Together with friends and family, Lionel started dismantling a lot of the ambo stuff installed in me, including the place where the stretcher went. He did take me down to a free camping area in Gippsland one weekend and used a mattress from his caravan on top of the stretcher thingy.
It was lucky no one came along to see him showering outside in the nude. It wasn’t a pretty sight!
Lionel’s daughter, Sue, and her hubby, Shaun, built him a bed and then he bought an innerspring mattress, which he said was very comfortable.
It was amazing what they did to me. Eric, who has a lot of my rellies at his place at Officer, Vic, took out lots of wiring that he said could be dangerous if I had a crash and he also wired my alternator output to my new ‘house batteries’ through a relay that meant it only charged while my engine was running. He said that would stop my own battery from going flat if Lionel or Murphy left something on.
Tom, one of Eric’s mates, fitted me with a battery monitor and smart charger for when I was plugged into power.
Lionel’s friend, Lazo, who is great with woodwork, built me some cupboards and a sink with a draining board, plus a little drawer unit and table.
Then Lionel bought a fridge for me and they fitted it where the ambos had a large, clumsy cupboard. I heard them say it ran on 12 or 240V, whatever that means, so we would be able to bush-camp.
Lazo’s wife, Deirdre, made me a complete new set of curtains and I was beginning to feel rather smart.
Apart from the little try out in the bush in Gippsland, our first real outing was to an Australian Caravan Club muster at Phillip Island and all the members were very impressed with me.
By now, I had a nice, new roll-out awning that Lionel had fitted by his friend Andrew of The RV Repair Centre, Vic. Andrew also arranged for me to be wired for 240V so Lionel could plug me into mains power in caravan parks.
It was raining on the Monday morning when everyone was packing up to go home and Lionel was laughing as he didn’t have to get out in the rain to hitch up a caravan – it only took a few minutes to have me ready to roll.
To be continued…
SO MUCH FOR NEW ZEALAND
I told you that I hoped to visit the South Island of New Zealand in March but the uncertainty about covid restrictions has made me put my plans back to later in the year after I get back from my winter getaway at Walkamin on the Atherton Tableland, Qld.
YEMMY WAS PLAYING TRICKS
I was heading for an ACC Gippsland Gypsies muster at Seaspray, Vic, last weekend and it was a very hot day. There’s lots of freeway travel between Stawell and Melbourne and Yemmy was quite happy to travel at the posted speed of 110km/h. However, when we got to the tunnel that goes under the Yarra River, Yemmy lost power and it was a job keeping up with the dense traffic.
There was nowhere to stop to check what was wrong until well after Dandenong and all the stop-start roadworks.
Finally, I stopped at a shady spot and looked for a reason for the lack of power. I thought it might be a leak from a turbo hose but they all seemed fine. Re-starting Yemmy, the engine sounded fine and in fact it ran normally from then on! It must have been the heat and the lack of cooling air in the tunnel because it ran okay all the way home, including a detour to Korumburra to stay overnight at my friend’s place.
CHRISTMAS IN JANUARY
We’ve all heard of Christmas in July but I’d never heard of Christmas in January until last weekend. Our usual December muster was cancelled because of bad weather in east Gippsland so we didn’t have our usual Kris Kringle then.
We gathered at Seaspray, right next to the Ninety Mile Beach and Santa (me!) had to come down from the North Pole for the occasion. He brought North Pole weather with him – it was freezing!
Despite the weather, we had fun, including a walk along the beach on the Saturday morning.
When I was at an ACC Lone Trekkers muster at Lakes Entrance before Christmas, we travelled by boat near the Ninety Mile Beach and then two of us did a helicopter trip that flew over the Ninety Mile Beach, and now I’ve walked along it – I’ll soon be a local!
KEEPING FIT
People ask me for the secret of keeping fit now that I’m in my 91st year and I tell them there’s no secret – it’s mainly by having good genes. Adding to that I do try to walk around 5000 steps a day and I watch what I eat and drink.
I’ve had an avocado with a sprinkling of Spring Gully Worcester Sauce for breakfast for the past 18 months. I have a wake-up coffee with a teaspoon of raw sugar around 6.30am and then another at about 11am with the final one at 3pm.
Sourdough toast with various toppings is lunch and I have a cooked dinner that is sometimes my own recipe curry or a roast but often, when I feel a bit lazy, I have a frozen meal from the supermarket.
MY PODCAST
I belong to FRC (Free Range Camping) and recently did a podcast with them. It was a good experience and my book got a big mention. In fact, my interviewer quoted from the book when asking me questions (I had sent them a freebie). GoRV also got a wrap and hopefully some more readers.
THE VERY PLEASANT CREEK WALK
One of my favourite walks in Stawell is called ‘ A Very Pleasant Creek Walk’ and it goes from a little lake opposite Mitre 10 on the highway and continues to the Pomonal Road near the Stawell Racecourse.
There are signs listing its history way back to the 1800s when there was gold to be found in the area. What I like is that the path meanders through shady trees that cool in summer and block the cool breezes on chilly days.
There are interesting signs showing birdlife, what plants grow along the creek, etc. There are some basic but very welcome seats along the way and I stop and rest for short breaks quite often.
