Winter 2007

 

Saturday 21April

We have been packed (almost) for a couple of weeks but at last we are getting to the “last minute” stuff. This includes setting up lights to go on/off periodically in the house, battery charger on Connie’s car and installing Foxtel in the van. I am puzzled by Connie’s last minute desire to mow the lawns (not a mean feat with a hand mower) because I reason that we won’t get to admire the nice appearance for more than a few hours. Tonight is Bernadette’s birthday party which is the last item to be attended to before departing tomorrow morning. 

 

Day1 Sunday 22nd April

It was cloudy in the morning at Colyton but it gradually got better as the day progressed. We got away at about 8:30. Michael phoned within 10 minutes to say “bon voyage”. We drove a little faster than average and got to Narromine around 4pm. We traveled 416 klms today. The “Rose Gardens” caravan park has apparently “gone” and we almost drove out the other side of town before we turned back to the caravan park in the airport. It turned out to be very nice. There were huge grassy areas and yet only half a dozen vans were booked in here. The amenities were spotless ($20pn). Today was the regular barbeque night for the Gliders Club and all the caravan patrons were invited. It was well worth the $10 per head (even though Tom the King Charles Cavalier spaniel helped us to eat it). A club member advised us NOT to stay at Wilcannia. The stars late at night in Narromine were brilliant. The smoke alarm woke me up at 3:30 am when the battery was getting low.

 

Day 2 Monday 23rd April

The whole day was fine with only a few clouds. We left Narromine around 8:30am and cruised around 95 kph most of the time until we got to Cobar. We covered 267 klm today. We stayed at  … caravan park in Cobar because it is possibly the only one, and secondly it is a good park with plenty of grass and well spaced sites ($22pn).The office was closed on arrival but the sign on the door advised us to “pick a site”. The amenities were spotless. Foxtel was easy. The only network I could find was too weak to connect to. I didn’t set up any radios because we only planned on staying one night. There was a large service station on the adjacent corner that was frequented by semi trailers. We shopped at IGA, got some rubber at “Home Hardware” and re-sealed the skylight. Connie did some washing. Before tea we drove up to the local lookout and found a huge open cut mine has been dug beside the lookout (a bit daggy).

 

Day 3 Tuesday 24th April

We left Cobar at about 7:45 and drove at a steady 100kph until we had used all the auto gas and then switched to petrol. The road was fairly quiet and only one stretch was a bit bumpy for a while. We took a photo of the very sick looking Darling River when we crossed it at Wilcannia. We set our clocks back half an hour. Just before Broken hill we complied with all the warnings signs and ate our fruit for lunch then threw the last couple of tomatoes in the bin provided. We didn’t see any inspection stations but the warnings worked on us. The fine for non compliance was $200. We reached Broken Hill about 1:45. We stayed at the Broken Hill caravan Park ($25pn). This is where Connie fell and banged her head 18 months ago. Foxtel was easy. The pool is not heated. Many sites use woodchip instead of grass. I was talking to VK4II on 7.075 MHz when VK2AJP joined in. I was using the green fiberglass whip and the auto tuner and my report was surprisingly good but after tea the band was really dead. Joe will be away from home for 9 or 10 days.

 

Day 4 Wednesday 25th April

Connie was up early as usual and did a load of washing. It is very overcast so far (8:15 local time). It is ANZAC day and some or all shops are closed. We got 4 cents discount on gas and petrol at the Woolworths Petrol station. We took some photos of the march in the main street and then went to a local car show to take some more photos. After lunch we went looking for a free internet and checked the emails. We also went to the restaurant at the top of the huge slag heap (beside the railway line and the main street). We took a couple of pics and had coffee and cake. The weather was fine all afternoon. Broken Hill exists because of mining – that’s all. We almost bought more fruit & veges at IGA but somebody told us that there was another checkpoint before Peterborough. Trip meter was at 500klms and is now set to 0. Total is now 1199klms including running around BH.

 

Day 5 Thursday 26th April

We left Broken Hill and headed for Peterborough (with half a mind to go further but a little unsure). The light rain gradually increased throughout the day. At Peterborough the woman in the information centre was very enthusiastic about The Flinders and I think she gave Connie a bit of a boost. She told us that Wilpena pound had all of the sites set out and numbered, but at Rawnsley Park there were no specific sites and vans could be parked where we preferred. We bought groceries at Foodland and got a “burger with the lot” for lunch. It seemed like a waste of a day to stay there and watch the rain and so we continued on with Hawker in mind as our next destination. However, at Hawker we filled up with gas and headed off for the last 56klms to Wilpena. On arrival we discovered there were no powered sites for the first night so we settled for an unpowered site until the morning. As it tuned out the people on site 9 left during the evening but it was too dark to move so we will wait till the morning. The “mud map” of the caravan park was less than useless and only confused things making it difficult to select a site. The area for unpowered sites was anything but flat and was covered with randomly placed trees. I now wish we had gone to Rawnsley Park. It continued to rain steadily into the night and I was in bed by 7:30pm. The trip meter was at 488 klms for the day. The total is now 1690 klms.

  

Day 6 Friday 27th April

We moved the van into powered site No 9 in between showers. There were only short bursts of sunshine and it was generally a cool day. There is no TV or radio at all. The site is surrounded by trees but I still managed to get Foxtel to work. I put up about 100 meters of wire antenna and 40 meters was good. We rang Arkaroola and booked the Ridgetop 4WD tour ($99 ea) for Sunday afternoon and a cabin ($130) for Sunday night. Connie is happier now that we have power and Foxtel, in fact she is talking about extending our booking to 5 days instead of four. The rain was a real dampener for Connie because she doesn’t have her own ham radio!

 

Day 7 Saturday 28th April

Still more rain (most of the day). It’s just as well we have Foxtel. Connie did all the girly things and I did radio things to pass the time. I had problems transmitting but reception was good. I removed a short piece of co-ax and the problem was  .. .. .. ? We talked to a couple from the Watagans and he was planning to get a “D-tronic” computer chip fitted at Hawker for his diesel Prado. I expressed my usual cynicism and asked him to email me the results when he gets home in September. Wow, could he talk. We postponed the washing as well as the Ridgetop tour from Sunday to Monday because the weather forecast was not good enough. The office told us that the weather forecast was for showers for the next week – do we believe the office or Foxtel?

(Daryl Martin, 85a/10 Central Road, Cooranbong, NSW 2265, Ph:02 4977 1439, Mob:0412824216, email:dpm@exemail.com.au) 

Day 8 Sunday 29th April

The weather is showing signs of improvement with some sunny breaks but the morning was windy. After doing two loads of washing and one load in the dryer we headed off for a scenic tour of the local area. We covered about 100klms of dirt road and visited three or four lookouts as well as two or three gorges. The visitor centre quoted $595 each for a return flight to Arkaroola including the ridgetops tour – a bit rich for me. We’ll stick to our plan to drive there and back. I fitted our spare water filter because the water pressure was so low.

Day 9 Monday 30th April

We drove 202 klms along the dirt roads to Arkaroola and found the roads were fairly good. We averaged 80klms/hr and got there with plenty of time for a break and lunch at the resort. The Ridgetop Tour to Sillers lookout was superb – maybe the best I have ever seen. It is apparently used by a number of car manufacturers to advertise new models. The two hour drive along dirt roads (in the back of a truck) was worth it.

 

Day 10 Tuesday 1st May

We drove along more dirt roads towards Leigh Creek but didn’t get there before blowing a tyre – leaving the extra spare at home was stupid after all! At Copley we purchased and fitted a Hancook tyre for $260 and put it in the back of the wagon. By the time we completed the tour via Copley, Leigh Creek and Hawker we had traveled something like 560 klms. The trip meter now reads 563klms. Our trip total is 2371klms. We filled up with gas and topped up the petrol at Hawker where the mechanic helped to fit the spare wheel. We got lunch in a café in Hawker.

 

Day 11 Wednesday 2nd May

This was quite an interesting day because we flew over the Wilpena Pound in a small 4 seater and took plenty of photos. The photos may not be particularly good because of the misty haze. When we returned to camp we took a shuttle bus up the side of the pound as far as the “Homestead” and then walked the last 500 meters to the lookout. At the top most lookout we were actually in the pound and the view was great. The inside of the pound was mostly covered with small trees and a number of clearings from 100 years ago were still bare. We drank ginger beer and ate chocolates before walking all the way back down to the caravan park. The weather today was perfect. We sat outside the caravan and relaxed during the afternoon. We had the usual visits from kangaroos. The sites were average, with gravel surface and no grass. The water was in need of filtering although it seemed that most people didn’t care.    

 

Day 12 Thursday 3rd May

We left Wilpena Pound early and were at Port Augusta before lunch. We booked in at the usual Big4 park. It appears that overnight vans are put on the gravel sites and longer visitors are put on the grassy sites. The first job was to get some food (& things that from Woolies, a couple of water filters from Mitre 10, toilet chemicals from “Top of the gulf fishing and caravanning store”, and arrange for a service for the cruiser. When all this was organized we walked down the hill to the bridge and back. The weather was great but the radio was poor (green whip). When I put up the 2 meter antenna I discovered that a locking bolt had shaken out and was lost and I robbed one from under the bonnet of the car. There is a local repeater.  Trees blocked the Foxtel but we didn’t worry because we only planned to stay two nights. The digital TV was clear but only had a few channels. 

At the bank of S.A.

I have also taken $470,000 from a Directsaver account 127330429 (in my name) and transferred it into my Super Cash Management account no 163703083.

 

I have also taken the remaining $32,000 from my Directsaver account in my name and transferred it into my “Multi access” account. The direct saver is now closed.

 

Day 13 Friday 4th May

I drove the car down to the Toyota dealer and walked back with my computer. We decided to stay another day and leave on Sunday instead of Saturday. Great weather. When I picked up the car I discovered that the wheel nuts were so tight that I couldn’t undo them. This caused me to loose my block completely. The service was carried out at 66,666 klms – ironic eh!

On the phone to St George:

I have opened up an “Express Saver Account” in the name of Grey Nomad (NSW) P/L which pays 6.15% (calculated daily and credited monthly). It is for internet access only. BUT I cannot put funds into it until I have received a “Welcome pack” from St George (being posted to Alice Springs post office). Jasmine at Business Banking, Parramatta was amazingly patient considering my aggression.

We took my computer down town to look for a “free” internet connection. It was frustrating and unsuccessful to say the least.

 

Day 14 Saturday 5th May

I returned the electric heater to Mitre 10 and got another one that was even cheaper – but it works! I filled up with gas at 59.9 c/l. I found out that the library provides free internet access and went there to check it out. It turned out that we can use our username & password with their ISP at many libraries in S.A. The only restriction is that sessions are limited to four hours each and a total of 8 hours per day. It is all free!! We got a set of questions from Antonia regarding JCS and spent a couple of hours outside the library answering the questions and returning them. I also checked other emails and updated the EVO. Later we drove to a couple of lookouts and I took a small bundle of photos. The day ended with a very interesting meeting with Harvey (VK7HK) & Meg Skeggs. The total distance on the trip so far is 2605 klms. 

 

Day 15 Sunday 6th May

We left Port Augusta with an open mind about reaching Coober Pedy. The trip meter is set back to zero. At Glendambo we stopped for coffee and cake then pressed on. We arrived at CP around 3.00pm. There is no water connections at CP but water is sold at 20cents for 30 litres in the main street. Our tanks have been full since Broken Hill. I spent a couple of hours trying to get Foxtel to work and gave up. I also set up the 2 meter antenna and discovered that there is NO ham activity near CP.

 

Day 16 Monday 7th May

I picked up a new LNB and a patch lead for the sat dish. After fitting them I discovered that I was pointing 33 degrees W of N instead of E of N – what a wanker! I then got Foxtel up and running. The amenities are closed for cleaning for 3 hours! We did the town tour for $40 each from 1:30 until 6:00pm. It included “The Breakaways”, the dingo fence, underground house, opal shop, underground church etc. Joe had left a message on my phone to say he would be on 7.075 later tonight. We got back around 6:00 and had pizza for dinner. I tried to set up the BuddiPole antenna and finally gave up. I made one contact on the Barrett mobile to VK3. By the time I had the 7 Mhz whip set up it was around 11:00 pm. I watched Foxtel until 2:00 am.

 

Day 17 Tuesday 8th May

The ham radio was DEAD this morning. A leisurely walk around the shopping centre and lunch back at the van took us to 1:30. It rained until late at night.

 

Day 18 Wednesday 9th May

We have decided to stay until Thursday morning and so we are having a lazy day today. The weather today is great – full sun but not too hot. Connie paid $50 for her gas bill at the post office and I withdrew money for each of us from the ATM. I searched the caravan for the network card for the Pioneer computer and cannot find it - which means EchoLink may not be realised on this trip. I put up a length of wire which can be tuned with the manual tuner and cope with 400 watts I presume. We watched Costello and his budget speech on Foxtel.

 

Day 19 Thursday 10th May

We left C.P. at 8:00am and got a riggle on. We arrived at Erldunda around 2:30pm. We noticed the cloud cover increasing as we went North.  The landscape also became noticeably greener. The water at Erldunda is bore water and should not be drunk without boiling first. This will be a one night stand so we didn’t bother with Foxtel. Today we traveled 489 klms. The trip total so far is 3666 klms.

 

Day 20 Friday 11th may

We arrived at Alice ahead of the crowd and picked our own site with good Foxtel visibility but Foxtel was still difficult and it seems that my Satlook Micro meter is dying. The weather turned out to be good. We did a bigger shopping than normal at Woolies. The B of SA informed me that the reason the Express Saver could not be used was because it had not yet been linked, but this was easy and now I simply have to do the transfer on the Internet. Could not find a freebie. The park is OK and amenities are good but I had to cut a couple of small branches out of the way for the caravan. I found 2 repeaters (2 meter + 70cm). No contact with Joe.

 

Day 21 Saturday 12th

Connie did the girls things (hair & eyebrows) and I updated photos and diary. The day has started off looking brilliant. Later in the day we took some pics from Anzac Hill and then decided to drive out along the Ross Hwy to see what attractions we could find. We came across Emily Gap, Jessie Gap and Coroboree Rock. Back at the camp we took a look at the work of an aboriginal painter who was camped nearby. I bought a small painting from him and he told me a story about the picture (I think he made it up as he went along!).

 

Day 22 Sunday 13th May

It is Mothers day but Connie still got up at 6:30 and did 2 loads of washing. It may be a lazy day today.

 

Day 23 Monday 14th May

I tried once again to move the super fund money into the new Express saver account and nobody at St George could tell me why. I told them. I finally got to complete the welcome pack at the B of SA in Alice and they faxed it to Sydney. After lunch we headed off on the Emu Run tour to Rainbow Valley. It was great – especially the BBQ.

 

Day 24 Tuesday 15th May

Today was a full day. We left on the Emu Run tour to Palm Valley before 8:00am. The tour was good but I was a little disappointed. We drove about 150 klms - the last 20 klms was on gravel and the last 3 were torturous on the bus, and the final destination was not really that spectacular! The big disappointment was the back seat in the bus and I sure complained about it. We were pleased to get out of the bus.

 

Day 25 Wednesday 16th May

We filled again with gas and are already topped up with petrol. We went to the B of SA and tried to transfer the super funds again but failed. It seems that Jennifer somebody at Business banking in Parramatta put the restriction on the Express acc and intended to lift it when the “welcome pack” (authorization) arrived. It should have been there two days ago. They still don’t have it! Rachael faxed it again and I increased the pressure on her and after an hour of waiting I gave a 20 minute deadline before I went to the CBA. Finally, Rachael “went over Jennifers head” and got the restriction removed. I transferred the funds on their computer.

 

Day 26 Thursday 17th May

We traveled to Devils Marbles and set up camp in a freebie beside the huge rock formations. This rest area is OK for one day only because there is nowhere to go and only rocks to photograph. The weather is starting to improve day by day.

 

Day 27 Friday 18th May

We were up just after sunrise and walked to another cluster of rocks about 4-500m away. After breakfast we head off with no specific destination. Just after threeways we struck up a radio conversation with Andrew & Jennifer. We stopped at Barkly Homestead for lunch and the caravan park looked very good but their auto gas pump was broken. We decided to continue on petrol and pushed a bit hard until we got to the “Avon Downs” police station rest area. It was a good one and we stopped there. The days trip was 500klms and the total was now 4961 klms. We talked to Andrew and Jennifer over a beer for half an hour. I put up a long wire antenna and it seemed to work great – with numerous foreign stations but poor reception from Sydney. The trucks woke Connie a number of times but didn’t bother me. The wind always woke Connie a few times.

 

Day 28 Saturday 19th May

It is only 260 klms to Mt Isa. The road is very good but there are some road trains. At Mt Isa we were surprised by how cold and dull it was. We stayed at the Copper City caravan park out of curiosity and it turned out to be great. Every site has an on suite that we thought we wouldn’t use – but we did. We even had a clothes line outside the caravan door. Steve looks just like Billy Connelly. Foxtel was easy. The long wire was also easy and worked brilliantly at first but was lousy by 9:00pm We put our clocks back to A.E.S.T. There was nothing in the way of VHF or UHF even though the call book lists a 2M repeater.

 

Day 29 Sunday 20th May

Ah! Sunshine again. The trip meter now shows 267klms and the total is now 5229klms.

Connie did two loads of washing. I had a badly needed shave and then we went to the information centre to find out what we could about Lawn Hill. I am confident that we can take the caravan all the way to Lawn Hill but Connie is apprehensive. I found a chemist shop still open during the afternoon and found a box of chocolates and licorice. The assistant wrapped them for me. I had a problem storing them in a cool place and finished up giving them to Connie after tea. Radio was hopeless.

 

Day 30 Monday 21st May

Beautiful weather!  Connie is 63 today and Connie made sure that I knew that I was 64 – actually my throat made me feel like I was 104. Jullie rang and told me to fill in a tax file number declaration form and post it to her. She told me that our R.O. at St George is Nicolette Aquilina (02 9893 6015). Connie applied for a senior health care card today at Mt Isa. I posted the TFN form to Jullie. We went to Townies Club for tea and it was a good meal. I filled the water tanks.

 

Day 31 Tuesday 22nd May

When I woke this morning I could hardly talk or swallow. I decided to go to a doctor before we left Mt Isa. We got away at around 11:30 and stopped at Cloncurry. We had no problem getting to Burke & Wills roadhouse in the late afternoon. The caravan park area was not glamorous but it was the first time we used the amenities for showering. There were only an odd few taps in the park but somebody suggested that the water wasn’t good enough to drink anyway. Foxtel was a bit fiddly but finally worked. Optus C1 is four degrees to the East of B3.

 

Day 32 Wednesday 23rd May

The drive from Gregory Downs to Adels Grove was a complete mystery but most people were suggesting that it was OK for a caravan as long as you slow down on the rough patches. It turned out to be just that – OK as long as you slow down on some patches. Near the end of the drive a rock broke one of the water fittings and we lost about 1/3 of our water. Some sticky tape and a piece of plastic hose made a temporary repair. I tied a rubber mat and a large piece of shade cloth under the tanks to try to protect the plumbing. It was VERY dusty. Road trains caused a complete 1 minute blackout with the dust. Adels grove supplies no power. We ran the generator for a few hours. The water is heavy with calcium. Radio was hopless again (just asian voices).

 

Day 33 Thursday 24th May

Today was set aside for exploring Lawn Hill. We did two walks – one around the top of the “Stack” with panoramic views of Lawn Hill and the other along the fast flowing creek with its “cascades”. The water is apparently flowing continuously from the Great Artesian basin. I really wanted to have a swim but the bottom was rough and unpredictable and we didn’t have our swimmers. Back at the van Connie did some washing by hand and I updated my diary. We ran the generator for a few hours. The Lawn Hill/Adels Grove visit was interesting but not worth the dusty uncomfortable drive.

 

Day 34 Friday 25th May

We got away at 7:00am and stopped at Gregory Downs for breakfast. The plumbing survived the trip back from Adels grove. We carried on via the Wills Developmental Rd (short cut) to Julia Creek where the caravan park was surprisingly good. It was hot. A spa was offered at the park but we didn’t use it – the instructions were in German. The big surprise was when the next door neighbors said “G’day Allan Jeal” – It was Richard and Bromwyn Cornford. The days total was about 500klms. I managed to get one chip in the windscreen because I didn’t slow down when passing. There is nothing in UHF or VHF here and Joe has told me he won’t be on air Friday or Saturday.

 

Day 35 Saturday 26th May

Before Rick & Brom left I took a couple of pics of them between their motor home and our caravan. Richard (0418 427777) & Bromwyn (0418 555133) headed on to Richmond, then Hughenden and are aiming for Carnarvon Gorge. We paid almost $1/ltr for gas and almost $1.50 for petrol. Connie was not pleased with the supermarket that did not display ANY prices. We went for a nature walk along a creek for a few klms. For dinner we went to the local pub and had Barramundi.

 

Day 36 Sunday 27th May

We headed for Hughenden. I set up Foxtel very quickly and put up a HF whip. This is the place where the railway siding is just across the road but makes no noise during the night. Even the galas don’t start making a noise until after breakfast. When we drove around town (just a few streets) we met up with Richard & Bromwyn again and they camped behind us at the park. I spoke to three aborigine kids outside the “FJ Milkbar”.  I bought a bottle of port at the pub in the main street. Richard came into our van and we tried to find some free internet, but failed. Next door has an electrical problem in his new Jayco Expander. The problem turned out to be a blown 60amp fuse on one of the household batteries. Radio was useless.

 

Day 37 Monday 28th May

After tea we walked around the almost totally deserted shopping centre and we came across three female hospital staff. One of them (Sheradine) was black and explained that she was a drug & alcohol councilor. Because I showed some interest in the Aboriginals, she invited us to come to her place at Charters Towers to “sit and talk under the mango tree”. We accepted on the condition that I could take a bottle of port.

Day 38 Tuesday 29th May

We said goodbye to Richard & Bromwyn who were heading south via Winton. They had come North along this same route. Hughenden to Charters Towers was against the wind and we cruised around 85 to 90 kph for the 245 klm trip. We initially went to the Aussie Outback caravan park which looked really nice but it was $27.50 /night. So we went back to the Charters Towers Tourist Park at $22/night. This is a nice park for the money. The amenities OK and there is a dump point. Internet was supposed to be installed and running later today .. .. it didn’t happen. After tea (and our walk) we found 54 Millchester St. and Sheradine. They did most of the talking and I thought they were pretty entertaining until it got too cold. As we were leaving Sheradine invited us to a barbeque.

Day 39 Wednesday 30th May

I rang Sheradine and excused ourselves from the BBQ. There is nowhere to buy caravan parts in Charters Towers - we couldn’t even find the correct curtain hooks. Our shopping at Woolworths was the biggest we have done for some time – we even got some buzzy things. Before tea we walked the main part of the shopping centre and went up to the lookout. A huge motor home parked beside us in the afternoon. The internet is still not working in the caravan park. I fitted the hooks to the shower curtain. I have a wire antenna running straight up into a tree beside the caravan. It worked well but fading was very evident. There seems to be more electrical noise around this area. I spoke to Joe for 15 minutes with a good signal.

 

Day 40 Thursday 31st May

We discovered that there is a leak somewhere in the toilet canister and this explains the smell we have recently noticed. I washed out the canister housing from outside and discovered there is no drain and so some water flowed onto the floor under the shower. It was a good Thursday morning. The internet is still not working in the caravan park. We drove 13k out of town to see the local weir. I opened up my radio amplifier but couldn’t see any blown fuses or other problems and closed it again. We went to the RSL for tea and the meal was average but was also cheap. Kath & Rod from next door were also there. The Sydney night temperatures have finally taken a bit of a dive.

Day 41 Friday 1st June

This will be a quiet day. I left a message at Thetford and they are supposed to call me back. Connie did the girly things and I opened the amplifier again but still cannot see any problems. I put up a 10Mhz dipole (maybe it will work better?). This trip total is now 6947 klm.

Day 42 Saturday 2nd June

Only an odd shop open in Charters Towers. The 4x4 accessory shop strongly recommended Coopers tyres.

Day 43 Sunday 3rd June

This was a very lazy day. I bought a crossword puzzle magazine from the office. It was a hot day. A grey nomad told me that El Dorado tyres are also made by Coopers.

Day 44 Monday 4th June

We moved on to Rockhampton which was a short run of 135klm. The weather is starting to cloud over a bit. I phoned UHF Communications but they are too busy to look at the amp. I phoned Lee Andrews and he convinced me to send the amp to him. I posted the amp via registered post (No. RL44908861). We collected our mail from the post office. Our site at the Coral Coast caravan park was good because we have Foxtel and we are only 20 feet from the clothes lines and 40 feet from the amenities. Radio is not so good because of the local noise.

Day 45 Tuesday 5th June

Connie returned some Flake fish to Woolworths because it smelled too much and returned a phone card because it is awkward to use in public phones. I went to a doctor and found out that I have brochitus. The doctor prescribed Roxithromycin and charged $58. The chemist told me that the lack of bulk billing is common for QLD ! I filled out the Medicare claim and posted it from here. We walked the full length of the Strand – both ways. Radio is still difficult because of the noise.

Day 46 Wednesday 6th June

I posted the papers to Nicolette for the Express account and emailed D.Messnerco to fill him in with the details. The park provided a sausage sizzle in the evening but it broke up when the showers of rain became a nuisance. Connie made coffee back at the van. Joe is not on air tonight however I finally had a brief contact on 2 meters with Felix, vk2fuq at Ingham. Jullie rang to advise that the water rates have arrived. There is currently nothing exciting on at the movies in Townsville.

Day 47 Thursday 7th June

It rained consistently during last night and it was a little cooler this morning.

Day 48 Friday 8th June

The crosswords are bloomin hard. We went for a drive around the harbor and up to Castle Hill. I had forgotten how spectacular the views were. We had dinner at the Seaview Hotel on the Strand. The restaurant is called “the steakhouse” and it is more expensive than we are generally used to but the food was very good – a brilliant rump steak. 

Day 49 Saturday 9th June

We went to the markets at Flinders Mall. Connie rang the caravan park at Rowes Bay and it seems that the charges are less there ($27/night and $160/week). We will probably go there next week.

Day 50 Sunday 10th June

Day 51 Monday 11th June

We went to Woolies and the A shop. At 8:00pm I went up to castle Hill and the radio was great – but fading was a problem. Joe will be away for a couple of days.

Day 52 Tuesday 12th June

We found a plumber who sold the fittings used in our plumbing and bought a new elbow plus a few spares like another elbow, tee and joiner. Connie went to the new P.O. and IGA. I replaced the broken elbow and filled the tanks with water. I also purchased a 7 pin flat socket and fitted it to the A frame so the electric plug can then earth out all the caravan driving lights. Tonite we will see if they still flash when using the radio (but I forgot).

Day 53 Wednesday 13th June

A piece of wire in the trees around the caravan seems better than the 7mhz whip. The lights on the caravan still flash when transmitting – how can this be when all the wires are grounded at the A-frame?

Day 54 Thursday 14th June

The weather bureau forecast rain and/or showers for today and they were nearly right – the temperature is just a little over 20º and cloudy. The Yaesu FT7800 has been of interest in the caravan today. Connie paid her car insurance at the CastleTown P.O.

Day 55 Friday 15th June

It rained quite heavily during the night but I didn’t wake. We went to Molly Molloy’s pub in town for lunch and found it to be very good. After lunch we went to the OmniMax theatre in the Reef HQ building and watched a show called Deep Sea. It was a unique experience with the domed roof acting as the screen. I called Lee Andrews again and Cameron told me to ring back on Tuesday to find out how Mark was going with the amplifier (pretty much what I expected). We discussed the option of going inland for a week and coming back to the coast at Rocky – but surely the current cold spell and showers won’t last long. The local IRLP node on 438.225 (node 6444) doesn’t want to work for me. Snow (vk4ifs) and Paul (vk4foto) had problems on most attempts.

Day 56 Saturday 16th June

We had a lazy day and a drive around Townsville. It was a surprisingly good day in spite of the weather report. An evening meal for $5 provided by the caravan park was enjoyed as we sat around the camp fire.

Day 57 Sunday 17th June

Pancakes were supplied by the park for breakfast! There will be no sun today by the looks of it. We are getting to know more of the people here – but we are leaving Wednesday. We strolled around the markets at the Willows shopping centre and then the Riverways (pools etc).

 

Day 58 Monday 18th June

We did a “town tour” and saw a lot of things again - plus a few new things. It poured with rain nearly all day. We have extended our stay until Monday morning.

 

Day 59 Tuesday 19th June

The intention was to go to the Museum of Tropical QLD and have lunch out today, but communications problems got in the way. Maybe we will do it tomorrow. Very cool. The GoodYear rep suggested that I do not try rotating tyres. Cameron at Lee Andrews told me to ring back tomorrow at 2:00 to 3:00 because Mark may have returned the amplifier. I indicated that I was going to hang around Townsville until the amp was returned because the smaller outback PO’s may have problems handling the package.

 

Day 60 Wednesday 20th June

The weather is still dismal and cool. We picked up our mail from the P.O. We went to the Museum of Tropical Queensland but got so excited by the museum that we had to leave after about 90 minutes. Harvey Norman has some “Navigators” but they claim that the 3000 is the newest model? Lee Andrews (Cameron) told me to ring next Tuesday. Julie advised that the Internet had cost $100 so far ! but the next two months would be free – so I’ll make the most of it. In the evening I got a message from Telstra advising that I had used 134% of the usage allowance on the internet! I forwarded the message for Jullie to look into.

 

Day 61 Thursday 21st June

The weather is still showery, overcast and very cool. We spent most of the day in the caravan. Today was the coldest day on record (13.9ºC) for Townsville.

Day 62 Friday 22nd June

We saw that the clouds in a nearby mountain range were lying at the bottom of the valleys instead of at the top of Mount Stuart. It is still raining on/off. We went to a fish shop in Palmer St. for a “fish & chips” lunch then returned to the caravan to warm up with a hot mug of coffee. My ham radio is still useless – I am having trouble believing that propagation could be so consistently bad. Jullie checked with Telstra again and found out that only the first three Meg are free each month and the rest is $2.66 per Meg. I rang Sentinel Geo Systems Pty Ltd, 49 Frenchs Forest Road, Frenchs Forest NSW 2086, Phone: +61 (0)2 9452 8000 and learnt that Navigator 3000 has only part of EVO features, does not use Sensis maps, does not get updated and the battery lasts max three hours. The N7000 has Bluetooth, is dust & splash proof, uses Sensis maps, full EVO functions which are updated fortnightly and 10 hours max battery. 

Day 63 Saturday 23rd June

Boredom is definitely setting in – we spent an hour walking around Bunnings and a lighting shop – why?

Day 64 Sunday 24th June

We didn’t stray far today. We walked a kilometer or two and back. I spent some time packing up some radio stuff and then spent some time trying to make my computer run a bit faster than a snail. I got it to work by disabling McAfee, Spyware Doctor and ZoneAlarm – and it is back to normal. I then started my web site for selling the caravan. Tomorrow we head for Ayr. According to the weather channel we may have some good weather by Thursday.

Day 65 Monday 25th June

The drive to Ayr was dry, which made a nice change. The distance was only about 70 or 80 klms. By the time we had set up at the Cascades caravan park and called in at Woolies, it had started to rain again. This park is a council park and costs $18 / night. The local show will be on Thursday.

Day 66 Tuesday 26th June

It rained all night. Luckily we were on site 41 which was clear of trees and we had no leaves on the car and van. Sandy in the office agreed to a wire antenna as long as it was high. The radio still seemed hopelessly deaf and yet I managed a GOOD contact with vk5mcw in Roxby Downs (Michael). We don’t need to drive to the shops here, it is only a ten minute walk – Connie is fine with this. 

Day 67 Wednesday 27th June

Mandy at Andrews Comms rang Mark and found out that my amp will be returned to Greystanes today. I told her firmly that the date that they had recvd it was NOT 13th June as she claimed, but was actually 6th June. My receipt shows date posted was 4th June. I told her that I had been getting the same response from Cameron and Lee every time I rang. She promised that it would be posted today and would address it to Proserpine P.O. The Grey Nomad in the next caravan told Connie that his TV played up badly last night … ! It’s hard to imagine what could have caused it so I installed a TVI filter. Today is supposed to be the last day of poor weather and tomorrow is promised to be sunny. We drove to Rita Island for a drive but there is only sugar cane there and its not really an island. Joe rang in the evening and I will give him a call tomorrow night on 7.085 Mhz and also IRLP node 6060 at Gosford.

Day 68 Thursday 28th June

It’s show day in Ayr. Connie did early washing because we are moving on tomorrow. Toyota advised that the next model Landcruiser will be released in November.

Day 69 Friday 29th June

We drove about 170 klm to the Tourist Park at Proserpine. This is a surprisingly good option at $22/night & 7th free. The amenities are spotless and it is not too far to walk to the shopping centre (Woolies is at the far end though). I put up about 50 meters of wire from site 38. The bowling green next door has BROWN grass and they make a noise all morning with mowers and rollers but it didn’t bother Connie. A Kiwi woman called Adrian wanted to talk to her brother Phil zl2hf in Wellington but when we made contact she didn’t know what to say and didn’t know when to go home. 

Day 70 Saturday 30th June

We drove to Conway Beach which was nothing to write home about but the caravan park is very nice. We also had a look at Cedar Falls and another look at Airlie Beach and Cannonvale. These places are becoming far too commercialized as we expected. We had dinner at the Irish pub in town and it was good.

Day 71 Sunday 1st July

It was maybe the warmest day we have experienced for about a month. We drove a couple of hundred klms today and visited Dingo Beach and Hideaway Bay. Dingo beach was good but it did not have a van park and Hideaway Bay had a rather poor beach and an average to good van park. I did a lot more work on the web site today but it needs to be put onto the web.

 

Day 72 Monday 2nd July

Another real nice day. We got some groceries, Connie deposited $1 at CBA. I found a socket to fit to “gadgets”. We had a nice meal at Prince of Wales pub.

 

Day 73 Tuesday 3rd July

We had a very leisurely drive to Seaforth (less than 100 klms). We carefully picked a site for maximum sun because there is no power or water or generators. Even showers have to be paid for. Sixteen dollars a night seems excessive but the park is pleasant I suppose. I put up the entire 60 meters of antenna wire with some onlookers. The trip meter is now at 8,403 klms.

Day 74 Wednesday 4th July

John & Val next door are very savy with solar panels and rely entirely on solar power! It is becoming apparent that my rooftop solar panels are doing very little. The batteries are getting low. We walked several klms North along the beach to a causeway that goes to a very close island. We have paid $74 in all – for 1 week.

Day 75 Thursday 5th July

We went into Mackay and did some shopping. We also purchased a 130 watt solar portable package. I spoke to Joe for 10 to 15 minutes tonite. The 130 watt solar panel supplies 6 to 8 amps all day because we move it around. The panels on the roof only start to become effective in the middle third of the day – not cost effective at all.

Day 76 Friday 6th July

The mornings have been cold but the days really good. We played solar panels most of the day.

Day 77 Saturday 7th July

Val and John next door are technically savy. They are also going to get a new caravan by the new year

Day 78 Sunday 8th July

The solar panels have fully charged the batteries and they have shifted into the absorption phase.

Day 79 Monday 9th July

We took another drive into Mackay to get autogas and groceries. I packed up quite a few things before tea so we can get an early start in the morning. This morning the temperature in the van was 9.9 degrees

Day 80 Tuesday 10th July

Luck at Carmilla. We found site 1 and 2 both empty but the wind was icy cold. We took site 2 (Carmilla Heights) and it did not appear from the road that site 1 was empty. The batteries are now fully charged. I put up 60 meters of antenna but Joe didn’t show up.

Day 81 Wednesday 11th July

This morning the temperature in the van was 10 degrees. We drove 26 k to have a look at Clairview. The park is pretty fair with a reasonable beach and fairly good amenities. Today was a very sunny day but certainly not hot. Joe gave me the best signal report he has ever given me – 5 to 10 over 9.

Day 82 Thursday 12th July

Today was another very sunny day but certainly not hot. In fact the wind made it very uncomfortable. Joe gave me great signal reports again – 5 to 10 over 9.

 

Day 83 Friday 13th July

Cold and windy.

Day 84 Saturday 14th July

Cold and windy.

Day 85 Sunday 15th July

The first thing we did when we awoke was to discuss moving to Clairview where there is power. It was quickly agreed that we could not stand any more of the cold nights without power. At Clairview it seemed so much better. Connie did washing and I updated this diary. It was not worth putting up antennas for one night (we are booked into Rockhampton on Monday. A huge fifth wheeler came in and parked just a little way across from us and the fellow has had a couple of Whittleys.

Day 86 Monday 16th July

A couple of hundred klms down the road we came to Rockhampton where they have just recorded the lowest temperature ever (maybe we should head for Darwin)! We checked the P.O. for mail and were disappointed. I made an appointment with a doctor for tomorrow morning. Connie nearly filled the shopping trolley at Woolworths. I found a couple of repeaters but didn’t get an antenna up for HF. Connie recognized Roma (from Townsville) in the site next to us. Their next stop is Bundaberg.

Day 87 Tuesday 17th July

We collected mail from the P.O. and I paid my ham radio renewal and the $45 super levy over the net. I noticed that Olah has missed last weeks rent and the water payment. Michael has been unemployed for 2 years and has a solicitor to fight Woolworths. He will bring rent and water up to date on Friday 20th. I put up 60 meters of wire antenna and spoke to Ray VK4NET on 14 Mhz then 7 Mhz. Connies cold is revitalizing and it is back to the pills. Our plans are to leave the caravan at Boroma and go to look at Kedron on 6th Aug. We should be home on the weekend of 10/11th August.

Day 88 Wednesday 18th July

We need even more shopping! Connie & I walked 4.5 klms.

Day 89 Thursday 19th July

The Streetpilot is dying. It randomly loses sight of satellites.

Day 90 Friday 20th July

We drove to the top of Mount Archer but it was too cold to walk around the viewing circuit. We checked out a couple of other sights then had lunch. After lunch I went to Harvey Normans and Dick Smiths to look at GPSs. I picked a Navigator 6000. It is not as good as the Garmin Streetpilot because it has a jerky screen refresh, but it incorporates the EVO features. Trying to download the needed software from the internet is messy and frustrating.

Day 91 Saturday 21st July

Dick Smith had to copy the CD because it was warped. I had to use the internet at the 10 pin bowling alley to get the files from the internet. I installed the ActiveSync and the update software but now I need the internet again to download the database of “safety locations”. Having commenced driving with it, I decided that it was nowhere near as good as the Garmin. I took it back to Dick Smith and changed it for Garmin c510. So far I have not had to install any software or download anything.

Day 92 Sunday 22nd July

The Garmin seems fine. This was a very lazy day and warmer than any days in the last month or so (29 degrees in the van). The vacuum cleaner shop provided our internet services. I have a “stylus” that I must return to DS for the Nav6000. The Compaq is running very slowly and msconfig had to come to the rescue.

Day 93 Monday 23rd July

We drove about 100 klms to Calliope to the freebie beside the river. It was quite good and worth a couple of nights (maximum allowed) next year. 

Day 94 Tuesday 24th July

We drove about 276 klms to Maryborough and The Wallace caravan park. The park is very good at $22 / night (7th night free). The place was pretty well packed but I managed to get up about 35 meters of wire antenna. A German/Russian tried to get me to show him how to use a scanner but it was too complex for me. I have remembered that I have to get some mail (Kedron) from Rocky to Maryborough.

Day 95 Wednesday 25th July

Today is warmer than it has been for a long time. By 10:00 am we were in T shirts. We had a pub lunch and Connie made an appointment for a hair do locally for $50.

Day 96 Thursday 26th July

We did a large shop at Woolworths. Paul in the office was supposed to ring a tour operator and reserve a couple of seats for us for tomorrow at 2:00pm

Day 97 Friday 27th July

Today was a shit of a day. The woman in the caravan behind us complained about interference with their TV last night. I blamed her antenna but she claimed it had always worked brilliantly – it’s a Winneguard. We found an unsecured internet network just up the street and I sat on it for an hour to update the EVO. I also checked email and updated Orbitron. I went to the PO and picked up the Kedron brochure but it was not very informative. We then hung around the caravan until 1:50pm when we were supposed to catch the bus for a town tour – but the bastard came and went five minutes early and we missed him. I got very cranky on the phone with the tour operator and told her that they had stuffed my day. I found out, two days later, that she had phoned and offered to take us the next day instead – but I didn’t know the message was there on my phone. In the evening we went into town to “Portside” and watched a free outdoor movie – “The Queen”. It was cold but we got rugged up and took the port (Penfolds J).

Day 98 Saturday 28th July

We drove to Hervey Bay for a couple of hours

Day 99 Sunday 29th July

We went on a 90 minute cruise along the local river area then wandered around Queens park and watched the miniature steam trains. In the evening we saw “Knocked Up” at the local movies – it was very funny.

Day 100 Monday 30th July

Connie had an 11:00am hair appointment and I got the Foxtel co-ax fixed. We did more shoppingat Woolies. I went around to meet vk4tpt and he was a grub living in a pigs stye.

 

Day 101 Tuesday 31st July

We got an early start and headed down to Coolum. We had no problem getting a site but the place was chocker block full that night. Foxtel was simple. Kedron has declined to get interested in my caravan so I cancelled my appointment to visit their factory.

Day 102 Wednesday 1st August

Vk4tpt had rekindled my interest in Echolink and I recalled that I had set it up before we left Sydney. I ran the software and within minutes I had connected to vk4tpt – in spite of a “router” at the local internet connection (freebie from unknown source). I wont bother to put up a HF long wire. Connie could not find ¾ length jeans to fit, so we had an ice cream instead. Coolum is definitely warmer than any place we have passed through since Mt Isa. The local “netgear” freebie seems to have blocked my IP address.

Day 103 Thursday 2nd August

In the wee small hours Connie got an SMS from Josette who has just had a baby boy. Today is even warmer than yesterday. I cleaned the solar panels and put on a pair of shorts for the first time in months. We drove to Maroochydore and Connie finally found the ¾ jeans that she liked – but size 10? I spoke to Joe via the local repeater and echolink. We went to the local bowls club for dinner and Connie realised that the jeans were too big.

Day 104 Friday 3rd August

We drove back to Maroochydore and changed Connies jeans for size 8 and they look great. Back at Coolum we sat on the beach for an hour.

Day 105 Saturday 4th August

Today was a little cloudy but very nice. Connie made her usual phone calls in her new jeans.

Day 106 Sunday 5th August

It was a very cool night but we got an early start in spite of this. The drive to Jacobs Well was the busiest (traffic wise) that we have seen for months. The caravan park has been improved with a refurbished toilet block and laundry. Some roads have been resealed too. They still feed the birds at 4:00pm and many left their signature on our caravan. The 2 hours of email seemed to get used too quickly but I did manage to renew my subs to MacAfee and Anonymizer (on the Compaq anyway). There are plenty of local digital TV stations but I couldn’t find a “free” internet from our caravan.

Day 107 Monday 6th August

We spent the morning exploring Tamborine mountain and eating fudge while Boroma worked on the van. Boroma had finished the warranty work by early afternoon. They also gave me a quote for replacing some of the siding with holes in it.

Day 108 Tuesday 7th August

We drove to Bribie Island and called in to Pheonix caravans to have a look. Greg (director/owner), Cisco (electrician), Faye (owner/director) and Ian (production .. ) are very flexible. They miss a few small items inside, like rails for the drawers and cupboard space.

Day 109 Wednesday 8th August

Day 110 Thursday 9th August

Day 111 Friday 10th August

We arrived home about 4:30pm

 

 

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