Jacqui in Mitre 10(5.5 to the locals) said “so when are youse off then?”
This said in a tone making it plain we were already at least a month late, whenever we were to go. Making excuses and admitting we were not REAL grey nomads, I told Jacqui we had made changes to our rig that had caused us to be very much late departing in 2009 but Lake Eyre looks interesting.
“Yer’ll be the sixth couple from Woodend that’s up there that I know of” J replied. A keen sense of approaching departure from one’s community comes with the foreknowledge that isolation and remoteness is why you go otherwise just meet at the market next Sunday! Going to see Lake Eyre somehow doesn’t qualify especially if there’s a queue at the bar of the Marree pub and most of them are from around here.
But we are not deterred! Of course everyone with a 4WD (and probably more than a few 2WD ers too) wants to look across L. Eyre. Those who know are telling us the lake last filled properly in ’74, has only filled 3 times in the past 150 years or so, but I remember Lance Lessels taking off in his Falcon from Williamstown back in about ’88 having heard the call. Any way you look at it is an event of such scale, and in these drought years one of such importance for the deserts, that the possibility of seeing those spaces carpeted in flowers and birds is not to be missed. Where there was one tour operator last year, there were 34 at the last count.
Our minds were made up for us really because Bill & Jill Johnson who we met amongst so much hilarity on the last trip call
ed to tell us they would be in the Marree pub on 13th August and would we be there? We’ll meet up with them and then head north together to Muloorina Station, an oasis of greenery on the Frome River that flows north into the south end of the Lake. And that is the extent of the planning really. Unlike last year, when we had lots of time and lots of goals, this year will be very different. We’ll part company with the Johnsons too soon as they continue south on a clockwise return to Fremantle, and we’ll possibly flirt with the Simpson Desert (very much depending on local advice), head northwards on the back tracks as far as Mt Isa, or more likely incline eastwards towards Longreach. Reading James Woodford’s book The Dog Fence is a good way to get in the mood.Six weeks, leaving 3rd August, takes us to the middle of September. Our first thought was to go as far as Ravenshoe, west of Cairns, to meet with young friends who used to run a Bush Heritage property “Eurardy” north of Geraldton in WA but that is very ambitious. We’ll just go where we go and see what we find along the way.
When we finished up last trip I had a list of things I wanted to change on the Tvan, but could not get the manufacturers to take any interest. Experience of the cold and wet when we reached the Clare Valley was miserable and we realised that dealing with a lot of canvas (essential when it’s wet) to make a decent living space on a daily basis of set up/knock down is too much. I had ideas of having a reduced canvas shelter made that would better suit the way we preferred to use the Tvan, so I called into the Caravan & Camping show out at Caulfield where the canvas and pole manufacturers could be found. Katie came along with me and we whisked along with no time to spare, through the aisles of jerry cans and every imaginable bit of trailer craft you could poke a stick at. And there it was. A burst of appreciative recognition and a statement of the obvious all in one. The VistaRV Crossover winked at me seductively and within seconds I was on board and in love. Katie assured me Mum would buy the idea – and she was right!
The provenance is recognisable if you’ve been a Tvan owner because there is a similarity in approach to both layout and construction, but this is a mini caravan with a thirty second set up time, and easy in bad weather. I think a Mk 2 Tvan should have been out by now, because a gap in the market has appeared, and VistaRV owner Louie Cretella has slotted his product in very nicely.
Louie who owns Prompt Sheet Metal in Bayswater, has supplied laser cut sheet metal parts for the camper trailer industry for many years. With some help from a well known designer Lou has produced the next generation – a van that would make the cross between the Tvan that relies on canvas when the weather’s no good, to a caravan that can still go everywhere but has a table for four inside, and a fast set up time. The quality is not to be beaten and production is up to 2 a month now and rising. Take a look at http://www.vistarv.com.au/
Sometimes, especially if you are a designer, you might see a product evolve for all the right reasons, and this is one that is worth spreading around – a bit like the smile on Lou’s face! He was remarkable in getting ours finished in half the scheduled time, including changes I had asked for, all done without a complaint. So Jacqui we did have a real reason to be leaving so late!
We’ll probably re-visit Arkaroola at the north end of the Flinders Ranges before propping up the bar in Marree, waiting for the Johnson’s. Other than that we invite anyone of a mind to (and who like me might be utterly fed up with our TV diet of detective dramas), to tune in on a weekly sort of basis, to enjoy some of the travels to come.
Game anyone?
