Finally, On the Road – 12/19/2012
Dec 21st, 2012 by admin
With the car safely moved to Global 4X4 & Performance, we’re finally leaving Brisbane. Up early for breakfast and out to the car. Load up and head south out of Brisbane. The first stop is, wait for it, Global 4X4 & Performance. I have a bag full of goodies for the trip with John and I don’t want to carry it around with us if I’m just coming back to Brisbane to retrieve the car. Bag dropped, it’s on the M1 south to the coast.
The road is a typical autostrada without much traffic. The GPS is using an Australian map set that I created out of some data files available as Open Source Maps and we’re trying it out for the first time. We used it on the way from the airport to downtown Brisbane and the results were mixed, to say the least. When I tried to enter the destination, Brisbane, it couldn’t find Brisbane. It didn’t even know there was a Brisbane, Australia. We used it for the map display but it wasn’t much help as a guide.
It turns out that the setup for the GPS was set to use the default North American map set. When I changed it use the Australian mapset that I loaded on a sim card, everything worked fine. All of a sudden, it doesn’t have any trouble finding Brisbane. All better now.
It’s a long way down to our stop for the night, Coffs Harbor, but most of the route is on the divided highway at a 100 or 110 kph. Occasionally, the divided highway gave way to 2 lane road through the small towns. By late in the afternoon we’re in Coffs Harbor, checking into a hotel.
The hotel is nice but the first room we get, doesn’t have any power or phone. Back to the front desk and report the problem to Dave, the manager, janitor, handyman and general purpose go to guy. “We’ve been having problems with that room and the adjacent room for a day or two. Let’s go to the breaker room.” (???) And he leads me off to a closet to reset the ciruit breaker and then to the room to see if it worked. Yep. All fixed.
I try to connect to the internet but there’s no connection. Pick up the phone and the handset cord drops out of the handset. Back to the front desk for the internet key and to report the phone problem. Dave says that there’s no key and they’ll try to find a cable for the handset.
Back to the room and find that the power has dropped out again. Back to the desk to report the latest Fawlty Towers issue. Dave, much to his credit, says he’ll just move us to a room a couple of doors away. We move to Rm 27 from 29 and tthere’s power, phone and internet. Done.
We unpack and lay about for an hour or so and then head out to the harbor to do a hike on an island that along with the stone jetty actually forms the harbor. The island is called Muttonbird Island after the birds (the muttonbirds) that nest in underground burrows on the island. It’s a nice hike but the wind coming off the Pacific is brisk and a bit chilly. And there aren’t many birds, must be weathering out the wind in their burrows.
We hike out to the end of the island and watch the waves breaking on the rocky point that forms the end of the island. The it’s back up to the summit and then down the land side to the jetty. As we hike down to the jetty, suddenly a group of muttonbirds flies up out of the ground cover and starts swooping in the wind. Then, just as suddenly, they’re gone.
Then back to the hotel. Dinner with a cheap wine in the hotel and back to the room. A long day but we’re on the road.
Obi-wan