17 - Stalled by a hiccup. Caravan v's Tree. Tree wins. 9/9/18 - 19/9/18

Entry 17 – Stalled by a hiccup. Caravan v’s tree. Tree wins 9/9/18 – 19/9/18.

Our original title for this entry had been “Kenilworth, Queensland to Canberra = 9/9/18 – 21/9/18.”

Over the last week we had been questioning or should it be befuddled by which route ‘should’ we travel leaving Kenilworth that would satisfy our yearning for pleasurable scenery. Initially we thought north to complete the circuit around the Bunya Mountains and visit some of the locations we missed when travelling through the South Burnett regions a few months prior. Then we erred towards the south circuit around the Bunya Mountains, viewing some other unexplored areas. We were in need to move from the charisma of Kenilworth and in frustration we propped for the night 8 kilometres down the road at a 20-hour free camp hoping for a definitive answer away from the distracting influence provided by the charisma of Kenilworth.

At 8 kilometres down the road we got an answer for the route we would travel provided by our driver, Steve. Whilst backing into a park some people decided to walk into his path causing him to stop, (apparently with their heads in the clouds or another position.) Once they were clear he continued to back still with one eye on these people and we suddenly stopped. Unfortunately, Steve got distracted and lost sight of one tree resulting with our rear outer wall sustaining two holes. 

Upon impact our route had been set with our next stop at our caravan manufacturer whom ironically happened to be located about 100 kilometres away. This was a far better scenario than when we sustained some damage a few years prior whilst in the south west region of Western Australia. At that time speaking with the insurance representative via phone whom demanded we take the caravan directly to the manufacturer without any consideration of the 6000-kilometre distance.

After 1 ½ hours at the caravan manufacturer with our holes full of sticky stuff and their assessment of the required repairs, we were on our way. Within the next 20 hours we had received two phone calls from the insurance company, confirming notification of damage claim, each a different person who provided some similar information and some contradictory information. The next process was to await contact from an assessor whom would contact us in a week or so?

We had been thrown into a bit of psychological turmoil with the pressing need to address our caravan damage and the added mix of some future commitments. Leaving the repairer, we were back in busy city traffic, driving towards our ‘pre-crash’ intended route with continuous conversation between us trying to decipher our changed needs and actions. It was a long day, driving with plenty of brain storming activity.

A couple whom we had caught up with several times over the last few years home base was nearby, (about 100 kilometres down the road) and we thought a phone call to be appropriate not expecting them to be home. Surprise, surprise they were home at Toowoomba, (only for the next week) and we found ourselves at their home for the evening meal. We continued with night two joining Shane and Jodie to celebrate their wedding anniversary, onto night three for further partying with Jodie’s birthday.

It was good to have some other suggested thoughts provided by Shane and Jodie helping us with “judgement calls,” by our changed circumstances. Propped at the Toowoomba Show Grounds for those few days away from distractions, we researched various options we could possibly utilize. We were already on a tight schedule with some commitments planned over the next couple of months. Now we were locked in by the system awaiting our insurance companies call for required caravan repairs. Due to our circumstances, 3000 kilometres from our home we found ourselves in need for making some calculated decisions prior to knowledge of the insurance company’s decision for required repairs and actions by us.

We decided not to proceed with commitments planned over the next three weeks at Canberra and South Australia. Instead we would stay in Queensland awaiting a decision by the insurance company with a hypothetical next available date for repairs at the manufacture’s factory in November. If we had continued with our pre-crash itinerary, we would have been in South Australia for a short time then the need of a return drive of about 3000 kilometres back to Queensland for repairs, with the need to drive straight back to South Australia for other commitments.

Leaving Toowoomba, we initially started travelling west when we saw a sign, ‘The Woolshed.’ We followed signage a few kilometres off the main road to the woolshed at Jondaryan, spent a couple of hours viewing historic buildings and equipment. The Jondaryan Woolshed at 91 metres long with 52 shearers capable of shearing 3000 sheep a day in the 1860’s. The greatest number of sheep shorn in one year was 650,000 in 1880. Today it is mostly utilized as a function centre, specialising in weddings.

After travelling about 70 kilometres for the day we stopped at Bowenville Reserve, our location for the next week, a nice free camp with phone reception awaiting contact from the caravan insurance representatives.

Our second day at Bowenville a couple in a caravan pulled up behind us. All four of us looked at one another without speaking for a period of time, thinking I know those faces but I can’t place it? We had camped near one another in May 2016 for a night close to the Northern Territory and Western Australia border. Stephen & Leslie had only planned to stop for an hour break before resuming driving. The conversation flowed nicely into the evening resulting in them progressing no further for the day.

Breakfast with Steve & Leslie

It was quite relaxing at Bowenville Reserve. Over the weekend there was a largish influx of people providing some unneeded entertainment. Some disobeying the no fires signage, a couple reporting this to the authorities resulting with country fire service personal attending and pouring water over those fires. The complainants then letting the offenders know they had been the ones to report them resulting with some punch ups, resulting in police attendance. Luckily, we avoided having any of the antics too close to our camp spot. By Sunday night most of the weekenders were gone with normality returning to the camp ground.

While we were at Bowenville Reserve we enjoyed happy hours with several of our nearby neighbours, a very enjoyable part of the caravan journey.

We received an email from our insurance company informing us of acceptance of our claim for damage repair. The next consideration was do we need anything else “done” to our caravan while it is at the manufacturers.

During the last week we had become aware of the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers starting the following weekend with events running over a period of 10 days. With no previous knowledge of this event we researched via the internet, what was entailed, coming to the conclusion it could be a substitute for missing out on the Canberra Floriade (Tulip) Festival which we had been looking forward to, prior our crash. A week later we returned to the Toowoomba Show Grounds for our base during Toowoomba’s Carnival of Flowers.