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In 1977 we hired our first narrowboat from Anglo Welsh at Market Harborough.From that moment our destiny was set. In 2006 we finally purchased our own brand new 57' narrowboat which we named 'Free Spirit'. Our aim is to travel the length and breadth of all the navigable rivers and canals of the UK. This will be our story as it unfolds.

Friday 11 November 2016

Yes canals do excist in Australia

Oh dear, it all went horribly wrong. So much for this free camping malarkey, and we so did want to park up in the wilderness and listen for animal sounds and gaze up at the stars. But this could still be an option if we can sort out the problem with the internal caravan battery. Having left Nowa Nowa around 10ish by 11.30am we decided to stop at a rest area for a comfort break. On a whim, Ian thought he would check to see if the internal battery was charged. It wasn't!!! Without any power, we would be pretty well left in the dark come the evening and not only that but the water pump wouldn't run either. Nothing for it but book into another powered site. Guess where we ended up...... Stratford on the Avon!! Yep, there really is a Stratford with a river Avon running through. We just had to go and book the site here in Stratford very nice it was too. One downside, the highway is within spitting distance, so it is a tad noisy.


River Avon seen from the campsite



It was Ian that spied another historic landmark whilst studying the map. A swing bridge across a canalised river. It was at a place called Sale only a few kilometres away. Super place and so peaceful and didn't expect a vessel to come under the bridge. Another unexpected sighting two Koalas in the nearby trees!









Latrobe river off to the left with the Thompson River to the right and the Sale canal comes off of the Thompson



Here as well as the UK









Port Sale on the canal

See that small boat on the left. Well, we may be taking a two-hour trip to it tomorrow. A lot depends on the weather and whether the captain can repair his electric motor.


Back at the site and with temperatures now in the upper 20's it was cold beer and wine time and just enjoying the rest of the afternoon.

1 comment:

Halfie said...

Manually operated? I bet it takes a fair few turns on the windlass!

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