Laura

 

Set up in Laura

 

The Devonshire Tea

We spent a couple of nights in the Laura Caravan Park, about 200 km north of the Barossa. We were planning to go to Wirabarra, but as we passed the caravan park, we thought it looked nice, so we went in.The hosts at athe caravan park gave us Devenshire Tea as a welcome gift. Home made too, as we went in the kiosk later and she was up to her elbows in flour baking scones for the next visitors.

Across the road from the Caravan Park is the Little Blessings Brewery and the Asian Tucker food van. We had dinner there with wine and beer that went down very well.

Wirabarra Silo Art

The Chocolaura shop was visited. We had a look at the chocolate factory, heard a brief history and bought a supply of chocolates and fruit jellies. The Golden North Iceceam factory tours were not available, but we bought some anyway.

 We had the Jimny flat towed behind the Renault so we were able to tour around the district to places the Renault would not go. The orchard for dried fruit and the Bluff lookout for the view were down a narrow track, well worth the visit. Fire season bans meant we could not go to some of the places we would have liked to see.

 Later we went to Wirabarra to see the Silo Art and then back to Blessings Gardens Vineyard for a wine tasting and  purchase of their wines.

It was a very relaxing 2 nights away and a good opportunity to see some of our States attractions.

 

 

The Renault/Jayco Motor Home

 The Jaco RM20.5 motorhome at Kingston on Murray, a small village near Barmara in SA.

We had a couple of nights here to test things out and it was perfect. We have made a few changes to the layout and we are pleased with the results. Changing the east-west bed to a north-south bed was a winner as it made the bed more comfortable.

Hannah decided to stay in her bed on the floor which was a relief as the bed is a long way from the floor so her jumping off in the dark could have been a disaster.

Kingston on Murray is a great park with flat grassy sites and access to the River Murray. The floods of 2 years ago wiped out the village and the caravan park. The park has all-new facilities and is very popular with families in holiday periods. Dog friendly so Hannah had lots of walks. The water is river water, so filling your water tanks before you arrive is a good idea. Drinking water is available in the park and a public town-water tap is 400m up the road. 

We left the Jimny home so the next trip will test out the flat tow setup.

A New Beginning

 A lot has happened since the last post.

The Landcruiser has gone to a new home, pulling a caravan around Australia, The Desert Sky has also gone to a new home in Western Australia.

The Landcruiser has been replaced with a Suzuki Jimny.

We are buying a Motorhome, a Jayco RM 20.5, it should be ready for delivery by mid to late November. The purpose of the Jimny is to flat-tow it behind the motorhome so that we can have the versatility of a small off-road vehicle and the comfort of a fully equipped motorhome.

The Jimny will be my daily drive when we are not travelling, so the small engine with low fuel consumption will be useful. However, its off-road capability will be welcomed when touring so we can still see those off-the-beaten-track destinations and not have to take the RM20.5 down those narrow and twisty tracks. The RM20.5 is not good on dirt roads, in fact, many say don't go off the bitumen with it. Time will tell.

Trouble in Weipa

We pulled up in Weipa for lunch when a local (Dan) stopped and told me my caravan wheel was faulty. The actual wording he used was a lot more colourful but meant the same. The pic shows the crack in the chassis beam to which the suspension was welded. The other side of the van was also in trouble as only 3 of the 8 welds that held the suspension were still intact.
Dan recommended GG Contractors to fix it. After going through the RAA, GG Contractors brought a big truck, loaded the caravan and took it to their yard. They reckoned I  had about 100 metres to go before it all fell apart.
To cut a long story short, GG Contractors replaced the broken chassis member with a much stronger C section beam, web welded and full length welded the suspension back on, making the van significantly stronger than when it was new.
All done in 3 and a half days, and all paid for by RAA Insurance, including 3 days emergency accommodation.

The Tip of Cape York

The Tip of Cape York, far north Queensland. It has been an adventurous trip with some highlights and some lowlights. Travelling around 5000km so far, we have been on roads not travelled before, been to Hells Gate Roadhouse on the Savanah Way and up to the Tip. Some things shook off by the rough roads, CB Antenna snapped, screws worked loose, clamps on the awning fell off and one of the batteries in the caravan fell out. We got the battery and the cover back, re-wired it and everything worked. Going to get a new antenna from the same place Dave and Bec got theirs from as they lost an antenna too,
We did the 5 beaches 4 wheel drive track from Somerset Beach near the Tip. The Landcruiser did its stuff very well, low range 2nd gear, centre diff lock on and turn-assist enabled so the Landcruiser just went wherever I pointed it. The Micky Thompson tyres never slipped once even though there were steep ascents and descents with some deep, soft sand and rocks.
Heading back south tomorrow, looking forward to putting normal pressure in the tyres when we get off the dirt roads

Karumba

Got to Karumba last night, it is on the southeastern corner of the Gulf of Carpenteria in Queensland. One of my bucket list things to do is to travel the Savanah Way from Cairns to Broome and on this trip, we have covered a new section from a little way over the NT Border through Hells Gate to Karumba. The Hells Gate Road House was a great stop, roast lamb for dinner and a couple of drinks finished off a good day of travel. The road was not the best and we did spend some time cleaning bulldust from the van, it gets in everywhere. Today in Karumba we spent hours filling gaps with silicon, taping over vents and doing some minor repairs to the van. Screws worked loose, a clip on the battery box disappeared and a couple of wires under the van had to be cable-tied to keep them clear from flying rocks. Apart from those minor problems, all is going very well.

Northern Territory

We got the shed to the lock-up stage, a bit later than planned, but now we are on our way. The pic shows the dogs at the NT Border marker, I had to highlight them as seeing red dogs against a red background in the shade was a little difficult.  Staying in Alice Springs for a couple of days to restock etc and then we move on north to Tennant Creek and across the Barkley Highway to Mt Isa.
The internet service is not good so there may be a few days between posts.

Starting out for the 2018 Trip

Starting out for the next big trip, well staring again. We went to help friends build a shed before we set off, but the shed, weather and various other considerations caused some delays. We came home for a couple of days rest before starting out again. The van is at Port Broughton and we should be there for a few days subject to the weather before we head north to the warmer climate.
We have had a few smaller trips not recorded here. A trip to Geelong was a bit of a disaster when the wheel studs failed on the caravan. Fortunately, the RAA Insurance paid for the majority of the damage, and Gawler Caravans bent over backwards to get the van ready for this trip.

Back in The Valley

We had a lot of fun and successful competitors at Townsville trials. Several titles and several first passes at their level so just about everybody got something.
We left Townsville late on Sunday morning and got to the Torrens Creek Pub where we stayed in the free camp at the back of the pub. Just $5 to use the shower and toilet, but the added bonus was we got pub meals for dinner. I had a steak and a beer, Kathy had a chicken schnitzel and a wine. Two big dinners we did not have to prepare ourselves and we got change out of $50.
 I asked the Pub owners about the road condition to Aramac, it was marked as a dirt road on our map. He told us the first 30k was dirt with some corrugations and the rest was bitumen. We were planning to use the dirt road as it cut about 300km off the trip, but being mostly bitumen it saved us several hours too.
Tried the park at the back of the pub next night at Augathella and had another great meal in the pub with drinks for a bit over $50.
Night 3 was a free camp past Cobar so we had to cook our own meals that night.
We got early starts on the way back, mainly because Tiffany wanted to go out at about 5:30 am every morning. We were on the road by 7:30 am most mornings with 6:55 am being the earliest start.
Got home for the fourth night about 4:30 pm despite contending with multiple wide loads (7 metres at the wheels) and the inevitable road works.
The pictures show the lawn when we got home and how it looks after three mowings.
 

Townsville and Tablelands

 Two photos today. The first shows the Dinner falls near Ravenshoe (that's Ravens Hoe, not Raven Shoe) There is a deep crater nearby that was created by volcanic action producing a narrow tube about 90 metres deep, but the photo of that did not turn out too well. The falls were on the walk back. They are on two levels, the pic shows the lower level with the deep swimming hole that is popular with tourists on a hot day.  We left Walkamin in the Atherton Tablelands after the Dog trials ( they were a marathon in their own right, 29 courses covering Games, Agility, Jumping and Rally.)

We booked into the Townsville Tourist and Lifestyle Village for a few days of relaxation ready for the Townsville Trials starting tonight. The pic shows the view from the top of Castle Hill overlooking Townsville
We will start back for home on Sunday morning, hopefully, we will be home by Friday, unless we find somewhere nice to stop.

Baron Gorge

Tourists again, this time to Kuranda at the top of the hills overlooking Cairns. Bit of a tourist trap, but a nice place to visit. The Baron river flows nearby and we went for a walk along the tree top walk to see the Baron falls and Baron Gorge. Not a lot of water in the falls but the walk through the rain forest canopy was great. The pic shows Kathy pausing on the way to the viewing platforms.

Granite Gorge

We are having a few days being tourists. Yesterday we went to Granite Gorge, a few ks out of Mareeba. A warm day so we took turns to walk through the gorge so that one of us could stay with the dogs. The pic shows the swimming hole near the weir. Nice walking through the rain forest part, but got hot when crossing the rocks and climbing out of the gorge.
Today we had a drive around Lake Tinneroo. Very nice drive, but it is alarming how low the water is, There is a drought on up here and the lake is the lowest it has been in 15 years.
More touristy things tomorrow.

Cairns and Atherton

We completed our judging assignment in Cairns, (see the dog blog for their success stories) and now we are tourists for a few days. The Cairns City Kennel Club were very hospitable and went out of their way to make sure everything we needed was available, even arranging an extra couple of days in the showgrounds so we could do the tourist thing around Cairns. The pic shows the beach side recreation area at Port Douglas, about 60 km north of Cairns.
We have left the Cairns Showgrounds and moved to Walkamin, a little town in the Atherton Tablelands. We are regulars here as this is our third time at this beautiful park. In 10 days we will be judging the Atherton trials, but until then we will be looking at all the new and the old attractions around here.

Queensland Again -1 year later.

We have been very busy knocking down an old house so we could build a new one on the original site. We moved in a month ago so that is long enough for us to be on the road again.
We are heading back up to Far North Queensland for Dog Trials and holidays, The pic shows the Land Cruiser and the van near the Peanut Van at Nanango where we stopped for lunch.
Bad weather for the first two days, heavy rain and strong wind until we got to Goondiwindi and then we have had good weather since. The moist air caused condensation in the van which gave us damp beds. Two nights at Ipswich Showgrounds allowed us to dry out and visit relatives on the weekend.
The dogs have been really good. They spend long periods in the car then get a walk at the end of the day but they take it in their stride, curling up and sleeping most of the day, doing their "wee on command' trick when we are pushed for time.
We should be in Cairns by Thursday.

Ingham and Atherton

After the Cairns trials, we stopped at Walkamin for a few days. Lovely place, all around us was rain, but Walkamin was dry most of the time and the solar panels were able to charge the batteries.

The ADAA trial was very interesting, some differences from ANKC agility but not too much, just enough to get you in trouble if you forget which one you are doing.

Heading back north, we stopped at Ingham for lunch, (fish and chips from the Wild Caught Prawn) and went to a park behind the Information centre to eat. It turned out to be a self-contained RV park, $10 for the night so we stayed there. The pictures show the views we had from van. Top pic is looking across the wetlands. Lots of birdlife and a pleasant walk around the lakes.
The bottom pic is looking across the sports field behind the van at the mob of kangaroos. A good place to stop, bush/wetlands setting and only 10 minutes walk to the shops.

We are at Walkamin again, trained the dogs at Atherton last night and will be competing on the weekend.

Roaming aqain.

After staying home for too long, we are on the move again to Queensland for a few weeks of dog trials, touring and doing nothing. The pic shows the van at MacCullochs Range Rest Area where we stayed on the second night out. Good place. good views and an amazing view of the stars at night. The emu was easy to see.

It was our second night free camping as we stopped at Mt Bryan the first night (OK we know its not far but we always start late) While the camp was free, the night in the Mt Bryan Hotel was not free, but it was a good meal and we had lots of entertainment from the locals and the publicans Kymm and Simon. Great night.

We took the back roads from Hughenden  to Mt Garnet and had no trouble with the dirt roads. It was on the bitumen that the van blew a tyre that did some damage. However, the tyre shop in Atherton fixed the rim with a big hammer and fitted a new tyre. Bunnings had all the bits for the damaged plumbing under the van and so we got out of the mess for $225. Could have been a lot more expensive.

We got to Cairns on time and competed in the trials there. Tiffany passed her 7th Jumping Master course and now has a Jumping Master Dog (JDM) title to add to her long list of titles.

We have got a couple of weeks being tourists before we go to the Atherton dog trials, There is an ADAA trial on next weekend so we may go to that just to see what it is about.

Base Camp

Not so much Wandering due to the set up of the new home. Lots to do including knocking down the old house and building a new one.
The top picture shows the view from the side of the house across the vineyards,very pleasant view with breakfast.

The next picture shows the dogs in the backyard. It is fenced in with the driveway going round the back of the sheds and out to the front. We have an exit and entrance gate. The dogs are enjoying the freedom of a huge backyard where they can run and get up a good speed.

Picture 3 is looking up the driveway towards the sheds and beyond. There are two great big sheds, one is having a concrete floor poured that will house the caravan and the two cars while the other shed will be my workshop and Kathy's sewing room.
The  workshop shed is just visible behind the bushes, the building in front of the bushes is a wine  cellar.

Picture 4 shows the end of the block past the sheds. There is a small orchard covered in bird netting that was also a chook run. Behind that is a row of trees that are on the end of our block and if you look carefully you can just see the vines belonging to our neighbour Hahn wines.

Canberra

Tourists at the Nations Capital. The pic shows us at the War Memorial with Anzac Parade leading to the Houses of Parliament in the background. The first white building is the old Parliament House, with the new one behind it. Click on the picture to get a bigger view.
After Warrnambool, we went to Albury via Ararat for their trials, where Tiffy got a Jumping Masters pass. We stayed in Albury for a few extra days then went to Canberra for the dog trials. Very Busy weekend judging, with no success for Kathy running both dogs.
Currently in Cooma for a few days before heading for Bega and more dog trials next weekend.
The Easter traffic was amazing on the drive to Cooma. Fortunately, it was all going the opposite direction to us. We took the Cooma turn just outside Canberra and were met with a constant stream of traffic heading for Canberra, and that was at 10:30 am. We can see the road from the caravan park, and the traffic did not reduce until about 3:00pm. There will be a lot of tired travelers by tonight.

The Black Stump

Have you ever heard of the saying "Beyond the Black Stump" when someone is referring to going out in the Bush? Well, we have been to where the Black Stump was. It has rotted away years ago, but it was at Timboon.
Timboon was the end of the railway system that was in Victoria, and the Black Stump became the symbol of the end of civilisation for Melbournians,
The town is now a tourist destination with many things to see, but the most interesting for me was the Railway Shed Distillery. We sampled some of their wares and bought some of their single malt whisky and a coffee liquor. Took the dogs for a walk along the Railway Trail, but not all of the 32 km track, then had a drive around the town.
We were at Warrnambool for the dog trials, not very successful, but we had a good time with friends. There was a surfing carnival on too and the park was full of screaming kids going berserk all night little cherubs playing in the evenings.
We stayed on an extra night and were close to the last to leave the caravan park this morning after a quiet night with just the sound of waves crashing on the beach to lull us off to sleep.
We are in Ararat tonight (yes a whole 150 km in one day) making our way to Albury for the weekend.

PS it seems there are several Black Stumps, Queensland and NSW have them too.

Barossa

We are in the Barossa Valley testing the Landcruiser and the Desert Sky to see how they work together. So far very good. Hills do not make any difference and the Toyota drives like a car.
We have a second objective in the Barossa, we are looking for a home, preferably on a big block with room for the dogs and the caravan. So far there are a couple of places we are looking at but it is not easy finding the right place. Some are a great place but very expensive, while others are cheaper but need a lot of work. Life was not meant to be easy.