Around Australia 2009

Hi everyone, well it was on this day one year ago that we got home from our amazing adventure - how time flies!!!

It's been a busy year for us - work, school, sport, it has all kept us very busy. We've done a bit of work to our new house but have a lot more to do. The deck & pergola is finished & has really added some extra liveable space to our home. We have only recently put in a shed & are busy cleaning out our garage that has been full of junk since we moved into the house in April.

Emma has been busy with drama & got one of the lead roles in her production. She was also one of only a few grade 4 kids that got a role in the school production. She did really well at school & got an excellent report. In november she celebrated her 10th Birthday.

Corey started cricket a few months ago & has been doing really well. At only 8 he is young for the under 11 age group that he plays in but more than holds his own. After a tough start to the school year he ended the year well & got a really good report.

Damien has also returned to playing cricket & is really enjoying it, playing in a side that to this point is undefeated. He is still working at the golf course.

Shaz is looking forward to starting her new job at a school much closer to home. after 14 years at her last school she thought it was time for a change. She took on a second job for a few months, doing something she really loves - photography.

No holidays for us last year but we are hoping to get away for a couple of weeks this year. We still have the travel bug & would dearly love to take off again - i don't think that feeling will ever leave us.

Hi everyone, been over 3 months since our last post so thought we'd do a quick update.

We sold our van & our Patrol. It was very sad to see them go but as we needed to buy a 2nd vehicle & a house we decided to get together all the money we could. We bought a 5 year old Commodore for Shaz & Damien got an old GQ Patrol that he can take bush without worrying if it gets damaged.

After much searching we finally found a house to buy & moved in on the 9th of April. It is about a kilometre from our last house & only 600m to the kids' school so they have been riding there bikes to & from.

Shaz is well & truly entrenched back into her teaching job & the kids have settled back into school. It has been very hard for the kids & at times they have struggled but it gets easier for them every day.

Damien got a casual job as a greenkeeper at the local golf course & is loving it, although he hasn't had many hours in the past couple of weeks. The bonus with that is that he's been able to spend a lot of time building the deck & pergola at the new house.

As the weather gets colder our thoughts turn to where we were at this time last year - today we were at Tennant Creek. Several times we have briefly spoken about taking off again, it's never serious but there is always that lingering idea in the back of our minds........

Maintenance

We had a fantastic run with the Patrol. The most expensive maintenance item we had was the 80k service which was carried out very early in the trip on the Gold Coast. We had a couple of issues with a front end vibration which eventually turned out to be a faulty steering dampener.

No major problems with the van either. We did replace the springs as the originals were sagging a little & we had a wheel bearing that needed to be replaced. The fridge failed on 240v & was repaired under warranty in Carnarvon.

Not a single puncture on the entire trip (we did have a nail in a tyre that was fixed in Alice Springs). Good tyres are absolutely essential & in our opinion you just can’t go past BFG All Terrains. They performed faultlessly over a wide variety of terrain. The rears copped a real flogging due to the weight but are still in reasonable condition.
We used Toyo Open Country AT’s (Opat) on the van. Not our first choice but they were the only tyre available in an LT construction with reasonable load carrying capacity that would fit the rims we had. They performed ok & have worn well. Certainly not a tyre i would put on a 4wd as i don’t believe they would handle the really rough stuff out in the bush e.g i wouldn’t trust them to get me to Cape York & back.

Having a well prepared & maintained vehicle & van before leaving on a trip such as ours is vitally important. Conditions out there are harsh & it is equally important to perform regular maintenance checks. As well as having the scheduled servicing done, periodic checks of things like fluid levels & wheel nuts, as well as keeping grease up to any greasable points can prevent problems down the track. We checked our van wheel bearings in Darwin & again in Perth..........lucky we did as the Perth check revealed an overheated & partially seized bearing that would have failed at some stage.

Below is a rundown of what we spent on maintenance items..........

Total - $3024.06

80k Patrol service $1128.90
110k Patrol service $438.55
Caravan springs $435.69
100k Patrol service $292.90
90k Patrol service $240.45
Steering dampener $130.00
Wheel alignment & balance $110.70
Caravan bearings $108.00
Fridge service $77.00
Globes & wiper blades $39.87
Wheel balance $22.00

Yep, we have decided to sell the van. If you or someone you know is looking to buy a van please think of us!! Damien can be contacted on 0412 364 372.
Below is the ad as it is going to appear in EBAY. Of course there will be pics too. You can look at the category 'our van'- but these images were taken very early on and don't show a lot of the features we added such as the tool box and rear pole carrier.

For sale is a Jayco Expanda Outback Pop top caravan. It is a 2007 model, 16.49.1. It has never been smoked in and does not have any mechanical problems. We are the original owners and ordered many specifics when purchasing. It is perfectly set up ready to go - nothing needs to be done to get it ready for trips and touring.

The colouring inside is neutral with no patterns whatsoever. The couches are a cornflower blue colour on both the seat and back rest area. The curtains a pale blue. The flooring is a tile look vinyl, cupboards are a beech veneer timber and the bench tops are white with flecks. The fridge is larger than most expanda's have as we ordered the 150L one when we purchased the van.

Pickup is available from Mt Martha on the Mornington Peninsula and pickup needs to be made within 1 week of the auction ending. Please see below a list of the distinguishing features of the van. We welcome any questions and will be prompt in answering them. The van is in excellent condition. We are happy to discuss extras such as power cords, mats and internal requirements such as cutlery and crockery.

FEATURES:

- Large External Toolbox : this was custom made for us and is fantastic as it can store so much. It is the complete width of the van and easily houses two 9kg gas bottles with room for many other of your requirements. We carried a generator, port a loo, a BBQ, fuel and many other outside articles within it.

- 2.2 HP Air Conditioner
- Grill
- Microwave
- Stove Top with 3 gas burners and 1 electric burner
- Wynguard TV Antenna
- Hyland Hitch
- External Shower
- 150 Litre 3 way fridge
- 22 Litre Gas / Electric Hot Water service
- 12v water pump
- Dual Batteries - 2 x 100AH
- Internal and External 12v sockets
- Inverter - 600W Sinewave
- 1 Queen Size Bed (6 inch foam mattress)
- 2 x 90 Litre Water Tanks
- 1 Double Size Bed (6 inch foam mattress)
- Water Level Gauge
- Handy storage baskets throughout
- Voltmeter
- DVD/CD/MP3 Player - with surround sound speakers
- 19"LCD Television
- Shelving in pantry
- Wardrobe set up with 5 drawers
- Bed Flys
- Roll Out Awning
- Anti Flap kit for roll out awning
- 6.5 dB Antenna for Internet and Phone
- side shade cloth for off side protection of fridge
- Caravan Cover
- all cupboards are beech colour
- bench tops are a white laminate with flecks

- sun shade screen which connects to awning - this provides fantastic protection from the sun and gives extra privacy - elastic loops at base allow it to be pegged down

- Spare Wheel Rear Mounted - on custom made rear bar - drops down to allow the bed to fold down.

- Holland Blind on door - we put this on rather than curtains as it allows you to have the door open at night with just the flyscreen closed and locked, allowing a breeze through the van

- Brand New Full Annexe - we have never used the annexe other than to set it up once as a trial

- Rear Pole Storage - an external pole carrier is located on the rear bar of the van and allows easy transport for bed fly poles etc.

- Table transportability - we have adapted the internal table so that it can be taken outside and hung on the side of the van. This allows more space inside and is fantastic to be able to have the choice as to whether you use it inside or outside.

Well, our lives keep rolling along. Shaz started back at work last Wednesday & seems to be coping ok. The kids went back to school on Monday & are really enjoying it. Damien is madly running around getting all sorts of jobs done as well as continuing the search for a house

Tourist Items

We recorded pretty much every dollar we spent on touristy things - tours, entry fees, hire costs etc etc.

Total cost - $11883.50
Spent on - 108 items
Average cost - $110.03

Cost breakdown

$0-49 - 55 items
$50-99 - 25 items
$100-199 - 13 items
$200-299 - 11 items
$300-399 - 2 items
$400+ - 2 items

What we spent it on - the 28 most expensive items ($100+)

$2249 Spirit of Tasmania (return, including cabin 1 way, vehicle & caravan)
$1785 Horizontal Falls Tour
$360 Great Barrier Reef Cruise
$360 Ayers Rock helicopter flight
$290 Barramundi fishing charter, Darwin (Damien only)
$280 Seaworld Dolphin Adventure (kids only)
$257 Go karting, Cairns
$254 Yellow Waters Cruise, Kakadu
$250 Arafura fishing charter, Darwin (Damien only)
$250 Scuba diving, Coral Bay (Damien only)
$240 Whale watching cruise, Exmouth
$235 Gordon River cruise, Strahan
$230 Quad bike tour, Coral Bay
$214 Katherine Gorge cruise
$202 Karranda Skyrail & train, Cairns
$140 Qantas Founders Museum, Longreach
$139 Great Barrier Reef helicopter flight (Shaz only)
$136 Undarra Lave Tubes tour
$135 Aristocat cruise, Monkey Mia
$131.50 Australia Zoo
$122.50 Seaworld
$122.50 Wet 'n' Wild
$115 Canberra Sights Tour
$115 Woolianna On Daly boat hire (Damien only)
$114 Scuba diving, Great Barrier Reef (Damien only)
$108 Moscow Circus, Perth
$100 Daydream Island Ferry (X2)

Most expensive - $2249 Spirit of Tasmania
Cheapest - $3.70 Ballina Ferry