SUNDAY 20 DECEMBER   ROMA TO TOOWOOMBA   376kms

We left Roma at 6am.

The day seemed a bit cooler, but it was still hot.

Today’s drive was much less interesting than yesterday’s. It was through fairly flat country, with cows, crops, some cotton.

We arrived in Toowoomba in the late morning. Went to the Garden City Caravan Park, where I’d made a tentative booking, on an en-suite site, for three weeks. After a quick look, we decide it will definitely do. It is a Big 4 park. We get a free night, each week, but they only gave us the club discount for the first week. That cost $102.60, and the other weeks $114. A bit over budget, but we are still a few hundred dollars under what we’d allowed, for the year.

We have a pleasantly shady site. There are lots of permanent dwellers in this park, including around us. The pool looks very nice. This place will enable us to see out the very busy Xmas/New Year period, away from the great heat further north and from the crowds on the coast. It will also – hopefully – enable us to finally have the Truck roof repair done.

After setting up and having lunch, we went for a 30 minute walk around the nearby streets, to get an idea of what it is like and where there is to walk. There is a back gate to the park and from there it is only a large block to walk to a small shopping centre, which will be handy.

I made rissoles for tea, with salads.

Phoned all four offspring to let them know our whereabouts. V was at work, at Burswood Casino, where she looks after staff uniforms. I don’t think she ever envisaged doing such work!

The video machine seems to have lost its colour. It is only ten months old, so should still be under warranty. John says he will investigate having it repaired while we are here.

As we will not be moving on until next year, I tallied up the distance we have towed the van since we set off – 8220kms. Towing it has gotten easier, for sure.

FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER     LAKE MARABOON

We drove into Emerald again, in the morning, as John had phoned a dentist and made an appointment. There was nothing wrong with his tooth, that she could find, and thinks it is just the fact that it has a huge filling in it, that is making it ache. She gave him an Amoxyl script, just in case he needs it to settle the tooth down. That visit cost us $56.

We shopped – a big food stock up, enough to last for at least two weeks. Just in case we get engrossed in being out on the gem fields and decide to stay on there.

Posted Xmas parcel to P and K. Bought diesel – 65cpl.

Back at the van, I did the washing.

We have settled on Toowoomba as the place to hole up for Xmas and New Year. I hope that its elevation will make it rather cooler and less humid than down on the coast, and we need to stay away from the crowded holiday places. I phoned a caravan park there and discussed options, then made a booking. That is settled.

We cleaned Truck, and inside the van.

Did some preliminary packing up.

Had quite a long chat with the Tasmanian couple, in the next door van. They have been on the road since 1995. Four years – we aim for that, and more.

Tea was frozen supermarket packet fish that I cooked, with fries.