And we are off...Cape York here we come!

Well the times has flown by and today we started our journey north.  We left a little on the late side but that is nothing new. 

Here is a picture of Charlie and Ernie, in their final preparation.

The boys were immediately into the car activity packs as well as the lunch boxes even though it was only 9.30am. Just on the other side of Canberra, Andi pipes up with "when do we pick up Uncle Chris?" (Groan by Mum and Dad!)

Making good time throughout the day we had breaks in Molong and Coonabarabran to give the kids and Dad a bit of stretch time. The weather was less than favourable with rain most of the day. We put on an audio book - The Witches by Roald Dahl, which was enjoyed by all - although by the end probably by Mum and Dad the most!

One of our favourite sites across the day was at the Carnowindra "Milk Bar" where instead of the standard outdoor setting was a lovely brown lounge chair, complete with a local sitting comfortablely reading the newspaper.

The best sign for the day was at Dubbo. While waiting for an accident to clear we noticed that the local nursery sign read: "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is NOW!"

Other sites we enjoyed were a plane on the back of a truck and six massive tyres on a truck.

We had a few issues trying to find a nice place to stop somewhere north of Narrabri.  Most of the sites were busy or a little too close to the roadside for comfort. Finally we settled about 40kms south of Goondiwindi.  A bit further than planned but it means less for the run tomorrow.  Mr google estimates it at approx 4:30 hours.

We stopped at approx 9ish and had set up, fed and were in bed by 10pm.

A view of the camp site this am, Sunday 29 June.

Our Average fuel, 163.9, filling up at Molong and Narrabri.

Count down is on ....

Well its only 3 more sleeps now till we start our adventure North.  Surprisingly calm at this stage.  Have a few little things to still think about i.e. kids toys but overall we seem pretty organised which is a real surprise for us Ross's.

Roughly our itinerary is:
Canberra
Brisbane
Roma
Canaravon Gorge
Emerald and surrounds
Charleville and surrounds
Townsville
Cairns
Cape Tribulation
Cooktown
Lake Field National Park
Mungkhan Kandju National Park
Roadhouses on the way to the Telegraph track
Telegraph Track (southern section to start with)
Bamaga
Pundsand Bay
Somerset - then the trip back home begins ...
Weipa
Laura
Cairns
Undarra Lava Tubes
Charter Towers
Highenden
Winton
Longreach
Charleville
Bourke
Cobar
Nyngan
Dubbo
Narrandra ... and then home

Chat to you all on the road ... hopefully catch up with some MySwags on the way ...

Training - how helpful is it really?

Now that we have done a weekend's worth of training the question that comes to mind is how helpful it really, can you get from books, videos and just your own experience the same knowledge?

This ain't a post so I'll get to the point.  As someone who has done a small amount of 4wd around the Canberra and coastal surrounds, it still surprises how much there is still to learn.

A few key points I picked up:

• little tips/tricks that I picked up in one weekend would have taken me many trips to gather through "normal" ad-hoc outings
• an opportunity for a shared experience (kid free in our case) where both partners can learn and share the experience
• an environment where you can test yourself and your car's limits in a safe environment
• learn new things, techniques that will help you get out of trouble and in some cases not allow yourself to get in trouble in the first place

Katie and I both did the beginner, afterwards I chilled out behind the Bredbo pub in Ernie so that I could attend the send day whilst Katie returned to Canberra.

Video of some of the things we got up to.  http://4wdtrainingsolutions.com.au/galleries/4wdts-non-accredited-basic-and-advanced-road-driver-training

I should note that I have no affiliation or connection with the training provider above. Its simply what I personally got from training ...

So in overall I think that its worth the coin to learn the right things the right way ... and few new things along the way

Charlie has new boots

Had one of final bits to be done to Charlie today in the form of new shoes. Got a set of BF Goodrich all terrains and I must say they're looking a little tuff!

SPOT where we are

SPOT where we are : We have a public SPOT page for those that wish to see where we have been .... its accessible by clicking : http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0IUG4qc6PDInqdJRFUlobkprvKYh8cGTE

Under 100 days to go ... although cyclone Isa is a little bit of a worry at the moment ...

Long weekend at Merimbula

With the canberra day long weekend upon us it's the perfect opportunity to get away for a few days, opted to stay at the NRMA Big4 holiday park for a second time. 

Can highly recommend them, very efficient and well run joint. Park has great facilities with plenty to entertain the kids, the big pool is the highlight for us. 

Weather wise, apart from a significant downfall on the Friday night having just setup the weather was either overcast or glorious sunshine.

It was great to have the company on the Lipton's (first timers in the camper trailer world) and the schultheis's with Billy our old camper. 

Pick below of our setup, we at the far end. 

Our little house

Close up of the kitchen area

All in all a lovely weekend away. Looking forward to more of these types and longer !

Keeping in contact

Just a quick update that we have a new address at which you can touch base whilst we are out and about.  It's rossadventures<at>gmail<dot>com.  If you want to drop us a line or ask questions, you can email or simply comment to a post on this blog.

Chat soon, cheers Stu