Another curry finished. Delicious. |
Some of my tea towels. |
Gai testing her recliner. |
They hold weddings here. |
Tuesday 9th April update
Clive has managed to find a second hand fridge and he collected this and then went to Michael's to get more stuff. We basically have all our gear now that was left at his place here except for tools and garden things. Still we can get them anytime if we need them. A new table and chairs are also on the way. It feels like home again. Now to tidy things up to look at selling it in preparation for our next move. Clive has now got the blog upto date. It hadn't been done since March 20th, so he'll finish the web pages tomorrow and then let everyone know when it's done and uploaded. Some interesting travelling stats for those interested. KM travelled = 19456 Litres of fuel = 2319.6 Cost of fuel = $3284.41 Average litres per 100km = 11.92 Days on the road = 326 Van Park costs = $8922.98 Average daily park cost = $27.37 or $191.60 per week Cheapest fuel was $1.180 per litre Dearest fuel was $1.869 per litre 68 days spent free camping, in backyards or on doctors visits One chipped windscreen One van tyre replaced Five calls for RACQ assistance - three with the old Jeep and two with the new. All had to do with fuel issues Curries made and eaten by Clive - too many to count Lobster meals eatcn by Gai - only two, but they were delicious Did we have fun - YOU BET WE DID Will we do more - YOU BET WE WILL See you on the road We hope that you have enjoyed following our journey online and if you plan to travel do it when and while you can. We met many people on the road who were by themselves, due to their partner passing. Some were in wheel chairs and other on medical devices. There were lots of things I couldn't do, as I need the wheelie walker, but being able to go for drives and being the official photographer was great fun. Clive enjoyed his walking especially in the national parks. Clive did all the driving and very little was done at night. We stayed behind pubs, in showgrounds, free camp sites, van parks and places where we were the only ones there. Some van parks were cramped while others had plenty of space. The small towns and communities Clive really enjoyed. They are all proud to promote their history and heritage. We certainly didn't see everything that there was to see in the towns we stopped and stayed at. There really isn't enough time as there is so much to do out there. I enjoyed the Atherton Tablelands and seeing my cousin, who I hadn't seen for nearly 40 years. She'll probably be one of our first visitors once we move to Hervey Bay. We hope you have enjoyed the 'View from the loo' photos as well as the nearly 5100 other photos we took. Not all of them have been put up on the web. I've been collecting tea towels from some of the towns that we visited, as well as fridge magnets. Something else to remember the trip by when Clive does the dishes. Thanks again for being part of our journey, enjoy life and stay safe. Cheers from us.|
Another curry finished. Delicious. |
Some of my tea towels. |
Gai testing her recliner. |
They hold weddings here. |
Friday 3rd April - Warwick to Merrimac
No weather reports again. I think Clive is slacking off a bit here. We'll be travelling on the Cunningham Highway and going through Cunningham's Gap. I hope this is not too steep like some of the roads we have been on. Of course, we gained an hour yesterday so now we have the sun getting up earlier than what we are used to. Very strange. Clive was awake at sunrise, so he managed to get some pictures and then went back to sleep. Just over 180km to Michael's house and we should be there about 1pm, unless we stop for an early lunch. Quite a good drive and coming through and down Cunningham's Gap they are doing roadwork. One lane is blocked off and the speed limit is 40km/h. A B-double was in the front, so that set the pace. Clive had the Jeep in second gear all the way down, so there was very little need for him to touch the brakes. Not a bad decent. We arrived at Michael's just after 1pm and had some lunch. He, Clive and Jess then loaded up the trailer with some of our stuff and mainly Jess's furniture, on loan. Headed to Merrimac and unloaded this and then Clive and he went to Super Amart to get a lounge suite and some reclining chairs. We're currently using the outdoor setting inside. Clive found two, one which reclined and one didn't. Neither in stock. There is a problem with importing furniture currently. When he went to pay the recliners are in stock and will be delivered next week, while the three seater lounge is due around the 23rd April. Still at least we'll have something comfortable to sit on. It was a long long day as everything we need is in the van and this needs to be unpacked.
Sunrise in Warwick, Qld. |
Copming down the range. |
Nice views. |
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Thursday 2nd April - Armidale to Warwick
A cool 9.6 overnight and 28.5 during the day. Just over 300km to the border. It's a lunch stop just north of Glen Innes for us at a Rotary Park. This park was dedicated "Heritage Park" in memory of the pioneer settlers of the district. There is also a time capsule buried here in 2001 that will be unearthed in 2051. YAY - we are in Queensland again having crossed the border at Wallangarra. We were stopped at the police check point. We had no problems here. They asked a few questions about where we had been and then took Clive's licence and checked it. We were told to stay indoors as much as possible and only one person to go out shopping at a time. No self-isolation required, but common sense. The road was again fairly quiet and we had no problems along the way. We checked into the Freedom Caravan Park with another drive through site. Again very few vans in this park.
Lunch stop at Heritage Park. |
We're at the border. |
Stopped and being checked. |
The loo view. |
Wednesday 1st April - Coonabarabran to Armidale
Happy birthday dad. You would have been 86 today. Certainly taken to early in life. 9.3 last night and back upto 28.0 during the day. Nearly another 300km to go today, but with each passing one we are closer to home. It now appears that we will not be required to self-isolate as we are Queendslanders returning home. Go figure! With what is currently happening with this virus I would have thought that everyone should be in isolation. So, we stared on the Oxley Highway and then onto the New England Highway. This one we will travel north on most of the way home. Not much traffic on the road, so a pretty cruisy drive. Clive continued pulling over for trucks to pass which they really appreciated. Stopped for lunch just out of Tamworth at an RV stop, complete with dump point. We didn't travel as far today arriving at the Armidale Tourist Park. We left at 10.30am and arrived at 3.30pm. Clive was told to just choose a site when he rang to confirm the booking as the manager would be back at 4.30pm and then to come and pay. At this park they have asked us to use our own onboard facilities, but we can use their power and water. No worries here as we'll empty poodle before we leave.
Passing through Coonabarabran. |
Lots of hilly roads. |
Our lunch stop. |
Armidale Tourist Park. |