27th September – Sunday
An absolutely freezing night and morning – snow and sleet not very far away and forecast for Sunday in Canberra. Thank goodness we are leaving for a warmer climate on the coast.
It was extremely windy for the whole journey but we were lucky enough to avoid the rain. The trip to Batemans Bay was only about 150 kms, most of which was fairly hilly and windy, with a very steep descend for about 5 – 10 kms shortly before Batemans Bay. We have made this road trip once before about 30 years ago and at that time we were also towing a my parents’ caravan with their car. At that time we ended up on a safety ramp because Father had disconnected the caravan brakes (as we found out later!). This year we made the same journey towing a caravan and unbelievably, the electric caravan brakes FAILED just after we commenced the descent! Fortunately, the Pajero handled the conditions much better than the Commodore and we made it easily to the bottom of the hill using the engine and car brakes. Of course, we couldn’t find anywhere to safely pull off the road until we reach the bottom of the hill. The caravan lights checked out okay and when the plug was jiggled, the brakes re-activated! Perhaps it was some of the dust from the last few days causing the problem.
The Batemans Bay Beach Resort is a lovely caravan park, right on the beach (first time we have seen the sea since Cardwell, in far north Queensland). It is a very large park with a large number of permanent holiday on-site caravans and cabins, but these are all in one area and very well maintained. We have a large grass site (a bit sandy) and the amenities are very modern and new. Lots of playground equipment for children and a jumping pillow. Unfortunately, the strong wind ruled out a long walk along the beach.
We have now emptied most of the water from our tanks (no sense adding to the weight being towed) as the water quality will be good from here to Melbourne. Whilst reaching under the caravan to turn off the drainage tap, Les bumped his glasses and a lens fell out – tomorrow we will be on the lookout for an optometrist. He is also very adamant that he doesn’t require glasses for driving!
An absolutely freezing night and morning – snow and sleet not very far away and forecast for Sunday in Canberra. Thank goodness we are leaving for a warmer climate on the coast.
It was extremely windy for the whole journey but we were lucky enough to avoid the rain. The trip to Batemans Bay was only about 150 kms, most of which was fairly hilly and windy, with a very steep descend for about 5 – 10 kms shortly before Batemans Bay. We have made this road trip once before about 30 years ago and at that time we were also towing a my parents’ caravan with their car. At that time we ended up on a safety ramp because Father had disconnected the caravan brakes (as we found out later!). This year we made the same journey towing a caravan and unbelievably, the electric caravan brakes FAILED just after we commenced the descent! Fortunately, the Pajero handled the conditions much better than the Commodore and we made it easily to the bottom of the hill using the engine and car brakes. Of course, we couldn’t find anywhere to safely pull off the road until we reach the bottom of the hill. The caravan lights checked out okay and when the plug was jiggled, the brakes re-activated! Perhaps it was some of the dust from the last few days causing the problem.
The Batemans Bay Beach Resort is a lovely caravan park, right on the beach (first time we have seen the sea since Cardwell, in far north Queensland). It is a very large park with a large number of permanent holiday on-site caravans and cabins, but these are all in one area and very well maintained. We have a large grass site (a bit sandy) and the amenities are very modern and new. Lots of playground equipment for children and a jumping pillow. Unfortunately, the strong wind ruled out a long walk along the beach.
We have now emptied most of the water from our tanks (no sense adding to the weight being towed) as the water quality will be good from here to Melbourne. Whilst reaching under the caravan to turn off the drainage tap, Les bumped his glasses and a lens fell out – tomorrow we will be on the lookout for an optometrist. He is also very adamant that he doesn’t require glasses for driving!
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