurred over the past week was a true pain. I believe what I have written does not have the same effect as the daily sections recall.  Here
it is nearly noon and I haven't moved to do a thing other than this damn
diary.As we are back on the road tomorrow we need to stock up with vegetables, We went down to the Burleigh  shopping
centre and was gob smacked at the prices, they are the cheapest we have
seen for years. Celery $1 Chinese Cabbage $1 Silver beet $1 three red
capsicums $2 Beans $1 carrots 85 cents per kilo sweet potatoes $2 a kilo
and pumpkin 85 cents a kilo and so it went there was only such much we
could purchase without waste coming into the equation. We sat down to
have a Cappuccino and reflect on the past week here, we were also able
to purchase the Family stickers that are all the rage in Queensland at
the moment. We were to buy Mom and Dad (going fishing) on put on the back
of the Suzuki. It depicts who is on board the car, some have Mom and Dad
and stickers representing their children and pets on their back window.
The funniest sticker I have seen for awhile was on the back of a beat
up old Ford Laser which said " Warning horn broken watch for finger"
Oh! well I thought it was funny!Back home and it was time to have a shower for we are going out tonight with Dad & Helen and Peter & Joan to the Casino for our evening meal and to play a few Pokies. The meal was great, Steak and Prawns with chips and a side salad all for $14.90 a head for we are members from last year. Non members pay $29.90. Then onto the pokies and of course Liz and I both lost, me more so. Dad was the only one to win. We must have spent about two hours in the gaming section and it is amazing to see so much money is being wagered especially by those of Asian extraction. Then home we went and I was to find out that my beloved St Kilda had thrashed Port Adelaide by nearly one hundred points, so all in all it has been a good weekend for footie for Liz and I. We were to watch the movie that went until midnight and then into bed for our last night here before heading off to work our way to our beloved outback of Australia and it would be true to say we will be working our way slowly back toward Melbourne and home. |
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| Traffic backed up | The Scenic Way |
Monday
the 9th of August Out of bed early and under the shower, had breakfast and did our final check before hitting the road. Dad and Helen, who we were to thank for their hospitality, and the next door neighbor "Vindaloo" was to bid us farewell and a safe journey and we were on our way at 9.10am. Out on to the Pacific Highway and just changed into overdrive and then it was full on the brakes, both lanes were fully stopped. For as far as could see ahead the was traffic held up. When we moved off it was in first gear and the speed was not registering at all on the speedo and then we would pull up and sit for about five minutes then move on again. I switched on the UHF and there were many disgruntled interstate truck drivers who were cursing and swearing at the delays, it would appear that there were roadwork's at Nerang which was holding up the flow of traffic and being a holiday for the Brisbane show did nothing to improve the situation. We reckon mum and dad and the kids were not happy Jan! It did not help when you had to allow other cars and trucks in at the various slip roads along the way. All in all to go 14 kilometre's took us an hour and forty minutes before we were able to turn off at slip road 73 bound for Warwick which we do not expect to reach today given the current circumstances. We were to recognise the turn off as the same as we took earlier in the week to go to Mount Tamborine and needless to say when we reached the hilly country we were to experience 15% grade incline. In fact we were down to low first gear in one climb and going so slow that we were holding up heaps of traffic that we could do nothing about. We both agreed even though the going was tough the scenery we were experiencing made up for the slow going. We were to go through many small towns with some strange names who were attempting to lure the travellers and tourists into the shopping precincts, We were to stop at Canungra along the Scenic Rim just to rest the legs and arms due to all the twisting and turning which you notice when you do not have power steering, we were to buy fresh rolls for lunch and a few more for our evening meal for we have decided to have home made hamburgers with the lot, which should be nice. |
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| Not a bad house entrance | Skate park at Beaudesert | Carrots galore on way to Warwick |
Along the
way we were to see many fine houses set out on acreage and one had large
Palm trees from the entrance and around the road to the house which was
very large. Then we came across an area that had nothing other than horse
studs and that went for many kilometre's with each advertising their champion
sires and mares. Then we arrived at Beaudesert and decided to go to the
park and have our lunch before moving onto our rest area further down
the road for the night. Liz made up the rolls and we went to the table
and chairs for lunch. Wouldn't you know it, the gas bottle ran out half
way through boiling the kettle; we only turned it on in February this
year. Fitted the full one and we were back in business. We were able to
see the kids in full flight on their skate rink for today is a holiday
for the Brisbane Show, we also met a couple who know some of our friends
in Tasmania so the conversation was interesting. We moved on and lo and behold I had only gone about 300 metres and there was a Transport Queensland check point. We were waved in and then they checked the Motorhome and Car especially the connection to the Motorhome and then took details off my license and then they wished us a safe journey and we were on our way. They checked the tyres which I thought would not have passed muster especially the rear ones. The climb from Beaudesert was very steep even where the new road has been built, something to do with the new dam they are building in the area. The new roads are not listed on the GPS and it totally confused the girl with her stating constantly "Recalculating" until we joined the old highway again. We came down off the hills into very flat fertile land and as far as the eye could see they were sowing or harvesting carrots, they were advertising on their roadside stalls 1st class carrots for $6 for twenty kilo's. Just a few to many for us so we didn't feel like lunking around so many carrots even if we do eat a fair few a week. We were to experience showers along the way and as we came to the intersection of the Cunningham Highway we were to see our rest area for the night and as we pulled in really started to rain which only lasted for five minutes and the sun was shining again. Set up the satellite dish and out came the generator which took several pulls to start for it hasn't been started for over two weeks. After our meal we will settle in to watch Television and part two of the bloke who drowned his wife on the Great Barrier Reef whilst they were diving, only been married 11 days and then off to bed. YES!!!!!! I have backed up the diary again to the memory stick. Kilometre's travelled 132 |
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| Crops of Carrots and Spring onions | Travelling up Cunningham's Gap |
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Tuesday the 10th of August It really poured down with rain last night and the trucks just kept coming, though it would be true to say it did not keep us awake much at all. This morning we did not awake until 8am and we were the last left in the rest area. We were deliberating whether we should stop where we are now at the Fassifern Rest Area or to push on. We decided due to there only being light showers and the forecast indicating fine weather tomorrow that we would push on. Good decision? Bad decision? who knows. We started off and before we knew it we were climbing Cunningham's Gap with 15% and 8% gradients, in the first section of eight kilometre's we were back into second gear and doing only 20 kilometre's per hour. It was a slow drag especially since the rain had become heavier and now there was the added problem of fog which made the going tougher, there were caravans and interstate trucks coming down the mountain in lower gears and we saw only one emergency run off. As they say what goes up must come down so in the last two days we were to cross Macpherson Range and the Great Dividing Range and now up through Cunningham's Gap all very heavy and slow going. Coming down was not as steep so we must be much higher above sea level, we came across many small villages and towns along the way and on the flats again we came across many hectares of carrots and spring onions being harvested or under cultivation. We finally arrived at Warwick which they state is an old heritage town and it looked quite large. Due to the rain and dismal cold conditions we only fuelled up and on the way out we stopped for an early lunch at Hungry Jacks. It was good to have a dose of junk tucker and most relaxing. There is no doubt that the area in and around Warwick offers much to see. The buildings we could see from afar in the city centre gave us the opinion that the town or city must be very old. We will have to return this way again in the future to check this opinion out. The rain is really heavy so after our early lunch we headed out with spray off the road everywhere not only off our motorhome also from vehicles coming in the opposite direction. We decided to park up as soon as possible and though we were to see several good gravel pits we were worried about becoming bogged. About 15 kilometre's out from Warwick we came across a blue metal dump that appeared to be well drained and solid so we opted to park up even given that it is only 1pm. We had to drive around a little to get a reasonable level for we do not want to wet our leveling blocks, we are close to the highway so we will be subject to trucks etc however this is better than driving in what I would describe as atrocious conditions. I decided to get the generator out and built a shelter for it and needless to say I had to wear my waterproofs to do so and I didn't bother with the satellite dish and being this close to Warwick we were able to get the full digital television service now at 2pm the rain is bucketing down the heaviest we have experienced on the whole trip to date. Luckily it is draining away quickly. We were to get the cards out and played a few games and listened to the rain hitting the roof, very relaxing actually. I am glad the gas bottle ran out yesterday and not today. Needless to say we will watch a bit of Television this evening. Kilometre's travelled 93 |
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| Our camp yesterday | Spring is on the way | Coolmunda Dam |
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Wednesday the 11th of August A rough night with plenty of rain and wind, when we awoke this morning the rain had stopped and wind had dropped. I walked down to the entrance to our camp and found that the lake of water that had formed late yesterday had dropped and would not stop us getting out this morning. We thought last night we may have to have stay another day due to the weather and chances of getting back onto the bitumen. On the road and the hilly country was still with us which meant plenty of gear changes, we were to note that the flowering wattle with its yellow bloom was plentiful and we came across trees with pink flowers of what variety we do not know; they looked a treat. The traffic was to pick up especially road trains and semi trailers whom we believe are heading for the Newell Highway and south. We pulled off the road, where we could, to let them pass and most were to thank us by blinking their turning indicators. Many small collections of houses lined the highways before we came out onto the flat country which was great and I am sure the motorhome motor appreciated it as well. We were to drive past many hectares of wheat being grown and then we came across a turn off into the Coolmunda Dam so we turned in to investigate, as usual the boat ramp was at least 20 metres short of the water and the lake behind the dam appeared to be at least four metres below the normal level. They have a beautiful park and picnic areas and of course the usual No Camping signs given the Caravan Park is only two hundred metres up the road. |
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| Inglewood | Antique memorabilia | Our camp today & fishing! |
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Back on the highway and we finally arrived
at Inglewood and in the usual fashion the business sector lines both sides
of the highway through the town. We stopped and went for a walk to buy
the paper, we ended up in the local Cafe and what a pleasant surprise
for out in the back section an enlarged room that is full of old memorabilia
of all descriptions and all for sale. Needless to say the prices are pretty
high so they may only wish to use it mainly as an attraction for the Cafe.
At the Cafe we had Cappuccino and I also had a Mrs Mac's peppered steak
pie which was beeeutiful. Then spent the next 30 minutes checking stores
before arriving at an el cheapo shop though we did not make a purchase.We
were to hear locals talking about the weather yesterday and they were
to state that at least 80 mills fell, no wonder there is so much water
lying around the roads and paddocks. Back on the road heading towards Goondiwindi and about 10 kilometre's out of Inglewood we came across a fishing and camping area which we checked out and though a little damp looked good so we decided to stay the night here before pushing on. Liz was to do a bit of washing and I set up the satellite dish amongst the trees and luckily the signal actually was gained by going through the trees. Rod in the water and I am not sure what bait to use so I used cheese. I put in a yabbie trap to see if I could trap a few prawns to use for bait. It is such a pleasant area right on the river and as a matter of fact when I drove in the motorhome started sledging towards the river before it pulled back onto the road luckily Liz was not on board and did not see it. The passenger wheel is absolutely full of mud. This afternoon we will now relax and enjoy the river and tonight watch Television or play cards it is still to cold to sit outside, hopefully there will be no mosquito's in this area. Kilometre's travelled 120 |
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| Grain storage Yelarbon | Ex train station for showers etc | Yelarbon Lagoon |
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Thursday the 12th of August We were greeted by a sunny and very windy morning, I pulled the yabby pot however it became stuck and no matter how I manipulated the rope it would not come free. Given there were no long saplings available the only alternative was to cut the rope close to the water and unfortunately that is what occurred, it was one of the better opera nets which was a bummer. We discussed stopping another day by the river and decided given the wind we would have to stay inside the motorhome operating the generator. On the road with the sun beating through the front window and the wind on the nose we are bound for Goondiwindi. The going was tough when out of the wind the motorhome picked up 15 kilometre's per hour without pushing the accelerator. Then into the wind which appears has grown stronger and the day was turning cloudy and cold we would lose 15 kilometre's per hour. We were to pass many farms on the way and the paddocks appear to be sown to wheat and other grains. We were surprised to come across Groves of Olives in the middle of nowhere and in amongst the trees were tall structures with a single blade at the top. We can only assume that they are there to make noise to keep the birds away. We have noted that the dreaded Corella's and Galahs have appeared in large numbers. Further on we passed through several small quaint towns, we arrived at Yelarbon and noted the huge grain silo's at the entrance to the town. There was a sign indicating camping at the local recreational ground so we decided to have a look, we were surprised to find that you could  camp
for $10 per night which included hot showers, toilets and power. Given
the cold and windy weather we decided to camp up for the day and see what
tomorrow offered.We disconnected the Suzuki and parked by the facilities and given that the television was poor we set up the satellite dish where we will watch the Marngrook Football Show tonight. The last time we washed the motorhome was with buckets of water and we noted that once again it looked very grubby given all the road grime collected off the wet roads over the months. They have made a hose available so it made the washing so much easier and it was great to see the motorhome clean again, we didn't do the Suzuki for it was not so bad; the heavy rain in the rest areas has washed it clean. It was interesting to note the smoke coming from wood fire chimneys the day being so cold and at the same time there were huge air conditioners also on top of the house. We went for a drive around Yelarbon with the first stop at the Lagoon rest area which had plenty of birdlife and water, we noted a sign that indicated a maximum penalty of $3750 for caravan or motorhome camping there. Someone must have done the wrong thing to have this sign in a town that offers such a small charge for overnight stay. We purchased a newspaper and then returned to the motorhome and I doubt if we will spend any time outside for it is really cold and looks like rain, given the clouds are heavier and lower. It would be true to say we never travelled far today, though given the circumstances we have made the right decision we would have wasted more than $10 in extra diesel consumed fighting the strong head wind into Goondiwindi Kilometre's travelled 30 |
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| Highway through Yelarbon | Old Queenslander House | Recent Heavy Rain |
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Friday the 13th of August |
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| Town Centre Goondiwindi | Victoria Hotel Goondiwindi | Gunsynd the Goondiwindi Grey |
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Saturday the 14th of August A very cold night though the dawn had that reddish hue as the sun was rising, for once the morning was very fine, no wind nor clouds. Showered, breakfast and packed up and said our farewells to the other happy campers and we were on the road. Wasn't it pleasant no wind and the road was flat and expecting a good fuel consumption today, there were plenty of interstate trucks going in either direction. There appears to be a never ending line of them. We were only 50 kilometre's out of Goondiwindi and we were passing through small towns and farmland with cattle and crops. In no time at all we were driving into the town centre of Goondiwindi, the first thing you notice is the town clock standing above the shops in the main street, then the beautiful Victoria Hotel which would have to be the best maintained old hotel we have seen to date. We parked up and walked the main street looking for an Online Centre to upload this diary, all to no avail so we walked around to the Information Centre and they allowed me to hook into their system. Loaded up the pages and the images and then did a check and found that the main index page had been wiped out. Anyone going to the site would experience a blank page. After an hour and half I managed to recover the index page and the other pages and then found all the photo's had not loaded. It would appear that their system was blocking my uploads and so I was a bit miffed to be told that I had to pay them $5.50. Needless to say the web site had to be fixed before we left the town. We went for a walk along the river front and discovered a park that has been dedicated to Gunsynd known as the Goondiwindi grey who out of a total of 59 races had won or been placed in 49 of them, needless to say the stewards had handicapped the horse until the weight he had to carry was to high, so he was retired to pasture. The town acknowledges the champion in many ways. |
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| Marble statue of Gynsynd | Bridge across Macintyre River | Wheat as far as the eye can see |
In the park
dedicated to the horse is a marble, grey of course, statue plus brass
plates setting out the many wins and places the horse has achieved in
the top league of horse racing. Refilled with diesel and it was good to
get a 6 cent discount so we paid $1.23.9 a litre. A local mentioned that
the local MacDonald's had a free wi-fi connection so we drove around and
sure enough we pulled into the car park and were able to get back onto
the net and fix all the problems that had occurred in the information
centre and for free or maybe not. Since it was now nearly 1pm we decided
to have lunch there, with me a big Mac and Liz a fish hamburger with chips
and coke then we opted for an ice cream each. Back on the road and as soon as we crossed the Macintyre River we were in NSW, so we bid Queensland farewell and were on our way to Lightning Ridge. We have decided to go via Moree to arrive there and it will mean we will need to back track 73 kilometre's though this is a lot shorter than going back to St George and down the Castlereigh Highway. The countryside was flat and would stay that during the afternoon, we noted that cotton lined the side of the Newell Highway and over 75 kilometre's along the highway we were to see Wheat, Sorghum and other grains being grown and the crops look very good given the amount of rain recently. The day is still sunny with no clouds and no wind and we decided not to go into Moree today. We were to select a gravel dump 32 kilometre's north of Moree for tonight. I put up a cloths line and tensioned it for Liz and then out came the satellite dish and the generator. Setting up the dish I ducked under the rope cloths line and wouldn't you know it the rope caught up in my glasses and raked the rope from my forehead to the top of my nose and now I have a nice red rope burn thank you very much. When I was doing the fuel consumption I was somewhat amazed to find that given the easy going we had the worst consumption of the trip, I was to check the figures over and over and there was no problem there. Under the motorhome to check the tanks and found that one of the patches that I had to repair was leaking fairly well so that now explains the high consumption. I had checked it a couple of times last week and as there were no leaks I did not worry about it again. So out came the repair kit and I did it all over again and stopped the leak. Just had a caravan arrive and the bloke asked was it alright to park close to us, what could I say after all I do not own the land so I just told him it was free camping he could camp where he liked. He indicated that in some areas people did not like parking with them, then I found out why. He moved from where he was and is now only 4 metres from us with over 3 hundred metres or so of empty ground to park in. It must be terrible to have that fear of parking on your own out in the bush. However, we came together at happy hour and had a good discussion about this and that and our travels to date, Liz was to show her opals and sapphires which they liked. We will watch the football tonight with Geelong V Western Bulldogs and then off to bed before we move on again in the morning. Kilometre's travelled 156 |
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| Newell Highway through Moree town centre | Gwydir Highway though Moree |
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Sunday the 15th of August We had a sleep in this morning and by the time we had breakfast and showers and put the gear away it was 9:40am before we were back on the highway. There were no clouds in the sky and no wind, which was a bonus. We are still travelling through cropping country and cotton is still laying on the side of the highway. We were only to see Sorghum and Wheat and finally we came across a large field of Canola. There were plenty of trucks both B-Doubles and semi trailers heading north and fair dinkum it is hard at times to understand what they are saying on channel 40 UHF. Obviously the other truck driver must understand for they reply, maybe we need a course in truckie language. There were plenty of farm houses along the way and finally we were to arrive at Moreee. At the moment they are building a by pass around the town and when you come into the town centre you can understand why. The highway goes right through the shopping centre and again we came across traffic lights. This is the corner we were to turn to get on the Gwydir highway, we stopped and used the last of our Coles Dockets and topped up with diesel and unleaded for the generator, the diesel was $1.28.9 cents a litre with the 4cent discount. As is usual in outback NSW the shops and other business's do not open on a sunday so the town looked deserted. We noted that the wind had all a sudden appeared and as we travelled along the Gwydir Highway it was to get very strong. We passed three cotton gins all told and you could see the huge water channels for the purpose of growing cotton, we were still to see other crops and then we came across a lot of gum trees and the cropping ceased. We were now starting to notice how strong the wind was for it was directly on the front of the of the motorhome so we decided to stop for the day at a rest area 97 kilometre's out of Moree. The sun is still warm with no clouds though the sou-wester is very strong and it rocks the motorhome now and again that is how strong it is. Set up the dish alongside the motorhome to get it out of the wind and anchored it as well, we had our lunch and settled in to watch the Brisbane Lions V Adelaide game. Kilometre's travelled 134 |
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| 7am sunrise | Unusual Tractor | Single lane bridge Castlereigh Highway |
Monday the 16th
of August We were to experience heaps of trucks pull in last night for their rest no doubt, they did not stop us from sleeping though I was awakened at 5am by a reversing horn that seemed to go on forever. It turned out to be the only caravan that came in last night, the trucks must have troubled them to get on the road that early. We cooked our breakfast inside and then came out and sat at the tables to eat and enjoy the early morning sun rising and luckily there was no wind. We were on the road at 7:45am bound for Lightning Ridge with no wind and the sun streaming though the side window, we were still in cropping country and then this strange noise which made me think there was something gone wrong with the motorhome. Then there was a roar as about fifty meters from us a crop duster plane crossed in front of us and across the road. It frightened the living suitcases out of us and then we watched as it flew just above the trees towards the cropping land. Then we came across a long legged tractor with spraying equipment on the back it looked most unusual. There were plenty of trucks on the road and then we came across cotton growing land with a cotton gin nearby, there were many water channels with pipes going in to flood cotton growing ground. We arrived at Collarenebri a small farming community and we noted that the shops in the main street were all shuttered with roll-doors which did not look nice at all, we went to buy the newspaper however it does not arrive until noon. We pushed on and then we noted that there were plenty of sheep now appearing and they were large and in need of shearing. Turning right on the Castlereigh Highway we soon came across a small single lane bridge and the creek was full of water and also along the side of the road there was plenty of water laying about. |
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| Crop of Canola | Lightning Ridge bore pool | Jim enjoying therapeutic bore water |
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We finally
arrived at the turn off into Lightning Ridge and just turned the corner
and the police pulled us over for they were doing a breathalyser test
and licence check. As it was only 10:30am we believe they should not get
many customers, I always find it interesting to find that other states
have different ways of testing, this one you had to count to ten towards
the machine they held it in hand; needless to say I did not register a
reading. We went looking for the people we stayed with four years ago to no avail, so onto the bore water spa and it was closed for cleaning. We were given an address and when we checked it out we were told they left for the Coast six months ago. We went back to the spa and as it was now open we first had a shower which they request you do before you enter the spa. It was very warm and very nice and I stayed in until my hands started to wrinkle, then down to the supermarket for fresh bread for a late lunch and Tim Tams at $1.79 a packet and then went looking for an old friend of Dad's and it took awhile to get through the wall the locals put up when you ask for someone in the town or on the leases. For a moment we thought we had struck the right bloke unfortunately he only had the same first name. We headed out to the leases' and found the other people we knew from four years ago had just walked out of the house for the had found opals worth $250,000 and they had headed for the Gold Coast. So we have set up on the lease near the house and spoke to other locals who have no problems with us staying, though we will not fossick where we are for that is just not the right thing to do, after all we do not want to be known at ratters! That is, stealing by finding Opal from someone else's lease. We will go elsewhere in a couple of days to fossick, I threw three yabby traps into the dam and checked them an hour later to find that one had found its way in so we will leave them in overnight. We then sat out outside enjoying the last rays of sunshine and having a happy hour before going inside for our meal and tonight we will read our books. It was great to read both our football teams won over the weekend. Kilometre's travelled 205 |
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| Haul of Yabbies | Can & Bottle House | Ridge Castle |
Tuesday the 17th
of August A nice sunny cloudless day again this morning, I was to go around the Yabby traps and found 10 in the three traps. After breakfast Liz was do a little hand washing and I pulled out the campfire and fired it up to cook the yabby's. We cleaned around the camp then went for a walk out to the headland and took in the excellent views across the lower countryside. The working mine that was here four years ago has been dismantled and the ground landscaped and returned near enough to original. We walked over to the house that had been built of cans and bottles for allowing light inside the house plus concrete. Unfortunately it has been vandilised since we saw it last. Back to camp and it was lunch time, after lunch we headed into the Ridge, as it is affectionately called by the locals, and decided to go on the coloured door tour of the town. We were to pass many types of ramshackle accommodation on various leases and then we came across the Ridge Castle; a building constructed of stone and concrete, quite imposing for the area it is located in. It is easy to see housing that is built to council standards as versus that which is built on the mining lease's that are not subject to council approval. One of the things that you note is that there are many different types of cacti's that is grown in the many gardens and thankfully there would not be much more that survive in the rugged ground in and around the town. |
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| Rock Castle | Astronomers Monument | Water slide at Swimming Pool |
On another
section of the car door tour we came across another magnificent rock and
cement structure also called a Castle and the work and the quality that
has gone into it is certainly a credit to the builder who started it in
1983 and is still being added to, well worth a visit. Now, we came across
another structure which left us a bit breathless which is supposed to
be something to do with Astronomy, I think for the signage is a bit vague
it just looks as if concrete was poured into 20 litre drums one atop another
and 205 litre drums once again on top of each other. Then the drums were
removed. In all we did four car door tours and each had something interesting
to offer including opal selling business's along the way and the underground
mines if you wished to go underground. We came back into the town centre
to look at the local swimming pool that looks more like a theme park with
so many decorated water slides and other strange structures. You cannot
get inside for the pools are empty for winter therefore the complex is
closed. Even though the days are still warm for us at 24 degrees it is
cold for the locals you only need to see how they are all rugged up and
the visitors are in shorts and shirts. |
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| Original 1900 open cut mine | Frilled Necked Lizard |
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Now it wouldn't be right if we didn't go and
have a look at Mitre 11 so we turned up at the local rubbish dump and
had a good chat to the woman caretaker and as usual she is retrieving
a lot of materiel's and other goods that can be recycled. We opted not
to take anything for one reason where would we store it? We drove up to
look at the first and largest open cut Opal mine in Australia and you
could see where the original underground mining tunnels were that were
uncovered during the excavation. The blurb indicates that they recovered
over six million dollars worth of Black Opal. We have not carried out
any fossicking yet though tomorrow we intend to go to Grawin which is
about 75 kilometre's away so onto the supermarket to buy bread rolls etc
for our day out. We came across a frilled necked lizard which allowed
us to get within a foot of it before it scurried away and up a tree nearby.
Back to camp and around the yabby traps again and there were another eight all up and as the fire was still going we were to cook them for tomorrow nights meal, hopefully we will get a few more in the morning which would be great. We cooked our meal on our campfire and watched the sun go down which created a beautiful sunset something we haven't experienced for awhile the other noticeable thing is that at 6pm it was still daylight. Again tonight we will read our books and watch television for it is still to cold outside especially when the sun drops over the horizon the temperature really drops quickly. |
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| Liz fossicking Grawin | Sheepyard Hotel | Old blower Opal truck |
Wednesday the
18th of August What a beautiful day not a cloud in the sky as I went and checked the yabby traps, another seven so that will give us 25 for our stir fry tonight for our evening meal. Liz did a bit of hand washing and then packed our lunch and we were on our way to the Grawin dump to try our luck fossicking for Opal. Grawin is some sixty kilometre's from our camp so we set off to admire the countryside and along the way we were to see wheat crops all in good condition due to the excellent rain they have experienced in this area recently. We were to see plenty of sheep and goats, the signs indicated that the latter were farmed, there were a few cattle and generally speaking the countryside was flat though the pastures looked brown. We were to see sheep grazing in the long paddock and as we drove past it did not phase them at all. We finally turned off onto the gravel section and before long we were to see the many shafts and old trucks and the terrible accommodation for Opal miners. When we arrived at the dump site there were many people there fossicking and a few Indigenous people needless to say they seemed to be better at finding Opal in the dumped waste than anyone else, We were only to find Potch and no real Opal to speak of and as the day was warming up we decided to give it a miss and moved on. We came across the War Memorial Park which looks out of sorts with the rest of the activities in the area. Today the Vietnam Veterans were conducting a service on their National Day in memory of their lost mates in the Vietnam War. We were to meet a few of them at the Sheepyard Hotel a structure in the bush that has a couple of purple rail carriages for the purpose of serving meals and the bar area we did not recognise for it recently burnt down and they have just rebuilt it. Of course they have lost the large amount of memorabilia they had previously. In accordance with the courage of Opal Miners they just rebuilt without time for feeling sorry. We were to have a few beers and ciders there and had a good discussion with the locals and tourists that were staying in the area. By now it was nearly 2pm so went back to the War Memorial and had our lunch before heading for home. It always seems that you take less time returning from a trip than going there, we had bought our shower gear along so when arriving back at Lightning Ridge first we were to buy the paper and then out to the Town Bore Spa had our showers and then into the Spa very nice indeed. It was then that we realised that both of us were sun burnt from fossicking on the white clay and due to the temperature being the highest yet of our tour at 27 degrees, very nice indeed. It was nearly 5pm by the time we arrived back at camp so I went around the yabby traps and was surprised to see that I had not caught one. Maybe they know something that we don't for we have noticed heavy cloud on the horizon and talking to Richard the bloke on the next lease as it was coming from the west there was every chance that it would rain. Due to this information we battened down the hatches, so to speak, and covered our wood with a tarp. Our evening meal of Yabby stir fry with Hokkien noodles was very nice indeed though a little to much chilli had been used. Tonight we are going to play cards before we go off to bed, a very satisfying day. |
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Thursday the 19th of August Awoke early in the morning with the patter of rain on the roof of the motorhome which we find soothing, needless to say we did not alight from our bed early. When I finally arose I went around the yabby traps and found only two in one trap. Back and had breakfast and as the rain had stopped our came the tarp and it was set up to place the generator under out of the rain. The rain did not sound heavy though it was constant though intervals of no rain did occur. I went back to bed and did not climb out until after 11am and then we went into the Lightning Ridge to buy the newspaper and another loaf of bread for lunch, there were plenty of caravans still coming into the town and not many motorhome's, their first stop is the tourist  information
centre. We were where to fill a couple of containers of water and then
headed back to camp.The gravel roads had only been graded earlier in the week and with this rain it has turned sections into slush and with our permanent four wheel drive it did not worry us in those sections; though two wheel drives were sliding all over the road though none were to bog or run off the road. Back at camp and had lunch and sat around reading the newspapers and then at about 3pm I lit the campfire and even in the rain it started ok for we want to cook a chicken in the camp oven for our evening meal. Around the yabby traps and found nothing in the first two so I decided to bring them back to the motorhome the last one still had the two from this morning so I released then back into the dam and I guess they knew the rain was coming and have gone quiet. I may set them again on Saturday dependant if the next few days are sunny. Of course the Marngrook Football Show is on tonight so needless to say that is what we will watch before retiring for the night. For most of the afternoon Liz has been doing her craft work and I am now understand how much concentration goes into the work Liz is doing. It would appear we are not going to fossick for Opal again unless the weather changes and who knows when that will happen. There is no doubt that the wheat crops in area will benefit again by this rainfall. |
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Friday the 20th of August Wasn't it great to awake to the chirping of the magpies this morning and the overcast sky starting to pass us by. It wasn't long before the solar panels were really working given the lack of solar weather for the past day and half. We decided that it would be wise to use the 
Laundromat this morning before the rush for the machines commenced. So
we did our work around the camp and headed into the town centre and sure
enough our assumption was right. The wet weather had bought on a rush
for the washing machines and dryer. We decided to go out to the hot bore
bath, the good thing about the bore water pool is that they ask that you
shower before using the pool. Given that the showers are hot we do not
mind using them at all, we were to spend the next hour in the beautiful
bore water pool coming out most refreshed.Back to the laundromat and Liz was able to get a machine whilst this was happening I went out to the industrial area and had a gas bottle filled. Now this is where things are hard to understand, the price of Diesel is $1.37.9 the price of a gas refill is $27.50 there does not appear to be a comparison. We filled last bottle in Hay earlier in the trip and it certainly cost more than this; namely $2.50 more. Back into town and then we went and had a look in Vinnies and nothing was purchased and then over to the supermarket to buy bread and a couple of packets of Tim Tams at $1.79 a packet. The radio was to inform us that the gravel roads around Lightning Reach were closed due to the amount of rain in the area, no doubt the farmers with their crops would be very pleased. The road back into the campsite was still a bit slushy in patches though it did not cause us any problems. Hung the clothes out and then had a late lunch and for the first time for sometime I had a poppy nap or should I say tried to. A couple of blokes turned up and indicated that they would be drilling in the area tomorrow trying to find as they call them "Opal Knobby's" where we are parked should not cause them any problems. Richard was to come over when they left to find out what was happening and offered again for us to come over and camp on his lease if there are problems, which was good of him. We went walkabout and with the rain we were to find pieces of potch that the rain had washed to the surface, though no Opal pieces. Today we had an extended happy hour before watching the Geelong V Carlton game tonight. Then off to bed and the night is cold again which should bring a warm day tomorrow. |
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| Drilling for Opal | Checking for Opal | Removing clay from Opal |
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Saturday the 21st of August A chilly night though a nice sunny day with no wind, Liz was to cook me poached eggs on toast for breakfast which was great. We decided to go to town and buy the paper and check out the people coming into Lightning Ridge this morning. We were a bit early for the paper so we went out to the Bore pool and there seemed to be the same people we have seen over the past few days. Back for the paper dropped off our rubbish and then home. When we arrived back a drill rig was working away looking for Opal. I went over to have a look and noticed the many drill bits they had on board. After discussing with them about the operation I was somewhat surprised to find that they usually found Opal Knobby and that is what they are drilling for. The depth they are drilling is 14 metres and this is the level they usually find the Opal, if they find Knobby's they will decide then if the find warrants the drilling of two metre drill hole down to begin chasing the Opal. The bloke I was speaking to has been chasing Opal here for 40 years and thus lucky enough to have had a few major finds. The sampling of what the drill brings to the surface goes through a small tumbler and then into a rotary wash bin to remove the clay and this allows them to search for the elusive Opal. The ground they are working has been worked before and over a million dollars of Opal has been recovered, they are back to drill test holes in areas close by to see if the seam extends further than previously mined. In all it is an interesting operation and the drill rig has as it prime mover a 1960 Foden and it still works O.K. Time for lunch and before we knew it the St Kilda V Richmond game started and as seen previously St Kilda is playing like a pack of idiots, though at the end of the day they won by 21 points. Tonight we will watch the Collingwood V Adelaide game which should be better game to watch. Or so we thought Adelaide was to really test the expected grand final winners and only lost by 3 points. |
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| Lightning Ridge stall | Lightning Ridge Sunday Markets |
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Sunday the 22nd of August Out of bed early and was concerned with the amount of cloud though it wasn't cold at all, over breakfast we discussed the reports of rain today and we were of the opinion that we did not want to suffer the prospect of slushy roads on the way out in the morning. So we decided to move on today though only down to the rest area about 10 kilometre's down the road. We packed up our camp and decided to go into Lightning Ridge for the Sunday morning markets. Unfortunately the radiator in the motorhome has a leak which is getting worse I was hoping to at least arrive back home before I had to replace or otherwise. I poured some radiator repair into the radiator and sure enough it sealed the leak though I expect that it will only be a temporary repair, the outcome was that the temperature of the motor has risen and hopefully it has not blocked up any inlets in the water jacket of the motor. We went into the market and as usual they had bottles of opal chip and a lot of other bric a brac, we spent over an hour perusing though no purchases were made. we were to note the various languages being spoken which once again shows the european influence of the town. Out to the Bore Pool and again used their hot showers and then into the pool which is really hot and really relaxing though I do not know about the healing therapy of the bore water. A couple of locals were there and they swear by the minerals in the water helping their arthritis etc. Fuel for the generator and the paper and we were bidding farewell to Lightning Ridge and were on our way to the rest area, we arrived at 1pm and set up including the dish and had lunch while watching the football shows from Western Australia. A few other happy campers were to come in later in the day. We will watch the football this afternoon and just relax (Again?) We were able to get the football in Western Australia where the West Coast Eagles V North Melbourne a good game and the latter won by sixteen. Kilometre's travelled 18 Monday the 23rd of August Steady rain on the roof all night proved that we were right to leave our camp site at Lightning Ridge when we did the road out would have been pure slush. Our first happy camper left at 6:30am this morning with another at 7am. We were to leave at 8:30am and the rain has stopped with just the occasional drizzle. What a day it turned out to be the radiator in the Motorhome is really causing us problems after the first thirty kilometre's had to stop release the radiator cap and refill with water and this was to be the same for the next hundred kilometre's. In the finish Liz was sitting in the back whilst I had the front seats up. The radiator was boiling before it reached the red mark on the dial and it would take up to 15 minutes to release and cool before we could take off 
again. This would happen all day and towards the end of the day it was
each 5 to 10 kilometre's.We were to see plenty of countryside which was sown down to wheat and in some paddocks well advanced, no doubt the farmers would be very pleased with the rain which should give them a bumper crop this year. We were to see separately two foxes both occasions by the road and at least 15 Emu's. We finally arrived at Coonamble and we were steered to Ray the Mechanic, as he is known, and he connected his pressure equipment to the radiator and there were no leaks present. He then tightened the fan belt that was a bit loose and then assured me we would get to Dubbo with no problems. Alas that was not to be the case after we filled with diesel at $1.36.9 we headed out to Dubbo to deal with the radiator problem, probably a new one. Ten kilometre's out of Coonamble the temperature again rose to level that I could not accept for we do not want to damage the engine. More sitting and then more water and cooling down and then back on the road and 8 kilometre's down the road we were to repeat the process and then again and though high temperature we reached the rest area for tonight. Not a lot of room though considering our problems it is fine. The bonus was that out in the bush well away from a town we were to pick up normal television which we will watch tonight though might I say that we are both tired with all the going on's today and of course the cold cloudy day. Kilometre's travelled 234 |
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| Corrugated Cockies | Mechanic looking at radiator | Children's play pen Gulargambone |
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Tuesday the 24th of August Rain again during the night and frankly speaking I didn't sleep well thinking about the problems with the radiator. We left the rest area and though only 13 kilometre's to Gulargambone the town with the corrugated Cockies we were to stop every 5 kilometre's to allow the motor to cool down for we do not want to damage the motor especially the head gasket. We finally arrived and went straight to the mechanic who gave it the same test as others and then tried to convince me that the head gasket may be blown due to a few bubbles. On querying him on this he stated that he didn't have the correct equipment to test this theory. He was to busy to take the radiator out for I have indicated if we can get it out we will drive to Dubbo in the car to have it replaced. |
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| Excellent Canola Crop | Draining water | Radiator out with Mechanic |
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Back on the road bound for Gilgandra which is 40 kilometre's
away, the usual stop every five kilometre's to cool the motor and replenish
the radiator with water lost through overheating. At one time we pulled
up beside a large field of Canola that must just about be due to be
harvested. We finally arrived at Gilgandra and we drove straight around
to the Radiator repair shop, yes when he saw that the cab would not
tilt he was busy and would be for the next week. I stated to Liz that
this radiator is coming out today even if I have to do it myself. |
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| Old Dubbo Goal | Town Hall Clock Dubbo | Main Street Dubbo |
Wednesday the 25th |
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| Bottom and Top of Radiator Core both blocked with leak sealer- The moral of the story is do not use radiator sealants to stop a leak or you will suffer | |
Thursday the
26th of August Sleep? what is that! I am so worried about the radiator and the time it will take to replace the old core with a new one. I was out of bed at 6am with Liz staying until after 8am. I wandered around when the mechanics started and made sure that I did not impede there work all the time stressing out with the days we have lost due to my stupidity in putting in so called radiator leak sealer. Though the new core was ordered yesterday we were now in the laps of the delivery service, I have to say that all at Meyers Motor Clinic at Gilgandra have been most helpful even in understanding the stress levels that I was undergoing at different times, self imposed of course. They are treating us as one of the family even allowing Liz to use washing machine and dryer due to the likelihood of inclement weather. Liz was to bake a tray of scones along with butter and jam for smoko which I believe the family enjoyed. We were to go to the post office to pay our rates and taxes for home and then onto the IGA and purchased rolls for lunch and carton of beer for me. We were to check out the antique store and Target Country and would you believe they have no winter gear; all summer and given the temperature and weather they may be a little early. Home for lunch and then the stress levels were rising again so I thought I would have a lay down and sleep was impossible. A tap on the window with Mick saying you have to go to Dubbo again for the radiator was ready to be picked up. Well what could I say we were in the car for the 67 kilometre drive into Dubbo and back as quick as a flash. When I saw the old core I can understand why the radiator was not doing its job for the tubes were all blocked top and bottom with the so called radiator sealer. Though you could say it did its job the problem being it blocked everything and now the radiator people in Dubbo indicated that the engine and heater would have to be back flushed or in 100 kilometre's the new radiator could be blocked again. So we drove back and as we decided that it would to cold tonight to put the radiator back we will do it in the morning I then started to relax. We had a late happy hour and we are enjoying it immensely and it will good to get back on the road and back into holiday mode again, as we do not have the satellite dish working we will miss the Marngrook Football Show, so we will watch a little football and then hopefully back on the road tomorrow afternoon. The cost? You just do not want to know! I would have been able to buy a lot of diesel or cartons of beer. Friday the 27th of August 5:50am I climbed out of bed and drove the Suzuki to the truck stop to refuel and then back to camp to unload the new radiator and reload our camping gear, fit the A frame and park across the road for our hopeful departure today. Then had a cup of tea and nothing to eat the same as yesterday and had a chat to Bruce before his boys Mick and Todd arrived for the days work. Mick was ever cheerful and before we started on installing the new radiator I was to show them the old and they were amazed that the motor received any water at all it was so blocked. We back flushed the motor and the heater core to get rid of any residue of the so called stop leak. Now the hard part to install the radiator as usual it is easier to take out the old radiator for you do not worry about damage to it. Skun knuckles and after four hours we were ready to test the new radiator complete with new radiator cap though we had to use the old thermostat, Mick was to test both thermostats that I had and chose the one that opened later than the other this turned out to be the wrong decision as we found out later. Midday arrived and we continued working and then filled with coolant and water and started up, I informed Mick that the truck would not warm up under a fast idle and about thirty minutes later we were to take it for a test drive. I was to drive for ten kilometre's and return to the workshop and then Mick was to say that he was concerned that the top tank of the radiator was hot and the bottom tank was ice cold. Problem! Bruce diagnosed it as a faulty water pump and Mick indicated that he thought that the thermostat was not opening. We changed thermostats and I took it for a 20 kilometre run and drove it the fastest ever at 110 kph and the temperature ran as normal. Before I returned I hopped under the motorhome and found that the bottom tank was warm, which made me very happy. When back at the workshop Mick was to hop under and check the tank and when he came out the stated that it was now ok and looked and me and called me a so and for he stated he should have known that I would have checked it before returning. We are now both happy that the problem is fixed and so it should be for the final cost of the new radiator and labour. When we received the bill for labour it was less than I thought for even though I had helped where I could Mick had spent about eight hours on it, they charged for only three hours. Paid the bill and then hooked up the car and blew another fuse which had to be replaced before we could tow the Suzuki said our final farewells and thanked the Meyer family for their wonderful hospitality and we where on our way at 2pm. We only went as far as the Caltex truck roadhouse in Gilgandra where we used there nice hot showers and then had fish & chips for me and a chicken burger with chips for Liz and then we hit the road again bound for Dubbo. We had no intentions of going through Dubbo today so we pulled up at a gravel heap 15 kilometre's from Dubbo, set up the satellite dish for the football tonight and had a most relaxing happy hour with all the stresses and tension now removed. As we had a meal so late in the day we will only have a light evening meal. Kilometre's travelled 85 (this includes the test kilometre's for the radiator as we are only 50 kilometre's from Gilgandra) |
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| Wheat & Canola | Sheep,Canola,Wheat & Canola | Wheat Silo |
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Saturday the 28th of August |
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| Grain Silo's Condobolin | Pork cooking in fire pot | Pork cooked in camp oven |
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Sunday the 29th of August |
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| Sunset over dry lake | Our camp area Condobolin |
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Monday the 30th of August |
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We
had a tidy up and then drove into Condo, as the locals call it, and
Liz did our washing at the laundromat bought a few items we missed yesterday
and then back to camp. Set up a clothes line and given the slight breeze
and the sun we should have no trouble drying them today.