Hi all,

Well we started our long awaited holiday on Thursday the 30th of July, just after lunch. Destination for the first night out was the Wingello State Forest free camping area near (funnily enough) the small town of Wingello!

The idea was to stop there for the night, and then mosey up the NSW Coast to Brisbane – our van getting its fridge replaced under warranty the following Monday – this meant that we needed to start our holiday going via Brisbane before heading west. 

Apart from “dropping into Sydney” Friday was uneventful – we stayed at the free camping area in Coopernook State Forest, and the weather had warmed a little – holiday mode was starting…..

We left late-ish of Saturday Morning, our lunch stop had a lot of chickens hanging around, Peter explained to them where they cam from…..

I did some bike riding around – nice easy stuff and on Monday the manufacturer had sourced a new wheel tyre combination to get us to Brisbane.

We arrived in Brisbane and went straight to the manufacturer who then took the van for a couple of days to really go over it. It needed a new suspension arm on the right hand side as well as some reskinning of the exterior. For the rest, the van was undamaged and still structurally sound. The guys at Lifestyle Campers did a great job for the repairs and in very quick time to.

While we were in Brisbane, we heard that Jo’s Mum wasn’t well, so we made the decision for Jo to fly back on the Wednesday and we would move on with the plan of heading west. If needed I would go home from there or Jo could fly in to meet us – She will fly in on Monday into Charleville.

In the meantime, Peter, Fiona and I headed west on the Thursday – found a nice bush camp for that night before stopping in the free camping area at Mitchell – and of course enjoying the spa bath as much as we can out here. The cars have stayed put and bikes are in use to get around and discover the place. In all we have 3 nights at Mitchell before we catch up with Jo tomorrow at Charleville.

Til next time…..