Trip #1: — Cardiff, Belmont, Tea Gardens, Granville – the “shakedown” run
Wednesday 24 May to Monday 29 May 2023
We finally take delivery of our new 5th Wheeler, and slowly head to Belmont Caravan Park where we we stayed for two nights. This was to give us a little time to try out how everything works and be near Travelhome in case something doesn’t work. On Saturday 27 May we headed to Tea Gardens where we were camping on our friend’s farm until Monday when we headed back to Granville, where we would park in Nyssa & Brad’s driveway.
While in Granville the time came for Reen’s right knee replacement operation (originally planned pre-COVID) on 2 June at Blacktown Hospital. The op went really well and the physios were very pleased with her progress. However, on Tuesday 6 June Reen began to experience severe stomach issues which continued to worsen over the next 48-72 hours. After many scans, x-rays and other tests it was identified that a major operation was needed to repair three hernias and a twisted bowel. The operation was on Saturday 10 June and all went really well. The hospital stay went from a 4 day stay to 18 days in all, with a great outcome for Reen.
(album includes some pro pre-delivery shots courtesy of Travelhome)
Trip #2: — Cardiff, Granville
Monday 17 to Friday 21 July 2023
We headed north to Cardiff for some minor warranty maintenance and to also get the first of the decals on the van and truck. We got to camp in the front of Travelhome and also in the work shed throughout this process. The weather was wet and windy so the shed area was better. The van looked a little more finished with it’s name and waves and the Iveco now matched the van. Once everything was finished we headed back to the driveway in Granville.
Trip #3: Murray River Cruise
Friday 25 August to Saturday 2 September
Trip #4: — Bathurst, Gilgandra, Parkes, Bathurst, Granville
Thursday 14 to Friday 22 September 2023
We left Granville on Thursday morning heading to Bathurst Showground. We set up the van in off grid mode overnight to see how things went. We woke very early on Friday to a very hot morning. We packed up and headed off to Gilgandra. We had an 1100 hrs funeral at Gilgandra Uniting Church for a long-time family friend. When we got to Gilgandra we parked in the street across from Wes (my brother) & Sim’s house. We went to the funeral and then headed back to move the 5R into Wes’ driveway. During our time here we visited the shops, explored the town and spent time with family, catching up. We visited Info Centre, which had only been open about a week and checked out the Museum which had some very old farming equipment. It was also great to see water in the river.
On Wednesday morning we woke and commenced packing up ready to leave, on our way to Parkes Showground. We arrived around 1400 hrs and set up in a lovely grassed spot. We ventured off to visit the Info Centre where there was lots of information on the Elvis Weekend, one day, maybe. We need to come back and visit the telescope.
On Thursday we packed up again and headed for Bathurst Showground. On the way we stopped for coffee and while at the servo in Manildra Dean thought he saw Uncle Alan. When Reen walked back to the servo she saw Aunt Joan sitting in the car at the servo. After a quick discussion we agreed to follow them around the corner to the Museum. We sat in the café area of the Museum with them, chatting for about an hour, it was great to catch up. They were keen to have a look inside the 5R and were very impressed. Then it was time to head off again with the promise to come back and visit them. After a good trip through beautiful country we arrived about 1430 hrs. Once we were all set up for the night we visited the Info Centre with the idea of visiting here again to see some sights.
On Friday it was time to pack up again and head off to Granville. We had a good trip back and arrived about 1430 hrs and it only took 30 minutes to set up for our stay.
Trip #5: — Morisset, Cardiff, Granville
Monday 30 October to Thursday 9 November
We were on the move again, all packed up and we are having problems with the lounge slide room not working. After some phone calls to Travelhome and Jim K. we are finally on the road, a little later than normal. We are heading to Morisset Showground for our next adventure. After a reasonable trip we arrived at around 1330hrs and everything worked for setting up. Our plan was to explore Lake Macquarie and we spent a few days driving around the lake and the small towns, checking out the sights. We ventured as far south as The Entrance where we enjoyed a seafood lunch while enjoying the water. We also visited Tuggerah Westfield as we needed to shop and then we visited the Norah Head Lighthouse and sat and enjoyed the ocean views. We went as far north as Caves Beach, which actually had caves and inland to drive through Cooranbong and walked across The Swing Bridge and saw the Sanitarium (Weet Bix) site at Dora Creek.
We had organised to head to Travelhome on Tuesday for them to look at the slide room issue. As we packed up to leave we had more issues with the slide room but Dean managed to get it in. When we got to Cardiff they were quite surprised with the problem, they had never seen it before. We were set up in the shed and they worked all afternoon on it and started again early the next morning. By 1500 hrs on Wednesday they told us that the 5R wasn’t going anywhere without major repair work. That night we discussed our options and by morning had worked out that we, Dean, Reen, Sienaar & Xena would head back to Granville and stay with Nyssa & Brad in Charlize’s room. We got busy packing up all we would need for a few weeks and headed off around 1200 hours. We arrived in Granville around 1430 hrs.
Trip #6: New Zealand Cruise
Monday 20 November to Sunday 3 December
Trip #7: — Christmas in Echuca/Moama
Tuesday 19 December to Thursday 11 January