Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th June, 2024
Above are some of the photos we took of Kalgoorlie four years ago. As we were leaving yesterday I asked if I could have time to take some photos, but Stephen said he had some from four years ago I could use. Once his photos were in Apple photos I could see photos that I took as well. Just to give a bit of an idea.
It was fairly dry on our way to Menzies, but when we stopped briefly a couple of times we still had to dodge the mud. Rain was threatening when we arrived, but it didn't actually rain until about 10.30 p.m. By then we had settled in at the caravan park on a concrete slab, glad to have no more mud!
We decided to take an extra day here to relax and enjoy the experience of having normal 240w power and water. In the couple of weeks before we left we had found out about a type of fitting that would allow water to be connected to the van. There are two fittings of the same size, one with British thread and one with American thread. I had found out on the Suncamper forum that we needed the American thread, and it works. Until this trip we couldn't connect to water, but had to fill up our tank and use our water pump as if we were off grid.
It is also a quiet little town, with a Visitor Centre that takes care of the caravan park management and a new to us excellent cafe. The cafe winter hours are about 7.00 a.m. until 7.00 p.m. and it's a boon for truck drivers and visitors. We took a walk in the sunshine and I enjoyed time at the cafe, with Stephen joining me after a longer walk.
We did a great deal of washing, at least it felt like a lot. The first night here was busy and I had to wait for machines to be free. Today a lot of caravans/campers left and I did one more load of washing as Stephen had forgotten to give me his pyjamas. So, we are all up to date.
We are spending lots of time scrolling the Great Central Road forum for information on the condition of the road and whether there is going to be too much rain. It seems fine when people report using the road in the past couple of days, but we are still waiting until we get to Laverton to make a final decision about whether to go.
Just a few photos from Menzies, I took far more last time, so am not really much motivated. We have chosen to be near the road because we have some trees and a garden bed behind the van. We have great views of the large trucks passing through town. It may be slightly noisier, but better than the other side of the caravan park where it is quite bare.
Tomorrow we plan to shop and get fuel in Leonora, then decide if we go to a free camp near the town, or start heading to Laverton. Depends on things like our energy levels, how early we get going, and so on. At this stage it looks like we will be in Laverton on Thursday.
We've been fretting about the issue of deflating the tyres for the gravel road, which is always recommended, but means we have to decide how much to let them down and then be confident about using the air compressor once we reach bitumen again. However, we practiced before leaving home and also watched a great video that went into enough detail to give us confidence that we can do it. Our plan is to let the tyres down a bit, perhaps not as much as our Sherwood expert (we have a book specifically for Sherwoods by someone with experience who now owns a Sherwood hire company and runs specific 4WD courses for Sherwoods) suggests, but enough to give us an easier ride and not shake the car and van to bits. We can't use vehicle only recommendations due to the Sherwood being so much heavier.
I'm once again writing this just before bedtime, but it does help me to clear my thoughts. Of course, it can also mean I ramble a bit and perhaps bore my readers.
The view from our rear window.
No comments:
Post a Comment