Break-downs

Early February 2013

While we were at Parry’s Beach (Denmark) one of the bolts that holds the back tailgate of the trailer was sheared away. As our trailer is our home, we pondered what was the best way to get it fixed with minimum fuss. We decided to head into Perth and stay with Simon’s uncle. 

Turns out WA means Wait Awhile and the assertion that the bloke would fix it ASAP to get us back on the road immediately was a little wide of the mark.  Four days later we hit the road – fortunately Simon’s family are very accommodating and obliging!  Not everyone can withstand Cyclone Hall in all its madness; a bit like a Jack in the Box – once we’re out it’s really hard to stuff all of our belongings back neatly into that tidy little box. 

Thanks to Moon, we discovered the wonders of the Riverton Leisureplex.  What a top name! It’s a pool run by the local council and it’s the only pool I’ve ever been to that gets patronage from every part of the community.  It covers a broad spectrum of age (from babies through to older people at least in their 70s) and from all the ethnic groups who live in the community (we saw lots of Indian families, a few Aboriginal families, Chinese families, and anglo saxon families), and it was designed for people with low mobility and we saw a man with acute learning difficulties enjoying the tyre tubes and the ‘creek with a current’ that we loved.  Ten marks to the local council for funding such a great community space, that really is inclusive for all members of their community.

I should explain they had two undercover pool.  A lap pool for those serious about swimming and another pool that had a toddler section, a section devoted to those who want to walk in water for fitness, and ‘creek with current’ so that kids and adults alike could be washed around an oval circuit by jets of water…it really was a hoot. 

When we hit the road we headed down to Margaret River, an area we were planning to skip!  But a number of families had recommend the same camping ground on a sheep farm and when we realized it was affordable AND had washing machines we were won over.  On our second day there we were heading into the bustling town of Busselton when our faithful 4WD encountered some steering problems. At first Simon thought we had a flat tyre but as the problem grew worse and we limped the final kilometres into town, we realized it was the diff locks playing up. 

Fortunately for us a 4WD place was just around the corner (which by this time was incredibly hard to steer around) and when we realized it was a significant problem (and it was a Friday afternoon) and we wouldn’t be able to drive it back the 60km to our campground we were rescued by RACQ. It really does pay to fork out the extra and take out the ‘Ultimate’ membership services that includes anything you are towing.  Less than 30 minutes later they had called us back to confirm they had booked us a car (up to 12 days of car hire, if needed) until our beloved Roary is back on the road. Phew. Can’t fault that service at all!  Thanks RACQ.