Caravan Capers

In the face of such adverse conditions decided to go for a walk anyway, as otherwise we’ll spend all our time hunkered down in the van. Fortunately, although the sky remained grey, the rain stopped and the walk out to Bournda lagoon and the loop back around via Sandy Beach creek was great. Probably covered ~12 km in all. Sadly, not very fit so both of us were ready for a lie down before we got back to the van. Would have liked to get over to Bournda Island but the rushing tsunamis through the little isthmus between the shore and the island didn’t inspire confidence. If you timed it right you might make it but would very likely have become extremely damp, if not worse.
Drove in to Merimbula for coffee, phone coverage and emergency purchases (plunger for coffee as the substitute bialetti had a nervy turn – I refuse to drink instant coffee, depsite the coffee grounds left at the end! Got a jar of instant for Chris, sad human being) and some fresh oysters and fish. Predictably started to rain again on the way back so thought we would move on again in the morning. Too tired for blogging, cooking, or much else tonight so went to bed early. Rained pretty much most of the night and when it stopped the wind got up and roared through the treetops with impressive gusto.

Having driven straight in (or at least straight in around a corner) to the space in Mollymook van park, driving out proved less amenable and required a great deal of to’ing and fro’ing. Eventually made it out and set off into another glorious (read grey and somewhat wet) day. Have to say, sloshing around in the wet and mud is not conducive to maximum enjoyment of one’s holiday! Uncertain of our ultimate destination for today but had decided to stop for a look at a place called Mogo – old gold mining town, now with lots of arty crafty shops and some cafes – OK but not overwhelming. Stopped for an alfresco lunch in a highway rest stop – nicely isolated and bushy and didn’t spot any axe murderers lurking in the bushes. Made a stop in Bega at the Heritage Cheese Centre for a tasting and coffee – museum upstairs contained a model cow with 6 udders! All before genetic engineering too! Had debated whether to stop for the night in another van park or try the camping ground at Bournda NP. Noted to have showers but no indication of whether hot or cold (very important to at least one of us!). Fortunately ran into a very helpful man at the information section of the Cheese Centre who confirmed hot showers available there – decision made. Bournda NP has a great camping area and almost no one there so had a great spot nowhere near anyone else (think we’re both definitely showing antisocial tendencies). Hot water definitely good so decided to stay 2 nights!

Visited by Madam Possum (rather large pouch evident) who ran all over our roof and awning, sat in Chris’s chair and made an attempt for the table before being bodily hoiked off by himself. Very persistent and completely unafraid of humans. Didn’t get any of our gourmet spag bog though. All looked good at bedtime but woke up to the sound of yet more rain during the night and still pouring next morning.

Day 2 …..and awoke to the soothing sound of raindrops on the roof. Generally grey, dreary, cold and damp day but happily packed everything up, and set off south by 10.30. Had received the reassuring news from our housesitters that they had arrived the night before and apparently been accepted by our two moggies (one long haired, mad tortie with probable ADHD (Molly) and the other a short haired grey, somewhat dim “pedigree” (only in the sense of being inbred – and quite incestuously we believe), with likely Aspergers (Charlie)). Charlie owns the bed and clearly didn’t care that his usual humans weren’t in it. Promiscuous little bugger! Wandered around Kiama for several hours, freezing at the blowhole (at least able to park across two car spaces there), ducking into various crafty shops when the rain got too heavy and enjoying a decent thai lunch special. Discovered that stopping on a whim is not so easy with a van in tow. Certainly couldn’t use the angle parking in town and were eternally grateful to the helpful lady in the Blowhole cafe for directing us to some boat trailer parking near the harbour. Of course then I had to back the damn thing into a spot, to the gentle sound of my beloved other half banging on the back of the car and yelling incomprehensible instructions (and incorrect as it turned out), accompanied by wild windmilling of hands. After Kiama, headed south again via various “scenic drives” – inverted commas, as “scenic” not a good description in all cases. Decided to stop overnight at Mollymook, just north of Ulladulla, with a view to some more in depth research on where to go and what to do (probably should have done this before we left home but oh well). Review of the rather heavy “Explore Australia 2010” book, given by my work colleagues as a parting gift, will, I’m sure, be very rewarding! Probably only managed another 200km today – oh well.

Day 1 (finally)
After frantic running around preparing for the big trip (despite weeks of prep we still weren’t nearly ready) finally took off into the wild blue yonder at 4.30pm on the first day of spring (1/9). OK, you might be wondering why so late in the day, but by that stage, it was go somewhere, anywhere …, or have a hot shower and a nice lie down and not bother.
Decided we had to get beyond Sydney for the first night’s stop so set the GPS for Bulli Holiday Park (picked randomly from the Caravan Park guide) and tootled at speed down the F3. Really warm day and the temp was still mid-20s well into the early evening. From a route finding perspective, I argued for the Pacific hwy, tunnel and Eastern Distributor, Chris argued for the M7 and the GPS (Jenny) pointed us straight through the middle of Sydney via Silverwater Rd. Surprisingly worked quite well and arrived at our destination (after getting lost in the final 2 minutes) just after 7.25 pm. Just as well really as the park office closed at 7.30! The van once again proved amazingly easy to set up and a supper of bread, cheese and oloves, washed down with several large glasses of red, went down well. Hot shower only 20c for 5 minutes (bonus!). Managed ~180km.
Slept very well…..

Some long service leave and a previously expressed wish by himself to “one day travel around Australia in a kombi” have resulted in us planning a 3 month “pre-grey nomad” trip around part of Australia, starting ~ end of August 2010. After months of agonising over mode of transport, we finally decided to invest in a 4WD and caravan (rather than a motor home or campervan, or even a kombi (!)), the shiny new (actually second hand) Prado and Coromal Pioneer 401 were acquired. All seemed good until drips appeared in the ceiling of the van after a particularly wet night. This was able to be remedied (we hope) by the dealer so all go again. Our plan, such as it is, is to spend 3 months travelling round half of Oz, heading down the south coast of NSW, across Vic via the Great Ocean Rd, SA, then across the Nullarbor to WA. Then beat up to the mid north coast of WA and travel down more slowly doing some windsurfing on the way. Hopefully by then we will have hooked up with Chris’s sister and partner (coming over from the UK), who plan to take advantage of the great WA winds with their kitesurfers and see a bit of the west in a rented campervan.

Being novice caravanners / campers / outdoor multiday trip people, our initial thought was to have at least one practice run over a few days to iron out bugs and work out what we still needed. Unfortunately, having decided the big 3 month trip was to start Sun 29 August, we have only managed one overnighter at Shoal Bay last week. Discovered some electrical issues and forgot to pack the cutlery but the fish n chips (with plastic forks and washed down with a bottle of red) was pretty good. Bed turned out to be quite comfy but spent half the night lying awake listening to the ever increasing howl of the wind  and wondering if the awning (not tied down) and caravan (quite small) might blow into the ocean. Culminated in Chris getting up to close the awning ~2.30am – much better sleep after that! Did give a taste of what the trip might be like though, quite looking forward to it now………

……….Further misfortune last Friday (elderly mother landing in hospital after a fall), has meant a delay to the start of the trip, hopefully mid this week?? Will keep you posted!