Where the Hell is HAY?

This is what is says on the postcard that K picked up from the caravan park in Hay, this evening. Hay is, I can inform you, where we’re staying for tonight, a little under 300km short of our intended destination. The town is situated approximately half-way between the cities of Sydney and Adelaide. On the upside, this gives us another town to explore and the time to write yet another blog entry! Always look on the bright side of life and all that!

As I mentioned this morning, Big Things were on the menu for today. At lunchtime, we stopped of at Narrandera. It is advertised that "The World’s Largest Playable Guitar" is housed in Narrandera. We spent some time driving up and down the streets and eventually parked up at the Tourist Information office… just as they closed for the day.

To our delight, the lady who had locked up the shop opened the doors and when we told her why we were in town, she invited us in. Propped up against the back wall of the Narrandera Visitors’ Information Centre was a 582cm long, 202cm high acoustic guitar! Having fingered the opening riff to Smoke on the Water on the fretboard and had my photo taken with the aforementioned gargantuan musical instrument, we made for the exit.

We thanked the kind lady who had admitted us to the building after hours and told her of our travels. She mentioned the Big Things book that I had seen advertised in the window. They had some copies in stock and so now I am armed with David Clark’s indispensable guide to Australia’s amazing roadside attractions.

From Narrandera, we set out in the afternoon heat for Mildura. The Hay Plains were possibly harder work than the Eyre Highway. Thankfully we were stocked up on water. We stopped for a planned fuel stop and driver change (we tend to only let the tank get down as far as half-full before refuelling and this makes for a good time to change divers). As I hopped back into the car I noticed an ominous gurgling sound. Outside the car I witnessed our bright green coolant colouring the tarmac of the forecourt. And didn’t swear once.

The nice man from the NMRA arrived promptly after a telephone call and suggested that we drove to his garage to pressure-test the radiator. This was a short drive (thankfully, as the coolant bottle had completely emptied itself inside ten minutes in the forty-degree heat) and he soon established that the radiator system was watertight, which was a relief. He made a minor technical adjustment to the thermostat that controls the amount of coolant that gets into the engine block. After a test drive along the highway with a full coolant bottle, he confirmed that the car was roadworthy once more.

It being too late to head off for Mildura, we have parked ourselves at the caravan park next to his garage, where we will spend tonight. An early night is predicted, so that we can get as many kilometres behind us in the morning before it gets too hot. By contrast to what our friends in Perth were telling us, it’s been one of the hottest summers in Hay for years!

On the news, we have hear that Europe is experiencing one of the coldest winters for years. I hope you are all wrapped up warm at home. If you think it is too cold, just bear in mind how much harder it is to sleep when it is too hot. The grass is always greener, my friends!