Day 8- Gold Coast to Caboolture

Busy day today. Cindy and Robert and the girls came out for a massive feast of a breakfast. Lucky we started packing our things up last night cos we all got to chatting (and chatting...) and ended up getting away a bit behind schedule.

We drove out to Brendale (north Brissy) to get our new annexe fitted. Looks really jazzy! I have to say we were both really impressed with the service we got from The Awning Man. It's a family business and they are the kind of people that instantly make you feel like friends. Apart from fitting the walls for us they also fixed the awning that we never realised was not set up properly and gave it a service. I can't wait to get somewhere for a few days and set it up again and have a play. The kids are going to love it.

Just as we were heading back to the highway and planning to head to our national parks camp near Bribie we got a call from Mum and Dad. They were out at the campsite at Coochin Creek and even though we had booked online through the EPA the site was totally packed and the tiny van area was far too small for us to get our rig in there.... ?? In hindsight we probably should have turned back and camped in near Petrie but instead we decided to go to the Caboolture Showgrounds (another cheap camp listed in the Camps4) but when we got there it was wall-to-wall vans, no shade, and $20 a night for power... i figured a van park would only be $5 more for nice facilities. So a call to the tourist infomation centre and we got the address of the only van park in town.

First impressions were not great but we just wanted to set up and get the kids out of the car so it'll do. $25 a night but i think there might be a pool! (i really hope there is a pool! LOL!). It's on the river and there is a boat ramp but that sounds nicer than it is in reality. It's a really old park but Caboolture looks like it has a few things to do so it will probably be all good. Hard to compare it though with the Gold Coast park which was only $3 a night more.

Normally we'd just head on and find something nice but we have to be back in north Brissy to get our new mattresses on Monday and to catch up with some friends at Petrie so there was no point going too far out of town. Not sure what to do with the booking we paid for online for Coochins??? so i take back my comments about it being a handy website. I think next time we'll go to the campsite first before booking. We should probably also keep in mind that trying to get a spot at a nice national park camp over the weekend is not a good idea.

After setting up we just sat around and had a few beers. Jordy made a friend with a little girl about the same age in the van next to us and they played for a couple of hours which was great. A quick shower, dinner time (Jordy took himself over to Mum and Dad's van and ate with them). A snuggle-wrestling game for the boys before they crashed and then some computer time for me and Tim as we try to plan the next few days.

Gold Coast Holiday Park

Gold Coast Holiday Park, The Gold Coast
Stayed three nights. $28 a night. Great park and good value. We stayed down on the camping flats instead of in the main van section which i think made a big difference to us. I know we would have felt a little crowded or confined up in the main section as the sites were close together with smallish roads. And in peak season it must get PACKED! But we had easily 4 acres of flats with only three other camps on it and some nice shady trees. Lovely!
Overall- 4 stars.

Location- 8/10. Right near the motorway across the highway from Movieworld and Wet and Wild, 5min to Dreamworld etc. Just down the road from a bottle-o, convenience store, fast food etc but it did not feel like it was in the city.

Sites- 7/10. Main van sites are good (even if close together) with some shady ones. Some average sized sites but some big rig ones as well. Great tent camping area and rather flashy cabins and bungalows etc.

Bathrooms- 7/10. Really nice spacious bathrooms. Good showers with good shelves and hooks, nice rubber matts on the shower floor. Had a parents bathroom with a bathtub and change table.

Laundry- 7/10. Good facilites. Nice front loaders that washed really well ($3 a load, same for the dryers). Had ironing area as well.

Shop- 7/10. Good drinks selection, a small range of convenience items, as well as chocolates and icecreams. Little tourist info stand. Gas bottles.

Pool- 5/10. Pool area ok. Too much chlorine in it which stung Jordy's eyes quite badly so we did not stay in. Plus there was a sign that kids that were not toilet trained could not go in so Darcy just splashed a bit.

BBQ area- 7/10. Large undercover BBQ area near the amenities with a few free BBQs and picnic tables. Also a communal fridge and microwave. Another smaller area near the pool.

Playground- 7/10. great jumping pillow that was lots of fun (i've never been on one before!), giant chess set. I don't think they had anything else but with the pillow i don't think they need any more.

Other- Tennis courts, kayak hire (although the river was rather average if that's where you are supposed to take the kayaks).

Day 7- Gold Coast

Had a good quiet day today. The kids were up early. Did a load of washing and while that was on Jordy and i went and played on the jumping pillow. Met up with some older kids who were happy to have Jordy join in their chess game and then the four of us played duck, duck, goose on the jumping pillow. LOL!
Had to open up a new bank account to invest our house money in. We'll have a somewhat tight budget with living off the interest payments cos between when we made the decision to do this and now the interest rates have dropped soooo much (typical) so finding a good account was important. Ended up at the Bank of Queensland.

Had a look online at the Queensland National Parks site to get some info on our next camp area. They have a good website, EPA that i imagine we'll be using in the future.

The kids have had a great day running around the camping flats here. Darcy is practising his walking by walking back and forth between the bikes, red car and truck etc and chasing Jordy. And Jordy has been dozering up his sugar cane (mowed grass) and floating boats (leaves) in his river (a container of water). I think Jordy is overtired from his big day yesterday and being up early this morning cos he has been grouchy and acting up and pushing Darcy and generally being a bit of a turdlet but he refuses to have a nap so he'll be in bed early tonight.

Tim put the golden Lions badge on the front of the truck. Looks good!

I decided to cook a chocolate brownie in the microwave for dessert for tonight. We were supposed to have friends call around for a BBQ but they had to cancel and are coming for breakfast tomorrow instead. And seeing as you can't eat chocolate brownie for breaky i'll just have to eat more of it myself! LOL! It came out really nice so one tick for microwave cooking.

Mum and Dad phoned and they had figured out the problem with their solar panels. Tim told them to call Battery Traders up here near the Gold Coast so they had to leave Ballina early to get it fixed (some kind of problem with the battery and it could not be allowed to drain or something). Tim had spoken to them a few times about an inverter for us (and also about solar when we were considering it for ourselves) and they were really helpful and upfront about everything so i'll give them a bit of a rap! Thanks, Steve!

They arrived around 5pm, a quick set up and then we got a BBQ dinner ready and sat around for a chat. Darcy sounds like he might have a decent night, he's only woken once so far and i put him to bed 2+half hours ago so i'm sitting outside in the cool breeze and having a cup of mint green tea and some brownie!

Day 6- Gold Coast

Big day today. First thing this morning i did a 'quick' shop to get some groceries and a mini high chair for Darcy. We looked at the google map and the shop was pretty much just at the end of a main road a couple of streets away. Piece of cake. Not.

I saw the signs, saw the flag of the shopping centre, got in the right lane cos the signs were pointing right... only to have a five lane major road all turn onto a highway with 'right land must turn right' signs with one little road heading straight ahead into Westfields... crap. Not to worry, I'll just turn around. Not. I had turned onto the Gold Coast Hwy and there was no where to do a Uturn in the truck and the only turn off said it was the motorway to Brisbane (not keen on that). Anyway.... long story short it took me 40min to do a 10min drive to the shops. I think i ended up in Pacific Palms before i found my way back again cos i did not have a map. I hate the city.

But i got the groceries, and back at the park Darcy had time for his nap :)

Then a mad rush to get sandwiches and drinks packed, a change of clothes for the boys, hats, sunscreen, camera, ergo, stroller.... got the lot. Back in the truck and off to Dreamworld.

We headed straight to Wiggle World. Jordy got excited straight away with the music and brightly coloured rides and attractions. Jordy and i went on Dorothy's Rosy Tea Cup ride and then the Big Red Car ride. We saw Captain Feathersword and ran around the SS Feathersword.

Then off through Tiger Island and over to Nickelodian World which had more rides. I took Jordy and Darcy both on the Dora Aeroplane which Darcy loved. What else.... Tim and the boys ran around in a big canon ball shooting net thing. There were a couple of other rides that i thought Jordy would like but he kept getting sidetracked and we never got back to them! LOL!.

We went back to Wiggle World to have our lunch and the kids played in a Wiggly Fun Area with the plastic climbing castles and trucks and little slides etc. Jordy would have been happy to stay in there all afternoon but we dragged him out to go see what else we could find.

Had a walk through the Australian Animal section. Lots of kangaroos and Jordy asked if it was the Billabong and was Lala here :) I thought we could all go on the Rapid Ride so we walked a loooooong way to the ride only to discover the boys could not go on. I was seriously thinking about leaving them behind and going on it myself cos it was HOT! Instead we walked back to the Vintage Cars. Jordy really liked these so he had three goes around the track. It was never really busy there but by the afternoon the crowds had really thinned so there was no waiting at all for the rides which was great.

After that we walked back to Wiggle World and Tim took Jordy on Dorothy's Tea Cups again. Darcy woke up and i was about to take both kids on again but then Dorothy came out and Jordy wanted to go wave and hug her so we did that instead.
At the end of the day we bought two paddlepops and a coke and that was it. Cindy had given us a 'mates rates' ticket so we got in for half price and the boys were both free so pretty good value for a big day out. Finally we caught the train for a lap around the park which was a nice way to finish things off.

At the car park we saw the helicopter land and take off right in front of us and the passengers and pilot all waved to Jordy as they flew overhead. Bundled the kids back in the truck and Jordy was asleep before we even got out of the car park.

Day 5- Ballina to Gold Coast

Said our goodbyes to my grandma at lunchtime today. I hope we are able to get back for xmas or something to see her again soon. We'll miss her 90th birthday party next month which is really disappointing for us.

The trip north was a nice easy one of about 2hours. Lovely scenery. I took a photo as we drove over the hills but no chance to stop. (Excuse the photo if it is blurry. Sun is really bright here so i can't see my computer screen properly to check what the photo looks like! LOL! )

We drove past a sign to an "Historic Brewery" but cos we had an appointment this afternoon we had to keep driving. We both agree it will be the last time we drive past something when we have all the time in the world to just call in for a look.

We are staying at the Gold Coast Holiday Park which is right near Movieworld and Wet n Wild etc. Amazing location and the park is really bush-feeling. Quite surprising really. Here is the view from our site down to the river. We are down on the camping flats (with a powered site) rather than up in the caravan section. We did not care about having a slab next to the van and the extra space for the kids is great. That is Jordy in the distance in his Big Red Car and Darcy chasing along behind. :)

It took us 1hour from pulling up in the truck to having everything unfolded, beds made, awning up, shadecloth attached, table set up and bums in chairs.

Donnie from The Awning Man came out to measure up for our annexe walls. We've had really great service from them the whole way through and i would highly recommend them. They know we are travelling through and said they would get everything made asap for us... which i assumed would mean fit Monday-ish. Well they could have had them fitted for us on Friday! But we've booked in here until then so we'll get them on Saturday.

And old friend of Tim's that we have not seen since we got married called out to see us with her three beautiful girls that are all growing up far too fast. As usual Jordy was off with his new best friends and they wandered over to the other side of the park and played on the jumping pillow until dusk (by which time i was really thinking of tracking them down).

We had a quick dinner (Spaghetti Bol mince in the microwave, pasta on the stove) and then i showered the kids in the caravan shower. Tim has a migraine so he crashed which is why i did not use the amenities block and instead stuck me and both the boys in the bathroom cubicle in the van. It was surprisingly good! It was the first time i have used it. We all fit in there together and when we were done i had somewhere safe to put Darcy where usually in the amenities block i have to juggle getting us both dry and me dressed without putting him on the floor which is bloody hard! So in the future when we leave it too late to bath them in the esky outside i think i might use our own shower more often.

The kids both had big days and they went straight to sleep at about 8:30 so i am sitting having a coffee and some M&Ms in peace. aaaaahhhhhhh.

Day 4- Ballina

headed over to Casino today to say hello and goodbye to more family before we head off. All the recent rain has done it's job and the valley is lovely and green at the moment. Another hectic day though getting stuff sorted so not really in holiday mode yet.

But while i was laying in bed earlier tonight trying to put Darcy to sleep (did not work and he got up and played for another hour!) but there was a lovely breeze blowing through the bed end and i could see the half moon through the bed flys and it was just lovely (except for the squirming baby!).... i can't wait until we can relax together and enjoy more evenings sitting outside in the cool night breeze and just breath.

Day 3- Ballina

Trying to sort out our inner spring mattress problem. I have to say that the people at Jayco really are not all that helpful so far... and i'm also trying to work out why my wireless broadband needs wires.... but if they are our biggest worries at the moment then we have to say we are doing ok!

oh, i nearly forgot- my wine!!! Mum and Dad have too much weight in their van and have to offload some gear... and they had 4dozen bottles of red stored for me. So today we are re-organising and prioritising. I say the wine has to stay. Tim is not so convinced. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

But nothing much exciting going on today. Just washing and sorting and checking things out. Tim is going to get a fan to fit inside the fridge vent to help the fridge work better in high heats. It's ok here but if we get too many days pushing 40' it will struggle so we'll get it sorted out now while we have a chance.

And Darcy walked right across the loungeroom here. Did not get a chance to count the steps but i guess 15-20 steps. He went half way then stopped, bent his knees for balance, looked around and grinned, and then went again.

Dad cooked a couple of chickens in the Weber Baby-Q for dinner. I made a super easy stuffing just to see how lazy i could be and have something edible! I just sliced up some wholegrain bread, diced a tomato, added a jig of worcestershire sauce, a squirt of tomato sauce and some salt and pepper. Squished it together and stuffed it in. It was actually really nice.

Editted to add- NEWSFLASH! Jordy fetched his first beer all by himself (should i be proud or embarrased?) Tim is obviously happy :)

Day 2- Coffs to Ballina

Had a nice leisurely breakfast... Tim treated himself to bacon and eggs :) then packed up and headed off for the 2+half hour trip to Ballina. Got the timing right this time and left at 10:30 so the kids slept almost the whole way and only got grouchy with 10minutes to go so we are pretty sure we are right with the maximum of three hours per trip.

We are loving the caravanners wave! LOL! and have noticed that people are more likely to wave before midday than they are after lunch. Seems like people get grouchy and the howdy wave becomes too much effort after midday... but Tim is working to improve his odds.

Arrived at a wonderful 5star facility in Ballina, otherwise known as 'Grandma's house'. Bloody hot in Ballina so we all just sat around and melted in the 36' heat. Tim went and bought beer. Mum and Dad arrived just in time for dinner (they got a flat tyre at Ulmarra) and we sat around and complained about the heat until it was time for bed and we retired to our air conditioned caravan.

Split Solitary Beach Holiday Park

Split Solitary Beach Holiday Park, Coffs Harbour.

Stayed only one night. Wish it was longer! One of the best caravan parks i've seen. Had all the facilities as well as having a great relaxing feel.

Overall- 4 stars.

Location- 7/10. only 5 or 10minutes north of Coffs Harbour (not all that far past the Big Banana) so close enough to town but the big winner is that it is right on the beach.

Sites- 8/10. Lovely and shady. Some average sized sites but some nice big ones too. Good tent camping area and cabins etc. Lots of grass.

Bathrooms- 6/10. New enough, but certainly clean. Large shower cubicles with decent enough shelves and hooks etc.

Laundry- had no reason to check out the laundry but they did have one.

Shop- 7/10. Mini convenience store sort of setup with all the things you might forget, as well as chocolates and icecreams at a decent price. We did not get one but apparently they sell meat packs too for the BBQ.

Pool- 6/10. Good pool area. Really deep though and i found it hard to touch much past the stairs end. But there was a toddler pool too if i had of been concerned.

BBQ area- 7/10. Large undercover BBQ area near the pool with a few free BBQs and picnic tables. Also a communal fridge and microwave.

Playground- 7/10. standard playground castle for young children, but also putt putt golf and a games room with ping pong and arcade games.

Other- Near the beach there is also a tennis net, volley ball net, basket ball hoop and punching bag for those feeling active. And up near the pool there is a comfy TV room with DVDs and books for those feeling not-so-active.

Day 1- Coffs Harbour

We are only doing short trips to make it easier on the boys (and so easier on us) so we only went as far as Coffs Harbour today. We are only staying one night but now that i have seen the caravan park i wish we were staying longer- Split Solitary Beach Holiday Park- It's bloody beautiful! We are right on the beach. And i mean RIGHT on the beach. There is a wall of trees so it's totally safe for the kids but i would be surprised if we were more than 100m from the beach.

Took us a while to get the van sorted cos we just threw stuff in there this morning and had piles and boxes and baskets of stuff to sort through (some how i ended up with six clothes baskets!!) but we made time for a swim in the pool, a quick play in the park and, after dinner, we wandered down to look at the beach.

Here's my first go at a slower shutter speed (only hand held) to get some water motion. Upped the ISO to help out cos it was on dusk. Did some noise reduction in Photoshop but will admit i just took a guess at how to do that! I'll have to read up on it when i get a chance.

Sapphire Beach, Coffs Harbour.

finally! we are on our way

it feels like we have been trying to head off for AGES! It really hasn't been. After all, we only made the decision to do this about three months ago. But with us moving out of our house when we put it on the market, and then back in again when it sold so quick, and then trying to move into the van when we went to Sydney but having to come back to the house to clear it out and then having planned to leave a week ago but not being able to get the finances in order soon enough and delaying a day, then two days and then a full week!!! Finally, we have made it out of town.

It actually worked out well with us not leaving so soon as we got to stay with Tim's parents about 10 days or something and it was just great for the kids, and really nice for Tim and i with family popping in all the time for a visit and a coffee (or beer).

But i think we said 'goodbye' to family about three times when we thought it would be the last time we'd catch up... only to still be hanging around like dirty socks three days later. They turned up this morning to make sure we really did bugger off.

Here are the kids in the truck and ready to go. And our odometer for the start of our big lap!!!

photos from Emu Plains

our messy messy camp.

going for a ride around the park with Dad.

at a nearby park and playground down near the river (we forgot to go look at the river!).

Darcy climbing in the playground.

this one is back in Port Macquarie at the Sundowner Breakwall caravan park... we got flooded out so only there for a few days.

Lions On Oz

Lions has a club specifically for those who are travelling Australia! It's only a new club planning to charter later this year. So we are now Lionsonoz members. We had a great BBQ dinner and met some of the local Port Macquarie Lions as well as some of the new Lionsonoz members.

I'm looking forward to catching up with other clubs as we travel and meeting the locals and seeing what Lions is doing all around the country. And Tim reckons any excuse for a beer with new mates each town we come to :)

O'Donoghue's CRAP review

O’Donoghue’s Irish Tavern, Emu Plains, NSW

Well, I guess this is the start of it all. Even though this is just a little shake down trip, I may as well set down a standard for my Crawling Round Australia Pub (C.R.A.P.) Review! Get a few guidelines in place to keep comparing apples with apples (or schooners with schooners, as the case may be!).

First port of call has been O’Donoghues Irish Tavern in Emu Plains near Penrith, New South Wales, and boy, has the bar been set high! While most people here probably consider themselves out in the country, this is still the city as far as I’m concerned, with the trains, traffic and huge shopping centres. 3 sets of lights within 200 metres? It’s a city.

So O’Donoghue’s is like an oasis. As country a city pub as any I’ve seen, and more Irish than quite a few, too. Relaxed atmosphere, family friendly, good food, cold beer and decent prices. The beer garden is excellent, with fans and water sprays for the heat, and heaters when cold. Play area for the kids, with inside play toys for the adults. Weekends see regular live bands performing, so if you’re after a quiet meal I’d avoid these nights, or eat a bit early. There’s also the regular pub gigs like trivia and karaoke. I’d say this is the social centre of Emu Plains!

It was 42’ the first day there, so the beer felt frosty cold. It could have been served at 10’ and still tasted bloody cold! But repeat trips to the bar over the next couple of days confirmed a nice drinking temperature. Cold glasses, icy beer. Good range of tap beers, with enough old being pulled to keep it fresh in the lines for traditionalists.

Price was average for NSW, $3.90 a schooner. Good news is there are plenty of happy hours, with 12pm to 5.30 on a Saturday costing $2.60, and 3 to 5 weekdays costing $2.50! That’s genuine 1990 prices! Not many places you can sit back now and enjoy a few beers for ten bucks!
Staff were friendly, but no more than the job entailed. No more conversation than was required to get the order, but done with a smile. Here was the real difference between a country hotel and a city pub. There wasn’t even a comment about the mid 40’s heat outside, a conversation starter if ever there was one!

Atmosphere of the place was nice, with plenty of old posters and tools on the wall, big timber tables, old polished bar and pokies hidden away out the back somewhere. The focus of the place seemed to be the undercover outdoor beer garden, which was quite pleasant for lunch and a slow afternoon where the kids could play in the old locomotive that has been converted to a play area. There was a stipulation that kids had to be out of this area by 9pm, however, and I’d want to be out of there a lot earlier on a Friday and Saturday anyway.

The place is nice and clean, at the bar, bistro and toilets. Not one issue with dirty glasses, plates, or cutlery. Staff got around quite regularly clearing and wiping down tables.

Typing of bistro, food was nice. Simple fair, but good servings. Nice steaks, good chips. The gravy was brown. SWMBO’s vegetarian needs weren’t really taken care of, but she’s easier to get along with after a feed of meat, so no real complaints! And average prices, but the specials were great value. $6 lunches, choice of steak, schnitzel or fish, with chips and salad. 400gram T-bone steak with chips and salad for $9.50 on a Thursday! $8 for a half chicken and chips. Pretty good value, all in all.

So, in summary, a pretty good pub. It scored a 7.6 on my CRAP Rating. That’s going to be pretty hard to beat, so any pub that rates a 7 is going to be worth a visit, and anything getting an 8 or more is definitely a pub of note. You’ll find me chained to the bar anywhere that scores a 9.
Cheers,
Tim…

Nepean River Holiday Village

Nepean River Holiday Village, Emu Plains.
We stayed 7nights in Feb 2009. $30 a night for a powered site.

Not too many choices around the area. Good facilities, certainly nothing to complain about there! but has a crowded, boring, blah feel. Certainly handy to Syndey and the Blue Mountains though.
Overall- 2+half stars.

Location- 5/10. Right near the train station (trains run straight past!). Near one good pub restaurant. Only a few minutes drive to Penrith Shopping Centre and not far from Blue Mountains etc. Nothing else special and nothing within walking distance.

Sites- 4/10. Small. No shade. Massive power lines overhead.

Bathrooms- 6/10. Modern and clean. Large shower cubicles with good shelves and hooks etc. Stupid 5min shower timers with preset temperature that is too hot.

Laundry- 6/10. Large laundry and clothes line area. $1 a dryer load, $3 a wash.

Shop- 5/10. Good kiosk- with milk, bread, drinks, chips and chocolates etc. LPG gas, ice.

Pool- 7/10. Shaded pool with toddler section. Grassed surrounds.

BBQ area- 7/10. Two separate areas- Main BBQ area near the pool is a large open undercover area with two free BBQs and picnic tables. Also a communal fridge and microwave. Another smaller BBQ area down near the camping flats.

Playground- 5/10. standard playground castle for young children.

Other- Internet WiFi connection available.

shake down cruise

we are midway through our shake down cruise to Sydney and back. Time to get the bugs sorted and see what we need to do/change/fix/pack before we head off for good.

A few little things... all sorts of issues with our internet connection. We signed on to Telstra Next G (only company with remote coverage) but if we had a choice i'd go someplace else. They were deadset useless to deal with and made an absolute mess of things. I hate to see my mobile phone bill after the multiple phone calls and hours waiting for them to fix it. I hear that Westnet will soon have wireless internet but we've had to sign up for a three year package with Telstra. If you are thinking of travelling make a phone call to Westnet!!!!

Our 12volt is not working so when we get back we'll have to sort that out.

We got an innerspring mattress for the rear bed from the Jayco dealer here. Wanted one for the front bed but they gave us the wrong size and after a second trip back to the showroom they could not figure out why their computer system had no information on the size of mattress we needed.... ??? So we'll try another Jayco dealership as we head up the coast. I would have liked to have used Made to Measure Mattresses but they never phone back when they say they will and can't tell me if they can make it to suit our van or not.

But we've had a range of temps here from 44'C for a few days to hail last night and lots of rain! And the air con worked rather well and the van bed ends don't leak so we're happy with that. The fridge struggled a bit so we'll fit those fans that other Expanda owners have talked about.

I've wanted to get out and go for a walk to practice some of my photography lessons but it's either been waaaaay to hot or sprinkling (now) so i've not had a chance. I'm itching to do it though!

With all the rain up north we are not sure of our travel plans. We'll wait and see until late March but instead of crossing through the the NT gulf we might need to drop down to Cloncurry and head in that way. Which would be a shame cos it would mean missing Lorella Springs. Got an email from them last night and we could have worked there for the tourist season too but we have already made arrangements with Litchfield so.... next year maybe!!

Emu Plains

We left home at lunchtime Thursday and headed to Emu Plains, Nepean River Caravan Park (see our review). Trip not too bad. We generally plan to limit our travel to 3+half hours a day and this was a much bigger trip, well over 6 hours including a play break, so Darcy was getting tired and cross by the end of it. And holy crap how hot is Sydney at the moment!!! Bleugh.

Decided to have a shower to freshen up. The park has some water-wise sensor showers that have a 5min limit and a preset temperature. The temperature was way WAY hotter than I would normally have it and although 5min would usually be fine not so much when showering a baby at the same time and washing your hair. I just leaned back into the water to rinse the conditioner and the water shut off. I had to sit on our bathmat on the shower floor and breastfeed Darcy while I waited for the timer to click over so I could rinse. I then had another full 5min of super hot water when I only needed 30seconds. So not really environmentally friendly at all in the end.

But with the kids sleeping in the car there was no way they would sleep when we arrived so Nardia came out to us and we went to O’Donoghues for dinner (our review). The caravan park gave us a ‘buy one get one free’ meal voucher which was great value. Nice pub. The kids totally full of energy and did not fall asleep until 10:30.

Up early on Friday. Lots to do in at Penrith. Got some bike chains to lock up the weber BBQ and our bikes. Wanted to sort out our Next G internet but the idiots at the Telstra shop essentially said take this CD home and run it and off you go. In order to transfer to our new package they cancelled our existing wireless account. Fine. Except the new one does not work! Idiots. Only works if you have a Telstra home phone (don’t have a home phone) or Telstra mobile and even though we plan to get one Telstra mobile we don’t have it yet. So half an hour on the phone to the “help” line only to confirm what I already knew…. That they are IDIOTS! They managed to cancel our existing account just fine though so we have no internet at all.

Did I mention that it was hot? 42- 43’C on Friday. Spent the afternoon in the pool and then had a later BBQ dinner.

Drove into the city today for the Top Gear Live show. Lots of cars and stuff to look at on display. The little bits of the show that I saw looked like it would have been a great show. Good stunts and rather funny. But they had massively loud scary fireworks the BOOMED and scared the crap out of both Darcy and Jordy. They freaked. So Tim and I had to leave.

Back into the pool to cool off (44’C today if you can believe it) and then back to O’Donoghues for happy hour and an early dinner.
backdated post

new water tanks

Here are the new stainless steel water tanks. They look pretty good i think. Because the old plastic ones were shaped a little and more rounded we actually fit a lot more water in these ones so that's an added bonus. We had the two of them made for under $950.

We're in the process of getting our wireless broadband sorted out. Telstra Next G obvioulsy as no one has has coverage in the centre. And we need to change one of our mobiles over to Telstra too. We'll keep the other with Optus to increase our chances of getting a signal from someone everywhere we are.

Tim has set up some great tracks along the top of the truck and a winch so he can get the boat up on top by himself. Not easy, but do-able. He also came home the other day with a couple of steel rods to use as legs... looks pretty clever! I'll get a photo of that next time he's playing with it.

I keep remembering at odd times of the day that we never heard back from the caravan insurance people in Perth that i liked the sound of.... must get that organised! We have basic cover at the moment but i want something more suited to people LIVING in their caravan.

another toy for the boys

We bought a boat. Not the great value one that we looked at on the weekend. Missed out on that by half a day! LOL! But a similar one for a bit less with a few less extras. It's not a proper car-topper so Tim is setting things up for it to carry above the truck on the roll bars he had made. We'll have to add a service to the motor to our list of things to do.

I still need to get mattresses organised. The innerspring from Jayco and the one for Made to Measure are essentially the same price. MtM would be a nicer bed but i'm trying to make sure they will fold ok in the expanda.

Looks like we have work lined up a the tourist season at Litchfield Cafe in Litchfiend National Park so that should be a great place to be based for a few months or more. yay! Although we know there is a lot of work around and people can just turn up to a town/area and find something we wanted to have something more reliable so i joined WorkAbout Australia so we can keep an eye on what is out there.

choosing a camera

i love taking photos and i think i got a few good ones on our holiday to Europe a few years back. But they are just point and shoot photos on a compact digital. I'd really like to improve my skills and get into photograpy a bit more. Our lifestyle over the next couple of years will certainly lend itself to a new hobby.

So i am looking for a new camera. So far the contenders are the Nikon D60 and the Sony A300. i think i am leaning towards the Sony....


They also have a neat little GPS gadget that you can use to date/time match you photos on your PC and load it onto a google map so that you can record exactly where an image was taken... if it was not $250 i would be totally sold. :(

Now it is just hard to resist the tempation to get a tripod, and a cool camera backpack, and maybe some nice lenses....

take it to the experts

Dad took their van (second hand 2000 Regent) to Cruiser Caravans to have a check-over. After they bought it Dad discovered some water damage and leaks in it and a few other issues that really had him concerned. Actually, for a while he was really kicking himself thinking he had just bought one big problem... but the guys a Cruiser went right through it.

Looks like the leak was in the lights so they were replaced, new seals, they treated the damaged timber etc etc, the sink tap had a leak so that was replaced... a few other bits and tidy-ups. It cost $1100 including parts but for the peace of mind that it is all done properly i think that's great value.

Tim and i are getting some quotes for our annexe. The Kakadu awning walls look good but the really snazzy setup is quite pricey. The Awning Man does a nice annexe with a beer garden!! :) and it's not a bad price. Essentially for the same price as the basic Kakadu setup we would get the full beer garden extension through The Awning Man. Under Cover Canvas in Ballina is nice and close by and their website looks good too... I think it will end up around $2,500 which, although expensive, will be worth it for us seeing as we will be living in the van for so long and it will double our living area. The extra beer garden shade area too will be great.

I'm getting the Lemair washing machine from The Good Guys for $350. I could have bought it direct from the Sydney factory for around $300 but the factory is not near where we will be so it's not worth the extra travel.

where we've been

google map of places we've been and things we've seen.

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unmissable sights

a google map of unmissable sights- places to see and things to do on our trip around Australia...

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cooking in the van

i've been trying out new recipes and ways to cook in the caravan without an oven. One challenge is finding easy ways to do vegetarian meals for me and meat for Tim in a confined space and without using 60 different pots!

I'm really amazed at how easy and nice microwave meals are. We've always steamed our vegies in the microwave but i've never cooked mince or chicken or real main meals in it. Or done anything special with potatoes etc. But i've discovered sliced potatoes in the microwave are sooooo much nicer (and quicker) than boiled/mashed potatoes. And with a few practice goes i'm learning ways to adapt meals i am already familiar with to suit the microwave.

I'm in the process of creating my own cookbook with recipes using a combination of the main ingredients that we will always have on hand that are practical with our microwave/stove/bbq combination. And even more importantly recipes that i can adapt to suit when fresh vegies are low!

more little modifications

Today Tim and some mates lifted the suspension on the van (actually i think the mates did most the actual work and Tim fetched tools). It's now super high!!! Looks odd but will be helpful in getting us into some slightly more off-road type locations. We are going to need a step (or two) to get into the van now though.

What else... he had some roll bars made for the back of the truck which we can use to make a canopy for the front half of the tray (for our washing machine and lounge to go!). He also connected up the gas lines on the bottles so that both are connected at the same time. We got a hose with a metal braid through it so there's less chance of stone damage.

We had a look at a Quintrex boat. It's probably a good bargain but it's more than i had imagined we'd be spending on a tinnie. So we have a few other priorities first and if the boat is still there in a few weeks we'll see what happens.

We had Garage Sale II at mum and dad's house. Sold some more bits and pieces. Now pretty much everything else that is left will be given away or thrown away.

I've ordered a few bits online for me and the kids. A summer weight sleeping bag for Darcy. A Lunette cup for me. A bed liner in case of night or nap time accidents! A matching pee pee pad car seat cover that is not really for either of them in particular but might be handy for Darcy for TTing in the future. Some OneWet NooneeWilga pants for Darcy.

I'm getting some quotes on annexe walls. I like the look of the Kakadu All Seasons ones but we'll have to see how the pricing comes out. They would give us some nice extra living areas. You can't see the photos online but even in addition to the actual annexe you can lift the window covers on the long side and on both short ends up and use tent poles to erect the canvas to form another awning area.

And i'm chasing up a little washing machine. I think we'll get the Lemair (like most other caravanners!) and i can get one from The Good Guys for $350 but apparently you can buy them direct from Lemair in Sydney..?? You used to be able to anyway so i'm waiting til Monday to check on that.

Contacts for our house are supposed to be exchanged soon and it will be going though with a super quick 28day settlement! wow! So the next few days will be spent getting rid of the piles of storage stuff and rubbish in the garage and working out the best way to store stuff in the van.

more van maintenance and add-ons

Tim replaced all the water lines yesterday. They were disgusting!!!! We had intended to get some of the sanitising tablets to clean up the water tanks but they were full of sludge. So we are getting a price to get some stainless steel ones made instead and replacing them. Much nicer. I don't think the previous owners ever cleaned them??

Have not heard back from Made To Measure Mattresses... will have to call them. Or maybe head into the local Clark Rubber and see if they have latex overlays.

We lost the sink plug yesterday and it took us half and hour to find it... must buy spares!

Tim got a great deal on two batteries. We got the better AGM (absorbant glass mat) batteries instead of the gell cells. 100amp hour ones i think. Tim got them for $320 through a mate! YAY! Massive discount. So with fully charged batteries we should be ok to run the microwave, lights and important stuff for a few days without power. We'll get solar put on once we get up north and can head in to an actual shop-front that specialises in solar.

And we bought a Weber Q200 baby bbq. The van does not have an oven (just a cooktop, grill, and microwave) so this should set us up for lots of meal options.

additions and repairs

we bought a 12volt LCD tv for the van yesterday from Bing Lee for just under $600. It's a 22inch high definition flatscreen sort of one with a built in DVD that also takes your SD cards for photos etc. We chose the biggest screen available for the space we had on the wall! LOL! Looks good.

Tim spent the day repairing the flyscreens on the windows. Bugger of a job but it's coming along well.

The latex mattresses from the Bedding Co in town are near on $1,300 each! wow. They feel lovely to lay on but we are going to see if we can find something for a better price. I've sent an email to Made To Measure Mattresses and i'll see what they can do.

I really need to get some replacement parts for the back clips of the drawers. Tim found a DIY caravan repair shop online with lots of bits which will come in handy but i can't see the drawer clips.... off to the Jayco dealer in town i guess.

out of the house

We moved out of home a couple of days ago in preparation for selling the house. We are staying in a big work shed (it's sort of like a mate's work shed) but we have showers and toilets and can use the power etc so it's all great. And there is room for Jordy to play- although there is no grass :(

But the open house went really well. We've had a few offers already so now we just have to wait and see if we can get what we are asking and how soon we can settle.
Here is an 'after' shot of the house all nice and clean. (cleaner than it has ever before been!!! LOL!)
We have sooooooo much to do to the van to get ready. Now that we have the house as sorted as we can for the time being we can now focus on getting our rig set up.

And here is Darcy trying to escape from the van already. Little Adventure Boy can reach the handle and open it so we have to keep the door locked even when we are in the van!

We bought a nice little 22inch flat screen yesterday so i can now catch up on the news- i have not had time to see what is happening in the world for a couple of weeks. And we went and had a look at latex bed mattresses this afternoon. The foam mattresses we have in the van are ok for a long weekend but no way we could put up with them for longer than that. Next we have to get the annexe sorted.

one step closer

we had a massive garage sale yesterday and are clearing out all our belongings. The garage sale was incredibly busy! and we sold so much stuff. Today we had 6 family members here all pitching in to help get the place ready for the estate agent to take photos tomorrow. It was an incredibly big job (and we still have a lot to do tomorrow) but i am amazed at what we achieved. I had my doubts yesterday that we would even come close to being ready- the place was a mess with god knows what god knows where! but a big load to the tip in the morning, some painting, a bit more cleaning and packing and come finishing touches and hopefully by the time he gets here in the afternoon we will be good enough for photos with the rest of it able to be done before the listing comes out on Friday.

Most of our furniture is gone. We have our beds, a change table, Darcy's cot, the lounge and dining table left. Oh, the the washer and dryer! We've borrowed a tv and fridge for the week. Oh, and i still have my computer desk! LOL! But the rest is gone. I have bags and bags of clothes and boxes and boxes of kitchen stuff to take to vinnies.

I can't wait til this Thursday when we move out of the house and into our caravan while we wait for the house to sell.

Here is a before shot. I'll post an after tomorrow.

the joys of packing

i have been clearing out our clothes.... i started with various boxes; one to take, one for storage with family (mostly maternity clothes), one for winter clothes to store on the truck, and one for the garage sale. In the end i had one box for storage, two boxes worth for the garage sale, one box to store in the truck, and two boxes worth for in the van with several items that i'd add in to the van if there was room.

Then i started on the kids wardrobes and did the same.

Then i had another look at how much storage room we actually have in the van!!!!!

ok. Slight problem. I need to condense the wardrobes of four people into this much space.

Two thirds of the stuff i wanted to put in the van for me has gone back into the garage sale box and winter clothes have been reduced to bare minimums. Same with Jordy; out of a bedroom where he had three large drawers and hanging space Jordy now has one little drawer for ALL his clothes! Wow! Darcy has one little drawer. Singlets that the boys are sharing and everybodies pyjamas goes into another drawer. Cloth nappies & wipes will go into the other main van drawer.

Then inside the robe doors i have a stack of four plastic drawers. I have one for warmish clothes and one for regular clothes. I suppose i had best leave two for Tim. Everything else has to hang. I've triple-hung my clothes so that each hanger has three items on it.

I'm yet to pack my swimmers or socks or undies.... or shoes!!! i wonder where we will put our shoes... ?