Melbourne Brrr - Check out the house sit

Time to head off, again.

Set off to Melbourne via Coolomon because of the floods the Newell is closed south of here. I didn't see another car or person for the first 60km, very eerie.  Rail lines hanging over newly formed gullies, hay bails scattered across the landscape, fence posts looking like straw scarecrows holding hands.  Stopped for breakfast at Uranquinty about 10am.  Lunch on the highway near Chiltern, then stopped for the night at the service centre at Wallan. Reasonable nights sleep with ear plugs.  A good day for driving about 500km in all.

Wallan - Caulfield - Rosebud

Woke at 5am to the roar of many trucks but had a reasonable sleep. Its a public holiday here in Victoria, nice to know! Had breakfast outside the caravan and camping show as I arrived a bit early. Looks like a nice day for it. Brought an awning, dish drip rack and key bolt for the tow bar for Dora. Lots to see but no exciting motor homes, mostly C-class but no mid size A-class anywhere.

At Brian's place at Rosebud camped out the side of the house only just of the road but ok for just one night. Carlen cooked a beef roast and opened a good bottle of red for dinner. We had an enjoyable evening. Should be a comfortable house sit come 6th of May for 6 weeks.

It appears that Dora's aircon is not working I think the compressor is not cutting in, might of lost the gas, damn! Need to check it out.

Rosebud to Rye, Mostly clear sky cool night good sleep. Headed round to Sorrento stopped by the beach and went for a 15km bike ride around town and then down to Blairgowrie. Great weather for bike riding twenty something and no wind. Would like to take the bike to Queenscliff by ferry, maybe tomorrow. Booked into the Rye foreshore park for two nights right on the beach, nice. Warm night 30 something forecast, nice. Rode to Sorrento then took the ferry to Queenscliff and had lunch in a park looking across the water back to Point Nepean, nice. Stopped at the Queenscliff Hotel for a glass of red, nice place would like to stay there sometime, lovely old building nicely appointed inkeeping with the period, nice. The ferry takes about 45mins to cross and its very stable, cost is $12 each way with a push bike. Rode 23km today some hills involved raced home at ~25kph. Feeling some what tired now.

Rye - Light shower overnight but still warm. Rain expected today. Will stay another night I think and do the shopping. Booked in for two more nights not sure where to from here. Rode to the shops and round about but not far as the rain was ever present. A quiet day.

Rye - More rain! serves my right for coming to Melbourne. Rode to the back beach at Blairgowrie. Walked on the beach, or more like rocks, then rode back. Some hilly bits involved and 23km overall, nice work out. Heading off tomorrow but not sure which way other than north.

The Ferry

Darlington Point - Floods - Narrandera

Echuca to Darlington Point. Rained overnight. Woke at 4am but had a good sleep, pleased to be heading off today. Local flooding but should not effect me going north. Heard from Ged they're ok in Quinty, at the moment anyway, that's good.

Lunch at Conargo coffee. Afternoon tea with Les after parking in the backyard of the house sit at Darlington Point. Some wine and lovely chicken rice curry for dinner.

Les and I went to Carrathool to check out the new pub then ran of a dirt road into a water filled gully on the way to Griffith. Got towed out by a friendly local. Lunch at the RSL then brought 2 bottles of wine after a tasting at a winery there. Lots of water over the roads around Griffith. Then back to DP. Good to be back on dry ground some places have had over 200mm.

Clear sky nice day coming. Pancakes and bacon for breakfast with Les, nice.

Drove to Narrandera via Whitton and Leeton to avoid the water over roads everywhere, the trucks have no idea where to go.

Feeling good for no apparent reason, but that's good. Thinking this is not a bad block of land and has potential,. What the!

Lots of reports about flooding in Griffith and Wagga on the radio. Mowed some more grass. Rewired the radio, GPS, CB, and reversing camera to the house battery. This should save the crank battery from the slow discharge when parked up for long periods.

Went to the pub has a few, good night.  River now at 8.77m and meant to peak Saturday the levy bank only has about 70cm left in it. Locals are worried. Sandbagging happening everywhere.

River at 9.0 meters this morning. Revised the peak time to today about noon. Serviced the Onan generator 650 hours oil and filter.

Rode around town before doing the shopping then home. Went down the pub with Rod and Rocco for a few beers in the afternoon. Packed up ready to head off tomorrow.

The water is subsiding but quite a bit of flood damage around town. Ken and Brabs park went under at the very last moment their levees giving way.

The view from on top the levee looking across the Murrumbidgee

Echuca and the floods

Met Margaret who has been on the road travelling in her Toyota Coaster since having left Perth ten years ago. We enjoyed swimming in the river and having a few drinks at happy hour.

Tocumwal to Echuca.

Some light rain overnight. The tourist part of Echuca is a bit pricy compared to normal country towns. The camping and hardware stores charge a premium and the pubs appear to charge for their expensive refurbishments. Booked into Echuca Holiday Park will stay for a week, should be good. Overcast looks like rain today. Rode over to Moama and around town. Lots of rain overnight misty in the morning.  Rained continually overnight, again, heavy!

Caught up with Les by phone then email said I will head up to Darlington Point where he's doing a house sit.

Still overcast more rain to come. Checked the hot water system anode and its about half done should last another year.

My new bike continues to amaze me. On the flat it will cruise at about 25km without too much effort and the battery is lasting forever between charges. I love it.  Some rain overnight lots more expected today. Slept better last night.  Raining, perfect day for laundry, clothes and bedding, while watching black and white movies on tv.

Flooding all around me here. Gunna try to get out of here and up to Darlington Point.

Click on an image to enlarge

Camp site at Tocumwal

Bulli - Yarrawonga - Tocumwal

Yep on the 8th of February some mangy bastard stole my bike in the middle of the night at Bulli CP.  Worst part is they half woke me, giggling kids.  :/  Had done a lot of kms on that bike and was somewhat attached, but not anymore.  Got the train to Sydney and the ferry to Manly and brought a new bike an ebike, Promovac Stream designed in Denmark and made in Sth Korea, should do the job.  Brought a good lock as well.  Then back, ferry, train and Bulli.

Been too much rain here still overcast.  So packed up and headed off west across the range again.  Drove till mid arvo and stopped at Jugiong.  Checking the BOM site looks like I did the right thing, heavy rain in Sydney and Wollongong, clear sky here, yeh!

Drove to Albury for lunch and a ride around town then off to Yarrawonga. Did some shopping refuelled Dora then set up a Kyffins Res. Very dusty might have to be a CP tomorrow. Weather improved. Rode around town and out to the hardware store after breakfast at the cafe by the bridge, nice. Booked into a local CP down by the river, ok, nothing special one night will do I think. Brought some panniers for the bike at a local bike shop, $70, nice.

On to Barooga and Cottadiddi Res, love this spot, grass right to the Murray river and nice beach just a 10km bike ride into Cobram and the supermarket, nice. Stayed several days.

Barooga to Tocumwal Clear sky cool, should be a good day. Drove to Tocumwal beach camp and set up probably for a few days.

Went riding and ended up at the airfield and came across glider flights. Anyway went for a fly with Eddie Madden, a possible relative, for about 45 mins, great experience. Taxied out to the glider in the tow plane before settling in the front of the glider and being towed into the air. We climbed to about 2000 ft before releasing the tow and climbing a further 1000 ft in a tight continuous turn. Eddie then turned the controls over to me and I attempted to continue to gain altitude. But alas I was having difficulty just staying level so a few turns and a bit of sightseeing before handing back control to Eddie for final approach and landing. After my experience flying models I thought I would have a better sense of the attitude of the aircraft but it was not so, Eddie suggested it comes with practice and experience, of course I knew that.

Stopped in at a local pub in the back streets of Toc and had a few beers and a few laughs with the locals before getting home to Dora. Met John, Ronda and Judy for happy hour, fellow travellers.

My new bike

Up Up and away

Narrandera - Warrnambool - Wollongong

Got the motorhome air con serviced, just needed re-gassing, at Russell Auto in Leeton.

Lunch at Jerilderie and coffee at Conargo. Before stopping at Aysons Res north of Elmore on the Campaspe River. Love this spot, grass, shade and virtually no riverbank lovely. Had a quiet night by the river. Overcast morning but no wind. Bypassed Bendigo via Bridgewater then down to Avoca. Booked in for three nights at the Avoca CP and had dinner with Les and Hannah and spent the time riding and driving to the local wineries, nice.

Early start headed south to Warrnambool via Ararat and had lunch at Mortlake. Turned into a windy day northerly, good as I was going south. Booked into Surfside CP for two nights as its going to be high 30s tomorrow might need the AC. Rode around town and walked the beach.

Time to move on going to start heading north via Colac. Stopped at Camperdown for coffee at 11am still overcast and about 18. Made it to Lake Colac by lunch and setup at Meredith Park free camp on the north side of the lake, nice. Met some fellow travellers had a good night.

Stopped for lunch at Elmore and did some shopping at Echuca then dumped at Mathoura before stopping at Conargo for a cold drink. The pubs air conditioning was broken and it was uncomfortable with a hot dry wind blowing thru and flatening the beer. The new publican is a bit of a case as well, so I went on to Jerilderie and stayed at the caravan park there.

Back to Narrandera and Sand Pump beach for Rods surprize 50th birthday shindig down by the river. Turned out a good night about 70 people and a good time had by all. Rod had no idea, a real hoot.

The weather has turned ordinary so the coast seemed a good idea. Sutton West, Binalong, Windang. Australia Day at the club at Windang where I won a prawn tray. Shellharbour riding around then on to Bulli CP where I intend catching up with Brad.

Did some bike riding along the coast.

Aysons Res north of Elmore on the Campaspe River

Not all in one sitting!

Sea Cliff Bridge