On the road with Elaine and Bob

            

                                                    Morning coffee on the road

John and Bob have known one another for many years, they both were at Stowe Australia and both retired the same year. We all got our trip vehicles that first year although didn't travel together for a couple of years. John and I did our first big trip with other friends, up to Darwin through the Red Centre and across to the Kimberley area of Western Australia, then home via Queensland.

Our first trip with Bob and Elaine was down to Bright in Victoria after we went to a wedding in Forbes. 

Since then we have enjoyed some good holidays on the road, sadly one year after planning a trip to the Gulf we had to cancel for a month and never managed to catch up with Bob and Elaine as they were that four weeks ahead of us. Very handy to be advised of the places to see as we did the same route! Some trips that John has planned to out of the way places have Bob and Elaine shaking their heads but they always come along.

 Our trip to the Flinders Ranges last year had us going our seperate ways for a few days when we stayed an extra day in a country town. Another time on a previous trip we had to leave them and come home when John had some serious health issues.

When we mentioned this new trip for this year, Bob did up a detailed itinerary that suited us all.  John and I missed some areas in the west last time, so we will head inland for two weeks while our travel companions do the beautiful Indian Pacific Coast drive. We will all meet up and have a few adventures to swap.

Bob and Elaine pull a caravan and their tow vehicle is a Toyota Aurian. It's a comfortable car and Bob often drives us around local tourist sites from where we are camped. 

I like to cook for us, so along with the boys cooking bbqs Elaine and I do other dinners including roasts and cutlet meals, scones etc. some nights we eat together other nights stay in our own "homes" and give one another space. John goes to bed early most nights so "Happy Hour "  is very early and dinner sometimes before the sun goes down.

It works for us and we all enjoy our outback life.

        

                     Bob and Elaine's caravan and tow vehicle

          

                                           In Broken Hill last year

               

                Camped at Wilmington SA

The Sherwood 4WD

       

       The Sherwood took us to the South Coast in February for a week. It was a good to test the new vehicle and to go back to Suncamper with anything that needed changing or adding. We had had new power points added before the trip and were glad we did. A double power point near the table worked well for computer and charging the cameras. The fridge is smaller than the one we had in the Sydney, I've had to buy less freezer food and remember there is less cupboard space for extra food. We did ok for the week but the next trip will be three to four months. 

I need another grab rail near the top of the steps as I enter and that will be added before next trip. John also is having some large hooks put in his roomy tool box on the back of the vehicle.  The vehicle comes with two solar panels which will power the batteries when we free camp. 

The single beds worked out ok. It's a lot easier for us to get out during the night. The downside is there is an extension to the end of the bed that if left extended during the day would cut down the bench space. If we were short people we could probably do without the extension. We bought cotton sheets for summer but will get flannelette ones to go with the thick quilts for winter. The temperatures  in western NSW  in the winter can drop to minus Celsius in some areas. We did have a deisel heater added for warmth if we are free camping as we intend to do.  We won't be doing a lot of free camping as we like our creature comforts  especially our air con in the hot weather.  The caravan parks will still have our presence for much of the trip.

Planning for the Around Australia Trip

        

                                      

   

          

                                        Dixons and the Coles in the Flinders Ranges 2014

          

                     Red lines----- route that  the Coles and Dixons doing together

                      Blue lines -----route that the Dixons are doing on their own

                       Yellow lines----route that the Coles are doing on their own.

                                         

                              

       

 Even though we say that we are going to go around Australia, John and I will not be doing the coast of Queensland this time. Some of Western Australia will be inland as well. We did the coast highway going down to Perth in 2011. We are travelling the inland highway up from Kalgoolie.

Bob and Elaine are planning a different route during the trip. We will meet up at a certain point in Western Australia and leave them again in Queensland. The majority of the time we will travel together.

The plan is to leave Sydney on 31st May. 

In 2011 we did 18,000 Klms in four months. We expect to do about the same this year. We only went to Darwin in 2013. So It isn't on the itininary. 

Also we are driving over the Nullabour in the opposite direction, last time we were nearly at the end of the trip and coming East from Western Australia. This trip we will come home via Queensland and go through South Australia on the way over to the west. 

The whales should be calving at the Bight. It was my most memorable part of the crossing.