Day 1: Mon 26 Jun 23 - Home to Eumungerie

Mon 26 Jun 23 - Home to Eumungerie (Towed 425 km)

Weather: A bitter 4 Deg (felt like -2), overcast and drizzly morning at home in Canberra, to a very pleasant 15 Deg, clear sky and sunny afternoon at Eumungerie.

After 8 weeks at home, we are on the road again for another 10 weeks, this time we're heading north to Central Qld for some warmer weather, and to visit family of course. It has been bitterly cold in Canberra the past few weeks and we are hoping the warm weather in Qld holds out for our visit. This trip will involve fewer stops but longer stays. At the moment we have planned one week in Gladstone and three weeks in Yeppoon, after which we have no firm plans. We may venture up to Mackay again before eventually returning home by mid September.  It seems like we only got settled back at home after our trip to SA, but we managed to get a lot done in that short time. Noel got her garden looking great again, did lots of cooking and knitting, while I kept myself busy with a lot of Reserve Work, gave the van a very deep clean, and repaired a lot of niggling minor defects. Doing my pre-departure checks yesterday highlighted the importance of doing checks, as I discovered a loose nut on one of the main suspension arms - another two full turns and who knows what might have happened. I also found a couple of minor leaks in the upper parts of two water tanks. Some silicone quickly put my mind at ease until I can have the tanks dropped and repaired properly. 

We were up at 0600 today, and of course it was drizzling again - it always rains when we leave Canberra in the caravan. Despite the bitter cold, we were packed, hooked up and ready to go by  0800. Bron and Den will be looking after our house for the next month while they get their home renovated. We said goodbye, and drove away from home at 0825 with a lot of traffic heading out of Canberra towards the Hume highway, including a couple of feral truckies who dug deep into their vocabulary to share their not too pleasant thoughts on caravaners. 

We weren't on the Hume for too long before turning onto the Lachlan Valley way which was quiet, but had plenty of oncoming traffic and a strong headwind.  We had a short stop at Boorowa for a leg stretch and to buy some fresh bread for lunch, before continuing towards Cowra. I recently purchased an OBD2 Scanner ($60 on Ebay) to monitor my Transmission and Engine Oil temperatures, more out of curiosity than any real concerns. On the way to Cowra (the countryside looked spectacular - lush and green), the sensor readings reached 106 Deg for Engine Oil and 96 Deg for the Transmission Oil. We were driving into a strong headwind along a very hilly road, but it was a cold day, so the temp readings were much higher than I expected. My average fuel consumption was 17.8lt/100km from Canberra to Cowra.

At 1050, we stopped for coffee and a leg stretch on the approach into Cowra opposite a large park. It was 10 Deg outside with a fresh breeze, but the sun was slowly breaking through. We were soon on the way again at 1120, and our next stop at 1345 was in Geurie for a late lunch at a roadside stop opposite the painted silos...😏. By now the temperature had climbed to a balmy 15 Deg, still only feeling like 10 Deg, but at least the sun was out and already feeling much warmer than it has been at home. On the way to Geurie, the Engine Oil Temp reached 108 Deg and the Transmission Temp climbed to 102 Deg. It's interesting to know, but unsure what to do about it, or if I even need to do anything about it, other than be aware. We got away again just after 1400 for the final 88km drive to Eumungerie, bypassing Dubbo on the way. We arrived at the Recreation Ground at 1500, quickly set up and enjoyed a nice cup of tea in the late afternoon sun. Eumungerie  campground is a great low cost place to stay; $5 for unpowered in lots of open space, or $10 with power and water. We chose the deluxe option with power and water for our first night away.

After a very pleasant walk around town to stretch the legs, it was back to the van for a very yummy dinner (leftover lasagne which Bron and Den cooked for us last night), with steamed vegetables. After a bigger than usual first day of towing, a good feed, some blogging and a nice hot shower, it was early to bed (with the heater on because it's cold outside). Tomorrow we are aiming for Goondiwindi.

A very cold morning - not going to miss this weather

Short stop at Booroowa

Painted Silos (well they are painted...)

Walk around Eumungerie

Walk around Eumungerie

Eumungerie Recreation Reserve - a great place to stay

Good Night...





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