Well have the trailer home and started getting it ready. First test will be a couple of nights in Robinvale.
The hatch is to access the pantry under the box . keep you posted
Kitchen Module goes in
And the journey begins
Well we have the map and now the for the next bit. The trailers. Our trailers are now ready to be picked up but rather than being the end of the story – its the beginning. We now have to fit them out with the kitchen etc.
Some loose specs on the trailers:
- 6.4 off road construction with high sides and tradie top
- Eye to eye springs
- 75×50 extended draw bar
- 60lt under floor water tank
- Ladder bars for tents and kayaks
- 2x jerry can holders and 2 x gas bottle mounts
- AL-KO off road coupling
Watch this space for our progress
Tag a long tours next trip
How’s this for our next trip? 3500 kms in 2 weeks
And it just got hotter
Well we have the van back and we are off again for a quick trip to Tamworth, to see the Grand kids but also to check out the over two types of music – country and western. And from the outset one word describes our week, well two actually BLOODY HOT.
The day we left it got to 43 deg and when we stopped at Narranderra we decided that the night in our unconditioned van was not I our best interests so we booked a cabin. The outcome was not much different and set the tone for the rest of the trip. It did cool down – the day we left to come home.
At Tamworth we stayed at a “Farm Stay” which had 4 vans plus us all older couples and it was great. I would be brilliant if the weather had been a bit cooler. Doug and Irene, our hosts, were fantastic and couldn’t do enough for us, which made our stay that much better.
We managed to catch a couple of shows featuring Brad MacLean and also the “Four Funny Buggers”. The streets of Tamworth are full of marquees, buskers and entertainment all of which mix to create a caliderscope of noise, music, dance and entertainment. I’m no great fan of country and western but the diversity we came across proved entertaining and the volume of people – amazing. The other thing was the street performers continued, irrespective of the heat.
 |
| We are on the road |
 |
| Tamworth Spirit Toyota overrated |
 |
| Guy third from bottom was great |
 |
| Camp Tamworth |
 |
| Camp Tamworth |
 |
| The Pumpkin Seeds at full noise |
 |
| Where is my stool who stole the stool??? |
 |
| Slim immortalized |
We didn’t get to see much of Tamworth hinterlands and attractions but we will go back. We managed a trip out to Nundle, about 50kms east of Tamworth and it was an interesting place. We walked around the old business, the mine, woollen mills and stores and found a few “bargains”. The free tour of the working woollen mills and the restored machine was very good and interesting. This is worth a visit and if you wanted to stay the little caravan park looked well kept.
Our trip home was almost a repeat of the trip up except we had rain for some of the way which made things a little more pleasant – for a while. The Hay plains (Jerilderie to Narranderra then down to Finely we ran into head winds which were squally and made life a bit tough in the fuel stakes.
Well the van seems to be ok after its repair. We have a few small issues to be fixed and an elusive dead mouse just added to the adventure.
 |
| I actual know what this is and used one |
 |
| The Mine is now a resturant |
 |
| Another one the same as before |
 |
| Chaffey Dam between Tamworth and Nundle |
 |
| Sunset over Narranderra |
See you on the road somewhere
The Van is Back – Long live the Van but stuff A’van
Well its been a while since we had a post – but then we haven’t been anywhere (except the US with its technology issues) but it is a time to perhaps expect a little cheer. After 8 months we have our van back and it looks pretty good – no thanks to A’van. They (A’van) seem to have a good product but their after sales service would make an Indian call center look good. If we ever buy another van it won’t be an A’van as long my arse is pointing at the ground.
What I can’t understand is surely they realise the ‘vanning or grey nomad fraternity talk, I mean isn’t there a happy hour every night, and you should never underestimate the “word of mouth” impacts. Anyway here is a picture of the rig on its first day back. Bring on holidays is all I can say ……………………….. see you out there somewhere
Disneyland or bust
Well we made Disneyland after all the planning etc. Unfortunately the blog will have to wait we are having trouble with the technology so it will have to wait till we get back but all is well having a great time.
D& D
May 2013 Marysville and Mansfield
Marysville
Well the time has come for us to be off again, although this time is a bit short. Add to that we don’t have the van it’s still out of action and now my knee is cactus. So we made the call to head off in the corolla and packed the little car up and headed towards Marysville via Heathcote and Yea. Not a long journey and we made Marysville by mid-afternoon.
 |
| Steavenson River at the van park |
 |
| Fungi time |
The park was very nice with the Steavenson River flowing through the middle. Marysville is still struggling after the 2009 fires but is fighting all the way and all credit to the people of the town. They need tourist and day-trippers to come and visit so go spend a few days in the area.
Rest of the afternoon spent settling in and having a bit of a look around the town with a visit to the big blue “I” centre and planning our couple of days here. We decided the next day we would head for Healesville across the black spur and may be the sanctuary, however, when we got to Healesville the weather closed in so a recalculation was in order (over coffee). A change of plans and we headed for Warburton and, well, we weren’t sure after that. From Warby we thought we would go Lake Mountain. The road to the Mount actually went right back to Narbathong across the mountains. At the turn off to Lake Mountain, we decided, because it was raining, to continue on. A few kms on the road turned to dirt and remain so till we had nearly reached Narbathong. It rained a fair bit but was a good, picturesque trip.
 |
| Road from Lake Mt to Narbethong |
When we reached Narbathong we decide we would detour back to the Black Spur pub for lunch.
 |
| Steavenson Falls |
 |
| Keppel Lookout |
Thursday we decide on a few local attractions and headed out to Steavenson Falls. It’s an easy walk from the car park and is quite spectacular. The falls are also lit up at night so we ventured back after dark (bloody freezing) but also quite spectacular. From there we went up to Keppel lookout which looked back over Marysville. Three years on from black Saturday, the scars are still very visible but slowly being dulled. On our way back we called into Bruno’s Gardens which is a garden full of quirky terracotta sculptures. Most of the gardens had been destroyed during the fires and about 80% of the statures have been restored to this point.
 |
| Bruno’s sculpture garden |
 |
| Another “inhabitant “of Bruno’s |
During the afternoon we went to the Crystal Garden which was a little disappointing and didn’t live up to the hype. Back to the unit and we spent a bit of time chasing the sun out the front of our unit.
Mansfield
 |
| Road to Mansfield |
Friday a slowish start (been a bit like that every day) which is not a bad thing, packed the Corolla and headed for Mansfield. Had a bit of a look around Alexandra on the way and arrived at Mansfield at about 12ish with the obligator visit to the big Blue “I” and out to the van park – obviously too early for our host as check in time is 2pm!! So a wander around Mansfield, a bit of lunch, some groceries and back to our digs right on 2pm. The rest of the afternoon was a relax , watching the ducks, etc. on the dam and general doing not much.
 |
| The “cubby” |
We decided the next day to head for Jamieson and Kevington. The road become gravel after Kevington and so we decide not go any further and return to Jamieson. The weather was not all that good as we returned to Jamieson which is a nice little place and quite interesting. We did some of the historic walking tour and general poked around. We decided there were a few attractions we would like to see – the first of which was the Jamieson Brewery (aka pub in the middle of nowhere) which brews its own brand of ale. Got a couple of samples and headed to attraction 2 – the lookout that looks back over the back of Eildon. Attraction 3 was the Protea Farm that turned out to be a wooden humpy with a few flowers inside – which we brought a couple to bring home. Attraction 3 was the Bimbi Motor Museum. This is amazing and worth the trip. Steve and Carol were a wealth of knowledge and willing to share their collection of cars and bric a brac. All proceeds are donated to local volunteer organisations and for a gold coin entry was amazing. Any one in the area should visit and they can be found on the web at http://www.bimbi-museum.com/. Attraction 4 was the berry farm just up from Bimbi we purchased some local produce but not much was going on as it was late in the season. We arrived back at the park mid-afternoon so I though a spot of fishing might be in order – enough said. Sunday we headed up to Mt Bulla, we had not been there before and we were amazed at the amount of buildings on the summit. Di couldn’t get over it and thought it would be very busy during snow season. We returned to the cabin for a relaxing afternoon. Monday it was packing and returning home.So another trip has drawn to a close we missed not having the van and has only strengthened our resolve to get it fixed and get back out on the road again.
 |
| The house of gnomes Mt Bulla |
Day Trip’n
Well we have had a few day trips to keep things interesting. Weekend after Easter it was a trip to Robinvale (technically not a day trip) to see the Grand kids and friends.They were camped at Ned’s corner and its not a bad spot. Brad finally caught his murray cod all 75 cm of it. The kids were obviously having fun on the water and we had a pretty good day.
 |
| River fun |
 |
| And games |
Last weekend we thought another trip to the Wombat might be nice, we had to pick up the old girl anyway so though it sounded like a plan. A few things ended up changing our plans slightly but it ended up a great day. No 4 wheel driving but we headed for a place called Mt Erth which is a garden in the middle of the wombat. They have a great place and just wandering around the gardens etc was peaceful. They also have a nice coffee shop /cafe but we didn’t stop for any of their fare. We decided to head out along the Trentham – Daylesford rd and came across Lyonville and the radio Springs Hotel and that’s were we stayed till about 5pm. This quirky little pub was fantastic – great meals and we just sat around talking. What a great afternoon and we didn’t really want to leave. It is on our list of places to go back to.The owners are building a 16 seat cinema out the back which should be finished soon and they also have accommodation. Anyone travelling around the area could pick a lot worse spots to this for an afternoon.
 |
| Mt Erth |
Easter at Waranga Basin 2013
Well Easter was upon us and as we had planned Easter was to be spent at Waranga Basin with the usual cohorts. Wayne and Faye, Peter and Robyn, Wendy, Gaz and Chas and of course us. Well true to form things didn’t quite go to plan. First up our van is cactus at moment and subject to some major repairs. None of which was our fault. Then Wayne and Fay had to pull out so that left the others. We decided to stay at the motel in Rushworth which wasn’t to bad but would have been better if we had been on the lake. Here are a few happy snaps from the weekend. Rushy always has a street parade and market and as usual there were some interesting sites.
 |
| Interesting name for a laundry |
 |
| Yesteryear came to life |
 |
| anyone we know???? |
 |
| Camp Waranga |
 |
| There is always coffee |
 |
| Heading for the old Whroo mine entrance |
 |
| going through the drive |
Wandering through the Wombat
With summer here and the usual fire etc its been a bit hard to get away. Add to that the problem we now have with our van its all been a bit draining so we managed a Saturday wandering through the Wombat State Forest 4X4 tracks with Gaz and Shaz. We had a good day and here are a few snaps.
 |
| Off the Exl track |
 |
| O’briens Crossing |
 |
| O’brien’s Crossing |
 |
| O’brien/s Crossing |
 |
| O’brien’s crossing |
 |
| Fire trail |
I was amazed at the number of campers at pretty much every flat spot in the park. We stopped at a place called O’briens crossing and talk about tent city.