Initial Planning, NSW

Initial Planning

During 2010 my major adventure took me from Rooty hill, NSW to Monkey Mia, Western Australia, a round trip of about 11500 kilometres. I towed a 20’ Newlands limited edition caravan with my Prado petrol driven 4 Litre truck. This trip will repeat that part of the travelling from Sydney to Port Augusta at which point the scenery will be all new.

Liz

I will be fortunate in having ‘Liz’ my lady friend accompany me on the trip and, of course, ‘Buddy’ will be in the back seat in a harness (I recently learnt that a dog restraint is a legal requirement). Anyway, it is a safer option given I might have to brake fairly quickly.

Scott

My major adventure for 2013 is to tow the caravan in a fairly long round trip through the centre of Australia and back down the East coast. A journey of about 7000 kilometres. So once again I think it would be wise to plan the journey. I have already read that the best (safest) time to travel would be between May and September. Before this period will likely be too cold, and after this period, too hot.

Buddy

MARCH

March 2013 is the time to start planning as we are planning to start the trip in Mid July. We will use the Internet substantially, to make plans, determine where to stay, where ‘Buddy’ will be accepted, must-see sights, where water is required, where petrol is available etc. I will use Google Earth to get a preview of the terrain and “Whereis” for mapping and distances. I would expect to travel between 400 and 600 kilometres per day (depending on how I feel at the time).

The journey appears to be about 3770 kilometres in each direction and basically will cover Rooty Hill, Nyngan, Broken Hill, Port Augusta, Woomera, Coober Pedy (Maybe I’ll get lucky and find Opals!!), then up to Alice springs via Uluru and Kings Canyon. Then on to Tennant creek, Mt. Isa, Winton, Charleville, Blackall, Bourke, Coonabarabran (must see if we can get a look through the telescope there), and finally a short stay at the Sea-side resort of Budgewoi before heading home on the last 170 kilometres of the journey

It’s a pity petrol costs keep going higher as it just adds to the cost of seeing this wonderful land of ours. I remember when crossing the Nullarbor, I paid up to $1.74 per litre at several road houses! and I’m betting that’s the kind of price this trip, especially in country/outback areas. I’ve read that everything is expensive in Uluru!

In wanting (or more accurately ‘needing’) to keep costs manageable we will ensure our stop overs at the various caravan parks don’t coincide with school holidays and check caravan park tariffs on the Internet prior to turning up. We’ll also stock up on some food supplies. We will keep a dozen or so medium size bottles of water in the caravan for drinking, should the need arise. Given that we will be doing a little bit of walking around Uluru, the Olga's and Kings Canyon, medium size bottles of water will also be needed. We’ll carry those in back-packs.

One of the many nice things about the Prado is that it has a mini fridge in the centre console which can hold four 750 ml containers of water or soft drinks (The happy hour beer bottles reside in the bottom of the caravan fridge).

JUNE
Well, we are just about complete in our general preparation. I took two spare 9 ltr. gas bottles to the local hardware shop and had them gassed-up. Next will be to pull the caravan out of stowage and locate it at Liz’s house for two weeks before we leave. At that time I will change the bass bottles over for the full ones and return the others to my back garden for use by the B-B-Q and Liz we determine what goes where inside the caravan.

The “Outback” spreadsheet is completed and lists the locations, travelling times, distances and a few safety requirements. Additionally we have had a look at the activities available at each location. This helped us decide how long we should plan to stay at each location - (give or take a month!!!!).

Liz will spend some time in the caravan preparing it for the journey. Basically ensuring we have the right clothes with us (I tend to forget to take shirts etc, so that will be my check)! Also the contents of the fridge/freezer will be determined. We are aware how just how cold it can get at night, so suitable clothes are required for both night and day temperatures.

We decided to have a ‘communal’ financial system so that we share the costs. The finances will be a mix of ‘real’ money and an account from which a plastic card can be used. Liz is financial controller! I noted from previous trips that not all suppliers are keen on credit/debit cards and much prefer to feel and smell of real cash!

July

I've pulled the caravan out of storage and taken it to Liz's place where she can sort out the contents of the vans and decide where everything will go. The van was also taken to a tyre outlet to get all tyres and spares topped up to 40 p.s.i. (The top up also included all tyres and spare on the Prado)

We also pulled out things from the caravan that we were carrying that common sense indicated we don't need (anything to reduce the weight).

To all intent the Prado and caravan are essentially ready for packing.

13 days to go before we start our journey ................

July 8th

It's now just seven days to go, so the final countdown begins.

Some final grocery shopping to fill the caravan shelves is in progress; Bills that will crop up during the trip have been paid; A subscription to Telstra mobile pre-paid broadband has been arranged (hopefully we will be able to pick-up a decent broadband signal in most locations) - makes a mental note to pack the Apple Macbook Air for emails and contacts etc during the trip.

My neighbours are aware that I will be away so they will clear the mail for me. I'm deliberating on what electricity to turn off (The fridge/freezer is somewhat problematic) everything else can be switched off.

Nipped into the liquor shop and stocked up on six cans of Guinness and 6 bottle of lager - I won't estimate how long they will last!

Took a final look at the map to see in which way we need to head off - Let's face it, the GPS can be a godsend, but ........... it can suggest some weird ways of getting to one's destination! All caravan parks have been loaded into the GPS, so one way or another, we will arrive at the appropriate points along our journey.

Think I might just sit back and panic for the remaining days!! posturing a million and one 'what ifs' ........

7 days to go ............................

July 10th

The first 'What-if' arrived! - I got notification that my registration is due for the Prado, So a quick dash around to the nearest service station for a pink slip. Then arrange for the Green slip (Do governments have an aversion to colours?) and then register the car with the RTA (or whatever they call themselves now)


4 days to go ……….