Tocumwal - January 2015

On Friday the 16th of January, 2015 we headed up to Tocumwal to camp on the Murray River for the first time. We elected to stay at Town Beach and hoped it wouldn't be too busy in the lead up to the Australia Day weekend. Warren headed up a few hours before us with the kids, leaving Steph at home to make some money and picked a great spot up the back against the fence.

We spent 5 nights there soaking up the sun, fishing, kayaking, swimming, walking, running, riding and enjoying a beverage or two.

It was a great spot to camp, costing us $10 a night. There are flush toilets and cold showers and the camping area is managed by a fellow camper. It is very close to town and there are good walking tracks and bike trails nearby.

20th September, 2014

This morning we awoke to probably our most beautiful sunrise for the entire holiday. This photo doesn't do it justice.

We packed up and headed south, stopping for a quick pit stop at 'The Ranges' before getting back in the car and driving to Port Augusta for a fuel stop. From there we headed towards Adelaide, detouring into the Clare Valley so Clare could have her photo taken next to the town sign. 

While we were there we had a bite for lunch. It is a really pretty town and with so many wineries around we promised ourselves to make the trip back up again without the kids so we can spend some time in the wineries.

Back in the car and we pressed on to Adelaide, refuelled again while it was cheap, hopefully last time for this trip, and then drive to Tintinara, 100 k's from the border with Vic. Gee whiz its bloody cold down here, 7.4 degrees at 8:25 pm, you have got to be kidding.

This will probably be our last post this trip, tomorrow we hope to get to Bannockburn, where we have left the dog, where we may or may not spend the night with my mate before heading home the next day.

We just clocked over 15000 k today, $5621 Fuel and $2807 Accomodation for 84 nights.

Thank you for reading these posts, I hope you have gained some insight into our trip.

Now what are you waiting for, get out and see this magnificent country of ours for yourself while you still can.

19th September, 2014

Just a travel day today, we packed up and left Alice Springs at 8:00 am and were pleased that there was a North Easterly blowing down the highway which gave us some assistance for a change. We stopped at Erldunda for a quick toilet stop before we crossed the border into South Australia, bringing a tear to our eyes. Then we stopped for lunch on the grass at Marla before making our way to Coober Pedy, where we re fuelled. 

These were our best fuel figures for the entire trip when towing the camper, 17.66 L/100 km. it is downhill from Alice Springs and the wind helped us a bit.

We continued on another two hours to a roadside rest stop at Mulga Well where we set up camp all by ourselves. Hopefully we will get to the other side of Adelaide tomorrow.

19th September, 2014

Just a travel day today, we packed up and left Alice Springs at 8:00 am and were pleased that there was a North Easterly blowing down the highway which gave us some assistance for a change. We stopped at Erldunda for a quick toilet stop before we crossed the border into South Australia, bringing a tear to our eyes. Then we stopped for lunch on the grass at Marla before making our way to Coober Pedy, where we re fuelled. 

These were our best fuel figures for the entire trip when towing the camper, 17.66 L/100 km. it is downhill from Alice Springs and the wind helped us a bit.

We continued on another two hours to a roadside rest stop at Mulga Well where we set up camp all by ourselves. Hopefully we will get to the other side of Adelaide tomorrow.

18th September, 2014

Well we awoke this morning to a beautiful clear desert morning at Renahans Bore. Last night as we went to bed a Road Train pulled in to the car park and left his motor running for about half an hour, apparently another vehicle stopped as well but I didn't hear it, too busy knocking back the zzzz's.

The graders were working just south of our overnight camp, so the rest of the Tanami was a bit rougher than the first 590 k, well at least until we hit the bitumen, 220 k from Alice. This part of the drive was a lot more scenic than the first half, as we climbed and passed some mountain ranges. We stopped at Alice at 1:30 and washed the car and camper before having lunch on Anzac Hill, while we made the decision to stay here overnight and then push for home over the next three days. 

Dave and Linda let us know that there vehicle needs a fuel pressure regulator or similar and the NRMA are going to have them towed to Kununurra to have it fixed on Monday, hopefully it doesn't sting them too much.

Won't be much to report (hopefully) over the next few days as we push hard for home on the bitumen but I will continue to post until we make it home.

17th September, 2014

We packed up this morning and said our sad farewells to Dave and Linda at the Halls Creek Caravan Park. We really enjoyed their company and were hoping to share the Tanami experience with them. Hopefully the car is easily fixed and doesn't cost them the world and we catch up with them again some time in the future.

So we retraced the 240 odd k's from the last two days and continued on along the Tanami. Our first stop was the border of WA/NT for a lunch stop and to wind the clocks forward an hour and a half, effectively losing that as travel time.

As we got out of the car I noticed that the trailer end of the Anderson Plug had disconnected itself, probably 200 k ago judging by the damage and all that was left of it was exposed wires. This meant the batteries in the camper weren't being powered and that when we stopped overnight the fridge wouldn't have any power unless we got it out of the car and put it at the back of the camper. Out came the wire crimpers, an old Anderson Plug that I had replaced in Kununnura after the last one fell out and the soldering iron. I disconnected the batteries so I could cut and strip back the wires but had to reconnect the battery wires so that I could power up the soldering iron using the invertor. This posed a new problem as every time the soldering iron touched the positive wires it would spark. Anyway all fixed and I wrapped some electrical tape around it to make sure it didn't fall out again.

Next and last stop for the day was Renahans Bore where we are camped off the side of the Tanami  by ourselves. Where are Dave and Linda?

16th September, 2014

This morning started easily enough with a quick breakfast before we did the short walk into the Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater. It is amazing to think that all those years ago this huge object slammed into the earth and created this bowl. We walked up to the lookout and then down into the centre of the crater. Right in the middle of the bowl there is a circle of trees growing, almost like they were planted there.

Our friends Dave and Linda headed off for Alice Springs before us and we thought we would catch up with them at Billiluna, which is actually where the Canning Stock Route begins or finishes, depending on your route. 

We drove into this Aboriginal Community and got lost amongst the houses straight away. A young fella in a smashed up old Commodore gave me directions to the servo, which I followed, leading me to Dave and Linda. I put 50 litres of Opal in at 2.60 per litre (ouch) and we set off. Dave and Linda had a bit of a head start but after 30 or so k we found them stopped on the side of the road, same problem as yesterday. We tried the same procedure and it worked for another 20 k or so before they decided to turn around and head back to Halls Creek which was considerably less than the alternative, Alice Springs. 

We didn't want to leave them out there by themselves so we turned around and followed them back to Halls Creek. The tow truck from Billiluna (140 k) was going to cost $5500. It took us about 5 hours to drive the 240 k back to Halls Creek where they have put us up at the van park, brought us some grog and tried to pay for our petrol. They have been very generous considering the situation they find themselves in, they are beautiful people and we wish them the best for the rest of their trip home. Tomorrow we will have another crack at the Tanami.