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Went down the Tassie the other week, Prado on the Ferry etc. We went there back in 2011, central & west coast & made a promise to return & see the north & eastern side. Such a great place, laid back & very relaxed.
The plan was to use the Camps book & find some good & cheap sites to pitch the tent. From Devonport, we traveled to Launceston & then up to St Helens via Scottsdale. This was a fantastic drive through the mountains with second gear getting a good solid workout. We tossed a coin, it was either Bridport or St Helens being our first spot, St Helens won...
The back cargo area was loaded to the roof, fridge, food, 60l of water, cooking gear etc. The back seat was loaded pretty much to safe capacity with our other camping gear. I had convinced she who must be obeyed that remote camping was a great idea. Take your own water & no power was the way to do it. As a compromise, i had purchased a shower tent from BCF. Managed to get a Wanderer Single En-suite for $60 on sale & together with the 12v shower, the pressure was on to ensure the daily clean up was comfortable. The end result was a happy camper!!
I had also purchased a queen size Dune 4wd mattress at Anaconda on sale a few months back & gave it a run. When you initially buy it, they have removed all air from it so its reasonably compact, say 8 inches in diameter. The give away is the diameter of the carry bag. Its probably about a 14 inches. Very happy with the comfort it provided & importantly, the boss likes it too. Mind you, if i didn't have the old 12v pump with me, the pack up would have been somewhat difficult. Using the pump to suck out as much air as possible, i managed to get it all packed up with room to spare. Its too wide to go in the back lengthways, so it has to go behind the drivers seat, one end on the floor, the other end up against the roof. Another win...
Our first camp was in the Bay of Fires at Swimcart Beach. A great spot, plus its free to camp & you can have a fire. The local Ranger was there when we arrived & doing the right thing, i had a chat to him. Turns out he was an incredibly nice bloke. Told us where we would collect firewood & even took us down there. Plus he said that they had a fair bit of wood at the depo & he would bring us some back later that day...WIN...
Sunrise at Bay of Fires
The fun began Sunday night, at 4am i woken up to tears & a very unhappy camper. Turns out she had broken a tooth the week previous & as she is scared of the dentist, hadn't done anything about it. The next morning, i am up the hill where the phone reception is ok searching for a dentist. Luckily St Helens being only 15k's away had one, so i ring them explaining the situation. They are booked solid but the receptionist says she will try & see what can be done. 2 hours later she calls me back saying they have squeezed her in for 3pm. WIN again.....So we go into town in the afternoon & $240 later, the tooth is out and she is on antibiotics for the abscess.
The only issue now is she has to take it easy for a few days. So we decide to stay put & once she is feeling better, we can move on. Only thing is, we were camped in an absolutely amazing spot & 2 days later, we decide we will stay put & day trips are the order of the day.
Wineglass Bay is amazing. Some great walks to be had.
Eastern Cost at its best
Daily charge with the panels....We had some great weather during the day & had no issues keeping the deep cycle charged & at capacity..These have been one of the best things i have ever purchased. They fit perfectly between the back seat and cargo barrier, all nice & secure.
Only issue i had was some voltage drop to the fridge and inverter. I had used 6mm to the back & it looks like a cable upgrade is in order. Im thinking maybe 6 B&S might be the way to go.
In the week we were there, the old 3.4l Auto 90 did 1056klms on 137 litres. Happy with that given it was a mix of highway (@ 110 where legal), suburbs and some off road just for fun. Keeping the MAF sensor clean works...
I had it serviced the week before, including a fluid & filter change for the auto. Its got just on 270k on it now and still runs amazingly well. My mechanic exact words were "its still a great wagon".
The rocker cover gaskets have a very slight leak to them and while the replacement parts are cheap, the time involved in changing them is not...The last year has seen a new radiator, water pump & timing belt plus general maintenance. I took her to Alice last year & then home via Wanaaring in NSW, so the old girl has not had a sheltered life. The OME suspension has been on for close to 100k now & a new set of shockers are due as the ride when she is unloaded is not what it used to be.
Long live the 90.....
Cheers
The plan was to use the Camps book & find some good & cheap sites to pitch the tent. From Devonport, we traveled to Launceston & then up to St Helens via Scottsdale. This was a fantastic drive through the mountains with second gear getting a good solid workout. We tossed a coin, it was either Bridport or St Helens being our first spot, St Helens won...
The back cargo area was loaded to the roof, fridge, food, 60l of water, cooking gear etc. The back seat was loaded pretty much to safe capacity with our other camping gear. I had convinced she who must be obeyed that remote camping was a great idea. Take your own water & no power was the way to do it. As a compromise, i had purchased a shower tent from BCF. Managed to get a Wanderer Single En-suite for $60 on sale & together with the 12v shower, the pressure was on to ensure the daily clean up was comfortable. The end result was a happy camper!!
I had also purchased a queen size Dune 4wd mattress at Anaconda on sale a few months back & gave it a run. When you initially buy it, they have removed all air from it so its reasonably compact, say 8 inches in diameter. The give away is the diameter of the carry bag. Its probably about a 14 inches. Very happy with the comfort it provided & importantly, the boss likes it too. Mind you, if i didn't have the old 12v pump with me, the pack up would have been somewhat difficult. Using the pump to suck out as much air as possible, i managed to get it all packed up with room to spare. Its too wide to go in the back lengthways, so it has to go behind the drivers seat, one end on the floor, the other end up against the roof. Another win...
Our first camp was in the Bay of Fires at Swimcart Beach. A great spot, plus its free to camp & you can have a fire. The local Ranger was there when we arrived & doing the right thing, i had a chat to him. Turns out he was an incredibly nice bloke. Told us where we would collect firewood & even took us down there. Plus he said that they had a fair bit of wood at the depo & he would bring us some back later that day...WIN...
Sunrise at Bay of Fires
The fun began Sunday night, at 4am i woken up to tears & a very unhappy camper. Turns out she had broken a tooth the week previous & as she is scared of the dentist, hadn't done anything about it. The next morning, i am up the hill where the phone reception is ok searching for a dentist. Luckily St Helens being only 15k's away had one, so i ring them explaining the situation. They are booked solid but the receptionist says she will try & see what can be done. 2 hours later she calls me back saying they have squeezed her in for 3pm. WIN again.....So we go into town in the afternoon & $240 later, the tooth is out and she is on antibiotics for the abscess.
The only issue now is she has to take it easy for a few days. So we decide to stay put & once she is feeling better, we can move on. Only thing is, we were camped in an absolutely amazing spot & 2 days later, we decide we will stay put & day trips are the order of the day.
Wineglass Bay is amazing. Some great walks to be had.
Eastern Cost at its best
Daily charge with the panels....We had some great weather during the day & had no issues keeping the deep cycle charged & at capacity..These have been one of the best things i have ever purchased. They fit perfectly between the back seat and cargo barrier, all nice & secure.
Only issue i had was some voltage drop to the fridge and inverter. I had used 6mm to the back & it looks like a cable upgrade is in order. Im thinking maybe 6 B&S might be the way to go.
In the week we were there, the old 3.4l Auto 90 did 1056klms on 137 litres. Happy with that given it was a mix of highway (@ 110 where legal), suburbs and some off road just for fun. Keeping the MAF sensor clean works...
I had it serviced the week before, including a fluid & filter change for the auto. Its got just on 270k on it now and still runs amazingly well. My mechanic exact words were "its still a great wagon".
The rocker cover gaskets have a very slight leak to them and while the replacement parts are cheap, the time involved in changing them is not...The last year has seen a new radiator, water pump & timing belt plus general maintenance. I took her to Alice last year & then home via Wanaaring in NSW, so the old girl has not had a sheltered life. The OME suspension has been on for close to 100k now & a new set of shockers are due as the ride when she is unloaded is not what it used to be.
Long live the 90.....
Cheers
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