Hello om a new member

G'day everybody, Just an intro of ourselves. We are both retired and have been on the road since February 2001. We are traveling in a 14' BT towed by a 4.2 litre turbo diesel GQ Patrol. As we are unable to pop back home for this or that we have to carry everything we require. A bit like a tortoise with it's house on it's back. The result is overloading. The Patrol weighs 3400 kg and the van approx 2700 kg all up - full fuel and water loads. Both the Patrol & van have been modified. The usual for the truck - extended fuel tanks, heavy suspension, removed the rear seats and replaced with storage. Only a two seater now. The BT now has the spare wheels on the back of the van and white storage boxes where the spares were. This can be seen in the included pictures. The mods have not affected the draw bar weight adversely, it is now 180 kg, within the 5-10 % specified by the roads department. The van is only 14' and it is very comfortable. We sleep in it with occasional cooking. Most of our time is spent outside around the campfire. The shorter length allows us to travel into "tighter" areas where larger vans would get hung up on sharp bends, close trees, etc. eg parts of Lakefield NP. So far we have been confined to NSW and Queensland due to unfinished matters and children insisting on being married. We will be free of both September this year and then we are off. Central and WA via SA are next. We both like fossicking, fishing and bush walks Some of the places we would recommend are Burren Junction, midway between Wee Waa and Walgett. A hot artesian bore in a paddock 3 km east of BJ, pool, showers, toilets and nothing else. Endless soaking in the hot pool and relaxation. Free. Grawin, 90 km west of Lightning Ridge. Opal mining area, noodling in the mullock heaps. Check at the shop for directions. Must be self contained, take plenty of water. Free. Ravenswood campground. All facilities $42 pw. Excellent historic gold/metal mining area. Archer Point south of Cooktown. Beachcamp, fishing and relaxation. Bring plenty of water. The list could be endless - Undarra Lava Tubes, Obriens (topaz), Einsleigh Gorge (great pub), Agate Creek, Cobal Gorge all within a 400 km round trip. We tend to avoid main roads and wander along the unsealed roads branching off these. Sights are often better, less if any traffic and much better camping sites. A long dirt road. Overnight stop near Stanthorpe. Typical bushcamp. We try to camp near a river or creek. This is often selected out of an Excel file that I have cobbled together. Some of the information has come from the CMCA organization, some from experience and a lot from word of mouth. We rarely if ever stay at commercial camping grounds. Anybody wanting a copy is welcome to it. Contact us at john.sandra.charlton@ausi.com. The file is a series of references tied back to the Hema 5000 series road maps. We access emails via public libraries & internet cafes. This suits us as we often go bush for 2-3 weeks at a time. May not even see anybody. We check emails perhaps each month. There are a couple of action pictures included of the truck and BT. Crossing the Mitchell river north of Mt Carbine Crossing the Burdekin south of the Burdekin Dam. Hope the intro was short enough and not too boring and maybe we will meet you out there sometime. We frequently meet BTs. There were three of us at the Surat camp. Happy travelling John and Sandra