Mike88 Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 shirles - 2016-04-20 11:12 PM Well we sold the Delaware and were going for a 6m ducato converted by a firm based in Thames which some of you know is a town at the start or the Coromandel peninsular. The thing like about the van is the proper habitation door as they get rid of the whiz bang (sliding door). We got a good price for the Delaware so e only have to find about £1500 to change. It's got the 180bhp engine and is the auto box. We should take delivery by end of august at the start of spring out here. In between time were off to australia for 5 weeks just after euro 16 finishes. Big mistake getting rid of the sliding door. It's the best part of a pvc as when it's open you feel attached to the outdoors. It's also nice to have it open when its raining as long as the blind is out. All to their own I suppose but the whiz bang affect is a small price to pay for the advantages a sliding door brings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirles Posted April 21, 2016 Author Share Posted April 21, 2016 I'm sorry but I can't stand them sliding doors after hiring vans in Australia. Also you can configure the kitchen space a lot better. Anyway you've still got the rear doors if you want to keep in touch with nature. The van is really aimed at freedom camping with 256 amps of battery power and 150 watt solar panel. Also got diesel heating which will keep gas consumption to a minimum. It also has a locally made awning instead of those puny omnistor's or fiammas. Anyway just booked our flight to Brisbane in july and hope to meander up to Cooktown for some warm weather. Will have to put up with whiz bang for a few weeks but looking forward to it. Last time we did Cooktown the road in was gravel and shook the hire van so much the air con unit started leaking all over the place. Thankfully road is now sealed so should keep the red dust down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazdog6007 Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 stop this blog! i'm in a jealous rage! (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeco Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 Hi Shirles we travelled to Cooktown last year in our AT Tracker FB. The road from Cairns up as you say is now sealed so speed tends to increase over speed on dirt. You will need to keep a watch out for wandering cattle and wild pigs that tend to like the bitumen. They tend to appear faster as your closing speed increases. This town as you would know has a strong link to a certain Yorkshireman called James Cook who repaired his ship the Endeavour after hitting a section of the Great Barrier Reef. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 Geeco, Looking on Google at the surrounding area of Cookstown then moving west to very isolated parts in the Northern Territory I see one road with WELLS listed and numbered along it. Pictures of them show only a few poles and no actual Well as such and no pumping mechanism. Question ... are they bored and numbered for survival purposes? and how is water drawn? does the traveller take their own pump and drop a pipe down a hole as I see nothing else available. This is in the area of "The Great Sandy Lake" in the NT and a long way from Cookstown.. I doubt you would want to go there but ... (I'm very interested in all things unknown to me). Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirles Posted April 22, 2016 Author Share Posted April 22, 2016 Hi Gary we really loved Cooktown and the history of the place and when you arrive you find a little sleepy town but you can tell it was once a major centre. Suppose with the road now sealed it has changed and now a big tourist attraction. There was a pub nearby that was a famous watering hole but can't remember the name of it. Must admit I used to envy the 4x4 travellers on their way back from cape york till one guy showed me the damage caused by the rutted tracks on his toyota landcruiser. Not a place to take a decent vehicle to. When we did the trip in 2002 do remember a dead cow on the road near Bob's lookout along with all the termite mounds,can't wait to get up there again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeco Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 Will, often the wells utilise a windmill to bring the water to the surface. The outback , indeed the country areas of AU are populated by many wind powered pumps, Southern Cross being the popular brand. Generally they are used to provide water for the cattle that are farmed in the more remote regions. The more upto date properties also used solarpower and remote switching via satellite. The numbers I believe are simply to identify location in case of brake down work or to find a lost traveller. Will the "centre" of this very arid land is sparse and harsh , however very interesting for some. The cattle feed is thin on the ground with several properties over a million acres and rounding up the cattle is done with helicopters. Clarkson used a supercar that was BS however the choppers were real. I have spent time in some of the remote mining towns in a former life and there is no doubt that country does put up many challenges for the ilprepared traveller. Except for the major highways the roads tend to be dirt with variable surfaces depending on the season. Certainly not the type of roads to venture down in your Alko chassised comformatic MH, I tend to stick mainly to the bitumen as there is still much to see. I hope I have answered your questions if not please send me a pm as I do not want to bore the forum with my ramblings. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.