The day begun early with a quiet time and after brekkie, more washing, emptying cars, cleaning and repacking for the next section of our Wild Adventure – the Gibb River Road.

Branch had been out predawn inspecting the water inlet valve in Gordie’s van – a significant blockage from stones meant water could not be put into their water tanks via the hose…. Branch was too early as Gordon was still not yet up…. When Gordie eventually does the flushing and fixing Branch will return!

Later Branch went to look for damage from the flood in Rosie’s van last night due to inadvertently leaving the grey water valve shut during washing machine usage. Rosie had done a great job mopping up but the ground around was still very soggy!

The caravan park was quiet in the early morning – we walked around and saw the giant boab tree in the grounds which is over 2000 years old – amazing. The birdlife here was very diverse – a beautiful parrot landed just outside the outdoor area. The park had great facilities with a relaxed casual feel.

We did some packing then went to the Croc Café for morning tea – Rosie was spoilt for choice with the great variety of locally baked goods… and the coffee was great.

After getting supplies at the local supermarket we went back and packed the cars – chaos reigned for a while …

and there was a lot of standing around with hands on hips… and stuff everywhere…

but finally we seemed to be under control and so headed out for a look at the Wyndham pier and the 5 rivers lookout.

The pier was really interesting – the tides here are about 8.5 foot and the water was very muddy – perfect spot for crocodiles but to Rosie’s disappointment we did not see any. A local aboriginal who was fishing for mudcrabs said that the crocs often come up at about 530pm to sit on the bank so we decided to go up to the lookout for sunset and come back to see if there were any crocodiles.

Currently the Wyndham wharf is used to export live cattle, minerals and oil but at one time it was a large abattoir where cattle were slaughtered then the meat frozen and exported.

The 5 rivers lookout was amazing – the high point which gave a great vista over the bay, pier and Cockburn ranges as well as the 5 rivers that all feed into the bay in this area – the Ord, Pentecost, Forrest, Durack and King rivers.

Tiny rock wallabies were plentiful in the area around the lookout – very unafraid of humans! Rosie was desperate to feed them but fortunately we had nothing for her to give them!!

Wyndham is one of the oldest towns in WA, it is the most northern town in WA and is the average hottest place in Australia all year round.

After watching the gorgeous sunset over the sea….

we went back to the pier in search of the elusive crocodiles…Rosie even got out her torch to look for “shining eyes” in the water – but to no avail.

We headed back to the caravan park for dinner, and then the final bits and pieces to be packed into the cars ready to head out tomorrow morning for the Gibb.

For our time on the Gibb there may be limited reception so the blog will be uploaded when we reach Broome in about 2 weeks….until then 🙂

We left early to get to Katherine by 0800 as Ashleigh was leaving us to head home – we stopped at MacDonalds at Katherine for brekky and Ash caught a taxi to Nitmiluk to do a gorge tour of Katherine Gorge.

Our aim was to reach Wyndham in WA which was about 660 kms away so it was going to be a long day….

Not far out of Katherine we passed a couple parked on the opposite side of the road – by the time Gordie was passing them they had smoke billowing out of their vehicle so he stopped to assist them. We all pulled over and waited – the couple had blown their engine and so after determining that their satellite phone did not work they decided to hitch a ride back to Katherine and we went on our way a bit delayed..

The landscape was ever changing – lots of termite mounds at first and flat plains….

We passed over Victoria River – the area was more mountainous with mesas and rocky outcrops everywhere and vegetation becoming a bit greener..

Mining transports slowed us down and we finally reached Timber Creek where we stopped for lunch…Dave nearly having a “Branch” moment – literally – almost taking out his van roof on a branch – Branch went along for the ride!

It was at this stage it was noted that 2 of the blokes were looking a little rough…

We continued on slowed down by roadworks… enjoying the views of rocky cliff faces and the boab trees… there was lots of evidence of fire ?? backburning or just small grass fires…

We stopped at the NT/WA border for the quarantine inspection….

and finally arrived in Kununurra for a quick (??) refreshment and to pick up some fresh food.

Branch detected an issue with Trev’s van connection – the D shackle had worked loose and fallen off and the chain was dragging along the road. Trev quickly fixed the chain and hooked it up – to fix the entire antisway system at a later date…

We pushed on to Wyndham arriving as the sun went down and as Sharon the owner was just preparing to finish up for the night. The campground was great with lovely trees and grassy sites so we set up and all started washing our sheets/ towels and clothes…. Rosie flooded the van as Dave had not opened the waste valve before she started using the washing machine so it overflowed through the van…Branch had a great time afterwards inspecting the squeaky clean van!

It was also revealed that the Hunters had some issues with their plumbing which they had tried to keep quiet but Branch was determined to do an inspection… inside and out of the Hunter van!!

After dinner everyone retreated to their vans looking forward to a sleep in tomorrow!!

Another day dawned in the Northern Territory – and another appearance by Branch as we were preparing to leave. MacGyver’s fridge would not work on the car battery setting – multiple attempts were had at resetting the fridge, checking fuses, Anderson plug (not the Anderson plug!!!), cables, caravan batteries etc etc – it was a flurry of activity with everyone putting in their 2 cents worth – including Branch. Finally Trev detected that it was the 12 pin plug that had shorted out and needed to be replaced – an easy fix but we will have to buy one at the next town.

Kerry and Rosie took our frozen food into their freezers and we got underway aiming to get to Daly Waters pub for lunch.

Rosie had a zip issue – she thought her jacket zip was broken – missing the runner bit…until Gordie noticed it at the top of the zip – a normal opening zip that you connect at the bottom and zip up – the tab had just migrated to the top – issue fixed without Branch!

We reached Daly Waters for lunch and enjoyed a pub meal and the ambience of the “collector” pub – absolutely ramdom but fascinating place full of items of lost (or donated) paraphernalia.

Glen got stuck into his “Hilux Burger”.. Oh what a feeling!!

Across the road from the pub we saw a junk shop and went inside for a quick look – Trev found the 46 station sign thagt had been missing for ages…lots of other random vehicles including a police car with a sign in it – this photo is for you Joel H, Daniel B and Meagan hahaha.

Trev had tried a number of places to get another 12 pin plug and finally we got half one at Mataranka at Roper River Mechanical.

We arrived at King River free camp and set up for the night – Trev fixed the 12 pin plug with Branch at his side while we enjoyed happy hour.

After a great night’s sleep we awoke to trouble in the camp…seemed that Branch  had passed out on Glen’s caravan battery…no power to the Hackfath van!

While diagnostics were being run I noticed some interesting burrows around the cap area (photo below) and was unsure as to what lived there – even Google Goggle could not identify it!! All comments welcome…

After a bit of troubleshooting looking for possible causes we decided to head on to Karlu Karlu for lunch and then Tennant Creek to source a new battery… Branch had thawed out and was back on the road with us in fine form.

First stop was Barrow Creek for fuel and coffee – we filled up but decided to make our own coffee in the vans as the coffee available was just an urn with instant coffee… There was a grave site well kept in memory of 3 line workers…. Lots of interesting locals and Glen made friends with a dog..

We arrived at Karlu Karlu for lunch and enjoyed stretching our legs and having a walk around marvelling at the Devil’s Marbles.

Trev tried his strength out on the rocks and found a big crack.

The flies were very persistent and Rosie got out the fly swatter to deal with them!!

The flies loved the colour red….

There were some spectacular rocks – the marbles are due to erosion of the granite in the area wearing into the round shapes – fascinating!! There were some huge marbles with very large cracks – it would be quite easy to be crushed if a boulder broke or split when you were standing next to it.

Trev put the drone up for some aerial shots…

Even in such a dry arid place there were small beautiful wildflowers and white-trunked gums with striking green leaves that provided a great contrast with the red rock and blue sky.

We spent some time taking various photos and then ate lunch – the Hackies left us to push on to Tennant Creek to get their replacement battery sorted.

At Tennant Creek we all fuelled up again and pushed on along the Stuart Highway lined with power poles and stock crossing at various times to arrive at Attack Creek free camp for the night.

The campground was very full but we managed to get some spots and set up – Branch hopped out again to assist Trev as the Hackfaths had no power to their van… but Glen found the issue after a bit of troubleshooting and pressed a button on the solar regulator and the van came to life!

Branch was then found in our van as the stove had a few loose screws – nothing Macgyver couldn’t handle!

The sunset was beautiful and an almost full moon rose over the plain.

We left Curtin Springs at about 0800 – Rose and Dave let their grey water loose while driving out but Trev waited til the exit…and it all came out in a rush – he moved quickly to the grass to water the area after Kerry reminded him we were supposed to use it to water their trees (as per the sign!!).

The drive to Erldunda was uneventful – the landscape flat and scrubby….

At Erldunda the fuel queue was long – Gordie had an altercation with 2 young German tourist girls who filled up at the only diesel pump in the queue he was in then promptly locked their van and went inside to order food. After a while Gordie went inside looking for the owners of the white van… and located the girls on the food queue – they moved quickly out to the van followed by Gordon lecturing them all the way on service station etiquette – they got in their van and drove off at a fast pace – leaving behind a very long queue and a fuming Gordie!

We drove in to Alice Springs searching for a dump point and a place to fill up the water tanks which sounds easier than it was!!

After picking up some groceries we left Alice and ad lunch just outside of town then drove on to a free camp called Hemmi’s camp about 40 kms out of Alice.

It turned out to be a great spot – however Gordie got stuck in the bushes as he had the biggest rig – a bit of a disadvantage in some circumstances – however Trev assisted to clear the path and Glen did a great job as traffic controller…while the others watched on in amazement.

We set up in a wagon train and built a fire – Dave started and Trev finished it off…

Rosie got a jump on everyone and started cooking dinner before happy hour had begun!

Glen had a unique way of keeping files and mozzies of the food…

The red dirt and dry conditions had taken it’s toll on Rosie’s feet so a foot spa was in order.

Sunset looked great so Trev put up the drone satisfying Dave’s enthusiasm for flying!

The moon was out…and almost full which means that the loonies are out and about…

Gordie confirmed this theory by “dancing in the moonlight” to his country music on his ute by the light of the moon.

We sat around the camp fire eating dinner and then choc chip damper… and marshmallows…doesn’t get much better than this!

The Hackies and Wells decided to do the earlybird drive in to Uluru to see sunrise so left at around 515 am. The Hunters and Lovedays were up at 6 planning to leave at 7am – we drove out at about 715 towards Uluru and shortly after leaving Trev realised he had not put on the caravan lock…..but we were so far along we decided to chance it so as not to be late meeting the others at Uluru to cycle around the rock.

Along the highway we came across a herd of wild camels – finally!! There are over 1 million head of wild camels in Australia and in our last 3 month trip we did not see a single wild camel!

The Hunters also saw a large black bull which we missed entirely…..or was it just a shadow of their imagination early in the morning??

Driving into Uluru the Rock looked as spectacular as ever…

We met the others at the carpark – Ashleigh was picking up her hire bike and we assembled the bikes and cleaned off the Oodnadatta dust making sure all was in working order. Branch was taking the day off in the car making the most of the sunlight and being out of the icy cold wind that was blasting around the rock.

Rosie needed a lesson from Trev as to how to change her gears and Trev finally set it on a gear that she could just stay in the whole way around to save any issues – looking glamorous as she went along!

We took off around the rock at about 0900 and the first part of the ride entailed cycling down a 2 km track to reach the rock. Once at the base of Uluru we continued in an anticlockwise direction meaning the initial ride was in the shade and with the arctic wind we were all frozen – longing for the sunny side!

As we made our way around we had various stops for photo ops – taking care not to photograph the “sensitive” sites… mostly….although I think there were a couple of rookie errors in that department by all and sundry.

The ride was enjoyable  – Annette only had 2 stacks, Gordie called out to me to look at something and I hit a large rock in the middle of the path – doing a front wheelstand  but not coming off!! Glen showed off his wheelie prowess!

Ashleigh and I were told off by a foreign tour guide for taking our bikes down a path that apparently we were not supposed to (no sign anywhere !!) – we just ignored her and took care.

The side facing the sun made for some great photos and we then finally made it back to the cultural centre after riding 15kms.

By this time the tour buses had pulled in so we were thankful we made the effort to do the early start and miss the crowds. There were a few sore butts amongst us but the ride was worth it. Glen equated the feeling to being like sitting on a Staedtler pencil for 2 hours! After an awesome coffee at the Cultural Centre we drove out to Kata Juta (The Olgas).

We stopped along the way to take photos at the dune lookout then drove on and stopped in the picnic ground to have lunch.

Trev discreetly put up the drone for some fantastic shots of the Olgas and surrounds.

After lunch we drove around to the “Valley of the Winds” walk though the Olgas and walked to the first lookout. The flies were pretty fierce at first but once you got up a bit higher (into the icy wind!) they disappeared. The views from the lookout were amazing! Such a beautiful country! Kata Juta forms part of the chain of what is believed to be an underground mountain range which was left after the inland sea (or Flood!) subsided.

The next place to visit was the gorge on the other side of the Olgas where we stopped to walk in – as we entered the walk 2 wild camels emerged from the bush and strolled across the track much to everyone’s excitement.

Rosie had not yet made it down the track and was so disappointed she missed the great photo opportunity that she left the track and went bush bashing in search of the camels…but alas they were too quick and made their escape.

Gordie found the flies overwhelming….so he and Kerry retreated to their vehicle along with the Hackies and had a rest in their cars while we walked up a short way to look at the gorge.

We decided to head back to Yulara for coffee and planned to drive back in to a “secret” spot to watch sunset at Uluru and avoid the crowds that go to the designated sunset viewing platform. The coffee was great again and we relaxed for an hour or so taking in the shops and ambience of the place. Much to Rosie’s delight we found “Gecko’s Café” and booked a table for dinner.

It was only a short drive back to the spot we wanted to watch sunset on the rock – just along the road to Kata Juta about 200m from the main turnoff – so we went back and set up the GoPro and cameras ready for the sun to go down. We had the place to ourselves which was great and the view of Uluru was fantastic.  

Trev managed to get some amazing drone footage as well.

Just before sunset 4 helicopters and a light plane appeared circling Uluru – obviously tourists gaining a bird’s eye view of the rock at sunset. The sunset did not disappoint – the colours were spectacular and the cloud formations added to the vista.

Driving back to Yulara was like peak hour but we managed to get a park and then enjoyed dinner at Geckos. We left Yulara at about quarter to 8 and drove back the 80ks to Curtin Springs in the dark…ever watchful for wildlife Trev put on his light bar and lit up the universe! Gordie was very envious and Glen just wished he had some lights!!!

The black bull made a reappearance close to Curtin Springs grazing by the side of the road…eyes shining in the headlights as we flew past but no other wildlife was seen thankfully!

As we got close Trev and I were praying that we still had a caravan to come home to …praise God there it was when we arrived!! We all packed up and went to bed – it had been great to get some real exercise after days sitting in the car but everyone was ready to hit the sack. The day had been really enjoyable with lots of laughs and great company…. and no “events” that required an intervention by Branch.

Under the cover of darkness we connected up the vans and quietly inched out of the van park and stopped on the outskirts to fill up with water.

Dave made extra sure he was well equipped with water in his own words for Rosie’s sake – he filled up his 2 van tanks and 5 jerry cans of water (total water capacity 270 litres of water) Good to know someone has plenty to spare – just hoping that he doesn’t want to on-sell it to us all to make up for the loss of fuel economy!!

Just as we were on the road a quick call to stop came from Rosie – they had forgotten to put down their second bathroom vent. Not to be outdone, Kerrie and Gordon had to ….. and then we locked our tunnel boot. Branch still had not surfaced after a night on the town in Coober Pedy…

Dawn was breaking over Cobber Pedy – eerily beautiful – much like a lunar landscape.

Just a few kms down the road however we had to pull over again as Trev could not locate his mobile phone – we knew it was in the car as it was connected to Bluetooth and after turning the car inside out Branch finally appeared and it was found just wedged near Trev’s left knee in the console…

On to Marla where we grabbed fuel and coffee. Dave noticed his Anderson plug was now hanging down damaged – apparently it had been a bit loose this morning on leaving Coober Pedy but now needed repair – Branch was out again – never a dull moment on  this wild adventure. All sorted and we were on the road heading for Erldunda our next stop.

We crossed the border into the Northern Territory and made it ti Erldunda – a quick fuel stop and lunch and we headed out the Lasseter Highway towards Uluru and Curtin Springs our next free camp.

Rosie spotted what she thought was Uluru but in fact was Mount Connor – still an amazing mesa sitting isolated amongst the desert plains.

We arrived at Curtin Springs – fortunate to get 4 spots close together and set up camp. Once organised we had afternoon tea and listened to Simon Manchester’s talk on Genesis chapter 1 – a great insight into God’s creation of the world. We all feel so privileged to have this time off to go and explore such a wonderful and unique part of His marvellous world!

Dawn broke over the claypan and we emerged from the vans ready for another day on dirt…. Glen and Dave decided to leave early to get a head start as they planned to travel slowly to preserve the vans and Dave wanted to get to William Creek to get his tyre replaced quickly.

They set off and we had breaky then were on our way as well. The road was still punishing and we said a prayer hoping to get to William Creek then Coober Pedy unscathed.

We were not far down the road when Gordie came over the CB saying he could see a water trail from our van – sure enough the other drainage tap from the second water tank had now snapped off and Branch and Gordie plugged the hole while Trev made some quick repairs. We were underway in no time and made it to William Creek at the same time as Glen and Dave.

The place was a hive of activity with vans and utes everywhere. The fuel line was long so we joined it and waited while Rose and Dave took their tyre to be repaired. Initially the bloke thought it had just come off the rim but on closer inspection a puncture was found which he easily repaired – they do a roaring trade at William Creek with tyre repairs – they were queued up in that shop as well!

While Gordie was waiting to get fuel, he managed to hit his head on the drivers door and cut it open – and started to grow a second nose! Branch was asleep and missed all the action but I managed to scrounge a bandaid from the depths of my handbag and stuck it on to stop blood dripping into his eye – no need for stitches thankfully!

Gordie went in to pay for his fuel and a blonde woman came over and tried to swap her Nissan for his Titan – she had extreme ute envy and when Gordie came back even hopped into the driver’s seat!

We all went inside the pub after fuelling up and had coffee – the pub was full of old relics and even a gecko managed to find its way to our table much to Rosie’s delight.

After coffee we hopped back into the cars and started on our way again. Not too much further to go (166Kms) to Coober Pedy but it seemed like an eternity. Turning right onto William Creek road off the Oodnadatta track we optimistically thought the road was better. Trev put the drone up for a quick video of our convoy and then we headed on to Coober Pedy planning to stop halfway for lunch. Kerry and Gordon were in front with the task of finding a suitable lunch stop.

Our radio was still playing up which was causing much frustration and Branch was no help as he was still sleeping after the major overtime he had worked yesterday. The desert was a beautiful contrast to the blue sky as we drove along – the road was a bit of an improvement on the Oodnadatta track but at times there were large corrugations and deep ruts so care had to be taken.

Kerrie picked a great spot for lunch in a dry creek bed. Glen and Dave arrived not long after that and we all opened the vans to check the damage!!

The Hackies has a broken table leg but the fridge had not really moved again. Dave and Rosie’s microwave had completely fallen out – Branch awoke from his slumber and was over in an instant keen to assist but it was useless – the microwave was trashed!! Kerrie had milk all over the floor from the fridge and Trev had lost an Anderson plug!

The scenery was picturesque with the trees, clouds and arid ground all blending in together…

but it looked like the Ranger had seen better days!!

We pushed on and finally arrived back on the tar at about 330pm. Dave only had 12kms of fuel left as he was too cheapskate to fill up at William Creek – almost a disastrous decision so after filling up with fuel and pumping up our tyres we pulled in to the Oasis Caravan Park and set up – thankful again to have made it safely albeit with some repairs required to Coober Pedy!

Rose and Dave got to the cleanup instantly – the windex was out giving the Snowy a spit and polish!

After a great nights sleep we awoke to the news that Rosie had lost her glasses again (an everyday event!) and Dave had to accompany her on a midnight stroll back to the pub to look for them… everything was turned inside out but the glasses were nowhere to be found although Rosie swore she had put them in her handbag after reading the menu in the pub. She walked back down to the pub while we were preparing to leave just in case but no luck….

Anyway a much bigger issue was looming on the horizon. It appeared that the Hackies had left their fridge running on the car battery all night and Branch arrived to find a completely flat battery!!

Glen was quick to get out the instruction manual to ensure no damage was done to the delicate computer system (what happened to old school cars!!) Attempts were made to start the Hilux with Gordie’s jumper leads – no luck!

Switching over to the Macgyver version and moving the Ranger closer, the Hilux roared into life and everyone cheered….

A secondary cheer was then heard as Rosie found her glasses….in her handbag of all places…

We left Parachilna , stopped briefly at Leigh Creek to fuel up and then drove on towards Maree and the start of the Oodnadatta track which Dave had been so keen to do. We passed Deception Mountain shrouded in cloud looking as mysterious as its name…

Annette noticed a sign on the way for an underground bakery at Farina so we decided to stop and have a look. Farina was a small town founded in the 1800s before Maree but once the railway was extended to Maree it began to die.

The place had some amazing ruins with one old building that had been both a Transcontinental hotel and then a bush nursing hospital.

The underground ovens were still in use – a Scottish design and one of the very few left in working order.

We went into the tent café and ordered a variety of baked goods including the best cream buns ever and amazing sausage rolls, pies and vanilla slices. The sourdough bread looked awesome so we all grabbed a loaf to take with us.

The bakery is run by volunteers who are raising money to restore the buildings of Farina – a fantastic effort and great idea now the road is sealed all the way to Maree. The place was packed despite being out in the middle of the desert and the queue to buy food and coffee was long. After a few photos and the usual extended chats we were back on the road to Maree.

We arrived in Maree only to find another huge crowd of 4WD vehicles, people and a very long queue for fuel.

Glen lined up for fuel and we all started taping up our vents and letting down the tyres for the Oodnadatta track.

Rosie won the best taping comp with colour coordinated tape and evenly sized pieces… our lime green tape clashed with the calm aqua of our van.

After our group shot under the Oodnadatta track sign we ventured off road… and off road it was! Despite the fact that the road conditions were listed as good the corrugations were terrible – the last time we drive the Oodnadatta the road had been amazingly good – but this time not so…

Only 13 kms into the drive Rosie came over the CB radio asking us could we see a “water trail” in front of us?? As we could see nothing we stopped to check and low and behold we had a leak – a stone had hit the small drainage tap of our caravan water tanks and had snapped it off. Branch was out in an instant while I plugged the hole and Trev got some tools out.

Dave took a moment to find a bush after a leak of his own…but no bush in sight!!!

A quick plug of the hole and we were on our way… or so we thought but Branch was working overtime today… only 2 kms along and Dave stopped with a completely flat car tyre….

We did a u-turn and drove back to find the car manual out, and Branch loving the action….all good and finally we were on our way again….optimism abounded as we had now had 3 issues…but the Hunters were still unscathed so who knows what may happen next.

We planned to have lunch at Lake Eyre then go on to Coward Springs for the night. The road was pretty bad with the dips and cattle grids very eroded and the corrugations were unforgiving! The landscape was arid and barren but beautiful in its own way.

Passing the random metal sculptures we eventually made Lake Eyre and stopped to check the damage and eat lunch.

Rosie and Dave discovered they now had no water left in their tanks and on inspection discovered that their little drainage tap had been sheared off by a rock too – this time no one detected the leak trail on the road so they had lost all their water…Branch did not dare poke his head out at this stage. Rosie also discovered a random piece of melamine with a small round hole in it on the floor near the bed – but no one could find where it had come from.

Lake Eyre was eerily quiet and beautiful – a little bit of water in the distance but mostly mud and salty sections – not like our last visit when it was a huge white salt pan looking like snow.

We ate lunch while waiting for the Hackies who were bringing up the rear and had not answered on the CB – we were about to go back and see where they were when they drove up. Glen had stopped to check his bikes which were rattling and noticed a window had partly come ajar. When they went inside their van the fridge had come loose and moved almost completely out of its cavity!! Branch now made an appearance as Glen tried to use his head to push it back into place.

The fridge did not go back in completely but we decided to push on to Coward Springs as it was getting late and we wanted to arrive during daylight hours.

We made a beeline for Coward Springs and arrived to find the park full with a sign up saying no entry – as it was in a conservation area we were not allowed to free camp for another 10kms so we pushed on and once out of the area Kerry spotted a clay pan on the righthand side which already had 1 van camping there – it was a great spot away from the road and protected so we drove in.

It had appeared that the Hunters had had no issues however Branch noted a near miss… Gordie’s nut on the towball was almost completely worked loose – only holding by a thread…this prompted everyone to check their nuts.

The Wells and Hackies had been making their way a lot slower and so Kerry and I stood up on the road edge waiting for them so they did not drive past and miss us…they arrived just before sunset and we pulled in and set up for the night. Kerry solved the mystery of the melamine in Rosie’s van – it had come from under the seat – the lid to get into the extra storage that Rosie did not even know existed. Rosie again won the award for the best decorated van – even a pot plant on the table!

Branch made a quick visit to Trev and Gordie’s utes…it seemed that the vent Trev thought was used to prevent dust getting into the back of the ute did the opposite – the whole back was coated in fine dust which demanded the use of the Makita blower…Gordie’s also had dust throughout but the dust on his tray had set like render!

After cleaning up and sorting various issues like moving fridges and oven doors falling off the Hackies joined us all for happy hour and a good laugh at the day’s events…who knows what a day may bring but at least we were all safe and well praise God!