We’ve had a very dry trip, only a couple of days of rain in New Zealand and nothing to speak of in Australia. That all changed on Tuesday, March 25. As I was doing the final outdoor tasks getting ready to leave our campground in Eden in New South Wales (NSW) I noticed a little mist in the air. The clouds were dark and heavy and the forecast for several days had called for rain. We planned to drive along the Sapphire Coast as it is known. There are designated tourist routes which have historical or scenic value. As we drove on to the north, the rain started and became steadily stronger. Soon we were driving in a deluge. We stopped for lunch at a park in a small town and watched the rain pour down from the roof over the back window of the campervan in sheets of water. Even the birds were taking shelter from this downpour. So we abandoned our plans to continue with the tourist routes. The routes were slow, we were encountering one lane bridges for the first time in Australia and there were numerous places where we were warned that the depth of water on the road could be gauged by the markers provided.

Our next objective was Canberra, the capital of Australia. The drive to Canberra was in moderate to heavy rain almost all the way, some 250 kilometers. When we stopped at our first choice for campgrounds, they might have a space for us but we were going to have to look at it first. We discussed internet and they had a very expensive internet plan, $10 for one day. When we asked about bus transportation into the city, they indicated that there was no bus service at their campground. They graciously suggested several other campgrounds and called to them to ensure that they had space available. We thank them and went on our way to the one that did have a site.

The Canberra Carotel (a combination of Caravan Park and Motel, a carotel) had free internet, no restrictions and was at the end of the bus route into the city. We could catch a bus right next to the entrance road to the Carotel. We settled into our site and enjoyed an evening of unfettered internet access. During the evening and through the night it rained lightly and misted keeping everything outdoors wet. We packed our raingear the next morning and set out for the bus stop.