7 Apr 2025

7 Apr 2025

Well...

What can one say about today? Not a lot actually, lots of driving and to be honest nothing too extraordinary to stop and check out along the way. The car has been running along great and the only real issue is that the new engine doesn't seem to like keeping its oil inside it. Somehow it is blowing it out of somewhere yet to be discovered and nicely rust proofing the entire underside of the car, I mean everything under the car is dripping with oil, though on the plus side, the engine is looking nice and new and freshly painted.

90 Mile Straight, East Side

Started early and did the 90 mile straight, not much to report, it is straight and goes for ages. Actually to be honest if it did bend you would be hard pressed to remember if it had or not by the time you get to the other side. One thing of interest I guess I stopped at Madura Pass Lookout and while filling the oil yet again you could hear big engines straining up the pass, then a Pilot vehicle went past and who would have guessed, the mining trucks it have been playing leapfrog with since Port Augusta were back.

Drove on and on and finally landed at the Balladonia Road House, where they had advised me booking weren't necessary and were never full. Well, they were.

While I was there I was checking out my oil situation and refilling it yet again. Some members of the Albury Wodonga club were staying at the Road House (obviously they had booked even though it wasn't necessary...)and the kindly offered assistance, though they couldn't guess where the leaking oil was coming from either.

So I carried on, not having a clue as to where I would be able to stay for the night when quite some distance down the road I noticed a sign on the roadside, white background orange writing 'Fraser Range Station' and a picture of a caravan and a bed on it. Some distance further down the road another sign pointing into a roadside property. So I turned in to have a look and it was great, a private property that does sites for caravans and tents, and they do a huge B&B, though with dinner not breakfast, oh and you pay for the dinner, which I heard from the patrons who attended, was excellent.

They also have a few old utes about the place in differing states of decay.

 

All in all an interesting place and well worth the stay, was a very lucky find. Bit of rain on the tin roof too...