This Is How I Roll

It’s interesting, the people you meet on the road. After leaving Yass I moseyed along, checking out the craft display and some of the old buildings at Cowra. I stayed overnight at the showground at Molong. Molong is a quiet little country town in the central west, somewhere south of Wellington and somewhere north of Cowra. I stopped in Canoeists to get some groceries, sorted them into what went into the ute and what went into the van. Left the hatch on the van open while I ducked back in to get some water. Was so concerned with closing the hatch I drive off with the roof winder in place. Duh!! Last time I did that was in 2002. And just like last time, it wasn’t there when I reached my destination. It was just as well I have a bed in the ute! I met a fellow named Bill at the showground, who lent me some square pipe and a shifting spanner to use as a makeshift winder so I could raise the van roof enough to switch the fridge off from the battery setup. He’s been on the road for the last 12 years, since his wife died. He’s in his late sixties and hopes he has the health to do another ten to twelve years travelling. He alternates between his van and a camper trailer, depending on where he’s going. Bill’s been in the military for 30 years, done tours in Croatia and Vietnam, then became a builder with his own business. He spoke of some of the personal costs of war, and of his many and varied experiences since. We chewed the fat over places we’d seen in Australia, and then pulled out our maps. He showed me campsite he’d recommend staying at and places to avoid
along my route, as he is now returning from the places I’m going to.
And just like that, a couple of hours had passed. But how enriching for me, and lovely for him, to be able to tell our stories and share in each others lives for a brief period. In the busyness of our everyday lives, it is easy to go week after week without really connecting with people. Can I encourage you to take the time, see the sights, smell the flowers and have real conversations. You may find, like I did, it’s enriching for both of you.

My daughter Danica makes quilts,
Five days before I left home Danica showed me a quilt top she had just finished for a little boy who was about to move into his first big bed. It was a scrappy quilt, made of leftovers hence the name. In shades of blue with a splash of red it was stunning, and with hundreds of pieces of fabric there were lots of interesting things for this little boy to find while he waited for the time to get out of bed. Can you find a car? A face? Well done, but where is the tomato? Of course I oohed and aahed over it. It was a work of art. I didn’t say I wanted one. But to be honest, privately I was just a wee bit jealous.

And by the end of the day, Danica had my own scrappy quilt under way. This was very much a rush job. All four of my girls were involved in some manner, whether it was choosing scraps to piece together, stitching (thank goodness for sewing machines, how did they manage in the olden days!), pressing or trimming. I helped too – ‘Mum, what do you call that shape!’- and I was mainly delegated to ironing, not sure why… although as the days wore on and it became apparent we would run out of purple scraps, I did choose green as the complimentary colour. That decision met with approval.

Day four and Danica and I were incredibly proud of ourselves. Not only had the quilt top been finished, but we made a visit to Spotlight and exited in record time. I mean record time – we had two side border colours and binding fabrics plus the backing fabric chosen within ten minutes. Having been known to agonise for hours over such things, this was truly a remarkable feat!

So this is my quilt, a work of art, a precious memory of us all working together on a project. I should have taken a photo of us all holding it. And as I go forward on this trip, I have a task – I need to find the bumble bee hidden within.

Now where is that bee!!

Why this trip?

I’ve been planning this trip for a while now. A ‘Once Around the Block’ trip. I often travel on my own – kids with work schedules and their own interests and a husband who prefers to stay at home. On one of my weekends away I was talking with a fellow camper, who was telling me about a group of travellers who had stayed there the previous weekend. A womens group named Rolling Solo. So I looked them up on the internet, did some research and joined. What a great decision. There are women all over this country doing what I love to do: getting away, exploring, travelling. Getting together for meet and greets, impromptu weekends away, tag along groups, big and small trips. And once a year, a get together for all who can make it – a week long camp called Stuck in the Middle. This year is the third annual camp – Stuck in the Middle in Exmouth – and along with about 300 other women, I am going!

Preparation for a journey

I am fortunate to have a great camper/caravan. A wind up Goldstream Crown. It has a comfy bed, indoor table and seating for those wet days, a fridge and stove, and lots of storage. Easy and economical to tow, it sits low for towing and winds up to full height on arrival. Very luxurious camping.

My tow vehicle – a Ford Falcon wagon.
I love this car. It’s a comfortable ride, has lots of get up and go, including when towing, and as it’s dedicated LPG, it’s cheap as chips to run. But being dedicated LPG poses a problem for this trip. LPG is becoming less popular. It’s not carried at all petrol stations. And as I’m travelling through remote areas, if it’s out of stock i’m going to be sitting there until it’s in stock again. Because the only alternative is a tow truck. So while it seems extraordinarily indulgent, we’re upgrading the Falcon. The other justification to this is that the Falcon has almost 500,000km on the clock. (In a footnote to this post, the Falcon died a death a fortnight before I left, so it was a good decision!)

My criteria:
◦ Must be a 4WD – i wanted the capacity to leave the van and go to places inaccessible with it.
◦ To be able to camp in the back of it if i chose.
◦ To be able to carry kayaks – now that posed a problem as I’m not very tall and a 4WD is. Solution – a Ute!
◦ Must be a space cab or extra cab – I wanted to be able to still carry my groceries and everyday stuff, but also have the length in the tray to sleep in it.
◦ Must have suicide doors to access said stuff
◦ Must be diesel
◦ Must be reliable and presentable, but not so immaculate that I feel guilty taking it anywhere in case it gets a scratch on it

After much searching I settled on an Isuzu D-Max.

I then set out in search of a canopy. While its not what I was originally looking for, I’m quite pleased with what I ended up with. Farmer John from Ballarat had a metal canopy for sale. It had been listed on Gumtree for quite some time, with the most appalling blurry photos. It was really cheap as it had been there for some time, and after a few texts with better photos we decided to go take a look. Lo and behold we came back with a canopy on the Ute. While not quote the simple open canvas canopy i originally had in mind, this will enable me to duck away for weekends without the van, and to do cheeky stealth camping when needed without the van, parked on a street somewhere.

The canopy is old, but it is insulated and lined. It has fixed windows but has a whirly gig and vents. There are lights which need wiring, a shelf, and a jarrah floor. I’m looking forward to setting it up for the trip.

First thing needed is a bed. My first attempt was to fix up a broken toddler bed from the tip, but i wasn’t confident in the end product, so back to the tip it went. I also wasn’t confident in my ability to cut timber straight and square. This is where Mr Bunnings comes into his own. After measuring and planning I bought my timber for the bed frame and legs, and for about $3 extra Mr Bunnings cut them for me.

A friend commented that I’d done a good job, countersunk the screws and all. No. Just soft pine and poor drill control really. Hope it holds together.

Next, some cupboards for my kitchen area. This involved another trip to the tip – we were almost on first name basis by now. Two sets of shelves for $10. Bargain! Got the permanent marker out, traced wall shape onto the side of the cupboard and took the circular saw to the back and sides of the cupboard then reattached the back. Bit rough but it fits brilliantly. This gives me somewhere for water storage (two smaller containers are easier to lift than one larger one. Note the hose so I don’t have to lift the container out until it’s empty). Plus some gadget and kitchen storage.

The cupboard at the foot of the bed needed no adjustments, and is my pantry and plates area. On top of this cupboard is a USB charging point , and a plug in point for my CPAP machine.

My next project was my table. I’m really proud of this. There is a tiny space between the canopy and the tray of the Ute, just large enough to slide a piece of timber Into. This is my table. Sanded and varnished, and secured in place for travel. Slide it out a short distance and it is good for supporting my stove. Slide it out further and support it with two adjustable tent poles and it’s a larger table for meal prep etc.

New curtains were a must. I’ve also cut down and edged reflective sun shades to go behind the curtains.

The shelf was unfinished and a bit low, so needed a little work

A couple of frustrating days were spent making fly screens. I used midge mesh and added chunky zips down each side so they can be rolled up when not in use. I’ve used lots of Velcro too, adding a strip of wide adhesive Velcro down the sides of the doors, and non adhesive to the sides of the zips. This means i can travel without them on and put them up when needed. The hardest part for me was the door hinge section, as the hinges extend a long way into the cabin. I’ve used Lycra in this area to stretch over the hinges – I’m not entirely happy with it, we’ll have to see how long that lasts!

Wiring up the lights and battery were the last thing, My fishing rods are in and my pool noodles are attached to the roof with velcro, I’m ready to Roll!