We landed around 1pm and decided to have lunch at the airport, so when the shuttle picked us up, we could collect the car and trailer and do a quick shop and refuel and drive to Redbanks Conservation Park. It is amazing just how quick the time goes and it was an achievable destination that night. We were familiar with the camp site which was an added bonus. Everything went smoothly, on the road out of Adelaide we stopped at Churchill to refuel at $1.13 per litre and found a double park for the car & trailer in the shopping centre car park and did a shop to last us into the Flinders Ranges. It was quite late by the time we were on the freeway past Gawler on our way to Burra.
Less than 40 kms out of Burra, the car jumped out of fifth gear on a bridge bump and gave up a noise which was not good. We realized that 5th gear was gone. We drove the rest of the way to Redbanks in 4th gear, arriving at 7pm (we still had twilight to set up). We decided that we would not risk the rest of the trip knowing that we had a gearbox problem.
Oops
Believe it or not – the Patrol getting a ride.
Thursday 26th March 2015 – cold, overcast.
We really noticed the difference in the weather and surroundings since we left two weeks ago. The autumn colours are there and the temperature has dropped considerably.
After the car sat overnight, the cold morning start up was with lots of noises that were not there last night. Glen phoned our mechanic at home for advice and we decided to call RACQ – we have the ultra package which includes recovery of both the car and trailer, loan car and accommodation. We were extremely fortunate to have a RAA service operator at Clare approximately 40 kms away. Phillip was there within the hour and towed our vehicle & trailer back to Clare. More exciting was that the Masters Games are on this weekend in Clare and there is no accommodation whatsoever in the the town. Phillip also has a B & B at his home and although the apartment was booked out, they keep a couple of rooms for RAA emergencies. He was so helpful in making sure that we are settled and comfortable.
We could not be with more hospitable people or in better hands mechanically. Nothing is too much trouble and everything has been taken care of. We are happy (yes our glass is half full) that this has occurred before we tackled the Flinders Ranges and the Birdsville Track - otherwise we would have probably just shipped our car and trailer home for repair and then continued the trip north to Cairns from there. Expensive – yes – but, what happens, happens – so just move on from it. We have a theory, never let a Patrol sulk. We missed Clare on our original day drive trip from Burra and abandoned the Patrol for a week alone in the undercover car park and this is payback for leaving it and not visiting Clare. The end result bearing failure in the gearbox.
We have spent the past week in Clare living in luxurious surroundings guests of Phillip & Patricia and having a lovely time on their ranch – 25 acres. We have been entertained by three cats – one kitten (Grey Russian Blue), one 2 yrs old (Black Russian Blue) and 19 year old (Moggy). – Two Dobermans – total sooks and a few horses and sheep. Patricia has a large (I mean HUGE) under cover area for show horses. I have discovered cleaning out a horse box is just like cleaning a kitty litter tray but on a larger scale. I was quite envious of watching a barrow load of horse manure leave the box – what I could do with that on a garden. It’s a pity we live so far away. I would clean out the horse boxes for the manure alone. So through this hiccup we have met some lovely people.
The car will be ready today (31st March) and we will start again for the Flinders Ranges tomorrow. The temperatures have risen and the days are lovely and warm.
We have done a few drives around the district. Below are photos of Clare buildings.
The publican was trimming the ornamental grape at the front of the hotel and I now have several cutting to strike. I am going to suspend them in moist sawdust until we fly home at the end of May. This is the perfect time as the plants are now dormant over winter.
This is “Booleroo Centre” – we drove up for the Fixed Engines and Tractor show. Yes it is a strange name for a town
We actually had a couple of spits of rain at the show – just threatening weather.
Just love these country shows. The characters that you see. I just wanted to photograph them. It’s funny listening to the commentary as they all know each other and it takes on a quirky style.
We did a couple of loops drives visiting new towns and revisited some of the towns that we had previously been through and even dreamed of a another pie at Marrabel, but the pub was closed :(
Well done to handle the breakdown the way you did . . . just turned it into a new adventure.
ReplyDeleteHave a happy Easter . . . we are so lucky to have lots of family close by to share with.
Mum is healing well and we are getting lots of family help with her care . . . she should be back to her old self in about 4-5 weeks.
Safe travels and keep the writing and pics going :)