On another post Chris mentioned that Barkley downs are thieves, I agree 100% top dollar even for a cup of coffee,
Another mongrel I wont visit is the P**** at the Belyando Crossing, always used to till he abused me and Pixie for crossing an imaginary line in his head, defining the limits you were allowed to bring your dog and his fuel is usually 20c dearer then Emerald
  So carry spare to make Charters Towers
Another is the BP in Cobram another perso who hits you where it hurts,
Fortunatly there is more good on the road, but it makes you wonder why a prime mover is not in there  windows 
any othere in the country??

hi mike and judy.              you are spot on with that bloke at belyando crossing.     there was a big crowd of trucks with bananas heading for adelaide and perth ,we used to come thru there every thursday or friday night.     soon as he would see us,he would have a big dummy spit.   ( to much dust????       noisy fridge motors????        so we all stopped going there,his loss approx $5000.00 a year )it makes you wonder why wankers like him are in business 

Hi! yes you are spot on, I drove coaches for a while and would phone ahead to let him know how many people I had on board. He would complain that he didn't always sell every pac of sandwiches every time. I ask him once how many he was left with and he answered (2) F-r out, sometimes I would have 40 passengers, so he was getting $400 for half hour work. Never went back ,waited until roadhouse at Clermont Colin

Sometimes I wonder why some people are in the people serving businesses. They whinge about everthing and how much hard work customers are. Dah! Who pays the wages and the bills? The customers! The same happens at caravan parks. Too much work. Too much trouble. Too many complaints. So get the hell out! If these operators can't handle customers they need to be in some other line of work where there are no customers - good luck with that one. These bad business operators will never be happy. They like taking the dollars but don't want to give the customer anything for it, not even a smile. When work or business becomes so much of a drudge and a drama then get out, and give someone else a go at serving the people who pay the bills, and with a smile. It's a funny old world. This attitude is everywhere sadly, but not everyone is like it. Cheers Chris

Add to Australia's best avoided if possible the Nanutarra Roadhouse on the North West Coastal Hwy near the Tom Price an Paraburdoo turn offs. Bit hard not to get fuel there unless you have a long range tank or carry spare fuel, but if you do only get enough plus a bit spare to get you to the next refuelling stop. They are the worst in WA if not Oz for their prices and are best avoided. The may be remote but others just as remote don't charge their prices.

Oh sorry folks! I should have warned you about that road house too. I'm really sorry. They also have a rep for rip off. If you fuel up at the previous roadhouse you should be able to get past to the next one either way. The people who used to own that r/house also owned the Vacation Village Caravan Park I lived in for 9 years. They took our rent but didn't work too hard to keep the place maintained. They had a bloke working form them (family friend?} who used to shave the ground every 2 or 3 weeks to save mowing the grass. The owner had a Fairlane and it used to cruise through the park about once a week. We never saw him around the park much. His kids used to manage it but they were hopelessly lazy too. His wife did the office and worked harder. That's how I got to be the volunteer gardener. I go sick of the mess. I eventually go rent consideration for my work. So now we all know. Miss the Nanutarra Roadhouse in WA on the coastal road between Onslow and Exmouth turn offs. How's the trip otherwise Vic? Cheers Chris

G'Day Chris, Just gearing up at the moment, about 3 months down south around September, then the big lap early in the new year. Just doing small trips at the moment, no further than about 300 kms out of Perth. Wish I was up north at the moment though with the cold weather and rain in Perth, glad for the farmers and dams though. Off to Goomaling next Monday for a few days. Vic

Take it easy. It's the only way to take it. Cheers Chris

Thanks Chris, no rush this time, playing things by ear. Vic

If you play it by ear it's a bit muffled and hard to hear. Keep up the "test flights" until the time is right. All that's going to do is make you more eager and enthusiastic to do the "real thing". Just enjoy. Cheers Chris

Thanks Chris.......I got my new hearing aids last week so my ears will be ready to go, lol !

Just have to agree with you on Bellyando Crossing.... Further east is a place called Mt Coolan..Called to the pub and was met by someone as high as a kite, I think. Used to be a good place to visit when 2 sisters owned it. Wont be going back there.