The Final Sprint Home

24th May 2025

Distance: 457 Km

Fuel: 45 L

Dubbo to Wollongong

Intended to set off very early today. Once again there was the slight chance of rain so set up wet weather protection. In the event, while it was cloudy most of the day it actually didn’t rain at all.

Not looking forward to today’s drive, it will take me through the Blue Mountains and the outskirts of Sydney on a weekend. I set off before 8am when it was still quite dull.

Lake Windamere told me that I was nearing Lithgow and the Blue Mountains.

Finally the mountains came into view.

Followed by a power stations and some villages.

No photos of the trip through theBlue Mountains but eventually I was in a traffic jam on the M7 – at least the Hume Hwy and home were getting nearer.

I eventually arrived in Wollongong at about 1pm quite exhausted as I didn’t stop at all on the drive, I was that keen to get home I just kept going..

Statistics

Where would we be without some statistics for the trip?

Total Distance travelled: 8671 Km

Total fuel used: 972 litres

Average Fuel Consumption: 11.2 litres per 100km

Total Accommodation Cost: $710

I had a lovely time in Darwin, it was so much fun. I do like Darwin.

Was disappointed that I could not travel the way I had originally intended because of the tremendous flooding in Quilpie, Stonehenge etc. The Aramac to Torrens Creek Road only opened a couple of days before I travelled it. Even on the return journey there was still flooding and road damage in that area so I avoided it.

During the last few days of the trip I really was just intent on getting home so I set longer drives than usual but it was still OK. The cost of accommodation at caravan parks has gone up a lot since Covid with powered sites sometimes over $40 but most were between $33 and $40 per night. Unsurprisingly many caravans could be seen making use of (free) rest areas for the night.

If I visit Darwin again I will fly.

Wollongong

22nd September 2024

Distance: 383 Km

Fuel: 39 L

Home Again

Set off early at 7.20am, straight after a shower and breakfast.

A totally uneventful drive, did not stop once and was home just after 11am. The scenery before getting onto the Hume was lovely.

Even the Hume highway co-operated, it was busy but not exceptionally so. Funny thing, as I went further north the sky clouded over and it got darker until it seemed like late afternoon rather than mid morning.

When I arrived home, being Sunday, the traffic was not heavy so I was able to reverse the camper into the car port straight away and start the business of unpacking (but most unpacking will be finished during the coming week).

Statistics

Distance Travelled: 2979 Km
Fuel Used: 307 Litres
Total Fuel Cost: $583
Total Accommodation Cost: $264

Thoughts

It was a very pleasant trip, I enjoyed getting away for a short while. The nights were cold but daytime temperatures were just right, I was warm in the camper during the night, My little 500 watt heater was very handy first thing in the morning and occasionally in the evening.

It didn’t rain at all during the trip so I didn’t get to test my new homemade rain proofing awning for the camper.

The idea is that the door can still be left open for ventilation if it rains at night. The fans I installed are OK but I would prefer the door open however I am happy if it doesn’t rain at all while I am travelling.

I did try my new car awning and while it is not the greatest, it does the job. I have a minor adjustment to make to the set up – all to do with how the guy ropes attach – it would be good if they clipped on somehow.

Did try my water pump for transferring drinking water from the 10 litre container to the electric jug and the 5 litre container, it worked well. Syphoning is OK but this is better, especially as the Aux battery is right there.

Well, that’s it for this trip…

Home Sweet Home

1st June 2024

Distance: 382.6 Km

I had intended to leave early but in the event didn’t get going until about 7.30am, it was a cold, damp morning so I had a long hot shower before breakfast. I made a coffee to have in the car as I drove.

When I set off from Cowra it was very foggy but the fog suddenly disappeared almost instantly as I left the town.

In spite of the forecast it didn’t actually rain on my way home though it remained grey and overcast the whole time. An easy drive, most of it being on the Hume Highway and being a Saturday morning there was little traffic. I arrived home about midday.

Jobs

Got stuck straight into the task of emptying the car and camper of bedding, clothes etc that needed washing which will probably get done on Monday when a sunny day is predicted. Will empty the car of equipment on Sunday.

There are few minor jobs that need doing on the camper and I have a few ideas for improvements. I have ordered an awning for the side of the car even though I did enjoy the cover provided by my gazebo. The battery in the camper is suspect, I might replace it with an AGM battery – the one in the car is still going strong after 8 years of use.

The car is way overdue for a service!

I suspect that is probably the last long trip I undertake, in future will look at shorter trips of perhaps a few days or a maximum of a week to ten days. I like southern Queensland and there is a lot to explore in Victoria.

Trip Statistics

Distance travelled: 12,400 km

Fuel used: 1330 litres

Total accommodation: $1441

Total fuel: $2910

Average fuel price: $2.21/l

Fuel economy: 10.9 litres per 100km

Grenfell

17th November 2023

Distance: 257 Km

Fuel: 44 L

Spent the early morning wandering about Main Street of West Wyalong before the shops opened, it was cool, quiet and empty.

On the Road

About mid morning decided to visit Grenfell a town I have visited before and enjoyed.

For some reason the main road out of town was closed and I had to make a detour, The sat nav liked the idea and decided it was in fact quicker than staying on the main road. The problem with this was that the device didn’t know about the flooding that had occurred over the previous year and which had washed away or damaged sections of the road, but it is what it is.

First stop was the town of Caragabel where someone had decided it would be a great idea to paint a local shed with pictures of birds.

After stopping and taking a couple of snaps it was on to Grenfell. First to the silo in the town.

I must say I like Silo art it is big and colourful and repurposes these unused silos as a tourist attraction (grain is stored in a completely different manner these days on massive concrete pads) – the harvest was in full swing as I drove around.

Nearby was the old Grenfell Railway Station precinct, the trains stopped running a long time ago so the area is a free camp site and the buildings used by social groups including a Men’s Shed.

It was only a short drive to Main Street, I love these streets in country Australia built wide so a bullock team has space to turn around but these days leaving plenty of room for angle parking close to the shops (and on occasion in the middle of the street as well).

Grenfell is also the town where author Henry Lawson was born, his bust and statue are in the main street.

His actual birthplace is next to a sports oval on the edge of town and the location marked by an obelisk.

Close by is a tree originally planted by his daughter in 1924, now a massive gum tree.

It was nearly lunch time but there was just time to visit the Chrysler Museum. Mostly Valiants of course but one magnificent Charger.

Had lunch in the local Happy Inn Chinese Restaurant, a very large portion of Honey Chilli Chicken with fried rice which I quite enjoyed.

A Bit of a Hike

After lunch decided to investigate a sign I had seen on the way to Grenfell – Ben Hall’s Cave – Ben Hall was a famous Bushranger in the 1850s during the goldrush, he hid in the Weddin Mountains and carried out raids from here, this cave is one of his shelters and lookout.

I made a couple of mistakes not least of which was not taking into account my age, and because it was only 1.5km, described as “medium” I left my water bottle in the car.

The walk started off easily but steadily got steeper, the rangers had constructed steps but they are the worse thing for me I would have coped with a slope better.

Anyway I made it but to be honest it was a bit of a disappointment as the cave was barred off because of the danger of collapse, it was also very shallow, however the view was really nice. Going back I slipped and fell but apart from grazing my arm and hurting some fingers was able to get back to the car after several rests on the way.

Driving home from the Weddin Mountains National Park I think I took a wrong turning as it was dirt road a lot of the way but in reasonable condition so I made good time.

Once I got back to the caravan park that was the day done for me, I was pretty tired.

Packed up the gazebo once the sun was low on the horizon to prepare for leaving tomorrow.

Going Home

18th November 2023

Distance: 466 Km

Fuel: 47 L

There was no rush to leave but I was ready to leave just before 9am. The journey home was uneventful, being a Saturday meant there was little traffic even on the Hume Hwy. I stopped just once for fuel and to stretch my legs.

Statistics

Total Distance: 1358 Km
Total Fuel: 140 L
Fuel Cost: $294
Average fuel price: $2.10/L
Accommodation: $94.50

It was an enjoyable few days away, the weather was perfect, warm but not too hot probably mid to high 20s each day.

Back to the ‘Gong…

22nd September 2023

Distance: 702 Km

Fuel: 76 Litres

Home Again

A long but relatively easy drive home. Most of it taking place on the Hume Highway (the main highway between Sydney and Melbourne)

One stop at Gundagai for lunch and a toilet break, otherwise plain sailing on familiar roads.

Trip Statistics

It seems hard to believe that just over a year ago fuel was hovering about $1.10 a litre, on this trip the price of diesel always started with a 2 and on one occasion a 3!

Distance Travelled: 6537 Km

Fuel used: 721 Litres

Total cost of fuel: $1727

Average cost: $2.39 per litre

Fuel consumption: 11 Litres per 100km

Cheapest fuel: $2.11/L

Most expensive: $3.03/L

Total Caravan site cost (all powered sites): $706

The fuel consumption figure is a little higher than usual, I think the first several days of gusty winds had a lot to do with it, as well as driving a bit faster to keep up with our younger travel companions.

Apart from fuel all the costs have all gone up, only one caravan park on the trip cost less than $30 per night for a powered site with all the rest charging in the mid $30 per night range. The exception ,as expected, was Yulara and Kings Canyon, the former was $52 per night the latter $62 per night, their sites were large and gravel with a heavy duty canvas area for sitting and cooking, The tent camping area, which was separate from the caravan sites, had grass sites.

The motel/hotel accommodation was very expensive at the Ayers Rock Resort, it ranged from $300 per night to over $900 per night with a minimum stay of 2 nights.

Red Centre Trip – 2023

5th September 2023

Distance: 358 Km

Fuel: 39 litres

Why and Where?

Am setting out on a trip most of which I have done before. There is one notable exception, on a previous visit to Uluru (Ayres Rock), over a decade ago, I missed out on a trip to Kings Canyon due to time constraints. This trip is partly to rectify that omission BUT, more importantly, to share my kids’ first visit to the red centre of Australia. After the success of our trip together to Camerons Corner this trip is something I am looking forward to very much.

Setting out.

The car and camper were packed on the weekend so there was little to do on this first morning apart from load in the milk, lunch and other perishables.

Left home at about 9.40am to avoid the morning crawl on the F6 leaving the city via Mount Ousley and Picton Road before heading south on the Hume Highway.

Apart from being very windy it was an uneventful drive, only moderate traffic with no hold ups – stopped just after the Canberra turn off at the Mundanoon Rest Area for a cheese, tomato and pickle roll and a toilet break.

Came off the Hume Highway at Jugiong and meandered along the back roads to Cootamundra where we booked into the caravan park and set up for the night.

It took a while as I haven’t used the camper for over year but eventually got things reasonably well organised.

Went for a stroll to the Cricket Captains Walk in Jubilee Park, adjacent to the caravan park, a collection of bronze busts of Australian Cricket Captain’s set beside an oval walk. It celebrates the fact that Don Bradman, the most famous of all Australian cricketers, was born in Cootamundra.

Once the sun set it was a cold night in Coota with temperatures hovering about freezing just before dawn.

Back Home

Date: 27th December 2022

Arrival

Set my alarm for 5,30am to watch as we entered Sydney Harbour and make our way to the White Bay Terminal.

After we docked I went for my breakfast, no exercise walk this morning.

Disembarking

There was plenty of time after breakfast to collect my bag from the cabin before 7.30am and make my way to Deck 7 to wait for my disembarkation time. Many comfortable chairs available as people left so I just read or watched the goings on around me as I waited. The time passed relatively quickly and soon there was a call for the “Orange 4” group to make their way to the gangway.

Thank goodness getting off the ship was not the hassle that getting on had been – had to find my luggage then queue to get through immigration, this was not well organised but at least the line moved steadily. P&O definitely need to improve their embarkation and disembarkation procedures.

Once outside found my way to the queue for the bus to Central Station, there was only a short wait, I was lucky to get on a bus pretty quickly and was soon going into Central Sydney. The only downside was that my train was on Platform 25 down in the bowels of the earth, many lifts and levels down

I caught the 10.30am train to Wollongong, unfortunately, being a public holiday, it stopped at every northern suburbs station but can’t complain about that too much, it just took about 20 minutes longer than normal to reach home.

Conclusion

As on my one and only previous cruse I enjoyed it more than I thought I would but again I would be surprised if I ever went on another cruise. Yet here we are! My previous cruise was with Carnival who also own P&O but it was like a different company.

Embarkation was absolute hell, it was horrible, a complete farce that was totally disorganised and ridiculous, I hope they improve on that – they certainly would have trouble doing any worse.

The one real disappointment on this cruise was the entertainment, it was at best very ordinary, I am talking about the theatre productions, the bar bands were much the same as before, pub bands of varying abilities but good enough. The Christmas Eve and Boxing Day shows were a big improvement but frankly they were the only good shows on the whole cruise, it should have been so much better.

The rest of the “free” shows, as I say, were very ordinary, less than an hour of one performer on stage, sometimes with a recorded backing track, if you wanted a “variety show” it was an extra fee which I thought was a bit over the top and a very poor way to go. I noticed other events that required an extra fee though they were (I think) mainly aimed at the younger passengers but I think it is a bad sign that these cruise lines are going to indulge in drip pricing, where there are a number of add on fees to the original cost of the cruise.

A minor irritation (because this annoys me on land too) – the only “ordinary” beer they stocked was VB in 375ml cans for $9 each, all the other beer was in 330ml stubbies and cost at least $9.50. I think the Adventure Hotel was the only bar with draught beer (that might be incorrect). Personally I don’t like drinking from cans but they were always willing to give me a (sometimes) chilled glass to pour it into however I really object to 330ml bottles they are an absolute rip off.

Will I ever go on a cruise again? Who knows?

Wauchope to Wollongong

5th November 2022

Distance: 498 Km
Fuel: 32L

The original intention had been to travel to Newcastle and complete the journey home on the 6th but it was only 11.45am as we approached the Newcastle turn off so decided to press on. In the end arrived home at about 2.50pm.

In the event it would have been perfectly possible to have taken the camper and saved a lot of money on accommodation but the forecast had been bad. You are a bit cut off staying in motels whereas caravan parks are much more sociable.

Statistics

Total Distance: 1126 Km
Total Fuel: 109L
Av Fuel Price: $2.32/L
Motel Costs: $818

I would estimate that the same trip staying in caravan parks would have had accommodation costs of about $200 to $250, while towing would have used marginally more fuel, it is still a big difference.

Travelling up the coast is not my favourite trip normally I would have travelled inland but the flooding made this very difficult and I suspect those communities have enough on their plate without us adding to their problems. It is so long since I went up this route that I don’t think I recognised any of the route because previously it went through every little town north of Newcastle, for example the road around Bulahdelah was particularly dangerous. The road is much better now but the trip has lost something.

We went to see the Jacaranda Festival and Timbertown so it was a successful trip, the weather was particularly kind to us even the forecast showers never eventuated.

Temora to Wollongong (Home Again)

8th June 2021

Distance: 416km
Fuel: 41L

It was not going to be an early start but in the event we packed up for the last time on this trip very quickly. Originally I was going to carry some of Katie’s excess baggage as far as Yass then hand it over to her but she got it all in her car and we decided to make Yass just a lunch stop.

We had a leisurely lunch at Yass before going our separate ways, she to Canberra and me to Wollongong.

Trip Statistics

Time Taken: 17 days (plus a couple of days in Canberra)
Total Distance: 4473km
Total Fuel: 464L
Fuel Consumption: 10.4 litres per 100km
Average Fuel Price: $1.42/L
Cost of Accommodation: $514 (that was just for me)

It was a really enjoyable trip, travelling with adult kids is a very novel experience as was travelling in convoy. I was very glad that I bought a new jumper and puffer jacket before I left but I did get used to early nights and mornings because of the cold, the temperature plummeted as soon as the sun went down. The camper was very easy to warm up with my new 400watt heater from Amazon. The night skies in the bush never cease to amaze me, there are just so many stars.

The only fly in the ointment was the need to plan ahead and book camp sites at least a day before, this is something I have never had to do before and while it is not a deal breaker it has got me rethinking my travel arrangements.

Covid has certainly changed people’s travel, the number of caravans on the road has noticeably increased and the number of brand new ‘vans in the parks is also an obvious feature as is the lack of backpackers.

Thanks to Katie and Andrew for accompanying me, it was a great trip and one I had been wanting to do for some years. The next serious trip is to once again attempt the Oodnadatta Track – I have tried three times before but each time it rained just before I arrived and the roads were closed. I have to be honest I have never had any ambition to attempt the more serious journeys like the Gibb River Road, or even the Birdsville Track. but I still enjoy camping and travelling no matter where it is.

The Route

Where we travelled – for some reason the Cameron’s Corner section is wrong (blame Google) because the corner (G), is, for obvious reasons, right in the corner where the NSW, SA and Queensland borders meet.

24th October 2019–A Long Drive

Distance: 978 km
Fuel: 99 L

A lovely morning but time to go home. The original intention was to make two overnight stops on the way home at Benalla and Gundagai, then it was decided to make only one stop at Holbrook. The drive through Melbourne’s motorway network had proved uneventful, even the short stretch of normal roads to get onto the Hume Highway had been pretty easy (only took a couple of wrong turns).

We had stopped every couple of hours to stretch our legs so that when we got near Holbrook I felt quite alright to drive on to see how far we got and by the time we passed the Canberra turn offs it seemed silly not to continue on to Wollongong.

Arrived home at 8.30pm, in fact the worst bit of the journey was the night roadworks on the F6 near Northcliffe Drive. I haven’t driven that far in one day since I drove from Brisbane to Sydney in one day in the 1960s (no multilane roads then).

Statistics

Distance Travelled: 3795 km
Fuel Used: 384 L
Average Fuel Price: $1.48/L
Accommodation Cost: $440

Not a bad holiday and we eventually saw everything that we set out to see. Some of the travelling was avoiding the cold weather which set in over SE Victoria hence the rather strange route.