The torrential weather that had been plaguing the East Coast of NSW had made preparing for our third Wild Adventure pretty challenging….with a few things not going quite to plan due to wet conditions. A pre-trip check last night revealed a few glitches requiring a solar controller reboot and then a surprise visit by Branch to assist the late night installation of the famous “metal” 12 pin plug in response to a non-functional left blinker on the van.

A few hiccups with the changeover of the 12-pin plug in the pouring rain saw us in bed just after midnight.

We woke to continual rain and dense fog – a quick call from the Hunters who had already arrived at the meeting place at Bulli Tops – the fog was too dense to safely stop so we decided to meet at Goulburn . This suited the Wells to a tee as they had rung to say that they were delayed – the new bike rack installed on the front of the van for their luxurious e-bikes had nearly taken out the back of their car as they drove out so Dave had to stop and reverse the bracket to prevent any damage to the Pearl!

Driving conditions were horrendous but we made it safely to Goulburn and sat in the Tucker’s Bakery enjoying coffee waiting for the Wells to arrive.

Gordie was showing us the new water system for his recently purchased Lotus van – designed to empty Jerry cans of water using the in-house pump to fill the onboard water tanks – ingenious except for 1 minor detail. He realised that in his rush to get away today he forgot to fill his water tanks at all!! This actually proved in some ways to be a benefit as the decreased weight meant he saved fuel carrying 180kg less weight – not that the Titan would have noticed the weight difference.

The Hunters then shared their pre-trip preparations involving Gordie’s slip on soggy flowers by the pool giving him a large painful lump on his hip and an unexpected dip in the pool. Driving out this morning saw them create havoc during peak hour by nearly taking the side of the Lotus out on the power pole on the corner of Wheatley Road – three attempts reversing back and forth, a few colourful words of abuse hurled at them by the peak hour drivers and they managed to get around the corner unscathed!

As we drank coffee and chatted Rose called us to let us know they were arriving in Goulburn – we looked out the window of the bakery and saw the Pearl coming in hot around the corner with streamers in full display waving from the bike rack. Gordon identified the steamers as being the remains of the brand new $70 bike covers Rosie had purchased to protect their bikes on the journey. On inspection the bike covers had been completely destroyed in the drive from Sydney to Goulburn – Rose contacted the place where she bought them but they were less than helpful – no apology or refund!

After coffee and the Wells quick purchase of a new cover from a motor bike shop we continued on towards our first stop for the night – Ardlethan. Rosie found it so much more relaxing following Gordon and Kerry this time as Gordon had kindly sprayed his Jerry cans silver to match the Lotus – far better than the old red and yellow from last trip.

A quick stop at Harden for lunch at Jackson’s Bakery and Café where Trev was excited to find they sold scorched peanut bars! We passed an amazing painted silo and shed – a huge work of art but such detail.

We arrived in Ardethan at around 430pm and set up in the free RV campsite which was really great. Free water and $2 to connect to power – the town had done a lovely job of landscaping the area with lovely trees and gardens.

We walked around the streets of the town and found the manse that I had lived in with Mum and Dad when I was 2 as well as the church where Dad was the minister back in the early 60’s. The town was very small with the one main street and a few small shops but neat and well kept.

Branch helped Trev to sort out our fridge issue – the late-night repair the previous evening has caused a connection to come loose in the Anderson plug – easily fixed.

It was great to finally see some sun and we walked down to the London Pub for dinner – a traditional country pub bistro feed which was lovely. The locals were very friendly – the publican and his wife were from Sydney and had bought the pub in retirement to get away from the big smoke.

We were all looking forward to a good nights sleep in preparation for the journey to Wentworth tomorrow….