Maintenance day in Bendigo.

Tuesday 29th April.

One item of concern that we have with the Winnebago is that of the charge life of the twin 110amp hour "house" batteries. Theoretically after a day of travel the vehicle alternator should charge these batteries to somewhere in the range 13.6 to 13.8 volts. We have observed however that these batteries only seem to get to a maximum of 13.2 volts. The impact of this is that the minimum voltage of around 12.6 volts required to effectively power our 300 watt 240 volt inverter is reached relatively quickly.

I have checked the power requirements for both the Foxtel set top box and the TV set and neither of these should not be draining the batteries.

So, while we are in the "big smoke" of Bendigo it seemed appropriate to visit an auto electrician and have the batteries and charge rate checked out. End result; the batteries are ok, but there is a huge voltage drop between the alternator and the batteries because of the light wire used, so the batteries are not fully charging.

The fix is to rewire with heavier duty cable which will be carried out tomorrow so we decided to spend another night in the area. Our decision to take this course of action means that we should have everything in order before moving into remote areas, also the weather is currently lousy, rain all day so not very pleasant for either sight seeing or travelling.

We did mange a visit to the Bendigo Woolen Mills where Gail picked up a bargain in the wool line.

It is still raining as I write this so hopefully a fine day tomorrow when we plan to travel on to Horsham after the auto electrician fix.

Our Day with Ned Kelly

Made from misc bakers bread tins.

Tocumwal to Bendigo

Monday 28th April.

Reluctantly we packed and departed Town Beach camping area around 9:30am, stopping briefly in town to refill both a 4kg gas cylinder and our 10 litre unleaded petrol jerry can (generator use).

We are now travelling south on the Newell Highway to Echuca a distance of 120km.

The nights have been quite cold so Best & Less was on our shopping list for some warmer pyjamas. Lunch at the Moama Bowls Club then onto the Murray Valley Highway to Bendigo, a further 90km's.

A rather nice but basic roadside overnight area at Huntley which is about 11km out from Bendigo is our "home" for tonight. Distance traveled today a mere 210km.

On The Seventh Day We Rested

Sunday 27th April.

Today being Sunday, like The Lord, we took a day of rest. Such a lovely setting with the Murray River meandering past our kitchen window why would we want to travel. Not a cloud in the sky, no breeze and generally just a beautiful day to do very little.

The best effort we could manage was a nice walk alongside the river admiring all the majestic river gums. Some of them must have been standing here for 200+ years if the size of their trunks is any indication of their age.

Sitting in the afternoon sun with a drink and a book, occasionally looking up to watch the river took a lot of effort.

Narrandera to Tocumwal

Saturday 26th April.

Departed Narrandera around 9:30am to Tocumwal via Jerilderie and Finley.

Stopped in Jerilderie, famous small town where Ned Kelly and his gang were very active during the period of his outlaw days. The local bakery looked like a good spot for an early lunch. There is a very good museum here with heaps of memorabilia associated with Ned Kelly.

Moving on we passed though Finley then on to Tocumwal, arriving around 2:00pm. There is an exceptionally good camp ground beside the Murray River known as Town Beach which is our chosen camp spot for the next two nights. The fee to camp here is only $5 per person per night which gives us good clean toilets should we need to not use our own, a dump point and connection to town water which is a real bonus. 

As the name suggests the camp ground is adjacent to a big expanse of sandy beach on a bend in the river. A walking track beside the river leads the short distance into town. Gail (in keeping with her daily exercise regime) and I went for this pleasant walk, stopping at the local information centre to obtain details on fruit fly exclusion zones as we will be crossing state borders quite a bit over the next week or so.

Watched a couple of AFL footy games during the late afternoon and evening.

Distance traveled today was a leisurely 165 km.

Carcoar Dam to Narrandera

Friday 25th April.

A very strong wind sprung up overnight so I was pleased that the awning had been lowered before we turned in for the night. Still blowing quite strong and gusty when we got up, so our decision to move on today turned out to be a wise one. It is not all that pleasant trying to sit back in the sun contemplating your navel and spending a relaxing day. Better to be driving. Everything except our fireplace had been packed in last night so preparing to hit the road was a minimal effort.

Today being Anzac Day had most businesses closed except for fuel outlets. We were halted in our progress to allow an Anzac Day parade to cross at the one and only intersection at a small town called Mandurama between Carcoar Dam and Cowra. Not much of a delay though as we appeared to arrive as the tail enders of the march passed in front of the halted stream of traffic.

From Cowra we progressed via Grenfell ( another late change from our planned route), Grong Grong to West Wyalong where we parked beside a lovely park to have lunch. We joined the Newell Highway at West Wyalong heading south and eventually arrived in Narrarandera.

A short visit to the local show grounds where we made use of the dump point and also top up with fresh water. We were intending to head for a listed free overnight camp ground about eight kilometres south of Narrandera towards Jerilderie however as we crossed over the river in Narrandera we spotted a number of caravans around the sports ground. A sharp left turn to check things out, all seemed very nice beside the river so this is our overnight stop.

I should also mention that during our travels today we were able to collect a bag of good firewood from beside the road which will come in handy when next we want the extra comfort and ambience of an open fire. Today's distance travelled was 363 km, but easy no traffic conditions. The roads we are now travelling are much nicer in all respects than simply sticking to the shortest route which generally involves freeways and major highways.

Rest days at Carcoar Dam

Thursday 24th April.

We woke up this morning to a beautiful cloudless sky after a quite cool night. Carcoar Dam is a delightful location with rolling green hills, colourful autumn trees and a backdrop of tall gum trees.

Just across the narrow band of water there is a magnificent hill with fifteen wind turbines turning slowly in the breeze. Why would we hurry to move on and leave this great free camping area?.

Consequently we have decided to spend another day and night here before moving on.

A small amount of hand washing, then we went on a very big walk (for Gail) to the dam wall. The walk was a substitute for her at home pool exercises. Total distance there and back 2.7km. A remarkable effort. About 5:00pm we lit our little fire and after enjoying a drink sitting around the fire we cooked dinner on it.

Hawkesbury River to Cowra

Wednesday 23rd. April.

The free overnight camping area at the Hawkesbury River has become more of a long term parking area for boat trailers whose owners are presumably enjoying a camping holiday further up the river. All available parking spots except for one or two were occupied by vehicles with trailers attached in in most cases with a big yellow wheel clamp on the trailer wheel. There were only two other overnighters there and we were the last to depart at 8:00am.

Being the school holidays still the traffic was quite light on the F3 or the M1 as it is now known.

A similar situation regards light traffic on the M2, M7 and M4 as we made our way towards Katoomba. A morning tea stop and stretch for Gail somewhere in the Blue Mountains at a large roadside rest area, then on to Bathurst via Lithgow. Checked out two of the CMCA listed overnight rest areas, deciding that neither were all that acceptable.

We parked in a street near the CBD and did a bit of shopping, then continued on for a further twenty or so kilometres to Carcoar Dam where there is a very picturesque and roomy area overlooking the dam. There were about fifteen other caravans and motorhomes already set up when we arrived so we found a nice level grassy spot out in the open. Ran the generator for a while to preserve the battery for tonight. Distance covered today was 295 km's.

On The Road

Tuesday 22nd. April 2014.

It's quite amazing how many items are required to be squeezed into one motorhome when preparing for a four month holiday. Clothing, food, plus sundry bits and pieces all take time to arrange and pack securely. In addition we had to make sure that everything at home was shipshape and in order. Turn off the gas, unwanted power points, check the garden watering system, arrange mail forwarding and last but not least arrange for our thriving worm farm to be looked after by a very obliging neighbour.

We had already taken the step of delivering our best friend Velvet to Tracy, Ian and Ashley, who have kindly agreed to look after her during our extended absence. We would have loved to take her (Velvet) with us but as we intend to visit a number of National Parks it was not practical or legal to do so.

As we intend to call in to see Kevin's cousin Shirley and her husband Keith who live in Narracoorte, South Australia we have decided to initially travel via Bathurst, Cowra, and Young in NSW then follow the Murray River to Echuca, then down to Bendigo and Horsham in Victoria, then on to Narracoorte South Australia. From there it will simply be pick the most unusual and picturesque route to get us onto the Stuart Highway heading for Coober Pedy and Alice Springs.

The Oodnadata Track via William Creek and Lake Eyre appeals to us providing there has not been too much recent rain in that area.

As per usual we intend to do as much "freedom camping" as possible along the way and this route provides us the greatest opportunity to stop along the way at some delightful locations.

Our first day saw us travel from home to "The Rock" (not to be confused with the real Rock in NT) where we stopped for a late lunch and coffee. Then on to the Hawkesbury River, arriving around 5:00pm for our first of many overnight stops. Distance travelled today approximately 260km.

Countdown to departure.

The motivation for this trip stems from our desire to attend the 2014 Ulysses Club Annual AGM, being held in Alice Springs, 12th - 18th May. As Gail and I have not visited Central Australia since 2003 we decided to extend the trip to include Darwin, which is one of our favourite places.

Today Monday 21st April has been quite hectic, with last minute packing and preparation of the motorhome in anticipation of our departure tomorrow.