It seems to be at the moment, that for everything we apparently get sorted, a half a dozen other things pop up that need doing. In response to that, the anxiety levels have been rising to fever pitch, and then only yesterday I realised that it is only about 2 months to go until take off.

I’m  sure you would have read by now that the new car/truck, ‘The Beast’ has arrived, so I won’t dwell on that today, apart from mentioning that it is in the process of being fitted out ready for our travels. Even this is proving more difficult than I could have imagined though, as it seems that there are companies out there that just don’t want to earn a buck. I find it extremely disappointing when you make enquiries about work that needs doing, only to waste a week (or more in some cases) waiting for a reply. It hasn’t even been just one company. It has been several. Customer service is pathetic to say the least. So as it stands, I still don’t have a doggie proof cage and canopy fitted yet and at the rate I am going, the only places that seem interested in doing the work are up in Toowoomba. Did I hear someone say “road trip”. It may well be on the cards, so stay tuned.

Other problems to have reared their ugly heads this week include Bec deciding that she is unhappy with the placement of the fridge in ‘the beast’, causing a lot of head scratching to resolve the issue. I was personally delighted with it, as it gave us easy access to cold food and drinks while on the move, and also made a perfect armrest. Bec however sits a little lower than I, and so feels rather constricted by it being right next to her.  The currently favoured solution is a new, albeit smaller fridge, mounted in the rear footwell, rather than between the front seats. As a bonus, the centre console will be re-fitted, giving us much needed extra storage.

Next, finding a suitable tool box for the rear tub has been somewhat more difficult than expected. The plan is to use a large toolbox as storage and to fit an auxiliary battery into. Being that I can’t begin work on the wiring for this battery until the tool box is fitted, I’m somewhat stuck until I get one. I have measured up and know the exact size that I need. Unfortunately, finding one that meets my expectations in all four dimensions (that is height, width, depth and price!) is near on impossible. The search continues.

Then, the actual trip planning pretty much got put on hold this week, what, with everything else going on, there just wasn’t any time. I am quite satisfied with how that is progressing however, although I do believe I ought to be starting to look at booking the caravan parks at a few of the more popular and busy places we intend to stop.

We took a breather and enjoyed a great day out, on Saturday, taking in the sights and sounds of the annual Whittlesea Country Music Festival. A fresh format this year saw it being held as a free one day event, with a morning market in the main street, with live music being played throughout, followed by an evening concert at the cricket grounds. A few of our favourite performers, along with a mixture of new talent and seasoned artists put on a fantastic show, and we can only hope that the festival grows over the coming years, back into the week long event of the past.

Finally, to all our readers out there in web-land, who are following the trials and tribulations of our trip preparation, I want to say a big thank you. I don’t think 3 followers could quite be considered ‘going viral’ though! So don’t forget, as you’re reading this you can press on the ‘follow’ link on the page and have my diatribe delivered hot off the presses, directly to your E-mail.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.