Ok.

So day one of our two-year trip round Oz didn’t quite go with the military precision which we are famous for, when we realised Dad’s contact lenses had been sat at OPSM all week.

The intended 07:00 depart was pushed back a bit, but we were soon off (well, 09:30am).

Next stop, literally, was roadworks on the Heysen Tunnels, so not off to a flyer on that one either. Thankfully that didn’t set us back too long and we were soon motoring down the freeway without a care in the world. Unfortunately, we were also motoring down the freeway with a fridge door which flung itself wide open. So the first stop on our five-year word trip was technically Crafers, when we decided it would be better to use the retaining pin on the fridge door. Like I think they said to at the shop!

Anyway … back on the freeway, a few minutes in and amazingly, the middle draw holding the pots and pans complety fell out, but due to the incredible packing ability of the pot-pan packer, it remained at 90-degreees, fully open on one side without a single pan falling out! Nice work, but we obviously had to make another stop, and so far our trip was resembling not much more than ‘where to get off and fix things in the Adelaide Hills’.

Things did improve however, and we finally started to make some serious inroads into todays target of about 500 k’s.

The travel experience was a bit further frustrated by the GPS not working correctly on the van, and when we did suss it out, it lost all its settings when we stopped at a servo.

The van itself is pretty good, but it rattles like you would not beleive. Or maybe you would. After all this is supposed to be a house on wheels so there is a lot to rattle.

Other comedy events included the kettle not working when we stopped for a well-earned cuppa in the middle of nowhere, and a coat which fell off a shelf and completely blocked the rear-view mirror (likely rattled itself loose).

But the good news in all this, is that we made good time, and hit Swan Hill at 5:30.

We grabbed a well-earned feed at the Federal (not a single veggie item on the menu) whre Jimi demolished a porterhouse, and mum and dad chullaxedwith a well earned drink.

Another reward for our efforts was great positioning at the caravan park, with our site right on the banks of the Murray. There are pics attached …. enjoy!