Monday 21st to Wednesday 23rd April, 2025

We are testing out our new wiring. Up until recently, there were a couple of electrical items that hadn’t been added to the Victron shunt, which meant the battery percentage was basically only a rough guide and I was relying on the battery voltage to see if we had enough power. After dropping the van off to CaravansWA to correct this we can now rely on the percentage reading, which is such a relief.

The battery percentage went down to about 73% overnight. We had shade first thing after sunrise, so the battery went down to about 68% after boiling the kettle a couple of times and using the hair dryer. At 10.00 a.m. it’s now on 71% and getting about 200w of solar.

We’ve also had brackets for a fold out washing line put on the side of the van, a new, very sturdy clip for our front door, and a new hot water system anode. We are ready to go. We’ve also ordered new blind/screen cassettes, but as they are coming from overseas they may not arrive in time for our winter trip. CaravansWA will be the installer.

Separately, I’ve ordered some thermo blinds for the Hilux windows. This will not only ensure privacy, but hopefully keep out the heat and cold. We use the front cab as a storage area when we are parked up, so the blinds should also provide extra security as there shouldn’t be any gaps.

We had thought of going on an overnight on Thursday, but that takes us into the Anzac Day weekend, with possibly a lot of traffic. As we had nothing planned yesterday and our first appointment is on Wednesday afternoon it seemed a good time to slip away. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, but in fact it rained yesterday afternoon on our way to Wundowie, and we had quite heavy rain, lightning and thunder overnight. We have one of the good sites with a concrete pad beside the door, so are not having to deal with mud.

Wundowie is a small village just off the Great Eatern Highway which offers a donation camp, with a water tap that is suitable for filling bottles, but the tap can’t be used for filling the van, and a dump point. It’s a short walk away from a general store. There is an open field next to the camp and a large sports ground nearby. On a clear night it would actually be quite good for stargazing. We didn’t bring the telescope this time as we knew the weather was likely to be unsuitable and it wasn’t the purpose of the trip. Next time perhaps.

Our plan for the day is to spend a little time here to check things out more, then drive to the free camping area in York. If we can’t get a spot in the town there is a free camp close by.