Bumpity Bumpity Bump

WEDNESDAY 19 JUNE 2019

The dingoes started howling again at about 5am so that woke us up but we dozed on til after 6 and then had toast and coffee in bed.  Ellenbrae have spent a bit of money on their facilities since we were last here and now, as well as the donkey showers, they have new, clean proper toilets and sinks and even a bath in one of the shower cubicles (bring your own bucket!) so we made use of the amenities and then were on the road by 7.45am.

The road remained reasonably good and then we passed the grader and wondered whether the road would be even better farther ahead.  Alas, it meant the road got worse and then worse and then worse.  We stopped at the parking/rest stop at the Kalumbaru Road turn off to check how things in the van were going to find to our dismay that the shower door screen had defeated PJ and Larry’s best attempts to hold it in place and bounced off into the recess again AND that the microwave oven had ripped out its screws and done a lazy 180 in the recess.  Out came the trusty roll of gaffer tape and both things were pinned down before we headed north and onwards and upwards towards Drysdale Station.

 

I had been dreading this road as last time we came this way there were stories of broken vans lining the road and even people with camper trailers turning back in dismay.  Well let’s just say some of the road was okay and some of the road was really, really bad.  I think it is mainly okay a) because it was a poor wet season and b) it is early in the season so that there has not been nearly as much traffic along it to chew it up.  Even so, some of the corrugations were impressive and were enough to rattle my teeth let alone all the screws out of the van.

We pulled into Drysdale Station which is another little oasis in the middle of nowhere and refuelled and then opened the van door with a certain degree of trepidation.  Well the shower screen and microwave had both escaped their gaffer tape tethers so once again they were fixed and tethered again, this time with the microwave wedged into place with all our towels around it.  Feeling like we needed a little rest and recovery before tackling the next section of road, we headed over to the pub for a chicken and salad sandwich and a cold drink and a nice chat to the lady who runs the pub and does a fabulous buffet dinner every night that you have to book for.  We will definitely be doing that when we are back on Saturday!

Feeling prepared for whatever the afternoon might throw at us we continued up the road.  After one and half to two hours of bumping we had had time to categorise the road as such:

1.        Light grey, white, pinkish sections of road = not too bad, reasonably flat.

2.       Red sections of road – not too bad – medium bumpy bumpy corrugations.

3.       Dark brown sections of road – BANG BANG BANG big corrugations.

Our speed alternated accordingly between 10 and 65 kilometres an hour.

Finally and thankfully we found the turn off to Mitchell Falls and then it was a not too arduous 8 kms in to the King Edward River campsite.  There was enough water in the crossing to wet our tyres but not our axles so, once again,  no dramas there.  A few cars and vans in the campsite but not too many so that we could find a nice big shady spot only a couple of hundred metres from the river and about 100m from a toilet so we are well set for the next 3 nights.

After setting up, fixing the shower door, discovering a smashed cup and a punctured fruit juice box and dealing with them we collapsed outside for a drink and sigh of relief.  We’ve made it with our little Jayco Journey with us.  Rosco, one of the camp managers was around shortly afterwards to check we had everything we needed (including our traditional owner visitor passes) and told us that he had recently seen a JB caravan come in with a broken suspension. They are expensive off road vans so we feel even more proud of our little van as we have no serious problems really.

After a while, we put on bathers and wandered down to the river for a very relaxing dip.  There are lots of flat rocks to lower yourself in by but also a proper metal ladder so all very easy and just what we needed after our long, bumpy day.

Back to the van for drinks, nibbles and a bit of blog writing and now fish and salad for dinner.  We then need to get ourselves sorted for our adventure to Mitchell Falls tomorrow!