We last used the caravan in November 2023 so to say we were both looking forward to getting away would be an understatement. Several members of our branch of the Australian Caravan Club had arranged a six-day visit to Belmont at a caravan park on the shores of Lake Macquarie and we had decided to join them. Over recent days the BOM had forecast a lot of coastal rain over the coming seven days, and we had some reservation about travelling to a coastal location where up to 200mm of rain had been forecast. Substantial rain had also been forecast for the day of our departure both at home and at our destination.
So, with that information in our minds, we decided to pack a day earlier than we normally would and that proved to be a wise move as for possibly the first time since we started travelling in an RV, we were under control for the entire period leading up to our departure. We also managed to pack both the car and the caravan without getting wet.
It had rained overnight but there was sunshine when we packed the final items into the car for a planned 9:30am departure. We locked the front door of the house just after 9:00am and had the caravan out of the driveway by 9:10am.
Traffic heading towards Drummoyne was very heavy and as we were in the tail end of the Sydney peak hour, we decided to pay tolls and take the M2 to Pennant Hills Road and then the tunnel to the M1 that would take us to Belmont. We had a problem with our GPS and our trip today was without the support of mapping technology. We thought that the previous problems with the GPS were resolved but that is not the case. We have a Hema HX2 and have had nothing but problem with the unit since it was acquired a year ago.
Other than a lot of trucks and intermittent rain showers, the trip north was uneventful. It did take a little time to become familiar with driving the combination again.
We arrived at our destination, the Belmont Lakeside Holiday Park just after 11:00am and we were blessed with a dry period whilst we were assisted onto our site and then during the setup of the caravan after arrival. We were located in a tight spot directly opposite the main amenities block.
We had some rain when another member arrived and parked next to our site.
After lunch we drove to Coles Belmont and acquired several items that we had decided to purchase locally. This included a chicken for our evening meal. We experienced some heavy rain on our return journey and the rain was so intense that we could not see the turn-off to the caravan park. We had only missed by one street.
We spent the remainder of the afternoon before happy hour talking with other members of our branch.
The group enjoyed happy hour and we departed just before 6:00pm to return to our caravan for a chicken and salad evening meal.
We were both tied so an early night was planned. The rain was not consistent and arrived periodically in the form of a very heavy downpour. The rain continued overnight but became less frequent.