So…..we’ve got the band back together. Everything old is new again. The transition has been almost seamless and Tamika is quickly finding her feet in her brave new world. In the space of just two weeks, she has started to get serious about her photography, music and writing. All creative options are on the table so watch this space.
Now, I’m not going to put rose coloured glasses on you about life on the road. We’ve had a run of minor troubles and tribulations, some of them self inflicted (I’ll get to the missing window later) and some just WTF. In situations where the unexpected happens, Google is your friend. We’ haven’t had a ‘disaster’ where some dude on You Tube hasn’t been able to reassure us that it happens to other people too, and this is how you fix it. So in no particular order we’ve re-balanced the two small motors that drive the slide out, all-but eliminated the accompanying creaks and groans, re-mounted the bed base that had come adrift and replaced f broken cupboard latch. For those who know I can’t assemble a breadboard, these last few weeks have been…lets say…challenging. Luckily, Tamika has her father’s eye for practical engineering solutions, so between us, we managed.
Mt Gambier is built on the geological equivalent of Swiss cheese. Some of these holes have filled up with water and a couple of them are quite famous. Being only thirty clicks away, we couldn’t pass up on visiting Little Blue Lake, a largish limestone sink hole about 15klm south west of Mount Gambier. Even though it’s listed as a free camp site, again, we didn’t want to draw too much attention to ourselves as it was also very popular swimming hole for the locals. So we didn’t “set up shop” preferring to look like day visitors who were clearly just here for a look. The weather was on the improve and with business to take care of on the Monday, we stayed for the entire weekend.
There are the usual warnings signs at locations like these, and of course, jumping from the cliff tops is strictly prohibited…. (I’m so glad so many kids can’t read. It’s about the only way they can have fun outdoors these days)
On the way into town on the following Monday we stopped off at the big Blue Lake, which it is. Unlike many in the area it was born out of a volcanic eruption only 5000 years ago. It’s impressive.
Unfortunately, another WTF moment was waiting for us on our return to the van from shopping a couple of hours later. Bringing the slideout in that morning had accidentally dislodged a battery cover that had then flipped a loose battery connection and all the leads. Suddenly we had no electrics at all. It didn’t take long to find the problem, but I could do nothing without getting the slide-out back out again, and, Catch 22, no electrics. I was using my best boxing glove hands to make the situation worse when Tamika strongly suggested we head straight for the Jayco dealer. A big thank you to Pete the owner of Mt Gambier Jayco. Had it all sorted in 5 minutes and as a bonus we could fill our water tanks before we left. Seriously, sometimes it’s like walking through boggy marsh when your trying to leave somewhere to head to somewhere else.
Finally, we were back on the road, on our way towards our summer holiday destination The Granites.
Oh, about that missing window story….next time eh?
Great to hear you sorted your small issues with the van. Sounds like you are both having a great time. It must be a good life overall though travelling about I am afraid I would get home sick for the farm and the grandchildren. Hopefully after reading all your adventures John, we will hit the road one day. Look after yourselves have a great christmas and stay safe. Paula