5th Lap - Embarkation ( NSW )

THE FIFTH LAP

Embarkation ( NSW )

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It was an auspicious day, the full moon was coming and the weather was perfect !!!  So the folklore has it !

But it was more a choice determined by the need to getting ready with supplies, clearing out all the known not-so-minor gremlins, and letting the family get used to the idea of this being a 6 month expedition, with no destination in mind.

A stick was thrown into the air, and it pointed south.  So we embarked.

I decided to roll into a Resource Recovery Center, another euphemism for “rubbish landfill” or “tip” in the old parlance, to weigh the truck.  It weighed 5.92 tonnes, before adding fuel to the 9 gerry cans onboard.  I estimated, after filling the gerry cans up, it would add another 180Kg, making approximately 6.1 T, still well below the GVM limit of Sandi’s 6.5T, and with the 150L water tank already full, I don’t expect the head room to be used any time soon.  So it is comfortable to know.

Before leaving the metropolitan areas, we picked up an extra 9 gerrycans of diesel fuel. It was to be the first time diesel fuel was carried in the gerry cans, the previous time was just water for testing.  22L was filled into the 20L cans, just to test if it was possible to extend the capacity when needed.  8 gerry cans were in the rear holders and one inside the residence pod for last resort use.

We took the M31 Hume Freeway towards ACT ( Australian Capital Territory ).

By the time we approached Lake George, it was already dusk, brought earlier by the winter clock.  So we pulled into Rowes Lagoon Rest Stop and setup camp.

It was a quiet night, with few cars pulling in after darkness, and we were pretty much left to ourselves, save one other luxury sedan on the other side of the car park.

The night went as low as 6 °C, soon the diesel heater was fired up, and in no time, warmth arrived.  Electric blanket was turned on too, with the heater being off, when in bed.

 

Next morning, continuing along Lake George, we saw it still had plenty of water, though not as much as last July.  As we approached Canberra, we decided to drive onto the Parliament House, just to say hello to Albo and friends !!!  But the butler told us, he’s gone to some Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, bad luck for him !! Should have called ahead, however, it was a last minute decision to enter Canberra.  I’m sure he would have deferred his trip for us !

Canberra still retains a fair bit of her autumn colours despite it is already early winter.

We pulled into the historical London Bridge Woolshed near Burra, made lunch and went for a walk to the London Bridge Arch.  A good break from an otherwise long driving day

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London Bridge Arch….

We then continue our long drive towards the border of Victoria along Monaro Highway. Thinking of turning towards the more adventurous highlands of Victoria, however, there are commitments in Melbourne for the following week, so it was decided to leave that for another more comprehensive expedition into the Victorian Highlands later.

When the low fuel warning light came on, I decided to test how far the truck could roll along before completely depleting the tank, knowing that I still have 200L sitting in the gerry cans. It is a parameter that is good to know for future situations.

Sunset comes, then dusk. By the time we rolled into Bombala, 90 Kms later, there were no signs of the truck giving up, not even a puff, but I know, it probably wouldn’t do much more than another 10 Km.  It is another limit, under full load whilst driving on highways, so now I learn.

Before entering the town, Bombala has a free camping rest stop by the river, with a children's playground, complete with free, self-serve barbeque hot plates under a rotunda. And of course toilets facilities. A very common setup along many highways in Australia.

Generally speaking, these facilities are well kept and clean, however, there are still the odd ones, left in a dirty state by some irresponsible users.

It was a quiet night again with the occasional trucks passing by during the night. Just us alone.

Before shutting down for the night, it was time to try out the plumbing for transferring fuel from the gerry cans to the main tank. It worked almost as expected, however, it is unclear how much was still left at the bottom of each can in the end. (Note: it was later found that about 10% left in the tanks and the hoses ) That’ll be another parameter to check if it is significant enough to pay attention to. It was a little messy, but not too bad at all. With a bit of practice, the job will be done faster and cleaner over time.

And after 2 days for 529 Kms, we are still in NSW.

Gremlin:  After a long high speed run, ie rev at above 2000 rpm, the "Engine Sys" red alert message would appear. This only happens in the afternoon.  After resting for a few minutes, and restarting the engine, the problem would disappear.

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