We were woken by the sound of rain on the van. There is a large window at the head of the bed. We never open this window because of its position, and because we have read these have a tendency to leak. An external protective screen is made from hard plastic which amplifies the sound of the rain. In hindsight we would not have this standard window fitted, and would have preferred an insulated section of wall.
I whisked Bluey outside for a toilet trip during a brief lull in the rain. Water had flowed across parts of the concrete under the van awning. I had put up a waterproof screen at the eastern end of the awning as that was where the breeze was coming from. There are two sailtracks on the awning deflappers either end of the awning. I put the shadecloth-style privacy screen on the outside and the waterproof panel on the inside. This reduces wind buffeting our lightweight waterproof screen.
I didn’t want to be swapping the front privacy screen for the waterproof screen in heavy rain, so I jury-rigged the waterproof panel on the inside of the privacy screen. There is only one sailtrack across the front of the awning so I had to hang it upside down. Individual awning deflappers came in handy as clamps. When the rain stopped long enough I swapped the waterproof screen for the privacy screen.
We went back to the Village Bakery for breakfast. The outdoor area had one dry table so we were able to sit with Bluey without getting wet. There was no point loitering in town in the rain so went back to the van and turned the heater on.
Dubbo is in an area where BOM radar coverage is not optimal. The lighter areas indicate optimal radar coverage. Sow moving bands of rain will affect us for the next few days. Flooding may be an issue over the next couple of weeks when we head further north west. The rain in north Queensland is likely to flow down into the rivers in the south east of the State, potentially disrupting our Aussie Road Crew trip.
I took Bluey for a run in the off leash park. This tree stump was once quite a large tree.
I was researching current flooding and found these pics from the Oodnadatta Track in northern South Australia. Let’s hope we won’t have to deal with such conditions. We once stayed at William Creek shown below, about 80kms from Coober Pedy.
For dinner we went to the Royal India Restobar which has classic Indian decor. We watched lots of takeaway orders go out the door. The food and service were good. Over 400 people in Dubbo are of Indian descent, and lots of them work in this large restaurant.
Contrary to caravan park rules we left Blue and Tilly alone in our van. I have a camera to monitor them and can see when they move – handy for countering any allegations Bluey was barking.
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