The Start of our Aussie Winter.

Mon 18 June – Nicola, Gary and the boys moved into our house yesterday, so Nicola spent the day unpacking and dropped us off at the airport for our 4.05pm flight to Sydney. It was great not to be on our usual early morning flight. We caught the train into Central Station where we decided to catch a taxi to our cheap hotel as it was teeming. The taxi driver did not know our hotel and dropped us off around the block from it and we almost walked further than from the station. It was a clean tidy room just what we needed. Indian at a food hall for dinner.

Tues 19 June – We walked back to Central Station where we caught the NSW Xplorer to Walcha Road. The train left at 9.30am and arrived at 4.45pm. It was an enjoyable trip firstly up the coast to Gosford and then inland up the Great Divide. The excitement was provided by a young Asian bloke who got caught smoking in the toilets and very publicly was evicted from the train. At Walcha Road Station we were met by a minivan and driven the 20kms to Walcha and Mountain Motors where our camper (Andy) was waiting for us. Chris, the manager welcomed us back and explained all that had been done and wished us good traveling. We camped the night in the local camping ground. Walcha is at 1100m elevation and it got really cold at night. We used the aircon on heat mode but found it hard to regulate.

Wed 20 June – A fine sunny day and after putting the bikes on the back we drove thru the hills (Aussie mountains) to Tamworth. Andy was going very well. After a shop up which included slippers and a cheap fan heater we had lunch and followed the “Fossikers Way” to the small town of Manilla and on to Split Rock Dam for the night. As we were levelling the camper Val noticed coolant dripping on the ground. I had a good look but could not establish where it was coming from. As we had no cell phone coverage we climbed a hill and managed to contact Chris from Mountain Motors. He suggested taking “Andy” back to Manilla the next day and to get a garage to find the leak and hopefully fix it. Failing that he would sent someone up from Walcha, 150kms away!! We took a walk down to the dam watched by many kangaroos. It was a great camping site in the gum trees.

Thurs 21 June – A slightly earlier start for our 20kms trip back to Manilla with 3 stops to check the coolant level. The garage we chose pressurised the cooling system but were unable to see where the leak was. A phone call to Chris who sent Gary, the mechanic who had done the repairs, in the breakdown truck, a 2 hour drive. When he arrived, he did some investigations and thought the problem was the water pump. Yikes!! 

Andy suffered the same humiliation as last time, being loaded on the breakdown truck. Three of us in the cab for the 2 ½ hour drive back to Walcha. Guess what - we were back camped in the yard at Mountain Motors. Too late to do anything today.

Fri 22 June – Much better news today. Chris had ordered a replacement water pump which would arrive at lunchtime, Gary would fit it and with luck we would be set to go. As they had removed the water pump for the original fix, Chris very fairly decided he would cover the entire cost.  I did some minor jobs in the morning and we walked up to the laundry in the afternoon. When we returned Gary had made great progress, and by 4.00pm we took “Andy” for a 40km test trip. All good. Gary’s wife, Nadene, invited us to their home for dinner and we enjoyed a great roast with them and their two daughters. Very generous people.

Sat 23 June – We left the yard at Mountain Motors for the last time (we hope!!) and set off up the Thunderbolt Way thru the country towns of Uralla and Bundarra to Inverell - a trip of 160kms. Driving these backcountry roads is very pleasant. This part of NSW is suffering a huge drought with all the paddocks bare. Some of the counties have allowed the farmers to graze the “long paddocks” (the sides of the road) and we passed a few stockmen keeping an eye on the cattle herds. At Inverell we stayed in the Show Grounds. We will need power for a few more nights as it is still cold. The day time sun is great but it very quickly cools off. Our plan is to head north and over the NSW/QLD border for warmer weather. We got the bikes off and had a pleasant ride around the town which was quite large.

Sun 24 June – A heavy frost this morning! Cars with kids, parents and grandparents arrive for what must be Sunday football tournament. We headed up the Gwydir Hwy to Warialda where we fuelled up before turning north on a very rough but sealed road to our overnight stop at a tiny outback town called North Star. The country changed from cattle land to crops (wheat stubble). The ground colour also changed from red dust to black soil.

At North Star we parked for the night at the sports club in a huge area with power. They were having a $15 roast hoping to attract a crowd for the State of Origin. We walked over at 6:30pm, a great meal including pudding, but very few had shown up. We talked to a few of the locals and then went back to “Andy” before the game.

Mon 25 June – Back for a short time on the bumpy road until it joined the Gore Hwy at Goondiwindi on the NSW/QLD border. The road, although a main highway, was still rough for our drive to the Millmerran showgrounds where we spent the night, a total of 200kms. We have changed into shorts and tee shirts and even put the awning up for the shade. We sat outside until 5pm for yet another great sunset!!

Tues 26 June – It was a much milder night. This area is the southern part of the Darling Downs. The road improved as we headed north for a short drive to Toowomba. We shopped before finding a camp near the centre of town. We will stop here a couple of nights to do some laundry and explore this city with a population of 110,000. The weather is overcast and rain is in the forecast. After lunch we walked down to the CBD but will look around more thoroughly tomorrow.

  They have an outdoor ice skating rink set up for the “Winter Festival”. Strange to see people skating around in shorts! The day time temperatures are around 17C so it must be hard to keep the ice frozen. Val phoned Judy and Frank McAlister and we will visit them in the weekend.

Wed 27 June – The forecast rain arrived in the night and it rained all morning. Our planned bike ride around the town was cancelled! Val did laundry. After lunch the rain eased to drizzle so we donned our jackets and walked back to the CBD. There was a huge multi storied mall which we wandered around but only bought a cap for me. Had a nice gelato before our walk home.

Thurs 28 June – It was foggy and drizzly as we left Toowomba and drove thru some nice country toward Lake Somerset thru the towns of Hampton and Esk. We have driven part of this road last year.  Our overnight stop is at the Kilcoy Showgrounds. “Andy” is performing well, thank goodness.

Fri 29 June – There was thick fog this morning covering the lower part of Queensland. Even the Brisbane Airport was closed. After the fog cleared, as we only have a short trip today, we drove into the town of Kilcoy and walked round in lovely warm sunshine. Shorts and tee shirts again. On the road thru the Glass Mountains to Beerwah where we camped in the Sportsgrounds. It was great to sit outside in the sunshine for lunch and then a bike ride to the town which is quite large. We managed to replace our clock which had crapped out. Back for a read and relax in dappled sun.