December 4th 09 to December 21st 09

Friday 4th December 09, Saturday 5th December 09 and Sunday 6th December 09

Watched the second test match

Monday 7th December 09

Barry re-visited the doctor today as the appointment had been changed due to the doctor being ill. He had to see a different doctor and received a referral to a specialist with an appointment on Thursday 10th.

Tuesday 8th December 09

Attempted to make contact with Emma three times to wish her a happy birthday but failed each time, but left a message.

Wednesday 9th December 09

Nothing.interesting happened today

Thursday 10th December 09

Took the annex down as it was dry and there was a threat of rain, ready to move out on Friday.
Barry visited the specialist who elected not to use surgery but gave him a cortisone injection into the joint at the base of the thumb. This nearly overpowered his relatively high pain threshold.
We returned home to watch the PGA golf on the TV. The wind got quite enthusiastic so we put the outside chairs, etc, into the car and put the awning away and the rain arrived.

Friday 11th December 09

Finished preparing to move on, but as we were only going 60kms down the road there is no hurry. We then received a phone call about a parcel for us which was to be delivered to Garon/Sue’s address but could not be signed for as they where both at work, so we had to drive over to the couriers to pick it up. Returned and then departed with the van to the Loch Memorial Reserve where we set up the annex for our thirteen day stay. Possibly due to there being plenty of time, the annex went up the easiest and most perfect looking to date. Merry claims the credit for this as she took a much greater active part in it due to my thumb still being painful. The truth is the supervision was exceptional.

Saturday 12th December 09

We took a drive up and over the hills behind our campground not knowing where it went to, but just to have a country drive and a look around. The whole area is very hilly and green as it winds its way around a deep valley that provided spectacular views between the breaks in the trees and hills.

We arrived in the small village of Poowong with its statue of a packhorse, but unfortunately were unable to acquire any history attached to the village.

We drove on around the valley until it dropped down into the larger town of Korumburra which is the nearest town to Loch with a supermarket, of sorts, as Loch only has a half empty General Store. We returned via the main road which was only 15kms, instead of the much longer scenic route, with the intention of having lunch and then watching the golf on TV. However, after watching some of the golf we took our chairs and cups of tea/coffee, and sat and watched the local cricket match which the local team one decisively. It was a 40 overs limited overs game.

Sunday 14th December 09

The Loch market is just across the road via the swing bridge from our campsite so we planned to give it an early going over. It turned out quite rainy so delayed that for a bit until it stopped. We walked across expecting to see virtually nothing there because of the weather but were very surprised to see a huge display of all the usual plants, veggies, secondhand books and tools, and all the sparkly crap that wouldn’t sell anywhere other than a market.

We bought some genuine fresh cut, home grown veggies but wasn’t tempted by anything else, and then left as it had started raining again, although we did complete the full circuit of stalls first. Merry went back for a second look and to get some tomatoes which we had forgotten and took a lady from another caravan which was parked nearby, with her. By this time the rain had stopped so she got a better look at all the stuff that hadn't been packed away.

In the afternoon we walked into town for a look around and to give Foxy some more exercise and on returning to the campground we discovered the presence of the local Schnauzer owners and friends (other breeds of dogs) having a BBQ and trials day. We joined them later when they were having their trials over a short obstacle course and gave Foxy a couple of goes. Her first try being the better attempt and the second being the one that was filmed. There were only two Schnauzers, a Scots terrier, a cairn terrier, a Jack Russell, two other small terriers of unknown breed and Foxy. None performed like champions but we all enjoyed it, and the dogs appeared to also so long as they got their treats. Unfortunately most preferred to stop and eat the treat during the trial, rather than chase the owner to the end of the course to get it.

Monday 15th December 09

This was a day to catch up on the washing, but managed a walk into town for the exercise and some bread and then installed an upgrade on the other computer from Vista to Windows 7.

Wednesday 16th December 09

We drove over to Wonthaggi which is the largest coastal town for shopping and involves driving over hills and valleys with hard-to-take views to do some shopping in the largest town in the area. This town also provided the cricket opposition on the weekend. After the shopping we drove to Inverloch via Cape Paterson, calling to various lookouts on the way.

We had stopped at a lookout called Eagles Nest and were part way into preparing lunch when three bus loads of school kids arrived and exploded on the scene. The kids here never seem to be at school, so we are beginning to understand why they seem to be so thick.

We packed up and moved on to a lookout that had access to the beach and boasted some caves, but the tide level only allowed us a look at them, not in them.

Inverloch is a small, pretty town with plenty of beach and parks to enjoy. We then drove out to Philip Island to get all the information on the Penguin Parade, dog arrangements, etc, and a quick look around Cowes, prior to returning home. We will have to leave Foxy in a boarding kennel overnight on the Island while we do the Penguin Parade at some time as we can’t retrieve her after the parade as that is around 9.00pm, so will have to collect her the next morning. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take photographs after dark as the flashlights tend to blind them, which prevents them feeding, finding their nests and eggs, or even their way back out to sea. Whilst it is possible to film in low light there are a vast number of idiots who would use flash regardless because they don’t have the brains to disable the flash facility. As always, the majority suffers because of the minority space wasters. It must be extremely hard to police with virtually everybody having a mobile phone with camera facility on it. We can’t do it today as we do not have Foxy’s inoculation records with us.

Thursday 17th December 09 & Friday 18th December 09

Watched the 3rd test match

Saturday 19th December 09

Raining in the morning but cleared in the afternoon which provided us with the chance to watch either the local cricket match or the test match. The latter option chosen but that was partly due to the low temperature not just the difference in quality.

The local team followed up their win with their Christmas celebration and a 21st birthday party in the club house so we had very little sleep as some stayed overnight as they would not have been able to drive back to Poowong, and were still here in the morning.

Sunday 20th December 09

Drove out to Dalyston to visit the market that was supposedly happening, but obviously we got that wrong, so continued in to Wonthaggi and did some shopping. We then continued on through Inverloch to Cape but in the car park found the usual ‘no dogs’ signs and was informed that it was a half hour walk to reach the water and therefore half hour back, so gave it away as we couldn’t leave Foxy locked in the car for that long in very warm weather.
We drove back home via Leongatha so we could see we could check out another town in the region, and then back to Loch via Korumburra.
We then watched the remains of the Test match.
We were joined by two other caravans and a motor home for an overnight stop.

Monday 21st December 09

Drove to Philip Island with the intention of leaving Foxy in the kennels whilst we did the tourist thing and the Penguin Parade, and pick Foxy up in the morning. We had booked Foxy in via the phone but when we tried to book in for the Penguin Parade we told it was booked out until 1st January 2010. We cancelled Foxy’s arrangements and drove on out to look at Rhyll and then through Cowes to ‘The Nobbies’.

These are two rocks that sit just off the coast where they have built boardwalks though some of the nesting grounds so there is a slight chance of seeing penguins, along with the impressive coastal scenery.

We scored one burrow with activity, although difficult to see. We followed the coastline around to the official Penguin Parade area and had a daylight inspection, and managed a glimpse of another nesting penguin.

We stopped in this area for our picnic lunch but were confronted with the problem of not being able to open the back doors of the car. Barry had packed a folding chair in the back along with the picnic gear and the chair as pressed up against the internal lock which could not pop out, therefore not letting the external handle operate the unlock mechanism. We couldn’t get to the picnic gear over the back seat because of the cargo barrier. Barry eventually managed to lever the BBQ plate up upward with a spanner (the only available tool, as the toolbox is also in the back) but this was not easy. He then hung Foxy’s leash over the top of the barrier and clipped it to the BBQ plate handle and pulled it upward, whilst levering with the spanner until it was up on edge. This allowed him to move the picnic backpack by reaching around the barrier which dragged the chair forward slightly and allowed the locking tab to move when we used the key remote to unlock the door which then allowed the door handle to open the door. A testing half hour which we fortunately won and enjoyed our lunch all the more for it. We now know how not to pack the back of the car.

We started to drive to Grand Prix circuit but turned off to the Pyramid Rock which was a interesting piece of caostline and then drove on to the Grand Prix race track and visited the museum which also gives you access to the water gardens and the viewing platform. This provides an impressive view of the track and countryside.

The track was in use at the time by some very effective bike riders (it is used 280 days of the year for club practice, race practice, BMW test ground, tyre testing, etc).

We drove back homeward stopping off at the chocolate factory (Panny’s Belgium Chocolate) and then into Newhaven to take a photo of the bridge connecting the island to the mainland.

Tuesday 24th November 09

Barry visited the sunspot clinic and was found to be all clear.

Wednesday 25th November 09

We had a day out in the Dandanong hills visiting some of the gardens that allow dogs. Firstly the George Tindale Memorial garden which unfortunately had a large portion closed off from the public due to tree risk.

This of course meant that the entry donation became proportional to the amount of garden we got to see. What little we did get see was quite nice and in all probability the rest would have been as good if we could have seen it, but in the final analysis it wasn’t worth opening my wallet.

We moved on to Alfred Nicholas Memorial garden which lived up to expectations and gave us plenty of good exercise as it involved a walk down to a sculptured lake and arboretum.

This of course meant a long climb back out.

The hydrangeas were only just in the process of opening so in some respects we were a little early for the visit, but other flowers were finishing so we may have been too late but with gardens it is just down to luck. This garden did receive a donation.

We finished the garden tour earlier than expected so we drove out to Olinda Falls which proved a little trick to locate, and then meant leaving the car/dog in the car park at the picnic area, as dogs are not allowed in the Dandanong Parks. We ignored the last part and took Foxy down to the Falls with us, which were actually cascades rather than falls with little water despite the recent heavy rains, and didn’t really inspire us, but it gave us another climbing work out.

To fill a little more of the afternoon we drove on to Silvan Dam Reserve which we visited and enjoyed some years ago, and then headed homeward looking out for a café for afternoon tea and cake in one of the many sleepy villages. The first one in Kallista was very difficult to access the car park and once that was achieved we discovered they are closed on Wednesdays. We eventually found a spot in Belgrave where the ‘Puffing Billy’ train runs from, and sat in the alfresco area and watch the world go by for a while.

We also received the good news that our Adelaide friend Jenny’s cancer removal was successful, and that she is recovering well.

Thursday 26th November 09

Day of rest as weather is wet and stormy.

Friday 27th November 09

We drove down to Stony Point where we have booked in to stay after Christmas to see what we had let ourselves in for as it is a very small out-of-the-way place but looks peaceful for while the kids are on school holidays.

On the way back we stopped and had a proper look at the beachfront in Frankston.

We where pleasantly surprised how nice it was and discovered it actually had a small canal type river running along the side of the town.

Saturday 28th November 09 and Sunday 29th November 09

Watched the test match.

Monday 30th November 09

Barry visited a doctor regarding the strange way his thumb bends, clicks from one position the other, rather than a smooth bend. Apparently called a ‘trigger finger’ and has been referred to a specialist for possible surgery.

Tuesday 1st December 09

We drove in to Melbourne to the Botanical Gardens and found a parking spot right outside the gardens alongside the Yarra River at only 60 cents an hour. We chose this outing as the weather is fine and warm and ‘dogs are allowed’.

After entering the gardens we walk along one side of the lake for a while and then backtracked and walked round the other side to the tea room as it was lunch time.

Here we had a rather over priced lousy lunch but manage to photograph a ‘Superb Blue Wren’ as opposed to a ‘Splendid Blue Wren’ that we get in the south west of WA. We then wandered through the gardens to the visitors centre near the main gate and old observatory and put our names down for a free guided tour.

Whilst we waited for that to begin we crossed the road to the war memorial for a while.

The tour consisted of some old biddy telling her little stories as we wandered back through the gardens, some of which was of interest or amusing but much was total rubbish so Barry and Foxy tended to wander slightly apart from the small group.

After the 1.5 hour tour we made our own way through part of the garden that we had not yet seen and then made our way back to the car. We sat by the river for a while watching the enthusiastic rowing teams doing their thing, both learners and experienced, and then headed for home.

Wednesday 2nd December 09

Day of rest catching up on emails, etc.

Thursday 3rd December 09

Very windy so watched the Australian Open Golf.

Nov 5th to Nov 23rd 2009

Thursday 5th November 09

Home day for Merry to catch up on some accounting work.

Friday 6th November 09

We packed lunch and took a slow meander along the coastal roads from Seaford to the Melbourne Harbour stopping to check out the various beaches and cliffs with the Brighton Beach change huts being one of the highlights. By all accounts, one recently changed hands for $200000.

We checked out the ‘Spirit of Tasmania’ Ferry and gained some pricing information for future reference then returned to St Kilda for a stroll along the only beach that that allows dogs at any time off leash, so Foxy had her moment of glory.

Saturday 7th November 09

Visited Garon/Sue and helped remove unwanted creepers, trees, etc from garden in readiness for a tip trip. Merry painted the timber beams for the ‘cat run’ that is being built over the narrow garden outside the kitchen window. (It is against the law to allow cats out at night in Victoria). Garon and Barry mounted them on the existing framework. We stayed the night with Garon/Sue in readiness to continue on Sunday.

Sunday 8th November 09

Garon/Sue returned to their old house to replace the letterbox whilst Barry installed the water tubing to the fridge that produces cold water and ice blocks. Garon/Sue removed to the garden debris to the tip with a hired utility whilst Barry installed another towel rail in the master bathroom. Garon/Sue/Barry then installed the shade cloth and roof sheeting over the ‘cat run’ framework. This also cuts out a lot of direct sunlight into the kitchen, therefore helping with the cooling without affecting the light to any great extent.
We stayed for a second night with Garon/Sue as all of the activity created a rather late dinner with us using the one and only daylight saving advantage.

Monday 9th November 09

Returned home via Southland shopping centre to allow Merry to find and buy a clock for the caravan, which happened to come with a matching barometer. That will help her work out if it is wet or dry outside without having to go out there. Fitted these items in the van later in the day and have to admit they look good.

Tuesday 10th November 09

The weather has remained hot now for about five days with more to come, so stayed in the air conditioning.

Wednesday 11th November 09

Stayed in like yesterday for the same reason, but we did add some Velcro strips to the seats in van to stop them sliding forward.

Thursday 12th November 09

Drove over to Garon/Sue’s and placed plastic netting down the bottom of the fence and under ground to ensure Foxy is not able get under the fence when we leave her there whilst we do the tourist bit were dogs are not invited.

We returned to the caravan and watched the Australian Masters Golf with Tiger Woods, on TV. We had tried to get tickets for the event but they were all sold out months before.

Friday 13th November 09, Saturday 14th November 09 and
Sunday 15th November 09.

Continued watching the Australian Masters.

Monday 16th November Nothing of significance.

Tuesday 17th November 09

We drove over to Garon/Sue’s and left Foxy there and took the bus/train into Melbourne.

Walked along the river bank to the Aquarium and spent several hours viewing the fish/sharks, etc and then crossed the footbridge to the south side for lunch.

The aquarium has a café but doesn’t have much to offer. We then returned to the aquarium to finish off what we had not already seen.

We are probably biased, but didn’t feel the Melbourne aquarium came up to the standard of the Perth aquarium at Whitfords although it had the benefit of the Penguins in their own little ice field. We saw a similar set up in New Zealand a few years ago

We crossed to the south side of the river again to walk back passed the Alfresco area but managed to drift off into the Crown casino (purely for a look) and came out where we had started our walk.

On the second attempt we were tempted to take a return cruise down the river to Williamstown, and on returning we elected not to get off where we started but went on to the next stop on the other bank at Federation Square. The Alfresco strip will just have to survive without us.

We caught the train back to Mentone and found that the trains and buses do not work in conjunction with each other as the bus left just before the train arrived. We therefore walked the remaining distance back to Garon/Sue’s place as there was not a bus due for another half hour. We arrived at our destination about two minutes or so before the bus was due to arrive at that point.
The dog proofing of the garden had obviously worked as Foxy was still there. We assisted Garon for a while thanks to daylight saving with the cat run that he is building, and stayed for dinner which was great as we both were not looking forward to driving back to Frankston and then producing our own dinner as we were both feeling a bit weary.

Wednesday 18th November 09 Declared a day of rest by our feet.

Thursday 19th November 09 Merry visited the Sunspot clinic

Friday 20th November 09 Finally collected our repaired Microwave oven.

Saturday 21st November 09

Visited Garon/Sue and assisted with the cat run project and then went out with them to St Kilda for lunch on the beach front, and then a walked along the popular Acland road, well known for its Alfresco strip with numerous cake shops included. When we arrived home Foxy was sitting in the driveway outside of the dog proofing. We had notice some strands of the plastic fencing had been damaged before we left but didn't think it affected anything, but how wrong we were. Fortunately she chose to stay beside our car rather than try to find us. The damage is now worse so it was obviously Foxy chewing her way out. Back to plan 'B' for our next trip out without Foxy. We continued with the cat run project later in the day. Melbourne enjoyed its best rain for months during the night.

Sunday 22nd November 09

Still raining hard so the attention was turned to indoor projects such as mounting the clock on the wall and shelves in the fridge recess as the fridge is too big to go in there. The rain cleared after lunch so the cat run became the priority again.

Monday 22nd November 09

Returned to Frankston. Merry received the results of her sunspot tests and was cleared of any problems.

Monday 19th October 2009

Monday 19th October 09

Stereo/DVD player produced a lousy picture. Tried several different DVDs but all were the same so checked all connections but achieved nothing. Tried another DVD but it wouldn’t play at all, and it will not eject it either.

Tuesday 20th October 09

Merry discovered water on the en-suite floor whilst the washing machine was on. It was coming from the washing machine during the filling process but not from the external inlet pipe. Can only assume there is a leak in the machine or the internal inlet pipe.

Wednesday 21st October 09

Rain stopped play

Thursday 22nd October 09

We drove over to Garon/Sue’s original house to see it with its newly sanded/polished floor which looks really good along with the new paint job.
In the evening, just to add to the joy of owning a new caravan, the Microwave died.

Friday 23rd October 09

Contacted Jayco about the equipment failures but didn’t gain much other than ‘I’ll call you back’ which didn’t happen

Saturday 24th

Rain stopped play.

Sunday 25th October 09

Garon/Sue drove down to us to see the new caravan and we all drove down to Mornington for lunch which gave us a brief look at the town and a very tasty meal. This ended a bad week pleasantly or started a new week pleasantly depending whether you consider Sunday to be the last day of the week or the first day of the following week.

Monday 26th October 09

Contacted Jayco again but still didn’t gain much response.

Tuesday 27th October 09

We took a late morning drive down the Mornington Peninsular to Portsea and Sorrento where we had lunch. We then went back to the end of the road in Portsea and visited the National Park and took a walk out to the beach and then back a different way to the car park.

We headed back to Sorrento and watched the ferry to Queenscliffe leave, and are considering using it to go across and look at the Great Ocean Road to travel the western side of Victoria.

We also checked the beach in this area but found that in this State you can not exercise your dog on the beaches during daylight hours when ‘Daylight saving’ is in effect, or effectively during the summer months.

Merry hiked up to Coppin’s Lookout. We started to drive home which took us through several small coastal towns which had caravan parking along the foreshore which looked appealing and at reasonable cost, so we checked out the possibility of us using this area when we leave Frankston and over the post Christmas school holiday period. This proved negative as dogs are not allowed during the peak periods. We then drove out to Flinders and back to Frankston via the more casual route rather than the main highway.

Wednesday 28th October 09

Contacted Jayco again and his time gained a bit of attention in as much they arrange for the various equipment agents to contact us to inform us of the nearest respective service point.

Thursday 29th October 09

I took the microwave oven to Mornington to the LG agent for repair and discovered from the serial number that the machine was built in March 2008, so it was 19 months old before it became ours. We don’t know yet if LG work from the time we bought the van or from the time they sold the item to Jayco. If the later is the case, Jayco will be getting a wake up call.

We drove to Garon/Sue’s place for dinner and to stay the night. We took the washing machine with us as we had to take it to a place on Kooyong Road in Caulfield to have it repaired. The possums in the trees in the adjoining gardens make a heck of a noise at night.

Friday 30th October 09

The washing machine was found to leak where the inlet solenoid is connected to the inlet nozzle via a shot hose which did not have a clamp around it, which is now cured. The service agent waited until I had returned to Frankston and re-installed it in the van and then rang and asked us for the serial number that he didn’t check whilst he had the machine. This of course meant pulling it back out.
The agents for the Stereo/DVD player rang and told us they were posting out a new unit for us. Apparently, a different brand and more upmarket unit.

Saturday 31st October 09 and Sunday 1st November 09

Very dim drizzly days

Monday 2nd November 09

We drove south to a small village called Loch to check out the memorial reserve that offers cheap camping at $10 a night including power, water and gas BBQ. It is the village footy/cricket pitch in a very quiet, pleasant setting, alongside a river. The river has a $54000 pedestrian suspension bridge across it which is guarded at one end by a soldier at attention with is rifle, carved from a tree trunk. The bridge is the result of the local committee known as the ‘Loch, Stock and Barrel committee’.
On arrival back home, the replacement stereo/DVD had arrived.

Tuesday 3rd November 09

Victorian public holiday for the Melbourne cup horse race. At the moment we are experiencing very strong blustery winds and the threat of rain. We have installed the new Stereo /DVD upgrade but it didn’t cure the problem but it does return our DVDs when we want them back. The original one returned our DVD after disconnecting and reconnecting the power. After experimenting with both units and a domestic type recorder, we are now convinced the poor picture quality is due to the cabling, but as this is encapsulated in the roof there is nothing we can do about it. When we contacted the suppliers to find out where to return the original one to, they told us to dispose of it rather than return it. We now have two units.

Wednesday 4th November 09

The first few hours of the day presented a continuous drizzle, but cleared later so we drove down to ‘Ashcombe Maze and Lavender Gardens’ despite the threat of more unpleasant weather.

Ashcombe boasts two hedge mazes a rose maze and a lavender maze plus lake complete with water lilies, a rock garden a potted plant garden all surrounded in acres of woodland.

They are set up with a café and a marquee for wedding receptions. We spent several hours meandering through every area and then used the café for a coffee just as the threat of more drizzle became a reality.

The hedge mazes have grown so thick that there is only just room to pass along the pathways whilst brushing both sides. The roses where not at their best but still very effective, whilst the lavender was in it’s peak.

Despite the frequency of the rain, the dams are still less than 40% full.

Saturday 26th September 09

Rain stopped play

Sunday 27th September 09

Garon/Sue took us out for an extremely nice breakfast.

Monday 28th September 09 to Thursday 1st October 09

Can not recall anything of significant interest so was probably shopping, washing, cinema, etc.

Friday 2nd October 09

We drove up into the Dandenong Hills to a Tulip Festival at a tulip farm which naturally had every colour tulip under the sun plus some wild and woolly shaped lumps of scrap metal apparently considered as artist sculptures.

We spent several hours amongst the tulips and were allowed to let Foxy enjoy the experience, and then drove back down the hill to Grant’s picnic area that we visited a few weeks ago, for lunch.


Saturday 3rd October 09

Assisted Garon/Sue with clearing out their garage, etc.

Sunday 4th October 09

Start of the daylight saving in Victoria.

Took the bus/train into Melbourne as the weather was good and it is the first day of the Seniors Week which entitles people with a Seniors Card to free transport for the week. In Perth this is available every Sunday.

We followed the alleyways and arcade route from Flinders Street Station which took us through narrow lanes, that we would otherwise know nothing about, that host numerous Alfresco cafés and on into high quality arcades which fortunately also housed a Haigh’s Chocolate shop.

This was followed by a general wander though some of the main streets.

After lunch (not on chocolate) we crossed the River Yarra and

went up the Eureka Tower that is claimed to be the highest in the southern hemisphere 88 storeys and has a section known as ‘The Edge’ that is basically an all glass cubicle including the floor, that is mechanically/electrically winched out of the side of the building so that you can look straight down past your feet. We didn’t bother with this partly because it cost another $12 each, but more importantly, it had a ninety minute wait to get in it.

We had the experience of standing on a glass floor in a high building in Auckland a few years ago.

When we returned to Flinders Street again, we caught a city loop tram and gave our feet a rest whilst we circumnavigated the city.

On returning home, Barry assisted Garon with another fence pole insertion for the fence on the other side of the house.

Monday 5th October 09

When Garon arrived home the fence was adjusted to the upright position, secured and the concrete poured.

Tuesday 6th October 09 Rain stopped play

Wednesday 7th October 09

We took the majority of our belonging that were at our Garon/Sue’s place back to the caravan ready to leave on Friday. Whilst there, Barry installed two ‘F’ type antenna sockets through the van wall, and chatted a guy modifying some sea containers and talked him into shortening the brace that is used to wind the van legs down as it no longer needs to be a metre long.

Thursday 8th October 09

Took the van out of storage and delivered to Bayswater Jayco for them to find/fix the leak and arranged to collect it the next day. This had meant an early start to deliver it for 9.00am so had our breakfast at the Dorset café near the Jayco agents

Friday 9th October 09

Collected the van from the Jayco agent and was informed the leak was due to the lack of sealant around one of the external power outlets. Set off for Carrum Downs near Frankston where we had booked in for a month, and set up the van and annexe. The park is well set out and spacious with low maintenance gardens, but lacking trees, but unfortunately the designers have no idea about the concrete slab requirements.

Saturday 10th October 09

Barry spent the morning fitting tool clips inside the front boot of the van to hold a variety of handles against the back wall, rather leaving them loose on the floor, which provides easier access to the items and tidies up the boot. He also moved the jack from the main storage area to the gas bottle compartment to provide easier access to the jack and a clear floor in the storage area.
Tried out the new washing machine and discovered that the outlet pipe had been fitted too low so that the water ran straight through rather than filling the machine. We did manage to complete the washing with some juggling.

Sunday 11th October 09

Lazy day

Monday 12th October 09

Jayco head office informed of the washing machine foul-up as it is covered by the warranty although Barry could alter the pipe work himself as it only involved making a hole through a shelf to raise the outlet hose, but Jayco needs to know in case some idiot is fitting all of the washing machines this way. Jayco sent out there mobile repair team and the job was done by late afternoon. Barry fitted support struts to the cupboards over the kitchen area so that you don’t have to hold them open whilst putting stuff in, or out, of them. Jayco do not fit struts to these cupboards because they have fitted some fancy halogen lights over the kitchen bench which scorch the cupboard doors if they are left open. We have removed the globes from the two lights as fitting the struts is a much more useful option.

Tuesday 13th October 09

Cold and wet. Went into Frankston to visit our friendly Centrelink crew and then shopped.

Wednesday 14th October 09

Assisted Garon with some packing and took some boxes to the new house.


Thursday 15th October 09

Assisted with the removal performance and some unpacking.

Friday 16th October 09

We returned to Garon/Sue’s old house and assisted with redecorating.

Saturday 17th October 09

Returned once again to assist with the redecorating

Sunday 18th October 09

Day of rest to get over the previous few days efforts but were on standby if required but as no call for help came we assume Garon/Sue worked their respective butts off.

September 1st to September 25th 2009

Tuesday 1st September 09

Returned to Fort Knox storage to collect various items required to make our stay in
Melbourne more comfortable and then drove out to Page brothers caravan display yard.
Here we found a caravan that would actually suits us to perfection if one modification was possible, which the sales staff assured us it was on three occasions. However, we resisted the urge once again and on arriving back at our son’s home made a appointment with Jayco to do a tour of their manufacturing plant for the following Tuesday.
Garon and Sue returned from their interstate trip, but Garon is crook.

Wednesday 2nd September 09

We drove out to another Jayco agent that operates in an area that contains several caravan brands to look at other options, and other Jayco variations. The other brands had some nice features but cost considerably more and in the final analysis Jayco is better value for money and improving all the time. In the Jayco section we made the same enquiry regarding the modified style of van that we would like and this time the agent contacted Jayco planning and found it was not possible, which shot the Page Brother sales team. We could have what we wanted if we went to a longer van but this was not an option we wanted to take. We did however, find a caravan that came close to being ideal which was our preferred size, and offers many advantages in comfort and practicality over our current van. This included stabiliser legs that are easier to use, shower with more room to move in, toilet with more room to move in, skylight in the bedroom area rather than a four seasons hatch. The kitchen also has a skylight rather than a small flimsy opaic hatch. The toilet has a window instead of a flimsy roof hatch, which effectively means two of this type of flimsy hatch has been replaced with better alternatives that do not break up due to UV problems. The kitchen range hood has been modified so Barry will not continue to bang his head on it (slow learner) plus the kitchen has a proper pantry and much larger fridge/freezer. The washing machine is built into the en-suite rather than mounted on a platform on the back of the van with a canvas cover. The most important advantage is the dining arrangement is now a café style rather than ‘L’ shaped which makes life easier for both to watch TV with our feet up. We submitted to the urge, and this van, which gives us another advantage in as much as the urge has been satisfied, at least until next time.
The disadvantage that goes with this urge is that the Jayco agent wouldn’t do a straight swap.


Thursday 3rd September 09, Friday 4th September 09, Saturday 5th September 09 and
Sunday 6th September 09

All of these days were wet and windy so all were treated as lazy days with some local shopping

Monday 7th September 09

Barry sanded the front door wooden threshold which appeared to be stopping the security screen door closing positively without being assisted. This improved the situation but the door handles hang down and had to be lifted to the horizontal position to allow the door to close properly. The handles were removed, and as expected, the return springs where permanently compressed from years of use and one was broken, therefore not returning them to the proper horizontal position.

Replacement handles were purchased and fitted, which annoyed Barry as buying the whole thing for the sake of twenty cents worth of springs doesn’t go down well with him.
When the weather is less windy the threshold sanding will be completed so that it can be re-sealed with paint, or varnish.

Tuesday 8th September 09

Rain stopped play

Wednesday 9th September 09

The car was taken to the local auto electrician for a new type 12 pin plug to be fitted to suit the new van which requires extra wiring to accommodate the larger fridge/freezer.

Thursday 10th September 09

Drove out to Fort Knox storage and started preparing the van for the handover and on attempting to exit the computer operated gate failed and wouldn’t let us out. After many computer re-starts and phone calls the staff manually opened the gate by winding the motor with a short handle that took quite some time due to the low gear ratio.

Friday 11th September 09

Rain stopped play

Saturday 12th September

We drove out to Dandanong and had lunch at the popular Grant’s picnic area where one can stand and hand feed the lorikeets, which unfortunately also attracts galahs and cockatoos that cause a lot of damage.

The authorities are trying to stop this feeding but the chances of success are next to nil.

From there we drove to an open garden display which had a wide variety of protea, camellia and azalea. The garden was only open for the weekend and Saturday had perfect weather for it, whereas the next day was wet and windy.

We moved on to a daffodil farm which really surprised us with the number of different variations in colour and formation, plus that is the first time we have seen vast fields of daffodils.

Sunday 13th September 09

Rain and wind. Garon is still unwell so we cancelled the lunch we were going to have in the Docklands to give him a chance to recover. As previously mentioned we picked the right day for our trip in the hills.

Monday 14th September 09

The weather is reasonable which allowed Sue to do her volunteer work with handicapped children riding horses. We on the other hand had a lazy day with the slight exception of removing an offending metal bracket from the front gate area and adjusting the bathroom door catch to operate more positively

Tuesday 17th September 09

The weather is still quite pleasant so we went into Melbourne by bus and train to Flinders Street Station and then crossed into Federation square and on along the river bank and eventually into the MCG. This was in the week leading up to the AFL grand final so everything is being prepared for footy.

Here we took a guided tour of the MCG ground and facilities which took almost two hours for a one hour tour, and then after lunch in their café we went into the National Sports Museum under the MCG which also took a good two hours.

We left the MCG somewhat footsore so we took the short stroll to Jolimont railway station and took the train into Flinders Street Station (2 stops) and then crossed to platform eight for the Frankston train home.

Wednesday 16th September 09

This was treated as a rest day as Tuesday had been full on.

Thursday 17th September 09 and Friday 18th September 09

Also treated as rest days due to bad weather but took the opportunity to drive to Bayswater and checked out some measurements on the new van for shelving and rugs and then went to a canvas place down the road to arrange to have the annexe fitted after we have taken possession of the new van. This will also require a new draft strip as the old one will not fit due to different door positioning.

Saturday 19th September 09

Shopped at Bunning’s for a few necessary items and then dug two holes in appropriate places by the driveway fence and cemented in two red gum posts to stop the fence leaning in over the drive. .This also included cutting the creepers back that were hanging over the top of the fence into the neighbour’s garden.

Sunday 20th September 09

Dug a third hole by the driveway fence in readiness for a third support post then moved to the fence at the side of the house and tensioned the five straining cables to pull the fence upright where the fence was leaning into next doors garden.

We then cleaned up and went to a restaurant in Docklands for lunch.

This turned out to be a very large lunch so we strolled round the shopping precinct to wear of some of the effects.

On our return home we cemented in the third post along the driveway fence

Monday 21st September 09

Went out to Fort Knox and prepared the van in readiness to do the changeover. On attempting to leave the area the electric gate refused to let us out, despite putting in the correct code three times. This held us and several other people up about half an hour until they wound the gate up by hand.

Tuesday 22nd September 09 and Wednesday 23rd September 09

Rain stopped play

Thursday 24th September

Collected the old caravan from storage and took it to Bayswater Jayco where it was parked alongside the new van to allow us to move our possessions from one to the other, in the rain some of the time. During this time we realised that the Auto electrician had fitted a plug to the rear of the car instead of a socket so when we finished the loading at Jayco’s knock-off time of 4.30pm we went to their recommended auto electrician and had it changed.


Friday 25th September

Drove out to Bayswater Jayco and finished the transfer and then took the new van about 200 metres up the road to have the annexe runners attached and a new draught strip made to allow us to retain our old annexe. This took about four hours during which time we tracked down a few items that we deemed necessary, such as new locking bolts for the spare wheel carrier, and longer bolts to hold the pole carrier on to the van ‘A’ frame as the ‘A’ frame is 20m deeper than on the old van. I then mounted the pole carrier whilst waiting for the annexe job to be finished. We then took the van back to the storage area as we had chosen to extend our stay at my son’s place.