Tamworth

26^th June – 11^th July 2024

Gary, the tow-truck driver was great. He reversed us into our slot, then promptly took the car to JT Fossey a Ford dealer, or should I say the Ford dealer in Tamworth.

The initial investigation to the breakdown wasn’t reassuring. There were multiple error codes, leaving the technicians scratching their heads. They sent the error codes to Ford Australia to see if they could narrow things down a little and so began the… “We’ll let you know tomorrow,” game.

After many tomorrows had passed, we decided to settle in for the long haul. Our roadside assist through RACQ gave us five options, all within specific dollar values, which were quite generous.

The three that were most useful to us were:

1. They’d cover accommodation
2. They’d cover accommodation and car hire
3. They’d relocate the car, van and us to another area should the need be

However, we were reluctant to make our decision, at least until we had a diagnosis. You see, once we’d made the decision, we couldn’t change our mind. So, if we chose option 2, but it turned out we needed option 3 (and the way things were going that was a possibility,) then we’d have to cover the cost of relocation ourselves. Luckily RACQ were very understanding and did not force the decision.

As usual we made the most of our time. We had many walks into town, visited the Tamworth Country Music Hall of Fame, and some of Tamworth’s music legends.

Speaking of legends, an old RAAF friend of Peters’ lives 20 kms out of Tamworth. He and his wife came to visit us as soon as they heard of our predicament. We spent many a happy hour with Ralph and Jennifer, they took us sightseeing around the area. Including the Woollen Mill at Nundle.

The mill is one of the last working spinning mills operating in Australia, and still uses some traditional spinning machinery (almost 100 years old) and dye techniques. Whether you’re into woollen crafts or not, it really is quite an interesting place to visit. As well as being able to see the wool mill at work, there is a huge range of knitted products for sale.

Not far from Nundle is Hanging Rock. An easy drive will take you to the Lookout there and you will be rewarded with stunning views over the Peel Valley, though the last image in this slideshow was taken from the Oxley Lookout. It shows how expansive Tamworth is and with a population of over 80,000 it truly is a city on the move.

We’re often asked, How do you cope with medical check-ups when travelling? Well, this is perhaps a good example. I had my eyes checked in Brisbane on 15^th March and was given a new script for my glasses. However, I couldn’t get the script filled until after my specialist appointment, back in Brisbane on June10^th. Port Macquarie was our next stop, so I selected my new glasses/sunglasses from there. This brings me to Tamworth. On July 28^th I explained my situation to OPSM, (we were stuck here) and they arranged for my glasses to be transferred to Tamworth. So, it’s not always easy but…given time and a little patience, you can keep up your regular check-ups.

More importantly, I got a new pair of hiking boots. It turns out that they are the same (only a different colour) as my old ones but with one important difference, the new ones have treads.

As I said to the sales assistant, if these were tyres, I’d be unroadworthy! She agreed.

But I digress, back to the car. We were settling into life in Tamworth when we got an unexpected call at five thirty on a Monday evening, twelve days after we arrived in Tamworth. JT Fossey had found the problem!

Peter asked cautiously. “What was the problem and how long will it take to fix?” The reply was. “You can come and get it now.” Forty-five minutes later, Big Ears was back home.

We can’t blame Big Ears for this breakdown. It was a result of the repair work done when he broke down in Kalgoorlie. (Peter you can fill in this bit).

Peter filling in… I must say, given the reputation of Ford Ranger gearboxes, I was expecting the worst. The gears just wouldn’t engage. So, it was a relief to find out this was the result of bad workmanship!

It turns out that when our fan-belt pully/bearings failed while we were in Kalgoorlie, the mechanic had not correctly routed the cabling loom and it had been chaffing against another surface. Finally, it had worn through and shorted out multiple wires in the loom. It sent the CAN bus into such a spin that the computer just said, “That’s enough, I’m not going anywhere until you guys get your stories straight!”

But in the end, it turned out to be an easy fix and a reasonable cost. Two days later, we’d bought groceries and booze, (all the essentials) and were ready to hit the road. One more short stop before we drove out: I dropped a slab of Great Northern off for the workshop guys to say thank you.

Eleven kilometres out of Tamworth we heard an unnervingly loud BANG! from under the bonnet. we quickly pulled off the road and popped the hood. It was immediately obvious what the issue was but…

…To Be Continued.

See you out there somewhere

On tow and on the go!