September 2013

We started this blog in May 2012 so that our family and friends could keep up to date on our travels. In 2012 we went to WA and back for 5 months and this year we went to Qld and back for 4 months. We now have 258 subscribers to the Blog who receive an email each time that the blog is updated - we know about 10% of them. Last years updates have attracted between 400 and 1400 page views, while this years updates range from less than 100 to 426 and climbing. Not sure why some pages attract more attention than others as the title and content does not necessarily provide the answer. In total there are 285 pages, and all up there have been 70,862 page views on this Blog, that's an average of almost 250 views per page.

Our trip this year took us up the Kidman Way and the Matilda Highway to the Gulf, then east to coast where we went as far north as Wonga Beach on the edge of the Daintree, before working our way south along the coast until we got to Nelson Bay just north of Newcastle, where we headed inland for the Hume Highway and on to Melbourne.

Some of the highlights included Bourke, Charleville, Longreach, Mount Surprise, the Daintree, and enjoying the beautiful warm sunny weather. At Mt Surprise we went fossicking again and found a few white topaz, one of which Di got cut into a 3 carat stone, although she is yet to decide what to do with it.

We were on the road for 125 days in total, or 18 weeks. We towed the caravan 8,800 km and drove another 4,400 km sightseeing, making a total of almost 13,200 km. We used 2,440 litres of diesel and averaged 20.9 litres per 100 km when towing the van, and 13.7 l/110k without the van. The price of diesel varied from a low of $1.389 per litre in Melbourne to a high of $1.719 at The Burke and Wills Roadhouse in North Queensland. The total cost for diesel was $3,775 at an average price of $1.546 per litre, which was pretty good given we now pay more than that at home.

We did not free camp on this trip and stayed in caravan parks and camp grounds for 125 nights. The total cost was $4,210 at an average of $33.70 per night. The lowest cost caravan park was at Thargomindah - $25.00 per night, and the dearest was $49.50 per night at Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort. Food and drink is a constant cost whether at home or travelling and was generally no more expensive than being at home.

The cost on the Spirit of Tasmania was $1,771 return for a 2-berth cabin each way, and a 12 metre long car and caravan combination over 2.1 metres high. We paid an extra $280.00 to upgrade to a deluxe cabin for the return trip. The cost is after the Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme subsidy of $796. On a positive note the saving from turning off the heating and hot water at home for the winter is almost $2,000, and the added bonus is we now have solar panels that generated over 900 kWh of electricity while we were away for a credit of approximately $250.

TILL NEXT YEAR!!!!

We were woken at 5:45 am and advised that disembarking would start at 6:30 am. Being on the main truck deck we were off the ferry quite quickly and were lined up for quarantine inspection at 6:45 am. The weather in Devonport was not great, with a little light drizzle and cloudy skies. After a quick look in the refrigerator by the quarantine inspector, we were soon on our way. We stopped for fuel at Perth, then stopped again for breakfast at Zeps in Campbelltown - we both had an omelette and a cup of coffee.

Lining up for quarantine checks in Devonport

We eventually arrived home at about 11:00 am after calling in at the Montrose Bay dump point to empty the holding tanks and give them a good flush out using our new macerator pump that allows you to flush the tanks with fresh water while pumping them out. As we drove south from Devonport the weather gradually improved and by the time we got home the sun was shining. Once we got home it took 2.5 hours to unload all gear from the caravan - food from the fridge/freezer, clothing, and all the items that we had accumulated over 4 months on the road. After emptying the van we drove down to the Barilla Bay Caravan Park to put the caravan back into storage until the next trip.

Parked outside our house while we unpack

Our next port of call was to call in to see Michelle and Craig, as well as our grandchildren, Bronte and Josh, who had not seen us for four months.

This morning we were up early to get packed up as we will be catching the ferry tonight. At about 9:30 am we moved the Nissan and the van to the storage area for the day, cost $8.00, as we will not leave the park until 3:00 pm this afternoon. By 10:00 am we were in a cab heading into the City for a bit of shopping before we meet Kirrily for lunch. We started at Haigh's chocolate shop to get a few goodies for the grandchildren, then went to Michael's Camera Store so David could look for another Lens for his camera - he does have a birthday soon.

The saga of the camera lens is worth telling. David had been looking on the internet for the new weather proof 18-135 zoom lens specifically made for his Pentax K30 camera that is also weather proof. Prices range from $850 to $950, but David noticed that Pentax Australia had the Lens listed on their website at $550. At Michaels they quoted $850, and were somewhat annoyed when David suggested that they look at the Pentax website. They agreed to match the price, but were unhappy that they were being undercut by the manufacturer. After all that they did not have the Lens in stock, but it should arrive by post this week.

After completing our shopping we headed over to Flinders Street Station to meet Kirrily for lunch at the Waterfront Restaurant on Southbank. Kirrily had Pan-seared Barramundi with Moreton Bay Bugs, Di had Salt and Pepper Calamari, and David had Seafood Linguini. While the meals were very nice, David's Linguini had too much crab still in its shell for his liking. With the meal we had an excellent Penfolds Cellar Selection Pinot Gris that disappeared so quickly we had to have second bottle.

Inside the Block Arcade

Haigh's Chocolate Shop

Buskers in the Bourke Street Mall - no visiblle means of support

Horses with carriage passing Flinders Street Station

Yarra River

me Bank signage on the old Daimaru Building

Di and Kirrily

Di and Kirrily - close up

We said our goodbyes to Kirrily and cabbed back to the caravan park to start our journey home. As usual we made our way to Beaconsfield Parade on the waterfront and parked near the Beach Hotel to pass a bit of time before we go along to Station Pier to line up for the ferry. Parking in Beaconsfield Parade is $4.70 an hour 7 days a week if you don't mind. After a drink at the pub we came back to the van and made ourselves a coffee before heading off to join the queue.

Spirit of Tasmania at Station Pier

Parked on Beaconsfield Parade in Melbourne

The Beach Hotel

The check-in and boarding process seemed slower than usual, but we were amused by a couple of staff wandering around with a large tape measure, checking the length of all car/caravan combinations, no doubt checking up to make sure that all the caravans had declared the right combination length when they booked their passage. We eventually made our way onto Garage Deck 3 with the trucks. This trip we had booked a deluxe cabin that comes with a bit more space and a TV. When we booked the deluxe cabin we were expecting to watch election night proceedings so our own TV had some appeal. However KRUDD brought the election forward a week, so we ended up watching a fairly insipid performance by Carlton against the Sydney Swans.

Deluxe Cabin 1

Deluxe Cabin 2

Deluxe Cabin 3

Very cool overnight with a minimum of 4 degrees and an expected maximum of 13 degrees today. Mainly cloudy and quite breezy but thankfully no rain.

Today we spent our time cleaning the Navara and the van, inside and out. When we get home we will be able to unload the van and put it straight back into storage, provided we get no more rain on the way home. Forecast for Bass Strait looks fairly good for Saturday night with 1.5 metre seas on a 1.5 metres SW/W swell. Winds are expected to be E/NE at 15 to 25 knots decreasing overnight to 10 to 15 knots as we approach Tasmania. It should be a fairly smooth crossing for our trip back to Tassie.

Tonight we are off to the MCG with Daryl and Janine to see the Cats play Port Adelaide for the right to play Hawthorn in next weeks Semi-final. We met up at about 5:15 pm at Young and Jacksons Pub in the City for a few drinks and a meal before going to the footy. Being a Friday evening Young and Jacksons was really jumping with after work drinkers as well as lots of people like us going to the footy. We had an excellent meal in Chloe's Restaurant upstairs, the food was really good.

Young and Jackson's Hotel in Melbourne

At about 6:30 pm we walked over to the MCG, where we had excellent seats behind the goals on the ground level which were under cover of the grandstand in case it rained. However there was no rain, but the ground must have been a bit dewy as the players had trouble holding the ball on occasions. Geelong got off to a reasonable start but went walkabout for a quarter and a half and were 4 goals down at half time. We were a bit worried, but Geelong came out in the third quarter and played really good footy, going in at three quarter time with a 7 point lead. The game see-sawed a bit in the last quarter but the Cats ran out 16 point winners, and will now meet Hawthorn next Friday in the Semi-final.

View from our seats behind the goals

Geelong Banner - Motlop's 50 games

Geelong players about to run through the banner