The Homeward Run!


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Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Lismore
December 23rd 2010
Published: December 23rd 2010
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Harvest TimeHarvest TimeHarvest Time

Jo took everyone for a ride in the tractor.
Port Augusta was the first place we’d been to in eight months that wasn’t new and daunting to us. We knew where we were going and what to expect – it was kind of a weird feeling after ‘winging it’ for so long!!! The sense of familiarity was very short lived however because we were taking a new and different route back to the East Coast.

The car which had served us very well had been overheating since Alice – she was really struggling up inclines and into head winds. I feared the worst, and rather than be stuck in the middle of nowhere I just wanted to be home in Lismore with a mechanic I trusted!

Meanwhile, family in Shellharbour really wanted us to drop by there ‘on the way’ (about 1000kms out of the way really, but who’s counting?), so we headed in the general direction of there.

Our first stop was Broken Hill. The town was much bigger than I had imagined, and it reminded me a little of say Ballarat or Bendigo. Very much built on mining, and I suppose would have been much more interesting if we hadn’t already had a whiff of
The Long RoadThe Long RoadThe Long Road

There wasnt any other traffic on the road, and I somtimes wondered whether we were headed in the right direction!
home!!!

Our next destination was Ungarie – my stepdaughter lives with her family here. We hadn’t seen her for about 7 years which is really sad, but exciting to be turning over a new leaf now.

Our choice was: A. Drive 950kms on a mainly sealed road, or B. Drive about 600kms on mostly dirt. After checking with the information centre on the quality and condition of the intended roads, we opted for the dirt – it would still take two days but would save nearly a tank of fuel.

So after the guy at the information centre assuring me the road was just as good as a sealed road (except for the first 40kms or so), and yes there was indeed a caravan park at our intended midway point, we set off.

He was right – the first 40 kms were a bit rough! I kept driving, thinking it would get better, when in fact it just got worse!!! So, 250kms of red boggy, slippery and rutty mud road later, we arrive (covered in mud) to discover that the caravan park doesn’t exist!!! I think the guy at the info centre was lucky I still hadn’t replaced my stolen phone!!!

We were all in good spirits and thought the day had been a one of our most exciting adventures for a while! Shay-Lee, our resident reptile handler made us stop for EVERY lizard on the road so she could free them into the wild. I suppose I should be grateful that none made it into the car to be kidnapped as a pet!!!

After all that, the pub let us camp in the carpark for a small fee overnight, until we got back on the road for some more dirt. Luckily this road wasn’t quite as bad, but we were all a bit let down by this I think 😉

About 5 kms out of Ungarie a stone flew up and hit my windscreen … BUGGER! I make it half way around the country, and now I’m a few thousand kms away from home it has to happen!!!

We arrived at Tanikah’s Mum & step Dad’s place not really knowing what kind of reception we’d get, but wanting to touch base anyway. I’m so happy that we did though, because it was fantastic! We ended up staying about 3 nights in their driveway!! Dakota and Shay caught up with Tanikah and got the grand tour around Ungarie (pop 350 … people that is!), while Kal hung out with her 2 younger brothers and sister. Jo (her Mum) and I yakked until the cows came home, piecing together vital bit of history that were missing.

Outback NSW is grain country, and we’d arrived in the middle of harvest. Basically that means that ALL hands are on deck working sunup til sundown while there’s grain to be harvested! It was quite exciting really. Jo took the kids for a drive in the harvest tractor – they loved that. And Tanikah and her step Dad taught us all how to shoot a rifle … we loved that too!

The forecast heading for us was for rain, rain and more rain (the NSW outback floods in fact), and rather than get rained in, we really needed to head East. Tanikah was keen to travel with us, and her Mum agreed … so we had a ‘blow in’ for the next week – what a special opportunity!

Arriving at Shellharbour, we set up camp back at Jen and Jason’s place again – it
With our Target!With our Target!With our Target!

They were all pretty proud first timers (except Tanikah of course)
was great to hang out with them again!!! Basically the next few days were frantically visiting and catching up (with a little down time of course).

I really needed to get the car looked at while here, but I was so worried that I’d need a new motor or something really major done, and I’d be stranded 1100 kms from home, I didn’t.

Dad spent the day towing us up to Gosford on our way out so we could avoid the two main hills (Ousley and Mooney Mooney), which was fantastic, but that still left the whole East Coast, which is of course VERY hilly the WHOLE way!

After stopping off at Cooranbong to stay the night with some great friends who’d moved there from Lismore this year, we did the home stretch.

Now the plan was never to go the whole way in one day, but as the day wore on, and we were all so excited to be heading home we just kept driving. The car was overheating terribly, and each uphill stretch we came to I thought I’d be the end of us. We cruised down each hill in Angel gear, letting the engine cool a little before the next one, and we stopped regularly to top up coolant, and to let it cool a bit. Evening rolled in, we were soooooo close to home, but seemingly so far away! The night brought cooler air, so we pressed on rather than traveling the next day in the heat of the sun.

The normally 7 hour trip from Cooranbong took us 14+ hours, but WE MADE IT!!! We limped down the last hill and into the caravan park, setting up as quietly as possible with our noisey boat winch winder. How amazing! Now I don’t care if the car needs a major repair, cause we’re home!

32 689 kilometres worth of road and we're finally home ... UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Two days later we head up to home and help with the move out and clean up, while we start moving back in. I drop the car to the mechanics, and tell him he can have it all week, but please break any bad news gently … he rings me 2 hours later saying it’s ready to be picked up and I ask if he’s crazy! I play along with him, and head down to pick it up. $115 later, all it needed was some oil in the viscose fan behind the radiator!!! LOL LOL … and it truly does seem to be fixed!

SOOOOOooo I traveled 5000 kms in torturous conditions, thinking the car was going to die on the next hill, and all it needed was a little oil in the fan!!! INCREDULOUS!

OK so from here it’s back to our boring old lives … and those of you who have been living vicariously through us, will have to go back to your boring old lives again too! Now we’re back at home, and back to reality. We’ve moved in, said our hello’s, I’ve started work again … and now it seems like it was such a long time ago that we were even on the road! The children are so happy to be home – Kalahni doesn’t want to leave the house … lol.

And sitting at home, in my nice lounge room complete with lights, with my nice washing machine, and nice fridge (the fridge and washer are in their respective rooms) I wonder: Would I do it again? Absolutely, in a heartbeat!!! We still have QLD and TAS to complete … but that’ll have to be another adventure somewhere down the track, hopefully not too far!

I also just wanted to add that if anyone is considering doing something like this at some time, just get out and do it!!!
Imagine a life with no bills except fuel and food – no rent to pay or electricity bills … wouldn’t that be great.
Imagine a life where you get to spend so much time with your family you feel like to actually know each other well … great hey?
Imagine a life where rather than chasing your tail everyday doing the same thing (has anyone seen groundhog day?), you actually get to live life properly and experience your own country … seem too good to be true?
Imagine living so simply that you remember who you are … priceless!
Imagine life on the road – because it really is LIVING!!!



Additional photos below
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Shinglebacks on the roadShinglebacks on the road
Shinglebacks on the road

There were heaps and Shay made us stop for every single one! This one was very amusing - he thought if he hissed at us he's scare us! LOL
Nice to be fishing again!Nice to be fishing again!
Nice to be fishing again!

Back with friends on the East Coast!


24th December 2010

Great chapter!

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