A Lap of Australia Part 2

A Lap of Australia Part 2.

Darwin - Perth.   13th July -1st August  2023

Day 11. Thurs 13th July.  251 kms.   Darwin to Jabiru.

Warming up

A Lap of Australia Part 1

 A Lap of Aus Part 1.

Gold Coast to Darwin - 3rd - 12th July 2023

A Lap of Australia,  WHY ?

Trying out the tent trailer

After all the preparation of designing and making the trailer tent and testing it over the past year or two, it was finally time to give Clementine a chance to be “run in” properly by driving a Lap of Australia !   During the Australian winter time is the only feasible time to do this due to wet seasons and heat up north that close roads for days on end, let alone making it very uncomfortable to camp or explore due to the heat.  Coincidentally it is also our Grand daughter Poppie’s 12th birthday on Aug the 19th, and she lives in Perth so obviously we were going over for that, - Especially since son Damien will be in town from his offshore rig where he works. - so that is my first “target date” .  Janet has some Belgian cousins coming to Australia at the beginning of August so she will fly to Perth on the 6th August, and I plan to drive - via Darwin.  

A Solo Lap of Australia

Sunday 2nd July 2023

Almost ready to go

After several months of preparation, tomorrow sees the start of a new Adventure.    I will be setting off in Clementine, my 1970 VW Fastback, to attempt a Solo Lap of Australia, a trip of some 15,000 kms (depending on how many times I get lost !!)   Between us we share a total of 128 birthdays, so it will be interesting to see which one of us holds up the best !

0044 NZ Part 4. North Island

 0044.  NZ Part 4.    North Island.  2nd - 10th February 2023

Queen Charlotte Sound 

On 2nd February, due to the breakdown of another ferry, we departed from Picton on the S Island at about 7 pm, 5 hours late.  The voyage out through Queen Charlotte Sound was beautiful, even in overcast conditions, and we then had an uneventful trip to Wellington. As a result of our late departure, by the time we offloaded in Wellington it was past 11pm, dark, there were roadworks just outside the port, and for some reason the traffic (both vehicles and pedestrians) was crazy  - We found

Night arrival in Wellington

out later there was an Ed Sheeran concert that had just finished, and it seemed half of New Zealand had been there, and was now trying to get home.  We then had to try and drive through the traffic, in the dark, to a camp site that we knew would be closed when we arrived - Not fun.  In the end, Janet had to persuade some of the people returning to the campsite on foot from the concert to give us the code to open the boom gate so we could get into the park, and then we had to find an empty piece of grass to park on.  Stressful to say the least, but eventually we made it and got some sleep.  

0043. NZ Part 3. East Coast up to Picton

0043.   NZ Part 3.  East Coast up to Picton.   26th Jan - 2nd Feb.

Otira Hotel sign

Leaving Brunner Mine in the rain, we set off down to Moana, on the shore of Lake Brunner.  The weather did not improve, and we were starting to wonder if our sunny days were gone.   Moana in fact has a station right beside the lake, so we visited that in our effort to stay as close to the rail route between Christchurch and Greymouth as we could.    We persevered in the rain, joining the main highway again near Jacksons, and then heading on to Otira.   Still raining.  In the middle of nowhere, as we started to climb into Arthur's Pass, we spotted a big hotel beside the road, but were past it so quickly we had to do a U turn to go back and investigate.   Thanks goodness we did.   It was a treasure.

The bar - but no room for drinking

0042 - NZ Part 2. West Coast

0042. NZ Part 2.   West Coast.      17th - 26th September 2023

Our home for 3 weeks

Woke up on the morning of the 17th, still stiff, but ready for the next phase of our Adventure - Time to go and pick up our little rental Toyota Campervan.  The head office for Freedom Campers is in Christchurch, but it was cheaper and easier for us to pay the excess and have the van delivered to us in Queenstown instead of flying to Christchurch.   And it also suited our planned itinerary to see as much of the N Island as possible.   So, leaving our bags at the great little Bella Vista motel, we walked in to town to catch the bus to the airport.  Unfortunately buses in Queenstown not quite as punctual as those in The Netherlands - The bus was almost an hour late in arriving - Apparently one had broken down somewhere !!  Anyway, eventually got to the airport and found our van and driver in the car park, where we had a brief hangover before he left us to it.  The camper is an older unit (reflected in its low price) but very similar in many ways to our Troopy camper back home, so nothing too much to learn. So we headed back to the motel, picked up our bags from the motel, and set off down the road.  

0041 NZ Part 1. Milford Track

NZ Part 1.  10th - 16th January 2023.  Milford Track walk.

Sydney Harbour

Snow near Queenstown

Tues 10th.     Day 1.      Brisbane / Sydney to Queenstown

Sarah drove us to Brisbane airport very early in the morning to catch our 6.10 am flight to Sydney, where we connected with our Queenstown flight, arriving there in the afternoon.  Left new Lonely Planet guide on the plane !! Taxi to the Bella Vista motel which was perfect, and only 5 minutes walk into town;  What a crazy place - All (and every) extreme sports, and mostly young people there.  Supper in a pub with a couple of beers followed by a walk through town (and ice cream on the jetty) before heading to the motel and bed.