Ian and Sue

Have a safe trip guys! Any idea of your ETA in Geraldton? We are here until Dec 27 then it's a straight through drive back to Karratha as Ian has work again on the following day. looks like another 12 months up here yet - so much for retiring.

Very interesting, thanks for posting this Rod.

Hi Shane and Elle We might have to have one as we pass on the crossing! We are heading East to be in Albury for Easter 2012. Naturally once we have travelled across the Nullabor we will be hanging around the east for quite a few months and making the most of it. Sorry I would love to say we will hang around here and wait to have one with you, a normally I would make the offer and add a muffin or two but this time... we have been hanging out for this trip since we returned last December and its been a long year with a lot of work to get us ready to go again! Cheers Sue Karratha WA

Thanks Colin for that very important piece of advice - the fact that you researched to find the correct answer should be appreciated by all as many travellers we have come across in remote areas of our state are under the false assumption that in an emergency their mobile phone would work for an emergency call. We have often informed people that they don't only to be treated with suspicision. If I can deviate slighty from the topic for a minute to cover one of my passionate topics which arises from many years of living in a remote region and chatting to tourists and newby locals. Please if you are travelling remote remember - the nearest help is often hours away so at the very least make sure you have an adequate first aid kit and I would love it if everyone who travels takes the time to do a St Johns or equivalent course because one day it could save a life. Too many times I have come across accidents where the person might have had a chance had someone known how to stop bleeding not to mention CPR etc. AND if you have a kit make sure it is easily accessible as every minute counts. I could go on but have probably out lived my welcome, appologies. Now back to the topic.

Keep up the good work Colin and I really hope that the council comes through with its intentions We came across last year and headed up to Cape York - I had from watching to much TV assumed that Cairns was a "tourist town" and since I am a remote country gal wasn't too fussed if I didn't visit. I had looked up pet friendly caravan parks and made contact as our plan had been that Ian would fly from Cairns to Perth, Geraldton and then back out to Paraburdoo to work when his long service ended leaving me to enjoy the northern winter before heading back across the top to home. We ended up not booking Cairns as the expense was phenomenal and headed for the Tablelands which was an area we were really keen to visit. Cutting an already long story short, - Ian ended up resigning whilst on the road and our holiday was extended even further. We did daytrips from the Tablelands to Cairns mainly in the hunt for geocaches and soon started to form a different impression of the place. Other campers told us that we could stay at Gordonvale free camping and we headed there intending to stay a night or two, well - one thing lead to another and the locals were so welcoming that we stay quite a while going in and out to Cairns and seeing all it had to offer, oh and spending a fair bit of money too. We ended up falling in love with the area and came home to WA with a long term plan of selling up and moving over at a later date. If it hadn't been for your local geocachers and the wonderful town of Gordonvale I would still be thinking Cairns was nothing but a giant tourist trap. How wrong I was. Cheers Sue

Hi guys Guess what? You just got spared an epic post! I changed pages to fnd a photo and lost a whole page full, ekkk.... I aren't going to write the whole lot again cos I need a coffee! Ian just bought me a Christmas present for our Keddy, color co-ordinated to match to boot. He just doesn't know he has bought it yet. What is it? A Nespresso Pixie coffee machine, the coffee is brilliant and it was a super good price. OK I know you are supposed to purchase their pods and that means by mail for most people but I did some research and found I can refill the old pods or as I have done, purchase some refillable pods. Our big trip next March is going to be heaven, a toilet in the caravan and a coffee machine which makes coffee in a flash and probably runs off the invertor ( not my area of expertise) or a quick buzz of the gennie! Anyone else have one - just to justify my purchase when Ian arrives here!

Hi Leno & Denise Just been reading your comments regarding PrePaid v plan. Definately do some research as prepaid is heaps cheaper at the moment - I am in Geraldton getting the garden ready for the summer while Ian had to stay behind in Karratha so we are using the mobile a lot. I recharged with $40 (one month access) and get calls to the value of $550 and 1gb of data. We purchased our HTC outright at the Good Guys for $199 when Telstra were selling them for $50 more. I use the phone as a HotSpot for my Ipad whilst on the road and although I use the Ipad heaps the one gig lasts a long time. Other things that make it more worthwhile than a plan are that until recently Coles was offering a 20% discount when you recharge which also gave us bonus/bonus data and calls so we could talk forever! And right now Telstra is offering free calls after 6pm to all standard Aussie numbers. When you add it all up there is a considerable saving to be had in buying your phone outright and putting a prepaid sim into it. I arent associated with Telstra and could get on to my soapbox about their service at times - but as much as I have been know to slam the phone down and throw my arms in the air when trying to talk to them they do offer the superior coverage in the bush. Cheers Sue

Hi Tony Yes our F165 is the ZTE - we dont have a patch or antenna and it has worked well for us over the 3 or 4 years we have had it - just needs a new battery to keep it going. The case is pretty worn now and the rubber has come away long ago so we havent bothered with the battery just leave it at home attached to the power point - to satisfy our needs these days it lacks the abilitiy to be a wifi hotspot.

I have been busily polishing our Keddy in readiness for its big trip next March, early start I know but once I leave here in a week I will not see it again until we come through to pick it up and go. Point of post - I paid $59.95 on a Powerball for Ians drill as it came highly recommended for checkerplate - if you think of doing the same don't bother. It works no better than our Mothers buffer on the checkerplate, it has an if you don't like it send it back thing on the packaging but I noticed now that they are in the USA! On the positive the Mothers aluminum cleaner is superior to the Autosol one I was using and slightly better than the Meguires that our son was using on his bullbar. We did a comparison check. Hmmm... Ian probably will not be impress when he reads my credit card statement this month better take something nice back home with me eh. Sue Karratha WA

I travel between Karratha and Geraldton (1100kilometres) every six weeks and like to be able to report into Ian as to my position on the highway. Previously I used a Telstra rural phone but as the battery has lost its' ability to power the phone for more that a ring I nabbed Ians HTC Wildfire smart phone. Oh he just happens to be on a really good prepaid plan AND his phone can be used to create a hot spot for my Ipad! I drive his Landcrusier 200 series up and back and it has a bluetooth connection - I didn't expect to be able to get the kind of signal my F165 did and was more than a little surprised through the bluetooth I can call in from spots I could never have gotten through on previously, unbelievable I know. I can also get it to hotspot and send email when the phone isnt connecting enough for a talk. Telstra - as much as I hate to admit really is the company with the greatest coverage (short of a sat phone). Sue

Any excuse for a coffee is good for me! Shame Ian doesn't share my enthusiasm err make that addiction. I towed the caravan down to Geraldton today and guess where the first port of call had to be when I arrived? Well I did leave my beloved cappuccino machine back in Karratha and packet stuff just isn't the same. I didn't mention to Ian that I had a slight detour though so don't tell

I am thinking It's been a long day for me as I just towed our van from Karratha to Geraldton with only a short stop overnight as it was too hot. From what my friends with a Kedron who live in NSW have told me the diesel heater sounds like a good investment. We find it hard to imagine cold right now but do remember how cold we were last year when in NSW and ACT. Normally I would have up stumps and moved somewhere warmer but there was just so much to see over there. Might have to invest in one for the next big trip starting March. I keep swinging with the washing machine and am back on the don't need one at the moment, ask me again next year Definately if we do have a van built it will have a spot for our large folding reclining camp chairs so that they don't have to keep going on the bed. There is probably more but my brain isn't working properly so will leave it at those for now. Cheers Sue

I had considered sticking a pin into the air pockets and pushing them back. It really is a shame that this is happening as it really affects the asthetics of what is a very impressive looking caravan. I am definately going to price out the signwriters as soon as I get ours down south it will be interesting to see what they want to charge. Hmmm... a thought.... I wonder if any of the little graffiti artists around town are up to the challenge? Not really

Its about time we got ourselves around to a formal intro - we have been reading the forum for a long, long time and more recently adding a few comments but haven't really gotten around to saying a proper hello. HELLO ALL!!! We have aspired to a new caravan for a considerable time now and came really, really close to ordering one but things happen and I like to believe there is a reason for that. Anyway, without getting too philisopical in my first formal post we did sell our old faithful van within a week of advertising actually and decided upon a really well priced Kedron which just by chance happened to be for sale right here in Karratha. The poor Queenslanders that had owner her where on their way around Oz when the GFC struck and they decided to hang around up here, go back to work and top up the diminising bank balance. The Kedron although brilliant for long term touring really isnt suited to long term onsite living in such a hot harsh environment (spacewise that is) and they bit the bullet and bought a larger van with slideouts. Poor old Keddy has been parked up ever since. Worse still they where unable to find a buyer for it as 99 percent of people want a "live in" caravan and the rest found its distance from their location not feasable for a purchase. We got a real bargain and don't mind spending the dollars to bring her right back up to new as we still will be in front. We have already changed out the hatch in the bathroom as sitting through two Pilbara summers has made plastic components on the outside of the van very brittle. We bought three new AGM batteries at a wonderful price thanks to our brother-in-law and even didnt have to pay a fortune for freight to get them up here. We have ordered a new awning which, fingerscrossed, will be delivered today so that we can sweat it out in 40C this weekend and install it. Next week, assuming the awning is on, I get to take the Keddy back down to our Geraldton home as it will be safer down there during our cyclone season. Are you getting tired of reading yet. Well I will finish for now as I am in MacDonalds waiting for our Landcruiser to have its 20K service and have to go. I will post more later along with some photos. Oh - before I finish - I had a lovely surprise in this mornings mail. It was our membership badges! Love the stickers and will polish a spot on the Keddy and enjoy displaying them. Cheers all and thanks for reading. Sue

Our decals along the sides of the van are really bubbled I can't see how any van with a "rough" finish can not have the same problem, decals need a flat finish to fully adhere. The decals on the front window cover have peeled and lifted off of a surface I would have thought would have been optimal for adhesion but then our van has been exposed to the Pilbara for the past couple of years and given the severity of the weather here it's a credit to its builders that it still looks so good. I like the idea of having new ones sign written on - I wonder if there is any copywrite issues in doing that. When we get our van back down to home I think I will have to make some enquiries.

Whoops forgot to mention that if you are looking for somewhere to stop just outside of Port Lincoln don't go past the Apex Club, we were there last November and they asked us to spread the word amongst fellow caravanners. Great people, lovely large flat grassy area with some shade and use of the facilities if required. $5.00 per night if I remember correctly. Cheers Sue

Hi Russ, what did yesterday's 40 plus degrees get to you? Sorry, I am just envious that you are able to leave our summer and head south. Will you be back next year? I am leaving Karratha next Tuesday to take our Kedron down to Geraldton for the cyclone season - we have done as many mods as we can up here and now it's time for it to go, unfortunately Ian has to hang around for more work so after I have done some Christmas shopping I will have to come back. We will be heading over east next Easter but time will tell whether it will be a short 6 week trip or whether we will be able to do another major one, might see you on the road somewhere. Sue Karratha WA

How true. My 94 year old father-in-law would come up to Karratha with his caravan and dingy on the roof every year and the dingy never came off even with many offers of help getting it down! For him it was a way that his friends would recognize him and it definately worked. We travel everywhere with our kayaks - so much easier. I hear someone about to mention kayaks and crocs! :lol: Sue Karratha ATV

Congratulations, what a fantastic Christmas present! Enjoy.

Our friends has just booked to go over to Tassie they wanted to go early November but couldn't get onto the boat with their 21foot custom off roader until December they needed to be back by Easter for a huge geocaching event in Albury and found that March was booking out fast for the return. I guess the point of that whole statement is that you need to get in and book early when you have an oversized load. Don't forget the school holidays too. We loved Tassis when we were there a few years back - six weeks is a minimum to see all the sights, I have my thinking cap on to narrow a list of must sees if I had to select a few.

Thanks Grahame and Wendy. We worked out where the tabs where located and Newbies confirmation gave us added confidence to proceed. The lens popped out quiet easily without damage. We have managed to track down a potential supplier here in Karratha so looks like this fix will happen fairly quickly. Fingers crossed. We have just paid our membership to the Kedron owners group and look forward to being able to access the forum completely. thanks again everyone much appreciated.

quickly got it in whilst the connection was working!

As soon as I am able to access the Internet again with my laptop I will up load a photo, Karratha suffers badly on the weekend from very restricted 3G services because of all the FIFo workers Skyping home!