We headed out much later than expected but the thought was, if not today then another day wasted. So with a tank of diesel and a freshly serviced Hilux we set off. 3pm sounds as good a time as any doesn’t it? Hindsight can be a funny teacher though as through a combination of inattentiveness and an unwilling ness to disturb others, we stopped in at New Italy rest area which had vans and campers around the edge and a large bitumen area in the middle. If we had known then what we know now we would have stopped as the heat wave we had been in on the coast disappeared and been replaced by a breeze from the freezer. After departing New Italy we set off for Coffs Harbour but it wasn’t very late when we got there so we kept on going to Port Maquarie. This is where the plan got murky or should I say someone missed the turn off and we sailed on into the night. Well after 700klms a mix of fatigue and darkness kick-in and we parked and slept for a couple of hours. So night one can be chalked up to hotel Hilux
