Last Stop Caliguel
We knew our trip was coming to an end, but we had to squeeze one last stop in. About 3 km south of Condamine, just off the Leichhardt highway, we found Caliguel Lagoon. Another hidden gem. We dragged the pushbikes off the bed and set up camp. “What,” I hear you say, “were the push bikes doing on the bed, instead of bouncing merrily around on the back of chunky Bum?”
So, here’s the thing. We bought a quality Hayman Reese receptor to mount the bike rack on the back of the van. This is the rack we’ve used for years mounted on the car towbar, so why not the same solution on the van? But by the time we got to Roma the Hayman Reece receptor had begun to bend. I showed it to Johnny (brother in law extraordinaire) and he just said, “I know a guy who can help with that”. (It turns out that Johnny can not only turn his hand to anything, he also knows people all over the place). Off he went and turned up an hour later with a thick steel reinforcing plate. We fitted the plate, and when I say “we” I mean Peter and Johnny. I sat with with Hazel and opened a bottle of wine, while they bolted the whole thing back in place as tight as Johnny’s rattle gun could do it. Yes, Johnny also travels with everything in his tool kit, including a rattle gun.
For the rest of the trip, we watched closely and checked at every stop to make sure the bolts weren’t loosening off – they weren’t. Then, after a thousand or so kilometers we were back in Roma – I love the symmetry of this. The day we left the Roma Gun Club, we were hitched up and I was doing my final checks, I shook the bike rack and lo and behold, the bikes all-but fell to the ground. Johnny’s fix was as solid as ever, but the weld on the Hayman Reece had broken.
And that is why for the last few days of our trip, the bikes travelled on the bed. I think it’s fair to say we dodged a bullet with that one and we need to rethink our secondary vehicles before our next trip. 😊
Now, back to Caliguel. This free campground offers two areas for camping. As you drive in, the right-hand side is a car park like set up with a boat ramp, rubbish bins and toilets. To the left, you have the option of the privacy of a bush camp. This is a little tricky to navigate, and there are only a few spots, but that is where we camped.
I really enjoyed Caliguel, and judging by the lack of firewood, it is a very popular spot. But, we had a solution to the missing firewood. We had the kayaks and I had Peter. He paddled over to the other side of the lake and came back fully loaded.
This next set of photos is dedicated to those of you who have a partner who is less than tidy.
Our stay at Caliguel ended a ten week road trip, our longest trip yet. Tomorrow we will be home, and we have some serious thinking to do about our future travel plans. Where will we go? How long will we go for? We’ll just have to wait and see.
