We moved to WA in 2007 to join the mining boom, travelling from Dalby in Qld, to Kambalda, a mining town about 60 km south of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. A move to Warwick in Perth in 2009 was followed by one to Greenwood in 2010 and then we bought a house in Rockingham, south of Perth, which we moved in to in September of 2010. This was sold as of February and at the moment we are renting a house near the beach in Rockingham and we are enjoying being close to the bars and restaurants.
I'm not really sure when the planning for the trip back to the east coast began in earnest. We bought our house in Potato Point, NSW, in 2008 after a 4 day trip there from Kambalda. The intention has always been to retire there. Carol always tells me the plan was to stay in WA for 5 years but I don't remember that bit. I guess it became serious when I set a date for my retirement (June 27, 2018).
In 2014, we'd bought a 2012 Pajero to replace the 2010 Santa Fe we'd been using to tow our Camprite camper trailer, mainly because of the towing limitations of the Santa Fe and we felt we needed something a little more robust for the trip we had been talking about. It was a platinum ex demo done about 11,000 km and fairly standard. We have since added a tow bar, Anderson plug at the rear for charging the camper batteries while driving, 2" lift, shelving in the back for storage with a fridge slide, smart bar, snorkel and roof platform.
By Christmas 2016 we had also decided that the Camprite, as good a camper as it was, wasn't what we wanted to spend an extended time on the road in. Some fairly intensive research followed, including a trip to the Newcastle camping show and much pondering over spreadsheets. (I love spreadsheets). The result was a Pioneer Mitchell. There were others we liked as well, there are some great campers out there, but in the end the Mitchell ticked most of the boxes for us. If money was not an issue, we would have gone with a Complete Campsite Exodus, probably the 11 or 14 model, but at nearly $90,000 for the 11 we just could not justify the expense. So in July 2017, we picked up our brand new Pioneer Mitchell and our transport and home for our trip was organised.
So far we have done 2755 km and spent 22 nights in the Mitchell and it's great! There have been some issues, the worst of which was a leaking skylight but Jim at Pioneer Wangarra has been great and it's all sorted now. Most of the gear that we used in the Camprite has found a new home in the Mitchell and there have been some additions as well. The main one has been a Ziggy (Ziegler and Brown hooded BBQ). The Mitchell has a great kitchen and we are pretty well practised at the meals that work when we are camping. The Ziggy just gives us more options and is proving to be very versatile. On our trip to Brockman dam at Christmas it cooked roast chicken and veges for Christmas dinner very nicely. We're also looking forward to doing bread and pizzas !
There always seems to be more things we need. A trip to the recent Perth camping show saw us come home about $1200 lighter in the pocket and that was without the main item we went for which was a small fridge to put in the Pajero and use as a freezer. The specials that were at the show for the Waeco CFX 40, which is what we have decided to buy, were a bit disappointing and we can get it cheaper from Snowys online so that will be ordered in the near future. There are also few things in the watch list on ebay that are waiting for a 20% discount day before they are bought. The main one being a Joolca dual en suite tent. The other big item is a complete set of walls for the main awning on the Mitchell which we have ordered from Pioneer at Wangara. We're not convinced that we will need them but we have the room to store them so have decided to go ahead and get them. Another thing that needs doing is fitting the stone stomper to the car and camper. We already have it and it will get fitted in the not too distant future.
The route and time frame are both reasonably flexible. There is a family get together at Mooloolaba the week after Xmas this year (2018) that is locked in. It will be the first time that our 3 grand children will be together so there is no way we are going to miss that. We may also have to divert to NZ some time before Xmas. My son Malcolm and his family are in the process of starting to build a new house in Pirongia and when it is finished we will be helping them move in. Also, our house at Potato Point is currently rented out, so what the tenants do will also have a bearing on when we finally get there.
Route wise, we want to do Steep Point (western most point of mainland Australia) Mt Augustus and Karajini on the way north, then Broome, probably Middle Lagoon before the Gibb River Road. That will take us to around the end of August and although we don't want to rush things, we have to be mindful of the weather and the fact it will be getting hotter. Our rough plan from there is to head south to the Bungle Bungles, then Halls Creek and the Tanami Road to Alice Springs. From there we have several options. The one we decide on will be governed by several factors, including how we are enjoying life on the road as Grey Nomads, what's happening weather wise, whether we have to have a trip to NZ before Xmas among others. Hopefully you'll still be with us when the time comes to decide.
The route and time frame are both reasonably flexible. There is a family get together at Mooloolaba the week after Xmas this year (2018) that is locked in. It will be the first time that our 3 grand children will be together so there is no way we are going to miss that. We may also have to divert to NZ some time before Xmas. My son Malcolm and his family are in the process of starting to build a new house in Pirongia and when it is finished we will be helping them move in. Also, our house at Potato Point is currently rented out, so what the tenants do will also have a bearing on when we finally get there.
Route wise, we want to do Steep Point (western most point of mainland Australia) Mt Augustus and Karajini on the way north, then Broome, probably Middle Lagoon before the Gibb River Road. That will take us to around the end of August and although we don't want to rush things, we have to be mindful of the weather and the fact it will be getting hotter. Our rough plan from there is to head south to the Bungle Bungles, then Halls Creek and the Tanami Road to Alice Springs. From there we have several options. The one we decide on will be governed by several factors, including how we are enjoying life on the road as Grey Nomads, what's happening weather wise, whether we have to have a trip to NZ before Xmas among others. Hopefully you'll still be with us when the time comes to decide.
