Day 4: Fri 6 Jan - Tamworth to Dubbo, 346km

Fine, sunny and warm

Another sleep in - 6:45am!! Just as we were about to pull out, Gunther found a problem with his electronic braking system. There is always something, isn't there? Our indicator yesterday, Fischer's brakes today. We eventually got away at 9:05am and headed for Gunnedah. The road was a little lumpy in places, but not too bad overall. We arrived at Pensioners Hill Reserve at 10:20am, just in time for mornos. Pensioners Hill Reserve is where the Rotary Club of Gunnedah West, with the assistance of BHP Billiton, erected a number of significant heritage sculptures which show some aspects of Gunnedah's rich cultural heritage. Whilst not as plentiful as the sculpture park outside Broken Hill, they were still pleasant to look at. 

At Gunnedah, we decided we would head off the main road to Dunedoo. So, we turned left at Mullaley onto a smaller road which was a little lumpier with little or no verge in some parts. The scenery was more picturesque though, with fields of green contrasted by wheat that was due to be harvested or already harvested. There were also a few small hills punctuating the skyline. We arrived in Dunedoo about 1:15pm, for lunch. We had parked opposite the Dunedoo Pie Shop so decided we would give that a go. Gunther had a sausage roll and the rest of us had a “plain meat pie”. We sat under a shelter with a lovely breeze - lucky as it was about 32 degC. There were some really good comments on WikiCamps about the vanilla slices at the Dunedoo Bakery so we took a short walk down the street only to find the bakery closed until 16 Jan. Oh well, we probably didn't need it after our larger than normal dinner last night.

The road from Dunedoo to Dubbo was particularly lumpy the whole way, but was nice and wide. We had a little laugh as there was one white car driven by a P-plater who overtook us as at a fair rate and only just made it back into our lane to avoid a collision with oncoming traffic. About 10km up the road, there was the same white car with a police car behind him and a very tall policeman perhaps booking him, or giving him a very stern talking-to. Although the truckies follow quite closely they are all very careful when passing, very patient.

We refuelled before checking in to the Dubbo City Holiday Park, site #95; G&Y are #96. After setting up we had a late afternoon siesta, after which we researched the zoo and other outings in Dubbo. Wendy prepared the dinner whilst Greg went for a short ride to find the cycle path we need to take to the zoo tomorrow. Dinner was late due to Gunther trying to find the fault with his ESC; he eventually found a blown fuse which he hopes is the issue - we will know tomorrow when we get a new one.

Sculpture on Pensioners Hill Gunnedah

Another sculpture

And, another one!

Gunnedah

Pensioner Hill Reserve

More rock art

Scar-trees or carved poles

Roadside scenery

More scenery

Long-haul cyclists

Dunedoo pie shop

Dunedoo

Duneedoo Post Office

Iron sculpture in Dunedoo

Dubbo City Holiday Park, #96

Day 3: Thu 5 Jan - Tamworth

Warm and sunny

Cycle: 28.5km

Due to the one hour time change, our body clocks have not yet adjusted, so we had a little sleep in until 6:30am (it was 5:30 in QLD though). We weren't in any hurry to get up as we only needed to leave at 8:30am as nothing we wanted to visit opened before 9am. 

On the way back into the city we thought we might like to visit the Tamworth PowerStation Museum, but as it was nearing midday, Gunther announced that he would prefer to check out the Botanical Gardens, so we consulted Google Maps and off we went. None of us knew it was on top the only hill in Tamworth, and it was quite a climb (not really when you have a look at the elevation profile but it felt like Mt Everest at the time); Greg was in granny gear and Wendy ran out of gears! We both made it to the top though. The Gardens themselves were not much and quite disappointing. We all enjoyed the downhill run into the city and stopped off to check out the old railway station which is still functional.

We have been having issues with our left-hand indicator light on the van since the weekend at Woodgate late last year. Gunther and Greg spent hours looking for the fault (at home after that Woodgate weekend), finding the fault and supposedly fixing it. However, half way to Warwick we noticed it was not working again (the light on the dash flickers really quickly and the noise gets faster as well). When we checked it at Warwick it worked so thought it had fixed itself but when we drove out yesterday morning, the blinker went stupid again. We knew we had two days in Tamworth to try and sort it, and today was the day. Greg started and when Gunther emerged from his afternoon nap, helped Greg sort it - well we hope we have fixed it. Ended up having to use a spare wire (the one for the reversing light - there isn’t one on a van) and connect a new bit of wire onto it. After a lot of perseverance, the two boys got the job done and Gunther’s multi-meter told us it was fixed. Only time will tell though (no further incidents occurred).

It was then time to get ready for dinner. As tonight is a Thursday, we have to go out for dinner. We had seen a Tamworth Courtesy Bus dropping someone off last night so checked it out on our wander through the city this morning, and then booked the bus for a 6:30pm pickup. We chose the upstairs restaurant where you paid $23 for all you can eat - seafood, carvery, Chinese, salads and dessert. We all over indulged to various extents but were still able to waddle out of the venue to catch the 8pm bus back to the van park. We then sat and chatted for a while before heading off to complete the evening routine

Greg next to his very first motorbike

Yvonne, Gunther, Greg & Wendy at Botanical Gardens

Motorbike Museum

One of the first ever motorbikes

Greg & Smokey Dawson

Slim and Joy

Water feature in the Bicentennial Park

Us & the 12m high Golden Guitar

Tamworth Railway Station

Day 2: Wed 4 Jan - Warwick to Tamworth, 416km

Fine, sunny and humid
Start time: 8:35 am; arrived:

Because none of had been to Stanthorpe for a long while (it has been by-passed for a number of years), we decided to take a drive through Stanthorpe to check it out. It is a lovely little town with all the requisite shops. We stopped at Rotary Park in Tenterfield for morning tea which we made in the van. It was still quite fresh and the wind was still blowing a gale so we didn't linger long.

Another 187km later we stopped in Armidale to refuel both the cars and the bellies. The Woolies petrol was a bit difficult to get to but the GPS guided us there. We then found a park on the outskirts of town in the direction we were travelling and made and had our lunch - the usual salad with some kind of protein. We had forgotten about the Daylight Savings time change that happened when we entered NSW, so by the time we had our lunch it was 2:30pm!! It was only another 100 km or so to Tamworth and we were checked in by 4:30pm (3:30 QLD time). Checking-in took a while as there were a few before us. When we finally got to check in, they told us to park anywhere - so we did, and remained hitched-up. We expect to be asked to unhitch and move sometime tomorrow (this did not happen).

After setting up in the Austin Tourist Park (no site number - just park anywhere!), we sat and chatted and checked emails, etc. Greg had salmon and salad and Wendy had steak and salad for dinner. After washing the dishes, it was time to relax, do the teeth, write the blog, shower and hit the sack. Tomorrow we explore Tamworth.

A very old piece of farming equipment

Thomas Byrnes statue

An interesting looking tree in Warwick

Warwick Cenotaph & War Memorial Park

Warwick's main street

Warwick Town Hall & Clocktower

Warwick Post Office

Looks like a gym above Rivers

Readying to leave Warwick

The Big Apple

Stanthorpe

Austin Tourist Park, Tamworth

Day 1: Tue 3 Jan - Hippo Farm to Warwick, 426km

Fine, sunny and humid

Start time: 9:25am, arrived: 4:35pm

Left at 8:35 am for the servo to fill up before heading off. Waited for G&Y to arrive and then left at 9:20am. Mornos was had at Tiaro at the Retro Cafe and they make really nice coffees. Upon arrival at Tiaro we discovered our left-hand indicator on the van was buggered again. Greg and Gunther will have something to do this afternoon in Warwick! We stopped again in Woolooga for a visit to the "happy room". On his way out of the vehicle, Greg managed to catch his finger on the door as he closed it, subsequently cutting it quite deeply; a quick first-aid job with a bandaid and small bandage and we were on our way again. Will have to watch it over the next couple of days.

We stopped for lunch just north of Crows Nest at the Emu Creek Rest Stop. It would have to be one of the worst situated rest areas we've seen in a long time - on a bend on a hill. So, not only not level, but very dangerous entry and exit points. We were all a tad peckish at this stage, and had already pulled into the rest area, so decided to stay anyway. Usual salad for lunch, followed by a decaf coffee for both of us (not so usual).

We stopped for fuel in Toowoomba as Gunther was running on empty by that stage (he did not top up before they left). We decided to top up as well to keep the fuel stops the same to minimise stops. It was then only another 110km odd to Warwick where we had agreed would be our first night's stop. We thought we might like to free camp as the temperature had dropped dramatically, and the only free-camp area in Warwick was the Truck Stop and we could tell it would be very noisy at night, so decided a van park was the best way to go. We researched on WikiCamps and Camps7 and decided the best was the Rose City Caravan Park on the outskirts of the city. $30/night for a drive-through powered site (site 16) and the man to guide you in! 

After setting up we had a drink to celebrate our first night on tour. The wind had picked up and it was rather chilly; we even had to get the warm coats out! Dinner was had not long after, followed by dish washing, teeth and bed.

Ready to hit the road

Woolooga pub

A nice sunflower crop

Rose City Caravan Park, #16

Introduction

The last time we were in Adelaide for the TDU was Jan 2013 when we did the trip in the Mazda CX5. At that time we were toying with the idea of getting a caravan, but wanted to explore the car and self-contained cabins option before spending a lot of money for a set-up we may not enjoy. Whilst we had a good holiday, sleeping in a different bed every night, having to clean cutlery and crockery prior to using it, together with having to lug everything out of the car into the cabin and back again, became quite tiresome. So, we bought a van! And a bigger vehicle to tow it - a Mazda BT50! Since having the van we have done almost 18 000km and are still enjoying it. We are going to Adelaide to watch the TDU AGAIN, one because Greg just loves it, two because we are accompanying Gunther and Yvonne as they both (well probably mainly Gunther) wants to see it live, and three, we love going away in the van and this is a jolly good excuse. We are a bit wary of travelling in the height of summer though, especially to SA and VIC where the temperatures can reach into the 40s. Time will only tell.