Meadow Glen

We left Gilgandra at 10:00am, though had been up a lot earlier - taking the pretty Windmill Walk into town to use the public loos.

We chose to refuel at 24/7 petrol station in Warren - for the novelty of using the outdoor payment terminal!  

There was a lovely mural on the nearby public toilet and a neat one on the post office, also.

We see awesome things when driving.  The huge cotton module storage facility outside of Warren was so amazing that we turned around to have another look!

It took a bit to work out how to get to our picnic lunch spot beside the river at Nyngan but we were glad to find it.  Little swallows had nested in the roof of the shelter, so flitted back and forth while we were eating.

There wasn't much forewarning given for the Nyngan Solar Plant turn-off but we took the short drive down to that very interesting site.  (It was fun to see two bearded dragons sunbaking on the fence)!

We decided to try another night of free camping and chose the Meadow Glen rest area about 60km past Cobar.  

Once there we realised we'd visited for a lunch stop during our Big Loop Road Trip on 2022.

Meadow Glen had been highlighted as an editor's choice in our free camping book - and it felt more "us" than our previous Gilgandra night - even more so when we were visited by Apostlebirds!

Day 4, Gilgandra to Meadow Glen Rest Area - 381km

Gilgandra-ing ...

We had already planned to stop at Gilgandra when a Moree camper recommended the Sporties Club.  

It was a free camp, although he rated the on-site Chinese restaurant as being the best ever!

We did some missions before departing Moree.  I went to one of the butchers and picked up groceries from the supermarket.  

Nick practised his harmonica playing, while waiting in the car with Bandit.  

There was a lot of pretty scenery between Moree and Gilgandra.  

We saw a couple of fully loaded trucks, carrying cotton.  Much later in the afternoon we were stopped for quite a while - cos traffic was impacted by a beer truck incident.

Our earliest camping was in the Watagan Forest.  Free camping in the Gilgandra Sporties parking area was quite different.  

And how was the Chinese takeaway?  Well, we still rate the huge meals at the Wilcannia Golf Club as our top favourites - but it was a cold night and I was pleased not to be cheffing! 

Day 3, Moree to Gilgandra - 328km

Moree ministrations ...

Our second day started very well.  Pack up was quite smooth.  We checked out on time and acquired some overlooked items before leaving town.

We enjoyed the changing scenery, helped a tortoise across the road - and then lunched at a lovely lookout, where many little birds flitted about in the bushes.

At some stage though, the car started to display a warning light and although the error didn't make any sense, there was understandable stress - mainly because the silly car threathened not to start again, if we turned it off.  Pfft!

We reached Moree late in the afternoon, where we made our way directly to the local Mahindra dealership. A very nice young fellow was able to verify no real issue, which was a great relief!

From there we drove to a helpful auto electrician and Zac was able to replace our smashed Anderson plug, about 30 mins before they were set to close for the weekend. Phew - two issues fairly easily sorted!

After all that excitement, I was very much in need of an hour-long soak in the thermal pool (while Nick and Mr Dog chilled back at our drive-through site).  And yes, our bed was far more comfortable that night (though temperatures were also warmer at Moree).

Day 2, Stanthorpe to Moree - 310km

Finally on the road!

We originally gave ourselves a week to finalise packing, from Nick's first day of annual leave to 1 September - due to my expected work commitments. 

When my shifts dwindled, departure was optimistically brought forward to Nick's second day of annual leave (after my skin cancer excision stitches were removed).  

There were several revised departure times but we finally left on the morning of his 4th leave day - still several days earlier than our initial plan.  

We left home at 9:55am  and once underway, we both felt a bit stunned that our biggest road-trip ever was actually happening!

Our first travel day was easy.  There was a lovely walk along Bracker Creek at Warwick, a later lunch at Stanthorpe before checking in to the same caravan park we visited in January.  Bandit and Nick stayed at camp while I did some grocery shopping in town for some dinner ingredients.  (Mr Dog was very excited to be on holidays and particularly pleased to have so many bunnies to watch)! 

Our first night highlighted some packing issues. It had been 30-something degrees at home, so several bedding layers were deemed unnecessary - which was a rash decision! Fortunately, we did have one sleeping bag and there was a Kmart hub in the town, so we acquired a summer-weight doona before leaving (along with a few extra utensils, a better dog lead and some insect repellent)!

Day 1, Home to Stanthorpe - 231km

Cool beans!

Packing for an extended adventure can be daunting, so I've started with essential stuff - tea, coffee and ice!  

As mentioned in my beverage case post, I generally travel with a small teapot (and a stock of preferred tea).  I have enough on-hand for our upcoming trip.  

Nick received a travel press for Christmas and likes using it. He needed more coffee and we sourced that from our local roastery.

As much as the thought of using Bandit's Blend appealed, Nick prefered a different option - so after some calculations, we bought two packs (and had them ground on-site).

We'll have limited fridge and freezer space while away, so the coffee will be stored in custom insulated bags, within an esky.  I might sew some extra bags because there are a few other essentials that would benefit from extra insulation.

Obviously a camper trailer is far less insulated than a house - so we used a couple of eskies for food storage while at Carnavon Gorge.  That practice worked well for items that would usually be kept in a pantry at home.  I'm thinking we'll try for a similar approach this trip.

Cool idea!

In semi-recent times we've done a couple of road-trips where we stayed in budget accommodation along the way.  

During our "Big Loop" trip we took silicone ice cube trays and a container to store formed ice cubes.  It was great to have ice for our drink bottles!

I thought to pack ice into our wide-mouthed thermoses for our Tin Can Bay trip earlier this year and have used the same approach since - as recently as our sunflower van adventure.

Our extended road trip will be in the Spacevan though, with limited freezer space available.  I spotted these ice-maker bottles via a targeted ad - and then sourced the best available price.

Two arrived last week and we've tested them in the freezer at home, standing upright.  According to the spiel, they are fully leak-proof, regardless of orientation (which seemed perfect for our purpose).  They each make 16 nifty cubes and those should fit easily into a wide-mouth thermos, if we are short of freezer space and require easier access when driving.  That's the theory, anyway!

Sunny celebrations ...

We did a round trip of 350km over the weekend, which was a marvelous mini-adventure!  

Saturday was splendidly scenic, following the "Falls Way" down to Warwick - and stopping at various lookouts en route.  

We picnicked at Queen Mary Falls, where we enjoyed the company of bowerbirds and currawongs right beside our table!

There was more lovely countryside after lunch and we arrived at our accommodation in the early evening. I'd booked "Sunny" the vintage van on Friday morning, preferring it over a more traditional cabin.  It was the right choice, so happy and cheerful!

Earlier in the year I'd upgraded our usual road-trip breakfast basket with a larger version.  The yellow floral fabric was a good match for the sunflower van.  

Dinner on Saturday night was cheffed using an electric frypan for herbed zucchini slices (cooked in foil), steaks with garlic butter (from a supermarket pre-pack) and fried onion.  

I used the microwave to cook the corn cob in it's husk - and steam the baby potato pack. 

Dessert was leftover birthday cake and we had some very flash bubbles bought locally - cos although I'd packed flutes, I'd left the intended sparkling wine at home. Der!

We managed a full game of Super Scrabble afterwards, though retreated indoors when the temperature dropped.  (As you can see, Nick won the game but it all other respects the day was quite perfect)!  Breakfast on Sunday morning was also taken inside, cos it was a bit cool out.  Pack-up was smooth and we departed just on 10:00am for some more sight-seeing on the way home.  Perfect!

Cleaning up ...

So much happened since my previous post.  Life has been very busy!

We've started more serious prepping for our big adventure.  

There was mould on the canvas, which I wanted to clean before departure.  

We remembered cleaning the D9 camper with a high-octane product and baulked at using the same this time round.  The product was effective but we didn't like it's fumes.

I'd read of Milton being used as an alternative solution and we opted to try that.  We purchased one bottle at the supermarket and then converted reward points to a $50 BigW voucher, which funded another four bottles.

There was some trial and error getting the ratio right but we settled on a 50/50 approach.  The five bottles were sufficient to treat all the walls and the underside of the front and back window awnings.  Some areas received a double treatment - and everything was thoroughly hosed down afterwards.

We only treated the outside, didn't bother with the roof (which only had a few light marks) and were really pleased with the end result.  It was far less fumey, so much easier to work with - and definitely cheaper, even if we hadn't used the voucher.  

Flash snacks!

Life's been busy lately, hence the lack of posting here.  Most of what we've been doing isn't within the scope of this blog but I was very chuffed with these cheese platter boxes I assembled for a recent "city lights" hike.

Our local Council organised a guided night walk, to a lookout within a conservation area, that is usually off-limits after dark.  I booked four tickets, cos we had family visiting.  

We'd called into the Mt Coot-tha lookout following Nissa and Mark's arrival at Brisbane Airport, so the more local night hike would give us a distant view of the city, from a different direction.

Due to the timing (and exertion) of the 8km hike, I felt we needed something more substantial at the half-way rest/viewing point than just a muesli bar or piece of fruit.

Nick and I bought the cheese platter provisions from our local supermarket.  

The 820ml divided Sistema containers seemed a good size for my plan, so they were purchased at the same time.  

In filling them with goodies, I discovered the cardboard packing from two of the cheeses were the right size/height to use as extra dividers. Bonus!  Two containers of mixed crackers were packed, using some of the original packaging for extra protection in transit.  

The two cheese packs were transported in one of Vaughan's old insulated lunchboxes.  Four juice boxes just fit into another, narrower lunch box.  I did a customised box for each couple and that worked well, given limited seating at the lookout.  Nick and I shared one box while Nissa and Mark shared the other. And yes, other hikers were quite envious of our flash snacks! 

This particular event was alcohol-free but I reckon baby bottles of bubbles might work on a special/private occasion, probably at some other location.

Power to choose ...

We planned to install a 12-volt system in our previous Spacevan but didn't achieve that goal before the van was written off.  

A nice young fellow visited us in February, to discuss our power needs for this camper.  He later provided us with a shopping list of components, which would provide a good system within our budget.  

We had lots of fun shopping (in person and online).  Once all the items were assembled, we organised to deliver the Spacevan to our young friend's home - where he could fit the 12-volt system around his work and other commitments.

Everything was done within a week and we are so very pleased with the new set-up.  How good does it look?!

Spacevan interior (completed) ...

Our second two drawer units arrived and Nick fitted them during his most recent time off.  

After discussion, it was decided to use a sheet of plywood to make two tops for the units, to give a bit more stability to them when being used as benches.

We bought the ply as a sheet, which Nick cut to size.  He rounded the front corners and decided to use an all-in-one stain and varnish product for sealing the sanded plywood.

I thought it might be cool to do a photo collage on each top but am still thinking about that - and we might well have many more photos to include after this year's big trip!

There was enough stain finish for a full coat on both sides and then a second coat on the top, visible side.  Brass bolts were used to attach the tops to the bases - and it all looks quite schmick!

I'd already chosen the red dirt coloured cord for Bandit's bed without much thought to the final benchtop colour - and we didn't consider it when choosing the stain - but all co-ordinates very well together.

While at Bunnings we picked up two packs of their interlocking foam mats, which are a bit smaller than other versions.  Nick used them to cover the usable floor on the upper, bed level of the camper trailer.

We've found the mats great for trapping dirt when camping and think this extra set will be even better for keeping dust etc out of our bed! 

The final tally for the drawer unit project was $788.20, which we are very chuffed about.  (The full cost was another $70.00 but we used Nick's work Christmas voucher to discount the price of the first drawer unit).  

For comparison, we have access to Cub's September 2022 pricelist and their 8-drawer tallboy unit was then priced at $1,523.00.

Light and bright!

When we bought our initial camping equipment in January 2009, we didn't want to use gas so chose a dual-fuel lantern and three UFO camping lights. At that stage the UFO lights were almost $17.00 each and the RRP of the lantern was $150.00 (without case).

The lantern reminded me of the pressurised kerosene lamps that had featured during my childhood - along with primus stoves and a quick-boil kettle. 

Our dual-fuel lantern was well-used on many trips and did great work till around 2016, when we upgraded to a newer model.

This post from late 2014 mentions our lighting set up.  There's another reference here from that same trip.  We acquired more 12-volt LED lights in 2016, during our 18-month stint of caravan living, while in transit between Victoria and Queensland. 

Those LED lights are still doing well and are being used in our current Spacevan.  We called into the 4WD Supacentre very recently, hoping to get an extension - but the current versions aren't magnetic and won't pair with our existing set.

On our February trip to Stanthorpe we used some cheap Kmart "bulb tent lights" inside our new Hub screenhouse.  (Those bulb lights usually stay in our shower bags, cos some cubicles are only dimly lit).

After returning home, we took advantage of Anaconda's summer sale to buy two Ultra Slim, battery operated lanterns for use inside the Hub.  We can hang them or they'll sit on the table.  They have three settings and emit nice light.  

Years ago I made basic covers for the UFO lights but I crafted much better protection for this pair, using a lightly quilted silk scarf for the outside and some dark fleece inside.

Let sleeping dogs ...

I've sewn all sorts of things over the years - including many curtains and some bedding but I have limited experience of making other furnishings.  

Many years back, I made cushion covers for Erin's bedroom space in a small "bubble" van.  Those covers were quite simple and were finished with hand-stitching, to avoid the need for zippers.

Fast forward to now, when I've had a lot more experience of zippers, albeit on small-scale zip pouch projects.  

After a fair bit of YouTube research, I felt reasonably confident of creating a zip cover for Bandit's custom dog bed. 

Given my level of confidence, I decided to make two covers - a waterproof under layer and a soft corduroy top cover.  Yep, call me keen!

Nick cut the foam cushion to size, from the mattress that came with the Spacevan (which we chose to upgrade).  

Another piece of foam had been used to fill the gap between the Mahindra's two rear seats, to give Mr Dog more room to stretch while we are travelling.  

No purchases were necessary to create the dog bed.  The under layer was made from an upcycled waterproof sheet and the outer cover used fabric from my infamous stash (a bargain opshop purchase from quite a few years ago).  The shorter zips were also opshop buys, sourced from the stash.  The longer zips are upcycled from rooftop cargo bags that deteriorated.  Had I bought the four zips from Spotlight even with a coupon, they would have been $25.00.

Some of the cover construction was new to me, so there was a lot of muttering as I battled through the first one, with constant reference to the YouTube tutorial - while eating jelly snakes! I did better on my second cover (and now know a lot more about altering zippers) but even so, I needed to finesse/fudge a little. I'm pretty chuffed to have finished though - and really like how the two covers work together.

Most importantly, Mr Dog seems happy with the new arrangement and we're hoping he likes sleeping there a lot more than crowding in with us!

Getting our money's worth!

At some stage in late 2013, we took advantage of a Ray's Outdoors sale to buy four grey camping chairs.  They had already done a fair bit of travel before our stint of caravan transit life, when they were in daily use for 18 months.

They've had some more camping trips since we relocated to Queensland but Nick and I found them less comfortable on our very recent Stanthorpe break.

We're planning a two-month touring adventure later this year and decided a chair upgrade would be good preparation for that - and as luck would have it, Anaconda was having a great sale!

Of course, if there hadn't been a sale - we would have waited for one, cos we do love getting an excellent bargain!

We had mis-remembered where the grey chairs came from, so happily bragged to an Anaconda fellow of how well they'd lasted, thinking they'd been an earlier purchase from one of "his" stores!  Hah!

Spacevan interior (continued) ...

Our second drawer unit arrived at Bunnings while we were in Stanthorpe.  We collected it on Tuesday, soon after getting home.  

Nick installed both drawer units into the Spacevan later that afternoon.  They look great!

His next mission was to cut down the former bed frame.  The shorter format fits beside the drawers, to enclose the diesel heater.  It will be used as a base for Bandit's dog bed.  We have foam to cut for a custom-sized cushion.  Once the foam is cut, I'll sew a zip cover for the cushion. 

A second set of two drawers will be installed on the other side of the Spacevan.  I'll order those soon.  There is talk of fitting some kind of bench top to both drawer stacks but we're still thinking about that!

Stanthorpe exploring ...

We'd previously visited Stanthorpe in June 2017, not long after relocating to Queensland.  On that occassion the four of us, with Bandit, stayed in a pet-friendly cabin on Storm King Dam. 

We stayed at the same caravan park this trip, on a powered site just a short walk from the water.

Our November anniversary trip had been planned for bushwalking in the Girraween National Park, without Mr Dog.  It wasn't an option to leave him behind for the rescheduled booking - but fortunately there were lots of dog-friendly options around the area.

We had a lot of fun exploring around Serendipity Rocks nature reserve - and revisiting Donnelly's Castle.  There was a short walk around Mt Marlay also.  Mr Dog had such a great day, he slept super-soundly that night!

Cafe dining isn't something we usually do with Bandit but there were a number of dog-friendly wineries, so we chose one of those to visit on our last day.  

We ordered a wood-fired pizza and Mr Dog was very happy to be given a morsel!

The tourist information centre has a multi-page list of the wineries and their various dog-friendly conditions.  We were given a brochure about dog-friendly walks in the area also (and I had researched at home as well).

Stanthorpe setup ...

We bought our first gazebo in January 2010 and have had others since.  They were used a lot in our earlier days and one stayed up almost permanently during our transition period in Victoria.  

Ballan was often windy and we regularly kept the gazebo in it's lowered position to increase wind resistance.  There are some pics, here.  (We also used loops to prevent water pooling in the rain).

When I saw a Drifta clip of the Wild Land Hub Screenhouse, I was very interested and immediately showed Nick.  I am allergic to sandfly and some other insect bites, so particularly liked the thought of being in a protected zone!

Drifta had an Australia Day sale and we bought one Hub, with two walls for only a few dollars more than the usual retail price.  We opted to collect from our closest store, rather than pay freight - which meant we could view other equipment in person, and visit a nearby 4WD Supacentre as well.

Each of our three hardfloor campers came with an awning (and walls) but generally we set-up in the basic configuration, cos that's easier - which is what we did on our first night in Stanthorpe.

After exploring on Saturday, we set up our new Wild Land Hub Screenhouse.  It went up quickly and we enjoyed sitting under cover.  The prediction was for lots of wind overnight, so Nick packed away the Hub before we went to bed.

He set it up again on Sunday and it then stayed up for the remainder of our break.  We were very impressed with how well it held up against the wind and rain - as were our camping neighbours.  Even with just two walls, we were surprised at the difference the screened area made to wind/warmth.  (We are thinking of buying a few more walls but might wait for another sale).  

The Hub is lighter than our gazebos, sets up and packs down quicker and really is quite nifty.  Call us fans!

Stanthorpe scheming ...

Our November anniversary celebrations were originally planned for Stanthorpe but wet weather meant we travelled to Tin Can Bay instead.

We decided to use our Stanthorpe booking credit for one of Nick's roster breaks.  

I had a rough menu plan, which helped my meal prepping and packing for our four-night holiday.

Space is limited in our 38-litre Engels and we only planned to take one fridge with us, so I packed butter, olive oil spread and some shredded cheese into small containers.

I made a half quantity of my usual pikelet mix, using milk powder and stored in a plastic bottle. It needed water, an egg and some golden syrup on-site.  

After some good shakes, I could pour into the pan. (I've used the same dry mix previously but not thought to mix in a bottle).

Salad isn't my best thing, so I tried the mason jar method.  I made two versions to try. (We took three jars with us and left two at home).  

While away, we found a couple of opshop bargains. My heavy glass salad bowl was just $3.00 and looked a bit flash on the camp dining table! 

We had BBQ chicken and salad wraps for a picnic lunches on first two days.

There is no photo but I froze some Mexican mince to take with us.  I cooked rice before leaving home.  Our first night's dinner was super easy!

Breakfast was cereal, toasted muffins, fruit portions - with tea and coffee.  I cooked the pikelets on our last day, before packing up to head home.  

We had a cheese platter picnic on our third day, splurged on wood-fired pizza at a winery the next day - and then lunched at home on our last day, cos we weren't hungry before then!

The jar salads worked pretty well, with only minimal freezing.  I'll try some other combinations but liked how easy it was to tip the jar into a bowl and serve.  All dinners were simple.  We used the camp kitchen several nights as it had plenty of hotplates under cover.  It rained at times during our stay and there was wind, also.

Nick cooked BBQed chicken fillets with Morrocan seasoning for our second night.  I did steaks with garlic butter the third night - and we shared the final night's cooking.  Nick BBQed  lamb sausages and zucchini/ herb parcels, while I made up a packet pasta dish.  

I brought the chicken fillets from home.  We picked up other provisions from Stanthorpe Woolies on Saturday morning.  On Monday afternoon we called into the local IGA for some dessert provisions.  We had meringue nests with thick custard and berries for dessert - yum!

The Spacevan's gas burners didn't cope well in the wind so we used our butane stove on a few occasions, set up on the kitchen slide or on the table, inside our screened gazebo.