Trailer Update

Update November 6

I have removed the hot water cylinder as it was getting to complicated and have settled on something simpler. The trailer is almost ready to go and I'll post some new photos soon.

Getting Ready for the 2014 Trip

I am now getting ready for the 2014 trip. The plan this year is to start around where we finished on the first trip in 2011, just short of the Torrumbarry weir. The big difference this year is that we are going to have a ground party and transport most of the gear by road. For the last 3 years we have put everything aboard the raft we needed and its been getting lower in the water.  The plan is to travel lighter on the water and we will have the advantage of being able to be resupplied daily and travel further each day. With this in mind I have got my old rusty trailer out and started cleaning it up. I have build a boom with a cylinder on the end to use as a hot water service. Along with a 12 volt pressure pump and a fire we should have all the hot and cold water we need. I have also mounted a gas cylinder on the trailer and will put the gas frig in the trailer. We will use the trailer to store food, tents, tarps water etc. We will of course have a at least 3 people involved in the trip and take turns of being on the raft and being the ground party. 

The old gas cylinder on the boom

This is how it will travel

Pack up

As the weather had turned cold and we had a good spot we packed up and headed home. I will update the web page soon. The crew are all home safe and well. Thanks for following along. Peter

Bundalong

We have just pulled up in Bundalong in a thunderstorm is a little civilised here for us but we are in tourist area.

We moved up the Ovens river aways to get out of civilisation a bit. We have pulled up for the night next to a small boat ramp and spoke with a man who lives here.  He suggested we motor up the Ovens river a little way as there are some good bush camp sites. We think we will take his advice and head up river tomorrow, have a day off before getting the cars and packing up. The alternative of heading up the lake and packing up in the suburbs of Yarrawonga is less appealing. 

We have had 3 thunderstorms since we stopped here and rain still threatens. Thank god for Johns camper, this would not be a good place to set up the swag and sleep under a tarp.

Lunch in the Sun 

Sheltering from the Rain

Down Stream of Corowa

Yesterday we did almost 70 river kms, a long way and I think the longest distance we have covered in 1 day. We are still averaging around 8 kph. It was a nice day weather wise and we had no drama at all. John O'Grady crewed for the day and loved it, Geoff drive the car and camper. Because John is with us still we have the benefit of sleeping in his camper.
We started at about 10.10 am and were at Howlong for lunch. Geoff was waiting for us and had got some more fuel and a bit of food. In the afternoon we did about 30 km arriving at camp about 6 pm. There was no fire wood around so used the tinnie to go get some. We had a big feed and a few beers and went to bed. This morning (Sunday) we have had a feed and we are heating water for our showers. It looks like a nice day and we plan to do about 40 km today and camp the other side of Corowa,
As I am typing this on the phone it is slow and  I get a lot of typos so please forgive me.

Boy Was It Cold

What a day yesterday was, so cold. We were just upriver from Albury in a camp spot that was OK but no fires and it was cold. The bank was a bit steep so we cooked dinner in the raft. Baked spuds, peas and lamb chops. When we go up after a good nights sleep in Johns camper and looked around it was still very cloudy and cold. After checking the weather radar we decided to stay there as it looked like rain was on its way and there was a strong wind. By about 11am the rain threat had passed and the wind dropped a bit so we took off. Within about 400m we had to go under a low bridge and I do mean low. A bloke watching us on shore held his fingers up showing us we had about 100mm of clearance. From where we started to Albury there were a lot of underwater snags and we hit two big logs but no damage. The water is very cold and it was the last place we wanted to be. We also hit the bottom in one shallow stretch, the motor that is. After passing under the freeway bridge and rail bridge we pulled up in riverside gardens in Albury, very cold. John was waiting for us here and he and Geoff went and got some take away and coffee for lunch. After a warm up we tried to find a place on the map were we could pullover for the night and John could get his camper in too. The first place we chose he could not get into so we settled on a place further downstream as it was the only river access point. This meant we had a lot of kms to do to get here and all we were looking for was fire to warm up with. It was about 6.30 by the time we got to the camp spot and we soon had a fire going to warm up as we were very very cold by the time we arrived. By the end of the day we had motored just over 50 kms with an average speed of 8 kmh. We did need to do a refuel  on the move as the little outboard uses about 20L per 40km.  The only problem we have had with the little motor is we broke the pull start cord but with 3 old motor mechanics on the job we soon had it fixed.

Looking for Snags

John O'Grady by the Fire

Our camp site in the morning

Just before Albury

By the time we dropped of the cars at Yarrawonga did some shopping it was 2.30pm by the time we were underway. We tied up at 4pm just out of Albury. We did about  9 river kms. The weather has been warmer today but windy.
We are currently having a beer on board.