Not dead yet...........

Hello all
After a long break between posts I thought I had better do some sort of update.

After all, with in excess of 45,000 views of this blog, how could I possibly not continue.

Quite a few things have changed since I last posted. Since March I have been working in the South West Forests Region of Western Australia.
To my Victorian friends and family................i used to think Gippsland was a bleak, cold place until I moved here................winter starts at Easter and only last week midday temperature was 10.2c with a "feels like temp of 5.4c...............it is November!

I am led to believe Summer in the South West falls on a Wednesday this year........

After 3 years of NO winter I have not enjoyed this at all and basically hibernated. This combined with friends in Derby and Broome regularly posting pictures of themselves in the pool and Cable Beach.......has not helped at all.

The Gear

The Great Wall.........gone

I have sold the Great Wall Ute after 5 years and 160,000km.
For 4 years this vehicle was amazing, carrying the Camper over all types of terrain in hot and humid weather with minimum of fuss.
To all the knockers.......this Ute did an amazing job for 4 years, the problem was that I kept it for 5 years.
After all the hard work it was giving problems and it was time to go.

Enter the Hilux.....

Most Hilux on the market have huge km's on the clock.....this one although being mine spec had a low relatively low 100,000k on the clock.
It has a 2" lift kit, Genuine Toyota Bullbar and Lightforce lights.

standard

the only modification so far has been to replace the standard stereo with an in dash Touch screen GPS.

on road mapping

off road mapping

Palomino B600 slide on camper..........gone

 This Camper has been amazing and did everything I asked of it, quite often in difficult conditions. This coupled with the excellent sales and backup service provided by PalominoRV Australia made owning it a pleasant experience.

But as the years pass (and both National Park and caravan park prices increase) I found myself looking for a bit more room and a little bit more comfort. And a little less reliance on civilisation for showers and power.


enter the Jayco..........

My Jayco Freedom Outback is 18foot, and has been set up for "off grid " by the previous owners.

Solar on the roof, two 120AH batteries, two gas bottles, hot water service, air conditioning,  heating, two water tanks, shower and toilet complete the package.

This should make "roughing it" a little less rough in the future.

Over the next few "not so bloody cold" months I hope to do a few trips around the the coastal areas down here.
Then next Winter, it will be a brave person who stands in my way of heading North to the red dirt for a  few weeks R & R.

Bye for now

The end.....maybe.....temporarily......not really

Hello all
I haven't been abducted by aliens or murdered by some crazy, I am still around.

The truth of the matter is travel within Australia is expensive.............too expensive.
My sister who does a fair bit of overseas travel, hired a Motorhome about 18 months ago and travelled from Darwin and down the West Coast to Perth. She was shocked by the cost compared to overseas travel costs.

I put a lot of this cost down to greed and the recent retirees. Every year I have seen the caravans get bigger and bigger, now approaching the size of an inner city apartment!!
These people now freecamp and the spend the occasional night in a caravan park.

In the caravan park they refill all their tanks, sometimes in excess of 200 litres, leave their airconditioning running 24 hours a day and recharge everything they can lay their hands on. The parks then try to make all their money out of you over one night instead of a few days as there is now an expectation that this will happen.

National Parks too have raised their fees dramatically, what used to be free, or a few token dollars in now in the $20-30 per night range for nothing more than a drop dunny.

My travels since Feb 2014

 This all leaves me at a crossroad.....................money is getting down and with the absence of someone wanting to throw me fists full of sponsorship dollars  😉😉 I find myself needing to get back into the workforce.
It is another seven and a half years until I am old enough for the aged pension, so back to work it needs to be.

York Peninsula SA

 Do I regret the couple of years and the money I have spent?.................SHIT NO. 
Would I do it again....................................ABSOLUTELY.
I have loved every minute of it, met some fantastic life long friends and had a ball and wish I had the money to keep going.

Uluru in the rain

  While I still intend to do camping trips, where ever I end up propping, and will add these trips to this blog as I do them, but they certainly will not be as regular as in the past.

Lucky Bay Cape LeGrande WA

 I feel privileged to have seen so much of this stunning country, and had the time to soak it up and had the time to enjoy it's beauty.

Fraser Island Qld

 I have proven you don't need to spend $200,000 dollars on you rig to enjoy this country.................The simple life has been a blessing.............I have become much less material, and have removed to "want" from my spending habits, and replaced it with "need"
I now only purchase things I NEED not the things I WANT.
I now see people who spending a lot of time and effort into making purchases and buying things they don't need, but they want......thus trapping them in the whole earn, spend, do it again cycle.
Living "off grid" basically has given me a whole new perspective and am now more than happy to live in a shed somewhere than a flash big house with all the bells and whistles.
All these "luxuries" make you less appreciate the smaller things in life and the things that really matter like good friends and family.  
 Even now as I move into another phase of my life I am still looking for the simple life..............without the clutter and competition to have the biggest and best of everything.

Wonnangatta Station Vic

 This leads me to my next point......................with this new stage in my life I have decided to change a few things, so subsequently the Ute and Camper is for sale.
either as a complete unit or separately.

While this is not the end, but rather a new beginning, I would like to thank the 38,000 viewers who have viewed this blog and the ones who have taken the time to comment or ask advice.

Feel free to contact me via the "leave comment" section if you are interested in the Ute and Camper or want to offer me a job.  👍😉

Bye for now....................... 

80 Mile Beach WA