Meet Bruce, Doris and Big Tony.....

After a lot of planning and many months of waiting we have at last taken delivery of our new home and transport so it's time to introduce you to Bruce, Doris and Big Tony.

Bruce is our Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series that we took delivery of in April, just before we went to Italy.  If you've already met Bruce "in the flesh" you will notice that he has had a makeover.  Over the past few weeks we've been getting some modifications done.  Bruce now has a bull bar complete with very effective driving lights.  We have new towing mirrors which are adjustable so we don't have to fit different towing mirrors when we have the caravan attached.  We have also had a CB/UHF radio and aerial fitted - so we can listen in to the fruity truckies language on CB/UHF 40, or attend to the more sedate language of fellow caravanners on CB/UHF 18.




Doris is our SatNav system.  The first time we heard her voice we both immediately said "That's Doris".  In true Doris fashion she tells Bruce exactly where to go (although Robert doesn't always take her directions).

Big Tony (or BT)is our new Bushtracker caravan which is now our home for as long as we want to keep travelling.  After 3 nights we are finding it VERY comfortable.  We are not missing the perpetual packing and unpacking regime of the past 10 months.  

As with any new home we are now trying to work out where all our stuff will be stowed.  There's plenty of storage space, although we may not be saying this when we empty out our storage unit at Girraween Rent-A-Space in a few days.  We have already decided that if it doesn't fit it will become an op-shop donation. We are very pleased with the curtains that we had specially made with fabric from Aboriginal Fabrics in Alice Springs.  They match perfectly the quilt and cushions from similar fabrics which were made by sister-in-law Margaret - perfect.

After a full day of handover instruction from Bushtracker, we hitched up and drove a few kms south to the campground at Coochins Creek where we spent our first 3 nights watching beautiful sunsets and laughing at the male brush turkeys chasing after the single female near the campground - nature at work!  During this time we were able to try our as many bells and whistles as we could.  We also became frequent shoppers at Bunnings and K-Mart and several camping equipment stores as we kitted ourselves out.  We've got plenty to learn over the next few weeks and months.

Now we are well and truly "on the road".  Our first trip is a "shakedown trip" to Sydney and Canberra and back to Maroochydore where Big Tony will have his first service to tighten any loose nuts and bolts.