Close to the Wire

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DAY 326


Andy was up first this morning as he is taking the truck to the local Nissan Dealer to have the warranty job done. We need it to be in perfect working order and ready to take on the challenge of Cape York, the service was done last week so we know that everything else is working fine.

I think he must have overslept though as I stayed in bed for a bit longer but had not stayed in bed that long and when I got out of bed I realised it was 8.30!

By the time I showered and put the kettle on Andy reappeared, by now it was well after 9.00, he took a while as by the time he got to the garage there was a queue of people dropping cars off and he had to wait his turn for the courtesy bus to drop him off back at Bayview.

With breakfast out of the way my main task was to repack the suitcases, mine was first (of course), I emptied the remainder of the contents, putting everything into appropriate piles and then emptied the clothes I had hung in the wardrobe again putting everything into piles.

I considered the clothes that I had brought with me and worked out that I had worn everything at least once with the exception of two items that I had not worn at all, of course there are the same shorts and t-shirts that get worn all the time, but on reflection I think I brought the right stuff with me, but if I ever do this kind of journey again, I will pack a lot lighter, you really don’t need all of this stuff!

Finally my case was ready, I have a few things that will need washing before we head off and I have left out my clean clothes for tomorrow, so now I can start on Andy’s case. I empty the remaining contents and organise everything on the bed, I realise that Andy has several t-shirts and shorts that he has not worn at all, not to mention the long trousers that he had packed, only one pair has been worn! With everything organised I start to put everything back in his case, it did not take me long and soon it was all done.

Andy was busy cleaning still, making sure that the kitchen was clean and tidy; we won’t be cooking tonight as it is cheap Tuesday and that means pizza! My favourite meal, well, maybe not, I think perhaps one of Andy’s chicken curries cooked in the camp oven seems to come top favourite.

At some point in the afternoon the mobile goes off and its Westco Nissan, the Patrol is ready and the mini bus is on its way to collect us and it will only be 10 minutes.

We have just started to have a break, I had just got in to the hammock with a cup of tea with my Brain Trainer, and Andy, well I am not sure what he was doing, but I know as soon as he got the call, he was changing, then locking the doors an getting ready for our departure.

The mini bus arrived and took us to Nissan, we were all done, they had removed the cruise control, the wiring job was done and we were set.

Whilst this side of Cairns we needed to drop into BCF and get a replacement lens for the rear light near side on the trailer (hmm…. It got broken somewhere along the way)

As we set off Andy said the truck felt unusual, he had my foot to the floor and it was gutless, he did a u-ey at the designated place when the lights went green and stuck his foot on the floor and the truck again just did not want to go.

We got to BCF, purchased our lens and Andy said to me that as I know the truck it would be a good idea if I drove it back and if it felt the same we would drive back to Nissan and discuss the problem with them. It was perfectly fine before it went in this morning so something has upset it.

With me at the controls, I put the truck into reverse to back out of our parking space onto the road, but as soon as I put my foot on the accelerator it got too lively, instead of the usual gently easing back the truck shot backwards and I slammed my foot on the brake to avoid crashing into anything, I was trying to ease out gently so that I could see if there was any oncoming traffic. Phew! Missed everything and was soon back out on the road. I definitely felt the truck was “not at its best” so there was no alternative but to head straight back to Westco Nissan.

We walked in and was greeted by the manager, we explained that we just collected the Patrol after some work and it did not feel right and needed a technician to take it out on a test drive to feel the car.

A technician was summoned and Neil soon appeared armed with a piece of Nissan Hardware that was going to be plugged in to the truck as ask it how it was feeling.

Neil said that there was no voltage to the pedal potentiometer (whatever that means!!), where it should be about 1.8 volts.

This is where we are going to shorten all the technical stuff and look at the problems we are facing.

1. Julie is back tomorrow and we need to collect her from the airport at lunchtime.
2. We are booked in to a campsite tomorrow and need to be able to tow the trailer to the camp site.
3. The truck needs work to be done.
4. Tonight is Pizza night as it is Cheap Tuesday and all the crockery is washed, not to be used and we need a vehicle to collect our dinner.

So we now need careful management of the situation, the priority in all of this is that the truck needs the work done, as we need it to be in perfect working order for the next leg of the trip and in its current state it would not pull the skin off a rice pudding let alone pull the trailer.

Nissan let us have a courtesy car, a Nissan Tilda, to go home in, they have rescheduled their work tomorrow so Neil can work on our truck, he seems to know Patrol really well.

We drive back to Bayview and as soon as we get home I phone the Nissan dealer where the truck was purchased and they confirmed that they fitted the cruise control.

We settled in to another hour worth of cleaning and house preparation then went and had our walk for posterity and at the top of the hill it was plain to see that another dust storm had blown in and was sitting just right over the mountains the beautiful view is once again obscured, this may explain why our internet kept dropping out it has been pretty bad in the last few days and this evening it has not been good at all.

At 7.00pm we drive down to Earlville to collect the Pizza that we had ordered on line and when we arrived it was just ready to collect.

After dinner, we carry on preparing the house, and have set the phone for a 6.00am start in the morning.

And so to bed, but while Andy slipped off to sleep and started to herd the pigs in, sleep did not come easy for me, it was a long while before I slipped off to sleep but while I slept I still felt awake, if you get my drift. I think I feel a little apprehensive about the next part of the journey, don’t get me wrong I am looking forward to it very much, but until we are back out on the road again I probably wont settle back down, I think I feel a bit out of the good routine we had with setting up and moving on.

I am also thinking about the time of year, snakes are going to start getting a bit more lively again as the weather gets warmer, they will be on the search for food, and one of the National parks we are heading to on the way up is prevalent for snakes, after our visit to Australian Venom Zoo last week and seeing that King Brown…. Eeek…. I don’t want to be meeting one of those at all!!

Until tomorrow, sweet dreams.

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Photos

Nissan Tilda
Thank god we had this, or else we wouldn't have been able to get our dinner

The veranda
All swept and Tidied