Commitments, orders, promises, to-do lists all mean little to our friendly suppliers. Even more annoying, they are pleasant, even eager-to-please but without the vaguest notion of actually getting stuff done. World class inefficiency. I could write a long list of the dozens of things which have not been done, but two will suffice.

First, the washing machine. It has still not been delivered, let alone installed despite being on the order sheet 12 months ago (there’s a worldwide shortage, of course!) Our Torus people say, without blinking an eye, “It’s Camec’s fault – they just don’t tell us the truth about supply!”. We know the feeling. For those thinking that a caravan needs a washing machine like a fish needs a bicycle, refer all questions to someone else please.

Second, the TV (see fish/bicycle previously) doesn’t really work. Initially, we simply said “fix it” after answering all the questions about what we were doing wrong. We returned to collect ATGANI for its first proper travels only to be assured that the TV didn’t work because we had failed to press the appropriate buttons. We held our ground and they tested the circuit. Amazeballs! the antenna on the roof was not connected to the antenna socket in the van, but no-one had checked it in the two available weeks, despite assurances. Grrrr! Connection took another hour or so and even now, it functions only occasionally so something’s still not right.

However, we set off again for a 3 week adventure. 3 days later saw us back in Erina to replace the Battery Charger (nope, no idea) which had decided to melt a bit. The new one is working but we’re a bit terrified about what made the first one break. Maybe just bad luck, not incompetence?

Out of an overabundance of caution, we decided to go to move to a van park somewhere near Erina, in case of further disasters. We rang, explained how big we are and made a booking, driving there directly. Unfortunately, their 9.7m measurement was different to mine (shorter by 2m!), so there was no room at the inn. Nothing daunted, we made another call and, asking for a few more details, ended up hours later at Ocean Beach “resort” at Umina. The weekend saw us fully blocked in and sited right beside the water park. Not a single spare site, Saturday night.

The upside was that we caught up with Kingsmills and Knoxes who were at Empire Bay, and had a great long lunch with them at Safran at Ettalong on Saturday – delicious Turkish/mid-east style.

Sunday, with most things working, we packed up and set out on the 350km journey to Mudgee with high hopes via the reputedly beautiful Golden Highway and Bylong Plains Way. What could possibly go wrong?