We arrived home today - why is it we always want to go on trips away from home, but we are pleased to get home?  The cats are having their last look around the Toowoomba caravan park. After being so good on the road, Riki started yowling as soon as we arrived home. It can only be her desire to get out to defend her territory against next door's invading cats. We drove into a service centre to get coffee but there was nowhere to park. This has happened before - if there are dedicated parking bays for cars towing caravans, idiots not towing anything park there. I head straight for the truck parking areas because there will be space to turn and exit. It would be awkward to drive around the back of a service station towing a van to find a dead end! Today it must have been smoko time as there was nowhere to park. Next time I will pull up at one of the bowsers and fill up even if we only need a top up - usually that puts the Jeep in the shade or out of the rain while we use the facilitie

There are only a few towns between Coonabaraban and Toowoomba. We drove for 8 hours with lots of short stops because of the heat. I only took the dogs out once at Goondiwindi where there was some prickle-free green grass. It was 35 degrees much of the day and they are very happy in their air conditioned Jeep. The cats have perfected their timing doing malodorous poops soon after we have resumed driving, but are nowhere near a rest area where we can pull over. They have been very happy travelling in Coco's cage where food, water and kitty litter are provided while they watch the changing scenery. We were stopped 3 times today to allow huge pieces of machinery to pass. The police force vehicles travelling in the opposite direction to stop so the special trucks can travel at speed. I guess they want them off the road before dusk. These are not 18 wheelers - more like 118 to spread the weight.  The Newell Hwy was very bouncy with lots of pot holes and long stretches of rough riding due

From West Wyalong we followed the Newell Hwy to Gilgandra where we unloaded the critters to visit a friend. It was about 36 degrees but the cats were happy to wander around the garden and eat grass. We decided to stop at Coonabaraban for the night. We have not previously stopped here as in the past we have just had a rest break at the riverside park where geese and other birds roam. Our caravan park is walking distance to town so I had some exercise collecting take away Chinese - the only option for food on a Saturday night apart from pubs. The clock tower is in town at a roundabout. We can hear the trucks drive past but they are noisier as they slow down for the roundabout, then accelerate to regain speed.

This trailer blew a tyre when driving on the Newell Hwy. It was following an oversize vehicle and the driver of the truck following could smell burning, but thought it was coming from the oversize vehicle. The driver was lucky there was a rest area close by when he realised he had a problem. 

Again we kept to the back roads when we drove from Barham to West Wyalong. At Moulamein I bought a barely recognisable cup of decaf coffee. This dying town is one of many we noticed that have had major improvements to footpaths. At Hay we filled our water tanks at a special parking area for RVs - much better than Murray River water!  On the B64 we passed through the small village of Weethalle where the silos have this great mural.  There were very few caravans at our West Wyalong caravan park, but a sign on the office door read "No cabins available means no cabins available". There are mines in the area and the workers have taken over many of the motels and cabins.

This creek forms one boundary of Gunbower Island, the largest inland island in Australia. The creek meets the Murray River at Koondrook on the Victorian side of the border. The water level in both the creek and the river is so low the red gums on the banks are dying and falling into the water. The height from the banks of the river to the water has dropped about 4 metres. It won't improve unless our politicians stop draining the Murray-Darling system. Our caravan park uses river water for everything except drinking water. We are using our own potable water in preference to the rain water collected from the roof of the bathroom block. River water is not recommended for washing our white tee shirts! I walked around the Barham Lakes complex this afternoon. It's a good thing I didn't take the dogs as the prickles were so big they stuck in the hard rubber soles of my shoes. The complex was developed by the local RSL, but the combined impacts of vandalism and nature have all but

We drove from St Arnaud following the back roads and stopped for lunch in a town called Boort. We found a great coffee shop and ate our toasted sandwiches beside the lake. I was impressed by this sculpture of a shag. The body is made from chains welded together. Our second attempt to locate a weighbridge was successful. We are legal fully loaded in the Jeep and the Bushtracker, but only just. The BT weighs 2960kgs and our allowed weight is 3000kgs. When we aren't travelling with critters we will be well under the maximum. We crossed the Murray River at Koondrook and are staying in Barham NSW which is just on the other side. Today is a rest day when we catch up on the washing and hopefully get some exercise as there are walking tracks in both towns.

We hooked up the Bushtracker and headed north avoiding major highways preferring the B and C grade roads. Mostly these are good quality but there were several narrow bridges over creeks and drains. Some of the bridges date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. They are made from the local basalt rock found in the Wimmera and Grampians. There is very little traffic on these roads and we enjoy the changing scenery. While we passed through many small villages there were no open shops or service stations. Many houses and shops are empty. We stopped for lunch in St Arnaud which was the first town we came to with operating businesses. There is one caravan park here and we decided to stay the night. An unexpected facility in the park was the dog wash - it cost $8  to wash each dog in warm water with shampoo and conditioner, neither of which they appreciated! The MG in the photo stopped next to us and I spoke with the couple travelling in this rig. They also have a cat travelling with them 

On Sunday we enjoyed shows by various artists. Anita stayed to see the Hussy Hicks while I went to get the dogs out of gaol. We were lucky to get a table at the restaurant at the Merrijig Inn. We had to wait till 7.30pm which is late for us but it was worth it - the food was great and is sourced locally. The festival ended on Monday and our last show was the Black Sorrows - lead singer is Joe Camilleri formerly with Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons. It was a great gig. We had yet another lovely meal at Rebecca's Cafe. The roads are closed and restaurants set up extra tables and chairs outside - Rebecca's must sell hundreds of coffes every hour. She works very hard herself and has a well managed team of workers. We packed up what we could later in the afternoon as rain threatened but did not eventuate. 

Some venues have full seating, others have limited seating, while a couple have no seating. This is where people lock their chairs up when they are not being used.

Even though the sun was shining much of the day, it was colder than we had anticipated. Instead of driving back to the caravan for warmer clothes, I bought a jumper from one of the stalls in the festival arena.  Last night I went back to Port Fairy leaving Anita resting in the Bushtracker with the critters. I saw the Chris While and Julie Matthews show - these Brits who were being pestered by insects attracted to all the lights. One time they were to perform in Italy but when Julie first opened her mouth to sing, a wasp flew into her mouth and stung her. They both have lovely voices and write powerful songs. One song was about the 200 fire fighters who died at the World Trade Center, and the 200 who subsequently died as a result of the fumes and trauma they experienced. There was a proposal to cut their entitlement to compensation at the 10 year mark, but Obama put money into a special fund. After the show I caught up with some friends and we were all leaving the Arena when I heard the

We started early parking the dogs at 8am, parking the car, then having breakfast at our favourite Rebecca's Cafe. They make a fabulous rice porridge - not to everyone's taste. We went to bush poetry because Mel and Sue from Lightning Ridge were performing only 2 people in the audience were under 50. Next stop was the Hillbilly Goats who we first saw in Tamworth - I really like their upbeat music. Now we are listening to Mental as Anything - mixed age group.

We are in the Bushtracker planning which of the many shows we will see. I bought this pink hat in Tamworth when I attended a fund raiser for the Jane McGrath Foundation. Miki and Riki preferred it to their own bed.

After exchanging our tickets for wrist bands in Port Fairy, we drove to Tower Hill Nature Reserve not far from Killarney. This is an (hopefully) extinct volcano. I walked to the peak for this view. Emus were wandering around but we didn't see any other wildlife.

We parked Max and Coco at Killarney Kennels for the day and wandered around Port Fairy. Rebecca's Cafe is our favourite where we had morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. As shown in the photo the weather is wonderful - about 24 degrees with a cool wind and colder at night.

We are set up at the minimalist caravan park at Killarney near Port Fairy. It is very spacious but a hike around to the showers, toilets and rubbish bins. We have no electricity or running water so we will be relying on our solar panels, lithium batteries and 3 tanks of water. We enjoyed the sunset view from our Bushtracker. Dogs are allowed here but ours will be parked in doggy day care for the next few days while we are at the Folk Festival. We detoured towards Ballarat to weigh our combined rig to make sure all of our statutory weights are within their specified limits. The Vicroads website gives the location of a weighbridge where towed boats and caravans can disconnect to weigh the tow vehicle and towed vehicle separately. Great idea as we didn't like the idea of holding up trucks on a weighbridge. We found the well signed turnoff but then the road divided in two with no further signs - we either took the wrong fork or there is no weighbridge! We couldn't turn around or ba

We have spent the past few days catching up with friends and family - dinner with Anita's sister Friday night, and lunch with cruise ship friends on Saturday. On Sunday afternoon we met Anita's nephew at a Carrum Downs pub where Kelly Brouhaha was singing. We know Kelly from our Aussie Road Crew trips and wanted to support her. Today I took my father to visit my aunt and uncle at Yarra Glen. Anita stayed at the caravan park with Max, while Coco came visiting with me. I collected a generator box that had been delivered to my father's house. After a trip to Bunnings to get some plywood we managed to put the box in the cargo bay of the van, then put the generator into the box. The plan is to have the generator box fitted onto the A frame. Tomorrow is our last day visiting in Melbourne before heading to Port Fairy.

We left Sale this morning and stopped at Traralgon so I could see if my brother has made any further progress dealing with his tons (literally) of hoarded possessions.  There was very little change and at the rate he does move stuff out it will take him 10 years or more to get rid of it all. I stupidly bought the property for him to rent. He has accumulated a factory full of junk over the past 15 years, leaving me with the problem of liability associated with fire risk. A significant proportion of house fires are linked to hoarding. I have no choice other than to sell the place but also need to have his belongings removed. I will have to take this to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to try to resolve. After that disturbing visit we drove from Traralgon to our caravan park at Dingley Village. This was a pleasant surprise as the park facilities are very clean and well run. The manager fits caravans and motorhomes into the tightest little spaces. We have a view of trees and