G’day from the Ambling Austins, Norm & Sue and Rosie, our darling Sheltie. (And soon our dear little Parson’s Terrier/Miniature Poodle ‘Coomalie’ the Parsoodle.
Norm introduced me to the joys of camping back in 2002 when we explored Tasmania in his Oz Tent. To be honest, I only slept in that tent about 4 times during the trip. I loved the experience of campfires, the taste of food cooked on the fire and the sheer pleasure of sitting back beside the fire as night fell, watching the stars light up the sky. However, setting up camp in the dark after a late arrival, or the experience of tenting in the rain and even snow was not so much fun.
In late 2003, we moved up to a fabulous Kimberley Kamper Trailer, complete with pull out kitchen. After we had added a tinny to the top, we named it ‘Sturt’s Dream’, thinking abut Sturt’s challenging expedition when he hauled a huge whale boat in search of the mythical Inland Sea. Norm’s new Nissan Patrol, ‘Bertha’ took us to some amazing parts of our wonderful country, including the Simpson Desert, Cape York and the Canning Stock Route. Dear old Bertha almost never missed a beat.
By 2008 it was time for us to seek something a little more streamlined for our aging bones, so we upgraded to a Kimberley Karavan. We were now almost glamping, with on board shower, toilet, kitchen, heating… the list goes on. Our first adventure in her was appropriately to the town of Broke. It feels like we ambled just about everywhere over the next few years, around the big Block, to Tassie again, Camping beside just about all the rivers, including Murray, Murrumbidgee, Darling, Lachlan, Oxley.
Our last camp in the Karavan was at Potato Point in May 2018. Soon after then we very relucatantly sold her and bought our current rig, a Leading Edge Bellagio Caravan, towed by our faithful Nissan Patrol, the Golden Linus. On board are all the mod cons including airconditioning, three water tanks, ensuite and even a washing machine! However, we still prefer to spend most of our time outside beside a camp fire. We still prefer to journey slower down roads less travelled, and linger longer in places less visited. Usually we pull up early for the night, and set up camp in time to relax, more often than not beside the camp fire with a drink (or two), and just simply enjoy the space we are in. If we camp in or near one of those small country towns out there, we might pop into the pub to spend some time getting to know the locals.
ON THE ROAD 