Big Red: Xmas road trip 2008

With Xmas almost upon me and ten days off i decided to head down from Brisbane to Bendigo as a surprise for Mum and Dad but things were not looking real good in the mechanical stakes as heaps of things started to break as soon as i had made the decision.

First, one of the batteries decided to short out when it was nearly fully charged but worked fine at part charge so it was hard to figure out what was wrong, replaced the battery and all is now well.

Next the wheel studs broke off the front hub which damaged the free wheel hub and put holes through the alloy mag ... had to buy a new Mag and replaced the front hub but i repaired the FWH.

Next the fuel transfer pump [aftermarket] died completely and i had to replace that.

I was beginning to think the Ute did not want to go down to Victoria by this stage

It was not done yet as the plunger assembly [aftermarket] on the lift pump died and i had to fit a new CAV assembly.

The weekend before the planned trip i had a test run up to the Overlander Forum Xmas trip where i broke an engine mount which allowed the motor to move and broke the inlet spout off the radiator.

I was unable to get a new top tank or radiator in time so i had to do a bodgy repair so i can drive to Bendigo.

I cut the top brass connection of a datsun radiator and cleaned it all up then glued it inside the broken plastic GU radiator inlet.
I built up the epoxy around the brass spigot to the same diameter at the inlet using duct tape as a mould.
So now i have around 25mm to connect to instead of 5mm

The big test will be when i go up Cunninghams Gap ... if it doesn't blow then i should be right.

Straight after work on wednesday i hit the road south from Brisbane as i wanted to be there next day to spend Xmas with the Family.

Just as i was coming in to Aratula it bucketed down but i was happy with that as it meant a cool run up the range to Cunninghams Gap.

Naturally enough the rain stopped at Aratula so i had a hot and steamy run up the range and it started to rain again as i went over the top :rolls eyes:

I had cleaned the radiator inside and out so this run was the coolest it had ever run up the range and my repair held so all was looking good for the Run to Victoria.

After a couple of hours of boring bitumen i came across a very appropriate sign

To break the boredom i stopped and grabbed a pic of some silos.

Around 1AM i hit the swag as it had been a late one the previous night and i was up early.

Slept in a roadside stop just north of Dubbo but the mossies were horrendous ... just the noise of them kept me awake for hours.

Finally at about 4AM i had enough and hit the road again.

Funny what you see at that hour of the morning ...

Luckily they had the Ray Gun at Parkes warmed up and got rid of the pesky little fella.

later on xmas day i spotted Santa .... must be running late as he had traded in the reindeer for a JohnDeere...

heres another shot of the dish at Parkes

fosters next door, holden beside it, a table and chair on the front verandah to swig your long neck from while listening to the races on the radio .... what more could a _ _ _ _ _ need!

An old DC3...

Saw these two and came to a screaming halt in a cloud of dust, grabbed a couple of pics through the window ... but as soon as i got out of the truck to try for a better pic ....

they flew off !!

cropped a fair bit to get these two pics...

still pretty dry out on the plains...

Finally, after a long and hot trip i arrived at Bendigo... The poor old ute had made it down no probs and i have nothing [extra] to fix.
The look on my parents faces when i walked in made the last 24 hours on the road all worth while!!

Just missed lunch but got to see my nieces kids open their pressies ... and watch them with my nieces partner's new pup ...

cop this ...

and just like me ... plum tuckered out ...

After 4 days of visiting rellies and relaxing whilst getting plenty of Mums home cooking it was time to think about heading for home again.
Fired up the ute to go and fuel up and grabbed a few pics from around Bendigo during the last arvo ...

My Neice manages the Bendigo Ice Skating Rink .. the difference in lighting from the flouro inside the shop to the big lights over the rink is quite pronounced...

home made ice studded tyres on the Zamboni machine...

saw this joint driving past, so stopped for a look, the Central Deborah Gold Mine...

this church is huge and really stands out...

and just down the road is the fountain... but they turned the water off before i got to take a pic...

While i was looking at the Queen of Queens statue [Queen Victoria] ...

I saw a Tram trundling past...

there is some interesting looking old buildings in the centre of town...

there were a few Foo Dogs in the chinese section...

and the gate framed the Tram as it passed...

then it was time to head back to pack for the next stage of my trip.

After spending the previous day visiting and getting the trailer ready for towing to Qld i was all set for an early start on monday morning...

I left about 10:00 *rolls eyes*

Dad gave me his old Offroad trailer and his old rooftop tent as he has no use for them anymore and when they move he will have no room for them, the tent fitted inside the trailer and so after a bit of travelling i stopped to check things over, its all good.

when i got to Shepparton i was thinking these guys are pretty clever with their Cow Breeding skills...

Heres one for poultry...

heres one for fishing...

heres one for hunting...

but then i started to worry about these blokes ;-)...

I continued on and saw this Transformer so had to stop for a look ... powered by a V8 and with gas bottles for flames it is supposed to be a horse that transforms into a windmill...

this is the only windmill of its type still working...

looks like Ned is getting into the spirit of things...

This display was pretty big but looks like it has not been open for a while ...

this fighter jet is a De Havilland Vampire...

some of the small towns have some impressive buildings...

it was getting late but i snuck into Parkes Radio Telescope for a pic...

then headed to Dubbo to camp so i could be up early.

I turned up at the gate of Dubbo Zoo at 5.45am but they didn't have the early tour on this day ... so i came back at 8.00 and joined the que to get in...

Lemur?...

Wombat...

Meercat...

Rhino...

Hippo...

Sumatran Tiger...

Elephant...

Cheeta Cub...

Giraffe...

Deer...

one horned Rhino...
[this one has rubbed his off on trees and fences etc]

Small Clawed Otter...

I finally ran out of time at the Zoo and headed north looking for something to interest me and saw a sign to Siding Springs so i headed off in that direction until i could see the observatory on top of a hill in the distance...

With the ute overheating trying to drag the trailer up to the top i was sort of glad that the area was closed when i got there as there is no room to park a trailer ... the bad thing is you are not allowed to get any closer than this...