9 am departure and we are off on our big 3 week adventure.We left Hervey Bay and headed north through to Childers. We stopped for a coffee at the old theatre, which I didn't even know about. It was an amazing place and the coffee wasn't too bad either. Then, we continued north passing through Gin Gin, and made our usual stop at the Gin Gin bakery for one of their amazing pies before heading west. We passed through Mount Perry and turned north towards Monto. Suddenly, there was a drop in power as we were climbing a hill, and we were down to 20km/h. The old song "I think I can, I think I can" started playing in my head. We had only just put in a new clutch on Thursday prior, and now only 200km into our 2500km trip on day 1, we were thinking, "Noooo." So we pulled up on the road between Mt Perry and Monto, where we met some locals who were wondering why I was walking around with no shoes on, with prickles everywhere. My feet were sore, so Kat became my nurse again and removed the prickles.
We continued our journey towards Monto, slowly ascending hills at a maximum speed of 20 kilometers per hour. Whenever possible, we accelerated to 80 kilometers per hour on the downhill flat. We still had about 80 kilometers left to reach Monto when we contacted RACQ for help. However, the scan tool showed no issues, and there were no warning lights on the dashboard. The RACQ representative advised us to keep going to Cania, as we only had one hill left. He also arranged for the car and van to be towed back to Hervey Bay. At this point, I felt quite deflated. We eventually arrived at the BIG4 Cania Gorge, where we worked on a plan.
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Decission to be Made
1/ Take prado for Test drive Sunday, after disconnecting battery and see if fault has gone - NO
2/ Steffi and Nick both have offered us their cars to use. (I dont think they wanted us home) - Possible???
3 / Pack up and go home.... Noooooooooo
We decided to borrow Steffi's car, but I needed to go back to Hervey Bay to have someone fit the electric brakes and check the wiring. Now we can finally enjoy our holidays and explore Cania Gorge. Our first adventure was a 1.5km walk to the Two Storey Caves and then a 500m Picnic Walk around the car park before lunch.
After a rest and a feed we headed back to the Car park for the next 3 locations Followed by a walk up to Dragon Cave and Blood Wood Cave, and than onto the lookout, just a lazy 3.5k hike. The two sites were incredible, its was worth the walk in.
Once we finished here we went for a little drive out to Cania Dam, A LITTLE FACT, The old township is below the waterline
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Monday 19th July
I woke up early to take my Prado down to Monto to see if the Monto Auto RACQ mechanic could fix it. If he couldn't, I would have to go back to Hervey Bay. Unfortunately, he changed the fuel filter but it still wouldn't start. The mechanic told me that it might be an expensive fix, costing around $3,000 to $4,000.
I decided to go back with him and get my Ranger. He offered to bring it back for me since he had to come back anyway. On the way, I told Kat and Fiona the news and they came to get me. We emptied out the Prado and put everything in the back of the Landcruiser. We then went to town to have a look around and enjoy some morning tea.
While leaving Monto, we stumbled upon the Historical Museum. Although it wasn't open, we could still explore it and learn about the region's history. It was an awesome look back in time.
If you are ever passing through Monto, make this a visit
VISIT WEB SITE
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We knew the Ranger was back in Monto, but we were uncertain about when the electric brakes would be fitted. We will wait until we hear from Monto Autos for an update. For now, we plan to explore more and maybe do some more hiking.
We went back down to the main car park to do the last of the three minor hikes. We weren't ready for the 10k hike yet. So we went to Dripping Rock and The Overhang, which turned out to be the best one we had done so far. It was amazing and refreshing, especially after a short hike up a small hill. This trail is a must-do if you only have time for one walk.
After we finished this little 3.4klm hike, particually that it was all downhill on the way back to the car, and i was feeling just a little chuffed at what we had just accomplished,, we were all ready for some more.
So off towards the dam we all headed, and than on to the last trail of our visit, Shamrock Mines Trail, just a short lazy 1.5klm hike up to the old mine shafts dating back to the late 1800's
We made our way back to the campsite after a long day and were ready to unwind with some drinks and snacks. The Big 4 Cania Gorge was a beautiful spot surrounded by wildlife, including kangaroos, lorikeets, cockatoos, and king parrots. Fiona was really enjoying getting up close to the animals and embracing her love for nature. It felt like we were in our own little wildlife reserve.
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"We've been in Cania for two extra days, but it's time to move on. We need to go back to Monto to get the Ranger, repack the car, change the tow ball, figure out where to put the bikes, and make sure all the lights work. So, we were excited to get back on track and started the journey.
After fitting electric brakes in Monto, we headed back to Cania to figure out where everything would go in the two cars. We loaded the bikes into the Fiona Cruiser, the firewood into the back of the Ranger, and the spare fridge into the back of the Ranger. We also changed over the tow hitch, but it was not as easy as we thought. Our Prado has a long tongue, but the Ranger has a short one and was blocked at the end. Changing the hitch over to the other tongue was not easy. It was challenging to remove the 33mm nut off the tow ball that had been on there forever. The McHitch wasn't too bad, but the tow ball on the Ranger was a round ball that had nothing to grip.
As we were working, some old blokes around the park came over and offered help. Most of them were helpful, but there was one guy who thought he knew everything and everyone. He went off to get a grinder, MIG welder and anything else he could find. Eventually, one of the other blokes turned up with a very good set of vice grips, which did the job. We were getting closer, and it was time to test out the electrics. We backed up the Ranger, plugged in the 7-pin plug into the 12-pin socket, and voila! We had disco lights on the back of the van.
However, the lights didn't work correctly, so we contacted an auto electrician in Monto to have a look at them on Thursday morning. Unfortunately, he was already out of town, but he gave us a name to an auto electrician in Bilola. We contacted them, and they said if we could be there at 8:30 in the morning when they opened, they would have someone look at them for us. We were happy with this and decided to head there early tomorrow. Fiona would be behind us, and the disco lights would be hidden. We were heading in the right direction, feeling good about the progress we were making.
Cania Gorge was amazing!"
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