Victoria to Queensland

On the 11 March we picked up Aileene's sister Judy from Tullamarine ( thanks brother John) and headed for Lakes Entrance ( Toorloo Arm) to spend some time with their sister Sue and Nicholas. a good trip down in the afternoon had us there for dinner.
We had a pleasant week of catching up with some good home brew, wonderful hospitality and a visit to Marlo for lunch one day. We also did the walk from the foot bridge to the Entrance for the first time. About 5km and very nice although it was very warm.


The Gillard Sisters and Blossom

Next Sunday we were off for a day jaunt back to Warragul for a Gillard family reunion. It was great to see some of Aileene's cousins for the first time in nearly 40 years, plus enjoy some birthday celebrations for the elderly aunts. Heather's daughter Blossom was there also, fresh  from a three plus year stint travelling the Continent and the Americas on a motorcycle with her man Sean. Congratulations also to them for returning with a baby on he way.

Rene 90, Aileene 97 and Nell 85 what a trio.

After the long day out we returned to Toorloo Arm for a days recovery before heading back on the road to commence our long journey back to Queensland.
After hearing of our friends Carmel and Ron's journey up the Monaro Highway we decided that this was the way we would take. It was a great drive with lots of lush green scenery and the climbing was quite easy despite the fact that from memory we reached over 1100 meters on the way.
Our first night was at Nimmitabel #659 For $10 we even got a shower. Quite a pleasant stop. Off again with Canberra in our sights although we did not plan to stop here on this trip. We actually drove through the centre of town for the hell of it and it was great to see these sights again .
Not much in the way of suitable free camps in this area so we kept going and finally settled for #652 at Binnalong. Free with toilets and a good  spot behind the swimming pool adjacent to the footy ground.


The Japanese gardens

Next day an easy drive through Harden and we arrived at Jan and Cam's place in Young before lunch. Jan and Cam we cannot thank you enough for your wonderful hospitality. We had a very enjoyable couple of days which included a trip up to Cowra and the Japanese Gardens. What a magnificent place this was. The information centre in town has a information centre and tells the story of the war time internment of Japanese and Italians plus the story of the infamous break out. These two sites are a must on the nomad trail.
















Our wonderful hosts at Young

From Young we reluctantly did a stint on the Newell Highway but turned off to make Narromine # 1044 our next free camp. We were on our own here on the banks of the Macqarrie River . Not a bad camp but no facilities.
It was then back on the newell heading for Narrabri Showgrounds #907. An exhausting day after being pushed by B doubles at uncomfortably higher speeds than I prefer to tow at. The show grounds were $12 un powered with water and showers and a good spot to camp.
Soon after arrival I was sitting down to an enjoyable coldie when I had an urge to inspect the vans A- frame. I often do an inspection and thank goodness I did as to my horror discovered a massive crack on one side directly under the hitch receiver. As it was Sunday I had to wait until Monday morning to seek help. After a sleepless night and some Googling I decided to get some fuel and ask the servo people for a recommendation.
They said that Faber Engineering ( Home of the famous Faber Toolboxes) would be the best bet. They were! Came out and inspected van and advised they could patch it up enough to get us back to Qld. After the morning in their workshop we were nervously back on the road . Not wanting to go too fast we dodged the newell and headed out through Bingara to Warialda. A beautiful drive which took my mind off the van although I did stop to inspect the frame on many occasions.

Not a pretty sight

As we had emptied the tanks to save weight we wanted a park so stayed at Warialda caravan park #275. A very pleasant grassy park with excellent facilities for $22.
As we were on a mission now to get home to address the van's problems we headed off early through Yetman, Texas, Inglewood, Warrick, Boonah, Beaudesert to home. About 475km and a big day for us but we made it with no more cracks. The boys at www.fabertoolboxes.com.au  did a great job.
Well we contacted our insurers and they have accepted the claim and the van is having surgery as I write. Should be finished at fabricators today. We are replacing the 100mm A frame with 150mm sections and also the material is 1mm thicker grade. Should be better than original. Inspected progress yesterday and I am very happy with the look.
Van should be ready to collect next Tuesday. New tyres on truck yesterday 80k plus on the BF Goodrich and very happy. Service next week. Two teeth repaired and a doctor visit next week should complete the maintenance schedule so we can get back on the road by the 14 April.
Great to catch up with all the family and friends whilst back and our social calendar is quite busy at the present.
We plan to head out to Mt Sylvia on 14th so we can spend a week or so with Judy and have a quick visit to Nanango to meet Gerrit and Ria and prepare for our farm sit for them later in April. Really looking forward to a winter in Nanango and on a rural property