Second part of our test run.
We ended up staying 2 nights at Carcoar dam. It was such a good spot. We thought we should try out some of our purchases.
So we set up the shower tent and our portable hot water service and all had showers. We all washed and only used about 25 litres of water. Which was great.
We’d borrowed a friends portable washing machine so we got that out and tried it. It was fantastic but I’m still undecided about it. Will put some more thoughts into it then decide.
Matt tested out solar consumption and we will be self sufficient so long as we get enough sunshine otherwise we will have to top up with the generator.
The boys have enough toys to keep them occupied – maybe too many.
On our second night there my parents came and stayed.
The next morning it started raining so we packed up in the rain. We were all done and on the road by 8.30am. So we decided to head to Narrendera instead of just down the road to Cootamundra.
We stayed at the boat ramp free camp spot. It was a great spot but too close to the highway. We had planned to stay 2 nights there but changed our mind when we saw how close to the road it was.
We were there and set up by 2pm. We had heard stories of the nomads pulling in after 2pm but had never came across it. The site started filling up pretty fast after 2.30pm. There where vans everywhere. We spoke to a few but for some reason (or 2) they didn’t come too close.
Boys decided they wanted to try camp style bath. Nate loved it. Ethan was a bit too big but still liked it.
<a
Matt cooked a beautiful roast lamb for tea. He has almost perfected cooking in the camp oven.
Once again we were packed up and on the road by 9am. We thought we'd just go as far as Conargo but we got there at 11am. This was the best free camp yet but we decided that it would be perfect just for an overnight stay not a whole day. So we had lunch and a play on the awesome playground. Such a great spot.
We moved on to our favourite camp spot just near home Edwards campground out of Mathoura. It is such a great spot with toilets and the river. Bird life was is abundance.
We packed up in the morning and headed home.
Has been great to find out that all our purchases have been the right one’s. Don’t think we have over packed our van either. And we are on target with our budget.
We are getting pretty excited now. And are so happy with our decision to go on this adventure. Our week away has Nate talking more again. Had the boys playing together, they do fight but they are getting much better. And neither of them complained about it or asked for takeout. And Ethan commented on how much fun it was being able to do fun stuff with dad.
Can’t wait to go. 14 weeks left!!
Our test run.
We are spending a week coming back from the beautiful Port Stephen’s. We high tailed it up there to a cousins wedding with the van on and did our first overnight stay in the truck stop at Gundagai. Then made it up there the next day. We stopped on our way past and saw the triplets. They are getting so big now. Had a great few days catching up with our family from Newcastle area and with brother, sister,in laws and nieces.
We then had a stop over with the triplets again. Then left on our test run.
What a challenge the first day was. A very learning experience that’s for sure. We left too late and didn’t allow time for steep hill climbing. When we got to our campsite we found out that it was closed due to vandalism. So on we went to the next one, Marys Campground Sunny Corner. We got there at 4pm so by the time we set up it was time to start cooking tea. We had no T.V service and very limited phone service. So poor Matt missed out on watching the Brownlow. Was a nice, very quiet spot, we were the only one’s there.
We packed up and were in Bathurst by 9.30am. We found a fantastic playground there where we let the ferals run free for a bit. Matt and I wanted to try our luck at Bathurst racetrack. Yep van and all. It was crazily steep. Steeper than we realise on T.V. How the hell do they do it at 150km plus. Crazy.
After the thrill of that we thought we’d head off to our next camp ground. Carcoar dam. What a beautiful spot. Toilets, cold showers and great views. There are about 20 other’s here with us. It’s a great spot. Looking over the dam there are some wind turbines. So we have been up and read some information on them. They are amazing being able turning position and blade’s position to get the most out of the wind.
Tonight is much better to last night. Hope our trip is more like this, as it will be perfect.
Will post the last part of our test run when we get home.
The Grampians
We have just got back from our first week-long stay in our caravan. We went away with my parents, who are experienced travellers, so they could give us some advice on our setup, what we need, what we don’t need. It was fantastic, they gave us so many tips for our trip that we just want to pack up and go now.
We went to the Grampians. It is such a beautiful part of Australia, I 
love it. I have been there a few times before as a child and had great memories.
I also went there as uni student but had quite a different experience as we hiked for 5 days.
Then Matt and I went there 7 years ago for our 5 year anniversary. There had been a fire through 6 months earlier but it was still so beautiful. It was black but with little shoots of green spurting everywhere. Just beautiful to see how our country can recover from such a devastation.
This time there was a fire through there just 2 months earlier but we saw very minimal parts of it this time. However we did see how the area had recovered from 7 years ago and it amazed us that we could still see the blackened tree trunks even though they had so much foliage on them.
It was a slightly different holiday then we expected. Where we stayed had no mobile 
phone service or TV reception. We had planned to do some research and I was going to blog but none of that happened. But it was actually nice to have no technology as we spent quality time with our beautiful boys. While we were there Ethan started riding his bike without training wheels. I have never been prouder of him. It took him a few goes to get use to starting but he got the hang of it. And Nate has been having speech therapy for 6 months now and the week away was great for him he started speaking more, and getting more interested in talking. The lack of technology ended up being a blessing in disguise.
We did a few of the easy walks and to our surprise the boys managed walking the distance. Nate did hop in the backpack for a while but managed to walk part of the way. And Mr Independent thought that he should walk the Grand Canyon which was challenging for Ethan but that didn’t stop Nate he did such a great job. They both wanted to walk the rest of the way to the Pinnacle but Matt and I thought that would be crazy so we went back to the car.
We had a great time and managed fine. Now the countdown has begun, this time in 10 months we will on trip of a lifetime, our dreams becoming a reality. Yeh!! Can’t wait.
Baker's Trip Of Oz 
Recent Comments