Into the tropics and now engine trouble!

Here are a couple of pics of the tour. The first is at Readers Companion, a bookshop in Armidale NSW where it was really cold outside, but inside we had a great time- lots of laughs and sales too.

Spent a well earned hour at the Bundaberg Rum Distillery, where we tasted four different rums then went back to the A-Van for a nap.

Here we find, in a small park just north of Bundy, a set of exercise apparatii. I did try them all, but the lovely thing bout this pic is that the people of this little village took the trouble to put these devices there where any passer-by can tone up the muscles a little.
Right now, stuck in Gladstone with radiator trouble (if that is what it is). Everything closes in Gladdy over the weekend, so it looks like we don't get even a diagnosis until Monday which will put a serious dent in the itinerary!

Nice oddities

Sorry, no pictures but important none the less. This last week saw me getting stuff fixed, and I was in for some surprises.

Surprise 1. My smart phone was going flat at an alarming rate so I took it to Battery World Tamworth, expecting to have to shell out for a new battery at sixty or seventy dollars. The young man at the counter took out the battery and tested it, to announce that the battery was fine. He then showed me how to open up the apps to see what was running in the background and how to turn them off and on. That young man saved me a new battery and the inconvenience of the battery going flat always at an inconvenient time.

Surprise 2. The new (second hand) 4 wheel drive I bought to pull the caravan (trailer) was using about 2 litres (a quart) of coolant every 5,000 Km (3,000 miles). I took it to a radiator specialist in Tweed Heads South for a pressure test, expecting a leaky hose at least, or a cracked head at worst. Within five minutes I had the truck back. The problem was a faulty radiator cap. All-up cost? $15.

Surprise 3. Two years ago when we bought the caravan, we also bought a 12 to 240V inverter. A few days ago, it decided to not work, and to announce its demise, it continued to emit an ear-splitting squark when it was plugged in. I took it to Jaycar at South Tweed, where it was replaced by a new inverter, free of charge. What I did not know was that it had a two year warranty, and completely unknowingly, its warranty was due to run out on the following day. I guess that was luck, but because it had been bought at a different franchise, strictly speaking, I should have had to return it to the shop where it was purchased. Unfortunately, that shop is now about 1,200 km away. I'd say Human nature is not all bad, in fact this week has convinced me that honesty and generosity are alive and well... at least here in the north. Having a great time on the road, wish you were here!