2006

Our destination for the weekend was Burrill Lake which is just to the south of Ulladulla on the NSW South . . . → Read More: Burrill Lake – 10 to 11 April 2010]]> The weather reports earlier in the week for the weekend included the word “rain” but we awoke to a bright sunny Saturday and a revised forecast of 25c at the coast and 29c inland.

Our destination for the weekend was Burrill Lake which is just to the south of Ulladulla on the NSW South Coast (220k’s from home).  The Ulladulla region has been the destination for many holidays and is an area that is certainly overlooked by the majority of beach goers who go north from Sydney, rather than south. “His” Mother and Sister were staying in a cabin at the caravan park and the last thing that we needed was an excuse to go south but we had one.

We planned to depart at 8:00am at that was the time we left. 

After refuelling at South Strathfield (looks like the cost of diesel fuel has risen marginally), we headed towards Bankstown, then Illawong, Lucas Heights and then onto the Southern Freeway at Heathcote.

Our arrival time at Burrill Lake was planned for 2:00pm and our trip south was to include a stop at Corrimal to visit friends then Crooked River Winery near Gerringong and finally Berry for a latish lunch. 

We actually arrived in Corrimal 10 minutes earlier than expected but stayed a little longer than planned leaving there at 12:30pm.  We stopped at Albion Park for a quick lunch at McDonalds and then headed south electing to drive at the highway speed and not our planned speed of around the 80kph mark.  We don’t normally travel around the 100kph mark (Blue Snoopy is a lot easier to handle doing 80kph) as we are very conscious of fuel consumption at the higher speed.

After leaving McDonalds, we had a great drive south with very little traffic on the road. We maintained highway speed and Blue Snoopy handled the conditions with ease.  There has been significant road work between Nowra and Milton with what was a very windy section now replaced with virtually a straight road.

After stopping at a bank at Ulladulla to retrieve some spending money, we arrived at Burrill Lake just after 3:00pm.  As is the case with the motor home, setup in a caravan park is very quick and 20 minutes after arriving, we were sitting in a cabin planning the commencement of an early happy hour or two.

Tea consisted of local prawns plus crumbed fish of the day from the local fish shop.  The Burrill Lake Fish Shop has the reputation of being one of the best in the area and once again, we were not let down.  We spent Saturday evening watching “Charlie and Boots” on DVD and we headed back to the motor home just after 10:15pm ready for bed.

The weather in NSW is still warm for this time of the year (it normally starts to cool down after Easter) and we had a comfortable night’s sleep without the need for blankets.  We had also left the air conditioning running whilst away and the motor home temperature was ideal.

We awoke to a perfect Sunday of “wall to wall” blue sky, a pleasant breeze and a very comfortable temperature.  We did have a small mishap with the motor home when closing a window when we heard something hit the ground.  A search of the area below the window reveals a small plastic part that for the life of us, we could not locate where it had came from.  We were not concerned as the part was obviously not external and decided that it could wait until we returned to Sydney.

We said our farewells to “His” Mother and Sister at 10:00am and commenced our trip home.  First stop was at the Aldi store at Ulladulla where we purchased food for the next couple of days, a toy shop at Milton for something for our Grandson, then a warehouse just before Nowra, Country Winnebago at Nowra and finally a park just short of Berry for lunch.  At Country Winnebago we looked at a Winnebago Esperence Motor Home with the same type of windows as our Leisure Seeker.  It took 5 seconds to locate where the plastic part belonged and a few minutes later, it was replaced back into the fly screen on Blue Snoopy.

After Berry we stopped at Crooked River Winery (we joined their Wine Club in December last year) where we sampled some untried wines and then headed back home without further stops.  Arrival home was at 4:00pm.

As mentioned earlier, we elected to drive at highway speed when heading south and we did the same when returning on Sunday.  The drive home on Sunday was undertaken with strong winds and we expected the wind to play havoc with the fuel consumption.  Surprise, surprise, the computer in the Iveco recorded overall consumption at 14.21 litres per 100k’s.  Upon arrival home, the elapsed distance since refuelling was 450k’s with the remaining range of 150k’s (still have a quarter of a tank).  Bearing in mind the speed that we have been driving at, this is remarkable.  Is it possible the overall consumption has started to improve as the engine continues to “run-in”?

You plan trips around work, apologise for not attending family events and then you don’t have to work.

We have often considered a visit to the beach during January but had dismissed the idea due to a belief that holiday makers would ensure that there were no vacancies in the . . . → Read More: Narrabeen – 23 to 25 January 2010]]> How circumstances can change.

You plan trips around work, apologise for not attending family events and then you don’t have to work.

We have often considered a visit to the beach during January but had dismissed the idea due to a belief that holiday makers would ensure that there were no vacancies in the caravan parks and even if there were, there would be considerable costs involved and minimum booking periods.

Our circumstances changed and we were left with the opportunity for a weekend away and after making a late decision to book the motor home in for a service, the Big 4 Caravan Park at Narrabeen became a very attractive proposition.  They had a vacancy and under the circumstances, the cost was manageable.

We invited our Son and Daughter-in-law to share the weekend with us and this also provide the opportunity for our Grandson to spend his first night away in Blue Snoopy.

Saturday in Sydney started with a continuation of the high temperatures that had been experienced on Friday when the mercury in some part of Sydney rose to 42 degrees Celsius.

We left home mid morning. “He” was driving the motor home, “She” following close behind in our car and the rest of the family following in their car.  Fortunately the trip to Narrabeen is relatively short and we checked in just after 1pm.

It took the best part of 5 minutes to setup the motor home and we had a silent laugh to ourselves as we watched several other people erecting tents.  This bought back fond memories of camping trips in the past when a good 2 to 3 hours would be spent erecting a tent and everything else that went with it (and another 2 to 3 hours to pack up with fingers crossed that it was dry so the tent would not need airing).

Narrabeen was exceptionally hot during the afternoon but relief arrived mid afternoon when a southerly arrived.  Prior to the southerly, we had a walk to the adjacent lake and continued on to the beach where our Grandson saw the ocean for the first time.  We had a BBQ for our evening meal and due to rain associated with the southerly, we enjoyed the evening at a table in the camp kitchen area.

We returned to the motor home just before 8pm, watched a little television and eventually prepared both the Luton peak and dinette area for our guests to sleep in.  Much to our surprise, our Grandson asked when they were going home but he fortunately accepted the fact that he would be sleeping in Blue Snoopy.  Whilst the night was hot, we did gain an understanding of the effect of closing the curtain at the Luton peak and we also explored leaving the air conditioning running in fan mode during the night.

We awoke to a wet Sunday morning.  The awning was put out and we shared a delicious meal of bacon and eggs with toast and washed down with orange juice.
Our family left for home mid morning and we headed out to do some shopping.  We had intended to purchase fish and chip for our evening meal but found ourselves at a local cafe for lunch. 

The cloud that had been associated with the southerly cleared late in the afternoon and it was very pleasant sharing a bottle of wine whilst sitting outside as the sun set.  We watched a little television in the evening and headed to bed just before 11pm.

Monday saw us at Sydney RV Centre at 8.30am where we had arranged to have the motor home services.  There were some minor warranty items that required attention and we also made a decision to have our television placed on an arm for convenience (this is one of the better decisions we have made as the television now stows in a manner that we have full access to all cupboards and the television can also be positioned so it is clearly visible from any position inside the motor home.  It can also be removed from the arm and taken outside and attached at the external antenna point where 12 volt power is also available).

Considering that the cost of registration and insurance exceeds $2,000 annually, it is no good having a motor home sitting in . . . → Read More: Kiama – 18 December 2009]]> As we have previously recorded, as a result of “She” having surgery in August, Blue Snoopy has not been used anywhere the amount that we would have liked during the past five months. 

Considering that the cost of registration and insurance exceeds $2,000 annually, it is no good having a motor home sitting in the driveway doing nothing.

Due to Christmas and the New Year and other family related reasons, we don’t have another trip planned until the end of January 2010. We needed to getaway before Christmas.

Much to our surprise, a telephone call a week ago to the caravan park at Easts Beach near Kiama resulted in us securing a booking for a two night stay.  “He” was given a half days by his employer for Christmas shopping so a plan developed where we would head south shortly after lunch on Friday.

A 24 hour strike by Sydney bus drivers threw a spanner in the works regards transport to and from the city but this was resolved when it was agreed that “He” could work from home on Friday morning. And that is what happened.

With all the morning available to pack Blue Snoopy, the packing finished at 12.45pm.  Even though we were only going for 3 days, it is amazing what ends up being put into cupboards and the pantry.

We refueled at Burwood (last time we refueled was at Wagga Wagga and the average consumption since then according to the Iveco’s computer was 14.71 Lit per 100k’s) and then headed west on the M4 turning off at Silverwater Road and then headed towards Bankstown, Lucas Heights and finally the F6 heading south from Heathcote.  Much to our surprise the traffic was very light and our progress south appears to be guaranteed without any holdups.

We hit fog near Bulli.  Visibility reduced to virtually zero and for several minutes, extreme care had to be taken.  By the time we were half way down Mt Ousley, the fog had gone.  We detoured into Wollongong to purchase a power cable for our IPod (we had all day to pack for this trip and the cable and several other items had been left behind) and then had a leisurely drive past Port Kembla and Shellharbour before returning to the freeway.

We had planned to visit the Crooked River Winery over the weekend and decided that there was value in a Friday afternoon visit.  We had arranged a late check-in at the caravan park and we arrived at the winery just after 3.30pm.  After a lengthily time spent sampling their sweet wines and ports, we joined their wine club, agreed to purchase wine over the next 18 months at wholesale price and had packed 2 cases of wine and port into the motor home.  The wine was simply superb it looks like we will now focus on this winery rather than Brown Brothers.

After leaving the winery, we returned to Kiama where we purchased a gourmet pizza before heading to the caravan park at Easts Beach.  We were provided with a large grassy spot in an area that had 8 camp sites.  We were on the only occupied sites until another motor home arrived late on Saturday afternoon. The rest of the park was full.  We were subsequently told that all the sites in the area we camped were booked from Sunday and the park did not have any available space until 23 January 2010.  After finishing the pizza, we had a quite night and actually went to bed early. More than likely, the wine that we had consumed in the afternoon had taken effect.

We elected not to set an alarm for Saturday and we woke at 7.30am.  First job was to extend our awning before setting up the BBQ for a rare cooked breakfast we had decided to have.  Before lighting the BBQ, we took note of the accumulated dirt under the awning and we decided to clean it.  Whilst we are aware that there a specialist products for cleaning awnings, water and some elbow grease resulted in the removal of 90% of the dirt.  Whilst the solution was not perfect, the results achieved were outstanding.

We ended up having a very late breakfast after which time was spent writing on Christmas cards and “She” composed a letter that would be sent to a relative.  Whilst this was taking place, we managed to watch “The Santa Claus” and “The Santa Clause 2″ on DVD.  We christened our sandwich maker for lunch and headed off for a walk that took us outside of the park to a headland and then down the coast towards Gerringong.  We had admired this scenery every time we have travelled south and it was rewards to be seeing the lush green hills from the ocean side.  We returned to the motor home for happy hour (needless to say a bottle of wine) and then we enjoyed a salad for tea before watching TV via our satellite dish.  We headed off to bed well after 11.00pm.

We set the alarm for 7.00am and woke to another fine but overcast day.  It had rained during the night.  After a quick breakfast, we packed and set off for home.  We stopped at Kiama at the Blow Hole, stopped again at Albion Park Rail for morning tea and arrived home just after 1pm.

As a result of this weekend we confirmed that whenever possible, we have to make these trips into 2 nights.  Whether that involves a day of annual leave for either Friday or Monday or simply leaving Sydney late on Friday afternoon, getting up on the first day away without packing to leave certainly has a lot of positives.

Our intention was to arrive back in Sydney by mid afternoon and early enough to avoid the Sydney peak hour traffic.

We stopped at Yass for morning tea and Pheasants Nest (near the Camden turn off) . . . → Read More: 18 November 2009 – Gundagai to Sydney]]> We were up early and after breakfast, said farewell to our friends and the other couple from Nagambie.

Our intention was to arrive back in Sydney by mid afternoon and early enough to avoid the Sydney peak hour traffic.

We stopped at Yass for morning tea and Pheasants Nest (near the Camden turn off) for lunch. 

We knew we were back in Sydney as the traffic slowed whilst approaching Liverpool but we managed to achieve our goal of a mid afternoon arrival.

Once again, the Iveco ran like a dream never missing a beat.  We were very surprised in the fact that we managed to travel up one of the longest hills on our trip in 6th gear whilst maintaining a very reasonable speed.

According to the trip computer, we have travelled just short of 1800 kilometres with an average fuel consumption of 15.81 litres per 100 k’s.  Bearing in mind we had not tried to conserve fuel on both of the freeway legs of the trip and also that a significant part of the trip had been in high temperatures, we were happy with the overall results.

The weekend . . . → Read More: 16 November 2009 – Nagambie Lakes to Bright]]> This was the last day of the Winnebago Christmas party and a time where we would once again bid friends farewell as we all headed our separate ways.  For us it would be returning to Sydney with another couple (but taking our time) as “He” had to return to work on Thursday.

The weekend came to a conclusion following breakfast.  We said goodbye to both new and old friends including the wonderful people from Winnebago who had been responsible for organizing the Christmas party and for looking after us during our stay at Nagambie.

We had decided to head towards Bright and either free camp or caravan park depending on availability and the weather.  It was cool when leaving Nagambie and we actually passed through light rain just before Wangaratta.

Together with our friends H & C, we had lunch at Wangaratta before heading towards Bright.  Once again, the cool morning had been replaced with high temperatures and for the first time since leaving Sydney, there was an indication in the sky that we could experience storms.  With this in mind, we decided to overnight at a caravan park and we were allocated adjacent sites at the Bright Big 4. 

After doing our “set up” (you have to love motor homes where a setup takes 5 minutes or less), we headed to the Bright shopping precinct.  We returned in time for happy hour before sharing a wonderful salad and some nice wine.  Our evening finished at 10pm when we elected to return back to our RV’s for sleep.

Immediately following breakfast, “He” decided to have a play with the . . . → Read More: 15 November 2009 – Nagambie Lakes]]> We awoke to overcast skies and a relatively cool breeze.  We were somewhat relieved as the heat since leaving Sydney was unnatural for this time of the year and whilst we like summer, it is supposed to start in December, not early November. 

Immediately following breakfast, “He” decided to have a play with the rear viewing camera but decided to take the easy approach and start looking for a fault at the camera end and not at the dash.  We normally carry all the documentation for appliances and other items installed in Blue Snoopy and reference to the Waeco documentation revealed the presence of a connector close to the camera.  The connector was eventually located buried in the bathroom wall and it quickly became apparent that this connection was the source of the problem.  “He” rejoined and taped the connector and the problem was solved.

Later that morning a demonstration was performed on changing a rear tyre on an Esperance on an Iveco chassis.  It became apparent very quickly that there is a technique required to remove the spare and not all participants with Iveco chassis would be able to complete the process.  Winnebago needs to look at and provide a solution for this issue.  It also became apparent from the demonstration that a large number of owners do not fully understand the workings of their motor homes. 

In the company of another couple, we had a nice lunch at a local café before returning to Blue Snoopy for what we hoped would be a quiet afternoon.  Upon opening the door to Blue Snoopy, the heat hit us.  The air conditioning (AC) had been left running on low but the temperature inside Blue Snoopy was hovering around the 37 degree mark.  We set the AC to maximum cool but soon noticed that the flow of cool air was very weak and diminishing.  As the day had developed, the cool breeze had ceased and the temperature was the highest it had been since leaving Sydney.

Our initial thoughts went towards a problem with the AC that may have been caused by several “blackouts” in the park over the recent days. “He” tried various settings but to no avail.  As a last resort the filter was removed and it was noticed that there was a significant amount of dust in the filter.  We had cleaned the filter immediately following the dust storm that Sydney experienced earlier this year but it was clogged again.  “He” washed and dried the filter but there was no improvement after it was reinstalled.  We were both at a low with the heat and whilst it appeared that the problem with the rear facing camera had been resolved, we were now looking at a serious problem with the AC and we still had several days to navigate through before returning home with no likelihood of reduced temperatures.

We attended happy hour and then participated in a BYO BBQ.  Immediately following the BBQ, we returned to Blue Snoopy to clean up and wash the dishes from the evening meal.  Once again we started the AC but the air flow was still poor and certainly far from being cold.  A couple of minutes later, we heard a growling noise coming from the AC unit and that was followed immediately with ice being spat from the vents.  Straight after the ice, “COLD” air once again flowed freely.

We now believe that the blocked filter had resulted in the AC coil becoming frozen.  Turning the AC off for several hours provided sufficient time for the ice to melt and the ice that was spat from the AC was the residual ice.  We now have to make certain that special attention is given to the AC filter.

We attended a trivia night and unfortunately, were a long way behind the winners.  Once again, with the AC now working correctly (the temperature inside Blue Snoopy had dropped by 10 degrees in just over an hour), we had another comfortable night’s sleep.