Yackety Yack, Day 4 – Have Cable Ties Will Travel

Day 4 Friday 12/5/2023 Yackandandah to Lockhart, sunny 20

It’s another icy morning and the hoses are frozen. We farewell Toothless and his Missus, they’re on their way to Broome, the long way. The bridge at Fitzroy Crossing was washed away in the last floods cutting the highway between Perth and Darwin. Toothless and his Missus usually go the short way up the Stuart Highway to Katherine and down through The Kimberley. This year they’ll cross the Nullarbor and head north from Kalgoorlie.

Because we’re so close to the border, we’re heading north from here. Now let me introduce you to our crew, there’s VeeWee and her poodle co-pilot Nic in the Winnebago and Mrs. Have a Chat with her cavoodle navigator Buddy in the Toyota HiAce. We fuel up and drive to Wodonga. The tow hitch is making clunking sounds so we pull into a side road and the noise is caused by our chains which are dragging. VeeWee suggests pulling them up with cable ties and that does the job. It was back in 2015, lying underneath VeeWee’s van that we realised that with cable ties and gaffer tape, you can go anywhere.

The route is a dog leg through Albury and Mrs Have a Chat misses a turn and does a bit of circle work through the suburbs.

We head north up the Orana Road which is well made and quiet. The road is flanked by gums and Murray pines, paddocks of crops.

Lockhart Caravan Park is quiet and we can take our pick of sites beside Brookong Creek. It’s a council-run park with a covered bbq area and 4 bathrooms (each with shower & toilet). Lockhart has a population of around 3000 and is known for its verandas on the main Green Street. With plenty of room to park the van and no need to unhitch Woody takes off up Green Street and returns with a fresh loaf and a hot chook for lunch. There’s not much better than warm chicken sandwiches with plenty of mayonnaise.

The town has some weird and wonderful sculptures from the annual sculpture festival and a painted water tower. While enjoying the sun on a bench outside the supermarket (while VeeWee shops) locals tell Mrs Have a Chat and I that this very pleasant weather is unseasonal.

We get a call from Elle Prado, she wants to get back on the road and is looking at motor homes.

The evening chill descends early these nights, so we rug up, watch the sunset reflections on the creek and cook steaks and chops on the BBQ. Mrs Have a Chat tells us of how she put a mandarine in the freezer to test if it was working. She was staying at a friend’s house in Melbourne and in her haste to hit the road, left her food and wine behind. At least she had a frozen mandarine. Then there was the time she was up north and sprayed her feet and thongs with Bushman’s tropical strength insect spray while standing on a vinyl floor. The Deet caused the thongs to melt and stuck to the floor. Oh, this girl is going to give us a lot of laughs.