Around Oz the First Time - Chapter 11 - One Week Down

First week down and we have travelled 2,405 kilometres. This distance has meant we have spent $915 on fuel and $240 on “real” attractions as opposed to the natural beauty of the landscape and the places we have visited. This land is vast and there is much to see, you only need to look. Travelling in the daylight means much of the natural fauna is shading from the hot sun but the flora is still there and the evidence of the fauna everywhere to see. The influence of man is also on view, be it clearing the land, stocking it with sheep or cattle or even cropping, although with the drought we have seen little of that.

We have learnt that even seasoned travellers forget things. Silver Leader has forgotten to switch his fridge over to the car battery twice in week one alone. He has also been the first to break something – thankfully repair of the rear view mirror lost in the bush was easy enough.

We have had a few issues with the van, a light cover has fallen off but I replaced it, the half full gas bottle does not seem to want to relinquish gas and the mudflaps tried to fall off the van but with some bigger screws and some Lock Tight they seem to be well in place now. The issue with the brakes on the van screaming at us seems to have been fixed by ensuring we have disconnected to the red and grey Anderson plugs at night to allow for a “hard reboot” each time. This was after the first (and hopefully last) “incident” of the EBS taking over the van swaying.

On the upside the barbeque now works and we have cooked on it successfully, we have had no issues with power at free camp sites. We use the inverter only sparingly when off the grid to conserve power. The CPAP machine is the problem and we have not had any issues with it running all night from the 12 volt system. Robyn has managed to make the printer purchased for $32 from Officeworks work effectively and successfully made the satellite dish work (but did have some issues accessing emails first up)

Its dry out here – very dry. The dust is everywhere but that adds to the experience for now. We will see if it detracts as the trip goes on. The diary of costs I started is a bit overwhelming but it’s a holiday. There were a number of initial costs involved and the actual driving distances will only reduce.

The country hospitality has been amazing. Even faced with the gripping drought everyone we speak to is upbeat, I suspect the grey nomads are helping to keep much of the country going. We are being careful not to be overly frugal. The TV is yet to get a go, we haven’t needed its diversion. It would seem the packing of the myriad of DVD’s was, not a mistake, but certainly in their multitude an oversight. The CD’s though have gotten a go in the sound system especially around the river sites when the occupants of the three vans get together for an evening repast. Each has their own version, be it Spotify or something similar or just an iPod with a vast collection of songs to while away the time, especially in driving mode.

The first fish has been caught and counting the 2 crayfish trapped this morning takes the count to 3 – none of which have not been returned much to the chagrin of my friend John Tonkin. The picture taking has been incessant, even if Robyn misses most signs we try to capture – she will hopefully only get better, or will drive much more and I will have more of a go.

The sunsets have been very photogenic, and many people are asking for more shots. I am happy to keep proving them. All in all a good start but there are much more exciting things to come.

Just over 15,000 words to date with the introduction and the additional chapter. By the time we are around Oz this will be a tome and a half even before I add the pictures