3. The one when we outran COVID, then got bogged

Current weather: 16/4°C, partly cloudy
Total distance travelled: 1388km (+696km)

It was a leisurely start to this morning, leaving Forbes at 9:15am. A short drive through surprisingly vibrant green fields lead us to the CSIRO Observatory in Parkes, where Carolyn observed that every man was busy taking photos of the impressive structure and not their family... myself included. I hastily invited the kids into yet another picture of the dish.

Green fields gave way to dry, flat pastures past Peak Hills. A long stretch of driving took us through Dubbo while munching on sandwiches.

We stopped for fuel in Gilgandra, only to realise a shredded trailer electrical cable, which had obviously pulled loose and dragged along the highway for countless km's. I quickly realised my diligent indicating today was entirely in vain. It would also explain some grumpy glances from passing

drivers...

The one and only hardware store in town was mercifully still open, where we purchased a replacement plug. They closed as we left the store. I sat down by the roadside to rewire the plug with the tiny strands of remaining copper while Carolyn took the kids grocery shopping.

The newly restored plug was much shorter, but was at least functional, so we continued on towards the only hills of today's journey near Coonabarabran.

The daily COVID press conferences were taking place during this stretch, and the news of the growing outbreak and extended lockdown in Sydney heightened our anxiety to get out of NSW before QLD slammed the border shut. The plan was now to push as far north as possible.

A quick rest stop in Pillaga East helped our legs, but not our ambitious travel plans when we realised the shortened tow cable had been pulled apart. Thankfully some recently added cable ties

prevented it from dragging along the highway this time. The cable obviously needed to be extended.

We pushed on to the next town of Narrabri to hunt for some longer cable for the tow plug. Nothing found in the town's petrol stations, so improvised with a 240vac extension cord from Woolies!

Again Carolyn made the best of a tricky situation, buying coffee and ice cream from the local McDonald's - the 4th we'd passed today!

With the sun setting, but tail lights working, we resolved to make the most of the coffee in my veins and make a push for Goondiwindi, just across the QLD border.

We drove on in the dark amongst a convoy of trucks - providing protection and a handy slipstream. A quick stop for more fuel in Moree and celebration for the survival of the tow cable before the last push to QLD.

We crossed the abandoned QLDborder checkpoint around 8pm and started hunting for a place to park for the night. A steady stream of

vans lead us to the local showgrounds, which was full of escaping VIC and NSW numberplates.

We quickly realised the first vacant patch of turf we had found was a powered site, so for the potential saving of $10, we moved off to find an unpowered site. It was here my concentration lapsed, venturing forwards across a soggy field, rather than reversing back onto gravel...

Yep, the quest for a $10 saving soon turned to the quest to retrieve our stranded car... beached in a trench of mud!

There weren't too many lights still on in the surrounding vans, but on the fifth attempt a very kind teacher from Albury agreed to unhitch and come to our rescue. I had hoped the snatch straps and shackles wouldn't be needed at all on this trip, but on the 2nd night they were essential!

It was just after 9pm when we entered our now-safe and settled caravan to figure out dinner. What a day!