And we're off........

I spent Friday doing the final chores, shopping for most of our supplies and packing for our big adventure beginning the next morning.  We got up early, packed the car and soon after we were on our way to collect the camper and head off into the wild blue yonder for the next 18 days.  I was excited and a little apprehensive as the first week was going to be a real test for me as we had to be totally self sufficient for as long as we stayed in Gluepot.  More on that later!

We arrived at our first stopover mid afternoon, found a suitable spot to set up and soon after we were sitting back with a coffee and planning our route for tomorrow.  We spent the night at Teddington Reservoir, a fabulous free camping spot half way between Avoca and St Arnaud in the Northern Grampians region of Victoria.  You may remember that this is where we stayed for four days last year with Bob and Nancye.  No showers but three flush toilets so we were quite spoilt.  There were about ten other vans here this time but as there is plenty of room this was not an issue and we enjoyed our first night free camping in the bush.

Although this hadn't been a big drive on day one, Bill wanted to stay here without power to try out our new bits before we really needed them on Monday.  The solar panels worked well but the inverter did not seem to work at all.  This we needed to sort out before we arrived at Gluepot. 

The next morning we woke early to the sounds of birds, much nicer than trams, and soon after breakfast were on our way again.  Today we were traveling a bit further and heading to Mildura where we were going to fill our water tanks before driving into Gluepot the next day.  

Our first stop was just up the road at St Arnuad for a coffee before we started.  There are some things that I had to make the most of before going totally bush!  Another stop a little further up at Newstead Bakery to pick up a pie for dinner that night.  Next stop was at Ouyen for a picnic lunch.   By now the temp had reached 38 deg and the wind was blowing a gale.  Not very conducive to boiling the kettle for a cuppa but we managed.  

Here at Ouyen we found 'The Big Mallee Stump' though until I read the blurb I had no idea what I was looking at.  Believed to be hundreds of years old the stump had to be dug up to allow a road to be constructed.  It was then relocated to its present location where it can be admired by all who pass by here.

We continued on to Mildura arriving around 4.00pm and booked into a little caravan park on the highway.  Not really a pretty place to stay but as we only needed a spot for one night we decided it would serve the purpose and so we set up once more and then went in search of a shop that could provide us with a new inverter.  We found this across the road in a BCF store and the guy was really helpful and let Bill test it on all the required bits first.  Once we knew it worked we bought it and the other one will be returned once we get home.

From there we had a very quick look around Mildura and stopped at the river where we saw a couple of the paddle boats moored for the night.  It certainly looks like a nice place to spend a few days exploring but not this time.  The caravan park across the river in NSW looked like a much better option if we want to spend some time here in the future.  So for now it was back to our little van for a cold drink and to check out the pool.  It was still 38 deg and I had to cook our pie in the oven.  The water was freezing but lovely after such a hot day and the van soon cooled down once the oven was off.  We slept under a sheet that night instead of the blankets of the previous night.

The next morning as I packed up the inside for the days traveling, Bill filled the water tanks in readiness for the next weeks adventure.  We left soon after and our first stop was at Yamba for the fruit fly inspection.  I had only bought enough fresh fruit and salad for the two days so had nothing to declare here.  We had to shop in SA before we drove in to Gluepot.  We did this at our next stop in Renmark buying enough fruit, veggies, salad and bread to get us through the next 5 days.  And my final cup of coffee!

We drove from here to Waikerie where we had to get some information from the Orange Spot Visitors centre before stopping at the river to eat our sandwiches.  The riverfront here is lovely and we were entertained by a little group of Apostle birds while we ate.

To cross the river here we had to use the car ferry.  These operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and are a free service.  They make life very easy and obviously remove the need for bridges every few kilometers.

From here we were on the last leg of our journey.  Just a few kms before we turned onto the road that would take us into Gluepot.  One and a half hours of very rough corrugated dirt road and we had arrived.

But I'll tell you about that next time - until then.........