It was time to have professionals lift the bonnet and and kick the tyres on the Cruiser. Whilst towing, despite the fact that the vehicle is now well out of warranty, we ensure this is done every 5,000 kms. Call it insurance if you will....I prefer to think of it as a 'peace of mind' cost. Your scribe is anything but technically minded and now old enough to happily admit to his shortcomings (most of them!)
We had not forgotten the exemplary service we received when we called into Gladstone last year with a fuel filter problem. The staff at Bill Roberston Toyota not only drained the offending H2O and reset the dashboard warning light, but at my request showed me how to do both. I already knew how to get rid of the water, but removing the insistent orange symbol from in front of my eyes whilst at the wheel was quite beyond me. Once shown how to do it this was no wonder. It's not difficult, but is one of those tricky procedures of five steps one either knows or not. Not only did the mechanic take the time to demonstrate the method, we left with a written printout of each of the steps involved. Other dealers had scoffed at my previous requests to show me what to do......no wonder.....we left with a bill of $100 each time it had to be done (and believe me it is not hard once known). This act of courtesy has already saved us $300!
So with this in mind, and the fact that our brief previous sojourn in Gladstone had piqued our interest to spend more time there, we planned our route north to tick over the 5,000 kms as we reached this Queensland coastal city.
We had wisely booked ahead, and despite the fact that they were very busy, the good staff at Bill's had arranged to fit us in the day after our arrival. This suited well.......we had already made a booking for a park in Bowen......we were on a schedule.
From Woodgate Beach our best course took us back over the 50 kms or so to Childers where Goodwood Road brought us to the Bruce Highway. Here the amount of traffic which traverses this town is indicated by the fact that this junction is controlled by traffic lights. Just over 200 kms left to run.
With a green arrow giving us legal permission, we turned right and made our way through the now very familiar main street of Childers (the sooner the proposed heavy vehicle by-pass is completed here the better)
and off north on the open highway beyond the town where we soon negotiated the junction with the Isis Highway
and set sail for Gladstone.
Given that I blogged this section of the highway in some detail last year when we came out of Agnes Water (see blog of 4 August 2016) let's fast forward the next 150 kms or so to the Benaraby junction. I commented last time that many by-pass Gladstone because it lies 20 kms or so off The Bruce.
Hopefully I shall be able to demonstrate in my next few missives why we believe those who do eschew a visit miss out on a particularly interesting port city.
As I detailed in a previous blog, we detoured via OneSteel's public weighbridge in south Gladstone en route to the Kin Kora Village and Tourist Park where we had booked in for three nights (at this stage!).
We had stayed here last year, and on the basis of that experience set ourselves up on one of the large, grassy drive-thru sites at the rear of the park where there was oodles of elbow room and a wonderful view over the adjacent golf course.
This proved to be a big mistake. We woke the following morning to find that the awning was absolutely dripping with condensation and the surrounding grass was equally saturated. It was obviously much more humid that it had been when we were here before.
This, combined with a forecast which predicted a deal of rain in the next few days, prompted an early morning decision....it was time to move to a slab site, one which would keep us much more comfortable in the wet and which was closer to the heads and the BBQ when these had to be accessed in the pouring rain.
Nuisance that this was, it proved a wise move. Despite the sunny vista on the day this shot was taken, the rain which had been predicted earlier did materialise.
And as you can see from this shot, which shows the buildings of the amenities block and the gazebo structure over the BBQ area, they were indeed close. But what's the ute doing next to the van I hear you ask. I'll get to that later....it was a loan vehicle from Robertson Toyota...more shortly.
Max decided he should demonstrate to all who were interested that he can still behave like a dog, in this case a farm dog......what's a ute without a four legged passenger in the tray?
We had arrived in Gladstone on a Tuesday. The Cruiser was booked in for its service the following day. Fortunately our appointment was at 1400 hours which gave ample time to shift sites.
At the appointed hour Liz presented as arranged and patiently sat reading in the waiting room whilst the necessary work was carried out. And then she was the recipient of the first piece of bad news.....the inspection revealed the need to replace the front, right shock absorber. Right....this is why we have the truck regularly serviced. But of course the real question remained....when could this be done?
The earliest opportunity was Friday next, two days hence, and then only if we could be on site at 0730 hours. That was not a problem.
But wait, there may be more. Concern was also expressed by the inspecting mechanics that they had found evidence of a serious leak from the main rear engine seal. This was potentially a problem of major proportions, both in potential damage if left as it was and the time and effort required to make the repairs.
We agreed that a further detailed inspection would be carried out on Friday, so with the early morning sun picking out the colour of the lovely bougainvillea hedges on Hanson Road we again found ourselves fronting up at Bill's.
The shocker was duly fitted without fuss, but the second main seal examination brought bad news. It was blown and must be replaced. This is a major job and we knew that they were still flat out.
"Can we move on up to Bowen and have the repairs done there?", was my immediate question. "Not without risking significant damage", was the equally immediate reply. The next obvious questions were when could they fit us in and how much was likely to cost. We were due in Bowen on Thursday next.
When the problem was first suspected we were told that the job would take at least six hours and that we could expect a bill of in the order of $800. The second more detailed inspection revealed that a second seal had also gone with the upshot that the task to replace both offending parts (this entails actually separating the engine from the transmission train) would now take up to ten hours.
This was just going from bad to worse. Now at this point I must again sing the praises of the staff at Bill Roberston Toyota Gladstone. Initially we were told that they could not fit us in for this repair until Wednesday at the earliest and that they would need the Cruiser for two days. Hmmm, we are due in Bowen by then!
After some further negotiating, a shuffle of servicing appointments and our promise that we could have the vehicle on site on the dot of 0730 hours, we were told that the work could be done on Tuesday and Wednesday, which meant we would only have to delay our arrival into Bowen by one day.
And here comes the best bit. When I queried the original estimate of repair time (six hours) and the recently discovered additional problem which suggested a possible ten hour job, this was the response. "Mr Marshman, we quoted six hours and we'll honour that, and of course we'll provide you with a loan vehicle for the two days we have yours." Now does it get any better than that?
As it transpired the ute we ended up with was not the loan vehicle which was originally allocated, but we could not have cared less. It was actually fun to be back at the wheel of a manual vehicle again, but we both agreed that the suspension left a bit to be desired compared to the Cruiser.
So with all the arrangements in place and a quick call to re-book our arrival into Bowen now that our schedule had been reorganised, we found that we had unexpected time on our hands.
Liz had been becoming increasingly peeved with the state of the 'temporary' carpet I had laid under the dining table over a year ago. She saw an opportunity staring her in the face....and of course, I had no wriggle room as far as excuses for not doing the work were concerned.
The local Bunnings had just the stuff Liz was looking for. After making all the necessary measurements and acquiring the required length of new carpet, it was time to mark out the cuts for the new sections.
Too late now if it is wrong!
Then came the fiddly bit....cutting out the holes and slots needed to fit the carpet under the dinette.....this needed a few adjustments, but I got there eventually.
Meantime, herself was busy in the head, measuring up for a replacement mat under the wash basin.
I have previously confessed to being somewhat challenged when it comes to measuring and cutting.....I have the spacial concepts aptitude of a jellyfish (which is probably insulting these fine creatures) but today's effort was a triumph. It all fitted (where it was supposed to) and we had not under estimated the material required.
Liz was a very happy little camper, as was I once I had later bought some small brads and nailed the pieces in place to prevent them slipping underfoot.
Apart from the van improvements our enforced layover allowed, we had the opportunity to not only explore Gladstone in some detail, but to visit nearby Tannum Sands, a spot about which we had heard much but which had hitherto not welcomed our furry travelling companion. This had now changed and we decided to check it out. More of this in my next.
But before I leave our caravan park I must make one final comment about its location. We were right under the flight path of the main runway of the very busy Gladstone airport. This can make things a tad noisy as aircraft on finals seem to barely miss the tree tops.
These Qantas Link Bombardier Dash 8's were noisy enough, but not a patch on an approaching 737 jet. I loved it!!
And every evening we had flying noise of a very different type. The spreading carob trees of the park had an irresistable appeal to myriads of colourful rainbow lorikeets which would
swoop onto the branches in frenzied flocks. What a sight they made against the dark green backdrop of these leafy trees. It became our evening happy hour treat!
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