27th March  Helen wasn't feeling that well so we went to the Doctor and he decided she needed a trip to the hospital to be checked out. She was wired up and spent the night under observation and had some CT scans and a cardio stress test the next morning but the pump and pipes were all in good order. We put it down to a bad reaction to the Flu injection we had the day before we left.

Anyhow there is a baby here we came to see so a couple of photos wouldn't go amiss.

All of 4 weeks old and quite big for her age. 4.5 Kg at birth.

Grandad gets a turn, usually when she is crying but is up to the test and normally quietens her down. If not, back to her Mum. I haven't lost my touch as I can still get the Burps up but some how I seem to have forgotten how to change nappies!!. Oh dear what a shame.

Damien and Hayden with their new baby sister.
Whoops I just realised I haven't got a photo of Nana with the new Baby. Must look into that tomorrow.
As an aside i went to start the car this morning and the battery Died. Had my suspicions for the last few days as it didn't sound quite right when it started. Anyhow called the RACV and they came around and jump started it and did a test on it and it was stuffed. So in with a new battery,$200.00 later and it now starts as it should. One less thing to worry about.
Cheers till next time Dave and Helen

26th March  A couple of days at Tocumwall was fine but Helen wasn't feeling too well so we decided to get to Melbourne on the Monday. A rather uneventful trip down through some more interesting country and better roads. We arrived at Deb and Sean's and proceeded to try and squeeze the Caravan up their  drive. After a bit of a fiddle I managed to get it in and leave room for their cars.

We unpacked and organised ourselves and then the kids arrived home from school and came to visit.

A happy time was had by all on the bed. It settled down a bit when I tuned in the TV so they could watch the cartoons.
We hooked up to power etc but the hose wasn't long enough to connect the water so we are running off the Tanks, which have to be filled up every now and then. I have a helper to make the job easier.

Little Sarah 4yrs is pretty good on the hose and helps Grandad fill the containers ready to pour into the tanks.
That's it for tonight,more tomorrow.
Cheers Dave and Helen.

Sat 24th March  Had a bit of a slow start today,but finally got away and headed for Tocumwal on the Banks of the Murray River. A drive of around 300km through some of the most boring country in Australia. We finally met the flood waters at Narrandra where we had to detour around the worst of it. Only a few KMs so not too much of a problem. You could see all across the country side where the water had been. We finally made Tocumwall and set up by the river.

We are way down the end behind the motor home. Quite a few vans here today.

All set up with River in the Background. We plan on staying a couple of days here depends on the weather a bit. Then on to Melbourne.

Another Arty photo.

That's it folks. All up to date. Must have too much time on my hands.
Cheers Dave and Helen

Thurs 22nd March
 Packed up and headed South again. A nice day with no wind (better fuel economy) and stopped at Tamworth and did some shopping to top up grocery's etc.
For the technically minded the bike rack is working fine and we haven't lost a bike yet and the solar panel and inverter are working out great. Just the deal when we are off power out in the boonies.

Just to show that Autumn is on the way, the trees on the way into Armidale are just starting to turn.

As we came down from the range towards Tamworth the temps went up and we had a nice warm "dry" day of 30 deg. We carried on until we came to a roadside stop 20km North of Gilgandra. Not much of a place but it had a loo and was off the highway enough that the trucks didn't keep us awake all night. Best of all it was free.

We were right under the power pole with a light on it so we had our own security light on all night. We shared the stop with another couple so it makes it a bit safer when you have another van there.
Fri 23rd
We headed away towards Dubbo,parks and Forbes and as there is not a lot to see on this stretch we decided to go all the way to West Wyalong. This is where all the flooding has been so we checked with the information centre at Forbes to see if the road was open and they said it was, so we carried on. We struck the water not far North of west Wyalong and it was like driving through the middle of a lake.

And out the side window.

We managed to get through OK and made the Apex caravan park in West Wyalong. We booked in, set up and did a few loads of washing . Its nice to have running water and unlimited power for a change.

Before I sign off an arty photo for you.

Isn't that nice!..
Well we are now all up to date I'm off to bed.
Cheers till next time.
Dave and Helen

21st March  Well we made it through the Great Dividing range by the shortcut OK. It was quite twisty and steep in places but very pretty amongst all the trees. We arrived in Armadale early afternoon and the first thing you notice is the trees are changing color. Autumn is not far away down here.

One of our tea breaks some where in the forest on the way to Armidale.
While we were in Armadale we checked in at the information center to see what the Newell Highway was doing further South with all the floods. The lady gave me a good web site to look at that has all the road information on it. So far it looks OK but the water is still coming down from up Country as its so flat out here. We will have to keep a watch on it. On the way through we stopped for a Cuppa and went for a walk to the Ebor falls which were quite spectacular and they had a fair amount of water going over them.

These are the top falls.

And these are the lower falls.
We found a great spot to spend the night thanks to LEPs great book. At a place called Bendemeer, down a dirt road and in behind the show grounds.

There was about 8 caravans there so felt quite safe. That's it for this one its bed time.
Cheers Dave and Helen

20th March

We met some of the locals today as they waddled past checking out the fire pits for food before disapearing back into the bush or up the nearest tree.

There was a few other inhabitants as well, but not the sort you would want to bother with much.

We went into Minnie Waters and Wooli today but not a lot to see though we did get some phone connection so got some texts out to let people know we were still alive. Tomorrow we head away up to the New England highway via Grafton and Armadale through the Great Dividing Range. Should be interesting as we are not taking the main Highway but a short cut that is 60km shorter. It will remain to be seen if its qiucker or more Hilly.
See you next time Dave and Helen.

Mon 19th March  Well so much for a nice dry trip to NSW. It blew a gale right on the nose and poured with rain most of the way. You also forget how crap the roads are down here as well compared to QLD.
Anyhow despite all this we managed to find the Yuraygir National Park and the Illaroo camping ground.
We set up shop and the next day had some nice sunshine.

The beach here is nice and deserted and great for a brisk walk. The sea was pretty rough due to the strong South winds.

A bit of a Moody shot of sea,sky and rocks.
Till next time Cheers.

Sunday 18th     The rain has finally stopped so we will have a dry trip to NSW. We are heading for   Illaroo camp in the Yuraygir National park just outside Grafton. Not a big trip but we hope to have a nice quiet break there, no power just a toilet. We thought our rig was a good size but Helens niece has a slightly larger one. Imported from America, 40 feet long. I know what I would rather be towing.

The big rig needs a big truck, a cummins diesel powered Dodge waiting in the wings.
Time to go,not sure if we will have reception at the next spot so untill next time.
Cheers Dave and Helen

SAT 17th March. Well its time to go after 8weeks at Cotton tree caravan park. Everything we can think of has been done and you can bet your boots that as soon as we clear town we will think of something we have missed.

All hooked up and ready to go. The bike rack on the front works OK the only problem is you cant get into the front boot with it on. First stop after leaving the park was to the public weighbridge at Forest Glenn to give me an idea on how we are going for weight. Well a bit over what I wanted (200KG) but I can live with that as long as the Fuzz doesn't stop me and weigh it up. Never happened last trip so fingers crossed this time.
First stop was at the Gold Coast Holiday park to catch up with Helen's Niece Leanne and Husband Peter. They have been staying here in their 40ft Fifth Weeler. Photo coming up in next post as I havnt taken a photo yet.

This is the campsite, not bad but very wet and soggy on the grass. Its not only the Sunshine Coast having rain. We ran out of the rain at Caboolture and had a dry trip to the Gold Coast but it caught up to us and has been raining for most of the evening. It was an uneventfull trip down and we move on tomorrow to a place on the coast in NSW called Minnie waters. Not sure if I will be able to get reception so there may be a gap in proceedings for a little while.
Bye for now.

Tuesday 6th March.  While Chris and Brian were with us at the caravan park we had a meal at the Maroochdore Surf club. Bought the obligatory raffle tickets and Brian won a Breakfast tray. Bacon,eggs, sausages and juice. Well there was too much for Chris and Brian to eat so we offered to give them a hand. The fools they accepted.

Out with the barby next morning and we had a fry up. All good stuff and very tasty.

A good time was had by all and we cleaned up most of the tray .Did us for the rest of the day.
A quick look at the river where we do most of our swimming. Photo taken with another bout of rain threatening in the distance. We are sick and tired of the rain and cant wait to get on the road and clear the area and find some good weather.

Well thats all for now, till next time.
Cheers Dave W

Sat 3rd March.    Another lovely day, hot and humid just right for a couple of swims in the river with our new neighbours who arrived on Friday afternoon.

Brian and Christine Moyse arrived for the weekend with their pop top and set up shop in the site next to us. Brian looking particularly pleased that its finally all set up.

This is the site we are in now. Its on the corner as the one next door didn't have a lot of shade and it was a bit hot during the day. Our van on the left and Brian and Chrises on the right. We get the good views, sunsets and breezes here. Its also close to the water so not far to walk for a swim.

Chris relaxing and taking in the sun after a swim in the river. Thats all for now folks,see you next time.

Nearly there

Well we have rented out the house,set up shop at Cotton Tree caravan park and I am working out my months notice at work before we head away on part 2 of our great Australian trip. The photo shows our caravan on the left and Dave and Carole Mc Gibbons caravan on the right. They came and had a week with us to try their new Caravan out before they head away some time later this year. We have had a mix of weather here so far, pouring rain and stinking heat, not ideal for being couped up in a caravan. Still once we are on the road it will be a lot better.

You do get a lot of nice sunsets and interesting lighting effects on the river bank. One of the best camping grounds in Queensland. During the day you get heaps of kite surfers on the river, I have counted up to 30 at times. I dont know how they miss each other. makes for interesting viewing though.

This is the rig that we are travelling in and I am getting a buisness card made from the photo. The advantage of working for a printing company.
Thats it for this post, just trying out the blog after setting it up.
Cheeers for now.