A few comments about the van should be in order I suppose. This was the first time we had used it so it was learn as we go proposition. To start with we didn’t have gas or a water tank, I used a 10 litre plastic container with a tap under the sink to have enough water to have a coffee, the kettle being boiled on single burner butane stove using the disposable canisters. This all worked ok, but I foun the canisters didn’t last as long as I expected, considering we only used it for boiling the kettle and making porridge most mornings, I got through 8 canisters in the three weeks.
We had plenty of space as I didn’t want to fill the cupboards and put the weight up any more than I had to, but remembering just where everything was kept was a test. The cute pendant 240v lighting proved to be absolutely useless, the fittings only have 25w globes and being tucked away in the corners the switches are awkward to access, and they just don’t produce much light. I had hoped to substitute some LED type globes, but the only ones with a 15mm bayonet base I could find were way too long for the fittings. The three 12v overhead lights though were brilliant so I used the leads that were in the battery box and connected them to the car battery of a night. One light was adequate lighting for reading or Scrabble. There is no outside light on this van but it didn’t seem to be a particular problem, maybe if we had the annex sides in place it would be. The removable panel in the door makes it much lighter inside of a day and I’m tempted to fit a porthole too it if I can find one, just to save taking it out if it’s windy or cold.
Access to the seats was good, but this was our first encounter with a double bed in a van and it was troublesome after having singles. Getting up through the night for toilet was a bit like tag team wrestling, but we survived and seemed to get sorted out in the end.
We encountered light rain at Albury and there was no sign of leaks, or after travelling in light rain. There was some quite heavy rain in Broken Hill over a couple of days and on returning after the first downpour I checked all the cupboards to see if any dampness had appeared and was pleased that there was nothing, all my work on the roof seemed to have paid off.
The venetians were quite good at keeping the light out of a night, and the two bits of round cardboard for the portholes worked a treat too. I did finish up installing a piece of cardboard over the rear window which is over the middle of the bed, and seemed to be a cold spot. It seemed to work, or maybe it’s a placebo effect, so it may stay in place. The only thing I added to the interior was a self adhesive, anti slip strip on the internal metal step, about $9 at Bunnings, and it’s great. The thought of wet shoes and grass on that metal step seemed to be the seeds of disaster.
New 16” cross ply tyres were fitted before we left and I didn’t intend taking a spare to save weight, but in the end just couldn’t bring myself to do it, so it had to ride in the van as there is no where to mount it, and I found it tiresome (no pun intended) having to lug it out each night and back in of a morning. It took a few goes to get the position right as we had some swaying at times, but it was very inconsistent so a bit hard to pin down. I did notice on this trip that some trucks seem to create a lot of turbulence after they had gone past and a couple in particular really upset us on the highway going home. The buffeting from trucks coming up to pass was not as noticeable as it is with the Olympic, maybe because this van is heavier? All in all I was happy with its performance, but I would like a few more horsepower to tow it with. Cruising at 80kph certainly lets you see the countryside and I’m happy with that, but some extra hp on the hills would be great. The short drawbar wasn’t a problem, I had a little play with it on my test drive to my brothers as he thought the fin on the Velox would be poking through the van, but on the tightest turn its not an issue, not that there is much to spare mind you.
The only problem with the van during the whole trip was of my own making, the old perennial; I didn’t secure the front hatch properly when leaving Broken Hill. I was only at the 80kph on the edge of town when a lady pulled us over to let me know. I don’t think it could ever blow off, the stay is quite over engineered, but it had bent the hinges a bit and took a while for me to get it closed and secured.
I was hoping the hatch incident wasn’t an omen of things to come as we headed back to Mildura, and fortunately it wasn’t. It was another overcast day for travelling and the kms just melted away slowly, too slowly for a while, I was beginning to think Coombah had been moved as it just seemed to take forever to get there. We lunched at Wentworth in a park by the river and were joined by another Vintage Vanner with a Wayfarer, and one that I hadn’t seen in the park.
Then onto Mildura and we decided to stay at the Apex park again where a couple of others from BH were scattered about too.
It was a nice spot, and just as we arrived the PS Melbourne was making its return trip for the afternoon on the river and was a lovely sight, sound and smell, steam and burning wood.
We decided to spend an extra day, and took that trip ourselves the next day, but that evening had a nice home cooked meal of pasta with Franklin 1 and his wife by a fire.
We liked Mildura and we had a pleasant day there and left the next day for Echuca, intending to stay at Moama before heading up to Mathoura, where the van had spent most of its life, to see if we could catch up with its other owner, the man from the paper shop.
Along the way we encountered some road works after Robinvale, line marking, and I was a little unclear as to what I should be doing, the rear truck had a sign indicating to pass so I did and slipped in behind the next due to a bend. Being a bit cautious I lingered and when I decided it was safe I checked the mirror to find an F250 with a big white van in tow powering by. As it passed I saw it had a porthole window, and it was a monster, biggest bondwood I’ve ever seen. It was soon pulling away and I just hoped it would be stopped somewhere ahead. A short time later I spotted it at a garage/caravan park at Boundary Bend and wheeled in to get a photo. The owner came out and we had a quick chat as he had to set up and get to work, a mobile mechanic from Kingaroy, Qld. The van was a homebuilt bondwood, built in 1959 by his father at Yallourn, Vic., and it was a 25 footer, dual axle, six berths with a shower. He works away from home for long periods and had been in the Riverina since February, and to my good fortune was moving camp from Robinvale for a new job. Unfortunately he didn’t have time for me to have a good look, but I got a couple of photos and was on my way.
We slipped into Tooleybuck and had lunch in the park near the bridge, really nice spot too, then on to Echuca and into Moama. We walked up to the Moama Bowling Club for dinner and were surprised by the size and décor, a beautiful club with good meals. I was a little concerned by the broad-gauge railway line running through the car park, only a few metres from one of the entrances. I was assured there was only one train a day, about 5am, so I would be home in bed.
Next morning it was off to Mathoura and it was soon reached, a sign indicated town centre to the left. There were only a few shops and a park and I went past the newsagents and into the cross street where I did a U turn to park. As I did there was a gent rushing up the road waving his arms frantically and after I’d parked he came over and introduced himself as Ray Murphy, the other son of the owner. I wasn’t aware he still lived there, but his brother had told him we might be passing through, and he just happened to be going up for the paper and saw the van.
Soon he was telling other passing locals about his father’s van, and then his son turned up for a look too. Ray had used it from time to time for weekends by the river with his family, and his son said it was still the same inside too, and they were both really thrilled to see it again. I asked him about what they used to cover the portholes and the reply was bits of cardboard, cut from cereal packets or whatever was available, and he reckoned the bulbs in the 240v lights would be the originals as it hardly ever went anywhere where 240v was available. He then told me the newsagent was away caravanning so we wouldn’t get to see him after all, but I got a number and will contact him. We went off to have a coffee and look about and Ray was still talking to locals when we got back! A quick photo outside the paper shop and we were off.
Deniliquin was the next stop for lunch and a wander about and I decided Urana or Lockhart would be our overnight stop, then on to Wagga to catch up to a cousin.
The flat country we had been travelling so far was made to look hilly by where we were now, flat as a billiards table, with miles of ploughed paddocks and huge irrigation units. Urana didn’t look too inspiring to stop for the night so we went onto Lockhart, “the verandah town”. This turned out to be a good stop, the van park is operated by the council and was a very pretty spot by the creek, and it was the cheapest park of our trip, $21.50 for the night.
It had the best amenities of the whole trip too, a Jayco production comprising of 4 units each with toilet, hand basin and shower, probably what you get when booking an ensuite site as some parks. All very new as there had been a flood recently, bigger than any in living memory that inundated half the main street. We dined at the RSL Club and next morning had a wander about the main street, coffee at The Blue Bird Café which has quite a long history. The owner is happy to share and there are displays of bits of lino and things unearthed during its renovation. He wanted a photo of the caravan and Velox out the front so I was happy to oblige.
It is a lovely little town which last visited about 25 years ago. They have paved the footpaths with bricks which have specially printed sets documenting images and names of local families and businesses that are the history of the town, and it is interesting to walk along and check them out, and the locals are very friendly so it takes a while.
The museum has a couple of caravans too, a teardrop and a Shire Council workman’s van. The museum wasn’t open due to renovations from the flood, but the boss lady was there and let me slip out and have a quick look.
The Blue Bird Café man suggested we travel to Wagga via Tootool and The Rock, he said Tootool was an interesting spot. I think country folk must be easily pleased; there was nothing there but a rest area with some gardens, corrugated iron statues and a novel painting in the roof of the picnic shed. I was surprised at photos on the wall showing water lapping the picnic table seats, looking about the flat country meant there was a lot of water about at some time.
On to Wagga and we set up in the Wagga Beach Caravan Park, a nice spot with a view, right at the beach. The beach is part of a reserve, separate to the park and my dad who was a Wagga lad used to talk about the beach.
It was the first time I’d seen it. We headed straight out to my cousins at Marrar with a stop in town at the pub to use the ATM. The ATM was that old you swiped your card, and I’ve never seen one like it in the whole time I’ve had a card. I hadn’t been to my cousins since I was a kid and his father owned the property, but it was a nice spot, more acres and acres of freshly ploughed fields along the way, and on the way home, in the dark, huge tractors were still at work, ploughing or sowing.
That trip involved quite a few km on dirt road, so the Velox finally got dirty, and looked like it had been on a trip, it had been remarkably clean till then.
Next morning it was off to the highway and home.
Some stats will follow to finish off.
George