What a week !!!

We settled into #sydneylakesideholidaypark at Narrabeen last week when we left our Freshwater apartment so we could get ready to leave Sydney on our big adventure.

On Friday morning we booked in Rowly at #takeaweightsydney to come to the caravan park and weigh our Landcruiser and #Urbancaravan. Thank god we did.

We learned that we needed to get rid of some of our gear which wasn't really necessary in order to be weight compliant. Rowly was very professional and patient and stayed with us until we got everything compliant. Thanks Rowly!

We had an amazing last few days at the caravan park and were blown away by the number of families that came to see us and wish us well on our travels. It was sad to bid farewell to everyone but also very exciting. I think we cooked about 12 dozen sausages on the BBQ on sat alone.

We packed up early on Sunday morning, hooked up the van and then our trailermate jockey wheel stopped working...Stress !!!. With the help of a good mate, we managed to get the van lifted onto the tow bar of the car and then we were off. We picked up another jockey wheel on our way to #blackheathglentouristpark for the night. Blackheath is in greater Sydney and we couldn't go any further until the next morning when the Regional travel Covid rules were relaxed.

Monday morning we arrived at #getabouttrainingservices in Lithgow for our 3-day training in 4WD, 4WD towing a caravan & a day of trip preparation. Both trainers John & Graham were excellent. Full of knowledge and experience. Elaine, Jaime and I learned so much over the 3 days. There are not many 10-year-olds that know what Hi-range and Low range in a 4WD are for or how to plug a tyre or change a wheel. The guys were excellent with Jaime and he loved being able to get involved. We camped on the property which was a great way of getting the most out of every day.

The whole experience was fantastic. John & Julie are amazing people. Not only are they great hosts, they run a great training company and are also Wildlife rescue volunteers. They share their home with many native animals who have been in trouble and are now getting on the road to recovery thanks to John & Julie's care.

Can you spot John's little mate that they rescued in the picture here?

As I said we had an amazing learning experience and heaps of fun at #getabouttrainingservices. We are now a lot more confident in our ability for what lies ahead and would definitely recommend #getabouttrainingservices for anyone considering buying a van and looking to upskill. We headed to Bathurst the following morning, updates on that to come later.

Take care, John, Elaine & Jaime