Our day started at 5:30pm with showers, breakfast plus the final packing of the caravan and car and not forgetting the hitching process. This culminated with our departure from the driveway just before 9:30am.
Whilst we had missed the school zones, the traffic was heaving until we joined the M2 at North Ryde. It took time to exit the M2 at Pennant Hills Road before joining the Pacific Motorway to head north.
The traffic on the motorway was reasonable and it didn’t take long to arrive at the twin service stations near the turnoff to Blue Haven. We checked the refrigerator to find that the temperature had been maintained. This was a good start to the trip, and we can only hope this continues.
We had planned to shop at Woolworths before our departure but that did not happen. Checking what was available at our destination for grocery shopping, we decided to deviate slightly from our route, and we stopped at Raymond Terrace and Woolworths where we purchased the item we should have purchased before leaving home.
We arrived at Bulahdelah just before 1:30pm and refuelled before heading to the showground for our planned overnight stop. Several members of our group had arrived, and we found a spot where we could connect to power.
During the afternoon, two other members arrived, and we received a phone call from another couple (Alan & Lesley) informing us that they had broken down and were returning home to have the vehicle looked at tomorrow.
Cost to stay at the showground was $22.50 per vehicle and that gave you access to power (no water) plus an excellent amenities block.
The group met during the afternoon to talk about our adventure, and we all went to the nearby bowling club where a table had been booked for our evening meal. Walking through the camping sites at the bowling club (the alternative location we had considered), we were grateful that we were camped on solid ground in the showground and not in a very wet and muddy area.
Returning to our caravan around 7:30pm, we decided that an early night in bed would be a good idea. We were in bed at 9:00pm with the alarm set for 7:00am tomorrow. The evening was warm, so we slept with both roof vents open as well as a window. But, more importantly, we both slept well for our first day out in the caravan since late last year.