Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The road to Home Valley Station

We set out from El Questro yesterday in high spirits, our intention being to back-track a little and visit Emma Gorge. After this we would tackle the next part of the Gibb River Road and stop at Home Valley Station. The destinations were reached and the scenery was spectacular, reminiscent of those American western movies. After our river crossings at El Questro we knew the Pentecost crossing would be a piece of cake!
However circumstances were against us! The Gibb’s savagery (and rocks in particular) resulted in damage to a water pipe of the van, this realised after the Pentecost River crossing. We travelled the last few kilometres to Home Valley Station and set up the van. With Ben also checking the damage to the water pipe he also noticed a more serious problem with the van’s suspension.
Checking with the Home Valley Station mechanic today (after a partial pack-up to take the van across to the work sheds) our fears were confirmed that this could not be fixed easily without replacing a Jayco-specific part.

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On the Gibb River Road with the Cockburn range in the background

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About 15 minutes later!
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Normal at left, a bracket has snapped and “bow-spring” come adrift on the right.
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Now we are re-jigging holiday plans but still looking forward to adventures ahead!

8/8/2012 update

We have plans in place with a spring mechanic booked for Friday who feels that the bracket needs repairing to keep the leaf springs aligned. We also have a bow-spring part coming up from Perth. We will be in touch with the owners and future users as well!

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