Several months ago, we committed to an Australian Caravan Club tagalong called “Caves and Mid-West Farms” that was being run by our branch. The tagalong actually started a week ago but due to both of us not being well, we decided to remove the free camping component of the trip and join the tagalong a week later. As it transpired, this was a good decision as our health had improved to the point where we were comfortable in being able to travel.
With a six-hour trip in front of us today, we planned to leave at 9:00am but got away at 9:15am.
Sydney was blanketed with smoke from bush fires and it was unpleasant in doing the final pack of the caravan and hitching to the car.
We had planned to use the West Connex tunnel from Haberfield to Olympic Park but as we had left our driveway heading to the right, “He” decided to try Parramatta Road and see if the tunnel had reduced the amount of traffic. We joined Parramatta Rd near Croydon and had a quick trip to the entrance of the M4 motorway. There was not a lot of traffic to contend with and we had a very relaxing drive to Penrith and then up and over the Blue Mountains.
The smoke blanketing Sydney cleared near Wentworth Fall but descended again just after we passed through Lithgow. We could see the smoke to the right of the highway, and it appeared to be coming from the large fire to the north west of Sydney.
We had intended to stop for sandwiches at Bathurst but, as the temperature had risen to over 30 degrees, we decided that the air conditioning inside McDonalds was a better idea.
Whilst in Bathurst we also purchased some essential drinks from Dan Murphy.
As mentioned earlier, the temperature was well over 30 degrees, but the lack of humidity made the temperature bearable.
We had intended to refuel at Orange but decided to take the bypass and avoid the usual traffic in Orange.
The trip from Orange through to Parkes was pleasant and we travelled at a speed of around 90 kph. Even with the high temperature and a head wind coming from about 1 o’clock, our fuel consumption was very good with the vehicle computer estimating our endurance at just under 500 kilometres. Having travelled across the Blue Mountains, these numbers were very good.
We refuelled as we arrived in Parkes and then headed directly to our overnight accommodation, the Spicer Park Caravan Park, a location we have stayed at on three other occasions.
We were placed on a relatively flat site, but the drought was evident with the lack of grass in the caravan park.
Our refrigerator was sitting at 2 degrees, the freezer at -15 degrees, after having operated on 12 volts on the six-hour trip from Sydney. This is the best performance we have had from any RV refrigerator. Unfortunately, “He” forgot to switch the refrigerator from 12v to 240v and that resulted in the refrigerator changing temperature by a couple of degrees before we realised what was happening.
We joined our friends under some shade for happy hour which extended to after 6:30pm. During happy hour we were introduced to a school friend of one of our hosts. There were plans to visit a property owned by this farmer and see first-hand the harvest process.
The temperature in the caravan had risen to about 35 degrees when we arrived in Parkes, but our air conditioning had reduced the temperature to the low 20’s by the time that the sun set.
Tonight, we left the air conditioning running in night mode and we both agreed that we had our best sleep since acquiring the Adria.