d14 – 3wk shakedown

Ring ring:

At 8am we got the call that our parts were finally at the workshop, and we could go in and they would fit them as soon as they could.

We promptly started packing up Henry ready for travel, stowing all our stuff away, disconnecting hoses and the power-cord, and packing them away too.
Putting away crockery, cutlery and making sure our houseplant was safely wedged in the bathroom sink.
Turning off the gas for the fridge, filling our drink bottles, and taking Mabi for a quick last walk around.

We also wrote a note for our kind fellow-travellers who had offered us a ride; and left it under their windshield.
Then we called the Park – as the office wasn’t open yet – and thanked them for their hospitality and kindness, and complimented them on their lovely park.
We’ll definitely be back for another stay.

We got Mabi strapped into her travel seat, and with that – we were off to the Auto-Elec.

Its was only a 5 minute drive, and once there all three of us went into the lounge-room / waiting area.
It was hopefully only going to take around an hour to an hour and a half, so it wasn’t really worth heading off anywhere, and it was super hot and humid.

We also asked them if it wasn’t too much of a tricky or time-consuming job, to please disconnect the sensor for the grey water tank, as it has been faulting since before we even left home, and it is a known issue with these models.

So we passed the time in the lounge room, in the air-conditioning, reading and scrolling and napping, with the occasional wee-walk for Mabi.

Back on the road:

Around 90 minutes later, the Admin woman came in and let us know it was all done and we could go!
Three very excited travellers were we.
They had even managed to disconnect the sensor…Yay!

It’s not so much of an issue during the day, but if the control panel is left on at night, its flashes bright red about every two minutes.
That’s the kind of thing that causes infuriation 😐

We were both really hungry when we left the workshop, so decided on sharing a celebratory pie, which was delicious, before hopping back into Henry, and heading south toward Cannonvale to collect the parts we had ordered last week for the awning.

Cannonvale:

The drive to Cannonvale was nice and cool – the new aircon compressor belt was definitely doing its job.
The Short One even got to the point of complaining that she was getting cold, and closed off her side of the vents.
It was also an overcast day for most of the drive, so that helped keep the temperature much more even throughout the cab and house areas.

The service when we got at the spare parts store at Cannonvale was quick and efficient, and they’ll be on our list of place to get more of our spare parts from.

We then drove by one of the van parks and as it was so close to the grocery shopping precinct, we decided that if they had room, we would stay there before starting our trip back home.

The Tall One went in and was offered one of the ‘few remaining sites’ they had left.
We had forgotten it was coming up for the weekend!
We’ve lost track of time, as every day has sort of melded into the next during the whole ‘waiting for parts’ debarcle…

A new Park:

To say we were a bit underwhelmed when we first got to our site could be classed as a bit of an understatement.

The sited was rutted, unlevel, smack-bang in the middle of a row of baking concreted un-treed slabs, with not a skerrick of shade anywhere even close.
We umm’d and ahhh’d for a bit and had a look around, and decided to check with the office to see if we could move to the site upward from where we were, to which they agreed.
Pheww…
At least it was level, so we wouldn’t have to use ramps in order to not only have a level home, but to also be able to run the fridge on gas.

Groceries + gossiping

Once we had Henry backed into place, the Short One took the ‘old lady shopping trolley’ and headed off to walk up the road to Coles.
It was hot!!

Coles however, was blissfully air-conditioned, so at last the chore of grocery shopping became much less of a chore, and more of an opportunity to cool down a bit.

On arrival back at the bus after the shopping, the Tall One was to be found sitting out under a tree nattering with the lady from the neighbouring bus.
It turned out that while the Short One was away, the power to the Park had gone off, so no-ones aircon or fans were working, and so outdoors under a tree with the dogs was the best place to be.

So of course the Tall One had made friends with the neighbours when she went to sit under a nearby tree for some shade and hopefully find some breeze, as she and Mabi were starting to cook in the bus.
It’s one of her many talents – being able to strike up a conversation with almost anyone – and an invaluable skill to have, when on the road.

It wasn’t too long before the power came back on and we closed Henry up, put on the aircon and got the inside temperature down to a bearable level for us all.

Food:

Afternoon tea was: a treat of a couple of home-brand mint slices.

Dinner was: steak and a bolognese ravioli pasta for the Tall One, and some marinated chicken cubes and a bit of the pasta for the Short One.

The Park wifi was pretty horrendous, so we watched a movie on the laptop that we had downloaded before we left home, then headed to bed.

Until next time – happy travels; and make the moments matter.

ps: apologies for no post yesterday, there was a feral storm combined with ratty internet that made it not a sensible or easily accomplished job!

 

sitting in the waiting room, waiting for belts to be fitted and the grey-water sensor to be disabled

 

2 out of 3 had a lil nap while we waited

 

Mabi-Dog (as well as the other 2) was very happy when the aircon came on!