We were in Burketown, on the Gulf of Carpentaria, early one morning, waiting for the servo to open. There were several vehicles lined up waiting. Our bus towing a trailer containing two off road motorcycles , & several very dusty 4wd utes. We had enquired about driving west from Burketown to Borroloola & a firm concensus was that without a high clearance 4wd it would not be possible. Those dusty utes looked mighty appealing, & I recall saying to MrsTea that that was what we needed as our next vehicle.
And so now we have one. A 4.2 litre, 6 cylinder turbo diesel Nissan Patrol. Last of the old school diesels with a reputation for ruggedness & longevity. Initially I fitted it out with a rooftop tent to sleep in, but soon found that this didn’t suit, so eventually accepted we would have to tow our bedroom. To this end we bought a Tvan, probably the most capable off road, hard top camper trailer ever made. That’s all very well, but how we will manage without the convenience of indoor cooking when the weather is bad or the mozzies are biting is, as yet an unknown. The trade off (compared to our bus (now sold) is that we have the capability for more remote & more adventurous travel.
The vehicle & van are set up for extended trips away from ‘civilisation’ with, we think the ability to go for up to a month at a time between resupplying, although I daresay that may take a little practice, but we have plenty of time for that!
An innerspring queen size bed will be a luxury in the desert.
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