We did not go to town for the Tamworth Country Music Parade as it was over 30° before 9 am. We booked tickets to see the Hussy Hicks on Saturday afternoon, so we took Bluey to town for an outing to pick up the tickets. I tried to order coffees at DECO, but left when advised it would be a 30 minute wait.
It was only a 10 minute wait at Le Pruneau on the other side of the Peel River, so we bought takeaways and retreated to our air-conditioned van. Bluey stayed with Anita in the car with the AC running, but at least he did have an outing. I walk him for brief periods around the caravan park, but we left him at home with Tilly while we had lunch at Wests.
Ricky Albeck opened for the Hussy Hicks who put on an energetic performance. Other Roadies were in the audience enjoying the show.
We went back to our van to let Tilly enjoy some warmth outside, and to feed the critters and ourselves. We planned a late arrival at the Golden Guitar Awards to avoid spending time waiting around. Bluey was welcomed into the motorhome for the evening.
The Awards a re very organised and entertaining. Long drivelling speeches are quickly quashed! We were pleased to see Liam Kennedy-Clarke and Gabi Louise win two Golden Guitars as the duo named Wicker Suite. Liam was on staff as a musician on an Aussie Road Crew trip. Gabi came along as his partner, and it took a week before Beccy became aware of Gabi’s talents. That connection kick started their musical careers.
Today we went to the Longyard Hotel to see Lyn Bowtell’s show. This is a regular event where other artists join her on stage. Today, Andrew Farriss formerly of INXS was one of Lyn’s guests. We spent the rest of the afternoon watching exciting test cricket, with our hero Steve Smith making 91 not out. The West Indies deserved to win with their fabulous bowler Joseph getting 7 wickets.
Our AC has continued to perform as expected, without water pouring on us from the roof. We will still research the best replacement option as this unit is seven years old.
I waited until this morning to put out the awning and fit the water hose, drain, and shade screen. I thought it would be cooler, but it was 30° at 9 am, so I didn’t bother hammering in tent pegs.
We had coffee in town before going to the Fiddlers Awards at the Capitol Theatre. This was the first time we had seen this annual show, and will be booking our tickets for next year. At times it was a bit disorganised, but all of the musicians were very talented.
A woman from WA was presented with an award for her efforts encouraging 200 young fiddlers, and the second award went to a woman who includes kids in her shows. Today, she had the kids dressed as butterfly’s while she played the fiddle on stilts.
Martha Spencer from the USA played the fiddle and banjo, and demonstrated flat foot dancing.
Ninety-one year old Ted Egan played a beer carton while singing a ballad about a female boss drover, accompanied by a fiddler. This was very clever and one of his many songs or ballads about women.
Apart from doing a load of washing and making lunch, we stayed cool with the critters and watched the cricket until it was time to leave to see Beccy’s show. What a show it was!! She was incredible tonight.
The night sky was most unusual. The first photo was taken from the carpark of Wests, and the second from our caravan park.
This morning the temperature in Tamworth was forecast to reach 40°, so we decided to head home, as we could not cope with our watery AC. By the time we packed up the car and van, it was 28° at 9 am. As we were driving off, our neighbour told us that Capital Caravans at Moonbi were open and very helpful. As that was only 10 minutes away, we phoned to see if someone might be available to look at our AC.
When I called this business last week, the recorded message indicated it would be closed several days during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, so we didn’t try to book the van in for AC repair. Today the owner answered the phone and said he would look at our AC after dealing with a woman who had been waiting for three quarters of an hour. So we pulled up and waited for about 90 minutes with the engine running to keep us and the critters cool. I was getting bored, so spent 10 minutes picking up rubbish outside the business! I also cleaned our windscreen and mirrors, ate the breakfast that Anita had prepared, and took Bluey for a quick wee walk.
The owner and only worker kept being distracted by other people who stopped to buy spares or ask him for help. When he finally started on our van, it quickly became clear he was very knowledgeable and efficient. I was concerned when he unbolted the whole unit, leaving it loose on the roof. He needed a small screwdriver to dislodge debris from the drain holes, but then used a compressor to blow out lots of small pieces of aluminium. I had read this aluminium swarf could be the cause of blocked drain holes, but was amazed how much was in there and wondered how the AC ever worked at all.
Anita and I helped by holding his ladder, passing up tools and screws, and cleaning up. After it was reassembled, the top unit had to be siliconed to the roof. We were advised not to run the AC until late today to keep the silicone dry and give it a chance to set. He connected power and tested the AC to make sure it worked. Hopefully, it will keep working without causing water to pour into our Bushtracker. For over an hour he worked in the hot sun and charged us $200.
I had been suspicious about the mobile caravan repairer who came a couple of days ago and charged me $100 cash. I now know he is not an authorised repairer, and has no liability insurance to protect customers if he causes any damage or injury.
It was 34° at midday when we left Moonbi heading back to Tamworth. We ran the Toyota motor all that time to operate the car’s AC for us and our critters. Thank goodness we chose a diesel engine.
We backed the van onto our site but had to get it level before unhooking. The boards we drive onto kept slipping, so I had to hammer in some retaining tent pegs. Our friends returned from seeing the show we missed and took Bluey into their van. I put Tilly on a short lead in the shade under our van where she could be seen by our personal pet minding service.
We were so overheated that we had several cold showers to bring our body temperatures down before driving to Wests Leagues Club to stay cool and have a late lunch. Our car was parked in the sun where the inside temperature reached 57°! We waited in a patch of shade for a short while as the seats were too hot to sit on.
We turned on the Bushtracket AC to cool down the van while we caught up with our friends and the dogs in the motorhome. We are finally able to relax in our cool van!
Last night’s Orchestral Country concert was fabulous. The George Ellis Orchestra was supplemented by a country band of some of the best musicians, playing at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre. There was a good mix of entertainers and interesting variety of songs. George Ellis is a very energetic conductor who was entertaining to watch.
On our way into town tonight, there was an impressive sunset. We saw Kasey Chambers but arrived late to avoid standing around outside in the heat before everyone shuffled in and had their tickets checked.
Last night’s show was a fund raiser, with entertainers and musicians donating their time. Ticket sales and raffles raised over $20,000. This was the ninth year the event has raised money to employ breast-care nurses.
Kelly Brouhaha, Lyn Bowtell, and Ashleigh Dallas were my pick of the performers, together with the host Darren Carr, who is very funny.
Today’s temperature reached 34.8° at 6 pm, which was hot but not as hot as the forecast 37°. We put up some shade sails to limit the direct sun heating the van and in the morning ran the AC on fan only in an attempt to dry up any residual water sitting on the plastic air distributor. The shade beside the motorhome was good until midday, then we took Bluey to town and left Tilly in the van with fans on and plenty of air flow. I can remotely monitor the temperature and humidity in the van.
We ended up having lunch at Hopscotch, in the Bicentennial Gardens, beside the Peel River. The outdoor area is shaded by this wonderful deciduous plane tree, so it was pleasant sitting there. The food wasn’t brilliant, but our iced coffees were lovely.
We turned on the AC in our caravan just after 2 pm, and turned it off four hours later due to water dripping from the unit again when the outside temperature was at its highest. We kept the van locked up, hoping to keep it cool, but the inside temperature quickly rose to 32°, so we opened the door and windows and put on fans. As the outside temperature decreased, the van cooled down enough for us to leave Tilly inside while we went to a show. Bluey stayed with Leo in the motorhome with the AC running.
Anita needed to cook a corned beef, so we did it in the air-conditioned camp kitchen to avoid putting extra heat and steam in our van. We took turns walking the 120 m in the afternoon heat to check on progress. We had the corned beef for dinner with a salad Anita made.
The mobile caravan repairer was late arriving, but he did manage to feed a wire about 150 mm up the two drains. The AC ran for about 7 hours before a slow drip started again. I should have asked him to give me a short length of the wire he used as it was strong enough to be pushed up into the drain holes, but could be easily bent into a curve shape.
Safety wasn’t a consideration! After watching this ladder move precariously, I asked if he would like me to tie it to the van, but he said it was OK. If it was to fall to the right, there would have been nothing on the roof for him to grab and hold securely, as I had taken down my BOGOUT rope ladder.
I took Bluey with me for the drive to the airport to pick up Anita. He was pleased to see her, but Tilly was very demonstrative, putting her front paws up on Anita’s shoulders.
As Tilly had slept most of yesterday under the van, I was concerned she would be active in the cool of the evening after our concert. When we got back from last night’s concert, I took both critters for a quick walk around our section of the caravan park, but that wasn’t enough to stop her from being crazy in the van for half a hour bouncing off the walls! Tonight, I played with her, chasing her lead in the van.
While it was cool this morning, the Adventurous Tilly emerged, climbing onto the van and into the cargo bay, and running off the minute her lead was untied.
She doesn’t like air conditioning, so preferred to stay outside. This meant we had to go out to check on her, frequently opening the door and letting in humid air.
We turned off the AC when the dripping started, and opened windows and doors as it was not excessively hot outside. After dinner we left Bluey and Tilly in the van while we saw a show in town, hoping he wouldn’t bark at people or dogs walking past.
Bluey and Leo have spent time together in the motorhome, but always with one or more humans. Tonight, we left them alone for more than three hours, and they seem to have been well-behaved. They were both crazy with excitement when we got back from seeing Amber Joy Poulton’s show.
Bluey has only eaten two small biscuits all day. I’m not sure if it is the heat affecting him, or Anita’s absence.
I finally got some photos of the drain holes I have been trying to clear, but it would have been helpful if there was one showing a pipe cleaner or piece of wire in the hole to show the angle of entry. The notch is only as wide as a finger, so knowing which way the drain hole goes would be helpful. I am fed up with this problem, so contacted a mobile caravan service and they should arrive tomorrow morning to hopefully fix our AC.
During the hot afternoon, the pooches stayed together while I was minding them and keeping cool in the motorhome. I discovered a second camp kitchen is air conditioned, but pets are not allowed in there.
Amber’s show was good, but the poor woman has a cold affecting her singing. She was supported by Kiara Rodrigues who has a lovely voice. Kiara is of Indian descent and fell in love with country music as a child living in North Queensland.
To help out Amber with her show, Beccy Cole and Kelly Brouhaha each sang a couple of songs, much to the delight of the audience.
We were up early to quietly back the Bushtracker up slightly higher on one side using concrete papers. The idea was to have any water in the AC drip out the other side, not onto the IR controller. That worked, but it became clear that both drains are blocked!
I went up onto the Bushtracker roof again, but still could not locate the drain holes in the air conditioning unit. After further lack of progress and increasing heat, I gave up and went to Bunnings to buy an evaporative cooler. The temperature of the water in the van is too hot for a shower. We wasted water running it off to get cooler water for the machine, but this still wasn’t effective in the 37° heat we have endured for most of the day.
I took Bluey for the drive to the airport to drop off Anita so he could cool down. I needed some flyscreen clips, so took him to Bunnings. I should have wandered around all of the aisles for a couple of hours, then parked us at the store cafe for a couple more hours! Instead, I took him home. He was in the Bushtracker for two minutes before standing at the door. When I opened it, he went straight across to the motorhome where he knew it would be cool and he would be welcome.
I ran two fans, and the fan cycle on the air conditioner, while screwing the tops of our flyscreens to the window frames. The clips secure the bottom of the flyscreens so Tilly can’t accidentally fall out of any open windows. They will also be more secure from potential thieves. I also changed the wrecked rangehood cover for the used one.
Bluey and Tilly are so familiar with this caravan park that they walk together on their leads. When I took Tilly to visit the camp kitchen, she just lay down on the concrete and ignored the Maltese dog that approached and sniffed her.
We turned on the air conditioning in the Bushtracker, but within an hour water was dripping into the van. I went back up onto the roof and may have unblocked one drain as there was water on the roof on that side.
I could not get my fingers into the gap between the air con and solar panel to guide the bent coat hanger up into the drain hole on the other side. I considered removing the solar panel, but when I tried to undo one of the 10 screws, it would not budge. I think the screws are stainless steel screwed into aluminium 7 years ago. There is a risk of galvanic corrosion when stainless is used with aluminium, and if that has happened, it will make it very difficult to remove the screws.
Plan B is to shift the van onto slightly higher blocks on one side, in the hope the condensation will run down the side where I think I have cleared the drain hole. The only dedicated caravan service business will be closed for part of next week, so I will look for a general repair place willing to tackle this job. If we take the van to a mechanic with tall workshops, at least they will not be working on a roof in the sun with the temperature reaching 35° in the shade!
We had to again remove the inside part of the air con system to dry up the water that collected in that unit. This equipment was not designed to be repeatedly removed and replaced, as there is delicate wiring that has to be connected. I cleaned this push-in fitting with electrical cleaner, but it was still a fiddly job.
Today we spent time in the motorhome cooling down, but tomorrow is forecast to reach 37° and stay that hot for much of the day and next week. Anita flies to Melbourne for her nephew’s wedding, so I will take Bluey for the drive to the airport in the air conditioned Toyota. I might find a cool pet store to linger in, and push him around Bunnings for a couple of hours, but there are very few public places that allow pets inside on hot days. We can loiter at the entrance to shopping centres for the blast of cool air, and spend time with our friends in the motorhome. We had tickets to the Beccy Cole show at 5 pm, but I stayed cool with the dogs in the motorhome, while Anita got a lift to the show with our friends. We have tickets for several shows, but won’t be able to stay here without air con.
Bluey walked about 2 kms with us this morning. With his harness on, there is no pulling; he just walks between us on a slack lead.
Our replacement rangehood external cover arrived today, so I fitted the new one in the shade under the awning. The other fan was in the sun so that can wait for a cooler day.
We left the critters in the van with the air conditioner running while we went to town for a couple of hours. Water was dripping from the infra red remote control sensor in the roof top air conditioning unit and had left a puddle on the floor mat. We turned off the AC power in the fuse box before removing the filters and unscrewing the internal unit. We wiped off the excess water and put that unit outside to dry.
After a quick internet research, we concluded there was likely a blockage in the drain holes on the external unit on the roof. The Bushtracker is nearly 3 m high, so a ladder was needed. More internet research and a phone call to Total Tools pointed us to Tow World, which had a 3.8 m telescopic ladder in stock for $190. This ladder collapses to about 700 mm high for storage and transportation. If we couldn’t fix the water leak, we couldn’t run the air con, and would mean leaving Tamworth because it is going to be too hot for Bluey and Tilly. Our caravan park fees and the cost of tickets would be wasted money, so the expense of the ladder was unavoidable.
I tied the ladder to one side of the van, then used our Bog Out recovery harnesses as a safety rope. Bog Out is like a flexible rope ladder that wraps around car wheels to help getting unbogged. This was thrown across the top of the van and strapped to a wheel on each side of the van, giving me a secure safety line to hold.. We were too busy to take photos!
I cleaned off leaves, sticks, small stones, and dirt trapped between the air conditioning unit and solar panels. Electrical cables also trapped this debris on the roof. I could not find the drain holes, but used a brush to clean the base of the air coditioner. When we reassembled the unit, it worked with no dripping water.
I have since found more detailed articles about this problem, so will go back on the roof tomorrow to see if I can locate those holes and clean them with a bent wire.
We took Bluey for a morning walk around ANZAC Park, picking up takeaway coffees from the nearby Humble Cafe. This cafe is located several blocks from the busy retail area and has a distinctly local clientele. Several well-maintained Victorian and Federation homes enjoy views across the park, and others are located on surrounding streets. It is a pity I took these photos on garbage collection day!
Back at our caravan park, Anita put on a large load of washing in the camp laundry. We relaxed with our friends before doing some errands in town. I bought a remote wifi thermometer for the van, which took some patience on my part to set up. It sends reports of the temperature and humidity to my phone and updates every 2 seconds so we can monitor the temperature when we have left the critters in the van. The sensor is very small, about 50 mm square.
There had been rain overnight, and in the morning, threatening clouds hovered on the horizon. This was the view from our caravan park at 10 am.
As we drove back to North Tamworth, the skies became more threatening. We were inside the van when there was a very loud thunder clap. I rushed outside to fold up chairs that might blow away, but fortunately, we only had a brief storm with heavy rain.
In the afternoon we visited our friends in the motorhome with Bluey quivering with anticipation. Leo was playing with his lead. Bluey’s separation anxiety manifests itself as manic behaviour and muzzling when we return, until we can settle him on the bed.
Committed Travellers 