Some statistics for those that like them

Total distance travelled so far 7125kms

Total fuel used so far   1414 litres

Total cost fuel so far   $2115

15 fills of the tank

Worst price we have paid  $1.76 per litre   [Have seen $1.96 Nullabor roadhouse]

Best price paid $1.37

Best cost per kilometre 21 cents

Worst cost per milometre  33 cents

Average cost per kilometre  27 cents

Average fuel economy 18.16  l/100kms

Best fuel economy  14.32 l/100kms

Worst fuel economy  20.58 l/100kms

This info certainly helps when planning a big trip

PS

 The caravan park at Cairns also has mini golf basketball table tennis 24/7 movie room tv room courtesy bus to the city 3 times a day just a few I missed off the list last time oh and the amenities block has hair dryers on the wall not that I need them

catch you all later

boring boring boring!!!

Inland Queensland is boring the scenery never changes the roads are the worst we have been on including dirt and these are bitumen It is also bloody cold so we go into hyper drive and straight up to Cairns Much nicer here temperatures are a pleasant 27 degrees the caravan park we are in is unbelievable we have
Free Internet -children's water play ground 3 swimming pools the worlds largest bouncy pillow for adults too boccie tennis volley ball water aerobics outdoor theatre restaurant on site shop children's cars outdoor chess free book exchange all in a superb tropical setting  and more we haven't found yet

 Found this Bunyip in Mulgerie had a real cheap meal in the pub there $10 each great food too

 The above 4 pics are from Cania gorge we spent 2 nights there out of range of service nice spot

 Ouch crocodiles at last

The above are all from the caravan park great eh!!!!!!!!!!!

North to Alaska oops! Queensland

While in Dubbo got the pushbikes down and cycled to western  plains zoo spent the day riding around the zoo very relaxing

 

Went for a drive south of Dubbo came across a disused open cut gold mine quite impressive

Visited Parkes observatory that is a big dish they have there We then set off for Coonaburrabran and off into the Warrumbungle National park for a couple of days camping the wildlife here is amazing they are not afraid of humans at all full of kangaroos with joeys and birds While we were having lunch a couple of cheeky kookaburras swooped on our sandwiches in our hands we had to retreat to the caravan to finish lunch

Yes that is power you see there this campground has power and Hot!! showers tomorrow will bring a bit of hiking up the peaks you see there don't think we go up all the way though its 6-7 hrs to the top Will also pay a visit to the Siding spring observatory which comprises 13 telescopes including the largest optical telescope in Australia  It is sited on Mt Woorut above our campsite
Anyway I have found a bottle of Bourbon  wild turkey so catch you all next time I log on

We went for a walk up Fans horizon 1000 steps good view from the top

We also went up Mt Woorut to look at the telescope boy was it cold ice forms on the telescope dome on a night and falls off in the day did not stay long much too cold

After leaving Warumbungles we headed for Burrin junction for the night The attraction here is artesian bore hot springs a lot of caravans here parked in a gravel area some for months the therapeutic  value of bathing in the hot springs 37 degrees being the attraction we did not bother thinking it could not be healthy stayed the night and moved on to Lightening Ridge opals are mined here black opal in particular found in only a few places in the world however after Coober Pedi this place did not appeal to us
 So we carried on stopping for a night along the way we found the area around here to be mainly cotton farming and fairly boring so we decided to head towards the coast Toowoomba in this case

Boy what a horrible road the Warregoe hyw is terrible surface more trucks than I have ever seen glad to be off it Toowoomba in a really nice town very large and full of gardens

The Japanese gardens above were extremely well maintained

Went for a drive up to picnic point had a good view of Table mountain from there so decided to drive there for a look but Marion had the wrong shoes on so only walk half way up still a good view though

From there to Spring Bluff an award winning garden railway station in the Lockyer Valley

That's enough for now catch you all next

Into NSW

After 2 days at Port Augusta we were ready to leave on the last day we ran up to Quarn in the Stirling ranges did not know it was there after all the times we have been in port Augusta we will have to spend more time here on another trip as no time now

Travelled up through Petersburough not as nice as I remember it
As it is a railway town here is their mascot
He was the train drivers dog and when he died he hopped on any train he cared to and travelled all over the country
 All the rest stops on the barrier highway in S.A. are crap stopped just outside Broken Hill visited Siverton a ghost town where many movies were filmed including mad max
Sorry I am having problems up loading photos will try again later
any way Siverton looked good we then went down to the Silverton silver mine after a long unsealed road with the van in tow passing through two gates to open and close much to Marion's  distress

As soon as we passed the NSW border the road side stops improved 300% good on ya NSW
we moved on through many towns although the Barrier highway is not the most interesting of roads
we passed through the shire of Bogan For a few minutes I thought I was on the way to Rockingham
So we are in Dubbo the nights still dip below zero and the Bourbon bottle just emptied so I will try and up date with pictures later


Hopefully the photos will follow pls click on pics to enlarge

We are off!!!

Well at last we are off we are currently in Port Auguster after the trip across the nullabor
The first night being just after Southern cross boy was it cold -3

After fuelling up in Norseman we spent the second night on the ninety mile straight at an over night stop we made it to Eucla on one tank although we chickened out and put the Jerry can of fuel in 15kms short of the mark night 3 just after Eucla at peg 55 as you can tell not much happening on the Nullabor as usual

There be whales in the bight bit hard to see in the pics though it was much too cold to spend much time here and last time we enjoyed a much better display by the whales

So night 4 just past Ceduna and now into Port Augusta we will spend 2 nights here then we will start to get into unfamiliar territory after Petersbough car ran well and van towed well currently returning 18 l per 100kms catch you all soon

Not long now!!!

Final preps van polished 4wd polished will service the weekend before leaving
Caravan suspension greased wheel bearings checked Breakaway battery checked started packing hooray!!!
Oh S#%t checked the deep cycle battery on a load test fully charged with the solar showing 13 volts
connected a 12 volt 50watt globe should draw 2 amps well 15 minutes and the battery was at 10.5 volts must have a stuffed cell So another expense purchased a 120 ah agm battery at least I now know it will last
 I am getting very very very excited now catch you all soon
     
Late entry decided to buy a 600lb weight distribution hitch the rear of the car sat too low on previous trips           will fit asap
When will all this spending Stop???                          

Another trial run

Our campsite at the rear of the rock

           

 

 

 

 

Views from the rock

 

 KOKERBIN ROCK

Well along comes a long weekend so that's a great chance to test the gear before the big trip We only took the rooftop tent as we know the caravan works for us But where to go Marion has found a spot called Kokerbin rock near Bruce rock WA Well it turns out to be a great little spot for a weekender flushing toilets and water available and all for free It is the third largest monolith in Australia after Mount Augustus (largest) and much to most peoples surprise Uluru (second) All went well the equipment performed well power lasted Friday night though till Monday morning with only a half hour idle of the engine The solar panel had been lent from me by my daughter for her holiday to Karinjini that made a great opportunity to test the battery set up on a weekend without it The only thing that failed was the dometic portable toilet which leaked flushing water  thankfully it did not leak the other tank!! It has been returned to the shop pending replacement from the manufacturer I hope!!











This week I have also made a new polycarbonate stone protector for the back window the old pajero one too thick to bend round the curve of the land cruiser window One millimetre thick polycarbonate purchased from Masters hardware is used this is  easily cut with tin snips 3m dual lock Velcro purchased from eBay to attach to the window and stick on furniture felts to act as spacers from the window looks like it will work great
 The caravan is also polished while the weather holds no rain this weekend we are almost ready 4 weeks to go