WILL TRAVEL ON GRAVEL
April 15th - July 23rd 2018
OUR PLAN
All 4 of us has had input on where we want to go and what we want to see. Inspiration has come from books, previous holidays, brochures we have gathered, word of mouth and online travelling forums we have joined. We will head west from our home town of Adelaide at the end of the children's first term of school. The Nullarbor, Ningaloo Reef, Dampier Peninsula, Gibb River Road, Kakadu, outback QLD, the Daintree and Great Barrier Reef, NSW coast and Victorian high country are all on the list and we are so excited about all of it. Some things we have pre-booked so we don't miss out, but other times we will have no agenda, hopefully it's a good mix!
PREPARATIONS
The Car
Buying a 4WD car was the first step. In April 2017 we bought a Toyota Prado because we figured there would be lots of Toyota dealerships around Australia in case we needed spare parts or advice; the Landcruiser just seemed too big for our needs, and so far we are loving the Prado. We've added a few modifications: upgraded suspension, recovery points, second battery, tyre pressure monitoring system, second fuel filter, light truck tyres, tow bar and roof rack. And we are carrying so many spare parts, including light bulbs, air filters, screws, hoses, adaptors, fuses, gaffa tape and WD40 of course.
The Van
We used to own a 1978 pop up (although there wasn't much 'popping' about it), pull-out van of unknown brand that was so much fun at various easily accessible local camping spots. However we knew it wouldn't be able to handle the open road, so in June 2017 we upgraded to a Jayco Swan Outback which we've taken out a few times and it's just great. Again, a few modifications have been undertaken, including roof racks, Anderson plug, vent covers and rubber seals along joins to prevent bull dust, second battery (again), shelves in the cupboard, mattress toppers, magnetic flyscreen, fridge extractor fans, Fiamma awning...
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All the extras
I must admit, I've been shocked at how many extra bits and pieces we have bought for this trip. Everything has a purpose and our priority is a smooth trip without injury so it's been easy to justify all these extras! SO these include extra jerry cans, extra water carriers, solar panels, toilet (!) and 'ensuite tent', solar shower (these last 4 enable us to 'free camp' for longer periods of time, saving money but also allowing access to more remote places), deep cycle fridge/freezer, 4 spare tyres, recovery gear including snatch straps and max trax, air compressor, and sat phone hire
Probably too much, yet to be double checked
Solar panels, hanging bin bag, spare tyre and rim, jerry cans, water container, max trax