Tolley

Laurie and Helen, That is a great photo. It oozes the personality of Anzac and Rascal. You would need to have a cold heart to leave such a good mate behind. Safe travels. Colin

Laurie and Helen, As many Koggers we have met know, we ALWAYS travel with our two poodles. Moet, the white one, is 12 soon to be 13. Cherie, the black one is four. They love the Kedron. We have travelled over 50,000 km in the van and they have been there for every one of those kilometers. We have been around Australia, last year, and there was litte that we could not do because of the pups. Most Visitor Information Centres will quickly give you the details of local dog sitters, if you need one. We often take the pups with us into NP's. We park in the carpark and place the pups in the van. Providing the weather is moderate we can then have a couple of hours to wander and look at the umpteenth gorge etc. We have also camped in NP's with them but in such cases they are kept close on leads and kept quiet. We have not had one complaint from fellow NP campers. Mind you, the further away from capital cities you are the less likely you encounter dog Nazi Rangers and busy body campers. You have to use your common sense and judgement. As Gayleen will tell you, we only purchased a caravan so we could take the pups on holidays with us! And, by-the-way, while travelling around Australia with the pups we were approached on numerous occasions by fellow travellers who were expressing regret that they had left their pup, pups, at home! Take the pup with you! Kind regards Colin, Gayleen, Moet and Cherie.....woof, wooof!

Hello Everyone, At last I seem to have our business interests under control and so I have post the camp spot details, and our Cape York Trip report, in the Members section of our web site. Kind regards to all, Colin

Hello Everyone, Just returned home after 6 days at O'Briens Creek over Easter. It was just lovely. I am flying to catch up on emails and our business and that will take a couple of days until normalacy (is that a word?) returns. Then I will respond to all those who want the details of that camp spot and the Trip to the Tip report. Thanks in anticipation for your patience. Regards Colin

Hi JK, I'll send you a PM. Happy for any KOGer to have it but lots of others read this forum! Sorry 'others" but this is brotherhood stuff! Some pics, attached, of the spot5....just to show it is a good spot. As you will see, it has a built in jacuzzi! Regards Colin

Hello Everyone, For those trekking up to the Tip of the Cape this winter I know of a great overnight or longer free camp spot north of Mt Carbine on the mighty Mitchell River. Its a favourite weekend trip for us. The spot is not in Camps 6. If anyone wants the details I will send them to you by PM. Also,the Mt Carbine CP is very rustic but really good. They have reopened the mine at Mt Carbine...not in full swing yet....we are doing the recruiting for them. The town has a pub and a gas station, and that's all. Both are good. The gas station has an attractive, cool, shaded dining area and the tucker is good. As an aside. My TE is 18'6" internal and 20" external. Put the rig over the weighbridge early this morning and found it has not changed in 12 months, fully combat loaded. The van with full tanks of water, 300 L, was 3620. Ball weight 340. So, I have dumped 150L water in preparation for heading tonight to O'Briens Creek (Camps 6 QLD 241)which is another great spot and favourite of ours. On the banks of the Einasleigh River. Just great. We will spend Easter there. The weather here is absolutely magnificent at the moment. 17 overnight, 29 by day. It really does seem that the wet season has ended. So, one and all, come on up!! Regards Colin

Hello All, Just to whet the appetite, here is a couple of pics at Punsand Bay. Most people leave their van at Seisia and take a day trip to the tip but I wanted to get the TE as close as I could. It is not a problem getting there.

Hello, I had OME Medium fitted on the 100 Series some 70,000 km ago. 50,000 km of those has been towing the TE. It has been great...not a problem. This thread has reminded me that I should take the Cruiser into ARB and get them to run their eyes over it......I think I was meant to do that after the first 500 km!! Regards Colin

All done Rod and Mavis. Colin

Hello Fieldsie, Tommy is spot on. I would like to reinforce his comments about dips. On the Cape the sign Dip means DIP!! I have a friend who is a long time experienced Cape tour guide and fisherman. Before I did my trip in 2010 he said to me "I have only one piece of advice. Take good care and notice when you see a Dip sign." He was right and I did take care but still got caught out on a couple. One swallow does not make a spring but I can report that the weather here has changed. Temperatures have dropped, humidity has dropped dramatically and the rain has stopped. I remarked to Gayleen during the week that the wet season has ended. She agreed. We might be wrong but that is how it is feeling. Lastly, if you can do the Cape in June rather than later, it will be to your advantage. Cheers Colin

Good article. Thank you. I always monitor Ch 40 and never Ch 18. I have found the truckies to be great....very helpful, full of info on road conditions etc, and happy to help me get past them or vice versa. If they come up behind me, I call them and have a chat and ask them to tell me what I can do to get them past. They have, without exception, been great. I regularly chat to the drivers when I meet them at refuelling stops. Italk to them about caravans and the things they like us to do and not to do. It is all about communications and that means you need a CB on Channel 40! Colin

John and Sandra, Emailed the report to you today. Glen, I noticed that you intend taking the TE via Bloomfield. Plese ignore my comments if you are familiar with the Bloomfield Track. I have driven that track in a 4WD and, as I recall, it is signposted "Not Suitable for Caravans". While I have ignored similiar signs in other places I have curbed my desire to take my TE along the Bloomfield Track as it is very steep and narrow in several parts. Beautiful and a great drive. If you do go along the Bloomfiels Track I will be eager to read your report. A bit of a story: The wet season up here came late but with a vengence. Last Monday we had 200 ml of rain in a couple of hours. The Streets here in Clifton Beach (just north of Cairns)we awash and flooded. My beautiful wife, Gayleen, drowned her Merc Cabriolet at about 9.00 PM and I had to go out and rescue her and her girlfriend. Luckily I had my Landcruiser at home and not my normal town car. In the suburban street, where the car was drowned, the bow wave from the Landcruiser was just below the top of my bullbar! By the time I got to them, in absolute teaming rain, they were sitting in water well above the seats of the vehicle. The next morning I took a hose to the site and syphoned water out of the compartment of what was once a lovely car! Hopefully they will write it off!

Hello Fieldsie Having comleted the Cape trip in June 2010 I recommend that the best time to do it is in June before the school holidays. Once the school holidays start it is a circus up there, very crowded an much less enjoyable. We have a Te and we took it all the way, right up to Punsand Bay. It was the only caravan there. The road is bound to be rough in parts and other bits will be good. Your Van will be fine. As thay say, just drive to the conditions. I have a couple of pdf trip reports on our experience in doing the trip which I am happy to send you if you wish. It is a great trip. You will love it but I strongly recommend June as opposed to Jul/Aug. Man, those guys in 4WD's with blue and white numberplates are crazy. If you go in Jul/Aug you will understand what I say. Also, living in Cairns, I have a couple of good Cape contacts who can generally give me a report on the road conditions. Please keep in touch Regards Colin

Hello All, I have had a need for a wheel alignment on the TE three times in the 50,000 km it has travelled. Cairns does not, to my knowledge, have a suitable place and Vehicle Components in BNE is a long way away. Anyhow, I found a greast business in Townsville called Big Wheels. They are a national organization. Their reason for being is to do wheel alignments on big trucks and trailers. I think they enjoy working on the van as it is a bit different to their normal work. They have done a great job for me and I have no hesitation in recommending them. Regards Colin

Hi Pete andf Tracey, I have a 100 series with tail gate. I have the Engel 40 L fridge in there. I fitted the Outback drawer and slide system. BW and Outback are basically the same. While I could open the fridge lid it was a pain in the butt and my dear Gayleen could not see into it withour a step or such. So, I fitted the platinum drop down slide and it has been great. Easy to use and makes the Engel easy to use including by those that are height challenged! Regards Colin

Hello Again Geoff and Pam, I hope you have accepted my reply to your question as having a bit of fun. I see that you have only recently joined KOG and I would not want to discourage you from contributing. If I have, my apologies. We do rely on Moet and Cherie to let us know if anyone is around the van be it by day or night. They are just noise makers and would not know how to bite or do anything like that. While we have never had an unwelcome incident when free camping it is, none-the-less, good having them around. Being an old soldier, my tactic on security is to not camp too long anywhere. If you do, the enemy has time to reconnoitre your position, make a plan and carry it out. By moving frequently you limit the "enemy's" opportunities to spur of the moment opportune attacks and they are rare and generally poorly executed. We do not free camp too close to those country pubs. Geoff and Pam, welcome to KOG, and please forgive me if my response discouraged you in any way. Kind regards Colin

Hello Geoff and Pam, I have two waterproof security devices, one dark and one white. Here they are, Moet and Cherie. Regards Colin

Hello Everyone, I asked Tom at Kedron if they were fitting grey water tanks as I am interested in getting one for the van. The answer is NO. In my opinion, the time is fast approaching where all RV's will have to be self contained and hence, have a grey water tank. I'll look at other sources. Regards Colin

I'm with you Rod. It is a great site and has a wealth of info on record and in the minds of members. Regards Colin

Lee, Russ, Neville and Rod, Thanks for all your info and comments. Much appreciated. We are still planning and, if you do not mind I might PM each of you if I have any issues to discuss. In the meantime, thanks for you advice. Regards Colin

Thank you Lea, Rick, Russ and Sue for the information and also for taking the time to respond. I am doing my homework on the planned trip, it's fun doing the research and planning. I really appreciate advice from those who have the experience. At the moment I am favouring going south from Birdsville rather than crossing the Plenty Highway. Russ, we have had a sat phone for some time now and we do not go anywhere in the bush without it. It has been great and I am always surprised at the number of people we meet in remote places that have no external communications other than a UHF CB! One website I was reading stated that the GCR has 10,000 vehicles a year pass along it. If that is correct, and if most are travelling in the five cooler months, they will need traffic lights out there soon! Thanks once again. Colin

Hello Rob, I, too, have been considering a satellite dish on the van. My research indicates that your Austar, Mystar or Foxtel box will work in your van. You need a box from your satellite dish provider. Also, I am sure if you posed the same question in the Caravan Forum you will get a deluge of responses. I am not a big TV watcher but I am a rugby tragic (Queensland Reds / Wallaby supporter) and it is only shown live on pay TV. Regards Colin

Hello Everyone, I am keen to cross the deserts towing my van sometime in the cooler months of this year. My initial outline plan is to go from Cairns to Boulia and then to Yulara via either the Plenty Highway or down the Birdsville or Strzeleki Track and Oodnadatta Track. From Yulara the outline plan is to traverse the Great Central Road to Laverton WA. From Laverton we may visit Margaret River (again) and return home via the Nullabor, the Clare and Barossa, Cameron’s Corner, Hungerford and then Cairns. The crew consists of me, (nearly 70 with two stents), beautiful Gayleen and two small poodles, Moet and Cherie. The Top Ender and 100 Series Landcruiser are all in good order and we have a fairly complete set of gear including sat phones etc. We have a good first aid kit and next week we are attending first aid training to get our tickets. I seek opinions of more experienced Koggers as to whether or not it is a realistic trip for us to do and, of course, any advice what-so-ever in relation to desert travel. Also, is it wise to do such a trip alone or should we be in company with another vehicle? Anything anyone can offer will be much appreciated. Regards Colin

Thank you for the advice Laurie and welcome to Chris. I am sure every Kogger will give Chris their maximun support. Regards Colin & Gayleen

Russ and Sue, I am enjoying your blog. Just wish I was out there as well. Streaky Bay has a great pie shop as an alternative to the oysters and fish. They are yummy! Regards Colin