You can find our further travels on a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/rhhino.travels/
17th May 2018 - Mulwala
Two new 170 AH 'house; batteries installed yesterday... So hopefully close to 340 AH storage at 12 V. New starter motor in the Suzuki today. Tomorrow a grease and oil change service for the bus.
Finish cleaning and packing up... and off to Phoenix Glass maybe 28th!
Finish cleaning and packing up... and off to Phoenix Glass maybe 28th!
26 Mar 2017 - Traralgon, GMES and Home
Today we are visiting the Gippsland Model Engineering Society public running day at Traralgon Miniature Railway.
Starting to steam up at 10AM for paid rides from midday. So out of Big4 at 9:45 and back track the 7km to Newman Park. Introduced ourselves, but Graeme had forewarned them.
Signed in as visitors, given the brief, invited to help ourselves to refreshments in the Club Rooms and off. A couple of gorgeous coal steamers warming up and a new conversion to diesel.
We had a delightful few hours with a most welcoming bunch of new friends. Thanks guys!
Then 1PM, heading west again. We will keep going it's only 420km home via Pakenham, Healsville, Yea, Bonnie Doon, Benalla...
Home at 7:15PM after 23 days, 2184 km, 398 litres of diesel ($503), 20 nights accomodation ($721 including the motel) and of course the clutch booster - $471. So $1700 plus food and drink for 3 weeks holiday...
Starting to steam up at 10AM for paid rides from midday. So out of Big4 at 9:45 and back track the 7km to Newman Park. Introduced ourselves, but Graeme had forewarned them.
Signed in as visitors, given the brief, invited to help ourselves to refreshments in the Club Rooms and off. A couple of gorgeous coal steamers warming up and a new conversion to diesel.We had a delightful few hours with a most welcoming bunch of new friends. Thanks guys!
Then 1PM, heading west again. We will keep going it's only 420km home via Pakenham, Healsville, Yea, Bonnie Doon, Benalla...
Home at 7:15PM after 23 days, 2184 km, 398 litres of diesel ($503), 20 nights accomodation ($721 including the motel) and of course the clutch booster - $471. So $1700 plus food and drink for 3 weeks holiday...
24 Mar 2017 - Repairs
Claimed Roadside assist for the extra accomodation. Ken Tame, excellent, no drama whatsoever! Thanks, pressure off.
The more or less correct part arrived this afternoon. Needed to exchange a few parts - the air attachment, wrong thread, but it's on!
Then bleeding the air out of the 6m line. needed a suction device, but finally have pedal. The rod to the thrust lever need to be a bit scarily tight to engage first and reverse. Hopefully is not holding the thrust bearing on, or working the clutch springs. It is where is used to be on removal so we will watch it. Any way mobile.
When I went to get the Rhhino out of the workshop it needs another third of a turn to disengage. But its out! Paid the bill. 1.5 hours labour, very fair, part and freight and a bit of brake fluid (I didn't have enough) $471 - plus the first two nights accomodation $220, does bust out budget a bit...
We will leave in the morning!
The more or less correct part arrived this afternoon. Needed to exchange a few parts - the air attachment, wrong thread, but it's on!
Then bleeding the air out of the 6m line. needed a suction device, but finally have pedal. The rod to the thrust lever need to be a bit scarily tight to engage first and reverse. Hopefully is not holding the thrust bearing on, or working the clutch springs. It is where is used to be on removal so we will watch it. Any way mobile.
When I went to get the Rhhino out of the workshop it needs another third of a turn to disengage. But its out! Paid the bill. 1.5 hours labour, very fair, part and freight and a bit of brake fluid (I didn't have enough) $471 - plus the first two nights accomodation $220, does bust out budget a bit...
We will leave in the morning!
25 Mar 2017 - Mallacoota to Traralgon...
We have moved so much stuff from the bus to the motel over the four days and nights, that it is easiest to bring the bus around. Leonie at the Silver Bream is fine with parking in the wide driveway.
We have decided that we have bent the budget about as far as we should. And Maz has had enough of the winding climbing roads - and so have I. It makes for hard driving with eight tons (tonnes?) to manage.
We had intended to go north up the coast and stop in at Millingandi, but somewhere we need to cross the Great Dividing Range - Brown Mountain, Cooma etc; Batemans Bay, Canberra; Kangaroo Valley, Mossvale; too far, too hard for now... So it will be west and home - and not over Mount Hotham!
About 9:30 we are breakfasted, packed up, car hooked up, and away. Coffee at Cann River, again, then on via the Princes Highway. We have not actually spent much time on this Highway with all the detours to the coast.
Modest aim for the day is Traralgon, vis Bairnsdale, Sale etc. As it happens the Gippsland Model Engineering Society (at Traralgon) has a run day on their miniature railway tomorrow.
Into Traralgon about 3PM and find the track. One of the members is there, Graeme, so we have a look around, then find a CP - Big4 for the night, getting our discount... Dine on what we have and eventually retire. It is noisy, 100m from the highway, 200 the real railway track and on the airport boundary. All in spitting distance!
We have decided that we have bent the budget about as far as we should. And Maz has had enough of the winding climbing roads - and so have I. It makes for hard driving with eight tons (tonnes?) to manage.
We had intended to go north up the coast and stop in at Millingandi, but somewhere we need to cross the Great Dividing Range - Brown Mountain, Cooma etc; Batemans Bay, Canberra; Kangaroo Valley, Mossvale; too far, too hard for now... So it will be west and home - and not over Mount Hotham!
About 9:30 we are breakfasted, packed up, car hooked up, and away. Coffee at Cann River, again, then on via the Princes Highway. We have not actually spent much time on this Highway with all the detours to the coast.
Modest aim for the day is Traralgon, vis Bairnsdale, Sale etc. As it happens the Gippsland Model Engineering Society (at Traralgon) has a run day on their miniature railway tomorrow.
Into Traralgon about 3PM and find the track. One of the members is there, Graeme, so we have a look around, then find a CP - Big4 for the night, getting our discount... Dine on what we have and eventually retire. It is noisy, 100m from the highway, 200 the real railway track and on the airport boundary. All in spitting distance!
23 Mar 2017 - Silver Bream, Mallacoota
Yesterday was 100% waiting, walking, eating, reading...
This morning's news - disappointing. Wrong part delivered to supplier... another sourced in Melbourne should make Bairnsdale this afternoon, should be here tomorrow. Noel is going to Sydney tomorrow... So Joel and I might have a job to do.
In hindsight, I should have taken a punt on part number 15770.001 from Bretts Truck Parts on Monday afternoon!
Meanwhile with accomodation starting to get expensive I have contacted the Ken Tame Roadside Assist. Policy covers up to $150 pn for up to 10 nights in the event of breakdown... Done, starting tonight! We have been at the Silver Bream motel 2 nights already.
This morning's news - disappointing. Wrong part delivered to supplier... another sourced in Melbourne should make Bairnsdale this afternoon, should be here tomorrow. Noel is going to Sydney tomorrow... So Joel and I might have a job to do.
In hindsight, I should have taken a punt on part number 15770.001 from Bretts Truck Parts on Monday afternoon!
Meanwhile with accomodation starting to get expensive I have contacted the Ken Tame Roadside Assist. Policy covers up to $150 pn for up to 10 nights in the event of breakdown... Done, starting tonight! We have been at the Silver Bream motel 2 nights already.
21 Mar 2017 - Mallacoota, Day four...
Well today is the day. Now agreed that we (Noel and I) are getting nowhere seeking part numbers. It is time to put the bus in the workshop. More than happy for Noel to move it!
Access is, well awkward, so I have moved the mattress into the corridor, removed the cover from the through bin, and opened the floor hatch over the gearbox. Voila the clutch booster is accessible from the top. The airline is tight as... but while I slowly bleed the air from up top, Joel puts a jack under the tow bar and Noel starts to unbolt the booster.
Meanwhile Joel thinks it is the same as one he removed from a Nissan, and tracks it down under the bench. Twins, but with different suppliers labels and numbers. The Rhhino's is not a Hino part. And the old Nissan one is not usable...
Encouraged, both Noel and I are on the hunt now, confident it is a generic part. I find one I am confident will do the job - at Brett's Trucks, (from whom I got the water pump four odd years ago), but Noel has one ready to ship from someone else in Sydney. Probably miss todays courier... but should be here Thursday...
With the bus in the workshop and Noel naturally wanting to lock it up, we have taken a room around the corner at the Silver Bream Motel. Oh well, we have had four nights for nothing...
20 Mar 2017 - hunting for numbers and parts from Mallacoota
Today was mostly spent emailing and phoning, seeking part numbers and parts. Interspersed with long relaxing walks... But just to show we are not suffering is a photo of our evening meal. Yes I did brown the Salmon a bit much... And I will never do this on Facebook!
19 Mar 2017 - a brighter day in Mallacoota
Emptied the toilet - always a handy chore. Both had showers! Dressed up to join the Webbs at the local radio studio, then for lunch. I ate slowly, or talked too much, maybe both. Mike and Maree then had to head off to prepare for their next social engagement... Busy place!
So we went for a drive. The much signed WW2 Bunker Museum... is only open at 2:30 PM Tuesdays... so we followed the water, around the lakes towards the Webb's, corner then to the ocean beaches. From Bastion Point the vis was good enough to to see Gabo Island Light house!
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| Bastion the point near bottom left and Gabo bottom right. |
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| The Olympus tough on full zoom again - the lighthouse in the centre of the pic. |
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| Looks just like it! |
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| A mob of Eastern Greys 50m from the shops late afternoon |
18 Mar 2017 - marking time in Mallacoota
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| Limit of digital zoom with iPhone... |
But here are a few pix go the ocean side and the ocean end of the lakes. We will catch up with the Webbs tomorrow.
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