Off to the car hospital! An unplanned stop!
Trip Start
Jan 22, 2011
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49
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Trip End
Ongoing
Nowra, New South Wales, Australia
Thursday, April 7, 2011
No, we did not quite make it to Sydney as planned... when we were about half way there, all our dash lights came on, warning us of eminent disaster.. apparently the auto trans was over heating, the handbrake was on, the battery was flat etc etc... Reasonably obvious that the alternator was possessed, we drove to the next decent sized town, Nowra.
Although I get teased for my use of the laptop in the car, at times like these I am practically a hero, as I found a couple of auto-elec workshops in Nowra and called ahead to find one who could asses the car straight away.
The angels at Shoalhaven auto were fantastic.. although they did confirm the bad news about the alternator!! I forgave them once they told me they could order the part that arvo and have it fixed by the following lunchtime.
We were pointed in the direction of a basic caravan park, only about a km down the road, I honestly can't even remember the name of it! Nothing spectacular obviously, but it had power and running water, so we were comfortable while we all sat around the phone, waiting for a call telling us the Troll was all ok... We did get a call about the Troll, but it was more bad news! The fan belt tensioner spring was completely shagged as well, actually in two pieces! Sooo, another part ordered and to be fitted, another few zeros to be added to the bill!
After resigning to the fact we just had to leave the Troll in Paul's capable hands, we had a rainy, but relaxing night, hoping the morning would bring us our car in one piece.
We awoke to the sun shining on muddy puddles throughout the park, but the pterodactyls (mozzies) kept us hiding in the van for most of the morning, doing school work (Mum, you are soo boring!) and watching 4WD dvds. Lunch time loomed and as we were expecting THAT call, we walked down to the shops to kill some time and so we would be close by when we got the ok to collect the Troll.
Cop this... they have a 24hour Kmart in Nowra!! Haha, such a bizarre idea, especially there.. 'hmm can't sleep, I'll just pop down and stroll around Kmart till the sun comes up'!! Ok, so I might actually do that, but who else is that crazy??
We decided to call the workshop ourselves, as lunch had come and gone, and we found out that a part had held them up and it wouldn't be ready until 4pm! Arrrg.
We had the van pretty much packed up, and were going to hit the road to Sydney, but now reassessed our plan, wondering if it would be better to wait till the morning. In the end we said 'stuff it' and took off at 4.15, with a 3 hour drive ahead of us. Why not?
As soon as we left Nowra, the sun came out through the clouds, and we saw the most stunning country side once again, the hills were rolling in every direction, and dairy cows filled the paddocks. Berri was the next town, and it was so beautiful! I would have loved to stop and visit there, so it's on the list for next time.. The grass on this stretch of drive was so green, I hardly hesitate to compare it with Tassie.
I have to confess something. I really didn't expect to find NSW at all interesting or attractive, I don't even know why, but I have absolutely loved it so far... (the scenery and towns anyway, not the car shenanigans here!) I will even say it's my favourite state so far, except for HOME of course!
I honestly didn't realize how mountainous it would be driving into Sydney, even though it was getting pretty dark, we still caught glimpses of the coastline and views out over the forests. It was just lovely. Some sections of 'highway' could be debated, as they were more like country back roads, but I loved the way it wound through the hills, and we still made it unscathed!
The kids were great, I think it was actually a novelty being in the car at that time of day/night, and were very patient really as we didn't get to the park in Parklea until 7.30. The night manager was nowhere to be seen of course, despite knowing we were arriving late, and needing him to let us in. He eventually graced us with his presence, and off we went to our site. It does back onto the main road, but it's pretty private, and there are no other vans right near us which is a nice change!
From here we will be exploring Sydney, so I will fill you in on how we go soon!
Hugs to all,
Love from Felicity and the rest of the Thommos xxx
Comments
Hugs back to you all too :) oxo