Biloela to Mackay

Rockhampton
beef capital.


An interesting little place is Biloela. An obvious stop over or a base for the mining industry workers to locate themselves. We ducked across the road to the local tavern for a nice dinner then an early'ish night.
Once again up early, breakfast then pack the car and off to Mackay. Our first stop was Rockhampton for a cool drink and some fuel. We took the roof off for the rest of the journey to Mackay to try and get a bit more air flow through the car as the temperature at Rocky hit 40 degrees!!. Whilst is was hot, the car coped well with engine temperatures staying within normal operating range.

There is not much to see along the way from Rockhampton to Mackay. The Bruce Hwy however is in quite good condition with 110km/h speed limit.

We arrived at our accommodation in Mackay and the both of us were feeling a little hot and bothered, so we cooled off in the air conditioned room before deciding to go for a walk and grab some dinner. Jacinta had a quick look online to see if there was any new years eve events that might take our fancy, but it all looked a bit dull so we decided to stay in. Wowsers.

Chased by the storms

We experienced the edge of the massive storm that swept throught the south east corner of Queensland last evening. The storm smashed Bogabilla and Goondiwindi before sweeping through to the Gold Coast. We were lucky that the worst of the storm passed to the south of us and that we wern't caught up in it.

picture of the storm passing through Toowoomba.

The next morning we woke up to not a cloud in the sky with predictions is was going to be a stinking hot day.

We passed though the townships of Blackbut, Nanango, Gayndah, Mundubberah, Eidsvold, Minto and pulled into Biloela at about 3pm - hot and sweaty. It was 36C when we pulled into the motel :(

No trip through Gayndah is complete without a picture of the giant orange.

There were more storms in the south east corner this evening but they are all to the south of us now so all we can look forward to is more very hot days!

Moree to Toowoomba - Queensland or bust.

Ah, Queensland, beautiful one day, perfect the next.

We couldnt get away quick enough. The accommodation we chose to stay at in Moree was bloody awful. Anyway, up early, pack the car and back into town to grab some breakky, get some fuel and we are off again.

We arrive at Goondiwindi and slip across the border into Queensland. We continue on northwards on the Gore Hwy, passing through a few small towns and eventually arrive at Toowoomba. Wow, its a bit bigger than I first thought. Well, we locate our motel, (right in the centre of town) and had the hotel staff involved in a guessing competition as to what type of car had just arrived. With that soon sorted, we went up to our room, unpacked and then out for some lunch.

After lunch, we took a stroll through the centre of town then back to the room to cool down a bit and relax before our next and biggest leg of our journey, Toowoomba to Biloela.

Dubbo to Moree

Historic Dubbo Gaol


Well, that was the most boring part of the journey so far. Boring, boring, nothing to see, just plain old scrub country.

Anyway, our stay in Dubbo was quite nice. Our accommodation at the RSL motel, which is of course directly opposite the Dubbo RSL, was very comfortable.

We took a short walk to the Dubbo Gaol and paid our entry to have a look. Well worth the visit if ever in Dubbo.

We headed of early in the morning for Moree. We pulled up at the nearest servo for fuel and the usual checks, water, tyres, oil etc, and whilst doing all of that, the console operator (a young male) was trying to take photos of the car through the servo window, sooo, Jacinta kindly offered to take a few happy snaps for him as he was unable to leave his post.

So the journey to Moree begins. Well, it was boring, (have I already mentioned that), uneventful and without incident we finally arrive at Moree and check into our accommodation and settle in for a rest before our next leg of the trip.

Nothing exciting to see here

Fun Filled - West Wyalong to Dubbo Leg

Our schedule had us only covering 255km today but I think we took the longest time on record to cover that distance due to frequent stops.

We started with breakfast at one of the local bakeries at West Wyalong and an "up-down-and-around" through the town to have a bit of a look about and take a few photos.

We then headed out of town towards Forbes where we discovered that the new motor museum had opened recently. McFeeters Motor Museum is a fantastic stop off and has an excellent display of both classic and historic cars.

Some of the display at McFeeters Motor Museum.

The display kept us busy for quite a while and it's well put together with something to charm everyone. Robert was delighted to see a Pontiac Transam GTA (1987) included in the display along with a good selection of rare and historic vehicles. The museum's owners have a particular interest in British marques and there was a stunning display of vehicles of that genre. This spot is highly recommended for a stop over.

Stop by the McFeeters Motor Museum.

We then motored onto Parkes and enjoyed a lunch stop at the Radio Telescope visitor centre. This was also a great place to spend some time and we enjoyed a very good lunch. Of course there was the need to take some more photos.

The dish (and car)

We passed through Peak Hill and stopped by the old Holden dealership there. It wasn't open but there was some interesting sights to be seen through the windows.

Finally we have arrived in Dubbo, we have had a walk down town and have enjoyed a tour throught the Old Dubbo Gaol.

On the Road Again

Today we are on the road again and our schedule has us travelling from Echuca to West Wyalong.

We were pulled over by the police at Deneliquin and they had a lot of questions - none of which related to their police duties. They were interested in how much fuel the car chewed through and how the registration process worked for a car like ours. Oh, they did ask Robert to blow in the breathalyser and to check his licence but really that was only an afterthought!

After Denni there is a whole lot of very wide open spaces to drive through. The surrounding farm land is very flat.

Flat and hot!

Hot! Hot! Hot and it just kept getting hotter - at 5pm at West Wyalong it was 36C. The car didn't seem to have a problem with the heat at all and we made it to West Wyalong by early afternoon.

old homestead

more wide open spaces!

Christmas Day - Echuca

Down at the "port"

Parked near a paddle steamer

Picnic lunch for Christmas

Woke to breakfast being delivered to the door, mmm nice, bacon and eggs, yoghurt, juice and fresh coffee. Then time to open a few presents. We then decided to go for a "cruise" around town and look for a good place to have xmas lunch. We also ventured across the border into NSW and had a quick look around Moama.

Found a nice quiet street and couldnt help myself and gave the black beast a squirt or two throwing us back into our seats and leaving behind just a little rubber...hoooon...

Shortly after 11.30am we returned to the motel room and packed our picnic lunch and headed off to a nice little park area near the port of Echuca that had sufficient shade to keep us cool in the 33 degree heat. We enjoyed a lovely lunch and a little red wine and just chilled.

About 3pm, we packed up and returned to the motel to have a little rest before contemplating dinner.

The paddle-steamer EmmyLou on the Murray River.

Day 3 - Melbourne to Echuca (finally on the road)

OK lets get this show on the road! We packed up the car and were ready to roll only to be delayed by some out of town admirers. After sharing a few car enthusiast stories we checked out of our motel and rolled out of town.

The Calder Freeway was our easy route out of the city and in no time we were clear of the traffic and on our way north to Bendigo. We soon became accustomed to having the car's driver on the left hand side while the passenger was in the traffic.

The car handled the open road without a hitch. The gauges all showed normal readings except for the fuel gauge which showed a disturbing rate of depletion in fuel levels. Perhaps something to do with the 400 cu.in engine? We discovered a few rattles and squeaks but I think we all have a few of those at age 32!

The drive to Bendigo took us an hour and a half of easy driving and we arrived just in time for smoko. A quick stop off at Macca's for a coffee and break before heading through town to have a quick tour of the sights. The car coped well with the heavy traffic through town but we did try to avoid any areas where there was too much "stop-start" as there is no need to test our luck with engine temperatures.

We stopped by the Dragon Museum for a look about. This museum celebrates the Chinese members of the local Bendigo community dating back to 1850 when the gold fields were opened up. Its was a fantastic day for a drive - sunny but not too hot so we took the T-tops off the car to enjoy some fresh air.

Dragon Museum at Bendigo.

Soldiers Institute at Bendigo - photo taken out as we drove by with the roof off the car!

We pushed onto Echua which took another hour of driving. The traffic flowed easily which was good for a high risk travelling day.

In all we travelled 220km today and used half a tank of fuel. The cost of fuel at the bowser in Echuca was 12c/litre more expensive than the price in Melbourne yesterday so we were pleased to have left with a full tank this morning.

We are staying two nights in Echuca so we plan to spend Christmas Day relaxing locally with a picnic lunch.

Finally some more photos

Finally we have a decent internet hotspot to work with and allow us to upload some photos. These were taken on 22nd Dec 2009 - the day of the flat battery!

The battery is being charged in the foreground while Robert does some work on a loose connection in the engine bay.

The spare tyre takes up a huge space in the boot - looks as though there's not going to be much shopping on the way home!!

Fiddling about while the battery charges.

Day 2 - Still in Melbourne (early)

The internet connection at our hotel is pretty hopeless so we can't upload any photos at the moment. Later we will drop by a hotspot nearby and load up some snaps of what we did yesterday!

Day 1 - Melbourne

Robert awoke at 5:15am keen as mustard to get down to the storage facility where the car is being stored. Jacinta was not so keen until she had two coffees under her belt. However coffees were soon consumed and we were on the road to Guardian Storage at Pascoe Vale.

At last Robert is reunited with the beast!

First things first...does the engine turn over? The car has been sitting without being driven for quite a while and yep that's right...a flat battery! No spark...nothing. Ok best get that fixed.

Plan A: Use the hire car and some jumper leads to jump start the Trans Am. Well that sounds good in theory but unfortunately the Getz just didn't have the grunt to turn over the 6.6 Ltr V8 engine of the Trans Am. soooo.

Plan B: "Did you renew your RACQ membership?" Fortunately one of us had so a call was made for road side assistance (or storage facility assistance as the case may be). The RACV guy heard about our attempts to use the Getz for a jump start and just quietly shook his head and smiled. He pulled out a heavy duty battery pack and in no time flat the Trans Am was purring away.

The car needs to have the battery fully charged so Robert took the time to do a few tidy ups about the place.

So what do you do when your car is otherwise occupied having its battery charged up? Go shopping (hooray says Jacinta, lets go to DFO)

Vic Roads Permit

The application has been made and a Vic Roads Unregistered Vehicle Permit has been issued permitting us to drive the vehicle from Essendon to Cairns, (with conditions of course).

Personalised Plates

Yes, they have arrived, my personal plates to be placed on the car once I get it registered in Queensland. They are....USA076 (of course)

Bandit Run

It is now almost mid October and the car is almost ready for its Bandit Run to Cairns. She has been serviced and any minor defects have been dealt with. All that is left to do is to organise permits with Vic Roads.

Robert & Jacinta's "Bandit Run"

This is the start of a new chapter for Robert & Jacinta as members of the All American Car Club of Cairns.

This is the begining of Robert & Jacinta's "Bandit Run".

It all started with the purchase of a bee ute iful black Trans Am down in Melbourne.

Watch this blog as the journey unfolds.

On the 18th September 2008, I flew down to Melbourne to inspect a 1976 Pontiac Trans Am that was advertised for sale. As soon as I saw the car, I knew there and then that I wanted to buy it. She is a fresh import from America and just needing a little bit of work for roadworthy. Anyway, 3 hours later, the deal was done.

Now... how to get it back to Cairns.

Plan A.......have the car freighted at a cost of about $1650.00....or.....
Plan B.......drive it back to Cairns.

The decision was made to drive the car back. Meanwhile, the car is in storage and having the minor repairs and checks made to get it to a safe and roadworthy state to drive it back to Cairns.

Let the "Bandit Run" begin.