Things wot went wrong!

Some small and some not-so-small things that went wrong on our recent trip - it's going to be a long list!

• Camper trailer - piano hinge on one our cupboards came 3/4 of the way out on our 2nd or 3rd day and had to be gently coaxed back in
• the backing plate on the rear disc broke and had to be removed
• the back window on the rangie kept coming open on the dirt roads, so we had to tape it shut
  
• we sprung a leak in our new jerry can & lost some petrol
  
• the suspension on the camper went skewiff, so the wheels had to come off and the boys fixed that in the middle of the desert on the way to Boulia
• we put a hole through our water jerry can, which ended up being thrown away
• the water tank in our camper started leaking, and we lost all our water, so had to buy new spigots and stuff to fix it in Hughenden
• our poor old laptop gave up the ghost on this trip, and had to be replaced by our new one for navigation
• the inverter stopped charging the batteries for the laptop, mobiles and anything else we put into it
• car wouldn't stay locked, and the alarm kept going off
  
• my mobile phone battery gave up the ghost, so I had no phone for the last 2 weeks of the trip
• Trev's hotmail got hacked, and everyone in his contact list got scam emails, as well as posting the scam to this blog
• we got to Gilberton, only to find that we couldn't stay at the common area on the river, (bitch on a quad) so we didn't come home dripping in gold
  
• the fuel pump in the Rangie conked out, and we had to get a new one brought in from Townsville - the boys had to remove the fuel tank, put in the new pump, then put the tank back in at Greenvale Caravan Park
• camper batteries kept going flat (couldn't see to play cards!) - tried to recharge them & found battery charger was broken
• camper fridge stopped working - had to be taken out, given a damn good shake, jets were cleaned with a lock of my lovely hair, and it started working again
  
• from Fletcher Crossing we had nothing but rain and miserable days - Charters Towers had 60ml of rain in 2 days, then there were wild weather alerts for Fraser Island (where we had planned to stay for 3 days), so that was cancelled
• flat tyre due to a damaged valve - had to be fixed at Rockhampton
  
• we got a message on the Thursday from one of Trev's friends saying that he had a Comcar interview the following Monday, so after much to-ing and fro-ing with a certain recruitment company, Trev ended with an interview on the Tuesday, so we had to head for home 3 weeks earlier than planned.

And that was just us - Les had problems with fuses on his car and his gas cooker got sick, Bill's caravan door lock broke, and he had to buy a new one and fix it, John had problems with transferring diesel from his long-range tank to his normal tank, then had problems with radiator and engine (cost him $700 to get fixed at Newman), Alan destroyed a tyre, then poor Chris had a fall and broke her wrist in 2 places (she's currently flying to Perth to get it fixed, then rejoining the others). And Kay & Ian (who were supposed to meet us at Boulia) never even started this trip, as they had major problems with their new engine.

So, all in all, it's been an interesting experience. Will have to do it again some time - minus all these problems, hopefully.

Fletcher Creek to Canberra

Fletcher Creek was a lovely spot, but this is where the rain started - Bill & Lorraine actually packed up their van and moved it to a less muddy spot early in the morning of our second day there. We had planned to stop at Charters Towers for a night, but instead had breakfast (at MacDonalds) and looked up our emails and blog using their wireless internet.

Discovered that Trev's hotmail address had been hacked, and everyone on his contact list received an email advertising cheap laptop computers and electrical goods - it even went on my blog, so I had to go in and try to fix that. Apologies to everyone who got that email - we're reporting the scam to Hotmail. Not happy, Jan!

The rain continued at Charters Towers so we travelled on through, and got to Townsville and stayed at the Big 4 Woodlands cara pack. Went to the Thai International for a lovely meal with Lorraine & Bill, then had a look along The Strand, which is a boardwalk filled with lots of parks, free swimming pools etc, right on the ocean, looking across to Magnetic Island. Rain continued.

Next day we headed to Hydeaway Bay to meet up again with Les, Gill & Elisa. We stayed there in 2006 and loved it, went snorkelling, swimming, bbq'd in the camp kitchen - not quite the same this time! Miserable bloody weather, rained for the 2 nights we stayed there, but they had a pool table in the common area, so we had a game (and a drink) or two. Les, Gill & Elisa left after 1 night, so the four of us had a look around Dingo Beach the next day (still raining) then decided to go to Carmila Beach the following day.

Guess what??? Yes, it was still raining at Carmila Beach, and forecast was for rain all the way down the coast for the next few days. Fraser Island had 'wild weather warnings' so that put paid to our plans to go there. Things were just not going according to schedule. Continued on to Rockhampton where we stayed at a not too good (and poorly named) cara park - The Country Club Cara Park - don't know where the Country Club was supposed to be!??! Got a call that day letting us know that Comcar were interviewing again, on Monday and Tuesday, so after a lot of phoning backwards & forwards (long story) Trev & I decided to head for home so he could get to an interview on Tuesday.

We left Rocky the next morning and headed for Canberra via the Newell Highway - stopped at Moonie Crossroads then Wellington the next two nights, and arrived at home on Saturday afternoon - 1500 easy kms inland.

So, our trip didn't quite go according to plan, and we didn't come back dripping in gold, but we enjoyed the time away, the company we were travelling with, and the sights we did see. My next post will list some of the things that went wrong throughout our trip. Have a look at my Picasa Web Albums, cos I've started publishing some of my photos on there.

Birdsville to Fletcher Creek

We've had a very busy week since our last update - still having fluid problems, change of itinerary, interesting weather etc. We arrived in Birdsville on 11 June, stayed at the caravan park there. Birdsville was bigger than expected, had Curried Camel Pie at the bakery for lunch - excellent! Took a drive out to 'Big Red' with the group - on the way out one of the vehicles got bogged (not ours!) and had to be towed out, then we had a big river crossing which was heaps of fun. We got to the top in time for sunset with champagne. Brilliant views, and Trev can now say he's 'done Big Red'. Finished the evening off at Birdsville Pub, had a good steak there, then back to camp.

Headed to Boulia next day via Bedourie. Nice little town, very friendly, visited the 'Min Min Encounter' and the Stonehouse museum (fossils etc). Our last night with this group, as half of them were turning left for Alice Springs.

Trev & I headed to Winton via Cawnpore Lookout (amazing mesa formations) and stayed at Bladenburg NP. Heaps of roos and cattle, lovely sunset. Left for Hughenden next morning, stayed one night then on to Gilberton with Les, Gill & Elisa to meet up with Lorraine & Bill. Tried to find a campsite by the river to stay for the next week (for the gold prospecting part of our trip). However, we were 'greeted' by a lady on a quad bike (later known as 'the bitch on a quad') who insisted that we had to pay $10 pp pn to stay on the Gilberton Town Common. After a bit of not too friendly discussion, we decided not to take her up on her offer, turned around and ended up staying 1 night at the RFDS airstrip in the same area.

We left the next morning, only to find that our Rangie was having a bit of a problem with fuel - we had run the petrol dry and switched to gas, then when we tried to go back to petrol after refilling from jerry cans, it wouldn't run on petrol at all. We managed to get to a little place in the middle of nowhere called Greenvale, where the boys had a good look at the car, we had a mechanic from Greenvale have a look, and the decision was that our fuel pump was stuffed! I told you, Trev's been having lots of trouble with his fluids! We chased around trying to find where we could get a replacement pump, and the people at Greenvale were wonderful - the man from the caravan park (where we ended up staying 3 nights) happened to be in Townsville, so Trev contacted him, and he brought it back to Greenvale with him the same night - excellent service. And no-one in Greenvale charged us anything for having a look at the car, phone calls, internet etc. Sooooo.... the next morning all three men were under the Rangie taking out the fuel tank, removing the faulty pump and installing the new one. And yes, it is working ... yaaaay!

We are now having a couple of days on the banks of Fletcher Creek just before Charters Towers, then we're heading to Townsville. We also have had problems with the fridge inside the camper, but Trev & Bill have just sorted that out today - very resourceful men we have with us. Should be back in phone contact from tomorrow onwards.

Birdsville Report

Well, we've just reached Birsdville via Ivanhoe, Whitecliffs, Tibooburra, Cameron Corner, Innamincka and camped last night 80km short of Birdsville at a beautiful spot (with water views) in front of some huge sand dunes. Got some lovely photos of the sun setting over the dunes. The weather has been cool through the day, but damn cold at night. Some of our crew forgot to bring warmer clothes and doonas, so they're looking forward to warmer weather as we get further north.

There are 9 of us travelling together so far, Trev & I, Carole & John, Chris & Alan, Les & Gill & Elisa. We've had a couple of leakage issues - put a hole in one of our jerry cans, damaged the water tank in the trailer (now need a new water tank), then had a bit of a problem with the suspension in the trailer, which was fixed by committee early this morning. But so far, nothing major.

We're heading out to the desert shortly so Trev can fulfil his dream of driving up 'Big Red' in his Rangie. And naturally, we'll have to have a glass or two of champagne at the top of the dune as we watch the sun go down. Life's tough out here in the desert!

Heading North

We're just getting ready to head north again and leave Canberra behind for winter. Here is a photo of our home for the next few weeks. Hope it's going to be warm further north!

We're leaving with Carole & John (below) on Saturday and first stop will be Ivanhoe, NSW, followed by Whitecliffs. We're then heading up to Tibooburra (where Les & Gill will meet us), Cameron Corner, Innamincka, Birdsville and Boulia. Carole & John will turn left to head to Alice Springs, and we'll turn right with Les & Gill to meet Lorraine & Bill at Gilberton to do a bit of gold fossicking. Hopefully, we'll come back dripping in gold, but if not I'm sure we'll still have a damn good time!

Great Ocean Road Photos

I've just published some photo albums of our trip through the Great Ocean Road and South Australia to Picasa. You can view them below:

• The Apostles, Victoria (formerly known as the 12 Apostles, but they keep falling down!
• The Otway Fly and Triplet Falls
• The Great Ocean Road (includes Bay of Islands, The Grotto, London Bridge and the Arch
• Victor Harbour, South Australia
  

Murray's Corner 4WD Trip

Rangies can climb just about anything! We conduct tours through the Brindabellas (Canberra region) - Bushranging 4WD Tours.

Khao Lak, Thailand photos

We visited Khao Lak in Feb 2007, went snorkelling in the Similan Islands, and it was just beautiful.

Here are some photos:

Khao Lak
Similan Islands

Hanging around in the Daintree, Nth Queensland

In July 2006 Trev & I decided we had nothing better to do than go flying through the rainforest upside-down - so we went Jungle Surfing! It was absolutely fantastic, and certainly gave us a totally different view of the Daintree. Best $75pp we ever spent!