Let's go bush

"Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free..."

Those words are so true when you live like we do. Especially in the best country on Earth. So all you anthem loving, dinky di, fair dinkum, fundamental Australians, stop dreaming and start living. Check it out, you'd be surprised how amazing your home country can be. Like the famous Australian Ernie Dingo says: "Go on. Get out there!" And I must say, it is so much more pleasurable doing it in your own home, be it a Ford econovan or luxury motorhome  you can still enjoy it all the same. As for my wife and I, before we grew up, we started in a mozzie dome in the back of a Nissan Navara ute for more than three months around the Kimberleys. And at the time that was luxury (maybe just being together). Funny enough, after five kids it's still luxury being together.

Now that we have the phantom, life is much more simple. Don't get me wrong, because it still doesn't stop the sink from blocking up, the black water from being dumped, and all the other little hiccups that took the place of mowing the lawn and cleaning the gutters, etc. But the one thing I haven't got away from is picking the dog  poo up. Thank goodness he doesn't do it inside the home, or that would be his last poo. 😀

Now that the power source is functioning at full capacity, the man cave is reasonably sorted and the family is all geared up for an inland change as we have been on the beautiful NSW coast for a couple of months. The itinerary for departure is set! Justthethought of heading out bush brings on the craving for a roo tail over the fire, even a bit of roo kidney or liver or some wild goats... We're heading up New England Highway, so property owners up that way who will swap a good day's work for a hunt on your land, drop us a line.

- D -

Check...

...check...

...check. All set to go!

We LOVE the beach too, and will be back after some bush bashing

No power, no ice cream, and my beers are getting warm

Patience is a virtue, so they say. At the moment that line is very thin. For the past week I've been monitoring the amps on the battery bank, and for some reason it has halved. We have a bank of 16 batteries, and we're running at 24 volts. It would have been ideal to get 200+ amp batteries each, but in our case, because of our low-cost budget recycling lifestyle, and the depth of our pocket, we had to go through the good old ABC Wreckers and use lead acid batteries at 100 amps each, which has worked absolutely fine for the past three months, giving us 2-3 days power through rainy days.

The battery bank is in the man cave, and it is so clustered in there that we have been forced to move from a beautiful spot and look for a truck stop so we could make path to inspect and rectify this patience thinning problem. While I'm writing, the ice cream is melting, the kids' 2015 schoolbooks (tablets) - modern day slates - won't work. The dog keeps barking, because his fan is not working. The wife seems to be cool headed about it all, and as for me, I know that at some stage this afternoon/evening, I will be quietly swearing. No cold beers. So on that note, I better get to work. Because of the thought of Kimberley cools (warm beers) and not getting to watch the 6 o'clock bad news, I've got to get my priorities right and fix it!

P.S. Luckily when the going gets tough, you can always depend on the petrol guzzling 2.5 kva generator. Cheers, it's time for a beer (problem not fixed). There's always tomorrow... Oh, the serenity!

- D -

This is the entrance to the man cave.

Battery bank with reorganised storage. At least I can get to it now.

Great stay for a day (or three)

Due to the front wheel problem we've had lately, we stopped to check the oil level in the front hub on the side of the road at Brighton-le-sands. Plenty of clearance even for a big rig to park safely, and out of the way from residences - or so we thought. An anxious resident from the other side of the road (which is six lanes wide, mind you) expressed his disapproval of us stopping there, and in his words, "blocking the view from my waterfront unit". Although we knew we hadn't done anything wrong, it still left us with an uneasy feeling. This was soon to change when we got a visit from a police officer responding to a complaint, when she confirmed we were legally parked there, and as far as the police or council are concerned, there's no problem with us stopping there. "And what a beautiful spot it is", she said before wishing us a great day.  

We know how hard it is to park near beaches in a bus sometimes, but it was so easy to pull over here and let the kids go for a swim. There's showers and public toilets close by too, so we ended up staying for the day (or three). As long as you are self contained and discreet, even with five kids and a dog who says hello to everyone, I don't think big rigs would have a problem stopping at the Grand Parade to enjoy the beautiful Brighton-le-sands. Traffic noise can be a problem, and it goes on all day until about midnight. Our bus has double glazed windows thus giving us the comfort while parking on busy roads. After all, we're in the phantom.

- D -

Easy access to the beach

                                      

View from upstairs window

Friendly visit from officer confirmed we were parked just right.

And it comes in threes, even when it's break downs and repairs...

Sometimes travelling is like dancing on roses - a beautiful flow of movement until something pricks you on your heel and the movement stops. This time it was a tyre that blew, and obviously brought our driving to an immediate halt between Goulburn and Sydney. Driver dad nursed the bus to a safe place to stop, and got to work. When it comes to tyres this size, it pays off to be big and strong, as they are heavy! Mum was of no help except in keeping the children entertained on the side of the highway until we were ready to hit the road again. It comes in threes, they say, and I sure hope this saying is true as the old girl  does not deserve another incident in a row.

- M -

Good old Goulburn

So, we got up this morning with clear view of parliament house and bureaucracy all around, had a coffee and joined the kids to the fresh banana cake (thanks to IGA), started the old girl, and she didn't want to leave! I have a feeling she liked the bureaurats. So we had to get NRMA to persuade her to get going under the watchful eye of 'federales'. Thank you NRMA, Goulburn here we come!
Good to get away from the cold weather and bureaurats of Canberra only to find about 20km out a loud noise coming off the front wheel, which was immediately diagnosed by the onboard engineer that front left hand disc brake pads needed attention asap. With this drama at hand Goulburn was a welcome sight, and the backup support we received from the specialist heavy vehicle mechanics at Mechanica motors was second to none in workmanship and price, not to mention the prompt response. If you have to break down, do it in Goulburn!
When it rains it pours, because after booking the bus in for repairs, we went to the centre of Goulburn city to give the kids a break at Bellmore Park just to find out more drama: the bus wouldn't start. And again, prompt response, this time from Lee & Thomas Auto Electrical Services. Thanks to Dave, it was dignosed, fixed and ready to roll within an hour. Thanks again Goulburn!
Now let's see what Sydney has to offer on our way to Cairns.

- D -

We might be broken down...

...but some of us are still smelling roses in town...

...just to calm us all down.