A holiday in Beachport, South Australia
On our Flinders Ranges trip we stopped in a place called “Beachport” for lunch (after driving along the beach for 2 hours). The pretty aqua color of the water and the long Jetty made an impact on us and we always said we needed to come back one day and stay longer.
We booked the Beachport Caravan park for 8 nights ( first night in Dunkeld Cararvan Park on the way) and this was going to be our first big holiday in our new Jayco Jpod Sport. We planned on not doing much this trip – and keeping it simple. It was also the first time that our dogs camped with us too. Previously they have stayed in a kennel ( we refer to it as dog prison) or been looked after by our kids. While having the dogs slows down the touristy activities, it was really good having them around and taking them for lots of walks to the nearby beach.
Melbourne to Dunkeld via Ballarat
Monday 7th January 2019
With the dogs safely in the back seat and the Jayco Jpod hooked up and the lights checked, and tyre pressures checked, we were on our way. A quick stop to pump up one of the caravan tyres that was a touch low and with David driving it wasn’t long before we were dropping into to see our friends in Ballarat. As “towing a caravan newbies” we drove around the block looking for an “easy pull up to” park ( for an easy exit) however had to park in their long driveway. I was going to be driving the caravan for the first time onto Dunkeld so felt a bit apprehensive about trying to reverse into the street.
The humiliation of trying to reverse the Jpod to get out of our friends driveway!
I managed to get the caravan out with the guidance of our friend ( who has been towing all his life) with a few goes backwards and forwards. Was not so easy trying to do it for the first time! (We did the towing course without real traffic all around). And that was with super wide street with plenty of room. Got there in the end but not without a bit of frustration.
First night in Dunkeld – no unhitching the Jpod
The Dunkeld Caravan Park was set on the main road and we were given a choice of a couple of sites.
We chose a site that we didn’t have to unhitch the Jayco Jpod – so we could get a quick getaway in the morning. We wandered up to the local pub and had dinner with the dogs in the outside area. On the way back we stopped and had an ice cream from the general store – my favorite flavor “Licorice”. ( Timboon ) Was delicious.
Tuesday 8th January 2019
I cant say we had a restful night full of sleep. A nearby neighbour in the caravan park was opening and shutting doors and making heaps of noise most of the night. Earlier in the day the site looked abandoned like there was no- one there.
We got up had a shower, packed up and walked up to have breakfast at cafe. I was really tired from lack of sleep and happy never to go back to Dunkeld again… ever!
“Pings and clunks” from the side of the car on our way to Beachport, South Australia
Our first big trip in the Jayco Jpod Sport and everything going well until about 20 minutes to go to our destination. Noticed a ping and a couple of clunks. Pulled over to check it out and discovered brake cable adjuster not attached. Set up camp and found a local supplier to provide a nylock nut.
Not far out of Beachport we noticed a light clunking noise driving along. Pulling over to look Dave found that the brake cable adjusters were not right and a nut was missing. We drove to the caravan park, Dave parked in our allocated spot without any trouble and we set up camp.
Setting up camp at the Beachport Caravan Park
The jPod makes it easy to set up camp. Lifting the bed up opens up a storage area. We pulled out all the gear we needed – the dogs soft crate, the SUV tent to go on the back of the jpod, chairs, tables etc.
Once set up and settled Dave googled and watched videos, and worked out what to do to fix the problem of the Jpod Brake cable adjuster. The town had one sort of hardware store and he managed to get the self locking nut required – and then went on to fix it. (He also made a video about how he fixed it.)