Prior to heading off to bed on Friday night, our decision to return to Sydney one day earlier had been made. Returning via mid NSW and the Blue Mountains would have only added to the overall fuel bill and as it would have been unlikely that we would free camp, it would have cost us another night in a caravan park.
The alarm sounded at 6.00am and after a quick breakfast and pack, we were away just after 8.15am. First stop was at McDonalds at Gundagai (took 30 minutes to receive and eat our order as the service and communication was a long way short of acceptable. In their defence, they do cook the food when ordered although it was a pity that “He” did not get what he ordered!). We will never stop there again.
“She” took over the wheel shortly after the refreshment stop and drove to Goulburn where we decided to exit the freeway for a “comfort stop”. We continued on to a rest area just after Goulburn where we stopped for lunch.
We arrived back in Sydney just before 3.00pm and 450 kilometers after departing Wagga Wagga.
We drove most of the trip home in the 90 to 100 kph bracket and it appears that the fuel burn only increased by 1 litre per 100k’s for the additional 10 kph. We would consider this more than acceptable on a long trip.
We have had a very enjoyable three weeks on the road and met some wonderful people. We also had the opportunity to see our friends from Melbourne once again and we have experienced some of the wonders of this magic land that we live in. Overall the weather was kind to us and the temperature more than manageable.
The Iveco did not miss a beat and we have now resolved most of the little issues we had with the motor home (one left and it will be resolved on 27 March).
Downside is we have to wait for more annual leave to be accrued before we consider another trip.