15th August 2009

We left Wyndham for Kununurra. Initially Kununurra was to be our destination. Recommendations had been received to do the boat tour between Kunnunurra & Lake Argyle, on the Ord River. Somehow anxiety about our motor problem bullied me a little, & saw us 'needing to press on' with a view to getting closer to somewhere it could be fixed. We had already heard from friends who had sought mechanical help in Kununurra just a few weeks ago that the ‘waiting ‘ for just for an 'initial look' , let alone getting any work done, was several weeks. With hindsight we rushed the Kununurra area, a bit of a waste really. We did go out to watch 4wd'ers crossing Ivanhoe Crossing, bought a bit of locally grown fruit & veg on the way back into town, & then continued on down to Lake Argyle for the night. Once there we followed the limited amount of road to view the dam & dam wall. Also rode up a 4wd track giving some good views. Lake Argyle is basically just about water views I guess. Unless you do a boat tour, where you will see more of what you see from the shore, there is little reason to stay more than a night. I had trouble understanding why so many suggest it is a 'Must Do'. I wish we'd done the lower Ord River trip though.

16th August 2009

We continue  to drive, regularly stopping to check how much coolant has spewed into the expansion bottle, & stopping to siphon it back into the radiator before the bottle fills. It is hot & having the engine hatch open sure ain't a lot of fun. We have found that driving in the cool of the morning gets us further before the first 'siphon', around 100kms if we get up in the dark & leave at first light. (It seems subsequent 'siphon periods'  remain stable at around 50kms).  We see a bit more wildlife at these alien hours too. The drive from Lake Argyle back to the Victoria Highway revealed more splendour than we had noticed on the way in. A state of mind thing I guess, born of a little more confidence in reaching todays destination, a total distance of less than 60kms to the Keep River National park, just over the West Australian & Northern Territory border.  Yep! After over 7 months we are finally leaving WA. It feels a little odd somehow. We have mixed feelings about WA but nevertheless feel sorry to be leaving. As we cross into the Northern Territory again ( We left it heading south to Coober Pedy late last November) the road surface immediately improves The 20 or so kilometres of dirt road into the national park's first of two campgrounds had the odd corrugation or two, but presented no problem at slow speed. Took us just under an hour. We were set up in the campground before many had packed up to leave leaving the whole day ahead of us which felt good. Mid morning saw us at the northern campground, having taken the bikes up there. Glad we did as the road was a bit rougher. We did the 8km walk, it was hot, but worthwhile, giving spectacular panoramic views of Bungle Bungle-like beehive rock domes. In fact the views were better than some at the Bungles, & for anyone without the ability to negotiate the 4wd track into the Bungles, these at Keep River are far more accessible. Later having returned to our camp & rested, we did the walk on our doorstep in the late afternoon. Walking less than 50 metres from our camp saw us in a different rock world. In this country much is hidden until you are virtually standing on top of it. Huge rock faces & escarpments can take you by surprise!

17th August 2009

After an early night we left in the dark, driving back to the highway arriving at the bitumen just after first light. A bigger day's driving today, around 190km. We arrived at the 'Big Horse Creek' campground on the highway just before Timber Creek, in the Gregory NP. The last siphoning was needed after just 35 to 40kms. Again we were set up early in the day, & spent the rest of the day unsuccessfully fishing in the Victoria River from around the boat ramp, & successfully lounging around the shade of trees along a smaller tributary. Access to the NP is basically 4wd, & entry points involved 40+kms return along the highway, before turning into the park's network of roads. It just seemed like too much stuffing around in the heat (& this is the cool season remember!). Daily temps get up into the mid thirties, & the further inland we go the less the temperature drops at night.

18th August 2009

Another early start, made 'easier' by the fact that I was awake in the early hours of the morning worrying about our motor anyway! A symptom of depression is early morning wakening combined with 'unproductive rumination'. Funny, those are the same symptoms of a failing motor, with no idea where to get it fixed, if it's fixable, for what cost & in what timeframe, & how this impacts upon the rest of our trip. Too many unknowns to come up with any answers so the 'worry' just goes around & around. 'Eventually' MrsTea wakes at the alarm, & it is with some relief that I begin our packing routine at 4am WA time (5:30am NT time).  We passed through big escarpment country, huge red rocky bluffs , dark & foreboding in the early light.  Driving up onto higher ground saw us passing through savannah like grasslands with trees dotted through it. We started to see roadkill along the sides of the highway, something we had seen little of anywhere in WA. Live roos too.

We made it to around 75kms before Katherine. At this point the coolant was filling the expansion bottle (2+ litre capacity) in around 20kms & I decided to pull off onto the side of the road for a while, in the hope that a cooler motor might get us a bit further. I was very worried at this point that the head gasket could let go completely & strand us. There were many sections of this road where there was nowhere to pull off, & large fast 4 trailer roadtrains are common. The thought of being stopped 'in the road' was a scary one. After sitting drumming my fingers for 2.5 hours we again set off, aiming to reach the Limestone Creek/Vince Conolly Bridge rest area about 20kms further on & 58kms before Katherine. We made it without any siphoning, & without expansion bottle overflowing...... just!

We decided that it would be unsafe to drive any further, either now or in the morning. We determined that we would need to get towed. No phone signal here, so we decided to 'chill for the day' (yeah right!) & take things one step at a time, commencing tomorrow.

19th - 23rd August 2009

After getting the bikes out, we left the bus, & rode approx 35kms toward Katherine until we were able to pick up a phone signal. Sitting by the road, in what little shade we could find, we called a Katherine tow company who were very good. First telling us upfront what the cost would be & then telling us they would be leaving in just 10 minutes. We had only been back at the bus for a very short time before the truck arrived. The cost to carry the bus & tow the trailer the 58kms back to Katherine was $400 & met by our CMCA motorhome insurance. One thing I wanted to avoid was being 'panic-driven' into taking the bus to the first repairer we found. I still had strong suspicions that our problems had not been properly dealt with back in Geraldton, & had no wish to repeat this in Katherine. So we had the tow truck take us to the Redgum caravan park in town, where we could take stock, & explore our repair options. Asking around revealed many horror stories about local repairers. There was a consensus that only one repairer in town was worth considering - RJ Motors. People around town & from further afield all said the same thing. One other option was the possibility of having the bus transported up to Darwin at a cost of $1400 to find a repairer there.

In Katherine we met up with CMCA forum members Frans & Bev who really 'came to our rescue' transporting us around to arrange repairs, do shopping , keep up morale etc. This made the whole process so much easier than it would otherwise have been, so thanks Frans & Bev. We decided upon RJ motors to do our work, & were pleasantly surprised when they said to bring the bus in on the following Monday morning (24th).

On one evening we attended the Grande Finale of the Katherine Festival, to watch a didgeridu playing competition. What a fizzer! We expected to hear some good playing by local indigenous players. In the 4 competition categories, there were only 6 contestants, all but one was white & not a single one of them could play! If I had had the presence of mind, a stroll up to the stage could have won me a new didg & $200, & I can't play either!

We contacted the RACV with whom we have ‘Total Cover', & were pleased to discover we were entitled to a total of $2400 for a combo of hire car & accommodation whilst the bus is fixed. Makes the $170 a year cost seem quite worthwhile.  After riding around checking accommodation options we took a room at the Manbulloo Homestead a few kms out of town. Very quiet, shady & peaceful on the banks of the Katherine River. Having decanted what we needed from the bus into the trailer, we were able to get the Redgum caravan park caretaker to tow the trailer out to Manbulloo for us, whilst we rode ‘escort’ in front  & behind him to ‘disguise’ the fact that he had no trailer lights (different plug) & to show him the way. Thanks Philip.

24th August 2009

Frans & Bev helped out again, taking us into town to collect the bus from the CP & the hire car. The bus thankfully made it the few kms to RJ Motors. Visited the Katherine Museum with them... ho hum... as well as swimming in the Katherine hot springs which was far more pleasant.  We  were also taught how to play Rummy-O (a tile game derived from cards - similar to Gin Rummy I believe) - a good game once the basics are learned. MrsTea showed her usual ‘beginners luck’, winning a couple of the games.

25th August 2009

Frans & Bev left this morning, continuing on their journey westward. We drove out to Katherine Gorge to see what there was to see, discovering that basically there is nothing to see unless a paid for boat tour along the gorge is taken. Kayaking is also possible but in the heat was no more enticing that the gorge rim walk. We found a shady spot at the edge of the creek, amongst the Pandanus palms where we cooled down with a refreshing swim. I felt quite brave skinny dipping knowing there were others close by, albeit out of sight! MrsTea was more circumspect. We determined to return early next day for the 'Breakfast Tour', a 2 hour boat trip up the first two (of 14) gorges.

26th - 27th August 2009

Up early to drive the 30 minute trip out to the Gorge for the 7am boat departure.  Brekky was Ok, & the surroundings probably made it taste better. The gorge was pretty much as I remembered it from 10 years ago, hot & full of tour groups. It was MrsTea's first time & she found the gorge 'nice'. Not as good as many we've seen, spoilt a little by the commercial nature of place. Maybe we are just a bit 'gorged out' although I don't really think that is it. Basically whilst Katherine Gorge is one of Australia's best known, we both felt that many others we have seen are somehow more engaging.

Back at the homestead we kayaked along the Katherine River for a few kms, having been told it was 'Salty-free' & thus safe. It was very peaceful, watching a few birds & the occasional freshwater croc. Later the advice given to us was contradicted, & we decided further trips down the river may not be safe after all!

We did however feel quite safe swimming in the warm river, amongst the rapids & pools just below Manbulloo's caravan park section. Fishing again attempted. I was told that the bait of choice for catching a barramundi were 'Cherubim'. These are fresh water prawns. After leaving my 'opera house' net in the water overnight, my only catch was a small long necked tortoise, no cherubim..... so no Barra.

It was late this evening I got the call from Rob at RJ motors. Bad News. The problem has been found & unfortunately is not repairable. The top deck of the cylinder block has been badly eroded by the mix of hot gases & coolant, leaving holes 25mm wide & 3mm deep between each cylinder. The head gasket has been blowing between each of the cylinders as well as out one end of the cylinder head. No amount of replacement head gaskets would work, at a minimum it needs a complete new block. Whilst glad to actually find a cause, I am now well unimpressed by what was done back in Geraldton. It is clear that the mechanics there would have seen the damage, albeit less than it is now & clearly hid that fact from us, knowing we would have more problems further down the track. If they had done the right thing then, we may not be in such dire straits now, at the very least they should have told us the truth about what they found. On our return to them to get the head gasket fitted a second time I reckon the service manager realised that the damage they found was partially their fault for not having fixed it properly the first time & determined to 'bodge things up' & get us out of their workshop, rather than tell us what they found, hoping we would be far enough away from them not to bother with them when things inevitably went pear shaped. They out & out lied to me. I will be following up with their company once we are mobile again. Really I think they should be covering the bill to get us mobile again, but it feels like too much drama to try & sort this out whilst we are stuck here, it could take too long. Hopefully they will want to 'do the right thing' when I do contact them, but probably unlikely they will pay for the damage I believe they have caused. They should at the very least however refund what we paid them. We chose them because they are a big Izuzu & John Deere dealer whom we believed would do a good job to maintain a good reputation. Clearly I miscalculated. The result of our repairs in Geraldton has been a severe negative impact on our travels. Lots of worry, lots of early morning wakening, travel plans changed & now big costs. Not funny!

28th -30th August 2009.

Spent many hours researching on the net & in truck magazines to find a replacement motor, after we had decided that getting hold of a 'low km Japanese import' motor would keep things simpler more economical than rebuilding our motor with a new block or a 'short motor'. Once again the CMCA forum members really put in for us, & by the end of the day I had 4 places with a motor available around the country. Each is faxing a bench test report to RJ Motors & on Monday morning (31st) & we'll pick the one with the best specs. Luckily we budgeted for ‘a disastrous event’ when saving for our trip. Of more concern is the amount of time all this will take out of the fast running out time we have left of our journey. At present it is looking like we will be stuck in Katherine for at least another 2 weeks, maybe more. Went to the Katherine Rodeo tonight. Not a big turnout but entertaining just the same. Our first rodeo, basically a circus with rural heritage. Stuffed if you'd get me on the back of one of those huge Brahman bulls.

Well hopefully in the next entry I'll be feeling a little more positive & have some good news about being mobile again, but I'm not holding my breath. Katherine time seems slower than most.

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