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We arrived home on 30 November, passing through the border checkpoint at Wallangarra on its last day of operation. Unfortunately we were too early for the lovely cafe at the old railway station that was within sight of the checkpoint. In desperation we had McDonald's for "breakfast" on the outskirts of Stanthorpe. At least there is parking out the back for trucks and we pretended to be a truck for 10 minutes.
Our preferred route home is via Cunningham's Gap, Boonah, Beaudesert and Nerang. There were so many delays due to roadworks that we probably spent more than an hour in total waiting to pass. All of this work needs doing as the roads need widening or resurfacing. The parking space outside our house was available for the Bushtracker so it is up on its wooden ramps. The little critters went crazy running from one end of the house to the other. By the second day they ran less, and today they are tired and wanting cuddles!
On the day we returned I received a phone call from the team rebuilding our side fence telling me he would start the job tomorrow. This meant I had to remove various items such as the clothes line from the fence and store them out of the way. The fence was in good condition but the retaining wall had rotted so soil from our side washed down into next door's garden. The fence is now in pieces, the new retaining wall completed and new fence posts set in concrete.
Our next problem was the Jeep had a flat battery parked inside the garage. I tried to use my power pack to jump start it but the helpful RACQ mechanic told me none of those devices will turn over a V8 diesel. Mine wouldn't even turn over a 6 cylinder diesel. The power pack he used apparently costs the equivalent of 1.5 new batteries so I will keep carrying the old fashioned jumper leads. The power pack comes in handy in places where there is no power as it will charge phones etc. I had to drive the Jeep straight to the service station to pump up the tyres. The local BP has a new pump machine that lets you enter the pressure you want and stops automatically when that pressure is reached. That beats constantly checking the tyre pressure using a gauge. Mr RACQ advised I buy a smart battery charger and leave it connected to the Jeep next time we go away. Once I have the battery safely charged I will have to deal with a slow leak in one of the front tyres.
The Bushtracker is booked in for service on 16/17 February so we are taking out most things for cleaning and the odd repair or maintenance job when the weather allows. I put the air conditioning on in the van but it is at too much of an angle and caused condensation to drip onto the floor. Until I can get the van level I won't be spending a lot of time out there unless the temperature drops significantly. Our fencing contractor gave me a long board that has a curve in it that he can't use, but it will be useful in levelling the van.
Tilly enjoys roaming around this large house and rediscovering her scratching pole. Blue had a playdate with a friend's 9 week old Toy Poodle. He was a bit unsure of himself as most of his experience is playing with a kitten. The puppy kept climbing on top of him.
