Preparations

As part of the preparation for this dream trip, I've found (well, I think I have!) a way of documenting our journey online for family and friends to follow... and this is it.

We don't have an exact departure date but we're aiming for the first weekend in May.  I have Gayle moving into my house on Anzac Day so I've been busy packing boxes, cleaning out cupboards etc. There's still a lot do do, but as I'm leaving the house furnished it's not as bad as it could have been.

The Troopy is ready and waiting to go.  Phil's been doing lots of little modifications to make life on the road as comfortable as possible.  We're both really happy with the set-up.  One of the most significant changes we made was to remove the bulky esky-style fridge and replace it with the drawer fridge we had in the van.  We then had room above to fit a large food box, creating a lot of extra storage.

While it was sad to sell the camper van, we are so happy to have a 4WD which will enable us to get to the places we really want to see.  There are many parts of the Kimberley we hope to get to including the Mitchell plateau, Cape Leveque and the Dampier Peninsula.  Then of course there are the Bungle Bungles - we'll be able to get right into the national park and camp in there.

It's a well set up troopy with a pop-up roof, meaning I can look after my back:)  The seats are really comfortable too.  Along one side is a bench, sink, cupboards and drawers, with a couch along the other side.  This pulls across to become the bed, which is thick and great to sleep on.  There's an extra fuel tank (diesel) and 60 litre water tank.  We have a solar panel to help power the fridge, along with a dual battery system.  We'll be pretty self-sufficient and thus able to bush camp, with just the occasional stay in a caravan park when we want to use the laundry, kitchen or hot showers.

Shane and Emily were both here for Easter and tomorrow Shane's driving my Subaru back to Melbourne as he'll be using it while I'm away.  How long will we be away?  As long as we can!  We'll probably return around mid-October to enable Phil to do another hop season.  For now though, the rest of this week will be very busy but then we'll be on countdown!