the last few days …

well helloooooo lol.. its been awhile but, in my defence, I have had a very interesting time beginning with a sudden loss of the internet time I had just paid for lol.. someone had tapped in and used it in double quick time..oi vey. Anyway there was much going on so I really had to deal with what was happening before I could share it with you all 🙂

The last time I typed to you we talked of the near miss with the Tornado down this way… well from there it seemed to get better. I booked into a caravan park whose rates were lovely and cheap and began recharging on a lot of levels. I had only planned on staying one night but it was so lovely there, the people in it so friendly and a Show and Shine car day was due on the Sunday! Well I am a bit of a holden nut I will admit and, besides, so is my Joshie. I just had to get some pics I reckoned and as the park was so cheap I decided to stay on. It wouldn’t do me any harm, I figured and I wanted to have a real look around anyway.

I went out on the Saturday morning to explore the town itself and one of the first things I noticed was an educational museum so I tied Alex up outside since he was not allowed in and wandered inside to have a look. Wow the detail was so amazing and they even had gums growing up through the floor. There were two levels to the Museum and it detailed each part of how the area developed… through old families and differing ways of living off the land; there was also so much info on the Barham forest that I was in there much longer than I planned. I snapped heaps of pics to show Josh when I got back and the lovely lady in there gave me a booklet and some fact sheets for him! Afterwards I went back out to Alex, who in my absence had won yet another couple of hearts lol. He had been gazing in longingly, a worried look on his face so I am told. Anyway in order to get a better look, he jumped up on the seat..well I should say he tried to jump up on the table LOL..he is my dog through and through lol.. such a klutz! Naturally he missed his footing and he toppled back to the ground, quickly recovering his feet and apparently looking quickly around to make sure no one had seen his embarrassing slip LOLOL.. oh yes I was regaled with what an intelligent and fun character he had, how loving and loyal he obviously is and oh wasn’t I lucky to have found him! Bwahahahaha yep I have to agree with them though. This boy of mine is all of the above and so much more;whats more I am not the only one who thinks so it would seem 🙂

Now we went for a walk and found the huge oval behind the caravan park; both Alex and I were thrilled with the find. I went back, found the ball and the ball thrower and, after it had cooled off, wore him out completely playing games with that ball, laughing constantly at his antics. Both Alex and I had a great sleep that night funnily enough.
On the Sunday morning, I got up, did the usual morning chores and packed up ready to move back to the little street beside the river where I could camp for free. Only for the day this time though so I could go to the Show and Shine; from there I planned on going to Cobram and then Yarrawonga just as I had previously planned to do.

Hmmm… I felt really weird that morning, really nervous but put it down to the vivid dream I had just before awakening where I dreamt I could see this huge Tornado coming towards me and my daughter. It was filled with fiery explosions and so terrifying; I was sure it was going to get us so I instructed my daughter to get in the bath. The tornado though suddenly changed direction and missed us entirely. There were a couple of smaller ones in the distance but my attention was now brought to two large black clouds and the rain coming from them was also black; this time I knew they were not going to miss me. They would collide over my head. For me these kinds of dreams are warnings and this was a particularly worrying one… I did put the part about the tornado down to the previous ones but those clouds and the colour of the rain was worrying.
I told myself it was most likely born of the near miss and started the motor, letting her warm up properly while I secured Alex and double checked everything was as it should be.

All was well and with a wave goodbye to some new friends I had made, I slowly made my way out of the park. Nothing to worry about there until I got out onto the road and tried to change into second. Nope wouldn’t do it! I am sometimes still a bit glitchy on the gears especially if tired so I figured it was me. I went back into first and tried again..nope. I tried over and over to no avail. I had to get to that other park before I stopped so this time I stopped the motorhome and started off in second lol.. the first is a crawler so if you get your revs up quickly it can be done..no problem putting it in second if I did not go through first.. uhoh I thought.

Well I parked where I had planned and went off to theshow and shine. I figured take myself out of the stress, have some fun and then see if there is any problems when I get back. Still could be me you know? Well so I told myself. I really had a great time at the show and on the way back decided to cut across the caravan park, checking for any oil where I had been camped.. oh no, there it was :s

I was trying not to panic now as I definitely have not got enough to fix big jobs. the last of my inheritance being spent on my dream trip here. I looked under the motorhome when I got back to it and there was more! With a heavy heart, I rang RACV ( I am in NRMA and I knew I could call on the local state’s equivalent). Thank the Goddess I had the good sense to put my motorhome under their roadside assistance, I thought.

A lovely young man by name of Garry came out around thirty minutes later. In the meantime I had checked the motor oil too as you just never know…it was so low! Argh what is going on? I thought. I cannot check the gear oil on the Nissan as it is all underneath and besides unless I have been shown things, I am a true female as in I get in and drive it lol, don’t know much about the workings though I am learning fast.
He was not sure what was going on and as it was Sunday no one was open that could help. I was almost in tears by now, scared that I would not be able to make it back home lol… I should have known better. I have always been looked after. As it happens Garry assured me I had broken down in the best place in Australia when it comes to diesels. He used to work for a man who is well known for his genius with them and he is as honest as the day is long. Garry gave him a call but no answer. Not to worry he said, this man often doesnt answer his phone as he and his wife also run horses that they show as well as he breaks them in … obviously a very talented man.

Garry reassured me about the oil, saying if you can see some on the dip stick then it isnt too bad. I would have enough to take my motorhome to Brian’s should he be there. That said, he went off to visit this man, promising to let me know the oustcome. Well the phone rang in the meantime and when I got off my call I discovered a message waiting from him to say that Brian, that is his name, was happy for me to bring the motorhome out. I could stay overnight there; he would hook me up to the electricity if need be and Brian would get me back on the road.

He is a rough diamond to put it bluntly, his language would stand some people’s hair on end but not mine. I have met many like him in my time and what you see is almost always what you get, something I much prefer.

It turned out that for some unknown reason the top of two oil filters was so loose it was a miracle I did not loose it altogether; it really would have taken only a finger touch to be off and gone. Had that happened I would have lost all the oil and my motor would have seized! noone could explain the gears glitch which, by the way, once I had help miraculously disappeared and has never come back. I personally believe it was my Guardians watching over me, making sure I did not continue on oblivious to the disaster that would have ensued had I not stopped when I did and found all that oil on both spots! That was the two dark clouds spewing black rain in my dream… a warning yet again of what could ensue and by the way had I not gotten off the road the tornado most likely would not have been the only disaster on my horizon.

The next day after Brian had sorted it all out and refilled the motor oil, he found my wheel nuts on the front horribly loose lol so he sorted that out, checked the air and only charged me $80 dollars. Considering what he was entitled to charge and what it would have cost me had the motor needed replacing, you can see why I feel so blessed.
By the time I had gone into town and gotten the money out of the bank, given it to him and gotten back out on the road it was after noon. I drove happily to Cobram and had a lovely afternoon exploring its little regions, stopping for a cuppa beside a tranquil park before deciding I would make my camp in Yarrawonga. Well in the end I did not even to that, crossing the border in Mulwala where I camped beside the lake… heaven. Yesterday I got back on the road early and drove first to Rutherglen.. the journey for me was a sad one. In one of the small towns you could see the devastation the tornado had wrought. Massive trees uprooted, the highway still being cleared and the amount of roofing iron lodged in the boughs of the remaining trees plus the great piles of it that had been picked up and stacked was horrendous. Many people,me included till now, believe they see the horror on telly. Well I am here to tell you that being there is so much worse, even after the fact, and I am not in the least ashamed to admit that the tears streaked down my cheeks as I passed by.

I stopped in to take a breather and calm my emotions. It is a lovely little place though it too showed some signs of the huge winds. I enjoyed a lovely pie lol.. bad girl that I am :p …. and then I drove to Wodonga. I needed to sort out my internet and none of the smaller places could help. I also contacted Marie and Colin to assure them all was well. I had not thought of their friends in this area but Colin immediately got in touch with them and informed them I was in the area. To make a long story a tad shorter lol I am here now, camped in my motorhome beside their home.My lovely Alex has some doggy friends and I find myself warmly accepted by the family. They are what I like to term as true blue people; it has nothing to do with what country you are born in, rather a way of being in our world… catch you later. I am going to enjoy their company rather than hang on the computer.Much love to you all, may you always find yourself being watched over lovingly as much as I do 🙂