Who loves going on a road you’ve never been on before?

Our morning began quite normally on a driving day and we were all packed up and leaving Cambewarra at 9.30am. Our plan for the day was to make it to Canberra where we’d booked in for 3 nights at the EPIC Campground so we could attend the Caravan, Camping & Leisure Show.

We’d never driven on the road from Nowra to Canberra via Nerriga and Tarago and were looking forward to it.

Just out of Nowra the road passes by HMAS Albatross, home of the Royal Australian Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. HMAS Albatross is the largest operational Naval establishment and the Navy’s only Air Station. The primary task of HMAS Albatross is to support the five naval Squadrons which provide air support to the fleet.

You can visit HMAS Albatross to go to the Fleet Air Arm Museum, a popular tourist attraction.

We were tootling along enjoying the drive through the bush. The road was in pretty good condition with just the occasional pot hole. We’d just gone past the turnoff the Jerrawangala Lookout when there was an almighty bang as we hit a huge pothole. Sadly our front passenger tyre didn’t fare well and, according to the TPMS, was going down rapidly.

A call to CMCA Roadside Assistance was made and we were told a technician would be out to change the tyre within the hour. So nothing for it but to make a cuppa and wait. Good thing we’ve both got our books to read.

Our first responder from Roadside Assistance was from Huskisson and after a short discussion about the size of our vehicle he decided he didn’t have the right gear to be able to help us so he would let Roadside Assistance know so they could arrange an alternative.

A short while later we received a text from Roadside Assistance. That someone was on the way to help us.

An hour later a very friendly Trevor from Premium Tyre Service in South Nowra arrived in his little truck and he quickly assessed the situation. In no time at all he had the motorhome jacked up using a trolley jack and the tyre off. He assessed the tyre and declared it was OK however the rim was bent on both sides, obviously from where we’d hit the very deep pothole. He was able to use a mallet to beat the rim back into place and filled the tyre back up with air. Yay! It sealed and held air.

We were able to continue our journey. This was the first time we’ve had to call CMCA Roadside Assistance in the 6 1/2 years since we purchased our motorhome. While our initial call did take a while as we had to be on hold due to the number of current calls, we were impressed with the speed and efficiency of them arranging for help.

I would recommend everyone have some sort of roadside assistance insurance. You just never know when you might need it. We were not sure if it was just our tyre or whether there was something else and we would need a tow however we were comforted in knowing that whatever needed to happen would be arranged for us by the competent Roadside Assistance team.

So after a 3 hour delay we set off again. What should be a pleasant drive through very pretty countryside was a nightmare. The road was in such poor condition with huge potholes big enough to swallow a small country!

It was a relief to pull up opposite Nerriga Pub for a lunch break.

We continued on through Tarago, where you can continue northwards to Goulburn, or southwest towards Bungendore. Again the road was pretty bad and full of potholes with large areas of roadworks. All the rain has played havoc with our roads and it will take years to repair them all.

It was a huge relief to finally reach the Federal Highway and really enjoyed those last few kilometres of smooth road before we arrived at the campground on the outskirts of Canberra.