A Moment in Murray Bridge

Since leaving Warrnambool several days ago a few things have turned a bit custardy. Starting with the sudden and inexplicable breakdown of our internet router in Mt Gambier. For us, connection to the internet is right up there with food and water on the list of life's necessities, so not having it was a bit alarming.

From Mt Gambier we headed to the sleepy but quaint seaside hamlet of Robe. We were hoping for strolls along the beach and a bit of fishing while the SpaceEx help desk worked to restore our lost internet.

But when we got to our campsite and began setting up we were confronted with two show-stopping problems that made Loretta uninhabitable. First the roof-lifting system failed, meaning we couldn't assemble the door, and therefore couldn't shelter from the wind, rain and bugs. Next it was the thing every camper dreads ... a leaking roof. And then, of course, the very average weather that's tormented us for weeks stepped up a notch to become truly horrible.

After a fair bit of cajoling (and a few choice words, I'll admit it) I managed to raise Loretta's roof high enough for us to close the door and we huddled inside with the loose canvas walls flapping furiously with the wind. That's when we had a bit of a moment, and we wondered what other calamities were just around the corner.

We had a family conference and for the first time in over a year, asked ourselves if it was all a bit too hard and if we should just pull up stumps and go home. It was a short discussion because we reminded ourselves that Loretta is home, and if Loretta was in a damp caravan park in a tiny speck on the map, miles from anywhere, then that was home. So we decided it was time to put on our big girl's pants and work it out.

I did it the old fashioned way (no internet) and got on the phone. All that old Public Service project management training came to the fore and less than 24 hours later we found ourselves in a motel in Murray Bridge while Loretta was being attended to by a local caravan repairer.

Murray Bridge (Pombberuk) is Ngarrindjeri country. As the name suggests, it's on the Murray River and there's a bridge. It's 589 kilometres downstream from Echuca, where we started our adventures just over a year ago. Murray Bridge wasn't originally on our itinerary, and we've spent a lot of our time here coordinating our lives so we can continue on our quest to reach Broome before we're all too old. So there's not much in the way of interesting facts or stunning photos. But there is one of the Murray and the Bridge as well as a couple taken in Robe before things turned to custard (don't be misled by those blue skies).

This afternoon we collected Loretta, with her leaks patched and her roof-lifter in working order. The internet issue is still a work in progress, but credit where it's due, dealing with SpaceEx is less painful than dealing with Telstra. So we're hopeful of being reconnected with the universe soon enough.