April 8th we arrive in Adelaide and the only park we can get is Marion Big4 as its really busy in Adelaide.
Next day Tommy & I start doing the rounds of Car dealers & The Grahams the Caravan dealers. We looked at Nissan Nivara's, Ford Rangers & Mazda Yutes but nothing took our fancy. Back to the van after dinner and onto the internet.
Next day Tommy & I start doing the rounds of Car dealers & The Grahams the Caravan dealers. We looked at Nissan Nivara's, Ford Rangers & Mazda Yutes but nothing took our fancy. Back to the van after dinner and onto the internet.
We meet up at the end of the day and guess what? The Grahams bought a caravan! They got back late and we thought they had been to dinner, but no, they had been looking all day and then sat down with the dealer to haggle about the deal around 5pm! They pickup the van in a few days! Congratulations guys!
Next day we are up early and got our washing on and back to searching and car dealers, next day the same..... and the same next day....... The Grahams were glad of the break to get the kids caught up on their schooling.
On the 13th of April Tommy wanted to see a Ford Ranger at a Car Auction and one which was 2 1/2 hrs away so again up early and off to the auctions.
The one at the auction ground was a manual 4x4 and he had a good look around and then a test drive. The young salesman was great, not pushy just wanted to make sure we got the right car. He did offer to take some more off the price but Tommy wanted to see the other one in the middle of nowhere before committing himself. So off we go on a lovely drive into the Claire valley to look at a car!
Well it all worked out great! The Ford salesroom was easy to find and the salesman was also the manager so manged to get a good deal! We had a test drive and as soon as we drove it we knew we wanted the automatic gearbox. We made the deal with a trade in and they took our towbar off and fitted to the ranger for us, moved all our stuff out of the KIA and paid our $3,000! Yep that’s what it cost us!(with a trade in on the Sorrento)!
Next day we are up early and got our washing on and back to searching and car dealers, next day the same..... and the same next day....... The Grahams were glad of the break to get the kids caught up on their schooling.
On the 13th of April Tommy wanted to see a Ford Ranger at a Car Auction and one which was 2 1/2 hrs away so again up early and off to the auctions.
The one at the auction ground was a manual 4x4 and he had a good look around and then a test drive. The young salesman was great, not pushy just wanted to make sure we got the right car. He did offer to take some more off the price but Tommy wanted to see the other one in the middle of nowhere before committing himself. So off we go on a lovely drive into the Claire valley to look at a car!
Well it all worked out great! The Ford salesroom was easy to find and the salesman was also the manager so manged to get a good deal! We had a test drive and as soon as we drove it we knew we wanted the automatic gearbox. We made the deal with a trade in and they took our towbar off and fitted to the ranger for us, moved all our stuff out of the KIA and paid our $3,000! Yep that’s what it cost us!(with a trade in on the Sorrento)!
So drove back in the Ranger and were very pleased… it’s a beast! Had a celebratory drink with the Grahams and early bed.
The rest of the week was spent looking for a Sat Nav(had one in the console of the KIA but Ranger does not) and some other parts and storage options.
The Grahams left on 20th April for a few days getting used to their caravan at Semaphore and we have a few more days, so went to the movies to see Fast n Furious… loved it….. tears streaming down my face at the endL
The next few days were a muddle of running around making sure we had everything for the car and cleaning out the van. We tidied under the bed a few times deciding what would go there and what we would store in the back of the yute, Tommy had to refit the roof rack to the Ranger making some adjustments and finally we were ready! We left Marion on the 23rd to meet with the Grahams the next day, at Highway One caravan Park. We checked in and got setup in a nice shady spot but didn’t take much out as its only a one night stop. As Tommy was connecting cables & pipes I took a walk behind the van onto a lovely grassy area towards the pool. As I came into a clearing I noticed a man with his dog, he came towards me and began talking as I petted his wee dog – so like Rosie – and he told me he and his wife were in the big Winnebago bus right beside us(luxury). Tommy came to see where I was and we all chatted for a while. He recommended a pub nearby and we told him we were going to Bunnings and then to dinner and we made our excuses and left. Tommy got a new stepladder in Bunnings (needs it to put the bikes on top of the beast now). We decided dinner at the pub would be good so typed in “The Slug n Lettuce” into the SATNAV and found it in 5 minutes. As we parked the car we admired the surroundings and the front of the pub…so typical English! Lovely old style with big plants in tubs outside the front painted a dark colour with gold lettering for the name of the pub, of course a coat of arms with a snail & lettuce. As we walked through the door we were hit with familiar surroundings of typical patterned carpet, Scottish & English memorabilia and old fashioned oak bar. Mmmm feels like home! Not only that they had Steak pie on the menu! Lovely!
The rest of the week was spent looking for a Sat Nav(had one in the console of the KIA but Ranger does not) and some other parts and storage options.
The Grahams left on 20th April for a few days getting used to their caravan at Semaphore and we have a few more days, so went to the movies to see Fast n Furious… loved it….. tears streaming down my face at the endL
The next few days were a muddle of running around making sure we had everything for the car and cleaning out the van. We tidied under the bed a few times deciding what would go there and what we would store in the back of the yute, Tommy had to refit the roof rack to the Ranger making some adjustments and finally we were ready! We left Marion on the 23rd to meet with the Grahams the next day, at Highway One caravan Park. We checked in and got setup in a nice shady spot but didn’t take much out as its only a one night stop. As Tommy was connecting cables & pipes I took a walk behind the van onto a lovely grassy area towards the pool. As I came into a clearing I noticed a man with his dog, he came towards me and began talking as I petted his wee dog – so like Rosie – and he told me he and his wife were in the big Winnebago bus right beside us(luxury). Tommy came to see where I was and we all chatted for a while. He recommended a pub nearby and we told him we were going to Bunnings and then to dinner and we made our excuses and left. Tommy got a new stepladder in Bunnings (needs it to put the bikes on top of the beast now). We decided dinner at the pub would be good so typed in “The Slug n Lettuce” into the SATNAV and found it in 5 minutes. As we parked the car we admired the surroundings and the front of the pub…so typical English! Lovely old style with big plants in tubs outside the front painted a dark colour with gold lettering for the name of the pub, of course a coat of arms with a snail & lettuce. As we walked through the door we were hit with familiar surroundings of typical patterned carpet, Scottish & English memorabilia and old fashioned oak bar. Mmmm feels like home! Not only that they had Steak pie on the menu! Lovely!
Back to the van and as Tommy had partaken of a few Guinness's, I was driving, got to the boom gate and typed in our code, started to drive through when the boom gate dropped on the bonnet of the car! Tommy jumped out and retyped the number and I drove through but we were furious! I had not dilly dallied at the gate so why had it hit the car? The office was closed as it was after 8pm by now so it would have to wait till the morning. Tommy inspected the damage at the van under torchlight and assured me it was only a wee dent! Oh no…. what is it with us and cars!
Next morning Tommy was up bright n early to check the damage and report it to the park but they said “that’s never happened before” but hardly offered an apology! Tommy said we would be having a late checkout as he had to go get something to repair the chip in the paint on the bonnet and they said that would be fine. So we packed up the van ready to go and took off in the car to the nearest Repco to find some paint repair stuff…. By the time we got back it was 11am and the Grahams were at the car park in front of the Park waiting on us. We finished packing the van, hooked up and off we went.
Next morning Tommy was up bright n early to check the damage and report it to the park but they said “that’s never happened before” but hardly offered an apology! Tommy said we would be having a late checkout as he had to go get something to repair the chip in the paint on the bonnet and they said that would be fine. So we packed up the van ready to go and took off in the car to the nearest Repco to find some paint repair stuff…. By the time we got back it was 11am and the Grahams were at the car park in front of the Park waiting on us. We finished packing the van, hooked up and off we went.