As I write this, we're finally on the way, thank god. IT's been a bit of a crazy week and we always get a bit anxious when there is so much to do. We're off to the 75th Anniversary of Landrover in Australia at a place called Cooma in NSW. We went five years ago and absolutely loved it. This time we know heaps more people through Instagram and the Landrover community so it'll be even more fun to catch up with people.
Does anyone else get OCD about packing for a holiday? I have to have everything in it's perfect place - there will be no moving sleeping bags out of the way to get to the peanut butter at my camp! Luckily my hubs is the same, although he does mess up his clothes somewhat trying to find the perfect t-shirt, and seems incapable of folding them properly in the first place.
So this week has all been about finding perfect places for things again. With the build of the new cupboard, I had to find some containers to put socks and knickers in. Not wanting to buy them, and knowing how hard it would be to find boxes JUST the right size, I had a hunch I'd find something at the local supermarket - and I did! They were icecream boxes, and I painted them green after cutting them in half and cutting out a finger hole to put them out. I can't believe that they fit so perfectly. I have one for my socks and knickers (about a week's worth) and Jamie has two, mainly coz his socks are bigger! And yes, I put mushrooms on them.
I also found some perfect cups - last time ours smashed, because, you know, 4wding! Hilarious. Who knew. It seems most places sell insulated cups but they burn your lips, and I wanted plain bamboo ones - which I eventually found, yay. And it fits perfectly on my new 'bedside' shelf.
The kitchen slide out now has majority of tins - about 15 - plus 'big' cutlery, pots and pans etc.
We also have a ladder to get up on the roof - yay! And a bag to go round the wood stove so it can easily go up on the roof, and a luggage/cargo box, and the two chairs are also strapped up there. We won't need the boards on this trip as it's an inland, mountain trip. So excited!
Jamie's also been working hard to fit the more powerful compressor. It's positioned behind the back seat and we needed to order a flush mount to attach the hose to so it was all super neat. It's a more powerful ARB compressor which is a step up from our old Adventure Kings one. I wanted to get the diesel heater done as well but I'm not sure he'll have time - he's so under the pump at work. However, he did get it mostly done, but we haven't had time to test it! Essentially, none of this stuff is essential, but still - every little thing we do gets us further toward the perfect camp! And he doesn't want to be doing it next term and is hoping for more time to actually go away and enjoy weekends.
He's also been making sure the engine is in tip top shape and lots of other little jobs, all whilst working full time! Aaaah! I tell you what it was a relief to head off this morning. I'll be updating you more when I get back and have a few posts on schedule to give myself a break to enjoy this trip to the fullest! After the anniversary we'll be heading into the mountains for some nature time as well.
If you want to follow our journey we'll be on insta _tracks. It's been interesting watching other Landrovers all across Australia travel there and breakdown on the way - eeek. However there's always a Landrover person close by to lend them a hand.
We also had friends come and stay with us when they got off the Tassie ferry - Damon and Geoff have a small production company where they document their travels in an old Series Landrover. REally nice blokes. They're showing their film 'Road To Ruin' at the Landrover Anniversary on the Friday night. You can catch it on itunes if you are into old Landrovers and adventure in Australia! Here's the trailer if you're interested!
And a shot of Jamie and the lads before they leave. They actually broke down a few hours out of Melbourne. However, the shout outs on social media brought people running to help. Yay! They made it two days ago, just in time to give the original Series 1 Landrover that drove London to Singapore in the 50's! How cool. Rest assured I'll get a few photos of this too.
Currently, we're stuck in traffic trying to get to the other side of Melbourne in rush hour, but we are on the way, and we couldn't be happy. By the time you read this we'll already be there!