Note to start: The ‘d’ on my keyboard has stopped working and Geoff has re=routed it to the ‘pause break’ so at least I can type a ‘d’. I have only got to remember to use this key! I will check this journal but please forgive me if you find the occasional ‘d’ missing. Spell check picks up a lot of it but there may be a few an’s instead of ands.
Well … Sunday, Monday and Tuesday weren’t very exciting. These days were spent fiddling around at Herbert and going into Palmerston and Humpty Doo get a few maintenance items to change the water system under the bed. Then Geoff was able to install taps to enable the fresh water to be filled individually and also able to be shut off separately. Geoff says, probably due to keeping the costs low when they make their motorhomes, Jayco install systems that make it difficult for maintenance. Geoff said that if he ever had a leak in the pressure pump then he would have water leaking everywhere.
Today Geoff worked on the light switch in the bedroom. We have two lights over the bed and only one light switch, which is over Geoff’s side of the bed. This means I have to ask him to switch off the light each time. He has now installed another switch over my side which operates the light over my side so they can now be switched on and off independently. Whilst he was doing this the air conditioner stopped working an came up with an ‘E4’ error message which states we may have to get it re-gassed or it is a thermistor problem! More money!
Today was a frustrating day as the ‘d’ on my keyboard has packed up. Geoff spent some of the day trying to re-program another key to be able to type the ‘d’. I had a very frustrating time trying to sort out my Centrelink stuff as I no longer live in Bundy. I spent 25 minutes on hold to find out they said they couldn’t help me an gave me a another phone number to call. When I rang them they said it has to be done by Centrelink so I got nowhere. I shall have to go in an see them ‘face to face’!
Geoff spent the morning under the front of the van as we had a rattle. He found a couple of screws missing from the plastic protection flaps so that was eventually fixed. He did have a lot of help though, from Zula the Staffy/Dingo X.
He came in for some lunch and then noticed that there was water on the floor near the bed. Bugga … it is coming from the water heater and a new one is over $800 so Geoff spent the rest of the day working on it. So far he hasn’t won the battle.
As I said … a very frustrating day!
Friday, 6th September 2013
The water heater is still leaking so Geoff went of on the scooter to get some more bits for it, such as sealer and a tap. When he came back he went in under the bed again an worked on it but it was still leaking, then he worked on it again an it is leaking but much less. So he is still working on it. It also blows the fuse when it is on 240 volts but he says these components may dry out although he thinks the electric element is stuffed. I was the gofer when he needed it but, mostly, I kept out of the way apart from washing all the towels we had use to mop up the water plus some bed linen to make up the load (I used the house washing machine). Geoff must be getting frustrated. He eventually decided to finish and let the sealer dry overnight and we will see what it is like in the morning.
Saturday, 7th September 2013
Alas, the bloody leak is still there so Geoff was, once again, under the bed working on it.
I HAVE to go to the supermarket soon as I can only conjure up a couple more main meals from stock (tins/fish cakes) as we have no meat or poultry now. So, around 11.30 Geoff declared he had achieve a reasonable result with the leak so we packed everything back under the bed with stuff on the bottom that could tolerate a little moisture. I then had the task of getting the motorhome back into some semblance of order and normality and Geoff had to put all of his tools away. Then it was time to put the kettle on for a rewarding cuppa and lunch!
We were then off to Coolalinga to do a reasonable shop so that we could eat again. When we got back Geoff checked the water system and all seems well so we now have our fingers Crossed.
Time for a swim, feed all the animals and cook yummy ribs for tea with Peki and Zula enjoying the bones afterwards and which kept them entertained for a while.
After tea all that was on the TV was elections, elections, elections! Checked our emails and there was one from a family at Dundee Beach who were looking for a house sitter from the middle of October for, at least, three weeks as they have to go to Sydney for their young daughter to have a brain operation … poor things. We really need to get going by then and the problem was that they said that if the surgeons found more problems they might be away longer. I had to decline but put her on to other websites and people that might be able to help her so I hope she finds someone.
Sunday, 8th September 2013
So, Australia has voted in a new government. Love em or hate em, they surely can’t do a worse job than the previous mob. Time will tell!
Today we decided we would go out for the day so I made up a picnic lunch, gave the woofs a chicken neck treat each, gave the chooks and Winston their brekky and we were off. Geoff had decided we would go to Mondorah which was on a the other side of the bay to us. It was 106 kms away and we were worried that when we got there, then there would be nothing to see. As it turned out, there was only a jetty for the Darwin ferry and a pub but it was very pretty an enjoyable.
Out in the bay, slowly making its way in, was the USS aircraft carrier Bonhomme Richard (this is pronounced Bonn-h0mm-Reesharde which is nowhere near how I thought it was pronounced). Although it is an aircraft carrier it is actually called an amphibious assault ship (why?) If you want any more details then click on the following link http://www.darwinport.nt.gov.au/news/darwin-welcomes-uss-bonhomme-richard. This was the first time I had seen an aircraft carrier and it was an impressive sight. (When I got back I went on the web hoping they had an open day but I have either missed it or they didn’t have one).
Whilst we were at Mondorah we had a quick visit to the pub and they have some really reasonably priced meals so we may take the ferry across and have a meal when we are at Fannie Bay, we will see. It seems there is quite a crowd that comes over by ferry at the weekend to partake of lunch at the pub. But, we have heard that it may be closing at the end of September so we mustn’t leave it too long.
From here we drove to Wagait Beach where we carried the picnic bag down onto the beach. I only had open sandals on and I found the hot sand quite painful. We have had temperatures in the low 30º Celsius since we have been here which is most of winter an a tad of spring. There were heaps of Whistling Kites/Kite Hawks cruising overhead. We find them good looking birds. Once we had eaten our lunch we didn’t linger as there was no shade and neither us wished to get burnt.
Just back up the road a bit was a sign (no distance stated, which seems to be the case all of the time up here) indicating that there was a wreck of a B24-J Liberator to be seen. Just Geoff’s ‘cup of tea’ so off we headed and 12 kms later turned onto a very rough dirt road for another couple of kms. Well, it was well worth the detour, we thought, and it had really good interpretation signs and was listed as a heritage site. The aircraft remains were of the B24-J ‘Milady’ and she was an American plane that crashed on 17th January 1945 whilst returning from a practice bombing mission. She had a skeleton staff of six on board who all lost their lives and their remains were eventually sent back to America.
From here we started to head back but saw the turnoff for Dundee Beach where a friend of Ann an Wynn’s now lived. John and Kris had also stopped at our hostel when they were with a group on a bike ride so we had met them before. We sat at the crossroads umming an arring whether we would go there as it was a 130 km round trip. As we thought we may not down this way again we decided to give it a go an eventually arrived at ‘The Lodge at Dundee’ where we sat and enjoyed a ginger beer each. Geoff rang Wynn and got John’s number and gave him a ring and they invited us around. They had a one acre block with a small house and a large workshop (yep … Geoff says he has got his priorities right). Over a cuppa we caught up, once again, an soon two and a half hours had passed. Time to go and we left with heaps of home produce such as tomatoes, zucchini, frozen Mango slices, frozen Mango pulp, dried Mango strips and dried Banana chips. Yummmmmie! They also invited us back for a couple of days when we leave Darwin which we will probably take them up on.
We left there about 6pm an kept a wary eye out for wildlife as dusk fell. The last thing we wanted to do was hit a kangaroo or wallaby and, not only kill the animal, but make a big mess of the car too!
When we got back the woofs were really pleased to see us and I imagine they were thinking their throats were cut. All the animals soon had a full tummy and it was time for us to do the same for ourselves. As it was latish we only had a light tea as I couldn't be bothered cooking a full meal.
Monday, 9th September 2013
Off to the feed stockist in Humpty Doo this morning to get some chicken layer pellets an some more pig food for Winston. $44 but we will get it back from Rusty. We also received an email and photo saying they were now married … they looked great! Grabbed some more bread an milk whilst we were there and then it was back to Herbert and do the washing and have lunch.
Geoff brought in the bin via the scooter as the driveway is quite long and distant from the main road.
The afternoon was just computer stuff and a dip in the pool, joined by Peki as usual, and that was it for the day!
Tuesday, 10th September 2013
It rained quite heavily around 6am this morning but it didn’t last long. It was good that it woke us up as we wanted to go into Palmerston to try to sort out my Centrelink stuff. I think I got it all sorted this time! Maybe? We picked up a 6 mt x 1.8 mt green shade cloth from Dollars and Sense whilst we were there which we will use as an outside area floor mat as it doesn’t ruin the grass and ‘may’ stop us walking in so much dirt an grass. I suppose to achieve this we have to stop the dogs coming in! Nah … can’t do that!
On the way back to Herbert we detoured to Howard Springs to have a quick look. It was a very pretty area with an extensive children’s play area with two kids pools and two flying foxes. There were heaps of fish in the rock pool including some huge Barramundi and, as we wandered over the small dam wall, we were able to read all the interps signs to help us identify them all. We may go back before we leave Herbert and take a picnic lunch and do the 1.8 km walk and visit the springs which we missed on the way out.
When we got back to Herbert we let Winston and the chooks out for a run and then went in for our daily dip.
Wednesday, 11th September 2013
9/11 today which is a time to reflect on those that lost their lives in the Twin Towers in 2001 and their loved ones who must miss them everyday.
We spent the morning checking the E4 error on the air conditioner. I had downloaded the error checking instruction manual but you still had to read it through a few times before you could understand what they were telling you to do. I think we have ruled out the refrigerant and think it might be a thermistor problem. Geoff has read through the instructions and had a look at the diagrams and will have to go up on the roof of the van to check everything so he is going to wait until it cools down a bit. It seems to be getting warmer each day but not humid (for us) yet, thank goodness.
Then it was time to get on the phone to Queensland Transport and wait and wait and listen to “Thank you for waiting, your call will be answered shortly”, which it wasn’t, of course. But when the call did get answered the girl was very helpful and soon sorted out our pensioner concession for the motorhome and7 I have since paid it.
Geoff rang about 4pm and said he had fitted the modified thermistor and it looks like he has fixed the air conditioner and it had been running for 90 minutes with no problems. Clever Geoff!
Another fitful night. I must be missing Geoff plus I was warm again. Once again, I had to put to put the A/Con on low. Plus Fazela came home in the early hours, about 2 am, and made a bit of noise. There is only a light wall and a sliding door between my bedroom and the kitchen and her fridge and pantry cupboard is right up against this door. She really wasn’t noisy but noise carries so much in the dead of the night plus the kitchen light seeped in the bedroom around the sliding door. As I am such a light sleeper, this was enough to wake me up.
After a cold drink we headed off on the scooter to Woolworths at Nightcliff to get a few more supplies in for me as the cupboard was almost bare. It was 7 minutes on the bike and I soon had enough to tide me over so we headed back. Geoff relaxed for a while and then we took Smudge for a walk and we had a look at the gun emplacements that were left over from WW11 that was in the park (ex golf course).
On to find a stop for the night. The first rest area we came to was very exposed so we decided to continue on to Monalena Lagoon but turned off when we saw Lake Hart to our left. Lake Hart is a salt lake of some size and we
hadn’t visited it before as it wasn’t on the highway 37 years ago. It was quite spectacular although it would probably fit into Lake Torrens to the west about 25 times. The salt lakes of Lake Torrens to the west and Lake Frome to the east are huge but nothing compared to Lake Eyre to their north. From a distance these salt flats glowed white and looked like white sand but when we wandered on them for a closer look they were shiny and looked more like ice. Geoff decided to collect a bit and then got talking to some guys who worked as contractors for the military exploding unexploded ordinance on the defence force ranges close by. They had seen the salt lake from the other side and had decided to come and see it from this side as well. They told Geoff there was a train coming so Geoff stayed to take some photos hoping it might be The Ghan but it was just a freight train. Although, it was a very long freight train with 2 diesel engines in the front and then a carriage followed by 125 wagons and another diesel engine pushing from the rear.
It was a good spot for lunch and we talked to another traveller who had two King Charles Cavalier Spaniels with him and we thought of little Mia.
Time to move on with no more detours and arrive at Port Augusta around 4pm. Geoff picked up his new oil cap, we topped up on fuel (Woolies 15¢ discount … nice) and supplies and then headed off towards Quorn and the Flinders Ranges. We only went about 15 kms and stopped at the first overnight rest area along with three other vehicles. Chatted to a couple travelling with a little Jack Russell called Micky. See how I always remember the dog’s name but never the owners!
The rest of the day was spent on doing the normal property chores so nothing else to write about.
Thursday, 12th October 2013
Geoff went up on the roof of the motorhome this morning to check the ohms value of a component called a thermistor. According to the manual, at 31º it should have read 8 ohms but was 3.68 ohms so this leads us to believe that we need a new thermistor. Trying to find someone who sells them in Darwin is another thing entirely. Although Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory it has more of a feel about it to a large rural Vic/NSW city. Things are hard to get and very expensive up here. Even though it was early, Geoff said it was very hot up on the roof. I expect the heat was radiating off the white metal up there. Whilst he was up there he coated the thermistor with thermal paste but it hasn’t worked. The air conditioner still works but cuts out after 15/20 minutes. You can start it up again within about 30 seconds and it will run for another 15 o minutes.
We also received a call from Rebecca from the magazine ‘Caravan and Motorhome on Tour’ as I had enquire about writing articles for them. She went through what they expected of the format etc. and I said I would send her some drafts of articles of ours that had been published. She emailed straight back and said the she and the production manager had browsed through them and thought they were great and offered us a contract to write for them which is fantastic. We had the choice of a ‘freelance contract’ or a ‘hobbyist contract’ so we have opted for the
hobbyist contract’ as we have no Australian ABN No and will only be writing 2 or 3 a year. Enough to pay for the insurance so we are very happy. She said she would email the contracts next week.
The rest of the day was just a normal day for us again!
Friday, 13th September 2013
Another ‘not very interesting’ day!
I put some washing on and then we headed for Palmerston as we needed to get some food supplies and a few other bits and pieces. Geoff bought a few maintenance items from various places including a carpet runner for the van to lay in front of the sink/oven area. We find that when we drop things like knives it makes an indent in the floor covering so think this might stop this happening. We were unable to get a waterproof thermistor, as we thought.
Back to the van and just fiddle around for the rest of the day.
Saturday, 14th September 2013 - Maz at Fannie Bay an Geoff still at Herbert
Up at 7.30, shower, brekky and finish the last bit of my packing. After the animals were fed we loaded up the car with my e-bike, clothes and some food an headed off to Fannie Bay. We got there about 9.30 an had a cuppa then Robyn took us on a quick trip to the Parap Market as she wanted to buy a couple of smoothies. She also treated us to Chicken Laksa for a really early lunch. The Laksa was very nice but Geoff said he preferred mine as it was creamier. Thanks Geoff.
Jim an Robyn seemed very disorganised really, seeing as they were flying out to Thailand that afternoon. She still had to get her visa passport photos for their Vietnam visa, go out and buy dog food etc. but they got it all done Geoff left about noon and rang later to say he had bought a thermistor from Jaycar (not moisture proof) that might do until we get a better one. He will work on it over the next few days.
When he got back he said the dogs were confused as I was not there and seemed a bit subdued.
Robyn and Jim left with friends at 4 pm an then I was on my own. I poked around familiarising myself where she kept everything, dried and put away the washing up and checked out the fridge. I had brought some food stuff with me but will have to go shopping on Monday.
Just before 6 pm, when it had cooled own a bit, I took Smudge out for his daily evening walk through the park and back down to the beach. When I got back I had a light tea as I had eaten the Laksa for lunch.
Geoff rang again at 7.30, which was nice.
I didn’t sleep very well at all so read for a couple of hours. I had the ceiling fan on, the pedestal fan on and I was still hot so I eventually had to put the air conditioner on low as well and eventually got some sleep.
When I got up I rang Geoff and chatted for a while and he something is definitely missing when I’m not there … ditto Geoff!
Cooked bacon and eggs and wondered what I was going to do with my day. It’s not much fun doing it alone and I, personally, get lethargic when Geoff’s not around. So I swept, typed up my journal, read my eBook and swam etc.
About 5 pm I took Smudge for a walk. It was still a little hot at 5pm so might leave it a bit later tomorrow. Had a microwave Massamum Curry for dinner. Tasty, plenty of rice and sauce but only 4 pieces of chicken so it was a good job I added a lot of veggies on the side!
Monday, 16th September 2013 - Maz at Fannie Bay & Geoff at Herbert … Day 126 of the Around Oz trip
Another fitful night. I must be missing Geoff plus I was warm again. Once again, I had to put to put the A/Con on low. Plus Fazela came home in the early hours, about 2 am, and made a bit of noise. There is only a light wall and a sliding door between my bedroom and the kitchen and her fridge and pantry cupboard is right up against this door. She really wasn’t noisy but noise carries so much in the dead of the night plus the kitchen light seeped in the bedroom around the sliding door. As I am such a light sleeper, this was enough to wake me up.
I fiddled around, once again, doing chores like putting the bins out, watering the pot plants and feeding the fish which didn’t take too long. .
Geoff arrived at 1.45 and said he had been very busy making sure everything was spic and span for when Rusty and Alana come back. He also said the air conditioner was still working ok which is really good news.
After a cold drink we headed off on the scooter to Woolworths at Nightcliff to get a few more supplies in for me as the cupboard was almost bare. It was 7 minutes on the bike and I soon had enough to tide me over so we headed back. Geoff relaxed for a while and then we took Smudge for a walk and we had a look at the gun emplacements that were left over from WW11 that was in the park (ex golf course).
When we got back we had dinner and then it was back on the scooter for the 10 minute trip to the Deckchair Theatre to see Terence Stamp in the comedy/drama ‘Song for Marion’. What a great movie. Some laughs but mostly tears. Very poignant and very sad … the Poms certainly know how to make a great movie. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place when the movie finished.
Back to Fannie Bay where Geoff grabbed a cuppa and then headed back to Herbert. I asked him to text me when he got back as it was dark and about 46 kms back to Herbert, so he did. Now I can sleep peacefully!
Tuesday, 17th September 2013 - Fannie Bay & Herbert
Just house sitting chores today and fiddle around. Noting to report!
Wednesday, 18th September 2013 - Fannie Bay & Herbert
Got a text from Centrelink asking me to call, so I did. They have sorted out a job provider for me in Darwin and an appointment on Friday so I also made an appointment to go to the doctors just before.
Geoff arrived after lunch and we slowly backed the motorhome into the limited space we had for it. We needed eyes everywhere and, of course, we couldn’t have eyes everywhere so Geoff clipped the slide mirror and broke the light there. Bumma!
We then had to find a spot for him to plug, in which was a bit hard, as the only outside power point was a really long run. One of the rooms they used for storage had louver windows and a large hole in the fly screen so we were able to thread it through and plug in to the power point there. I made lunch and a cuppa and asked how Rusty and Alana were and Geoff said they were good. They were pleased with the garden, the pig tyre, the chooks being out and the new goldfish. They also said we could go and stay for another couple of days if we need to. So nice.
We then had to find a spot for him to plug, in which was a bit hard, as the only outside power point was a really long run. One of the rooms they used for storage had louver windows and a large hole in the fly screen so we were able to thread it through and plug in to the power point there. I made lunch and a cuppa and asked how Rusty and Alana were and Geoff said they were good. They were pleased with the garden, the pig tyre, the chooks being out and the new goldfish. They also said we could go and stay for another couple of days if we need to. So nice.
Geoff then went out on the scooter to order a new side mirror light. It has to come from Sydney and cost $96 … ouch! A bit of a rip off really.
After a dip in the pool we took Smudge for a walk around 6pm which was a much cooler time to take him with a lovely sea breeze blowing. After a tea of left overs Wyn rang so we had a nice chat and then Geoff took all of the heavy stuff off the motorhome ready for its road worthy test tomorrow.
Thursday, 19th September 2013 - Fannie Bay
Another warm night. I tried turning the air conditioner down a bit but it was a no go as I was soon very uncomfortable so back up it went. Geoff had stayed in the motorhome and he said he was very hot too and he had both fans on plus the air conditioner for a little while.
Geoff went off to the vehicle testing station to get the road worthy done on the motorhome but he was back around 11 am with a fail. That bloody hand brake again so then Geoff had to start looking for a Fiat dealer who can fix it properly. We had it ‘fixed’ in Bundy before we left which actually made it much worse. We found a Fiat Service Centre, Barramundi Motors, in Winnellie and they sounded like they knew what they were doing and Geoff was feeling confident so booked it in for 8.30 in the morning. We had taken the scooter rack off when he took it to the vehicle testing place so we had to then put it back on so he could get back tomorrow. By the time we had done this we were dripping with perspiration so it was into the pool to cool off and then take Smudge for his evening walk.
Friday, 20th September 2013 - Fannie Bay
Up early to remove the stuff from the fridge and freezer in the motorhome and pop it in Fazela’s freezer, just in case the van has to stay over the weekend. Then Geoff was off to Barramundi Motors with it and was soon back on the scooter. After a cool drink and a bit of a relax we were back on the scooter for my doctors appointment to see if I could get a medical certificate for my Morton Neuroma in my feet, my arthritic hands and the mid-foot arthritis in my right foot. What a disappointment as he could only give me a certificate for a couple
of weeks and not 3 months as he needed my medical records. I signed a form that was faxed to Gladstone requesting them as I had only been to the doctors once in Bundy, and not for arthritis. Afterwards I realised that I should have asked for my medical records from Bright in Victoria as well, as this was when my complaints started rearing their ugly head. Bumma! Never mind, I will pop back another day and get them organised.
From here we ventured into the large Casuarina Shopping Centre for lunch, Sushi for me and Thai Crispy Fish for Geoff. These were tiny little fish the length of my little finger that were deep fried , still with their heads on. Bleh! From here it was my appointment with my job provider up here who was very helpful. Geoff had left me there and gone to pick up the motorhome as he had received a call saying it was ready. He went straight from there to the vehicle testing facility and, once again, it failed the hand brake test. Grrrrr! We’ve just had it fixed! So, it is booked back in tomorrow to have the drums looked at.
Geoff picked me up and it was back to Fannie Bay and a late walk for Smudge. We took him to a smaller and greener park where he was like a puppy running here and there and making friends with a couple of cute dogs behind their back yard fences.
Saturday, 21st September 2013
After brekky we went out to have a better look at the Parap Market as we had only had a quick glimpse when we were there before with Robyn. The prices were quite steep, especially for a market, so we only bought tomatoes, bananas and some Scottish kippers. We are finding things very expensive up here and certainly couldn’t live up here on a pension. Milk and bread is a standard price but fresh meat, poultry and fresh vegetable and fruit are much higher. So are the restaurants which charge about $10 more per meal than down south. Never mind!
The rest of the day was spent relaxing, swimming in the pool, watering the garden, moving fallen palm fronds, feeding the goldfish and then taking Smudge for his evening walk.
Sunday, 22nd September 2013
Bacon and Eggs this morning. It was a bit overcast to start so we took the opportunity to go up to the East Arm on the bikes. Robyn and Jim’s bikes were really big bikes and I thought it would be really hard for me to get on and off so we decided I would take my e-bike and Geoff would take Robyn’s. I put my e-bike onto pedal assist so I could get a little bit of exercise. I must say I prefer the pedal assist mode to the complete electric mode, and I must say the hills were a breeze! “Viva la electric bike” I say! All along the cliffs were the remnants 0f WW11 gun emplacements and war relics, all with interps signs (some very faded). Eventually we arrived at the East Arm Military Museum which was $11 each seniors concession entry, so in we went. We spent quite a lot of time wandering around. It was a small but very well laid out museum with lots to look at and read about with both internal and external displays. After a while our feet started to ache so we sat in the café and had a coffee (nice and hot, I love HOT coffee) and then checked out the external displays. Geoff, cheekily, got a locals free pass to go back later and look some more.
We left there and wandered around one of the large gun emplacements which reminded us of the movie ‘The Guns of Navarone’ and then we cycled back.
By this time the clouds had burnt off and it was a scorcher again so we went back to the house for a long cold drink and lunch. Later it was a dip in the pool and house sit chores again and Smudge’s walk.
Monday, 21st September 2013
I didn’t sleep well as my arthritic foot throbbed most of the night. Geoff took the motorhome back to Barramundi Motors to leave it there overnight and then came back for brekky. He had those smelly kippers … pooh!
We were soon out again on the scooter and stopped at the Yacht Shop on route where Geoff found a pair of the boat shoes he likes on special so bought a pair. He bought the original pair in Townsville in 2005, I think, so they lasted him well. The old pair were on their last legs when Peki decided to finish them off.
Onto the WW11 Oil Storage Tunnels where it cost $6 each to go in after listening to a talk from the guide. There are two of the eleven tunnels on show, one being Tunnel No 10 which is 177 metres long, about 5 metres high and wide. Along this tunnel were some really good interps signs showing Darwin at War and we found them fascinating. This tunnel eventually came out to a barred entrance in the car park of the Deckchair Theatre. For more info click on the following link http://www.waterfront.nt.gov.au/darwin-waterfront-precinct/history/world-war-ii-tunnells/
When we came out we were really thirsty so we wandered over to the Irish Pub nearby and ordered two Lemon, Lime and Bitters from an actual Irish lady. That figures … all the Irish colleens are over here and the pubs in Ireland are staffed by the Polish! Very refreshing.
Back to Fannie Bay where we had a really late light snack lunch and then Geoff went for a Nanonap and I took Smudge for his walk alone … a very short walk but he probably didn't notice.
Tuesday, 22nd September 2013
We waited for a call from Barramundi Motors but non came so Geoff went off to see what was happening. He gave me a call and they said they had found the drums were glazed so they de-glazed them and he was now waiting in the queue to go through the vehicle testing procedure again. When he arrived back with it he said it had failed again so we are getting to our wits end. Poor Geoff was on the phone to other places to see if we could find someone who could help. Geoff has to do it all of course as I know nothing about mechanical things. We really don’t need this stress. We had been blaming the vehicle testing ‘rolling road’ as Fiat say not to put the handbrake on when the vehicle is in motion so we decided to go out in it and find a hill to test it ourselves. We found a decent medium sized hill and pulled the handbrake on and it definitely would not hold so Geoff cranked it up as much as he could and it still wouldn’t hold so the testing facility is correct to fail it. We continued on back to Barramundi Motors and parked in their forecourt on a very small incline and it still wouldn’t hold unless you pulled it on with all your might. The customer technician went out and sat in the passenger seat to see for himself and agreed it wasn’t good and said “not to worry” and to bring it back in the morning and he would see the boss to work out a good deal for us. The only thing they now have to check is whether the cables are stretched. They were also going to talk to Fiat directly so we are hoping they will eventually be able to fix it properly. He asked us to check whether it would hold nose down on a hill on our way back so we did, and the answer was No.
Around 5pm Mia, Robyn’s daughter, came to take Smudge to the vet’s for his normal jabs. When she came back she said the vet had noticed Smudge had quite a lot of ticks (non parasitic) so he had a jab for that too and then a special bath. Mia said they would then dry and just drop off. I asked if she could find one to show me what they looked like, which she did, so I will be extra vigilant from now on. Poor Smudge.
Wednesday, 23rd September 2013
Geoff was up early again to take the motorhome back to Barramundi Motors, yet again! It is very depressing.
We spent some of the morning sorting out the access and updating our e-health records as we went into Medicare the other day and she sorted it all out for us. And really, that was the morning gone!
After lunch we went off on the bikes down the esplanade to the Fannie Bay Gaol which had a free entry. It was quite interesting and only closed as a gaol in 1976. The laundry was completely destroyed during Cyclone Tracy and the infirmary had its roof blown off. The gaol was built in 1882 and the original cells were intriguing and some still had the chain shackles on the wall. They were small cells with very narrow doors and you wouldn’t have wanted to be the size of some modern day people or you would have got stuck. We thought it deserved a donation of $5, which is generous for us cheap skates, and we also signed the visitors book.
Whilst we were there we got a call from Gerry and Celia (Mululu … also lost same time as our boat) and they are now living in a caravan down in Maryborough. It was really good to catch up and hear what they had been up to. Back to the house for a very late lunch and then it was into the pool and then water the garden and relax for a bit before taking Smudge for his walk. This time we took him down to the beach as the tide was out so it made a nice change.
Thursday, 26th September 2013
Another warm night and another morning picking ticks off Smudge. After a slow start to the day we went off on the scooter to the museum, which was on the way to town. After a false start (Geoff thought he knew where he was going) we eventually found the place and it came with a nice bonus … it was free entry! Although small compared to other capital cities it was surprisingly good. They had chosen their exhibits well and displayed them with some thought. Of course, for us, the best exhibit was on Cyclone Tracy. I had a lump in my throat at the finish and I realised that what we went with ex Tropical Cyclone Oswald was nothing compared to what the people of Darwin went through on that fateful day. Mind you, when I was reading about the boats and lives that were lost I had a tear in my eye for them and one for myself too! To see more information on the museum click on the following link http://www.ntsearch.com.au/darwin/attractions/fannie-bay-gaol-museum.asp
The rest of the day was spent trying to sort out my Centrelink stuff. Everyone in Centrelink is very helpful but when one of them sorts one problem it seems to cause another. The last service officer had ticked my new address was permanent which triggered that I was now a NT resident and would be issued with an ‘Income Management’ card. The new officer put it back to ‘temporary’ which put me back to normal payments. But then, later, I got a text message saying my new Job provider as in Gin Gin, near Bundy. So I will see what happens. We also popped into the doctors and got a form signed to get my medical records from Bright so I hope they arrive in time. I am hoping I will be able to take them with me but I am not sure if I can although, as far as I’m concerned, they are my records, not theirs.
Checked with Barramundi Motors and they had not worked on 2AB2 today as they were waiting to get her up on the hoist. Maryanne rang and we had a lovely long natter.
Back to the house to pick more horrible ticks off Smudge. Mia popped round to see how he was and I killed about 20 ticks on the path whilst we were talking. What hope have we got to control them?
Friday, 27th September 2013
Today we headed out for some site seeing and our first stop was Nighcliff to Rapid Creek via Nakara which looked out across the Beagle Gulf. Bernie, a good friend from paragliding days, rang whilst we were there and we had a really long chat. It was great to catch up again.
From here we continued on past Brinkin and up to the Casuarina Coastal Reserve to Lee Point. Alas, it wasn’t one of the most scenic beaches we have visited but it was the most northern part of Australia we were going to visit whilst we had the motorhome.
Onto the Casuarina Shopping Centre to grab some lunch and a drink and check out the bits we hadn’t seen previously and grab a few supplies and then it was back to Fannie Bay for a swim.
Chatted to Michelle down in Victoria and Gerry in the UK via Facebook, great to catch up. We then received a text from Barramundi Motors saying the motorhome was ready to pick up so we will go and get her tomorrow and keep our fingers crossed.
Saturday, 28th September 2013
Up around 8am, shower, coffee (very important) and then off on the scooter to pick up the motorhome. They said they had checked her on a hill and everything was now fixed. They only charged us $145 for three hours work this time as they felt sorry for us but, all up, she has cost us $666. Well worth it if they have really fixed it. We left the scooter there and headed off for our two favourite hills. On the medium hill she held on 4 clicks of the hand brake and on the steep hill she held with 7 clicks which we were very happy with. Alas, the vehicle testing station was closed so we couldn’t get her tested until Monday so it is still ‘fingers crossed’.
Back to load up the scooter and back to Fannie Bay for lunch.
In the afternoon Geoff changed the oil on the scooter. It has been 6 months since it had its first service in Bundy and we've done 1800 kms since using it as our ‘land dinghy’ and 2250 kms since purchase. Wow!
Sunday, 29th September 2013
Bacon and eggs for brekky and then put Lamb Shanks on in the slow cooker for dinner later. I did the clothes washing and then we started work on the floor covering/sun shade that goes on the grass/dirt outside the motorhome. We had bought a green sunshade from Dollars and Sense that measured 6m x 1.8m and we had also bought two 1.8m aluminium flat bars to sew into it to weigh it down. Geoff cut the bars into two pieces about 800 mm long whilst I tacked the edges of the sun shade to make it neat. I then sewed a pocket seam with green whipping twine which we inserted the bars into. I then sewed them into place. Now we can fold the sun shade in half and easily roll it up for storage. Geoff is also going to drill holes in the aluminium bars so we can peg it down.
By this time we were peckish but we only ate light nibbles and then Geoff went in for a dip whilst I relaxed in the back patio area and read with the large fan blowing on me.
Yummy, yummy Lamb Shanks for tea. My favourite meal!
Monday, 30th September 2013
Up at 8am, coffee, quick brekky and off to the vehicle testing station with the motorhome. We had a short wait whilst they tested a trailer ahead of us and it was our turn. Ours was a quick job as they only had to test the hand brake on the axle that failed last time. Not this time ~ At last, she passed with flying colours so that is a big weight off our backs. To say we were relieved would be an under statement! So, over to the office to pay our dues, $93.50, and then pick up our road worthy certificate and back to the house for a cuppa. Then it was on the scooter to Parap to send the RWC by registered mail to Brisbane. It has to be there by 22nd Oct
so it should get there with plenty of time. We have kept a photo copy just in case!
Back to Fannie Bay and back the motorhome into the front garden … a very tight fit and then Geoff started taking things down (unscrewing shelves etc.) in preparation of painting the wall in the dinette area. I watered the back garden whilst he was doing this and the front still needs doing. Time to take Smudge for his walk and then get dinner cooked.
Tuesday, 1st October 2013 - Fannie Ba, Northern Territory … Day 141 of our Trip around Oz
Geoff finished off proof reading my journal and I got it emailed off and then updated my blog. I then started the article on house sitting for the ‘Caravan and Motorhome on Tour’ magazine. Basically, I got it nutted out and typed up and have about 10 days to get it up to my satisfaction.
Geoff went out to the van and painted the dinette wall Persimmon, yep, first our flat in Bright then the saloon wall in the boat and now the van. You can see we really like this colour. It looked good until he pulled the masking tape off when it took some of the paint off as well. Bumma … so he went off to Bunning’s to get some artist brushes to touch it up tomorrow.
Whilst he was away I took Smudge for his daily walk and that was it for the day!
Geoff was out to the motorhome again putting the finishing touches to the painting and it looks fresh and nice.
I did some more work on my article, did some washing and then went out to the motorhome to give it a good clean. Found Geoff had spilt some ‘spray and wipe’ on the bed linen so had more washing to do! Men!
Swim, Smudge walk, cook tea and that was it for the day, once again!
Off to Centrelink again for my 10.35 appointment. The lady there called in her supervisor and they discussed my case. I’m not really sure whether anything has been resolved or not but she says I should try and sort it when I get the South Australia. My medical records still haven’t arrived yet which is a pain. Popped into the supermarket before heading back to the house.
Geoff went out later to try to buy a trickle charger for the Fiat battery but came back with a solar panel for it which he said he could return if it didn't work. He tested it and says it is not going to do the job so he will return it tomorrow. Geoff then watered the front garden and did the back and Geoff had a cool dip in the pool.
Mia popped round about 5pm to start Jim’s car but the battery was flat so she had to jump start it and then left it running for a while. Whilst she was doing this I started to get dinner prepared and Geoff took Smudge for a quick walk. They got back just in time as a big storm rolled through. Loud and close thunder and lightning and torrential rain and one very scared dog! Poor Smudge! Maybe this is the start of the ‘build up’ or the wet. And, we needn’t have watered the garden as it got a really good soaking.
Baked fish for dinner, made a lovely change.
Friday, 4th October 2013
Geoff went off to return the solar panel trickle charger and came back with a proper c-tek trickle charger s0 he spent the rest of the morning installing it. I spent the morning putting all of the photos together and adding their captions for our magazine article and tidying up the actual article a little. There’s not much to do on it now. It just needs Geoff to check it for me and burn it to a CD so I can send it off. They like it on CD but I can send the article by email as well, which I will do.
After lunch Geoff took me to BCF to see if they had nay sandals in my size yet. No, still only size seven and tens so I will make do with what I have, which isn’t much. We also wandered through Spotlight and Rivers before popping into the supermarket for a few bits. When we are on the scooter, we are limited to what we can carry so it is a little each time.
When we got back Geoff went in for a swim but the midges were bad so I got driven inside. But first, it was clean up the palm fronds from the storm last might. There is quite a pile of them to be disposed of when Jim gets back!
Not much to report anymore as we have done all of the touristy things that interest us. Maybe we will go to the Rapid Creek and Nightcliff markets tomorrow.
Saturday, 5th October 2013
We were woken up at midnight by Fazela who was on her phone. She had the door to her rooms open so her voice was echoing through the house as she was almost shouting. I got up and closed her door and then it was fine. Then I didn’t wake up till 9.30 so I sat in my PJ’s watching the pomp and ceremony on the TV of the International Fleet Review From Sydney. We saw lots of places we had sailed and anchored with 2AB and it brought back memories of taking friends on a harbour cruise when we were there. 2AB might be gone but memories stay forever. It made me think of all of our sailing friends who still have their big sailing adventure ahead of them. Go for it guys!
Today we just fiddled around. Geoff worked on my article and then did a bit of web surfing, so did I. We then took Smudge for a long walk and watered the back and front gardens when we got back.
Geoff went off to get fish’n chips for tea which was a nice welcome change not to have to cook … but fattening!
Sunday, 6th October 2013
I didn’t sleep very well as there was a lot of noise round and about outside. Saturday night, I suppose.
Up at 7am, shower and head off to watch the start of the Darwin to Adelaide Solar Car Challenge. There were 39 solar cars entered and they came from countries all over the world. We had often seen this event on the TV wherever we had been at the time so it was good to be able to see it in actuality. Geoff got some reasonable photos and then we jumped on the scooter to try to catch them on Tiger Brennan Drive on their way to the Stuart Highway. Well, we saw one … whether they were caught up in the city traffic or were too fast for us we will never know, but at least we got to see most of them at the start.
From here it was on to Macca’s to have the McMuffin breakfast using a shopadocket where you got two for the price of one. I ate 1⅓ and Geoff ate the rest. $8.40 for four bacon and egg McMuffins and two complimentary ‘seniors’ coffees. You can’t complain at that!
Back on the scooter and visit the Rapid Creek Sunday Market. It was, predominantly, Asian fresh produce, food and massage and very crowded. I think my sister Glynn would have loved it! Plus it was expensive even though we had been told it was cheap to Darwin standards. $6.50 for a pineapple when the same thing would cost 60 cents in Bundy, if you knew where to go, that is. So, we decided to have a look at the Nightcliff Market which was totally different again and much more to our taste. It was very colourful with wide spaces between stalls with imported and hand crafted items … nice stuff … alas, nowhere to put it.
When we got back to Fannie Bay we found Mia there. She was pulling yet more ticks off of Smudge, as we do every day. We had a cool drink and she said she would come back later to put Jim’s car on a trickle charger as it still wouldn’t start.
Time for a swim and Geoff cleaned the bottom of the pool. Nice and refreshing and then it was off with Smudge on his daily walk.
Monday, 7th October 2013
We slept well and got up late. I did the washing and just fiddled around. I rang the vet to check that I was doing all I could for poor Smudge and his ticks and the answer was yes. They said he could come in for another jab and, unbeknown to me, Mia had also rang the vet and had organised it. Good on her! I also went on the web to read all about them and it seems that you have to tackle the ticks in the garden at the same time. Robyn and Jim come back on Friday so they will be able to tackle all that stuff then. So, until then, we will continue to give him the ‘once over’ every day and pick the bloody things off! Mia was coming in the afternoon to take Smudge back to the vets.
I rang the Medical centre and it looks like my relevant medical records on my hand and foot have arrived from Bright so I made an appointment and off we went on the scooter. I don’t know why I bothered as the records were on my left foot and I now had trouble with my right one and I had previously told him that I hadn’t had that one looked at. Once again I tried to tell him about my thumbs, little fingers and Morton’s Neuroma and, once again, he just ignored me. He wanted me to get an x-ray on my right foot in the morning and come back which was fine to me as I also wanted to know what was happening to it. I really don’t like this doctor!
After my appointment we made our way to the Casuarina Shopping Centre and got to Australia Post with seconds to spare and bought a DVD pack and mailed off the article and photos to “Caravan and Motorhome on Tour’. We then popped into Coles to pick up a few bits. It was the nearest supermarket but I much prefer Woolworths.
Then it was back to Fannie Bay to cook Seafood Stir Fry for tea … yum.
Tuesday, 8th October 2013
After a shower and brekky we headed of to Territory X-Ray which was right next door to Office Works so Geoff went in to browse whilst I had my x-rays done. It didn’t take long and then we went back into Office Works as Geoff said they had black storage Ottomans on special as mine was broken.
When we got back to Fannie Bay, Geoff went off on my e-bike to use up his ‘locals pass’ in the Military Museum. When he returned he said there was a lot more to see that we had missed the first time. More gun turrets and displays etc. He was back around 1pm, in time for some lunch.
It seems much hotter today and the perspiration is just dripping of us and knocking us about a little bit. It is a good job we are heading south soon. Even though it is much hotter in Alice Springs, around 38ºC, it is much cooler at night so we should be ok to sleep.
Geoff has been researching the air conditioning system and has spoken to Air Command, who make it, and we can install a kit that allows it to run on the generator, at least during the day. Night time might be a problem as you don’t want to annoy your neighbours too much. So Geoff paid for it and it will be delivered to the Post Office in Alice Springs.
Time for us to water the garden and then go for a swim. Whilst we were in the pool we had a rain shower s, once again, we needn’t have watered.
Wednesday, 9th October 2013
Sally rang this morning and we had a really long chat which was great. We seem to be on the phone for ages but we can never remember what we talked about. Just chat!
Very humid again and I think it is definitely the start of the ‘build up’. Drip, drip! And, poor Geoff has a cold!
Spent some time sending off some emails and then it was time for my doctors appointment where he will look at the x-rays. Hmmm, seems I have mild osteo-arthritis in my right foot … I could have told him that without the x-rays. If this is ‘mild’ I am not looking forward to it getting worse! But he did give me a script for Panadol -Osteo which I can take when it was playing up. It will be good for when my thumbs play up too! Once again I tried to give him the overall picture on my complaints but it went in one ear and out the other. I am glad he is not my regular doctor. Anyway, he still only gave me a three week certificate which I dropped of into Centrelink. I have my x-rays and his report so I can go to the doctors in Alice if needs be.
From here we went to the shopping centre to get my script filled , get a very short hair cut that will last me about 3 months, four cheap sleeveless tops from Kmart and a few other bits and pieces.
Back to Fannie Bay where I spent the afternoon cleaning the fridge and sorting our stuff out from theirs, packing, changing the bed and getting the linen in the wash etc.
Drip, drip so into the pool for both of us. The water in the pool was quite warm but still nice. Whilst I got tea ready Geoff took Smudge for his walk. Mia also turned up to start Jim’s car. It wouldn’t start for Geoff but started first time for her.
Thursday, 10th October 2013
Geoff’s cold is getting worse so I made an appointment for him to see a doctor at 1.15 am (a different doctor) as the specialist had told Geoff that he must go to a doctor if he ever gets a cold. When we got there he was another Indian doctor (left Mumbai in 1981) but what a difference! This doctor was excellent and very thorough. Luckily Geoff had a virus and not an infection so no antibiotics. He said Geoff was wise to go to him, what with the problems he has with his lungs these days. He said that 2 teaspoons (and not less) of organic or Manuka honey was a much better remedy for a cough than cough medicine, which was interesting. Plus, the old remedy of a steam bowl with a little Eucalyptus oil was still the way to go to open everything up. He also seemed to know all about Scleroderma and gave some hints on how to stop his fingers ulcerating. Geoff was very impressed with him and I wish I had found this one first.
When we came out of the doctors to get on the scooter we noticed two rockets on display outside of the RAAF base there. Geoff recognised them straight away from a Corgi toy he had as a kid. He couldn’t remember the name of them so we wandered over to have a look. They were Bloodhounds and were in operation during the 1950/60’s. Geoff remembers saving his pocket money and buying his toy model from Gamleys Toy Shop in Eastbourne when he was about 10 years old.
From here we did a short detour to Parap to our favourite Gourmet Supermarket to buy some certified organic honey, from King Island, and some meat from the butcher and it was then back to Fannie Bay where Geoff had a nap.
I continued cleaning and by the time I had finished the perspiration was once again, dripping off the end of my nose. I made a couple of egg and tomato rolls for lunch and then Geoff used the leaf blower outside. But it was so windy he might not have bothered! I continued on cleaning the house and the van but constantly stopping for a cold drink. All the lounge and ceiling fans are going full bore. And I see that Alice is going to be around 40ºC … isn’t that going to be fun!
Friday, 11th October 2013
Jim and Robyn got in about 5.45 am, not sure the exact time. Smudge said hello to them as if they had just popped down the shop. Funny little thing! They went off to bed and Smudge came back in with us. We got up at 8am and Jim surfaced very soon after, which surprised us as we thought he would have slept in. Mia popped round so Robyn got up as well. We chatted all morning whilst they did a few chores … washing, fitting bike punctures etc. In the afternoon, tiredness caught up with Jim so he went off for a snooze. Later I made up a potato, Waldorf and mixed salad and got things ready for the BBQ. Jim, Robyn and Geoff took Smudge off for a walk whilst I cleared up my mess. When they got back we all went in for a dip.
Mia also arrived and also went in and then Jim cooked the meat on the BBQ and we all ate well. After dinner we taught them the game of Farkle which I think they enjoyed. It is such a cheap, easy and enjoyable little game.
Saturday, 12th October 2013 Fannie Bay to Herbert … eventually!
Jim cooked up some eggs and bacon for brekky and then we started to pack all the stuff back into the motorhome. By 10.30 am we had said goodbye to Fazela and got in the van. Geoff turned over the engine but nothing happened. Plenty of battery power but it just wouldn’t start! Bumma, so Geoff started to check things out. He eventually got round to checking the fuses and found, what we call, sugar ants all through the fuse box. Even so, the fuses all checked out ok so Geoff rang Fiat Roadside Assist who said that it was probably a relay or the fuel pump. Geoff borrowed a relay from somewhere else and swapped it over and the engine coughed into life so he drove it out onto the street to put the scooter on the back. Jim then took him out to buy a couple of new relays, one of which he fitted when he got back. This had taken an hour overall so we all went in to have a cold drink and say our goodbyes again. Back into the van, turn the key, same thing! Bugga … it was a really hot day to be mucking around in the full sun. I was shading Geoff with the huge BCF gold umbrella we had recently bought. Jim and Geoff eventually took the whole fuse/relay box out and took it to the house. Jim took a photo so they knew how to put it all back together and then Geoff gave it a thorough clean and got rid of all the ants. He then re-installed it, I turned the key and still nothing! I did it about four times and we were really starting to worry but Geoff got in and it started. We think it just took a while for the vehicle computer to reset itself. We left it running, went in again for another cold drink and another set of goodbyes and went out again. Geoff turned it on and off a few times and then felt it was safe to leave, four and a half hours late. Luckily we were only going to Herbert overnight.
We stopped at Palmerston on the way for Geoff to pick up some slime for a slow puncture we had. We were hoping to get it fixed on the way but it was now Saturday afternoon and all the tyre repair places were now closed. We also stopped at Coolalinga for fuel, both times the engine started up ok.
We arrived at Alana and Rusty’s about 4.30 and Peki and Zula came running to greet us with Peki squealing and whimpering with delight. So sweet, they really remembered us! We were soon plugged in and having a cold drink with Rusty and Alana and then we fed Winston his treat. I had been saving crusts for him since we had been in Fannie Bay. Time to cook tea and then it was back on the verandah where we taught Rusty and Alana how to play Mexican Train Dominoes. We think they really enjoyed it and we drank a lot of their Amarillo (like Baileys Irish Cream but South African). Great night and great hosts.
Sunday, 13th October 2013 - Herbert to Edith Falls
Rusty cooked bacon and eggs this morning. That’s two cooked breakfasts in a row! Thanks guys!
I went and fed Winston the second lot of crusts. He really enjoys his treats and bread is one of them. The three chooks are really big now and one of them is a male and he is trying to teach himself how to crow. The cock is called Nando, and the two girls are called Red (as in Red Rooster) and the other is called The Colonel (KFC) even though she is a girl! They let them roam free the whole day now, even when they are out at work. The chooks even tried to go for a walk with Rusty, Alana and the dogs the other day. The goldfish are also thriving.
Geoff put the slime in the tyre, hoping it would help, and we were off by 9.30 (the engine started), but only as far as Humpty Doo to buy meat and a few bits. We left Humpty Doo about 10.15 and headed south. When we got to Adelaide River we stopped off to look at the war graves there. These were very well kept, as these places normally are. The youngest grave I found was an 18 year old and the oldest a 39 year old. Geoff got quite emotional! Sook!
From here we continued on to Pine Creek where we stopped to make lunch and have a cuppa and then it was down to Edith Falls again for an overnight stop. This time it was a very different Edith Falls than on the way up. Only a few campers and lots of places to park as it was now at the end of the season. By this time it was debilitating hot so we sat outside under the awning drinking copious amounts of ice cold fluids. Eventually we managed to get enough oomph to wander down to the falls for a swim. This time the water was warm so you could just walk straight in without the ‘brrrrr factor’. We stayed in for quite a while and when we did eventually get out we felt really refreshed. We walked back while we were still soaking wet so we stayed cool.
Once again we sat under the awning drinking more fluids. We then chatted to a guy who wandered by, Chris, who was having trouble charging his Kindle e-book so Geoff put it onto our inverter for him. Geoff thinks he is trying to charge it using a modified sine wave charger and not a pure sine wave one. It was fully charged when he came to pick it up at 8pm. Almost time for bed so I went over to the amenities to do what you normally do in these places. As I flushed I saw there was a green tree frog in the bowl but it was too late, the loo was already flushing. The poor little thing had to hang on like mad but he made it! Sorry frog!
Monday, 14th October, 2013 - Edith Falls to Mataranka during the day.
A very hot night so I was very uncomfortable and didn’t get much sleep. After brekky Geoff pumped up our tyre and we packed up and left Edith Falls until next time and said goodbye to Chris as we passed. We drove onto Katherine, getting there around 10am and found Beaurepaire Tyres and they were able to fit us in. We had two hours to waste but we were, luckily, in the centre of town so off we went. It turned out to be a costly exercise as I needed an adjustable bra as the four new tops I had bought at Kmart had cut out backs and I hate my bra showing … trashy! I bought that (not cheap), then I bought another pair of ‘clip on’ sunglasses as the ones I had bought in Mt Isa had snapped. Then I went into Target and found some board shorts bathers and, on the way back, Geoff bought a snorkel. But they were all things that were on our list so were not ‘impulse’ buys.
When we got back the puncture was fixed, $35 so not too bad. We then tried to find someone who could look at our fridge as it was getting up to over 15º during the day. There was nobody in Katherine so we will have to wait until Alice and hope for the best.
Back on the road to drive to Mataranka where we booked into the Mataranka Homestead on a powered site for two nights so we can have the A/Con on and get some sleep. But we won’t be able to afford to do this too often.
Poor Geoff has a really painful knee at the moment and doesn’t know how he has done it. He thinks he may have jarred it when he jumped down from the bottom rung of the ladder the other day. At least his cold is getting better.
After a late lunch we wandered down to the thermal pool. Because the day was so hot the water felt so much cooler than when we were here earlier. Not crowded, same as Edith Falls, and we stayed in for over an hour and then went back to change to head over to ‘Happy Hour’ with a Swiss couple who we had camped near to. We then all walked down to the river to watch the bats (Flying Foxes) fly in at dusk for a drink. This is a perilous time for them as the fresh water crocodiles lie in wait for them in the hope they can snap a light meal. We heard a lot of snapping of jaws as there were quite a few crocodiles lurking in the river. Soon it got too dark to see if any of the crocodiles were successful but it was quite a spectacle watching the bats fly in. The sky was, literally, black with them … so many more than we ever saw in Bundy. Geoff took a photo but it was quite fuzzy due to the conditions but you can see what I mean.
Back to the van and cook tea and get a text from Robyn saying there was a really bad storm in Darwin. Missed it, great!
Tuesday, 15th October 2013 - Mataranka
A reasonable night with the A/Con on low all night. Geoff’s knee is still very sore and stiff this morning. He laid on the bed with his leg up and a bag of frozen peas on it, which he thinks is helping.
I did three small loads of washing and got it out on the line that Geoff had rigged up for me. When Geoff had finished with the frozen peas he put a tad more air in the tyre, but he mostly rested.
At 3pm he slowly hobbled down to the thermal pool, about 120 metres, and, once again, we had a good soak. This time there was a bunch of backpackers in the pool as well and they were extremely noisy. Geoff hobbled back and I went to make up some cordial to put in my new thermal jug that I had just bought at the Mataranka Store. Alas, the flask shattered. My fault as I put the ice in first and not the cordial so now I will have to buy another one tomorrow. Boo Hoo!
Even thought the temperature was still 36º, it didn’t feel so hot so we sat out under the waning to relax until it was time to cook up a seafood stir fry, using up stuff we had in the freezer … just in case … because the fridge was playing up. And that was it for the day.
Wednesday, 16th October 2013 - Mataranka to Attack Creek Rest Area …
Day 155 of our ‘Around Oz’ trip
Day 155 of our ‘Around Oz’ trip
Up early to pack everything away and say goodbye to the Swiss couple and get on the road. Our first stop was back to the Mataranka Store to buy another thermal jug and some batteries for the A/Con and fan remotes. We also dumped our black water, filled up with fresh and drove about 20 kms south to locate the Elsey Cemetery. Geoff wanted to go there as he wanted to locate the graves of the ‘real life’ characters he had read about in the 1902 book ‘We of the Never Never’ which he read after we had visited Mataranka on the way north. It was very interesting and Geoff said he felt quite emotional as we walked round.
From here we just went 350 metres further up the road and looked at the site of the original Mataranka Homestead. There‘s nothing left now but Ge0ff was trying to visualise it all in his minds eye.
As we headed back to the highway an injector warning light came on so we stopped to check the oil as the warning said ‘switch of the engine’. Everything was ok and we had already had this warning come on before. We think it is just a computer glitch but Geoff topped up the oil, just in case. What we are really having trouble is the fridge keeping its cool and we need to get it checked out but think we have to ‘tropicalize’ it as soon as we can. We stopped at a rest stop that was on top of a hill so put up the phone antenna and got a signal so rang the Dometic service agent in Alice Springs who said he could fit us in at 1pm on Friday. This meant we had a lot more distance to cover today than we had anticipated. Geoff did all the driving and it was quite perilous as a few times he had to brake for a Wedge Tail Eagle that was feasting on some road kill. They are slow to get off the ground and we were lucky we didn’t kill one of them. Geoff said he could see their sphincter muscles in action as they were pushed over the top of the motorhome and away from us by our slipstream. In all we covered 520 kms and we stopped just before Three Ways at a rest stop there.
After an easy tea of ‘Spag Bol’ we chatted to a couple who had been 0n the road for over nine years and were still loving it. There were a couple of memorials at this rest stop that we went to have a look at. One was for the explorer Stuart and the other was for a policeman that was killed there in ‘the line of duty’. Someone had painted some graffiti on this one which really annoyed Geoff so he went back to the van and came back armed with some turps and a cloth and soon had it looking spic and span again!
Thursday, 17th October 2013, Attack Creek to Prowse Rest Area
I slept well as it is cooling down at night the further inland we travel. In fact, we were both a little cool in the early hours of the morning before the sun rose.
We were on the road about 8.30 with another long day ahead of us. We stopped at Tennant Creek for fuel and oil. Geoff checked the oil and found he had left the oil cap off yesterday when he topped her up and there was a bit of a mess under the hood. Heard this all before … remember he left it off twice on the boat which resulted in a much nastier mess to clean up! Now we have to try to get a new cap.
We were going to have brekky at Red Rooster until a very rude woman came out and told us to ‘move our thing’. The ‘thing’ was our motorhome and I must admit we were taking up about three car spots but there were heaps of other spots free. Ok, we’ll move her and we will find somewhere else to have brekky … no skin off our nose!
106 kms south of Tennant Creek we stopped to have a look at ‘The Devil’s Marbles’ and they were not what I expected. I’m not really sure what I expected … rocks that looked more round and more like the marbles they were named after, I suppose. They were still interesting and we took photos but I must admit I was a little underwhelmed!
From here we headed to Wauchope (there are two different pronunciations of this on the web … one is Walk up and the other, which is the one I think is correct, is War Hope but you can make up your own minds on this). Wauchope, like most places around here consisted of the solitary hotel/roadhouse where we had a very nice egg and bacon toasted sandwich and lemon, lime and bitters each.
We continued on to the next roadhouse at Wycliffe Well which is, supposedly, the UFO capital in Australia and the 5th major site in the world. To us it was really just a place to sell UFO souvenirs although the articles on UFO sightings all over the walls made for interesting reading. For more info on Wycliffe Well click on http://www.unexplainedaustralia.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.48
We felt obligated to buy something after reading all their info so two ice creams were in order.
Somewhere around here we swapped over drivers and I drove the 110 kms to Ti Tree which was actually a tiny settlement and not just a roadhouse. Geoff took over from here and drove the last 42 kms to the Prowse Rest Area. We did about 400 kms today in very hot conditions.
We set up and got the fans going with the initial temperature in the van showing at 37ºC but there was a breeze blowing through the van which helped a lot. We thought we were going to be here alone but a campervan came in after dark. Safety in numbers, they say!
Friday, 18th October 2013 - Prowse Rest Area to Alice Springs
Once again a cool to almost cold night. Because it is cool the fridge is reading 3.6 degrees this morning so it proves the fridge is working and it must be that it just can’t handle the heat beating down on the side of the van when we can’t have it in the shade. Although we got up at 7.30 we still didn’t get going till 9.30. I don’t know where the time goes!
We were soon heading south towards Alice. As we got closer we were flagged down by a young couple standing by their vehicle on the side of the road. We pulled over but thoughts of the disappearance of Peter Falconio in these parts a few years ago did flash through my mind. But all was fine. They were a young Brazilian couple who were travelling in a Jeep they had bought in the Gold Coast, Qld. They had shredded a tyre and when they looked for a jack and a wheel brace found the vehicle had not come with one. Of course they should have checked before heading out to the outback but these things happen. Anyway, Geoff was able to help them out and get the spare on (wrong sized tyre but ok until they get to Alice).
They were a nice couple with unpronounceable names and we left them to repack all their camping gear back into their Jeep.
We got into Alice with about 10 litres of diesel still in the tank (we had spare in the bins underneath) so filled up and got a seniors discount. Why we hadn’t asked for this discount before is beyond me! We then found the caravan parking area and wandered up to the Todd Mall to see how much it had changed (a lot) and get a bite to eat before heading over to the refrigeration service centre at 1pm. He was very thorough and really couldn’t find anything major wrong. What he did say was that injector jet needed blowing out and that the gas flue was missing and the drip pipe was nearly burnt through. This in itself was worth finding out as it could have eventually caused a fire. So it seems it just needs those modifications for tropical conditions and for Geoff to find out where the flue is as it has probably vibrated loose and is in the wall cavity somewhere.
Where to stay? We chose to go to a caravan park as it was so hot (41ºC) and were soon ensconced in the Stuart Caravan Park which seems ok.
Once settled in Geoff went off to the Post Office to see if any mail had arrived for us. He came back with mail from Jen at Bundy and the kit for the air conditioner that may mean we can use our aid conditioner on the genny. In the mail from Bundy was our contracts for writing for ‘Caravan and Motorhome on Tour’ and a $15 voucher for Rockman’s which I have to use up by the 27th of this month. We soon had the contracts signed and ready to be sent back on Monday.
The fridge n0w seems to be behaving itself but it is on the mains power and we have backed into the site so that the fridge side stays in the shade. We also got TV reception so we caught up on some of the news we had missed out on.
Saturday, 19th October 2013 - Alice Springs
It was nice and cool overnight, in fact, quite chilly in the early hours so I had to grab the doona. We put the hot water system on for a shower and it’s not working so no shower in the van. We knew the electric side of it had died but now the gas looks like it is no good as well. It seems to be one thing going wrong after another. I think this may be normal when you first buy a used something. Surely , when Geoff has fixed all these things we’ll be right. Geoff pulled the HWS out and reckons it is cactus after checking all the components. About $900 for a new one which is a bit steep for us but there’s not much we can do about it. We will not buy another Truma (Geoff calls it a Trauma) as they have such a bad reputation in the industry and it seems a brand called a Suburban is the way to go. Other than that there is that 12/240 volt one at around $370 which might do us. It only makes enough water for two showers so we will have to do a bit more research. Geoff will ring them on Monday. So the old Truma HWS is now in the bin! Time for a snooze for Geoff using Miss Schnoodle for a eye pad.
Sunday, 20th October 2013 - Alice Springs
Geoff cooked bacon and eggs out on the portable BBQ whilst I answered some emails. Later we hopped on the scooter and headed out to Bunning’s for a couple of maintenance items and then onto the supermarket for some meat. Slip, slop, slap before we go in this 40º heat. It’s always nice on the scooter as you make your own breeze but I could still feel the heat radiating up off the tarmac and hitting my bare legs. We soon had the bits from Bunning’s and then it was on to find a Woolworth’s. Boy … fresh produce is expensive up here in the Northern Territory. Back to the van, on with the A/C, put stuff away, have lunch and drink copious amounts of icy cold fluids!
Around 6pm we headed off to Rebecca and Paul’s place, our next dog sit, to meet them over a BBQ. They were nice people, have a three year old daughter , Ali, and an American Bulldog (Bonnie) and an American Bulldog/Pit Bull cross (Bud). I have seen on the web that the American Bulldog/Pit Bull X is called a ‘Bullypit’. I was a bit wary when I heard Bud had Pit Bull in him but he is a gentle giant, very loving although a bit of a ‘boof head’, just because of his size alone. We had a great BBQ and she had made a most divine coleslaw (even Geoff really liked it) using fried noodles and almonds. (I forgot to get the recipe but have since found a yummy sounding one on the web). We didn’t stay late and arranged to come after lunch tomorrow.
Monday, 21st October 2013 - Alice Springs
A bit warm overnight, as you would expect with these temperatures! We got up around 8am and opened the door to a stinker of a day. Hot, hot, hot and only 8am!
We had a shower and brekky and started to pack the van for travelling and left the park around 10.30 am. We drove towards town and parked and went into the large camping shop, Desert Dwellers. We talked to the owner and one of his guys about a new HWS and now we are more confused than ever. Apparently all brands have their faults and we have just got to work out which one suits us the best. From here we wandered over to the bolt shop to pick up some new bolts to replace the ones Geoff bent somewhere back in Qld and then went up to the Caravan repair place and managed to get a piece of awning strip for $5 to install on the outside where the fridge is so we can put up an awning. We also chatted to him about HWS as he actually makes caravans there and he recommend the Suburban HWS. He had 0ne there for $1500 … ouch … but we know we can get one for around $900 in Adelaide so will make do until then.
We continued on to Jaycar where Geoff bought a large computer fan for the fridge modifications and I indulged myself to a weeny USB Christmas Tree. From here we spent some time in the cool of the library reading their free papers until my stomach started grumbling and we went back to the HOT van to make some lunch.
After lunch we made our way to Rebecca and Paul’s place where we parked the van for an overnight stay on the grass nature strip. Paul soon had us plugged into the power with the temperature in the van showing 43º (I told you it was hot!). The A/Con was on ‘full chat’ and about an hour later it was down to 32º which felt cool when compared to the outside. It was taking a long time to drop 1º at a time. I think it might be cold meat and salad for tea as it is much too hot to cook inside or out!
By 6pm the temperature had made it to 29º when Paul came out and asked us if we wanted to go out in the ute into the bush with the dogs to give them a run. Paul, Geoff, Ali and myself piled into the ute and within 5 minutes we were in the desert scrub country surrounding Alice. Paul let the dogs off and we drove slowly up the track with the dogs slowly following … these dogs are not made for speed. They were really panting when we came to a stop and Paul gave them a drink of water before we headed back. It was very interesting and bouncy and something we wouldn’t have experienced if we had stayed in a caravan park. Them’s the joys of house sitting!
By the time we got back to the van it was a comfy 24º inside. Salad for tea followed by peaches and custard.
Tuesday, 22nd October 2013 - Alice Springs
We got up early so Rebecca and Paul could show us what needed doing around the place whilst they were away. They helped us manoeuvre the van into their front driveway. We took the gate off before Geoff backed in and then replaced it once the van was in place. There was just a tad more space than at Fannie Bay. Paul and Rebecca were gone by 9am.
What a difference a day makes. Today was on overcast day and much cooler at around 31º. This was a good day for us to go out to see if we could organise to get an awning made for the side of the van to shade the fridge. The first guy we found was too busy and the second guy’s shop was closed. We rang and left a message and then went to Rockman’s to spend my $15 voucher. I ended up paying $30 for some light shorts and a top in pale blue. Very nice and it is nice to have something decent to wear again as all my clothes are getting a bit worn and weary.
Geoff spent the rest of the day working on the fridge. He found the missing gas flue which was in bits and must have vibrated off at some time. He modified the broken bits and soon had it fixed back into place. He then screwed up the awning strip and started the preparation work to install the fan behind the ’out’ air vent. He also went back to Jaycar to buy a thermostat for it so that it automatically came on when the temperature in the pipe got to 50º but Jaycar couldn’t find any, even though their computer said they had some in stock. It doesn’t matter as he can turn it on manually until we are able to buy one when we get to Adelaide.
I started to cook dinner in the van oven as the one in the house is playing up, apparently. Shame! The house has both an evaporative air conditioner and a refrigerated one. At the moment, as it is not humid, the evaporative one is on. Paul told us to just leave it on but I don’t think he anticipated the change in temperature and it is freezing in the house so we will have to ring them tomorrow and see how to turn it off. Meanwhile it is on with the sweaters! We let the ‘gentle giants’ in for the evening and they were a bit boisterous but eventually settled down.
Wednesday, 23rd October 2013 - Alice Springs
I slept with a blanket on and the door shut last night to keep the cold air of the A/Con out. Brrr!
When Geoff came in he contacted Paul and found out how to switch the A/Con off, thank goodness. I must admit that these cool days (28º today) are a nice change.
The second upholster guy rang this morning and said he would be there from 1pm on so Geoff will go out later and see if he can get the awning made. Geoff finished off installing the fan whilst I watered all of the pot plants.
After lunch Geoff went off to the upholsterer’s and he said he would try to do it by Friday. He also went back to Jaycar but they still couldn’t find the thermostats so it will definitely have to wait until Adelaide.
After dinner I received a call from someone who had seen my house sit advert on Gumtree. He was from Frankston in Victoria so how he found the ad, I don’t know. He didn’t need a house sitter but had noticed we had a Fiat Ducato from a couple of the photos and was thinking about buying one and wanted to pick Geoff’s brain. John and Geoff chatted for absolutely ages about lots of things related to travelling and I was glad that John rang us and not the other way around. I sent him a link to my blog for reference. He sounded a nice guy and he said he would keep in touch.
Thursday, 24th October 2013 - Alice Springs
The upholster guy rang and said that the awning would be ready after lunch, great. Geoff pottered around doing a bit of this and that and then went off and picked up the awning and slotted it into the track. He’s made a good job of it and it looks fine and it looks like it will do the job.
Later, Geoff went up on the roof of the van to install the larger capacitor into the A/Con but when he took the cover off, the configuration was completely different than the diagram that Air Command had sent him. Geoff believed that someone had tried to modify it before at some time. This was now beyond Geoff’s capabilities (yes you heard me … Geoff wasn’t game to try it) so he contacted Air Command who gave him the name of their service agent in town who will come out and have a look at it tomorrow. More money and we don’t even know if it will do the job yet! Ah well … it’s only money, they say!
Around 4 pm it was off to Woolworths gain to pick up some more meat and chicken etc.
And that was, basically, it for the day.
Friday, 25th October 2013 - Alice Springs
Up at 8am when Geoff’s ‘get up’ alarm went off on his phone. That’s great Geoff … you can’t hear it as you are in the van! Geoff got up a few minutes later and it is a good job he did as the service guy came to look at the air conditioner. After a quick call to Air Command he was up on the roof installing the larger capacitor. Alas, it didn’t work as we hoped and the A/Con wouldn’t work with just the genny running. It was a long shot anyway but Geoff is disappointed with the outcome. Geoff went back on the roof and put everything back in order and then fitted the new bolts onto the scooter rack.
We had a late brekky of poached eggs on toast and then we went out to do some ‘touristy things’. Our first stop was up Anzac Hill to the RSL memorial and a 360º
panoramic view with interpretation signs. Geoff took photos, of course, and we reminisced about our last visit here in 1976, 37 years ago. Geoff commented on the fact that Sammy would have been three at the time! The reason we knew this is that we had just received an invitation in the mail to her 40th birthday celebrations.
One of the interps signs said that Alice had its coldest day since records began in the winter of 1976 when it got down to 7.5ºC. Yep, that would be right as we were there in May that year and we found it freezing cold!
Onwards to Flynn's grave which was about 6.5 kms out of town. John Flynn was a minister in the Australian Presbyterian Church and was the founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and is revered throughout Australia. For more information click on the following link … http://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/About-Us/Our-History/The-John-Flynn-Story/. His ashes are buried beneath a huge rock ‘marble’. The original ‘marble’ was taken from the Devils’ Marbles which was a sacred site for the Aboriginal women of that area. For twenty years they lobbied for its return, eventually succeeding in their quest. The local Aboriginal people of the Alice area agreed to donate a ‘marble’ from their own sacred site so everyone is now happy. The Aboriginal people of the outback take full advantage of the RFDS so I am glad that they were able to do this thing for its founder.
From here it was on to more mundane things, like going to Bunnings to get a few more things that Geoff needed to finish the awning to his satisfaction. When we got back I got dinner simmering and went out to water the pot plants, of which there are many and then fed the woofs.
Saturday, 26th October 2013 - Alice Springs
A noisy night with dogs howling most of the night … not ours! Plus we had a noisy evening with a drunk across the road singing, very badly, to his very, very loud music. We were only hoping that he will fall into a drunken stupor and sleep it off. Alas, it seems that today is going to be the same!
Up at 8am and Geoff went outside to wash the van and the scooter plus Paul’s ute. I sorted out a few things to put back in the van.
Once again Geoff went off to get some small maintenance items for the van and then worked on the awning and he now has it to his satisfaction. He then started to look at a minor leak that was 9ccuring under the kitchen sick. He has to get at it from an outside bin and, of course, it is not easy to get to! Plus it was a bit too warm out there as he was working in the full sun.
I pottered around but not doing much at all. It’s a wonder Geoff didn’t find me something to do!
Sunday, 27th October 2013
I was still in bed when Geoff made his way into the house at 8.30 ... tch, tch! But I was soon cooking bacon and eggs for brekky.
Mid morning we decided to go out to The National Road Transport Hall of Fame (Museum) to talk to them about volunteering. The Alice Springs Airport was only a couple of kms down the road fr0m the turn off to the museum and we were soon on the way for a ‘sticky beak’. As you know, Geoff loves airports. I didn’t recognise any of it from when we flew in on our visit in 1976. Gone was the tiny little bush airport and in its place was a modern, large country airport. In fact, to me, it seemed bigger than Darwin but that might be an illusion due to the way it is laid out. There was a 30 minute wait for a coffee so we gave that a miss and I thought $4 for the car park for a 20 minute visit was a bit steep. These places normally give you the first hour free.
So, back to the museum and it seems we have left our run a bit late for the year as they are now in ‘wind down’ mode and a lot of the rush jobs are over. Never mind, there’s always next time we are heading through this way. We had a coffee in the café there and had a lovely chat to a couple who were still volunteering and who had been on the road for over eight years. They originally came from Biggenden, near Bundy and volunteer here for about three months most years. They knew all about the disaster, of course as they have friends there.
On the way back into town Geoff checked out where he could get a good photo of The Ghan as it travelled towards Alice, probably Heavitree Gap. Then it was back to the house for some lunch and relaxation.
Later, when Geoff said it had cooled down a bit (don’t really think it had) Geoff went out to check the tightness of the wheel nuts. He had been lying in bed the other night wondering if Barramundi Motors had done them up with an Air Rattle gun after working on the hand brake. When we originally bought the van we had to have them loosened in a garage as well. Sure enough, when he checked, it was impossible to loosen them with the normal wheel brace. Bumma. So he went in search of something to use as a lever and found a long length of pipe in the shed. So, with a little help from yours truly, he managed to get them undone using the pipe as a lever but not before bending the wheel brace. He is so glad he thought to check as we would have been in real trouble if we got a puncture. We would have had to flag down a truckie!
Whilst he was there he also jacked the van up a bit so he was able to adjust the hand brake shoes a tad as we had a bit of squeal ever since we had the hand brake fixed.
Whilst he was doing all this I did all the watering of the garden again and there are really a lot of pot plants to be watered and all with a watering can. This was supposed to be Geoff’s job but he is always so busy!
Robyn rang later, just to touch base, and it looks like we got out at Darwin just in the nick of time. Since we left they have been having a lot of storms with the one last night being very severe and doing a lot of damage. Phew, glad we missed them.
Monday, 28th October 2013
Once again I was still in bed when Geoff came in … slack but nice! After a ‘wake up’ coffee and breakfast Geoff went off to see if he could buy an hydraulic jack. He came back with one from Supercheap Auto plus a heavy duty rubber chock and an extension arm wheel brace. Whilst he was away I did two loads of washing and started to do a clean up of the house then vac and wash the floors. So … no dogs in today.
At 1.10 pm we headed down to Heavitree Gap to catch The Ghan before it arrived in Alice at 1.45pm. The Ghan is a world famous and expensive train and journey from Adelaide to Alice Springs (and now on to Darwin), See link http://www.greatsouthernrail.com.au/site/the_ghan.jsp. We were heading down towards Heavitree Gap about 1.15 when I saw it coming towards us. Of course, of all days, it had to be 30 minutes early. We had to speed down the highway and find somewhere to turn onto the other carriageway and then speed back and find a place to stop, get the camera out and get a photo before it got to us. We were able to park the bike at a level crossing and get a couple of photos but nothing like the photos Geoff had envisaged. We were disappointed but them’s the breaks!
So, it was back to the house and a bit more packing away and cleaning!
Wednesday, 30th October 2013 - Alice Springs, Ilparpa
I was awoken by my phone ringing. It was another enquiry for a house sit in Adelaide but we are booked at the time they want. Alas, Adelaide is one and a half hours ahead of us so she rang at 9am there which was 7.30 am up here.
So, we got up and checked our emails and we had one from Ballywire Farm on the Yorke Peninsular, SA confirming that our prospective dates to go down and volunteer were fine. We also got an email from our friend John saying his dates were tentatively fine too. We then received a reply from Beltana Cattle Station in the Flinders Ranges to say that we were welcome to come there too, so we are now relatively sorted for a while.
We waved goodbye to Rebecca and Paul as he drove her to work. I then cleaned the van, washed the floor and got her ready for moving. Geoff filled up the water and we headed off about 10.30 with our first stop being our second home, Bunnings. We wanted to buy a couple of bound edge mats for the kitchen floor as the one we already had was continually curling up. We then parked up in town and had a late brekky/early lunch and then decided we would head on down to the ‘Transport Hall of Fame’, this time for a look around. It cost $12, concession, each to go in and it was well worth it. We managed to look at all the exhibits in the first exhibition hall which ranged from stately old vintage cars to trucks of all descriptions and the men and women of the
road who had been inducted into the ‘hall of fame’. There were interpretation signs everywhere on so much stuff, bus companies, war effort, road trains etc. You name it, they had it. It was obvious from the historical photos that some of the older road trains were actually much longer than todays road trains and travelled in much harsher conditions. To date, the longest road train we have come across is 4 trailers but it was not uncommon for the photos to show road trains pulling 7 trailers. Very interesting indeed.
The next exhibition hall featured Kenworth trucks which were, mostly, made in Bayswater in Victoria. In this hall there was one of every model that Kenworth had made. They also had a truck on exhibition where the cab had been opened out so you could see inside to the sleeping quarters which we found very fascinating as you often see these trucks but never get a look inside.
Another interesting thing was finding Ray, a friend from Melbourne who worked at Kenworth, Bayswater for many years, in a group photo taken in 2002. Geoff took a photo of the photo and you can see him quite clearly. This was after Geoff rang Elaine, his wife, to check when Ray retired. A remarkable find, indeed!
There was another hall to visit but, by this time … two hours later, our feet and legs were complaining so we got a ‘pass out’ to come back another day.
Time to find Lorna’s house in Ilparpa in the rural outskirts of Alice. Her directions said the corner of Moss and Greatorex Roads and find the house with a veranda all the way around. We found a house answering that description where she said it should be so went in, parked, plugged into the power and waited for Lorna to return around 7pm. It wasn’t long until someone turned up and it was Whoops - wrong house! It was embarrassing and we gave our apologies but she was really nice about it and pointed us to the correct house directly diagonal to hers. This time it was the right one and Lorna came home around 7.30 bearing Thai takeaway food, which was great. We chatted for a while and got to know each other but she was very tired so we left her to get some sleep.
Friday, 1st November 2013 - Alice, Ilparpa … Day 170 of the ‘Around Oz Trip’
Geoff finished off re-burying the water reticulation system this morning, then fixed a shade cloth side panel on the cottage. It was then up to where the main water line comes into the property and dig down in, luckily, very soft and moist soil to try to find the leak. It was soon found but he will fix it tomorrow when Lorna is home and can tell her tenants that the water will be turned off. I went into the house and washed up the dishes and cleaned and vacuumed and then helped Geoff by handing him things when he needed them.
In the afternoon Geoff unloaded the scooter and we went into Alice to do a bit of research on the jobs that still needed doing and to pick up a few maintenance items for the jobs that can be finalised. We looked at shade cloth and fittings, irrigation things in Bunning's. Whilst we were in there we ‘bit the bullet’ and bought a $99 instant hot water system that we had originally looked at. If this is okay it means we can then buy a replacement hot water system in gas only. Geoff doesn’t really want to buy the Truma model, but thinks he will, as all the fittings are already installed and in the correct place. Of course, we popped into the supermarket as well and then went on to a Caravan Park where we had been told they sold a few caravan bits and pieces. We got back about 5.30 pm and then started to cook Mexican Shepherds Pie for tea for Lorna, her friend Craig and ourselves. Lorna came home about 7pm and then three of her tenants came over for drinks so it was after 8.30 when we eventually sat down to dinner. We chatted to well after 11pm and we could see that poor Lorna’s eyes were getting really heavy so we said our goodnights. We read until midnight so it was a very late night for us!
Saturday, 2nd November 2013 - Alice Springs, Ilparpa
We were both feeling a bit chilled when we woke up this morning so Geoff popped the diesel heater on for a few minutes to warm the place up and to check it was still working. It was, which was a relief after the run of breakdowns we have had since leaving Darwin. Geoff spent part of the morning installing the new electric hot water system. It went smoothly and all the connections lined up and there seems to be no leaks, touch wood so he then plugged her in to see how she performed. It is fine, not boiling hot but warm enough for us for a shower, which is what we bought it for. Another job that Geoff needs to do is get up on the roof to see why the A/C compressor
is so noisy. He turned the A/Con off as he thought he could smell something but I think it was the grey water ponds outside. But first he went up to fix the leak on Lorna’s main water line as all the tenants were out and he could turn the water off. Dirty work!
I went into Lorna’s kitchen to cook up some chicken that I had defrosted and not used and whilst I was there I got the vacuum cleaner out and cleaned up some for her.
Geoff came back muddy so it was time to test out the new HWS and have a shower. He said it was fine, he even had to turn it down a bit and so did I when I followed soon after. We will see what it is like when we have colder temperatures to contend with.
Craig then popped in to say goodbye. He is a teacher but only has a part time position so he collects cans and bottles (10¢ each) to supplement his earnings. Craig is doing it hard as he has a wife and baby in the Philippines and is trying to get them over here but she has some health issues and Australia won’t give her a visa until she is cured. Craig is having to pay for all of her medical bills with very limited funds. Poor thing!
Once he had left it was time to get the washing on and I found out you can’t have the washing machine, air conditioner and the HWS all on at the same time as it trips the fuse. Geoff had a snooze in the afternoon as, once again, he had over done it. I spent the quiet time typing up Part Two of my October journal.
Sunday, 3rd November 2013 - Alice Springs, Ilparpa
Geoff cooked bacon and eggs and then I started the prep work for a Lemon Meringue Pie for tonight. At 10.30 Lorna came for us and we wandered down the road to another property to visit her friends, Paul and Tong, for morning tea. After about 90 minutes we wandered back and then Lorna drove us into Alice so she could look at water timers, fittings and shade cloth. We got back around 3 pm and I finished off making the Lemon Meringue Pie and also made a Waldorf salad. Geoff looked at Lorna’s BBQ and gave it a really good scrub fixed a couple of minor things and gave it a good check over to ensure it was working properly. It was then time for a short rest until about 6.30 when we went back over for drinks and nibbles with everyone. There was Jess and Richie and their friend, Winston, Lorna, Olivia, C(K)atherine and us, making eight in total. Jess and Richie are tour guides but about to embark on a new adventure as youth workers at a remote indigenous community, Lorna is a school teacher, Olivia drives the Bush Bus which goes to remote communities, Catherine is a botanist and I’m not sure what Winston does for a living. Jess, Richie and Winston cooked the BBQ and the BBQ and salads were great as was the company and the conversation so we had a very good night.
Monday, 4th November 2013 - Ilparpa, Alice
Today, after doing the clean up from the night before, I mostly helped Geoff put up the shade cloth up at three windows of the cottage where Catherine lives. We then went into the cottage to see if Geoff could get her lounge A/Con working any better as it was only blowing hot air. Apart from the fact that it was a dinosaur (as was the one in the bedroom) we cleaned the filter and managed to set the buttons correctly to get it to blow cold refrigerated air. Better but not brilliant as it is so old. We then went in to look at the filter in the bedroom and it was a case of “Oh my god” as it was caked with dust/dirt that had set solid. Geoff had to get a wire brush to it and then we had to clean up all of the mess. How this one was still working was beyond us. Whilst he was working on it he also stopped a bad vibration (how could she sleep through that noise?) Anyway, they are both better than they were.
Onto programming the new water timer, lunch and into town to get some supplies and to pick up our soda stream bottle from the house sit and back. Lorna cooked dinner which we shared with Olivia so we had another nice evening.
Onto programming the new water timer, lunch and into town to get some supplies and to pick up our soda stream bottle from the house sit and back. Lorna cooked dinner which we shared with Olivia so we had another nice evening.
Tuesday, 5th November 2013 - West MacDonnell Rangers
Up at the usual time, shower and start the normal routine of packing stuff away for travelling. We had to be careful as we packed up the outside large flooring due to the bindies (thorns and burrs for you ‘non’ Aussies) that abounded. We were ready to leave about 10.30 so Geoff left a note of thanks for Lorna. Lorna desperately wanted us to stay longer as Geoff was very handy around the place. Once again, we felt we had achieved a lot during our stay and Lorna said we could come back anytime ‘whenever’ and just tell any of the tenants that were there that we had permission. So nice and thanks!
From Ilparpa we headed west along Larapinta Drive and then turned north west along the Namatjira Drive. Our first stop was down a 2 km dirt road to the Ellery Creek Big Hole which turned out to be quite pleasant as there was a deep swimming hole situated on Ellery Creek between a large gap in the ranges. It looked very inviting so, as it was really hot, we decided to go in for a dip. Brrrrr … it was quite cold, probably due to its depth. We stayed in for about ten minutes before we started to get chilled.
By this time we felt nice and cold but it didn’t last long as we had to wander back to the van in the searing temperatures of about 40ºC. We had some lunch and then continued on.
By this time we felt nice and cold but it didn’t last long as we had to wander back to the van in the searing temperatures of about 40ºC. We had some lunch and then continued on.
We gave Serpentine Gorge a miss at this time due to the fact it was 5 km of dirt road, really hot, was quite a walk in once we got there with no water relief at the end. Further up the road was the Ochre Pits which we did visit as they had a sealed road and only a 300 metre walk from the car park. What do they say? “Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun”. It wasn’t far with plenty of shady trees to stop under on route and was worth going to see as the mineral strata's were really colourful (the photo doesn’t do it justice). These strata layers were nearly vertical but were originally laid down horizontally on the ocean floor when this area was an inland sea. The colours were magical and we could only imagine the colours as the sun moved lower.
Geoff says he is quite fascinated with the geology of the region where massive uplifts originally produced mountains higher than the Himalayas. The Himalaya's are still thrusting upward but the MacDonnell Range has eroded from its previous lofty heights to mere high hills. Mt Sonder to the west looks quite high but nowhere in the tourist info we have can we find its height mentioned. The locals call this area the West Macs!
Geoff says he is quite fascinated with the geology of the region where massive uplifts originally produced mountains higher than the Himalayas. The Himalaya's are still thrusting upward but the MacDonnell Range has eroded from its previous lofty heights to mere high hills. Mt Sonder to the west looks quite high but nowhere in the tourist info we have can we find its height mentioned. The locals call this area the West Macs!
Onwards, after a cold drink, to the Glen Helen Gorge where there is a ‘resort’ (read bush camping area) A powered site was $30 for the night so we treated ourselves so we could have the A/Con on. There are not many campers here as it is now ‘off season’ for Grey Nomads. So … on with the A/C, fan and out with the awning and relax with numerous cold drinks until Geoff said it had cooled off a little (I believe him, thousands wouldn’t) and we wandered down to the waterhole that was situated below the Glen Helen Gorge. Once again, a very picturesque spot. The water was a tad warmer than Ellery Creek but I didn’t like the reeds under my feet as we waded in and swam out to the middle. I so much prefer not to be able to touch the bottom as I am always wondering what I am going to put my foot on. Plus I am such a natural floater that these waterholes are no effort at all!
We stayed in for a while and when we got out the sun was behind the gorge and a breeze was blowing and I actually felt cold and shivery. But, as we walked back up the path and into the full sun, I was soon hot again. Geoff stopped to take a photo of a beautiful gum tree which I think is a Ghost Gum (Corymbia, Aparrerindnja). My mate Michelle will know and correct me if I am wrong!!!
We stayed in for a while and when we got out the sun was behind the gorge and a breeze was blowing and I actually felt cold and shivery. But, as we walked back up the path and into the full sun, I was soon hot again. Geoff stopped to take a photo of a beautiful gum tree which I think is a Ghost Gum (Corymbia, Aparrerindnja). My mate Michelle will know and correct me if I am wrong!!!
When we got back Geoff stitched some of his panorama photos together and I fiddled around trying to get my new bandana to sit correctly with my visor so I could sew it into place. A late tea.
Wednesday, 6th November 2013 - Point Howard Lookout overnight, West MacDonnell's
We were up at 7.30 but still didn’t get going until 9.30. Our first stop was Ormiston Gorge. Even though it was only 10 am the sun was already beating down and it already made walking an effort. The Red Centre has had some extreme temperatures for so early in the season and, of course, this is when we are here! We wandered down to the waterhole and it was, yet again, another scenic spot that lent itself to being photographed. The water itself wasn’t so appealing as it was a little green from plant life so we sat in the shade for a while and then wandered back to the kiosk where we chatted to the vey pregnant lessee and bought two ice creams.
From here we went to another lookout which was also a 24 hour overnight spot and which had 360º views which were quite spectacular (once again the photo doesn’t do it justice).
From here we went to another lookout which was also a 24 hour overnight spot and which had 360º views which were quite spectacular (once again the photo doesn’t do it justice).
Where next? We decided to drive back to the junction and head down the other side of the ranges to Hermannsburg where there was an old mission that had been restored and which also housed a museum featuring Albert Namatjira who was a famous indigenous artist who was born at the mission. (For more info on Albert … click on the following link
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/namatjira-albert-elea-11217). This was a 160 km round trip and Geoff joked that it would probably be closed when we got there. Him and his big mouth!!!!! He was correct as it was now closed for summer, the ‘off’ season. A guy from the local store drove round and told us to feel free to wander around the historic precinct. Which we did but it is not the same being on the outside and wishing you could see inside. The mission didn’t look that restored to our eye and we were glad we hadn’t paid to see it. A tour coach also turned up whilst we were there and they didn’t know it was closed either.
So, it was a long way just to try to peer in through murky windows into darkened rooms! We wandered over to the Finke River Mission Store and bought a litre of milk for $3. It was very much an indigenous store and everyone looked at us as we entered but everyone was friendly enough.
Geoff said that we, at least, knew what Hermannsberg was all about now and we can cross it off our ‘go back to’ list! On the plus side, the scenery south of the West Macs was totally different from yesterday’s run.
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/namatjira-albert-elea-11217). This was a 160 km round trip and Geoff joked that it would probably be closed when we got there. Him and his big mouth!!!!! He was correct as it was now closed for summer, the ‘off’ season. A guy from the local store drove round and told us to feel free to wander around the historic precinct. Which we did but it is not the same being on the outside and wishing you could see inside. The mission didn’t look that restored to our eye and we were glad we hadn’t paid to see it. A tour coach also turned up whilst we were there and they didn’t know it was closed either.
So, it was a long way just to try to peer in through murky windows into darkened rooms! We wandered over to the Finke River Mission Store and bought a litre of milk for $3. It was very much an indigenous store and everyone looked at us as we entered but everyone was friendly enough.
Geoff said that we, at least, knew what Hermannsberg was all about now and we can cross it off our ‘go back to’ list! On the plus side, the scenery south of the West Macs was totally different from yesterday’s run.
Back 8o kms, the way we had come, where we stopped for lunch and filled up a container at the water tank for the birds, animals and insects. Travellers seem to put out containers at rest stops that have water tanks for these creatures and where there is one, we fill it up as I’m sure most people do. Then back to the junction and decide where we were going to spend the night. Back to Lorna’s or back track a bit to the Point Howard Lookout where he thought it would be nice to watch the setting sun? The lookout won and we found a good spot , put the awning out for a while and relaxed with a cold drink. When the sun did eventually sink below the West Macs it wasn’t as spectacular as we hoped but made for a nice photo anyway.
The flies were annoying and it didn’t seem to matter how much bug deterrent you put on, they always found a spot you missed!!! There were also lots of native bees around as well.
The fridge is still struggling in this heat and Geoff is thinking of adding another fan to draw the hot air away from it.
Thursday, 7th November 2013 - Finke River Rest Area, Stuart Highway … on route to Port Augusta
The fan packed up last night (the Dyson copy) so we only had the Calframo 12 volt on which did the job. Luckily it cools down most nights.
When we got up Geoff moved the van so that the sun wasn’t beating down on the fridge side. Geoff then pulled the fan apart to see if anything jumped out at him. Lots of pieces and a lot of dust inside (bad design) and eventually found some wires broken so he shortened them and tested it but no go. He looked at the wires again and found they were just breaking under his touch and the lead was getting shorter and shorter. He replaced the wire completely and tested it and there was a loud bang and that was the end of the fan completely. No chance to get another one as these Dyson copies have been pulled from the Aussie market due to patents and the Dyson fan is over $300. Way too much for a fan really!
We left Point Howard around 9am and made our way back to Alice, topping up with a little fuel on route as we were getting low. We spent quite some time going from store to store looking for a new fan. We were looking for a
box fan due to space limitations and these were being elusive. Eventually we found a tower fan in Home Hardware which would do the job. It was marked at $45 but when we got to the checkout we found it was on special at $35 so a little win. Then on to Woolworths Fuel outlet to fill up but their bowsers were closed for about 90 minutes, we were told, so we went to the supermarket to top up the cupboards. We went to get fuel 90 minutes later and they were still closed so we went to Jaycar to get the extra, more powerful fan for the fridge. The thermostat had also arrived so Geoff was pleased to be able to pick that up as well. His cover for his new phone had also come in at the shop next door so he got that as well. Back for fuel but it was still closed so we gave it away and went elsewhere. We were hoping to get it from Woolies as we had a 15¢ per litre discount.
Onto the dump point to get rid of the ‘black’ water and then we were finally off from Alice at last. We crossed the Hugh River for the fifth time (we had crossed it four times when we were in the West Macs) which made us think of Hugh in Bundy who really damaged his leg in the Bundy floods and we wondered how he was getting on so must contact him on Facebook.
We quickly stopped at one point to look at a monument on the side of the road and it was placed there after the inaugural and only Cannonball Run in Australia as two drivers and two officials died at this spot. For more info click on the following link … http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/culture/social/display/80242-cannonball-run-monument
We stopped at the Finke River Reserve for the night and then things started to go wrong! Geoff decided to run the genny to help the fridge out but, unbeknown to us, the A/Con switch was still on as it must have been running when Geoff disconnected the power earlier and we hadn’t noticed. Anyway, the genny got overloaded (it should have just cut out) and now it hardly works at all and when it does it just races away. Plus, the microwave is playing up now so we are worried that either the microwave or the inverter has a problem. They are all under warranty but it is a bit depressing! At the moment it just seems to be one thing after the other.
Around 8pm a strong wind came through and we had to shut all of the hatches, windows and door which made it really hot and muggy inside. As soon as we thought it was safe enough we opened a couple again. At least this wind should cool it down a bit. Don’t like the wind, it is giving me the ‘eebie jeebies’!
We both had a cold shower (well warm as the water was NOT cold) before we went to bed to cool ourselves down.
Friday, 8th November 2013 - Marla South Rest Area
The wind stopped howling around 12.30 am so we were able to open some windows more and let the cool air in. Then I managed to get some sleep but then got woken up by an indigenous guy yelling outside our bedroom window. A car load had arrived and he must have wanted a drink as we were near the water tanks and he was yelling over to the people in the car. We awoke with a start and it makes you a little apprehensive when things like that happen. Mind you, there were four other campers here so there was safety in numbers.
The microwave seems to be ‘almost’ working this morning but always finishes cooking with about 30/45 seconds to go so we will have to look at the manual. The inverter seems to be fine and we just think it couldn’t cope with the extreme heat we have had over the last few days.
We were up reasonably early but were still the last to leave. It is cloudy today so we are hoping it will be cooler today. It was and we even got some spots of rain as we headed south. The fridge is still no good so it wasn’t the temperature that made it play up and we will have to do a bit of further investigation.
We stopped at Erlunda Desert Oasis for some fuel at $2 a litre and then continued on towards the Kulgera Pub which is the last pub, or first depending on which direction you are travelling, in the Northern Territory. We stopped here to see if we could make any sense out of why the fridge is not working on the battery when we are motoring. Geoff looked at relays/fuses/thermistors but really can’t do anything until we get down to Adelaide. It seems to be ok on gas and mains power.
We stopped for the obligatory photo at the NT/SA border. Someone, once again, had defaced one of the interps signs by scratching out the face of the pioneer Stuart and writing about tribal lands being stolen etc. It’s very annoying and there’s no need for vandalism even if some of the history of white settlement was wrong. There are other ways of getting your point across! So now we are back in the land of the 5 litre wine cask! Or so we thought!!!!
We continued on towards Marla whilst noting that the Stuart Highway, which is main drag between Adelaide and Darwin, was almost empty. So we did some statistic collecting again over the next one and a half hours. The results were 15 cars, 5 road trains, 3 trucks, 2 campervans, 1 motorhome and 1 caravan. This was over about 125 to 130 kms and in that time we got overtaken twice and both times in the last 30 minutes. We also passed a lot of burnt out vehicles rusting away off the highway. Why? No idea!
I then drove the next leg to Marla where Geoff climbed the Marla Bore windmill 37 years previous. When we came through here the Stuart Highway was a dirt road with the bore at Marla being the only stopping place. It was girls on the left and boys on the right in those days. Now there’s a large roadhouse complex incorporating a motel, campground, mini mart, restaurant, post office and a hotel/bar. Alas, no sign of the Marla Bore and the windmill which he remembers so well because of the grease he got all over his clothes by climbing it! So, as you can see, he hasn’t changed … he still gets grease on his good clothes by working on things! I think all men are the same. The Marla Bore is now, apparently, on private property and we couldn’t locate it which was a bit of a shame but never mind.
Geoff drove the last 30 kms to the next overnight stop which was just a large dirt area with no facilities. Geoff went out and checked the type pressures and pumped up the offside front tyre. Then all the 12volt power went off which was a bit of a worry but was just the solar that needed resetting with the flick of a switch. I think we are a bit touchy with things at the moment.
We had left overs for tea and then we went over and joined some other campers around a campfire . When we crossed the border we had put our watches forward by 90 minutes so it was still light at 8.30 pm. We haven’t really enjoyed daylight saving for 8 years so it will now make a nice change. Soon it was time for bed so we said our goodnights and sloped off.
Saturday, 9th November 2013 - To Ingomar Rest Area
It was windy overnight and coming from just the wrong direction for it to blow into the A/Con vents and start the fans spinning. One must have been touching something slightly but causing it to go clackerty, clackerty, clackerty as it spun. Bloody annoying! You would lay there telling yourself to go back to sleep and ignore it whilst all the time counting the revolutions. Click Clack fast, click clack medium and click clack slow … Ah its stopped and you are just about to fall asleep when off it goes again. Geoff got up and thumped the A/Con case which quietened it down enough for me to put the 12 volt fan on (facing the ceiling as it was a cool night) to deaden it some more and we eventually got some sleep.
We got up early, washed, had brekky and waved goodbye to the other campers and headed for Coober Pedy. When we got about 30 kms out from Coober Pedy the little white slag heaps of the Opal mines started to come into view. They stretched to the horizon and we commented that there definitely seemed many more than those 37 years ago.
Once again we took the obligatory photos and then headed into Coober Pedy which was also a much bigger place than what we remembered and, of course, it should be. We got to the visitor information centre 30 minutes before they closed so I managed to pick up a lot of brochures on SA to peruse. I also read the local bylaw on the purchase of alcohol in Coober Pedy and pointed it out to Geoff. No wine casks at all were allowed to be sold here and only one bottle of wine per person per day. As much beer, cider and spirits as you wanted! I can’t see the sense in it all. I also saw a sign pointing to a self serve water pump which was 20¢ for 30 litres of water which you really can’t complain about in an arid place like Coober Pedy. We spent 40¢
on 60 litres of water just for the fun of it. We also filled up on diesel which was a bit cheaper at $1.73 than the $2 we
spent at the last fuel stop.
On to the supermarket for a couple of things and then we had a look around. As we had done the touristy things when we were here last and prices had grown accordingly we didn’t linger. We did toy with the thought of staying overnight but there was no wireless internet so we decided to push on another 91 kms to one of the free rest stops.
As we drove out of town a road sign caught my eye. It said ‘Drink & drive? The it had a capital W and then a picture of an anchor. I said to Geoff what does that mean? A W and an anchor … then click … Wanker! So ‘Drink & Drive? Wanker’. Clever. We did a U-turn just to get a photo of it and thought it was a good way to get a message across. After that we saw a couple of more clever ones similar to it.
It was an uneventful trip to the next rest stop except for another kamikaze eagle which we really had to brake for so we didn’t hit it. You couldn’t brake like that on a busy highway but as vehicles seem to go past at a rate of one every 3 to 4 minutes it wasn’t so fool hardy.
When we got to the Ingomar Rest Stop Geoff decided he would try out his new hydraulic jack and, unfortunately, it didn’t do the job of lifting the vehicle up far enough so he has to use two. I would rather he ‘bit the bullet’ and bought a more expensive two stage one that will do the job. Christmas is coming up! He then checked the fridge fans were working then went up on the roof to adjust the A/Con fans and then did some strengthening of the front grill. When they installed the ball bar they cut away a lot of the plastic work without doing anything to strengthen it. Geoff has done it with very strong cable ties at the moment and will do something more permanent when we get to our friend John’s place. Whilst he was doing all of these jobs he got temporary waylaid by a guy on a motorbike who was riding from Tasmania to Darwin. His brother was following in a car and we all got chatting. Geoff cleaned up the rest stop of loo paper and rubbish again. What’s up with people!
When I next checked my watch it was 7 pm already and I had to think about cooking tea. Neither of us are in daylight saving mode yet. We ate tea as the sun set.
Sunday, 10th November 2013 - onto Monalena Lagoon Rest Area
A windy night again! It is flat as a tack here with low desert scrub. As the say in the poem ‘A sunburnt country of wind swept plains’.
The fridge had become really cold overnight so we took the opportunity to do some testing on it as we went along. We first tested it with the AES (Automatic Electronic System) which senses what power method is available. When you are driving it should go to the car battery. With this mode it rose, on an average, .1º every 3 minutes and we checked it on this mode for over 45 minutes and the temperature had risen, overall, by 1.7º. We stopped for fuel and then tested it again on this mode for another hour and it had gone up another 1.3º. We then turned it off completely and checked for another 45 minutes and the temperature went up around the same rate so was keeping to the previous pattern. This leaves us to believe that something is faulty in the AES battery mode. We then put the fridge onto gas (which you are not supposed to do when you are driving) and it maintained the current temperature. So we left it on gas as we were having trouble keeping the stuff in the fridge fresh, what else could we do. Geoff thinks he may be able to fix it himself, let’s hope so.
We ‘passed’ on the turnoff to Woomera as we had been there before and also gave Andamooka a miss due to the fridge problems.
On the road again to nowhere special but southwards but after scrambled eggs on toast. The landscape was, mostly, barren scrub and once again we did our vehicle survey with only 11 vehicles in the hour which meant one every 5.5 minutes or one every 7.5 kms. Not many.
One interesting thing we did come across was a strip of road that had been designated a RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service) air strip for emergencies. It was a long, straight, wide piece of road so there must have been no airstrips on properties nearby.
Out next stop was Glendarno where we stopped for lunch. We didn’t recognise the name so Geoff asked the lady in the roadhouse about it who said Glendarno came into being when they re-aligned the Stuart Highway in 1982. The birth of Glendarno also spelt the death knoll for the tiny settlement of Kingoonya, 44 kms to the west which was the original stopping place on the Stuart Highway when it was a dirt road. Apparently, it nearly became a ghost town but is having a resurgence due to a very active town progress society.
Onwards for about 500 metres and then stop again to take some photos of some native purple flowers in bloom. A nice bit of colour in an otherwise sandy landscape.
Next was our overnight stop at the Monalena Lagoon rest area which we rather liked.
Monday, 11th November 2013 - Port Augusta
Up a 7.30 and slowly wake up over a cup of coffee.
Geoff spent a good half hour on the phone this morning trying to find someone who could do a truck wheel alignment in Port Augusta but to no avail (she had started to pull to the left). So we had to book it into Adelaide on Wednesday which was 300 kms away. This means we will be back tracking when we head to Beltana Station who are more than happy to fit in with our change of plans.
After brekky we continued on our way and noting there were a lot of places to stop overnight off the road with shade trees that would accommodate a vehicle of our size. These spots petered out about 30 kms out of Port Augusta but would be well worth remembering for next time. We got into Port Augusta about 10.30 and found Emmanuelle Bros, the Isuzu/Iveco dealer, as Geoff wanted to replace the oil cap that he had lost at Mataranka as his temporary solution was leaking oil quite a bit. He came out and informed me he had booked the van in for tomorrow for a suspension check as he thought he could hear something knocking and needed to get it looked at before we drove all the way to Adelaide for the wheel alignment. He had also ordered an Iveco oil cap which was $3 as the Fiat branded one was $42 and they were exactly the same! Go figure!
Time to decide where we were going to stay so we went on the web to see what was available. There was a CMCA site at the sports ground for small dollars or a caravan park which was $30 for a powered site. As I needed to do a lot of washing we chose to go into Shoreline Caravan Park as I could use their power and water and wash in my own machine therefore not having to pay for a washing machine (cheapstake). It was a nice little friendly park, not posh, but would do us for the night. Whilst I did the washing Geoff surfed the web and rang around places in Adelaide sorting out things that we needed. The caravan supply shop has the hot water service in stock for $775 (ouch, but expected). We also need to find a service agent to drop the Hyundai generator off to as well. The wheel alignment is also booked so, hopefully, they won’t find too much wrong at the suspension check.
Once the washing was done Geoff got the scooter down and we headed into town for a ‘sticky beak’. The CBD was quite small when we found it and we asked a local if we were in the right place … yep … this is it. We did go into Liquor Land and ‘Eureka’ they had our favourite Berri 5 litre Lite Lexia wine cask, but only the one. Not cheap, but who cares? Grabbed a cooked chook for an easy tea and it was back to the van to relax with a cuppa.
After dinner I rang my dad in the UK to wish him a very happy 91st birthday.
Tuesday, 12th November 2013 … To Adelaide
It was a bit of a complicated day today.
We got up at 7am and made coffee and were on the road about 8.30. We made our way to the truck service place to drop the van off for the suspension check and got the scooter off and went in search of some breakfast. We got to Macca’s and both chose an Aussie breakfast wrap at $4.95 each and also got our free ‘Seniors’ cappuccino . So breakfast for two came to $9.90, not bad. The wraps looked small but were actually quite tasty, thick and filling so we shall probably partake of these again.
It was long pants and windcheaters again today as the temperatures were around 11/22º which is a bit of a shock after 41º as we came down from Alice. We then found a bit more of the CBD, but it is still small, and had a wander around and then got the call that the van was ready to be picked up so we whizzed back. They had found no problem with the suspension but did say the ball joint boots were splitting and will need replacing at some time. So, $120 spent to find there was nothing wrong but it could have been worse and, at least, Geoff’s mind is put at rest as far as the suspension is concerned.
We then left for Adelaide and the roads were ‘chocablock’ after the Stuart Highway. Geoff did most of the driving as I got away with just 84 kms of the journey. We decided to head to the south of Adelaide to drop off the genny to a service agent that we found on the web. Alas, we didn’t take into account peak hour traffic and directions from Matilda who lives in our GPS. Not really her fault as she didn’t know there was large road works on the road she sent us. So we ended up at Lonsdale after 5pm and the place was closed for the day. Bumma. We then had to find somewhere to park up for the night so we drove all the way to Gepps Cross which was north of Adelaide but this time via the coast road which was much faster. All the coastal car parks had overnight parking prohibited signs so we found the industrial area when we were going to get our wheel alignment done and Geoff found a property that was empty as it was for lease so we parked in the car park there. I think Geoff is knackered with all the driving of the big monster in all the heavy traffic today on roads he is not familiar with.
Wednesday, 13th November 2013 - Port Noarlunga overnight
Around 7.30 people started to arrive and park near us so we got up and moved the truck close to Truline (wheel alignment place). There was not much room to park there so Geoff thought he would use the spare time up to go to CaraRest to pick up the hot water service as it was just around the corner. Once again the traffic was murderous and we passed it before we knew it and it was hard to turn back so we made our way back to Truline for our booking time of 9am. The wheel alignment was found to be okay but the inside of the offside front tyre was found to be split and the tyre had also started to bulge so it was well worth the money to find this problem!
Time to go on the web and see what tyres we could access and were soon ringing around. We chose Bob Jane T Mart in South Adelaide as they seemed to really know what they were talking about and were very helpful.
But first of all it was back to CaraRest to spend $905 in total. But, we asked if they gave a CMCA discount and they said they did and gave us 10% so the bill could have been $90 more. We left there with a Truma gas hot water service which was $775 but we got for $704 with the discount, a frypan lid, a new stainless steel bathroom sink (the old one was stained badly) power point and electrical stuff and bits and pieces Geoff found that he had never seen before and couldn’t resist. He was going to buy a new 12 volt heater element for the fridge but he tested the ohms on the new one and they were the same as an old one so we didn’t get that as that would have been another $100.
Onto the tyre place in the horrendous traffic (I think all day is peak) where we had two new tyres fitted on the front and the old (but never used) spare swapped for the offside front of the double axle as this tyre was also showing wear. The manager/owner said he would never sell a tyre that was over 5 years old and suggested we use up this new but old tyre before it degenerated with time. We found all the staff at Bob Jane very professional , friendly and helpful and the boss took the time to explain what type of tyres we really needed for the motorhome and their weight ratings. Something we knew nothing about and we were really impressed with their service.
From here we battled the traffic south back to Lonsdale to the, supposedly, Hyundai generator service agent. Nope … not us! What a waste of time! Out came the laptop again to find others. The next one we rang was at Port Pirie and the answer was “no, not anymore”. So back on the phone to the supplier in WA to find that there was a service agent at Strathalbyn to the east of the city. This time we rang first and the guy said yep and said it was about a 40 minute drive from where we were so Geoff said we would drop it off in the morning.
Now it was time to find somewhere to prop for the night so we headed to Port Noarlunga and found a pretty little seaside village with a good fish and chip shop. We also found a car park that had no signs prohibiting overnight stays so we parked up for the night and enjoyed our fish and chips. After they were devoured we donned our jackets
and wandered around the foreshore and the tiny village centre and declared it was a delightful little spot and we were glad we had found it, albeit in error. There was a long jetty which we didn’t walk to the end of as we were convinced the strong winds blowing were directly off Antarctica and therefore a little on the cool side. Brrrrr!
We then wandered around the village centre looking at the shops which were either very old but well maintained or young but made to look old. Whatever, it was very pleasing to the eye. It must also be a tourist spot as there were a lot of cafes and restaurants for such a tiny little place.
Thursday, 14th November 2013 - Lochiel overnight
A quiet night and nobody came along to say we had to move. We were on our way at 8.30 which, as I said, was supposed to take 40 minutes. For a car perhaps, we took over an hour but it was a beautiful and scenic drive. Strathalbyn turned out to be another old, quaint slightly bigger town than Noarlunga. Some lovely pioneer cottages and historic looking shops. The company we were looking for looked like a very professional establishment so Geoff manhandled the generator in. The owner knew we were coming and I must admit he wasn’t very complimentary on Hyundai generators, nor with Kipor who he also serviced. He said the Honda and Yamaha were very good but the best, in his opinion, was Subaru but then you pay for what you get. We had never heard of Subaru generators so found this very interesting. So we left it with him and said we would be back in two to three weeks time and headed north, once again, through very scenic countryside. That was until Geoff stated it was too slow and he was going to get onto the main highway. Once we were on the highway we moved along better but we then went down this never ending steep hill and I wasn’t too keen at all. I felt we were going too fast and didn’t feel at ease. Geoff called me a ‘sook’!
We bypassed Adelaide, thank goodness, and stopped at a little place called Hayford where we had seen a sign on the way down that advertised 9kg gas refills for $19.95, cheapest we have ever found. Then we stopped at Dublin to buy really cheap fresh produce and meat. In the country butchers shop they had beef shanks and I was sorely tempted but you can imagine how big a beef shank would be. I wouldn’t have a pot big enough! We hade a bite to eat whilst we were there.
Our next stop was the tiny town of Port Wakefield which was just 5 kms off the highway. We though we might as well take our time now that Adelaide was finished with and see some things. Another old, quaint town with old pioneer cottages. I remarked to Geoff that my sister Kay, in the UK, would love to have a cottage like these. She would just love them.
Onto Lochiel where the CMCA had listed an overnight spot behind the community hall. It was a great little overnighter and had toilets, covered picnic area with coin BBQ and water and was adjacent to another salt lake and next to an old pub.
No sooner were we settled when Geoff was under the bed working on installing the HWS. Right in the middle of this operation we had a knock on the door and it was the lessee of the pub. He wanted to pick our brains as he had only had the lease 6 weeks and wanted to find our how to ‘tap’ into the ‘Grey Nomad’ market. He was thinking of opening out the back area behind the pub for ‘wanderers’ and was thinking of charging $10 for an unpowered site. At that price it may work so we sat and chatted for a little while and he was off.
By 6.30 Geoff had the HWS installed and only had to test it so he switched it on and … nothing! After a bit of diagnostics he worked out that the old wiring was at fault and the HWS he had thrown out in disgust in Alice Springs had nothing wrong with it! As you can imagine, he is now angry with himself as we have spent $700 we need not have. Personally, I think we would have been up for a new one soon anyway. At least we’ve got a new one whilst we still have money to buy it. So he will now wire the new switch and wiring into the bathroom as they haven’t given him enough length of wire to be able to wire it into where the old switch was. That’s a job for tomorrow.
He then tested it again by having a shower and it worked fine. We then went over to the pub and had a $10 9” pizza each for dinner and a drink. The pizzas didn’t look big when they came but they were piled high with goodies so were very thick and filling and we both struggled with our last slice. Back to the van but then we had the publican knocking on the door a few minutes later asking, nicely, if we would like to pay for our dinner! Whoops … how embarrassing but soon rectified. Sorry!
Friday, 15th November 2013 - South of Quorn on the way to the Flinders Ranges
Up about 7am … coffee time. Geoff then completed the fitting of the HWS switch and also installed the new stainless steel basin in the bathroom by sticking it onto place with silicon and weighting it down with tins of food. I then had my shower and put all the mess away that Geoff had made and got the van into ‘travel mode’ and we got going about 10.30.
On route to Port Augusta we decided to pull into Snowtown which was just off the highway and is infamous for its ‘Bodies in the Barrels’ murders (this is also the subject of a recent movie). The bodies were stored in barrels inside an old bank vault so we cruised the streets to see if we could identify the building. Eventually we stopped and went on the web to find a photo and then were able to find it. We, surreptitiously, took a photo of it from our window as we didn’t want to upset any of the locals. For more info, click on the following link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowtown_murders
Further up the main street was something ‘completely different’. This was a display of a huge blade from a wind turbine and good interpretation signs on the local, large wind farm. It seems that SA generates more electricity from wind power than any other state and this local wind farm produces enough electricity to power 170,000 South Australian homes. Good on em we say! The blade was enormous and it was interesting to be up close to one. So we were glad we made this little detour as you always learn something new.
Back onto the highway with our next stop being Port Germaine. This little town boasts the longest wooden jetty in Australia and you could see why it had to be so long as the tide was out when we arrived. The bay is very shallow and the water is non existent for a considerable distance at low tide. At the start of the jetty there is an old and large shed which is left over from the pearling days. There was also a tide clock beside the jetty which would show the ships of old what the depth of the water was at a given time. This was very thought provoking as we had never seen anything like it and the following link is very interesting
It was a good spot for lunch and we talked to another traveller who had two King Charles Cavalier Spaniels with him and we thought of little Mia.
Time to move on with no more detours and arrive at Port Augusta around 4pm. Geoff picked up his new oil cap, we topped up on fuel (Woolies 15¢ discount … nice) and supplies and then headed off towards Quorn and the Flinders Ranges. We only went about 15 kms and stopped at the first overnight rest area along with three other vehicles. Chatted to a couple travelling with a little Jack Russell called Micky. See how I always remember the dog’s name but never the owners!
To be continued ………………………..
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