First night at Lake Walpeup Reserve

We are heading off on a trip to test out the new off-road caravan. Planning to hit the dirt and find some rough roads and dust to see if there are any issues.

After a late start, we did not travel as far as we would have liked to. We passed through the wheat belt and stopped to admire the artwork at Brim.

This silo was painted by Australian street artist Guido van Helten, and he started on 14th December 2015 and completed it on 4th January. He endured extreme heat, strong winds, lightning and even a dust storm. At times, he had to stop painting in the heat of the day and continue in the cool evening, and he celebrated his 29th birthday, Christmas and New Year with the locals.

In this area, there are a series of painted grain silos, but this is the only one we stopped at. We passed another one that was a work in progress. One day we will come back with more time and enjoy the rest.

We found a free campsite about 6kms off the road along a dirt track. It was a Parks Victoria site, but looked more like a local waterhole with inflated tyre tubes, swings and slides. We had the place to ourselves. A local farmer was harvesting his crop and was a bit noisy, but when he stopped about 9pm, it was very peaceful and quiet. In the morning we awoke to a beautiful sunny day and sat outside and had breakfast before packing up and heading off again.

We noticed a tiny little bit of red dust on the zippered vents when we lifted the roof when we arrived, and it was a breeze levelling the van with the air bag suspension. Cooking outside was simple with the slide out gas BBQ. We are still getting aquainted with the various light switches and keys, but it will get easier. That is what this trip is all about.Read more