Trip to South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales #1

Hi everyone,

Trip to South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales 2018

On the 30^th Aug Darryl and I took the caravan down to the Gold Coast to our Caravan Repair Guys and they replaced the door handle on the van.  It had become very loose and flapping in the slightest breeze and the door was difficult to secure of a night time.  So, a new handle as installed.  We then made our way to North Maclean (about 5km from Jimboomba) and set up in the free camp at Tully Recreation park.  This is not a bad camp if you need it.  You have access to toilets by the river and, also, a set of toilets up by the sports ground.  The traffic noise is not too bad either.

31^stAug saw us move into Jimboomba and park behind Woolies.  We then did our stock up of supplies before heading to the doctors for our Self-managed Health Care Plans and our Doctors check-up.  Once we had our new scripts and new blood forms issued we made our way to the van and started on our journey SOUTH.  We were heading west but plans changed on Wednesday with the news that a dear friend from Wagga, Elsie Fulmer, had passed away.  We altered our plans so that we could get to Wagga and support the family during their very sad time. 

On this day we managed to get to the Gladfield Rest Area and Driver Reviver, just north of Warwick.  The wind had picked up and there was a dust storm coming in from the west and rain was predicted, AND it was about 5.30pm, so we pulled over for the night.  The wind really picked up and was rocking the van considerably when the rain started.  We had steady rain for most of the night and were up at 6.30 next morning to keep travelling.

1^st September we left Gladfield at 6.30 and continued until we reached Goondiwindi. We had quite a thick dust haze travelling. We got fuel and a coffee here before continuing our journey southward, amd we lost the dust haze after Bellata NSW.  We knew we could take our time, but we wanted to get to Wagga as quickly as practicable.  So, we stopped for fuel at Narrabri and continued our way.  It was getting dark and the kangaroos were starting to get close to the road (about 3 metres of the asphalt) and we started looking for a rest area.  We found one that was close-ish to the road but long and we knew that the trucks would probably stop during the night.  The signage said it was a REST AREA, no mention of TRUCKS ONLY, so we walked the rest area and decided to back the van out of the way as much as possible – allowing trucks to enter and leave without us impeding their passage.   

We heard some trucks enter during the night, but it was not until we got up at 6.30 a.m. that we found we had 6 trucks in the rest area.  We had our breakfast and quietly left the area to continue our journey!

2^nd September.  We got to Tomingley, just north of Peak Hill NSW where we stopped for fuel.  The little alarm in the car told us we only had 30km before our tank would be empty, so decided it was best to fill up with Diesel.

We continued to make our way south and filled with fuel again at Wyalong before turning towards Wagga.  Lots of road patching along this road with lots of 60kmph areas.  We were doing the signed speed but were overtaken by so many vehicles completely ignoring the signs.

We arrived in Wagga, at Ian’s, at about 3pm.

3^rd September we slept late :D  Ian was beginning to wonder if we were getting up.  We did the washing and then sorted out what we were doing over the next couple of days.  We went to dinner that night with Ian, Wendy, Holly and Kurt.

4^th September.  Went and did some shopping and got supplies for tonight’s dinner.  Darryl cooked off the main part of it and then we had the veggies there ready to go.  Caught up with Kayla and Peter during the afternoon and then Jenny got home and asked if I could go and help her up at Elsie’s unit.  We sent a message to Ian about what needed to be done for their dinner and then we had dinner with the family before going to Elsie’s.  Jenny took me back to Ian and Wendy’s home about 9.30pm and we had a cuppa before she went back home.

5^th September.  Went and visited my friend Gail and my cousin Pam before going to the train station to collect cousin Sharon.  Trying to catch up with Lyn but that will happen tomorrow now.

6^th September. We spent the morning reminiscing about Elsie and then made our way to the funeral home for the Funeral.  It was a lovely service with great memories.  We then all went to the Wake.  It was great remembering a lovely lady and she will be sadly missed.

7^th September. Up this morning and washing and tidying.  We then took Sharon to the Train station to farewell her back to Lake Illawarra.  Her train departed ½ an hour late, BUT she got back to her home on time.  Kayla and Ash were heading back to Melbourne – their train left on time but was delayed by 1 ½ hours due to signal faults.

Darryl and I did some grocery shopping to ensure we had food for the rest of our journey.