Today we did not have a very good day.

It started great. We woke up and went for a swim at Park beach at Coffs Harbour -- it was wonderful! The water wasn't cold at all and the waves were great. Then back to the caravan park for a nice hot shower (although Craig's shower was cold).

We packed up Harvey and drove across the road to the Surf Club for a declicious breakfast.

Then we hit the road, intending to head for Evans Head.

As we were heading out of Coffs Harbour, Lisanne saw a group of kangaroos, as well as a number of banana plantations.

Unfortunately we didn't get very far.

Between Coffs Harbour and Grafton we ran into mechanical problems. Harvey's automatic gear box stopped working!

Craig managed to get Harvey off the road, and we called the roadside assistance in NSW, who turned up some time later. He was fairly useless, but said he could organise a tow truck for Harvey.

So then it was decision time. Where should we go? We ultimately decided to go directly to Brisbane, as there was a better chance that Harvey would get fixed there.

Lisanne and Mirne went with the tow truck (a misleading term, as Harvey actually sat on the tray on the back of the truck), whilst Craig got a ride into Grafton with the roadside assist guy, to catch a train to Brisbane.

Anyway, a few hours later, Lisanne and Mirne were on their way with the tow truck, heading towards Brisbane, when they pulled over into Grafton to change the exhaust outlet. Unfortunately, it was then the tow truck driver realised it was too late: the hot exhaust fumes had already burned the fibreglass of Harvey's nose. It was very upsetting.

So more of a delay whilst the tow truck driver, his boss and other employees removed the exhaust from the top of the truck and welded it underneath.

Several hours later (after sitting in McDonalds for a few hours), Lisanne and Mirne were finally on their way to Brisbane with the tow truck.

A nightmare trip. Really. We were incredibly happy when we finally arrived in Brisbane. We thought we'd die along the way, as a result of the driver slamming on his brakes, playing with his phone or the rain in the dark, all the while with Harvey wobbling away on the truck behind us. We also had to avoid a tunnel which we were too high for (even though we weren't even sure of our exact height), so then we were cautiously watching every bridge we came across.

It was after 11 pm by the time we got to sit down in Harvey (who was parked outside the dealership in Brisbane, waiting for Monday morning), so we opened some wine and a bag of chips. We didn't get much sleep that night, but it was more than Craig, who spent the night waiting at train stations and riding trains.

But here we are, in Brisbane. Harvey will be seen on Monday and hopefully it won't be too bad.

The weather was 24 degrees in Coffs Harbour, with some showers, but a balmy 26 degrees in Brisbane. We drove approximately 60 km in Harvey today plus approximately 330 km in the tow truck.