THURSDAY 4 APRIL   HOME TO ALBURY   330kms

The plan had been to wait out Easter at home before setting off on our travels. That kept us off the roads and out of stopping places during this hectic traffic period. It also enabled us to  get to know my first grand daughter, born in January.

We finally departed, a day later than intended, and not until 2.30pm.

John really didn’t do a great deal of preparation or packing, until Tuesday. In the preceding six days, he played bowls four times, organized two tournaments, and wrote his Bowls Secretary’s Report, so it was not surprising that he still had lots of trip-related things to do.

L had turned up on Tuesday, as arranged, and brought some belongings with her. But it suited her to return to her sister’s place that night, as her parents were visiting from NSW. She came back on Wednesday and moved into the back rooms, properly. Then she began to learn all the things she has to do and look after.

I wasn’t sure what she made of the chaos about us!

There might be some method to the chaos!

L seemed to like the cats. They seemed to have recognized the signs of our departure, and become very “clingy”, though Spook was clearly miffed by Tuesday’s annual visit to the Vet and resulting vaccination. I was sure we were leaving them in caring hands.

Despite the apparent packing disarray, I left the house tidy and clean. That was about all I had to organize over the preceding couple of days, while I waited for John to get ready.

John took Truck to the local servo for refuel (84cpl) before we started the process of hitching up the van. By this time, he was quite cross, as he’d forgotten that he needed to buy a new smoke alarm for the front hallway – and he’d had to go off and buy that, and install it.

At least, the hitching up went smoothly enough. That is not always guaranteed at home. Over the last summer, we’d had the front of the block altered, and a proper parking bay for the van carved out of a garden, so that the van was no longer partly encroaching on the driveway.

Now, hitching up involves backing Truck straight up an incline, and getting the Treg hitch in place with the van level, but Truck somewhat nose down. It has not made the task any easier!

We had an uneventful run from home to Albury, via Yea, Seymour and the Hume Highway.

John got tired so I got to drive about 100kms.

As the afternoon wore on, the number of trucks on the highway seemed to proliferate.

It was almost dark by the time we checked in to the Trek 31 Caravan Park, after battling the traffic through Albury. Paid $20.25, after Top Tourist discount, for a drive-through site where we did not have to unhitch Truck.

I made an easy tea: soup that had come, frozen, from home, sausages, bread, sliced tomato.

John returned a call he’d missed, from brother R, who had suggested that he get a trophy made up for John, containing the medallions from the three championships won this season. John was quite taken aback to now discover this is going to cost $217! Much more expensive than first envisaged, but it will be a great memento.

John also phoned daughter S about us getting to Canberra tomorrow. It seemed that she really wanted us to stay at their new place, which we had not yet seen. It will reduce our independence, which I always dislike, but John is quite taken by the information that there is a bowls club very close by. He started to talk about trying to get a game on Saturday.

After that, it was early to bed.

There was a steady procession of trucks past the caravan park through the night – the downside of its convenient location on the main road. They didn’t keep either of us awake, but were noticeable at times when we did wake up.

FRIDAY 6 MARCH   HEALESVILLE TO ALBURY   328kms

Rain set in during the night and the grey morning, plus the night before, probably explained why we didn’t get up until 9am!

Final packing up and hitching up went well – although wet – and we left the park at 10.20am.

A few days ago, John had been looking at maps and talking of heading north via the road through Toolangi. I was against this idea because of the nature of that route through the range! I was pleased that, in the end, he took the sensible route: Healesville to Yarra Glen, thence to Yea. That was fine by me. Truck pulled the van up the winding section from Dixons Creek to the top of the range, quite easily, and John took it carefully down the other side.

But then, at Merton, he decided on the spur of the moment to take the road to Euroa, assuring me that he’d been that way before and it was much better than the way I’d planned, through Maindample to Benalla. It wasn’t! It was winding and hilly and seemed to take ages to do that 30kms. John is not quite satisfied with the van brakes – they do not seem to act to slow the van as much as he would like.

We stopped in Euroa so I could buy rolls for lunch. John decided he wanted some chips to be going on with. Had a coffee break a bit north of Euroa, at a roadside stop beside the Hume Highway. Our lunch break was then at a rest area north of Benalla, overlooking Lake Mokoan.

The rain had stopped by now, but it was still quite a grey day.

Followed the highway through Wodonga and crossed the series of bridges that span the Murray River and associated backwaters. Finally, we have reached NSW!

It was mid afternoon when we got to Albury. Navigated our way to the Albury Motor Village, on the Wagga Road – lots of turns and traffic to negotiate through Wodonga and Albury. Our powered site cost $14.40, after Big 4 discount.

After we’d done the minimal set up for an overnight stay, John washed down the van and Truck, which had come off second best through a long stretch of muddy roadworks on the Hume Highway.

We took the bikes off the van and took ourselves off for a ride through streets on the outskirts of Albury. It was a bit too windy for really pleasant riding, but it was exercise after the drive. It has been too long since we were on the bikes, but we managed 12.5kms.  Most of the time in Healesville, it had been too hot – and there is a discouragingly long uphill section between the park and the town!

When we got back to the van, found that the hose had come off the van while we were away and created quite a flooded area. The man from the next van had eventually turned off the tap. John can’t have quite clicked it back into place after washing the rig, and the water pressure is actually very strong here. Whoops!

Went and bought fish and chips for tea.