Misadventures in the mountains

Having left Canberra for Bega, we were all excited about the week ahead, back on the coast at Tathra. We headed south, stopped for a terrific breakfast at Bredbo, where we had hoped we could have breakfast at the Pancake Place we had enjoyed 29 years ago. Forever the optimists, the place was still there, but it was closed - Bugger! So we enjoyed a hearty breakfast at the Gourmet Pantry.


The damaged wheel hub



We headed on to Cooma, then turned east for Bega. The weather was foul, and 30kms along the road the wheels fell off, literally! There was a bit of a bump, we thought we had  a flat tyre, and then with lights flashing from the car behind us, we pulled in and parked, as safely as we could. John jumped out to meet the driver of the car behind. When he said that he saw our wheel flying off into the paddock, John was stunned, and raced around to the left side, to see a wheel hub and no wheel! It was a mess, with 2 studs missing and all the other studs stripped.

What else do you do but call the NRMA. The patrolman arrived, and didn't give us a lot of hope. "Holy Shit, that's a problem" was his assessment. "You'll need a tow, but I'm not sure where we'll get a truck big enough to pick up that van". After several phone calls, it was decided, by the NRMA, that the only choice was a heavy vehicle truck to come from Queanbeyan, in about 3 hours. The good news was, that because of John's long standing membership and loyalty, they would pick up the tab - $900.00! I'm surprised you didn't hear the sigh of relief, wherever you are. We settled in for the long wait.

Heaps of people stopped to see if we were OK. John was getting exhausted getting in and out of the car, as a stream of people stopped to check on us. Aussies are really great people in a crisis. The great irony was, that the only car that didn't stop, was the cops! Seems that they weren't worried about is stopped in a precarious place, partly blocking the road, with a wheel missing!

John decided that seeing we had such a long time to wait, he would go have a look for the wheel, last seen heading into a paddock. After much searching he found the wheel in the paddock, resting against a fence, and then started rolling it back to the car. Two ladies stopped beside him to ask where he was wheeling the wheel, and then kindly offered him a lift back to the car with the wheel! So now with the wheel in tact we waited for the tow truck. The rim was wrecked but the tyre was fine.



Loaded up and ready to go to Cooma



Three hours became four hours, became 5 hours, and with light failing and many calls from the NRMA, following progress of the truck, it finally came into view, over the hill in the drizzling rain. With yellow safety lights flashing, we started to load the caravan onto the tilt tray. What a sad sight, Chateau Relaxeau, wounded, and loaded on a truck.

We headed into Cooma, where the NRMA had already arranged for a repairer to fix the van. We arrived at the garage around 8.00pm, and with no other choice, we plugged into power, and prepared to spend a night in the serivce station.



On the concrete at Tony's Car Repairs Bega



We awoke early, due to noise of the highway and nervous energy, and found that we were opposite a small shopping centre, which included a bakery that opened at 5.00am. Carol headed off to organise coffee and pastries. She returned with "do you want the good news or the bad news", and I then found out that we would not have made it to Tathra anyway, due to torrential rain around Bega, and landslides and fallen trees across the highway.

We waited for Tony, of Tony's Car Repairs to arrive. The sign said Office Hours  7.30am to 5.00pm, and about 8.10am he arrived. What a laid back guy! We know we are in the country, but this guy didn't have a pulse! Still things moved along, albeit at snails pace, and the wheel was fixed. Thankfully, no other damage to the suspension or anything else. John headed off to find a new wheel rim, which miraculously he did, and soon we were ready to roll again.

We decided to spend 2 more nights in Cooma, to let the waters recede around Bega, and so afforded ourselves a little time to explore the Snowy Mountains. We had  a lovely drive up to Jindabyne, where we found the lodge we stayed at 29 years ago on a trip to the snow. Things have changed a bit since our last visit, but the one thing that hasn't changed, is the amazing scenery.

Our first major hiccup has been survived with minimal pain, and thankfully minimal cost. Thank you NRMA.