MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: wakychapmans on March 06, 2023, 09:26:47 AM
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no... we're not "quite there" yet.
Longer version:
Kyria (my wonderful wife) has been on the bariatric surgery waiting list since 2019. She was originally scheduled for November 2019, then that was bumped to March 2020 and then... well you can work out the (covidy) rest.
She is now booked in for this April. (actual day to be set this week) Once surgery is over (assuming no complications) and she recovers... (6-8 weeks or thereabouts) She wants to take a job teaching in a remote community (she is a pre-school teacher with 23 years experience). She has investigated this and she is their dream teacher... plenty of experience, married with a husband that can travel with her, no kids (just the two dogs), no commitments to tie her down.
As for me... I work for myself and can work from anywhere as long as I have internet and a VoIP headset. We bought a StarLink setup at XMAS for this very purpose.
Our plan is for her to quit her current job one full term before she is due to start at her new remote school. That will give us around 3 months of travel time. The goal is to slowly make our way to her new job. Via some of those South Australian beach camps that we see on all the YouTube vids, The Flinders Ranges and so on...
I need to be on the computer and the VoIP phone between 9am and 4pm Monday to Friday (Sydney time). With StarLink and a laptop (and a generous supply of solar and lithium, we can manage this pretty easily) and the cool thing is that the further west we go... the earlier I finish work each day.
We can drive outside my work hours, or park up for a week if we want.
Now... just need to get the bloody van back from the repairer...
then we'll cull everything we own back to what (legally) fits in the 105 series and the 14' Getaway van. Fat bikes on the drawbar. The Ziggy plus a Cuddy composting portable toilet.
It's hard... I'm trying to focus on the surgery only for now... But my mind keeps wanting to race ahead.
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Sounds like a plan..
HOw is the van work going... gee thats been a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time.
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You could have a chat to McGirr and Penny, they have done a lot of work on remote stations and towns, might give you a bit of a heads up on what goes on in some of those remote places
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Sounds like a plan..
HOw is the van work going... gee thats been a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time.
it's been verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry slow.
at this stage... they're "saying" (not "promising" you notice...) that we'll have it back around late April/early May (ish).
we still have some work of our own to do on it when we get it back. Some cupboard painting. (all the walls/ceiling were replaced), New vinyl floor boards... little things like that.
And then there is power. We currently only have 1 x 200w solar panel and 1 x 100ah lithium. which based on this chart http://s4rvs.neto.com.au/assets/SPEC/default.html will give me 0.6 days running the StarLink and fridge etc in the van. So more solar and lithium is required to ensure that we are 100% self sufficient.
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You could have a chat to McGirr and Penny, they have done a lot of work on remote stations and towns, might give you a bit of a heads up on what goes on in some of those remote places
A good suggestion...
we chat to them fairly often now. Had them up to visit once too. Biscuit wasn't impressed with Tucker.
and yes... I've used their knowledge on the ground to sound out some communities too.
Once we start to narrow down the range of work options for Kyria, then I'll give Mark a buzz.
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Lady on another forum was effectively a FIFO nurse, doing similar to Mark, in a range of remote communities.
She said that it all sounded great to begin with, but turned out to NOT be fun! :'( >:(
Few years ago now, but this article was discussed at one stage & she said it's pretty well spot-on :'(
https://www.griffithreview.com/articles/kartiya-are-like-toyotas/ (https://www.griffithreview.com/articles/kartiya-are-like-toyotas/)
In the end, she gave up on it all, with medical issues being put down to PTSD :'(
Sorry, not wanting to put mulligrubs on your plans, but thought I should mention it.
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update:
well it looks like we'll *finally* be getting our (almost 100% rebuilt) van back on the 13th of July (yes... this year)
(head over here for the looooooong story - http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=56736.msg1061112#msg1061112 (http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=56736.msg1061112#msg1061112) )
Due to many things... we've pushed our leaving Sydney date back until this XMAS.
we'll still do as we planned though... 6 - 9 months or so traveling with me working 5 days a week.
we have an amazing 2 hour chat with a remote teaching specialist two weeks ago. Answered all our questions and asked us lots too.
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more updates...
we have the van back. 1,000w of solar and 632ah of lithium. Also managed to match the wheels to the 105 series tow vehicle.
(for those interested in the van... we got it back at post 138 here - http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=56736.125 (http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=56736.125))
the locked in plans now are to leave the Mountains at XMAS. Head to Gembrook and visit the inlaws for a couple of weeks. Some of our current possessions (crap) will be stored there and some will go into storage.
Kyria is currently looking at 5 or so schools in the Kimberly region. Some in the east Kimberly, some in the west. She is using a company known as Footprints Placements to help her. They will also help her with interstate registration, Ochre card and so on.
At this stage, it looks like she will be starting in a new school at the beginning of first term 2024. And that means... driving from Gembrook in Victoria, to the Kimberly, in January.
thank heavens for the air conditioner in the van plus the solar and lithium to run it.
Remote teaching contracts usually come with a thing referred to as "uplift". This is where the WA education department moves anything you want moved (within reason) to your new home. Some schools will also pay for your other stuff to go into storage. They will also pay for your flights etc, or in our case... a percentage of fuel and motel costs.
So while the van and the cruiser are small, we can have some "luxuries" shipped up if we so choose.
We now have between now and XMAS to clean the house out of crap.
we're working on six piles:
1) Stuff that comes in the van and cruiser with us.
2) stuff that is for uplift (this may contain a lot of Kyria's teaching resources, books etc)
3) stuff for storage at her dads place in Gembrook. (valuable keepsakes and things like our almost new fridge)
4) stuff to be sold
5) stuff to be donated to her current school
6) stuff to be dumped.
as we're in a rental... and as we have a LOT of potted plants. The plan is to simply plant them in the properties plant beds. Then give the ceramic pots away and dump the plastic ones.
a very big couple of months in front of us...
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ok... so while not yet 101% set in stone.
This is where we're looking at. https://maps.app.goo.gl/B7u76pMdhmRSao766 (https://maps.app.goo.gl/B7u76pMdhmRSao766)
and yes... I felt it important to know exactly how far it was to the nearest Red Rooster - it's about a 4-5h drive to Katherine (or the same to Kununurra the other way)
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From 2012 but worth a read.
https://www.griffithreview.com/articles/kartiya-are-like-toyotas/
Good luck.
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how far it was to the nearest Red Rooster - it's about a 4-5h drive to Katherine (or the same to Kununurra the other way)
You certainly picked yourself a remote spot! :o :-\
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ok... so while not yet 101% set in stone.
This is where we're looking at. https://maps.app.goo.gl/B7u76pMdhmRSao766 (https://maps.app.goo.gl/B7u76pMdhmRSao766)
braver man than I am..... :)
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braver man than I am..... :)
you're welcome to bring the P'Troll up for a visit if ya want...
(just not end July/early Aug - we're going to be on the Oombulgurri)
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ok... so while not yet 101% set in stone.
well...
Job offer has (just now) been officially made to Kyria by Yarralin in the NT
things were “getting” real.
things are now very much REAL
no biggie now... just have to pack up a three bedroom house and two car garage that is full of crap in...
checks calendar...
5-6 weeks.
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Nothing like a deadline to get things moving, let the adventures begin
GG
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Sounds like your in for a great adventure
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*WARNING* - THIS IS LONG
(so grab a beer first)
been a while since I started this thread... so I thought an update was in order...
LEAVING
we left Sydney in mid December, headed to Melbourne to stay with the inlaws for a few weeks. But even this section of the trip wasn't without it's problems...
we only got the ATM on the van upgraded a couple of weeks before we left. (the week before in the end) So there was much running around and finalizing things the week before we left...
Then the day before leaving, *both* batteries in the cruiser were dead as a doornail. Turns out the 20+ year old isolator was dead and the dual zone in the back killed both batteries. (we were able to get the starter back to life... but the 2nd, the deep cycle... never really came back to life) Found a local Blue Mountains auto electrician at 4.30pm on a Friday arvo and fitted a new Redarc isolator on the spot.
Then the mover screwed us over totally and showed up with too small a truck. This is despite him coming out and doing a walk around of the place first, before quoting. So we didn't get to actually *leave* our place in the Blue Mountains until three days later than planned. (there is a hell of a lot more to this side of the story... but honestly... I can't be arsed now)
THE DRIVE TO MELBOURNE
Then on the way south after picking up the bois, the air con belt in the cruiser died. At 4pm in the Southern Highlands. I was able to find a guy to replace it that day. But our plans of making a late night two car, plus one caravan and one hire trailer drive to Melbourne evaporated on the spot. We grabbed an onsite van in Goulburn as our van was jammed packed to the roof... This also gave the poor cruiser a very saggy rear end... and very light steering which led to some scary moments on the trip down to Melbourne.
(once we got to Melbourne we dropped the cruiser at Pedders to get some Airbag Man airbags fitted and they discovered that one of our rear Old Man Emu springs was snapped clean through. Heavy Duty springs and Airbags fitted. (and OMG, the van tows so much better now!)
The next few weeks in Melbourne were a blur of packing things in the van and the cruiser and then preparing the "uplift" (NT Ed, pays for a set amount of gear to be moved to Yarralin for us. In our case... 25 cubic meters. (we ended up with 28) The rest had to go into storage in Pakenham. We had two storage units for this period. One with the "keep" stuff in it and the other with the "uplift" stuff in it.
We sold Kyria's Xtrail in early Jan' then left Melbourne in mid January.
HITTING THE ROAD
First few days on the road were lots of driving, and a couple of nice camps near Portland and then on the SA coast. (now there is a place I want to visit again!)
Then up to Burra to stay out front of a friends place and the obligatory pic with the Midnight Oil house.
then up the middle. (after a brief, very rushed, stop at 4.55pm at Allingtons in Adelaide to buy two Akubras for ourselves) All was smooth and we were looking forward to some *well* off-the-hwy (so that the bois can be off lead) freecamps that I had tagged north of Alice.
THINGS GET DAMP
All was going well until just shy of Tennant Creek. The skys opened and rain dropped in sheets. We were trying to get to Three Ways to catch up with another teacher (Jessie) who was driving from the Central Coast to Yarralin too.
She was stuck at Three Ways with the roads north and south flooded. The caravan park at Three Ways was closed as the toilets were backing up, and the park at Tennent creek was underwater too. So we grabbed a motel for the night and waited. The next morning we got a message from Jessie at 6am that trucks and 4wds were coming through from the north and she was heading out ASAP. We jumped in the car and did the same. The bridge out of Tennent Creek was partially under water. (one side only)
Just north of three ways we drove through a fair bit of water. I think the deepest was 0.5m. I was on the UHF talking to a truckie that was heading south through it and he guided me through from his better and higher vantage point.
That day was a straight drive to Pine Creek (north of Katherine), though we did swing into Lamimah for the obligatory pics...
next day we made it to Darwin so that Kyria could do her teaching induction.
One week later were once again in a caravan park in Katherine as the Victoria Hwy west was closed and the road to Yarralin was also closed.
DRIVING FLYING TO YARRALIN
After a week there... NT dept of Ed decided to fly us into town. So the cruiser and the van were put into government lock up in Katherine.
And we flew in... dogs and all. (but not before Monty "unloaded" on the floor at the airport) As to the flight... the bois thought it was a just a louder Landcruiser with less to see out the windows and they both slept for most of it.
We (and the other three new teachers), settled in as best we could with only a few bags of food done in a rushed 9.45pm shop at Katherine Woolies the evening before and sleeping on borrowed sheets etc.
THE BUCHANAN "HWY"
The road to town remained closed for the next 3 weeks. But two weeks ago I was able to hitch a ride on a flight back to Katherine and pick up the cruiser. On the way back to town, and being unsure of the state of the road into Yarralin... I dropped the van off at the Vic River Roadhouse. (it's now parked out back with the caretakers van) Had I stuck to my guns and brought it in on the day... I would have got it through no probs. There were some muddy patches... But only one real mud hole and that could be skirted. Took me just on three hours for the drive from the hwy to town. (the road to town is known as the Buchanan "Hwy"... google it)
However just 4 days later... after some rain... that same 126klm track took 5 vehicles 5+ hours. Two days after that, on the way back into town... it took us 6+ hours. I feel the need to mention that on the trip back in... only one vehicle made it all the way without use of Maxtrax, winch or snatch straps... yes. the mighty 105 1HZ...
and a day after our return... the Police :police: closed the road again. Not scheduled to re-open for about 3-4 weeks and just this morning we have flood warnings again thanks to the cyclone in the Gulf area...
YARRALIN LIFE
so what about Yarralin?
well... like pretty much everyone "down south"... my knowledge of towns and communities in the NT was tainted by mainstream media. Crime in Alice, Katherine and Darwin. Crime in some communities... and so on. And while we *had* done research into the town before committing... we had our own concerns.
What can I say... Yarralin is a true revelation. The community is dry and it's run very well thank you by the town elders.
The town has a garbage collection twice a week. The kids all love and have immense respect for the teachers. and the only crime according to the local constabulary... is a domestic (sometimes) once a month.
Every evening, the local families all go for walks around the town. Everyone stops and chats or waves and says hello. If we're out front with the bois... they cause a commotion as everyone wants to pat them.
THE DOGS
Everyone LOVES our bois... They escaped one day and half the town was contacting us telling me where they had seen them. (they were 2-3 klm out of town on their way up the muddy track to the hwy, 136klm away) By the time I took off in the car after them, they had clearly decided that the wandering life wasn't really for them and had turned around and were heading back to town. to food, water and air conditioning... hahahahahahahaha
Oh speaking of the bois... They've acclimatised wonderfully.
They get red paws and bellies if they dig holes in the damp red dirt, or they turn beige if they roll around on the dry red dirt. But they have Teflon fur and it just brushes out.
FOOD AND WATER
Food supply is an issue right now as the supply trucks can't get into town and we can't get out. (there are the absolute basics... but the stores shelves are pretty much empty at the moment) The community store is about the size of a suburban FoodWorks or similar.
We also can't drink the town water. (it's bore water with lots of heavy metals and arsenic) We have cask water when required... but we also have a tank fed from rainwater (see the last pic) we fill up bottles every few days, then boil them, then put the boiled water into a filter jug in the fridge. We've all been fine so far. This is just a facet of daily life now.
The dept of Ed has been a huge help with a couple of flights of food specifically for the teachers. We have a massive supermarket sized chest freezer in our house and the entire bottom level is loaves of bread. Two of the top baskets are full of meat the third basket is mainly Zooper Doopers, butter etc. (almost legal currency here)
SUMMING UP
In short... other than not being able to get our van (and fatbikes) into town right now due to the mud... We love it here. Couldn't be happier.
If they'll have us... we're here for the long haul. 5 years at least.
If you're thinking of something like this... just do it. And if you, or your other half, is a teacher and have questions... ask away.
Really wish we'd done this years and years ago...
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That is just so good to read . Didn't think there were any dry locations any more, so it's fantastic that the community wants it ....... and wants an education !! Brilliant !!
Do hope you have a wonderful time there.
Cheers
Jim
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Hi,
Those escarpments to your west look impressive. Interesting looking country/geology.
Cheers.
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Hi,
Those escarpments to your west look impressive. Interesting looking country/geology.
Cheers.
Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk
the road in runs through Jasper Gorge... OMG. stunning country. Or rather... it is when you're not rushing with 5 other vehicles (and some driven by 4wd novices) and rushing to beat the rain storm that you can see coming in.
not had a chance to explore to the west due the state of the ground being so soggy. Once it dries up a bit... we'll get there.
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so this pic is after the trip back in...
6+ hours of mud and rain.
Radiator and condenser both have copious amounts of mud in them right now...
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Appears to be a slight issue with your right headlight as well! :o
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Appears to be a slight issue with your right headlight as well! :o
popped out on the road back into town. Apparently due to water pressure from *inside* the engine bay. Hitting deep water crossings a little too fast (or a LOT too fast f you listen to Kyria)
Once I'd cleaned all the mud off, and removed the ductape... it clipped back in easy enough.
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We had a picnic day!
We took a drive out along the Old Humbert River track towards Lingera community and Humbert Station.
We bumped into Sam from Humbert Station on the way out at one of the stations cattle gates. He told us to call in at the station and say hi.
We then called in at the station itself and met some of the very friendly staff.
Stopped off at some amazing creek crossings on the way out and back and then spotted two 4wd loads of Yarralin mob heading down to Humbert creek for a swim.
We’re all heading down tomorrow (oops… meant to say Monday) after school and the bois are coming too!
(really having a hard time accepting that this is our home now)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240413/2de01558d90beeecc57e26663890ae48.jpg)
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Isn't swimming in any creeks a bit of a potential issue, due to Laughing Lizards ???
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We had a picnic day!
We took a drive out along the Old Humbert River track towards Lingera community and Humbert Station.
We bumped into Sam from Humbert Station on the way out at one of the stations cattle gates. He told us to call in at the station and say hi.
We then called in at the station itself and met some of the very friendly staff.
Stopped off at some amazing creek crossings on the way out and back and then spotted two 4wd loads of Yarralin mob heading down to Humbert creek for a swim.
We’re all heading down tomorrow (oops… meant to say Monday) after school and the bois are coming too!
(really having a hard time accepting that this is our home now)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240413/2de01558d90beeecc57e26663890ae48.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
car needs a wash ;)
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Also needs a rear mud flap and a front number plate as they’ve gone astray in our mud adventures…
Changing the rego over to NT anyway…
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We *had* planned to take our Cruiser to Vic River Roadhouse last Saturday and pick up the (quite patiently waiting for almost 3 months now), van and bring it into town.
But fate had other plans… the thrust bearing in our HD clutch has died and makes a sound like a wounded banshee that’s been snap frozen, and then cut with a band saw.
So one of the other teachers has very generously loaned us her ever trusty Prado. Previously owned by some grey nomads... it is set up for towing a van.
We left Yarralin at 4.50am and headed up the 126klm track to the Hwy (yes… in the dark). Thank Dog she has spotlights!
Stopped for some happy snaps along the way (many of these are Kyria’s pics)
The 126klm took 3 hours. (Not bad considering that 2 hours of the trip were in the dark). We pretty much did all of the early stuff that had been muddy in no more than 40kph, and some of the more open sections we edged up as far as 60kph. Most of the 26 creek crossings were at 5-10kph.
Then off to Katherine to pick up some car bits and do some micro shops at Woolies and Mitre 10.
Obligatory stop at Maccas (it’s been 3 months ok - don’t judge me) then on to Vic River Roadhouse to pick up the van.
Problem # 1: the ARK XO jockey wheel has a removable hand winder and it usually lives in the drivers door pocket… of the Landcruiser… well it turns out that it was sitting there still attached to the van. Now we could spend all day argue if it was brilliant planning from me… or blind arse luck. But I’ll take planning thank you.
Problem # 2: the Prado is about 8” - 10” lower at the towbar than our cruiser. PLUS… after all the rain, the jockey wheel has sunk into the ground. Now lowering the van down onto the towbar wasn’t a problem. But swinging the jockey wheel up… problem. Ended up backing the Prado onto a large rock and a (single) van leveling ramp. This got the jockey wheel off the ground and we could swing it up out of the way!!!
Problem # 3: while the Prado is set up for towing, the back end is lower (see above) and the chains on the van are long. So while driving they we jingling and jangling on the Hwy.
At 4pm we made it to the turn off to the Buchanan “Hwy”. (The dirt track to Yarralin)
At about 6pm, I noticed that the drivers side window on the van was open. Stopped, crawled inside and slid the latches closed again. At 6.15, noticed that it was open again. Gave up and carried on.
We’d already noticed that the rear door had let in a lot of dust around the seals.
At around 7pm the running lights on the van went out, 7 pin plug had fallen out half way (the Anderson plug had apparently come out many klms back)
Eventually... at 7.50pm we made it home… the van towed perfectly. The Prado was a lot lower in general, so the van was nose down. But the Prado rear springs kept the vehicle itself level
Unpacked (half) the van this morning and will finish the rest throughout the next week or two.
BONUS: the 1,000w of solar and 632ah of Lithium were both at 93% on Sunday morning and when I checked the contents of the 73L dual zone freezer… the 2L tub of ice cream that we left there in late January is still frozen solid and shows no signs of having melted then refrozen… how good is solar!
All in all, a massive day of driving.
About 13.5 hours of driving all up.
5.5 of that on very rough off road track. (that only week ago was impassable due to mud)
4.5 of those in the dark.
And 3.5 of those towing
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luvin it
keep it coming :cup:
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luvin it
keep it coming :cup:
we are 101% living the remote 4wding dream right now,
every single day is a 4wding adventure.
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luvin it
keep it coming :cup:
Agree!!
So happy it worked out for ya Wayne...
braver man than me.. :)
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Agree!!
So happy it worked out for ya Wayne...
braver man than me.. :)
I think we really "lucked out" on this community. Thanks to McGirr and Penny for their advice on other places we had (briefly) considered.
And *lots* of research.