Yep on the Wallaby

As Dubby said it was great to bump into them in Cooktown. Nearly got Dubby to come to the Cape with us. We are currently in Weipa until Sunday then heading further North to Bamaga. Road conditions have been really good so far so cross fingers we will get to the tip with Van in Tow.

Then all plans are open. Got another 11 months up our sleaves so will head to NT , WA and SA for a majority of it.

Dubby - Did you stay at the First Van park at Wonga Beach with Cecelia The Care Taker ? If so say Hello from us.

 

As Dubby said it was great to bump into them in Cooktown. Nearly got Dubby to come to the Cape with us. We are currently in Weipa until Sunday then heading further North to Bamaga. Road conditions have been really good so far so cross fingers we will get to the tip with Van in Tow.

Then all plans are open. Got another 11 months up our sleaves so will head to NT , WA and SA for a majority of it.

Dubby - Did you stay at the First Van park at Wonga Beach with Cecelia The Care Taker ? If so say Hello from us.

G'day Packhorse, great to know you are heading up the cape, how goes it?
are you doing parts of OTT and putting the low range and diff locks to use?
How are the tracks and how is the Toaureg performing?

 

When you said Packhorse I thought you met someone with a Packhorse that would be a journey my wife and I hit the road in 2005 and toured Australia for three and a half years with our dog so we stayed at newell beach it was a great time we will travel again but not to that extent although I think the wife might not agree she wants to go west again.
Colin

 

would love to be out on the wallaby but stuck in the office with the usual routine and work priorities Dubby.
looking ahead to semi retirement to enjoy more out there rather than being inside buildings

 

Nice, enjoy. Would be good to see some pics

 

Dubby,

Well we are back on the Blacktop at Cairns for 2 days to stock up and clean van and car, We caught up with Werner in Seisia which was great.

Cant believe how well both Car and Van went and made It to the top without ANY major issues.

Biggest issue was we lost a screw from the Plug in the sink and water pump stopped working until I gave it a clean. All good since.

Very little dust in side and the road was pretty good, Only about 100 kms of bad stuff.

Looks like we will head for Normanton and Karumba from Cairns tomorrow then into the Territory. Mo idea where we will be in September but have the Muster up my Sleeve,

Will be good to catch up with you both when we are back on the Coast if not before.

 

Mick, great that you made it back safely. Also good you caught up with Wannabe. We had a couple of days at the Boulders (Babinda) after the week at Wonga beach. Superb rainforest but Babinda does vie with Tully for the wettest place in OZ. And yes, it rained. Townsville (Rowes Bay)now (2 days) and off to Burdekin Dam (Lake Dalrymple) tomorrow. Safe travel. Cheers, Dub

 

Thanks for the reminder of how much I enjoyed the Cape. Keep the post coming, helps me get through a boring day at the office.

Stu.

 

Stu - c'mon Mate .... break the boredom with a quick trip to Eldee!!!

Schootsie, (touching wood) Treg and Van are going great. Minor niggle or two with the van, but that can happen with anything new. Guy at the factory who test drives the van pre delivery - but with your car, just to make sure it is handling/behaving properly, reckoned the V10 was THE best tow vehicle he had ever driven, including the big yank trucks.
Fuel, well, if you can afford to buy a V10 you shouldn't worry about that.

Only a couple of hundred K's of dirt/gravel road, although some quite steep sections coming down from the Burdekin dam. Quite a bit was 2nd or 3rd gear in the V10. No brake concerns at all ( note 3 tonnes on the towbar )
So far, been as far west as Charleville and Longreach and north to Cooktown.
No trouble with the Silent Armors - now at around 24000 klms - but will look for LT's next time. Will see how the SA's look in mid-July, prior to slowly heading towards Eldee and the Strezlecki track.

So - for now all good, heading inland again as the coast is too windy.
Cheers, Dub

 

Hi again Dubby, regarding fuel I would expect the V10 with a big load to do better than the V6 with the same load since it wouldn't be working as hard. This not your experience so far or haven't got comparison with V6 figures? John

 

John,

Sorry we didn't get a chance to drop in with the Van before we headed off. Only got van back from service 4 days before we headed off and needed to fully unpack and repack for 12 months.

Bumped into Dubby in Cooktown. Then caught up with Wannabe in Seisia. Van and car went great. V6 towing 3500 at 100 sits on 1600 rpm. 1500 at 95. I am getting in the 16's and occasional in 15's if we have a slow flat easy run. Have not had a day yet over 17.5 per 100 including some steep stuff climbing ranges.

With mine it seems to like 95 Kms per hour the best as it will sit at 1500 in 8th. at 90 kms per hour it sits in 7th and is like 1800 rpm and uses a little bit more fuel.

As Dubby said, not much different with the V10.

 

Dubby,

We went into Cairns for 2 days to give the car and van a bath and had more rain, so decided to head to Undarra. Got there at 12.pm and it was 13 degrees and raining. We didn't stay and choose to drive further West.

Stopped at Cobbolt George for 3 nights near George Town. Bit of Dirt but nothing after the Cape.

What a great spot and the George tour was Excellent.

We are now at Kurumba for a few days before heading to Mt Isa then to Alice.

 

Mick (Packhorse), thanx for the update.
What happened to Darwin(?). Isa then Alice(?)
Are you inching toward BH?
We are currently at Woodgate Beach, just south of Bundaberg. Weather has finally come good. Here for 8 days.
Pulled up at St.Lawrence next to a very nice Spinifex - turns out they used to live 3 streets from us in Brisbane - small world. (Lovely van by the way - $120K)
Working our way towards Schootsie's place for business in Brizzy prior to heading for Broken Hill. Will ease our way down there via White Cliffs & Silverton.
Treg running well - no probs (touching wood) averaging around 20L/100 which seems to be 200-series numbers (had hoped to do better, but should improve when we ditch the kayaks in Brisbane). Cheers and happy travelling. Dubby

 

Expecting a post from the V6TDI with the Traveller van seen at Woodgate Beach!!
Spoke to the owner (yes, a member) but didn't note down the names (nice people, but you would expect that). Cheers, Dub
After 3 days at Widgee, now at Cobb & Co, 9-mile (SE of Gympie), nice place. Cheers, Dub

 

Dubby,

Yep Nine Mile good spot. Probably a little colder than you have been having lately.

We headed south through Mt Isa after Karumba and Normanton then to Alice for 5 days before doing Uluru and the Olgas before doing Kings Cannon. Loved every bit of our time their with a few mornings sub zero.

Then headed North and are in Darwin before doing Kakadu and Lichfield then head West for a few months.

Doubt we will be in a position to meet up in September but you never know.

Mick

 

Back in Brisbane yesterday, necessary break for various appointments & getting a UHF CB fitted to the car (5W mobile used in the past).
Then off to see Schootsie to do the brakes (parts ordered ex-Melb. & USA).
Then we will be heading to Eldee, mmm, not sure yet which way but will have several weeks to get there. Expect to be on the road until February.
Just a few pix from our travels over the past 3 months.
Cheers, Dub

 

Nice dubby!

 

Looks like fun. Keep the updates coming.

 

Did you leave you "mark" at the Lion's Den?

 

Living vicariously through your travels Dub, and loving it. What brand of yaks do you have? We're just waiting on the lotto win and then we'll see you out there!.

Mick.

 

Hi Mick, yaks are Hobie's. These are pedal & paddle. Pedal power leaves hands free for fishing. Paddle helps spread the ergo workout. Pedal jobs are called 'revolution'.
Ours are the short (11'9" ?) series - purchased as they are relatively light weight - necessary for old farts to lift onto roof racks.
Stu - mark? Not sure what this is ... only visited for the day while staying in Cooktown.
Dub

 

Hi Mick, yaks are Hobie's. These are pedal & paddle. Pedal power leaves hands free for fishing. Paddle helps spread the ergo workout. Pedal jobs are called 'revolution'. Ours are the short (11'9" ?) series - purchased as they are relatively light weight - necessary for old farts to lift onto roof racks. Stu - mark? Not sure what this is ... only visited for the day while staying in Cooktown. Dub

Hi Dubby,
I too have a hobie ......love pedalling around...
Mine is the tandem

 

On the road am 16 July Dunsborough to Cape Range National Park WA with our 2.7 tonne van - average 15 -18 litres per 100 km depending on headwind and the number of new Landcruisers I can't resist passing. The glass is still half full with no issues for 105,000 km other than faulty EGR sensor early on - still drives like new. I'd include a photo if I knew how to

 

Hi all. Following on from saying farewell to the 'Muster Crew' we are currently on the mighty Murray River at Waikerie in South Oz. Worked our way down to Walleroo then onto Adelaide for a couple of van/Treg issues which were resolved. Caught up with the Lummo's, and other friends and then down to the beaches just south of Adelaide. Beautiful scenery.. just a little bit cold though. Then off via the wineries - McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek etc.
Lovely towns on the Murray - Murray Bridge, Mannum and now Waikerie. Ferries run 24/7 and are free. Weather here (SA) very changeable - expecting 34deg-C and a storm with damaging winds so staying put for the day. Probably (isn't it great not having a schedule) head to Renmark next then south to the Limestone coast and the Great Ocean road. Flinders in southern Vic at end of November then meet up at the NSW Treg meet (TonyB thread) in January are the only 'firm' items on our horizon. Pix will follow (once I sort out how to shrink them on this device) of coast (south of Adelaide) and the mighty Murray River. Cheers for now. Dub

 

All sorted.. (I think). Pix of south of Adelaide and the Murray River. Dub

 

Very nice pics Dub, the wide angle lens certainly does make a big difference in some of the shots.
TonyB

 

nice one Dubbs. John

 

Nice pics Dubb. Hi to Mrs Dubb.