Horsham to TraralgonjawaproWed 30/01/2008 10:07 PM
We woke up early on Tuesday. Klutz had set his alarm for an hour earlier than me - in an attempt to be ready to roll before me (for the first time).
It turns out that I was still ready to leave at the same time as Klutz.
We left early - and made it to Ballarat in time for Klutz to get his rear tyres replaced. It took about an hour - so Klutz and I walked around Ballarat for a while to fill in time.
The local Cash Converters have decided they like us, as between us we bought quite a bit of stuff (mostly me). The photo is of my haul. Mostly computer games, a few movies, and a CD.
After lunch at Ballarat - we headed into Melbourne. We followed the highway straight through - and out the other side (over the bridge and under the tunnel).
We headed out East of Melbourne, and arrived at Traralgon, where my Uncle and Aunt live (Ben and Bec) and their kids Mike and Gabi.
We spent the evening relaxing at their place - and Klutz managed to program his PSP to work as a tv remote (strange things amuse him).
On Wednesday, we continued relaxing (after sleeping in) and spent the day at Ben and Becs. In the arvo Klutz left to head to Sale (an hour further east) where he had plans to meet up with his extended family who live in the area. I stayed with Ben and Bec and spent the arvo playing with Mike and his lego, as well as teaching him how to use DosBox on his PC.
Mike and Bec decided to show me around the local sights - so we went for a tour of the local second-hand shops. I didnt spend as much as I did at the Cash Converters the previous day - but I did pick up a few books and some cars for my model train set.
Tomorrow Klutz is planning to come back to Traralgon mid morning, and we're going to Melbourne in the arvo. We're staying the night in Melbourne, and then sailing back to Tassie on the Friday.
The Trip's almost over now...
Comments: 1
View Comments
Port Pirie to Horsham.jawaproMon 28/01/2008 09:51 PM
Not so much to blog today. I'd managed to convince Klutz to get moving earlier today - so we got a move on nice and early.
It was actually cold last night - which makes a very nice change. Being able to stand outside in the breeze and start to shiver is very nice compared to sweating for the last week or so.
We headed south to Adelaide - but bypassed it mostly. We just cruised in on the Freeway and back out again (through the tunnels).
After this we were finally heading East. We crossed the Murray River at Murray Bridge (which makes sense).
Klutz had a look at his tyres in Tailem Bend (just before Murray Bridge) and noticed that the back tyres were getting a little bald. I'd have driven on them back to Tassie - but Klutz had a mild panic attack - rang his dad, and decided they needed replacing. Unfourtuantly for him - it's the Monday of the Australia Day Long Weekend, so no tyre shops were open.
We swapped the worst tyre with the spare though - and he plans to buy new tyres tomorrow.
Far more interestingly - we found this Alien wandering around besides the highway. We gave him some directions - and he was quite gratefull. We're just nice guys like that.
We crossed the border into Victoria - but I was driving and Klutz was being un-observant and didnt notice - so no photos.
I had been hoping we'd make it to Ballarat by nightfall - but we ended up at Horsham - about 200 ks short of Ballarat - but still not a bad day's journey. Dad was fairly impressed we'd gotten that far in a day.
We checked into a caravan park - and then went to find a Maccas so I could check my email and we could have tea and things.
I wonder if they do a Horse and Ham burger? The McHorsham?
Comments: 1
View Comments
Alice Springs To Port PiriejawaproSun 27/01/2008 10:42 PM
Been a while since I last blogged – but there’s a reason for that. We’re now a day behind.
We started off from Mount Isa – where we had a nice camping spot in the shade. Unfortunately Klutz decided to wait until the shade had gone before getting up – so we packed up in the heat. I decided from now on I was going to wake him up earlier and pack up before it got so bad.
We didn’t have any milk we trusted (Klutz’s fridge wasn’t keeping things as cold as we liked) so we went shopping for some more milk (and I bought an esky bag and ice to keep things properly cold). So we stopped on the side of the road out of Alice Springs to eat our breakfast cereal – and drew strange looks from the locals.
After leaving Alice we settled into the long drive to Coober Pedy. It was a little later than expected due to the shopping trip, but we should have still made it to Coober Pedy.
Along the way we stopped at a Kulgera (no Lear Jets) where Klutz attempted to flirt with some German tourists and sent them all scurrying back to their bus and high tailing it out of there.
But then disaster struck.
Between Kulgera and Marla (the two road houses that pass for towns around here) we started going through a lot of fuel. We wouldn’t have made it – except we had the jerry can in the boot.
When we got to Marla we had a better look, and discovered two problems. First up, the radiator was leaking a little – but that was quickly fixed with a little stop-leak. It hadn’t causes a problem yet anyway.
The real problem was we were leaking fuel.
It only happened when the car was running – but it was a fair bit of petrol. That was why we were using it so fast on the last leg.
After a lot of phone calls to Klutz’s dad (who’s a mechanic) and talking with the Road House staff, we discovered that a mechanic would be there the following morning – and decided to camp the night.
I sent Klutz inside to find out the price of the caravan park – and he came back with the keys to a motel room – claiming there wasn’t a caravan park there.
So we moved into our motel room, with a great view of the non-existent caravan park out the back door. As much as I bagged Klutz out about not knowing there was a caravan park – it was very nice to use the air-con all night. 16 degrees is my sort of temperature!
The next day I woke Klutz up early and we were waiting for the Mechanic at 8 in the morning, as we’d been told that’s when he’d open. Turns out that on Saturdays he doesn’t open to 9 though – or slightly after. At least I’d gotten Klutz up earlier.
The mechanic was pretty useless though. He said he’d have to drop the tank out – and would need his hoist for that – but the hoist was already tied up and would be until Wednesday. But we could wait until the next day and get out car shipped to Adelaide on a truck that would be coming through.
My preference would be to find a tourist going our way and beg a tow to Coober Pedy where we’d find a better mechanic. It was only about 200ks away.
But Klutz talked to his Dad some more – and got some instructions. We had to find the inspection hatch for the petrol tank. First we pulled the boot apart.
But no petrol tank hatch in there. So we partially repacked the boot, found some shade, and pulled out everything in the back of the car – including the seats.
After more calls between Klutz and his dad (all via pay phone – no signal here) we found the hatch and opened it up – and one of the fuel lines was obviously cracked.
We bought some new fuel line (pipe) from the useless mechanic, and Klutz (with a little help from me) proceeded to replace the fuel line.
In far less than the four days the mechanic would take (we only took about 4 hours) we had the car fixed and put back together again.
Klutz was of course, very proud of himself for this. His Dad seemed pretty impressed over the phone too.
We travelled to Coober Pedy, where Klutz’s parents had agreed to put us up in a cabin for the night. We were now officially one day behind (we should have been here the previous night).
On the way to Coober Pedy, I took this photo especially for my sister Emma (aka LittleSis).
On our trip in 2000, we had visited the range of hills called the Breakaways – but by that evening Emma had forgotten all about them. This is just to prove that they do exist.
The above photo is of one of the trucks used in Opal mining in Coober Pedy. It’s the Opal mining capital of the country. Sorry Emma – I didn’t find any.
That evening we had some pizza from one restaurant after Klutz had decided the first restaurant was too Italian to make good pizzas (I worry about him sometimes), and took a look around the sights (most of which I’d seen in 2000).
First up – the Underground Church. Underground as in in the side of the hill. Think a man made cave. They hold services here every Sunday (Anglican I think).
This is the Shopping Trolley parked near the wreck of a crashed space-ship. Quite common-place in Coober Pedy, as lots of movies are filmed here.
The ship is from the movie Pitch Black.
Another early start was attempted today – but once again Klutz dragged his feet a bit. But at least we were away earlier.
We travelled from Coober Pedy to Port Augusta – and a little further.
Most of the day was just driving – but we did stop at Woomera for a look. Woomera was the home of the rocket testing range - so there were lots of rockets in a park. The museum was shut, and we didn’t want to spend too long there anyway.
That was me doing my Dr Strangelove impersonation.
Before long it was time to blast off.
We passed through Port Augusta – and I managed to convince Klutz to keep travelling for an extra hour or so – to Port Pirie. Klutz likes to leave late, and set up camp early. Not a good combination to make long distances.
Port Pirie seems nice – and is a lot cooler than previous places – and the flies are far less around here – but now we have mozzies to fight at night. Ah well….
We had a quick look at the map too – and I declared that the place Klutz mentioned as a possible overnight stop should be our lunch-stop. I think I’ve scared him a bit – and we’re going to try and put in a good day’s travelling tomorrow.
Stay tuned…
Comments: 1
View Comments
Update – Isa to AlicejawaproThu 24/01/2008 07:56 PM
The now officially named “Shopping Trolley” left Mount Isa on Wednesday morning. Klutz said farewell to his family, and got strict instructions to call them from the stops along the way (via pay phone, there was no signal until the end of the day).
From Mount Isa we headed west. The day’s trip was over 600 kays – but was easy driving. Klutz has done the lions share of the driving thus far – which makes sense, it being his car and all – but I’ve done my part too.
That’s Klutz driving.
That’s me doing my part. Also a good chance to show off some of my beard growing progress.
Klutz has a Navman thing – just so he doesn’t get lost on all these straight roads out here.
There aren’t exactly many opportunities to get lost out here. Although, it is nice knowing how far it is to your destination.
And keeping an eye on where we’ve been is Klutz’s skull called Murray (after the Monkey Island character).
The trip was pretty good – but far too hot for my tastes. And the flies are pretty bad as well.
We’ve had to stop for petrol at some pretty remote places (like Berkley Homestead) because there just hasn’t been any option.
But that means that the petrol hasn’t exactly been cheap. Could have been worse though.
The first part of the journey was through the small hills outside Mount Isa, but it soon got flat – very flat.
What Klutz calls “Big Sky Country”.
Eventually the three of us (if you include Murray) crossed the border into the Northern Territory.
Which includes its own Speed Limits. They used to be completely unlimited – but the government changed them last year. We couldn’t travel that fast anyway.
Eventually we reached the junction where the road met the highway I’d travelled on before (family toured Aus in 2000). We turned down the road a couple of ks and came to Tennant Creek, where we camped for the night in the caravan park.
I love camping – but not so much when it’s this hot. Even the cold water tap here is hot.
Today we headed South finally. From Tennant Creek to Alice Springs. The country changed a couple of times during the trip, getting greener with more larger trees and things.
Along the way we stopped at the Devil’s Marbles for a look.
I thought about taking some home as souvenirs – but Klutz’s car was too full.
The next interesting place we stopped was Wycliffe Well – the UFO center of Australia apparently.
We got some fuel and spent a while getting to know the locals.
Actually – I’ve been here before on our 2000 trip – so I was catching up with old friends.
Eventually we arrived in Alice Springs (I was driving, so no photos yet) and found a McDonalds to use the wireless internet to write this post.
Tomorrow we’re on our way to Coober Pedy. Stay tuned….
Comments: 3
View Comments
Mount Isa Trip – Day 2 – 4jawaproTue 22/01/2008 11:31 PM
Well, it’s been a couple of days since I last posted.
On Sunday I spent most of my time just hanging with Daniel and his crew. We ended up going to the movies to see Cloverfield. It wasn’t as great as everyone expected, and the general response at the end was “that was ……” – insert appropriate negative expression here. But at least I can say I saw it.
On Monday Daniel went off to work, and dropped me at the train station – so Glenn and I (he was spending the day in town) caught the train into town. From there I caught the SkyBus to the airport – and arrived an hour or so early, which is far better than the alternative (which I’d been dreading). In fact, the idea of missing a flight was one of the most worrying parts of the journey so far. Not so worried about the driving back – getting there was the part I was worrying about.
As I was early enough to do the web checkin thing, I was able to score a window seat, and the hop from Melbourne to Brisbane was fairly interesting. Unfortunately there was a lot of clouds, so I couldn’t see much. The trip took two hours, but I landed an hour after taking off – thanks to the time difference.
I’ve only ever flown twice before (2 round trips) and both times my parents have organized everything. This was my first time flying alone – and I wasn’t sure what I’d think of it. I remember being rather paniced last time when we hit some turbulence.
This time it wasn’t bad. The flight was pretty smooth, and when it was a little bumpy it didn’t fuss me much. And thanks to the in flight display, I can say we just topped 900kph on the trip. The return journey will be a tad slower I think.
After that I had over 3 hours to wait in Brisbane, which was extremely boring. Nothing against Brisbane Airport, but I was both tired and hyped up, so I wasn’t really in the mood for reading any of the stuff I’d brought for this section, so it was a rather boring wait.
The good thing was I was early enough to score another window seat. This time it was behind the wing, which isn’t as good (cause you can see it flex and bend, which doesn’t inspire my confidence). But regardless of the position, it was a more enjoyable flight.
I got to watch a boring movie called September, but the Qantas crew handed out food and drinks and things too – which was nice. But I stupidly chose the spring water (I thought it was lemonade) – and promptly remembered I hate Spring Water!
Along the way I saw some signs of the flooding that caused us to change our route – but it didn’t photograph very well.
After 3 hours or so, I finally arrived in Mount Isa.
The above photo was taken by Klutz. Its me at the top of the stairs (the fat looking one with the backpack).
As soon as I stepped out of the plane, I found myself swamped by the heat of the jet engine.
As I climbed down the stairs, I realized it wasn’t the jet at all – it was just hot here.
I’d been expecting it – but I still wasn’t quite prepared for the 40 plus degree heat that greeted me (humidity to boot)
Anyway – Klutz met me in his Shopping Trolley – and took me back to his (air-conditioned) home, where I was able to catch up with the rest of his family.
Klutz with the Shopping Trolley that we’ll be taking for the journey back.
We relaxed that night, and I had a very nice home cooked meal (at Daniels we had take-aways all the time, and I had more at the airports – so I was sick of them).
Klutz took me up to the local lookout at night to see the lights of Isa (including the mine). It didn’t photograph terribly well unfourtuantly.
The next day (Tuesday) we spent the day packing Klutz up. His Mum and I spent a fair part of the time pestering Klutz to get a move on :)
He still had some stuff to do on his computer before we could pack it up – so the packing had to go on hold while he finished it (photo below).
Eventually we got the Shopping Trolley packed with the exception of the stuff we’d need overnight.
To relax, Klutz took me to the local lake. I cant remember the name – and Klutz isn’t in the room to ask at the moment – so I’ll just call it the M-something Lake.
The other thing I don’t think I’ve mentioned, is the fact that I decided ages ago that I would shave during this expedition, just to see what the results were after 2 weeks. Probably not terribly obvious due to my light coloured hair, but I feel fury already.
We’re off bright and early in the morning, heading for Tennant Creek. Not sure when I’ll be able to blog again – but it shouldn’t be too long.
Cheers!
Comments: 2
View Comments
Maelstrom Fansite
